Life Hunter

When Arima used his magic, it was Night's turn to wonder what happened. But since he wasn't called, he stayed pretty calm and patiently waited.

"Hm, what should I tell you first?" Zesta casually hummed right in front of Arima, "First of all, I can tell you that Azes brought you to this world for a reason he didn't mention to you. Although I don't know myself very well what he is planning, I know that he is looking for something that could help him in his endeavor. What I can say with certitude though is that you are a jackpot for him."

Arima listened carefully, his expression never changing. He was coldly staring at the goddess and even she bitterly smiled at how he treated her.

"Your soul is huge. When I say huge, maybe yourself doesn't realize how much it is. The size of the mana pool depends a lot on the size of your soul. I'm sure you're aware at least that the size of your mana pool is unnatural. It's even bigger than a Heavenly God's. But the most important thing is what you are," Zesta pointed at Arima with her finger.

Arima remained unshaken but his curiosity was picked, "What I am?"

"Yes. You're a type of human which we thought went extinct tens of thousands of years ago. I'm sure you already understood it by yourself, but the main characteristic of those humans was their ability to steal life force and convert it for their own use. They could extract the life force of any kind of living being. From small insects to even gods. That's why they were feared by Heaven and were purged by the older generations. They had been named from the technique they employed, Life Hunters."

"I was born in a circuit less world. How can I be one of them?" Arima shortly asked. He wasn't shocked or scared by Zesta's revelation.

Seeing Arima so unfazed, she could only sigh, "(Even if he is a Life Hunter, he's still just a human. How can he keep his cool when he is told that he's basically an enemy of Heaven?)"

Zesta shook her head and shrugged before answering Arima's query, "This is just an assumption, but most likely, some of your ancestors escaped to your world to hide. In short, you were born in a different world during a time period where Life Hunters were still alive."

"I see. I understand now. That's pretty much what I thought," Arima nodded and gazed at Zesta unperturbed, "So? Why are you here? You still haven't properly answered my first question. You said it was for fun and because Azes asked you. But I still don't know what you're supposed to do here exactly."

Zesta groaned, "Even if you were to fake it, can you just act a bit more, like, you know, worried? Now that I think about it too, since you came to this world, I never saw you scared or panicked. Is that an emotion you also killed?"

Arima scowled at her, "No, that's how I was born."

Zesta's expression twitched, "(That's worse, isn't it?)" She rubbed her temples and mused, "As I said before, there are two reasons explaining my presence here. One; I'm bored. Two; Azes told me to help you hide your identity as a Life Hunter."

"Is that all?" Arima had a disappointed expression all of sudden, "You can go back. I don't need your help. Now that you told me you can't peer inside the other dimensions; I just have to stop using Life Hunt outside of it if it's really a problem. Also, I already noticed that I have a unique aura. I can suppress it if I want. Same for my killing intent. If we're done, goodbye." Arima waved his hand and turned around.

"Huh?" Zesta was dumbfounded, "Hey, wait! Aren't you curious about yourself?! And why are you so untactful with me?! I'm a real goddess, you know?!"

Arima glanced at her, his expression had returned to normal, "Someone who wants to prove their identity shouldn't say something like that," He stated and the dimension was dispelled.

Arima reappeared on the streets along with a sulking goddess. Oddly, the passersby didn't notice anything. Arima walked away and Zesta quietly followed him.

"…Why are you following me?"

"Don't you listen to what people say? I said I was bored. The most interesting thing here on this world is definitely you," She claimed it as if it was obvious. Additionally, more than following, she was already walking next to Arima.

"I don't think I ever agreed to be your personal entertainment."

"I never asked for your permission."

Arima glanced at her and she returned the look with a smug expression. Then, during the next hour, Arima continued building his collection of candies and desserts.

Recently, he had been working on time magic and even if he couldn't manipulate it very well, he still could freeze time inside his storage.

"By the way, Arima, what are your affinities? If I'm not wrong, Life Hunters can also steal that from the life force of their victims, right?" Zesta suddenly asked as she was watching him scrutinizing the free samples.

Arima frowned and his eyes drifted toward her. "(This woman is too familiar,)" He thought and answered afterward, "I don't know. It's been a while since I last checked."

"Then why don't you try it right now?"

Arima sighed and performed the test. The eight spheres appeared above his hand. As always, the lightning and darkness were going wild. Furthermore, the fire had evolved to be the same even without having to resonate with Night. Every other affinity skyrocketed as well thanks to the Lilin people, the undead, Koden, and all of those who died from Arima's 'Flower Chain'.

"Wow…" Even Zesta was visibly impressed, "You actually possess an Elemental Emperor Constitution."

Arima never heard of this term, "What is that?"

"In Heaven, the level of affinity you have with lightning, darkness, and fire is called Absolute Dominance. People with one element under Absolute Dominance are said to have an Elemental Ruler Constitution. Those with two are called Elemental Kings and those with three are called Elemental Emperors," Zesta explained, "Moreover, you also possess another rare constitution. You have what we call the Dark Emperor Constitution."

"Does that have something to do with my darkness affinity?"

"Correct. Those who possess Absolute Dominance over Light or Darkness are called Light and Dark Emperor respectively. The most notable feature of that peculiarity is the change in color and the boost of the other elements you use."

"I see. Then can I get Absolute Dominance over all elements if I continue to use Life Hunt?"

Zesta blinked and laughed, "No way. It's impossible. Even for Life Hunters, these sorts of constitutions are decided at birth. You can't get it with Life Hunt. At best, your affinities will stagnate at the peak, but will never step into the Dominance level."

"But my fire affinity wasn't at this level when I came to this world."

Zesta was still half laughing when she heard him, "Mh…wait, what? What did you just say?"

Arima made the spheres disappear and repeated himself, "I said that my fire affinity improved to this stage after using Life Hunt."

Zesta now finally started to look at Arima as if he was a monster. Even a goddess couldn't escape that apparently.

"…Are you a kind of unique type of Life Hunter?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Arima retorted and resumed his stroll.

Zesta observed him agape, "…Lucky you Azes. You found the perfect monster you needed," She mumbled and quickly followed behind Arima.

*************************************

An hour later, Arima booked an Inn and told Night to come back. When he arrived along with Lanya at the building's bar, they instantly noticed there was someone accompanying Arima at his table. Night was perplexed and Lanya was stunned because of Zesta's beauty.

"Who is she?"

Arima sipped his cup, "Just think of her as a pet."

"Eh?" Lanya was flustered and failed to comprehend his words.

Zesta was unfazed by Arima's attitude and stood up, "My name is Zesta…" She grinned cunningly as if she had found something amusing, "I'm Zesta Blade."

Arima crushed the cup which was in his hand and the water evaporated instead of spilling. A dreadful atmosphere rapidly filled the Inn's bar and the other clients shivered.

"Do not say that ever again," Arima warned with an extremely cold voice that even made Night shudder.

Zesta was taken off guard as well. She just wanted to tease him a little but apparently, Arima's family name was quite significant for him.

"My bad… I'm sorry," Zesta apologized with a wry smile. She knew how to admit when it's her fault.

Arima clicked his tongue and waved his hand. The cup restored itself and the vapor condensed into water before filling the cup again.

Zesta forced a cough, "Sorry about that. Once again, I'm Zesta Lilis. Lilis is actually my first name. You can address me with that if you wish so." She smiled to Night and Lanya, "The same applies to you," She said to Arima but only received silence.

"…Arima named me Night Bahamut," Night surprisingly responded.

"Hum… my name is Lanya Leana," Lanya also introduced herself hesitatingly.

Lilis giggled, "Nice to meet you. I will be joining your charming group so let's get along."

Night furrowed, "{Hey, what is that?}" He telepathically inquired to Arima. He didn't say 'who' but 'what'. That represented his first impression of Lilis.

"{A Heavenly Goddess.}"

Night's eyes narrowed, "{Seriously? I was wondering why you were so tense. Now it makes sense.}"

"{I don't think she has any ill intents toward us. But it's a habit of mine to observe and judge the people who try to get close to me. Don't mind her. Leave it to me.}"

Night nodded, "{I get it.}"

Lilis had noticed those two were discussing. But even if she was a goddess, she couldn't interrupt a telepathic link between a soul beast and its creator. Especially when she was faced with a soul as big as Arima's.

So, she decided to get along with Lanya instead while the dragon in a wolf form and the 'monster' with a human appearance were talking. They unexpectedly got along pretty well and laughed together from time to time.

"{Hey, isn't that a bad thing?}"

Arima eyed Lanya and Lilis when Night said that but didn't answer him. "Lilis," Instead, he called the goddess.

"Mh?" She smiled, "What is it?"

"Right now, how strong are you?"

Lilis hummed and put her hand on her chin, "Around the tenth level. It's already a great achievement for it to be so low, you know?"

"Low?" Lanya was completely confused on the side.

"I see… I suppose it's reasonable."

Lilis turned toward Lanya again when she realized Arima didn't have anything else to say, "Lanya, where are you three planning to go next?"

"The city of the spirits," Lanya replied, "I've got an acquaintance there."

"What about you Arima? What are you planning to do on this continent?" Lilis took the chance to ask him.

"I plan to sleep," Arima declared and headed to his room to rest.

"What? Wait…"

"Sleep well," Night followed Arima while saying that.

"Hm, then I shall go too. Good night, Lilis." Lanya imitated those two and Lilis was left alone in the bar.

"…Where do I sleep?" She muttered. She didn't have any money on her that worked in the human world. Her expression twitched and she unconsciously peeped at Lanya's back with a cunning smile.