Hunt Race

The creature slowly raised its head.

Dark blood dripped from its mouth onto the stone floor.

Kael remained at the entrance of the chamber, his sword lowered but ready.

The three Hunters hanging above the creature barely moved.

One of them opened his eyes.

"Run..."

The voice was barely audible.

Kael's gaze shifted toward him.

"You're alive."

The Hunter's lips moved again, but no sound came out.

Kael looked back at the creature.

It was unlike any beast he had encountered before.

Its body was lean rather than massive, covered in dark gray fur that seemed almost black beneath the dim light. Long arms hung from its shoulders, each ending in four hooked claws. A pair of short horns curved backward from its forehead, while thin veins of dark red mana pulsed beneath its skin.

But what caught Kael's attention most was its mouth.

Its fangs were stained completely red.

The creature stared at him.

It didn't charge.

It didn't roar.

It simply watched.

Kael narrowed his eyes.

"You've been feeding on their blood."

The creature tilted its head.

Then it smiled.

A low growl escaped its throat.

Kael's grip tightened around his sword.

"You're intelligent."

The creature suddenly vanished.

BOOM!

Kael's sword came up just in time.

CLANG!

A claw slammed against the blade and sent a shock through his arm.

The creature twisted with the impact, bringing its second claw toward Kael's chest.

Kael stepped back and redirected the attack before using Mirage Step.

His body blurred.

He appeared several meters away.

The creature landed on all fours.

Kael stared at it.

"Fast."

The creature's eyes remained fixed on him.

Then its body moved again.

Kael raised his sword.

CLANG!

The first claw collided with his blade.

Another followed immediately.

Kael blocked it, turned his wrist, and stepped around the creature as it tried to follow.

He swung.

The creature ducked.

Kael's blade cut through the air above its head.

The beast twisted and kicked off the ground, creating distance.

Neither attacked.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

It was measuring him.

Just like he was measuring it.

The creature slowly raised one claw.

Dark red mana gathered around its fingers.

Kael's expression changed.

The mana wasn't simply coating the claws.

It was being pulled toward them.

The blood beneath the hanging Hunters began to move.

Thin streams rose from the stone floor and wrapped around the creature's arm.

Kael immediately understood.

"You're using their blood."

The creature smiled.

Then it disappeared.

Kael barely sensed the movement.

He turned.

Too late.

The creature appeared beside him and swung.

Kael blocked, but the impact drove him backward.

His boots scraped across the stone floor.

The creature followed without hesitation.

Another claw.

Kael deflected it.

Another.

He ducked.

The creature's claws tore through the air above his head before Kael stepped inside its reach and drove his shoulder into its chest.

The beast staggered.

Kael immediately swung his sword.

SHING!

The blade cut across its side.

Blood splashed onto the ground.

The creature froze.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

The Mark on his palm pulsed.

A faint connection formed.

Kael felt it immediately.

His expression changed.

The creature felt it too.

It looked at the wound.

Then at Kael's palm.

For the first time, the creature's expression showed something other than amusement.

Fear.

Kael slowly raised his sword.

The black crescent pulsed again.

The creature stepped backward.

Kael took one step forward.

The creature suddenly roared.

The blood surrounding it exploded outward.

BOOM!

Kael raised his arm as the dark-red wave swept across the chamber.

The hanging Hunters screamed as their bodies were thrown against the stone walls.

Kael slid backward.

When the blood mist cleared, the creature stood in the center of the chamber.

Its wounds were closing.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

It wasn't simply drinking blood.

It was using the blood to heal itself.

The creature lowered its body.

Its claws scraped against the stone.

Kael adjusted his grip.

The Mark continued pulsing beneath his skin.

For the first time since entering the eastern forest, Kael smiled.

He had finally found something worth testing.

The creature lunged.

And Kael charged to meet it.

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