Novel Full 156 The Head Hunter
For the fragile mind of Sol, all of the fight was drained from him when faced against such mountainous dread and brutality.
“Human head…so rare; like a diamond. Sweet as nectar, skin as smooth as snow; nothing like it in Hell,” The Head Hunter spoke low.
The Artificial Devil talked to him while trimming the low-hanging flesh from Klaus’ disembodied head, clearing the neck before adding it to his various bone-made jewelry that presented many heads.
There was something distinctly different between this Artificial Demon, and the one he was originally faced with; The Head Hunter was far more past the threshold of “demon” than Dae-Mon, holding little features of a humanoid.
He was frozen by the gargantuan presence of The Head Hunter, who dwarfed his size by several times, looming over him with a dreadful shadow.
Diamond…? Nectar…? What is this guy talking about? He thought.
“I’ll be taking it,” The Head Hunter said.
Rather than reacting to the ludicrous speed attached to the Artificial Devil of such a large, bulky frame, he felt the crimson liquid ripple around him.
The Head Hunter had disappeared from in front of his eyes, appearing behind him while rearing back the massive, multi-meter long, blood-stained cleaver he wielded that surpassed the young man in both length and width.
“I’m yer’ opponent, jackass–!”
Huh? He thought, hearing a different, but familiar voice now.
Clang.
He turned around, unable to react to the mountainous cleaver that had been swung towards his neck, only saved by the two, much smaller swords that intercepted its path towards his flesh.
“Yeong-Un…?!” He let out in surprise..
The man with spiky blue hair and a mesh shirt that did nothing to hide his scarred, toned body was standing between him and The Head Hunter, covered in various lacerations.
“I thought you were washed away by the swamp…what a great day; two human heads–so wonderful,” The Head Hunter said.
The massive, blood-stained cleaver was swung back before being launched forward towards both of the young men.
With how swift and devastating it was, slicing through the crimson waters like a wave of death, he was frozen in fear, watching it grow closer.
“Move it–!”
He was grabbed by the collar as Yeong-Un pulled him out of the way from the cleaver’s path, taking them both into a fall of the Blood Swamp to duck beneath the head-slicing weapon.
“…Close,” Yeong-Un mumbled, getting back up immediately before looking down at him, “Are ya’ gonna get up n’ fight, or what?!”
“–” He blinked a few times before picking himself up, now drenched in the crimson fluid as he held his silver spear, “…Yeah, I think so.”
“Ya’ think so?! Gimme a more solid answer!” Yeong-Un confronted him.
–There was no such time for things as The Head Hunter was already, once again, aiming to slice their heads from their shoulders as the two had to duck beneath the cleaver again that passed overhead like a chopper blade.
“Damn, this guy is annoyin’!” Yeong-Un gritted his teeth.
“Hey, Jeong-Hui isn’t with you…?” He finally asked.
Yeong-Un grabbed him by the collar of his brown coat again, forcing him to move to the side with him to avoid a slam of the massive cleaver, responding while on the move, “–Save the talkin’ for after we’re not dead! And no, Jeong-Hui didn’t even come down here, I think!”
“…He didn’t? Wait…you mean he’s all alone against that creep?!” He finally realized, coming to.
“That’s exactly what I mean!” Yeong-Un answered.
While in the midst of their hectic conversation, the dual spellblade reinforced his blades with a defensive enchantment, blocking one of the cleaver strikes as he gritted his teeth.
“–That’s why…we’ve gotta hurry!” Yeong-Un said through his clenched teeth while sparks spewed from the clash of steel.
It was easier said than done, as even with his respectable strength, Yeong-Un was blown back by the power wielded by the Artificial Demon who flung him across the bloody waters.
“…Struggle…vain…Wasteful,” The Head Hunter bellowed.
Yeong-Un bounced against the water, falling into the crimson liquid as he coughed out, picking himself up right away.
“Yeong-Un!” Sol yelled out.
“Huh?! Worry about yer–”
Before the sharp-toothed man could even get his words out, that shining, abhorrent cleaver filled his view again.
It was an unparalleled amount of aggression and violence that exuded from that cleaver; as it swept towards his neck, he could feel it then:
This thing has killed a helluva lot of people. It’s a weapon of killin’…no doubts about that, he thought.
Yeong-Un only barely managed to lean back, bending backward as he evaded the blade’s attempted reach for his neck.
Even after dodging through his unorthodox movement, he was forced to cartwheel back as the Head Hunter displayed unexpected dexterity–rearing his cleaver back again after missing and slamming it down towards him.
He huffed, catching his breath as his body was already in a bad state, “…Shit! A little help, Sol!”
Sol was left stunned, snapped back into focus from the call of his companion as he nodded and gulped, “Right…!”
While Yeong-Un was evading and attempting to counter the Artificial Devil with swift flurries of his blades, only to be defended against by the dexterous giant, he rushed in with his spear held in front of him.
“Raaaagh–!”
He sprinted forward, screaming his warcry that more so resembled a terrified yell, enchanting his spear with a lightning essence:
“Cast: Lightning Rod—!!!”
As Sol closed his eyes and buried his fear, he tossed his spear towards the back of the head-wearing, grotesque enemy.
Leaving his fingertips, the silver spear spun around, empowered by the torque of the spiraling, azure lightning that coiled around its lengthy shape before it boomed forth.
Go…! He urged his own weapon.
Though his stomach dropped as with swift, inhuman reflexes, the giant Head Hunter spun around, blocking the lightning-infused spear with its massive cleaver.
“No…!” He let out in disbelief.
Now it felt truly helpless to him; it was simply an unfair reality that laid before his eyes as the monstrous giant surpassed not only their raw strength, but possessed even superior agility.
…What do we do…? If we fall here…it’s all over for Jeong-Hui, too! He thought.
But his thoughts were only just that–thoughts.
They were not reality, and they certainly were not the truth that one such companion of his would accept.
“That’s plenty, Sol–!!!”
From behind the Head Hunter, who had to focus his attention to the erratic, lightning-propelled spear, Yeong-Un leapt up, holding both of his blades that were engulfed in azure flames that spewed out a destructive heat.
“Yeong-Un…!”
Just from the brief encounters with the Head Hunter, having to suffer the blunt effects of blocking its powerful blows, Yeong-Un’s body was imprinted with bruises, but the bloodied young man still grinned, holding his flaming blades with unmatched resolve.
“–I’ll show ya’ what it means to challenge Gangcheori, hellspawn! This is my Burning Dragon, Burning Tiger, Flaming Triumph–!!!”
Before the Head Hunter could fully turn around after repelling the spear, the dual-wielded blades of roaring, blue flames of pure mysticism were slashed forward, unleashing an azure explosion that completely enveloped the Artificial Devil.
The volatile force alone blew Yeong-Un back, whose entire coat had been burned away to tatters as he was left with only his fishnet-like mesh shirt.
“Woah, there–!”
Sol caught his spear as it returned to his hand swiftly, having to catch his own balance as the residual wind knocked up harshly by his companion’s attack nearly caused him to tumble over.
The result of the massive explosion of blue flames caused Yeong-Un to flip over through the air, landing on his feet beside Sol as he stumbled a bit to properly settle his balance.
“…Hah! I did it!” Yeong-Un grinned.
“–“
“I mean, err…I guess we did it! Ha-ha!” Yeong-Un corrected himself, slapping his companion on the shoulder.
Sol winced playfully as the playful slap was still enough to hurt his exhausted body, but he smiled, looking forward at the azure smoke that lingered from the massive explosion.
“…Do you…think that really did the job?” Sol asked nervously.
“If it didn’t, well, we’re screw–”
Before he could get the words out, as if already jinxing himself, Yeong-Un’s eyes went wide as he immediately pushed his companion to the side, stepping in front of him with focused eyes.
“Yeong-Un–?!” Sol looked up.
CLANG.
It had happened so fast that Sol had trouble even perceiving what happened; from the azure cloud of smoke, the Artificial Devil had dashed forward with incredible speed, aiming to once again, sever their heads, but not before Yeong-Un managed to block the incoming cleaver.
“Ghhh…! Damn, yer’ tenacious…!”
The Head Hunter pressed the cleaver against the two swords wielded by the spiky-haired adolescent, which in comparison, were like toothpicks against a knife.
“Head…I will take your heads…” The Head Hunter breathed his words out as an augury of his brutal intentions.
“The hell if ya’ are!”
Yeong-Un pushed forward, yelling out as he contested the goliath’s strength with his own. While witnessing the clash of power, the hazel-haired young man clutched his spear and watched nervously, still distraught by the entire situation.
What am I doing…? Why aren’t I moving? Yeong-Un is fighting with all he’s got…He’s in worse shape than me–! So, what am I doing?! What am I so scared of?! Sol thought.