Chapter 42: Fighting the Monster Hunters

It seemed that all the praises about Deena weren’t unfounded.

Both sides exchanged several blows while searching for an opening to exploit, but neither side showed any weaknesses. Not a single strike managed to breach either of their defenses as they weaved through the trees.

Luke briefly wondered how things would have been different if she had been part of the heroes before quickly pushing it out of his mind.

This wasn’t the time to be wondering about what ifs. He had to focus.

He had noticed that the other monster hunters hadn’t joined in to help her out. That meant that she had told them to stay back, or they knew not to get involved and were watching from the sidelines for an opportunity.

This was going to be difficult.

Luke knew he had to escape as soon as possible to avoid being caught, but Deena was too formidable to slip away from. She prevented him from getting very far and on his toes with every move she made.

When their sword and ax clashed again, he asked, “Are you sure you can’t just let me go?”

Instead of giving him a verbal response, she kicked at his knee. He pulled back to avoid the kick and followed it up with another swing of his sword. She easily countered it with her ax, and the clang of weapons echoed in the forest.

He really couldn’t be wasting time here. There had to be a way to shake her off.

As he took a step to the side, the ground beneath his foot unexpectedly shifted, making him briefly lose his balance.

That single moment was enough to turn the tides.

Deena surged forward and swung her ax. Luke held up his sword in time to block the attack, but his posture was wrong, and he was forced to scramble into a better position. She pressed her advantage and sent him stumbling back a couple of steps.

His sword nearly flew out of his hand.

While he was off balance, she jumped towards him, and her ax was about to land a blow on his exposed side. Before the blade could touch him, a surge of dark energy erupted from his body, sending her flying back. She quickly reacted and landed on her feet.

When she looked back at him, he was holding a black greatsword, and bloodshot eyes stared back at her.

With a ferocious scream, he crossed the distance in a single leap and swung his sword. Deena raised her ax to counter him, but it broke when it made contact with his black greatsword. She barely had time to react before his weapon landed.

Blood erupted from the slash across her chest, spraying blood against his face.

The warm blood snapped Luke out of it, and he stumbled back with horror at what he had done. He stared with wide eyes as she knelt on the ground with blood pouring out of her wound.

Luke had lost control again and nearly killed her.

Seeing the look on his face, Deena chuckled and asked, “What’s the matter? Aren’t you going to finish me off?”

He grimaced as he could feel the urge to kill her rise up again. Luke forced himself to take a couple steps back to put some distance between them in an attempt to keep himself from going for the killing blow.

The smile fell from her face as she demanded, “What are you doing?”

Luke didn’t answer, focusing on the dark energy that still hadn’t quieted down.

“Hey, I’m talking to you,” Deena barked.

“Shut up! Can’t you see I’m a little busy here?” he snapped.

Why wasn’t it going away?

He fought against the dark energy and urge to kill Deena with everything he had, collapsing to his knees in the struggle.

Deena stared at him before blurting out, “Are you kidding me? This is supposed to be the great threat against the world? You look like someone fighting possession.”

Considering that the evil god was in his body, it was close enough.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the time for jokes as Luke focused on suppressing the dark energy and bloodlust.

Luke was so consumed with his struggle that he didn’t notice Deena approaching. Ignoring the dark energy emitting from his body, she placed a hand on his back and murmured a prayer. In an instant, the dark energy quieted down.

He gasped, sucking in mouthfuls of air as a weight was lifted off his shoulders.

What just happened?

When he regained enough strength, he looked up at her frowning face.

“You…something isn’t right about you,” Deena said, her eyes studying his form.

“A lot of things aren’t right,” Luke shot back weakly.

Luke still couldn’t figure out what she had done. It seemed like all she did was place a hand on his back and murmur a prayer.

How had she made the dark energy calm down? Was she perhaps a follower of the evil god?

As he thought this, she crossed her arms and said, “I don’t like it when I don’t know things. You better explain yourself before I decide it’s not worth hearing you out and put you out of your misery.”

“You’re actually going to hear me out?” he asked in disbelief.

“I don’t just do what I’m told. I have a brain, you know,” Deena said with a roll of her eyes.

He never expected he would encounter someone willing to hear him out, especially someone like Deena. Maybe he could convince her to help him out.

It was worth a try, and he gave a brief summary of what happened.

When Luke finished, she simply said, “Huh.”

What did she mean by huh? Was that all she had to say after hearing his story?

While it was true he had to cut out a lot of details given the situation, it should at least deserve more of a reaction.

“So what do you think? Do you believe me?” he asked, waiting for her reaction.