THE HUNTED HUNTER

CHAPTER 10: THE BROKEN HUNTER

The gut-wrenching stench of charred corpses drifted through the night air. A dying werewolf, its innards spilling over its sliced belly, groaned at Kael's feet. Hissing, Kael stabbed him in the face, his blade sinking deep into his skull, quieting him.

“Tech Knight?" Kael muttered as he bent down, wiping his bloody blade on the werewolf's carcass. "The order told me ‘bout a human wielding cursed tech and working with the resistance. That was you?"

He let out a soft groan as he stood up, whirling the god-blade around as he took a good look at Mira. He c****d a brow as he tilted his head to the side, his gaze traveling down her neck. With one swift sweep, he placed the sharp blade under her chin, lifting her face up. Mira didn't move and instead grinned at the hunter.

“Those disgusting blue veins tracing down to your chest," Kael said coldly. "Your body is rejecting the magic. Using your machine is killing you.”

Mira chuckled, flicking the blade from her chin. "I never knew the hunter to be someone who cares.”

Kael paused for some seconds, his gaze never faltering. "I never said I did.”

Mira clenched her teeth, the sarcastic smirk on her face fading into a cold frown. Her gaze shifted down to Kael's mangled right arm. He was healing slowly but his shattered bones still hung by little pieces of flesh.

“The infamous Hunter…” she said quietly, her voice laced with curiosity more than mockery. “...doesn’t seem to be healing like he’s meant to.”

Kael looked down at his arms and hissed as he pulled it closer to him. He should have fully healed by now.

Mira’s eyes narrowed as they tracked the black vein throbbing up his forearm, pulsing like something alive. She raised a finger and pointed. “And that. You’ve seem to have something wilding out inside you, Draven. Something worse than poison.”

Kael’s hand shook as he stared down at the bulging green veins throbbing with a sickly pulse. “Maltheon's poison," he whispered as he slipped his hand into his cloak. “Still in my bloodstream. That's all."

Varrick, who had been sitting by the stump of one of the trees cut down in their fight, looked up at Kael before grunting. “The poison," he pointed towards Kael's hidden hand, “is that what held you back in the fight?"

Kael didn't respond at first–not because Varrick’s question lacked an answer, but because it had one. And he couldn't bring himself to say it. That he was scared? The hunter, losing not to the fight, but to fear.

“Yes," Kael answered curtly before turning away from the two. "I appreciate your help, Varrick, but I have a place to go and someone to kill." His hands gripped the helm on his sword as a burning sensation surged through his veins. “I'm…going to…”

Kael fell to the ground, sweat and blood pouring down his face as the burn in his veins grew. Someone called his name. Hands grabbed and pulled him, but it all felt… foggy.

The world suddenly began to spin as a wave of heat suddenly shot up through his skull.A scream tore out—and only then did Kael realize it was his own. The god-blade hummed in its scabbard. His eyes turned white.

And then–

He saw him.

A monstrous demon beast, cloaked in heavy, bloodied fur looked before him. Its bloodshot eyes burned with rage and its fangs and talons were sharper than forged steel. The monstrosity tore everyone that dared come towards it, slicing them in half and painting the grass underneath him crimson.

Mira laid beneath the beast, split in half and her arcane suit reduced to a tangle of sparking wires. Varrick was unrecognizable–lumps of twisted flesh where his features had once been. Elves, werewolves, vampires and countless others lay in pieces beneath the beast's feet as it roared, drowning the world in red.

It was the end of everything… the purge.

The vision suddenly snapped away and Kael found himself on the blood-soaked dirt, gasping for air. He turned to see Varrick kneeling by his side, a concerned expression on his face.

“Kael!" Eldrin called as he clutched the hunter by his shoulder, trying to steady him. “What's wrong? You blacked out for a second there."

Kael ran his hands through his hair as he slowly sat up. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to calm his pounding head but the stench of rot and death around him did nothing to help.

He had just had a vision–one that spelled doom. But… he couldn't remember any of it. He tried as hard as he could to recall but it only worsened his head ache. Giving up, he gave Varrick the only possible reply he could find.

“The poison," he muttered as he struggled to stand up, only to strip on a bloody arm. “Ugh. It's… killing me from the inside.”

“We need to get you somewhere safe," Mira said from behind them as she tapped her ear. Her mask hissed back into place as she began walking toward the two. “We'll take care of the poison but I'm sensing there are more hunters coming for–”

A low howl suddenly split the night air, rising from the treeline and resonating through the forest. Another followed, then another–each drawing closer by the second. There seemed to be dozens of them.

“The Order likes you a lot, it seems," Mira muttered, her visor glowing red as she scanned the treeline. “If we don't move outta here right now, I'm not sure you'd get your chance for revenge."

She rushed toward Kael, kneeling at his other side and slipping her hands around his waist. The hunter staggered, half conscious, as he struggled to stand, but the moment he realized what was happening, he shoved Varrick and Mira off with surprising force.

“Get… the f**k away from me,” he snarled weakly as he stumbled backwards, pressing his veined arm against his side. More poison was pumping into his system.

Mira grunted, shaking her head as she watched him walk away before turning to Varrick. “The bastard won't even make it ten steps.”

Varrick gave her a look that meant to say shut up before attempting to help Kael again. But before he could get close, Kael stumbled backwards, shaking his head.

“I'll manage–”

“Alright, that's enough," Mira mumbled flatly. He raised her right hand and a side compartment hissed as it slid open. Before Kael could move, a small dart shot out of it before lodging into his neck.

Kael grabbed the dart and quickly pulled it out, but it was already too late. “What… what the f**k did you—” His words slurred and his knees buckled as his vision began to fade. Varrick caught him just in time, trying his best to hold him up as he slowly lost consciousness.

“What in the Hades was that, Mira?" Varrick shouted, his brow furrowing.

Mira just shrugged, her mask glinting in the moonlight. “He was squirming too much. Now he’s easier to carry.”

“You–”

“If you want him alive, stop asking questions and start moving.”

Eldrin grunted, clearly displeased but unwilling to argue with her logic. He leaned down, sliding Kael’s arm over his shoulder. Mira joined him without a word, taking the other side, and together they began to drag the unconscious hunter out of the blood-soaked clearing.

The howls in the distance were growing louder, closing in fast.