MTM 9

“It’s a monster! Catch it!”

Whoosh, thud…!

With a loud shout from Harold, an arrow flew quickly and struck the center of Harto’s body.

“Ah…”

Maybe because it happened too suddenly, Harto only stared wide-eyed at the arrow lodged in his body. He felt no pain or sense of reality.

“What’s this? A low-grade residual beast? You can’t earn much with something like this.”

As Harold clicked his tongue in disappointment while inspecting the limp black monster, a rock the size of a human head came flying at him.

“……!”

The rock, which had come rushing in at a swift speed, narrowly missed the hunter’s chin and fell to the ground.

“Damn, what the hell?!”

Harold cursed and turned his arrow toward where the rock had come from. At the tip of the arrow stood a dripping wet Zed.

“You bastard…”

The man snorted as he looked back and forth between Zed and Harto.

“So that’s what it was. I wondered where you were sneaking off to in the middle of the night, like a rat. You were hiding a monster?”

“I didn’t expect him to pull something like that.”

Richter had appeared at some point. He sneered and kicked Harto’s body, which had collapsed on the gravel.

“Don’t touch him.”

At Zed’s angry words, Richter flinched, his shoulders trembled, and then he laughed.

“See? I told you he wasn’t really a hunter. I knew it the first time I saw him.”

“Well, maybe he’s just a rookie hunter.”

Harold spoke with a more relaxed face and placed a hand on his companion’s shoulder.

“Looks like the young man’s inexperienced, so let’s not waste our strength for nothing.”

The man, as if showing mercy, put his arrow back into the quiver. Then he pointed at the black monster and made an offer to Zed.

“I warmed up my body in the cabin, and you gave us rabbit meat, so… here. A 100 Lucian.”

Harold pulled out a gold coin from his pouch and threw it toward Zed. The coin sank into the river with a soft plop. A 100 Lucian, the same amount required to join a monster subjugation.

Zed’s hands trembled. His anger burned hot, and small ripples began to spread across the water.

Splash. Splash.

Zed walked toward them. Richter was the first to sense that something was wrong. He tightened his grip on his axe and blocked Zed’s path.

“Hey! Take the money and leave. Come any closer, and…”

“What if I am?”

“What?”

“What if I am a hunter?”

“Do you think we’re idiots?!”

“If hunting trash like you counts, then I’m a hunter.”

“You bastard…!”

Richter swung his axe at Zed in fury. Whoosh, the blade cut through the air. Zed crouched down and dodged it, then he caught Richter’s wrist.

“…Kkh!”

Crack, the muscle twisted, and his wrist snapped. The axe fell to the ground. Zed seized the handle and drove it into the man’s chest. Richter fell without a sound.

“You, you… monster… die!”

Seeing the gruesome sight before his eyes, Harold immediately drew his bowstring. But he was too slow.

Crash!

Zed dodged the arrow and jumped high, bringing the axe down toward him.

“…Ah!”

Harold barely avoided the strike, but the quiver on his back split open. Startled, he left himself exposed, and Zed swung his fist.

Thud!

The man’s abdomen caved inward with a cracking sound.

“Guh!”

His eyes turned white. Foam bubbled from his mouth as he dropped his bow and staggered.

“Kh… you… what are you…”

Thump.

Zed looked silently at Harold, who had collapsed and couldn’t finish his sentence. A deadly aura, invisible but palpable, surrounded his body.

“Zed…”

Harto, who had seen everything, called to him quietly. Zed came to his senses, threw the axe aside, and ran toward him.

“Harto! Are you alright?!”

“I… I’m alri…”

Gush.

The moment he spoke, blood flowed from his mouth. He had thought that a monster’s blood would be different in color from a human’s, but it wasn’t. Seeing the bright red blood spilling from his own body, Harto felt relieved.

“Don’t talk.”

Zed held Harto in his arms and snapped the arrow buried deep in his body. The bleeding was heavy. Zed pressed his palm over the wound to try to stop it. Harto laughed as he watched him.

“How can you… laugh right now? Don’t laugh.”

When Zed, who was desperately struggling, noticed Harto’s smile, he scolded him.

‘But no one ever made that kind of face for someone like me who was dying…’

Harto couldn’t remember the moment he stopped breathing in the hospital. He had lost consciousness and was in a coma for several days, so he didn’t know what kind of expression anyone had worn as they watched his final moments.

But after he died, he vaguely remembered the voices of people who had spoken about him.

‘It’s sad, but… now the family can finally rest.’

‘You’ve done well enduring all this time.’

‘Maybe going like this was a kind ending for Yibin.’

“Stay awake. Don’t close your eyes.”

As his awareness faded, Zed’s face filled his sight. His body was trembling and the sound of splashing water echoed in his ears.

‘Are we… going into the river?’

“It’ll be a bit cold.”

Zed supported Harto’s body with both hands and whispered. Harto tried to answer that he was fine, but only fluttered his eyelids slightly.

Shiver. His body trembled the moment his body touched the cold water. Zed pulled him into his arms and waded deeper in.

Soon, both of them were fully submerged in the river.

Blub blub…

When they reached the riverbed, bubbles rose from Zed’s arms toward the surface. The full moon looked clear when seen from beneath the water.

‘It’s beautiful…’

While Harto stared at the moon, a light stronger than moonlight began to shine nearby. The light came from the ruby pendant on Zed’s neck.

‘What is that…?’

Before Harto could even wonder, Zed opened the pendant. A dazzling white glow began to spread slowly around them.

‘Z-Zed…!’

Frightened by the blinding light that made it impossible to keep his eyes open, Harto burrowed into Zed’s chest. Zed hugged him tightly.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

Splash!

“Pwah…!”

After a while, Zed and Harto emerged from the water and gasped for air. Zed brushed the hair out of his eyes and paused as he turned to check on Harto.

“……!”

There should definitely be a black, soft monster in his arms, but out of nowhere, he was holding a small, slender human being.

It was Harto, in human form.

“You…”

Zed lost his words when he saw the wet black hair, skin pale as moonlight, and red lips.

This wasn’t a monster. Could it be a spirit? The sight of the beautiful young man was so mesmerizing that it was impossible to believe his true form had been a lump of black soot.

Cough, cough. Harto choked, as if he had swallowed water, and his body trembled weakly.

“Cough…huff, Zed…”

Harto shivered as he opened his eyes. His clear blue pupils reflected Zed.

“I’m cold…”

Zed belatedly came to his senses after seeing Harto sniffling.

“Now’s not the time to say you’re cold. What about the wound? Are you alright?”

“Huh? Oh, right. What happened to me…? It doesn’t hurt at all.”

Harto remembered being shot and looked down at his chest. But under the pale skin shining in the moonlight, there was no wound or scar anywhere.

“That’s good. The medicine worked.”

“Medicine? Ah, you mean the healing medicine inside the ruby pendant?”

“Yes. I used everything inside. Looks like it healed completely.”

“Ah… wasn’t that important? What should we do if you used it all on me…”

“……”

Did he not understand he had almost died? Watching Harto panic over something as small as medicine, Zed sighed and set his hand gently on his head.

Zed didn’t say a word this time, but Harto understood the meaning in his touch and smiled as he rubbed his head against the large hand.