The God Hunted by the Heaven

The Hunt Begins

Chapter 8: The Hunt Begins

The shadow roared out of the forest darkness, halting Leo's steps right in the middle of the dusty path. It was a Shadowfang Bear, a monster that should only roam the deepest, darkest heart of the forest. Its black fur stood on end, its red eyes glowed with an unnatural madness, and toxic drool dripped from its gaping maw. But what made Leo's blood run cold wasn't its appearance.

It was the trace. The cold, foreign spiritual energy aura, identical to the one he had felt on his doorknob the night before. It enveloped the bear like a poisonous mist, driving it into a wild frenzy.

They weren't just watching. They were attacking.

There was no time to panic. His old godly instincts surged. Leo sidestepped just as the bear's massive paw slammed into the ground where he had been standing, leaving a deep crater.

"How dare they!" Leo snarled, his eyes blazing. His body still ached, his power was still wild, but he had no choice.

He stretched out his hand, forcing his new, unstable power to obey. A short sword, crimson in color, trembling and imperfect, formed from vapor emanating from his palm. It was far from an impressive weapon, but it was the best he could do.

The bear roared and charged again. Leo swung his blood sword, blocking the attack. Clang! The blood sword nearly shattered, the vibration painfully jarring his arm. He was thrown back, tumbling on the ground.

Too weak! he thought desperately. He couldn't fight head-on.

Thanks to his new senses, he could feel the unnatural flow of blood within the bear's body. The foreign energy was like a parasite, controlling the monster from within.

Focus on the source, whispered an ancient voice in his head, the voice of his Blood Dominion itself.

As the bear reared up to charge again, Leo didn't try to dodge. He stood his ground, reaching out his left hand as if grasping something invisible. He concentrated all his will, sensing the contaminated blood within the monster's body.

"Hemokinesis: Purge!" he shouted, his voice filled with unexpected authority.

He didn't try to control the bear's blood—that was too risky. Instead, he tore at the source of its energy. He felt resistance from the cold, foreign energy, like pulling out a deep root.

The bear howled in pain, staggering back. A flash of blackish energy was ripped from its body and dissipated into the air. The madness in its eyes faded, replaced by confusion and fear. Seeing Leo, the now-lucid monster finally turned and fled back into the forest.

Leo collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. It had drained him. But he had no time to recover. From behind the trees, slow, sarcastic clapping sounded.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

A man in plain black robes stepped out of the shadows. His face was ordinary, forgettable, but his eyes... his eyes were like ice, empty and sharp. A deadly, cold aura radiated from him.

"Impressive," the man said, his voice flat and emotionless. "Not only surviving, but severing my connection to the beast. Who would have thought anyone in this lower world could do that."

Leo stood shakily, his cracked blood sword ready again. "Who are you? A messenger from the Gods?"

The man smiled thinly, a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "You can call me the Hunter. And you are long-overdue prey, Alastair."

Hearing his old name spoken, Leo's heart stopped for a beat. They truly knew.

"Don't look so surprised," the Hunter said. "Alastair, the Godslayer. Your blood is an affront to the new throne. Your ancient blood aura is like a beacon in the dark night to those of us who know how to look. I am sent to bring you back—alive or dead."

He raised his hand, and a strange weapon made of dark energy formed in his grasp. The pressure it emitted was far more terrifying than the Shadowfang Bear's.

Leo knew he couldn't win. His power was still chaotic, and this Hunter was clearly an expert sent specifically to capture him. His only chance was escape.

He glanced towards the forest behind him, then back at the Hunter. With a shout, he threw his cracked blood sword at the man—not to injure, but as a distraction. He then turned and bolted into the forest, using every ounce of his strength to accelerate.

"Run all you want, Fallen God!" the Hunter shouted from behind, his voice full of mockery. "It will only make the hunt more interesting!"

Leo ran aimlessly, panic beginning to set in. Suddenly, his foot stepped into empty air. He tumbled down a dark, hidden chasm. He fell, tumbling, and as he looked up, he saw the Hunter's figure standing at the chasm's edge, watching him coldly.

"Find me if you can, Hunter!" Leo yelled, his voice echoing in the darkness.

But the only response was a chilling laugh. "I don't need to find you, Alastair. This place is the Abyssal Chasm. No one has ever emerged from it alive. Enjoy your short remaining time in this earthly hell."

Darkness completely enveloped Leo, leaving him alone with his wounds, his unstable power, and deepening despair. Was this the end of his journey, trapped in a dark chasm of death?

---

The darkness of the Abyssal Chasm enveloped Leo like a heavy, wet blanket. He fell freely for a few seconds that felt like an eternity before landing hard on a pile of rotten leaves and damp soil. The wind was knocked out of him, and the pain from the fight and the fall hit him all at once. But he was alive.

From above, he could still hear the Hunter's fading taunts. "Enjoy the darkness, Fallen God!"

But Leo had no intention of enjoying anything. His millennia-honed survival instincts kicked in immediately. He felt his surroundings. The chasm was deep, cold, and filled with a corrosive aura of negative energy. He couldn't stay here.

With his remaining strength, he forced his aching body to move. His blood, still churning from the pill and the fight, gave him heightened sensitivity. He could "feel" fissures in the chasm wall, a path he could climb.

It was an exhausting struggle. Every inch was a battle against pain, despair, and the chasm's corrosive energy. Hours passed before his bleeding fingers finally grasped the ledge, and he hauled his bruised body back into the upper world.

He did not return to the Skysword Sect. That was no longer an option. The only place that even vaguely resembled "home" was The Verdant Dawn Sect. Whether they were looking for him or not, it was the only foothold he had.

The journey back was exhausting. He traveled while hiding his aura as best he could, avoiding contact with anyone. When the simple gates of Verdant Dawn finally came into view, a mix of emotions flooded him—relief, shame, and deep anxiety.

As Leo's unsteady feet crossed the sect's gate, something strange happened.

A junior disciple sweeping the courtyard suddenly stopped and shivered. Then another. A senior practicing with a sword suddenly lost his balance, his eyes darting towards Leo with irrational fear. The sect's warm atmosphere suddenly turned cold and gloomy. Everyone, unconsciously, felt the wisp of negative energy clinging to Leo like an invisible mist—the remnants of the Abyssal Chasm and his encounter with the Hunter. It was an aura of death, despair, and something very ancient and dangerous.

They didn't know what it was. They only knew that Leo the Trash who had returned felt... very different. And very frightening.

The commotion drew Elder Caspian's attention. He emerged from the main hall, his face initially creased with annoyance at the disturbance.

But when his eyes fell upon Leo standing unsteadily in the middle of the courtyard, isolated by the unconscious fear he radiated, Elder Caspian's expression shifted to one of deep astonishment.

"Leo?" Elder Caspian murmured, disbelieving. "You... you're alive?"

At that moment, a group of disciples—the same members of the herbal gathering team who had abandoned Leo in the Darkmist Forest—hurriedly passed through the gate. Their condition was pitiful: uniforms torn, faces pale, some being carried on stretchers with wounds still bandaged. They were living proof of how dangerous that forest was.

Seeing Leo standing there, dirty and wounded but clearly alive and standing, they were all stunned.

"Impossible..." Rylan, the senior who had been the most vocal in mocking Leo, hissed. "We barely made it out of there alive! How could you...?"

They all remembered. They remembered how they had deliberately left Leo alone in the monster-infested forest, hoping he wouldn't return. And now, the person they considered trash stood before them, having survived an ordeal that had left them, the talented disciples, battered and bruised.

Elder Caspian saw the stark comparison: his talented disciples returning wounded, while Leo, the Trash they had left behind, returned safely. Something very unusual had happened.

He approached Leo, his eyes narrowing, examining not just the physical condition, but the grim, unconscious aura shrouding this young man.

"Leo," Elder Caspian said, his voice low and meaningful, different from his previous dismissive attitude. "It seems... your journey was more perilous than we thought. And it also seems... we have underestimated you."

He wasn't asking. He was stating. Everyone present heard it. And for the first time, they looked at Leo not with mockery, but with fear, wonder, and a burning question.

Before Leo could respond, a gate guard disciple ran in, his face pale with terror.

"Elder! Elder Caspian!" he shouted. "There's... there's a stranger at the gate! He says... he says he's looking for a 'lost person'! And... and his aura is terrifying!"

Leo's heart froze. He didn't need to ask. He knew.

The Hunter had found him.

---