CHAPTER 22 - THE HUNTER IN THE RAIN
The forest felt wrong.
Even the wind seemed to hold its breath as Viara kept glancing behind him, voice trembling. "Shit...
did he mark me? Looks like I'll meet him soon."
"Not soon," I said quietly. "In five or six seconds. He's already coming."
Viara froze. "How do you know that?"
"I can feel something dangerous approaching from our side."
He stared at me like I'd just grown horns. "What the hell, human? You can sense enemies from far
away?"
I didn't answer. Because I didn't know either.
Ever since training in the cold forest, something inside me had begun to wake up. A strange instinct.
I could feel lies. Truth. Whether someone deserved death. Whether someone was dangerous.
Back on the beach, those punks... I felt they deserved what happened. But the tiger? It was just
hungry. And Viara - helping him felt right, like something inside me pushed me to do it.
Whatever this sense was, it was getting stronger.
"Anyway," I said, shaking off the thought. "We're heading into a dangerous fight. Got any artifacts Ican use as gauntlets?"
Viara blinked, still confused. "You know you don't have to help me fight that creepy guy. But... I do
have something."
He reached into his storage ring and pulled out two cloth belts. "Wrap these around your hands.
B-grade artifact."
I held them. They felt alive. A thousand times better than my cheap gauntlets.
"Thanks," I said. "Get ready."
Viara still didn't believe me. He didn't believe in my ability. He didn't believe I could fight.
Then the sky cracked open. Rain poured down in sheets. Thunder rolled across the forest like a
beast waking up.
And through the trees... a figure appeared.
A man in black. Walking slowly. Rain tried to wash the blood from his clothes, but it couldn't. His
eyes were dead - like a fish left too long in the sun.
A chill crawled up my spine. Not excitement. Not fear. Just pure danger.
"Well, well, well," the man said, voice dripping with mockery. "I came here tracking a rat who dared
ambush me from behind. But instead of one rat... I found two. Good. Good."
Viara swallowed hard. "He... he really came. Guess I have to fight him after all."
I stepped forward, lifting my chin like some cheap hero in a movie. "Bring it on. I want to see the rat
hunter's performance."
Truth was, I'd been waiting for this moment. I wanted to defeat him. I wanted to prove something - to
myself, to the world, to fate.
Viara stared at me. "You're a weird human. You gave me an elixir for free, and now you want to fight
with me. But you should run. I don't think you're even Adept rank."
"I'm Adept II," I said.
His eyes widened. "Another hidden gem..."
We stepped forward together - two unlikely heroes walking toward a demon in the rain.
The storm raged. The hunter smiled. And the fight began.
THE FIGHT
Lancer tilted his head, eyes twitching with excitement. "Two rats challenging a tiger... this will be fun.
I'll enjoy killing you slowly."
He moved first. No warning. No stance. Just a blur of black.
His blade swept horizontally toward my ribs - fast, clean, precise.
I leaned back instinctively, the edge passing inches from my skin. Before he could recover, I twisted
my hips and snapped a crescent kick toward his lower abdomen.
My heel connected with a solid thud, sending a shock up my leg.
Lancer slid back a step, smiling. "That's unexpected... from a rat."
He wasn't mocking. He was delighted.
Viara didn't waste the opening. He lunged forward, spear thrusting straight toward the same spot I'd
kicked.
The strike landed cleanly, forcing Lancer back another step.
"Yo-"
I didn't let him finish.
I activated Sovereign War Art: First Form. My fists blurred as I unleashed a rapid five-strike combo,
each punch driving him further off balance.
Viara leapt into the air, his staff extending mid-flight. He brought it down in a heavy downward strike
aimed at Lancer's head.
The impact echoed through the forest.
For a moment, everything went still.
Then Lancer slowly lifted his head. His smile was gone. His eyes twitched. His voice cracked.
"You... motherfuckers. I wasn't planning to kill you for real. But I changed my mind."
He reached behind him and drew a rusted sword. The moment mana touched it, the blade glowed
faintly. Strange runes shimmered along its surface.
My stomach tightened. That sword. The one that killed me in the original timeline.
Lancer giggled - actually giggled. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Lancer. Not a noble. Not a
royal. Just a hunter. And this sword... this is the Soul-Erasing Blade. Anyone killed by it disappears
forever. Even in this pocket dimension."
Viara's face drained of color. Sweat rolled down his forehead.
Lancer's smile widened. "You two will be the first."
He vanished. A clean horizontal slash came for my left arm.
I didn't hesitate.
For the first time in my life, I activated: Sovereign War Art: Second Form - Heavenly Commander
Armor.
Golden lines traced across my skin, forming the outline of ancient armor. It wasn't solid - more like a
glowing blueprint - but it radiated power.
I tightened every muscle in my body.
The blade struck. Pain flared, but my arm stayed attached. The armor held.
Viara and Lancer both froze, stunned. Even I was shocked. If I'd known this earlier, I would've used
it against the tiger.
Viara regained himself first. "Human! Hold him for a minute! I have a finishing move - if I charge it,
he's dead!"
I nodded. Everything else faded. Only Lancer remained.
I activated my fire affinity. The golden lines of my armor ignited, flames dancing along my limbs.
Lancer's expression twisted. He felt it - my aura shifting.
I dashed forward and drove a punch into his abdomen. This time, he flew back several meters.
I didn't stop.
I activated the First Form again. Flames wrapped around my gauntlets.
Then I used my new technique: Ten Hands to Death.
Eight flaming gauntlets materialized around me, floating like spectral fists.
I charged. All ten fists struck Lancer in rapid succession, the final blow carrying the full force of apeak Adept.
He flew nearly fifty meters, crashing through branches.
I inhaled sharply. Time for the next form.
Sovereign War Art: Third Form - Army-Piercing Valkyrie Arrow.
A golden Valkyrie statue appeared behind me, bow drawn. Flames gathered at the arrow's tip.
I aimed. The statue released.
The fiery arrow streaked across the forest, slamming into Lancer and sending him tumbling again.
Viara's voice cut through the storm. "SPIRAL WIND STRIKE!"
Wind and water spiraled around his spear as he thrust forward. The attack hit Lancer squarely,
knocking the breath from him.
His body went limp. He collapsed, unconscious.
The rain washed over us. Thunder rolled again. And for the first time, the forest breathed.