(VOL.1) Demon Hunter

WARNING ⚠️🩸: From this chapter onwards, the content of this novel will be very bloody and cruel. Please take note and proceed with caution.

Lux clenched the two thin exit permits; their weight, though slight, felt as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted from her heart, her steps even becoming a bit lighter.

After leaving Boss Pony's territory, she went to a general store at the street corner and bought a half-used handcart.

Although she and her sister didn't have many belongings, considering the journey to the farm later and the household items they might need to add, having a cart would be more convenient.

Lux pushed the creaking handcart, slowly walking towards home.

She looked at the pitted, muddy street beneath her feet, at the pickpockets lurking in the shadows like geckos, waiting for an opportunity, at the bustling crowd on the street rushing about for their livelihood—the hoarse cries of vendors, the haggling voices of customers, the distant sounds of hammering from workshops.

These ordinary people struggling at the bottom formed the truest and cruelest underlying color of this city.

As for those wealthy people and nobles living in the inner city, said to be magnificent and opulent, Lux had almost never seen them; they seemed to live in another world, separated from this filth, as if they had never existed.

Suddenly, a rich milky aroma mixed with a slightly sweet baking scent wafted into her nostrils.

Lux looked up and found that she had unknowingly walked to the entrance of "Milan Cake Shop."

This was a cake shop founded by an old couple, now passed down to their daughter and son-in-law.

Besides selling some traditional local cakes and pastries, they also kept up with trends, introducing many popular cake types from outside the city, and even often creating some novel flavored cakes and desserts, which were very popular with the nearby residents.

Mitty was a loyal patron of this shop.

Whenever it was Mitty's birthday or some other festival worth celebrating, Lux would always bring her here to let her choose her favorite cake.

As for Lux's own birthday… she had little interest in sweets, so that day was usually when Mitty showcased her skills, attempting to cook new dishes—of course, judging by the results, the probability of success and failure was basically fifty-fifty.

"Welcome!" The wind chime at the entrance let out a crisp tinkle, and a young woman with a noticeably pregnant belly looked up and greeted with a smile. "It's Sam, isn't Mitty with you today?"

"She's at home, I came to buy her some cake," Lux replied, her gaze falling on the woman's protruding abdomen. "Madam Lisa, where is your husband?"

"Jamie, oh, he's busy in the kitchen. Ever since I got pregnant with this little one, he won't let me do any work," Lisa said, seemingly complaining, but her tone was filled with unconcealable sweetness and pride.

"Jamie is truly a considerate and good husband. Then… I'll take this apple cream cake, I can pack it myself." Lux pointed to a very tempting-looking cake in the counter.

"You're a good brother too," Lisa said with a smile, handing Lux a clean cloth bag.

Lux carefully packed the cake, paid, and then bid Lisa farewell and left.

After leaving the cake shop, Lux subconsciously turned back to look at this cozy little shop one more time.

She remembered every time she brought Mitty here, when they left, her sister would always look back reluctantly at the busy scene in the shop, her eyes, besides the love for delicious cakes, also secretly hiding a trace of indescribable envy—that was probably a longing for this ordinary, stable, and within-reach happy life.

But, soon. Lux said to herself in her heart.

Soon, they too would have that ordinary, small, yet warm and happy life.

Even if it might be a bit monotonous and boring, Lux believed that by then, Mitty's eyes would no longer show that faint look of sadness—that look… that always made Lux feel a dull ache in her chest.

[The cake can be kept a little longer, we can eat it when we get to the farm… No, Mitty, that little glutton, probably won't be able to resist eating it on the way.] Lux thought idly as she pushed the cart, soon arriving at the entrance of their own bakery.

She put down the handcart, carried the cake, and walked towards the door. "Mitty! Are you done packing?" she called out as she reached out to push open the familiar wooden door.

[Something's wrong] The instant the door was pushed open, a strong, pungent smell of blood mixed with a completely unfamiliar, unsettling aura, like an invisible venomous snake, violently shot into Lux's nostrils.

An icy chill instantly crawled all over Lux's body, as if freezing her very blood.

But years of struggling on the streets allowed her to quickly stabilize herself amidst the extreme horror.

She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and pushed the door open.

"Mitty, look what I brought you? Your favorite apple cake!" Lux said, feigning a relaxed tone, while before entering, she surreptitiously put on the magic necklace she had just confiscated from the thug leader, and at the same time, her right hand tightly gripped the small knife hidden in her sleeve.

However, when she saw the scene inside the room clearly, that feigned calmness was instantly shattered by the cruel reality.

The entire front hall of the bakery was in a mess, tables and chairs overturned, freshly baked bread scattered on the floor, trampled beyond recognition.

Grandma Mabel was back, but at this moment, she was lying on the cold floor, a bowl-sized, still gushing bloody hole in her chest.

Her wrinkled hands tightly gripped a broken broom handle, her eyes wide open, already lifeless, like the discarded bread on the floor, quietly awaiting the arrival of decay.

And Mitty… Mitty was leaning against the corner of the wall, a hideous wound torn at the junction of her neck and shoulder, blood dripping, staining the front of her dress red.

But she was still alive.

She saw Lux, coughed violently, struggled to extend her hand, and with her last ounce of strength, called out intermittently, "Bro… ther… cough cough… Quick… run…"

With a "thud," the carefully packaged cake in her hand slipped and fell to the ground, smashing into a sweet, sticky mess.

"Mitty!!" Lux's eyes were wide with fury, screaming her sister's name heartbrokenly, and she rushed towards Mitty regardless of anything.

However, just as Lux was about to reach Mitty's side, about to grasp her limply hanging hand, an extreme sense of danger, like an ice pick, pierced her spinal cord.

Lux abruptly spun around, her wrist flipping, and the small knife she had been gripping tightly, like a thrown javelin, transformed into a streak of iron-gray lightning, viciously shooting towards her back.

The small knife accurately grazed a blurry black shadow, but only a crisp "ding" was heard, as if it had struck hard metal, and then it was deflected, falling to the ground.

"Yadada, what a sharp little thing. How did you find me?" a voice tinged with mocking laughter sounded.

The originally blurry black shadow writhed like a living creature, then abruptly split open, as if an invisible black giant mouth opened, spitting out its "tongue"—a bizarre human figure.

This was a man with a terrifying appearance.

His face was covered with twisted wrinkles and ugly scars left by burns, but he seemed completely unconcerned, not even bothering to conceal them in the slightest.

He wore a crooked brown beret on his head and a loose black long robe.

The darkness around him seemed to be a part of his body, like folded bat wings, quietly gathering and lurking after he appeared.

Lux didn't answer, her crimson eyes fixed deadly on the opponent, and with a push of her feet, she charged towards the black-robed man again.

A cruel smile curved the corner of the black-robed man's mouth, and a pitch-black ring suddenly appeared beneath his feet.

In an instant, dozens of sharp black thorns shot out from the ring, like spears poised to strike, hurtling towards Lux.

Facing this sudden attack, Lux's body displayed an incredible flexibility, the tips of her hair turning a vivid red, like a blood-red haze. While running at high speed, her body twisted and dodged as if boneless, narrowly avoiding most of the black thorns, with only her shoulder and thigh grazed by a few, leaving several shallow bloody marks.

Just as she was about to make contact with the black-robed man, a furry, heavy glove, like a bear's paw, suddenly appeared out of thin air on Lux's right hand.

She roared, gathering all her strength, and slammed it viciously towards the black-robed man.

"Bang!" An earth-shattering loud noise.

Lux's powerful palm strike was firmly blocked by a shield made of pure darkness that suddenly appeared in front of the black-robed man.

The huge impact spread outwards, causing the already rickety wooden furniture around them to buzz, as if it would fall apart at any moment.

"Oh? Is this your ability? Creating magic items out of thin air?" The black-robed man looked at Lux with interest, and at the strange bear-paw glove on her hand. "But… these items, only you yourself can use them, right? And moreover…"

Before the black-robed man could finish his sentence, the black robe behind him suddenly swelled and instantly unfurled a pair of huge black wings, like those of a bat.

The black wings flapped, stirring up a gust of cold wind, then, like an opening giant mouth, lunged towards Lux, seemingly intending to swallow her whole.

The bear-paw glove on Lux's hand instantly vanished, replaced by a silver ring inlaid with a small cat's head.

Her body immediately became as light and agile as a cat, and with an incredibly swift roll, she narrowly avoided the pounce of the black wings.

"...And, using multiple ones at the same time will cause your magical power to deplete rapidly, right." The black-robed man seemed pleased with himself for accurately seeing through Lux's trick, letting out a low chuckle. "Pardon my rudeness, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Rio Blackwood, you can also call me by my title—'Shadowmancer'. I am a Demon Hunter from this Purple City's Demon Hunting Bureau." The black-robed man, or rather, Rio the Shadowmancer, introduced himself unhurriedly, as if enjoying the process, while observing Lux's expression with great interest.

However, Lux only panted heavily twice before once again assuming a ready-to-attack stance, the hatred in her eyes almost materializing.

[Wildcat Ring: Silver band ring, inlaid with a miniature cat head decoration. Effect: When worn, the body will gain extreme flexibility and agility.]

"What I want to tell you is… I've been truly, very lucky today," Rio the Shadowmancer said slowly, and with a casual wave of his hand, several jet-black whips, like venomous snakes, shot out from his sleeves, lashing towards Lux with sharp whistles.

Lux tried her best to dodge, the red of her pupils emitting a fluorescent glow, but the speed of these black whips was simply too fast, their trajectories extremely cunning.

Merely being grazed by the tip of a whip immediately tore away a bloody patch of flesh.

And the black whips that struck the nearby wooden cabinet directly split it in two.

"Today… I've been super, super, super lucky!" Rio the Shadowmancer began to grind his teeth excitedly, a horrifying "creak-creak" sound emanating from his mouth.

"To think I'd actually… encounter such a delectable 'boy' like you, hee hee hee…" Saliva even began to uncontrollably drip from the corners of the Shadowmancer's mouth. "Did you know? All the clergy in the city today have gone to attend that boring festival. Right now, they should be enjoying fine wine and delicacies, lost in drunken revelry."

"So… we have—a very—long—time, to… 'play' together properly, oh." The Shadowmancer's already hideous face, under the contortion of his smile, became as nauseating as a writhing mass of flesh. "And, you know… what my favorite thing to eat is?"

Lux ignored his insane ramblings; she held her breath, attempting to flank him from the side, switching back to the [Black Bear Paw Glove] to attack.

[Black Bear Paw Glove: A thick, furry glove resembling a bear's paw. Effect: When worn, can unleash powerful palm strikes, enough to shatter boulders.]

However, her intention was seen through again.

Just as she was about to get close, the floor beneath her feet suddenly bulged upwards without any warning, and a thick black earth-spear violently thrust out.

Alarm bells screamed in Lux's mind; she immediately switched back to the [Wildcat Ring], her body performing an incredible backflip in mid-air, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow, with only a few strands of hair cut off by the spear tip, grazing her scalp.

"My favorite thing to eat… is a boy's testicles!" Finally, Rio the Shadowmancer could no longer suppress his perverted desires, roaring out these words. "Especially… after tying you little ones up, while they're still warm… directly gnawing off those two hot, trembling balls from your bodies…"

Before his words had faded, a large mass of black shadow erupted from beneath his feet.

The black shadow, like a black tidal wave at high tide, surged towards Lux.

Wherever it passed, the wooden floorboards shattered inch by inch, and furniture was easily torn into a sky full of flying wood chips.

"This, this is truly my own… exclusive feast!" He laughed maniacally, spreading his arms wide, as if lost in a frenzied illusion, reveling to his heart's content.

Facing this devastating offensive, Lux didn't hesitate; her legs pushed off forcefully, and her entire body shot upwards like a cannonball, directly crashing through the ceiling.

The moment she passed through the ceiling, she switched to the [Black Bear Paw Glove], slammed her hand on the floor above to stabilize herself, and then, without looking back, rushed towards the upper floor.

"Boom—." Immediately after, the black tide also burst through the ceiling, blasting a huge hole in the wall of the second floor as well.

Before Lux could even catch her breath, she watched in horror as the floor beneath her feet began to seep out pitch-black circles.

The circles rapidly expanded, bulged, and in the blink of an eye, transformed into a thick black stone pillar, and Rio the Shadowmancer's figure slowly emerged from the pillar, a cat-and-mouse sneer on his face.

"Keep running, my precious boy." Rio the Shadowmancer slowly, step by step, approached Lux; he seemed to have calmed down a bit from his brief frenzy, regaining some "patience."

"You talk so fucking much!" Lux finally couldn't help but curse. "Has anyone ever told you that your face looks like a pair of balls? You disgusting ball-face!"

"Oh-ho?" Rio the Shadowmancer seemed slightly surprised by Lux's insult, but then his interest grew even stronger. "The more you talk tough like this, the more curious I become… what would your balls taste like?"

As soon as his voice fell, the pitch-black shadow, like living sludge, rapidly climbed up the Shadowmancer's arm.

He suddenly reached out and grabbed forward, and that mass of black mud instantly condensed and transformed, becoming a giant black hand that viciously grabbed towards Lux.

"A tough-talking boy like you, I bet… your balls must be very juicy!" Rio the Shadowmancer roared with laughter.

Lux could only desperately dodge, but the speed of the black hand was too fast, and its range too wide.

She was ultimately grazed by the edge of the black hand, and an immense force instantly erupted, sending her entire body flying, crashing hard against the wall behind her.

"Pfft—" Lux felt as if all her internal organs had been displaced, a sweetness rose in her throat, and a mouthful of blood uncontrollably sprayed out.

She slumped against the wall, feeling as if all the bones in her body were about to fall apart.

"Oh? Stopping already? Don't stop now," Rio the Shadowmancer leisurely walked towards the immobilized Lux.

[No… even with the [Wildcat Ring], my speed and agility can't keep up with him at all… And the power of the [Black Bear Paw Glove] can't break his defense… As for the [Dire Dog Necklace], its effect is only to enhance smell and grow sharp teeth for tearing, unless I can get into close combat, there's no chance at all… And, these are the only three accessories I can generate…] Lux panted heavily, her brain working at lightning speed, trying to find a sliver of hope.

[Mitty… I have to hurry… I must…!]

Under the stimulation of her strong will to survive, the beast-tooth necklace she had confiscated from the thug leader suddenly erupted with a dazzling red light.

A violent power instantly surged into her limbs and bones.

Lux felt her body begin to heat up uncontrollably, turning red, like a burning flame, like boiling blood.

She abruptly sprang up from the ground, running rapidly around the room.

And Rio the Shadowmancer, seeing this, seemed even more excited.

The black shadow behind him suddenly exploded, transforming into dozens of sharp black thorns, like a dense rain of arrows, shooting towards the rapidly moving Lux.

For a moment, black thorns flew everywhere in the room, and wood chips splattered.

The walls, floor, and ceiling were pierced with countless large and small holes, and the bleak moonlight from outside brazenly poured in through these holes, cutting this dark battlefield into fragments.

"Hahaha! Now this is a bit interesting!" Rio the Shadowmancer laughed wildly with excitement, his arms waving like a crazed conductor, controlling the endless black thorns chasing Lux's figure. "Yes! Just like that! Move around more! The more you move, the better your balls will be marinated, and the more delicious they'll taste when eaten!"

Lux's speed became faster and faster, so fast that she was almost just a blurry afterimage.

She even began to use the walls for running and jumping.

In this dazzling, high-speed maneuvering, she finally seized a fleeting opportunity.

Lux violently kicked off the wall, her body clinging to the ceiling like a gecko, and rushed towards the Shadowmancer.

The instant she was about to reach the top of the Shadowmancer's head, her legs pushed off the ceiling forcefully, and her entire body shot downwards like an arrow loosed from its bow.

Her speed was so fast that it even surpassed the limit of what the naked human eye could capture.

"You bastard… shut up for me!" Lux roared, her right hand simultaneously using the [Black Bear Paw Glove] and the [Wildcat Ring], clenched into a fist, and with world-destroying momentum, she slammed it viciously towards the Shadowmancer's face.

Facing this earth-shattering blow, a trace of astonishment flashed in the Shadowmancer's eyes, but his reaction was also extremely fast.

The shadow beneath his feet suddenly protruded upwards, transforming into an incomparably sharp black thorn, and before Lux's fist could land, it accurately pierced her right arm.

With a "squish," Lux's entire right arm was like a piece of roasted meat brutally pierced by a bamboo skewer.

Intense pain shot through her instantly.

But this, this was precisely the opportunity Lux had been waiting for.

The moment her right arm was pierced, the [Black Bear Paw Glove] on Lux's hand suddenly vanished.

She abruptly opened her right palm, and another puff of white powder, already prepared, scattered towards the Shadowmancer's eyes, which were now at close range.

"What?!" The Shadowmancer clearly hadn't expected Lux to have this trick up her sleeve.

The black shadow on his face instantly condensed into a pitch-black mask, blocking most of the powder.

But in that fraction of a second, Lux's left hand had already equipped the [Black Bear Paw Glove], and gathering all her strength, she slammed her palm hard onto the Shadowmancer's chest.

"Bang!" This blow finally landed squarely.

The Shadowmancer flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the distant wall, emitting a dull, loud thud.

But alarm bells screamed in Lux's heart.

That palm strike just now… the feeling of impact was wrong.

It wasn't like hitting a human body; it was more like hitting a hard piece of steel.

In that instant, the Shadowmancer had protected his body with shadows.

This blow, she feared, had not caused any substantial damage.

[I have to escape with Mitty immediately!] Lux made a decisive decision. Her meager magical power was almost depleted now; she could barely even catch her breath. Ignoring the intense pain in her right arm, she jumped straight down through the large hole that had been blasted in the second-floor floor.

"Mitty!" She immediately spotted her sister curled up in the corner.

Mitty was still breathing faintly, her eyelids so heavy they seemed about to close at any moment, but upon seeing Lux appear, she still struggled to open her eyes wide, looking at her "brother."

Lux immediately rushed forward, preparing to pick up Mitty and escape through the kitchen's back door.

If they could just escape into the intricate, dark alleys outside, perhaps… perhaps there was still a sliver of hope.

However, just as her fingertips were about to touch Mitty's body, several pitch-black spears, like venomous snakes, silently shot out from the shadow beneath her feet, instantly piercing through her thighs.

Blood gushed out like a fountain.

Intense pain and despair, like an icy tide, instantly overwhelmed her.

Lux could no longer support her body and, with a "thump," knelt on the ground, only able to brace herself with her arms to keep from collapsing completely.

Her thighs… had almost lost all feeling.

"Keep running," Rio the Shadowmancer's voice was like a whisper from hell as he slowly walked down from the staircase.

He was slightly covered in dust, his black robe somewhat torn, and there was even a fine bloody scratch on his face, but other than that, he looked… almost completely unharmed.

Lux raised her head, staring deadly at him with bloodshot eyes, then struggled to turn her head to look at Mitty in the corner.

Tears, as if squeezed from a nearly wrung-out rag, silently slid from Mitty's barely open eyes. "Bro… ther…" A hoarse, broken voice came from Mitty's chapped lips, so faint it seemed it could be blown away by the wind at any moment, yet it was like a blunt knife, viciously cutting at Lux's heart.

"Mitty…" Lux felt an overwhelming sense of powerlessness fill her entire body.

She tried with all her might to prop herself up, to stand, but the bloody holes in her thighs seemed to mock her silently: [You can't… You can't do it…]

[I must stand up… I must defeat this guy… I must protect Mitty… Because… I am her brother…]

However, before she could prop herself up, several more sharp black thorns shot out from all directions, accurately piercing her palms, arms, and shoulders… pinning her firmly to the ground.

Lux let out a pained, muffled grunt, completely losing the strength to resist, and collapsed heavily onto the floor.

"Well, the banquet… should be serving the main course now, shouldn't it?" Rio the Shadowmancer seemed to have finally lost his patience.

He stared viciously at Lux, who was sprawled on the ground, a twisted and cruel smile on his face.

"Mitty…" Lux used her last ounce of strength, struggling, inch by inch, to crawl towards where Mitty was curled up.

"Oh my, what a touching scene," Rio the Shadowmancer applauded exaggeratedly. "Hurry up, a little faster, kid. Hurry up and crawl over there."

This short distance of a few steps felt to Lux as if she had crawled for a long time.

Blood, like meandering streams, continuously gushed from the shocking wounds on her body.

Because she had used the berserker necklace earlier, her blood was draining exceptionally fast, and it was frighteningly hot, but after flowing onto the cold, shattered floor, it quickly cooled and congealed.

Finally, she reached Mitty.

She used her last bit of strength to lift her head, then lunged forward abruptly, holding Mitty tightly, tightly in her arms.

And Mitty, too, with strength so faint it was barely perceptible, hugged Lux back.

"I truly am a kind person, to have actually fulfilled the wishes of you pitiful 'siblings'," Rio the Shadowmancer said with satisfaction, a pleased expression on his face. "Then next, it should be time to… fulfill my wishes, right?"

Rio the Shadowmancer strolled leisurely, step by step, towards the two who were tightly embracing.

And Lux, merely held Mitty tighter, motionless, as if she had already given up all resistance.

A pitch-black shadow, like a venomous snake, coiled around the Shadowmancer's right hand, rapidly condensing and transforming into a sharp knife glinting with an ominous dark light.

He raised the black knife high, a cruel smile on his face, preparing to impale the "siblings" together, to thoroughly end this "game."

However, just as the black knife was about to descend.

A sudden change occurred.

Lux, who had been lying motionless on the ground, abruptly turned over.

Her arms, pierced by black thorns and a bloody mess, were now completely healed.

Her hands instantly switched to the [Black Bear Paw Glove], and with a powerful push on the ground, her entire body shot towards the Shadowmancer, who was now at close range, like an arrow loosed from its bow.

"What the hell?!" This sudden turn of events greatly alarmed Rio the Shadowmancer.

He subconsciously looked towards Mitty in the corner. "You're… a Healer?!"

He simply couldn't believe his eyes.

The Healer he had dreamed of, had been searching for arduously for years, was actually here.

Ever since becoming a Demon Hunter, he had been frantically searching for people with healing abilities, hoping to use them to restore the testicles that those bastards had cruelly cut off in his youth.

Lux's fist, carrying immense power, was almost about to smash into the Shadowmancer's face.

But Rio, after all, was an experienced Demon Hunter; at the critical moment, the black knife in his hand instantly dissipated, reforming into a mass of black shadow, which then condensed into a pair of thick black gauntlets, barely blocking Lux's earth-shattering blow.

Then, his fingers, like hooks, viciously grabbed Lux's wrist.

"You think this will… Urgh!" Before the Shadowmancer could finish his words, the [Black Bear Paw Glove] on Lux's hand instantly vanished, replaced by a necklace imprinted with a ferocious dog's head.

The moment she was grabbed, Lux had forcefully twisted her body, the red of her eyes and hair tips glowing with a dangerous light. As the [Dire Dog Necklace] activated, she lunged and viciously bit down on his shoulder.

[Dire Dog Necklace! Devour! Activate!] Lux roared in her mind.