Hunt Race

Night had already fallen by the time the guild walls appeared.

The familiar stone walls had never looked so welcoming.

Neither Kael nor Leon said a word.

They simply kept walking.

Each step was slower than the last.

Blood stained the dirt road behind them.

Leon's grip tightened around his spear.

Overdrive had long since faded.

Every muscle in his body screamed in protest.

Kael wasn't in much better condition.

The wound across his side had stopped bleeding heavily, but every movement sent a sharp pain through his body.

The silence between them wasn't awkward.

They simply had nothing left to say.

The guards spotted them from the watchtower.

One immediately climbed down.

The other pushed the gates open before they even arrived.

"...Leon?"

His eyes widened.

"What happened to you two?"

Leon walked past him.

"Later."

The guard didn't ask another question.

The condition they were in spoke loudly enough.

The moment they entered the guild...

The courtyard gradually fell silent.

Hunters looked up from their meals.

Others stopped sharpening their weapons.

Even the reception desk became unusually quiet.

Every pair of eyes followed the two bloodied hunters.

"Leon's back..."

"...Who's the kid with him?"

"Both of them are covered in blood."

"Weren't they hunting Bronze Shadow Wolves?"

"Where are the corpses?"

"Don't tell me the mission failed..."

The whispers spread through the courtyard.

Leon ignored every stare.

Kael kept his eyes forward.

The two continued walking.

Halfway across the courtyard...

Leon's steps faltered.

His vision blurred.

His spear slammed into the ground to keep him upright.

Bang.

The sound echoed across the courtyard.

Several hunters immediately rushed over.

"Leon!"

He raised a hand.

"...Don't."

They stopped in their tracks.

Leon forced himself upright again.

His pride refused to let anyone carry him.

Kael glanced at him.

"You'll fall."

Leon let out a weak chuckle.

"Probably."

"But not here."

He pulled the spear free from the ground.

Step.

Another step.

Then another.

The entire courtyard watched in silence as the two hunters disappeared into the guild building.

Only after the doors closed behind them did the whispers begin again.

"What in the world happened out there?"

"...I've never seen Leon return looking like that."

"And they came back empty-handed..."

The guild had seen hunters return injured before.

It had seen failed missions.

But whatever had happened in the depths of the forest...

Everyone knew it had been far beyond an ordinary Bronze hunt.

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