Prologue

‘Stay back! Evade its attacks!’

The enormous dimfang repeatedly tried to pounce on the two dagger users distracting its attention. It was about the height of three men – taller than most Hunters here had ever seen. Its claws could rip a man apart in mere moments, and the fangs, sharper than the edge of a blade. Its pitch black fur and blood red eyes could raise fear inside even the bravest. And it was angry. Hot, bubbly saliva was dripping from its grotesque jaw. Without a doubt, this creature spelled death.

They were deep in a forest, surrounded by enormous trees and thick vegetation. Small patches of sunlight pierced through the dense foliage. The tree branches were large and wide enough that soldiers could easily stand and walk on them. The trees’ height was the hunters’ advantage.

Bowmen stood at the ready, waiting for Commander Dirk’s order to unleash their arrows upon the dimfang. The soldiers beckoning the beast were the more skilled out of the bunch. Being a dagger user required competence and rigorous training. Not all men could do it, and most did not have the courage. They were repeatedly slashing at the hound’s legs, at times moving faster than the eye could see.

Standing on one of the branches, Dirk waited for the perfect moment to strike—an opportunity. Caution was essential. A small blunder could mean the difference between survival and demise. The commander had experience. This was not his first Hunt.

‘Commander Dirk, the bowmen are ready to fire at a moment’s notice!’

The archers’ leader, Evelyn. Dirk had assigned her to the position years ago, even though, at the time, she did not have outstanding skills as an archer. It was more of a hunch.

‘Wait for my order! Get back to your position.’

‘Commander…’

Dirk turned his head to catch a glimpse of her concerned face. Everybody was on edge. Here and back at home in Asatori as well.

‘How much time do you think a dimfang that large would give us?’ she posed her question looking downward, the hood covering her eyes.

Of course. That’s what everybody must be thinking. What are we fighting for, and how long until we must fight again. A beast that large… maybe somewhere around two months. And hope… is what we need now more than ever.

‘I’d say around three months. That monster is powerful. It would last a while.’

She lifted her face, revealing her eyes. They were shining brightly. A shine of desire, dream and ambition. The eager craving of victory so prevalent in every youth, was even more evident in her look.

So that was why I picked her.

With a bow deeper than normal and a voice more powerful than she probably intended she said, ‘Thank you, commander.’

She quickly ran back to the archers’ branch, assuming her position in the formation.

Suddenly, a man leapt down at the monster. In the middle of the fall he began glowing, radiating Lumina. The soldier focused magical energy in his fist, smashing it into the beast’s head. He then cushioned the fall using light collected in his feet, producing a blinding explosion of light.

‘Son of a bitch,’ the commander muttered under his breath.

Nothing short of an incredible feat. Incredible, yet defiant.

With a surprised, but displeased look on his face, Dirk firmly shouted his order. ‘Now! We may not get another chance!’

Evelyn took an archer’s stance, the others following after her.

‘Draw…’ Her powerful voice echoed through the forest.

The archers raised their arms together in unison. Out of pure light, glowing arrows formed in each of their hands. They pulled their bowstrings back and took aim at the beast.

‘Loose!’ she yelled.

A swarm of shining arrows flew towards the dimfang, piercing the skin under its thick, black fur, dark fumes flowing out of its wounds. The two dagger users on the ground launched their own attacks, slashing at the monster’s legs to knock it off balance. With every slash and every arrow, more darkness kept pouring out. The embodiment of its rage.

It kept shrieking in pain, trying to move, its motions denied by the seemingly never-ending arrows and dagger cuts. Then it roared. A deep, powerful roar.

Finally, you have acknowledged your downfall, beast, Ansgar thought.

After a few moments, however, its roar was answered by a horde of others, coming from the depths of the forest.

‘It’s a call for aid! Retreat!’

What?! But we’re so close. The beast is conquered, Ansgar thought.

This was an opportunity like no other. They could not retreat. Not this time.

‘We’ll have another cha-’

‘Dirk, I can take them!’ Ansgar shouted cutting the commander’s speech.

‘You dare oppose my orders, young boy? You think we have the men to spare? Look around you, lad. Only 14—half as many as we were last week. How long before-’

‘You know I have the skill. You’ve seen me. I’ve done it before and I can do it again.’

Dirk fell deep into his own thoughts. Two months… If we abandon this battle, we lose two months. Time we could use to train new recruits, to hone our skills, to develop new strategies… The boy certainly is capable of-

Shouting came from below. ‘If we don’t do this now disaster will ensue! You know it yourself, Dirk, The Barrier doesn’t have much left. If we go back we’d have achieved nothing. Yes, it would be a bargain. But with me here, the odds are in our favor.’

His voice was firm, unwavering.

Dirk was looking down into nothing. No. We don’t have a chance. We have to retreat.

‘No. We have to-’

‘Commander!’ came a shout from the archer’s branch behind him.

It was Evelyn.

‘Commander, I have hope!’ she said.

In that moment, everything stopped. Her words echoed in his mind over and over. When he looked at her, he saw a glimmer.

Those eyes. I remember… those eyes.

The commander took a deep breath and then shouted.

‘Archers, keep firing! Daggers, keep your focus on the big one! And, Ansgar… for heaven’s sake, give it all you’ve got!’

A slight smile formed on his face. ‘Sure thing, commander,’ he whispered only for his own ears.

Ansgar then closed his eyes. He cleared his mind and calmed his breathing. His eyes were still closed, but he began to see. He could sense the life around him. The trees, the other Hunters and the filthy beast. Then, one by one, he felt the other creatures enter the area. Ansgar drew both his daggers. They had neatly arranged engravings that grew thinner closer to the edge. Ansgar readied himself. He pictured being almost weightless. He focused on his feet, making them lighter and lighter, and they began glowing. As Lumina engulfed it, the dagger in his hand grew brighter with each moment, light flowing into the thin channels.

He sensed the foul creatures approaching. He had to wait for the perfect moment. As soon as one of them was within the reach of his blade, Ansgar would strike. The beasts were coming quickly, moving close to one another. The anticipation was pressuring, but he remained calm, calculated.

He jumped back over the first hound, slicing its head clean off in a swift movement. Keeping his momentum, he attacked the next beast with another swing, and then the next one, moving with a speed quicker than any ordinary man’s. The hounds he dashed beside died in an instant, dark smoke spilling form their dead bodies. Ansgar flowed gracefully from one beast to another, like water in a river, leaving behind a trail of his own light. He was moving so fast, he seemed like a blur.

The commander watched Ansgar, staring in awe at the warrior’s graceful movement. He thought he would never get tired of seeing it.

Suddenly, a soldier’s shout came from down below. ‘Get back!’

The beast had regained some of its strength. In a final attempt at survival, it stood up, enraged, dark fumes flowing from its piercing red eyes.

With a glance toward the monster beneath him, Dirk shouted, ‘Soldiers, cease your attack and get to safety!’

Then, closing his eyes for a brief moment, he yelled, ‘I’m counting on you, lad!’

There was no answer. But he knew he’d been heard.

He opened his eyes, with his vision fixed on the enemy below. He now seemed more composed, collected, almost unconcerned even. He then moved forward, taking a step into thin air. His fall ended with a loud, bright landing, shaking the trees around him. The dimfang studied him from a distance, reluctant to approach. Was it caution, or was it simply instinct.

Dirk held both his hands out toward the creature. All of a sudden, streams of light formed from inside him, and flowed swiftly through his arms and to his hands, bathing them in white.

Fear struck the monster, realizing his biggest threat was right before him. It charged toward the glowing man using the last of its energy in the hope of killing him.

The light stopped flowing, and in Dirk’s hands now stood an immense, glowing warhammer. The beast’s charge only grew faster. It seemed unstoppable, but the commander’s gaze looked just the same. He took a stance, preparing for the inevitable clash. If Ansgar let even one of the hounds pass him, it would be over. Dirk’s attack couldn’t focus two enemies at once.

These few moments felt like an eternity. Dirk was used to battle. He had been going on Hunts since the days of his youth. He always used to think these moments would get shorter the more times he endured them. Every time, he was proven wrong. Was it a blessing or a curse…? He didn’t know. All he knew in that moment was that everyone counted on him, that without his lead all would be lost. That’s what kept him going all this time.

Before he knew it, he snapped out of his trance. The dimfang was close enough that Dirk could clearly see its snout which smelled the scent of blood, and its fangs which relished the taste of it. He swung his hammer, striking at the monster’s jaw with all his might. The blow sent the creature up on its hind legs, exposing its most vulnerable part of the body—the chest, with its heart beating underneath.

‘Now, Ansgar!’ the commander yelled.

Keeping his speed from earlier, with a swift slide under the beast, Ansgar flung one of his daggers right into its heart. He had killed all the other creatures.

A piercing shriek echoed in the depths of the forest, the fiend’s body twisting and turning, pointlessly trying to keep itself alive. Blood and darkness violently spurt out of its wounds, mouth and eyes. A shattering, unending scream of death splattered with rage. And then silence. Deafening silence. Silence always meant death, and with death—the end of the Hunt.