The Hunter's Mark

“Hey, Touma! Get up! They're coming– do something, please!”

“Hff–hff! I… c– can't breathe! Hff–hff! I want to stand… but my body won’t move!”

“Please don't say that, I know you can do it.”

A wheezing sound echoed in the village. 

“What was that?!” Lyra’s gaze darted at a house in the distance. 

Touma was on the ground, struggling with each breath. Lyra tried to lift him, but she wasn't strong enough. The wheezing sound turned into heavy rasping. Footsteps were constantly getting closer. 

Creak! A door opened– cutting through the sounds of breath.

“Isn't it the same house? Is someone… or something inside it?!” Lyra felt a chill down her spine. 

Silence took over, all the hollowborn turned towards the opening door. Someone stepped outside. 

“A kid?! So some people are still left?! Wait! Why are you running towards here, go away!! Hide in the house!!”

“Please help me!! Mom is injured, help her please!” The kid shouted as he ran towards them.

“No, no, no! Go back inside! It's not safe here. They'll kill y–”

Lyra's eyes widened when another figure came running behind the kid, from inside the house. More of these things surrounded him. 

“Go– go away!! Help me!!” The kid screeched in fear. His legs gave out, knees slamming the dirt as he collapsed, sobbing with wide, terrified eyes.

“No, please no! I can't let a kid die. I need to get up!” 

Touma tried to stand up. “No!! Why isn't my body listening to me? Why can't I get up?!”

Lyra ran towards the kid, trembling more with each stride she made. The scream began to get louder. Lyra was getting closer. The hollowborn jumped at the kid. 

“No!!!!” Lyra's eyes widened in horror as the figure tore through the kid’s flesh.

Suddenly– whoosh! Something sliced through the air, cleaving the hollowborn in one brutal stroke. Silence fell where the kid's screams had been.

“What just happened? Why is there a spear stuck in the wall?! Huh? The hollowborn, they're… gone?! Wait, the kid! He must be there.” Lyra began walking towards the kid frantically, going faster with each step she took, before she knew it – she had started to run.

The kid was lying on the ground, he was bleeding, but was alive – barely. Stillness took over. 

Touma was down, gasping for breath. Lyra lifted the kid in her arms. A low scraping sound broke the silence. Thump! Someone pulled out the spear and put it down.

“Are you people okay?” A strange unfamiliar voice, but it was reassuring.

Lyra turned towards the voice, “Who are you? How did you get here?”

“I think that's not the thing you need to worry about right now, my men will take care of these hollowborn, you take your companion and get out of this place.”

“Wait, Touma?” Lyra turned towards him, Touma was unconscious. Lyra dashed towards him, “Hey! Touma, wake up!! Please do something!” Lyra turned to the stranger for help.

“Let me see him.” He began walking towards Touma. “Hey! Wake up kid! What happened to him?” 

“I don't know, h– he suddenly said that… it reeked of rotten flesh, and suddenly lost his breath. I don't know what's happening. Please help him!”

“Sir Alaric! Bring me some water, quickly!” 

Another man arrived at the scene – a knight in shining metal armor. Those piercing eyes made his presence heavy. 

“Here, take this. Wait, this boy… I've seen him before! It's that boy, the one who was arguing with us back then!! And you are… Lyra, right?”

“Y–yes… that's me!”

“Now’s not the time for introductions, Sir Alaric! Give me the water, we need to hurry.”

The man took the water and splashed it on Touma's face. Nothing happened.

“Hey, wake up!” He splashed some more water. 

“H–he moved, he just moved. It's working!!” Lyra shouted suddenly.

The man poured all the water on his face. With a sudden, involuntary gasp, his body launched forward as the cold water hit his eyes this time. His eyes flew open in panic.

“Hff–hff! Wh– what happened to me? I couldn't… breathe.”

“Thank God you're alive.” Her eyes were teary, “I didn't know what to do? Those– those things, they were about to kill us. If it wasn't for him, we would be dead.”

“Hey kid! What's up?”

“You… you're that knight from before! How did you get here? And did you find the one you were looking for?”

“He's next to you.”

Touma turned his head, “You? Are you also the one that saved us?”

“Yes, that's who I am. Dain Lorent, second commander of the Knights of the Kingdom! Nice to meet you!”

“And you are?” Touma turned to the second knight.

“I am Alaric Veythar. The chief commander of the Kingdom’s knights.”

“Touma Kisaragi. Wait, did you… did you just say Veythar?!” Touma's eyes widened. His pale expression turned grim.

“Yes, but I am the nice one. If you recognise the last name Veythar, you must've met him right?”

“Y–yeah.”

“Who are you talking about?” Lyra interrupted.

“Malrik, my elder brother. The one behind that cult, The Crimson Creed. He's the one… who's desperate to call the great calamity, Cenoth in the world…that human scum.” 

“Huh? Cenoth, the one from the legends?!” Dain looked worried. Lyra's eyes widened in horror.

“Well, he's not the issue right now, tell us what happened here, since the day you last met me?”

“I don't know, it's just… Lyra's grandfather told me to save her, I succeeded… but something… something felt wrong with my body, and the next thing I knew, I was in the city – unconscious for who knows how long!

But everything seemed normal till then, nothing major happened, except for that strange dream I had. Then we left for the village, but when we got here, everything was like this. But I could smell it, that stench from that field, where I met a woman who was asking for help, that field smelled like rotten human flesh. But the smell here was way more intense than that field.”

“Were you able to save that woman? And was there anything else peculiar around the field?”

“Are you suspicious about her, Dain?”

“No, I wasn't able to save her, and yes… the field lay next to a forest.” 

“Did… something else happen?”

“Yes! The moment I approached her, she started shouting, she grabbed onto my back to hide behind me. That was the moment when that field changed, some black spores covered the grass. The sky became cloudy, and then those rabid wolf-like beasts attacked me.”

“Ahh! My doubt was correct.” A worried expression appeared on Dain’s face. His skin became pale as the words left his mouth.

“Dain, are you talking about… her?”

“Yes. The Weeping Widow – Veyra.” 

“Huh? H–her?! Touma… you were talking about her?!” Lyra was fear stricken, her hands trembled.

“Wait, what's wrong with her? Why are you all afraid of her?”

“You seriously are clueless Touma.” Alaric sighed, “You see, she lures prey as a desperate mother, that’s how she hunts.”

Everyone was silent. Alaric's words hit everyone like an arrow, making it clear that she was the most feared Hollowborn.

“But the thing that makes her most terrifying is… that once she sets eyes on you, she'll do anything to kill you, she'll never stop. She'll follow you to the end of the world. It is the hunter's mark. And currently it’s on–”

“Me?!” Touma blurted, cutting Alaric mid-sentence, “So, I'm her target?!”

“Yes. That's what I'm saying."

“That means… this happened… because of me.” Guilt hit Touma like a lightning bolt. He was confused up until now, everything was happening like a movie, it all felt unreal – but it wasn't.

“If that's the case, we need to act before she does something else. We must track her before she does something even worse. Dain, tell one of the squad members to inform the capital about this. We can't let her lose!”

“Got it!” Dain left the area. The next thing to be heard was him shouting at the other knights, ordering them to leave for the capital.

“So how do we track her?” Lyra's question was reasonable.

“Let's leave the village first. We need to give this kid treatment too.” 

“Let's go then. Touma, can you walk?” 

“Yeah, I can manage.”

“Let's go then. You have a horse right?"

“Yeah, she was standing just outside the village.”

“Got it.”

Alaric took the kid from Lyra's hands, and made another soldier take him to the capital; they left the village. Dain was standing next to the horses, ready to leave at any moment.

“Hey, Touma! Tell me about all the places you have gone to ever since the moment you encountered that woman.”

“I think I only went to the village and that cave. After that, I lost consciousness and found myself in the city, so I don't know the places she took me when I was out.”

“Where did you take him to before the city?” Dain’s second question hit Lyra.

“I rushed to the city directly. He was about to die, so I needed to hurry, and the capital was the nearest to that place, so I took him there.”

“Wait–the capital…” Alaric cut in, eyes widening in shock. Without another word, he vaulted onto his horse. 

“If that's the case, we need to depart for the capital as soon as we can. She must've come to the village about half a day ago, so she should be on the way to that cave. Since she's walking barefoot, she must take about two days to reach the capital. We need to hurry there before then!” 

Alaric’s words were sharp, this wasn't a suggestion, it was an order. Dain got onto his horse, Touma pulled Lyra to get on Sora’s back.

“Everyone, do you know what? I don't understand any of what is happening right now. I don't know any damn thing about this world!” 

Their horses galloped in sync, hooves thundering as they raced forward. At this pace, it was possible to reach the capital in an hour.

“What are you saying? You talk as if you're not from this world.” Dain chuckled.

“It's… kinda complicated, I'll tell you after this whole thing is settled.”

“Well then, if that's your choice, no problem. Also, if you want to know about the whole situation, go to the library. The librarian there will tell you about everything.”

“Got it! Thanks for that.”

“Save the thanks for later. We must hurry right now!” 

“It's just like Sir Alaric said.” Dain's expression was enough to hint the urgency of the situation. “We must hurry– because if she gets to the capital before us… it’s all over.”