Hunter’s Blade

C13 Regret

Shire found Etienne’s luggage next to the fire. He found the witch’s ointment and bandages.

First of all, he had to drink. The old hunter was a drinker, and Shire also learned to drink. He took out a bottle of unsealed King’s Wine and tried it. The taste was pungent and spicy. He only took a sip and felt his tongue burning.

It was to commemorate his master. Shire forced himself to drink a big mouthful.

The effect was immediate. He soon felt a little confused. There was a place in his head that started to buzz and the gongs and drums were noisy. However, on the other hand, his pain had also been alleviated. The wound was not as painful as before.

Then he washed it with saline water. Shire took out a pottery bottle and poured the saline water on the wound.

The pain came from the wound. It rushed and rushed all over his body. He was in so much pain that he could not hold the bottle steady. He quickly put it on the ground.

“So painful…” He quickly opened the jar containing the witch’s ointment, used his finger to dig out the purple paste, and smeared it on the wound. Then he took out a bandage, wrapped it around his abdomen, and tied it around his body.

After doing all of this, he leaned back and fell asleep due to the alcohol.

It was already daytime when he woke up, and the sun was shining in the forest. The Dew Camp Stone had existed for thousands of years, and had long since become accustomed to life and death. But Shire had not yet… He stood up, and his surroundings were filled with scars. Seven or eight ravens pecked at the corpses of Waren, Dalton, and Geffany. Shire chased them away. They looked at the tree branches in the distance, waiting for an opportunity.

It was almost impossible to bury them. Shire could not let them expose their bodies in the wilderness, so he decided to burn them down.

Etienne’s old master was the most miserable one. His body had already disappeared when he detonated the Yafen flames. Every strand of dust on the grass could be the remains of a hunter. Thinking about this made Ciel feel sad.

“Grief? Why is it sad?” Gradiu’s voice rang in Shire’s mind. It was still rough and hoarse.

“Because I can’t avenge him.”

“Ha, if you want revenge, you have to commit suicide. This is an interesting problem. Rather than struggling with the past and the dead, it’s better to stay calm and live a good life ” Gradiu was pleased with himself.

Shire gathered more branches and went back and forth two or three times, piling up a tall pile of firewood on the ground.

He dragged Dalton’s incomplete corpse over and placed it on the pile of firewood.

“He is very stupid. He walked in the forest angrily. How could I let him go?”

“Dalton just wants to go home.”

Shire found Waren’s body and searched his belongings. Shire did not feel guilty when he took Waren’s things, because Waren deserved it.

In the end, he found a heavy money pouch and also Waren’s sword. Waren was very confident in his teleportation spell, so he did not bring any other tools or miscellaneous items. Shire lifted his body and threw it onto the pile of firewood.

“He wants to work with me. He is much more straightforward than you. He wants to share his power with me as soon as he opens his mouth, so that he can become the strongest Devil Hunter. You should really learn from him. ” Gradiu commented.

“However, working with you didn’t save his life. He’s still dead.”

Shire picked up Frederick’s corpse. The Hunter Master’s chest had been pierced through. He looked terrified, which made Shire feel even more sad.

“No one knows about all the achievements and ambitions.” Gradiu said in a low voice.

“We are all the same.”

The last one was Geffany’s body. The arrow pierced through her throat. She did not look calm when she died. Shire picked her body up and slowly put it on the fire.

“She is kind and fragile.”

“Shut up.”

He used the flint stone to strike out sparks. He lit a fire. The fire burned, and smoke soared into the sky. The flame burned fiercely on the pile of branches. The tongue of flame flew everywhere. As soon as it touched the skin and flesh of these Devil Hunter, it started to entangle with them.

Shire felt extremely sad. Out of the eight Devil Hunter, he was the only one left after seven of them died in battle in Twilight Forest.

“I was… very scared.” Shire muttered to himself, “I was scared, very scared. I was scared the moment I entered this forest. Later on, when I saw Denver die, I was extremely afraid and didn’t dare to move. But after seeing the battle between the seniors, I no longer fear them. ”

Shire held his heart.

“Now… the devils that we are going to hunt live in my mind. I have betrayed everyone and survived with the devil… I am very sorry… ”

He let out a long sigh.

“The only thing I can do is to make up for my sins. I have already resolved myself to become a true Devil Hunter. Rest in peace, seniors…”

Shire clenched his fists.

“I have decided to become the most outstanding Devil Hunter.”

His nails dug into his flesh.

“Chase them away from this world, and let them all return to where they should be. Use all my energy to hunt demons for the rest of my life to make up for my mistakes.”

“Do you really think so? My peers are very difficult to deal with.” Gradiu said disdainfully.

“I want you to confess to them.”

“Repent?” Gradiu was confused.

This was the first time in Shire’s life that he had haggled with a devil.

“You must recognize your mistake and make up your mind to correct it.” Shire spoke to the Evil Demon in a serious tone, “You must humbly ask the souls of the hunters to forgive you. Your schemes, bewitchment, and illusions…”

“I am a devil, the devil never repents.” Gradiu violently refused, “They came for me. Why should I die? Shouldn’t I use all my means to resist? You want me to be killed? You want me to be destroyed by those lowly piercing and banishing spells? Don’t even think about it!”

” If you want to live with me, you must make changes. ” Shire’s attitude was resolute and decisive. “You have to apologize for what you did wrong.”

Gradiu let out a hoarse laugh.

“Wrong? Hunters and prey have fought for a thousand years, corpses piled up like mountains, and blood table after table. You’re still thinking about who’s right and who’s wrong. ”

” If there’s no right or wrong, then what should I be thinking about? ”

“Thinking about how to climb up, jumping out of this circle of killing. You and me, we can find a new path. Alright, in order to calm your fragile and sensitive mind, I promise you, I will never be enemies with mortals, and I also regret killing your seniors and mentors. How about it? ”

Shire compromised with mixed feelings.

“I still have one more thing to settle… How can you guarantee that you won’t devour my soul and control my will?” He asked.

“The current me is a bit difficult to deal with” Gradiu hesitated for a moment before answering, “You don’t understand. I seem to be stuck in your soul.”

“Stuck? What do you mean?”

“I’m a demon, and I’m despicable. That’s why when I first invaded your body, my first thought was to seize your will.”

“You failed”

” Of course, your incantation… after you used the ‘Aphen Flame’, your soul… was not easy to swallow. ”

“Is it the Aphen Flame that protected my soul?”

“Of course, but I have to enter your body. Otherwise, I will be destroyed by this world. Thus, I forced my way into your soul… but I was stuck. Unfortunately, you can’t understand my feelings, I’m constantly suffering. The Blade Demon’s powerful devil soul… It was actually trapped by a tiny mortal’s soul…”

“You even said that hunter’s incantations are trash.”

“I didn’t change my opinion.”

“What are those floating blades of yours?”

“A product of demonic magic, but there is a time limit. It can only move for a day or so, or it will be weakened if it is attacked. I made them on the spot. Do you want them? Give me some suitable materials. I can help you forge them.”

” I only need a weapon ”

“[Very well, gather all the metals you found together, I’ll forge you the most powerful Demon Blade]”

Shire took out Waren’s sword and the fallen blade he had gotten earlier.

“You killed Julius. Use his spine to make this weapon.” Shire looked at the bones on the fallen blade.

“You killed the deer. Take out its tendons and make them into crossbows. Why didn’t you hesitate at that time? There was a limit to the double standard.”

Gradiu, the Blade Demon, slowly displayed its ability. The Devil Substance on the Fallen Blade quickly peeled off and floated in the air, turning into black minerals.

“What exactly is a ‘Devil Substance’?” Shire asked.

“A solidified soul. We demons live on souls, and use souls as fuel and tools.”

“When we cast spells, we also burn souls.”

“Have you never heard of the story of the Hunter Pioneer? Your spell was taught to you by the devil.”

“How much do you know about that devil”

“I’m not sure who it is. I haven’t been to this world much, The first few times I descended were in other countries as well ”

These black Devil Substance adhered to Waren’s sword, forming a layer of grey coating. The entire blade slowly extended. The metal produced a metallic sound, forming a perfect arc. The edge was extremely sharp. This was the most terrifying weapon Shire had ever seen. Just looking at it would make one feel as if they were being cut.

“Can mortals do it? Can mortals do it?!” Gradiu boasted crazily, “Look at me, blade Devil! The owner of the weapon, the Supreme Eviscerator! ”

“Good weapon.” Shire nodded.

“Give it a name. I know mortals like to name things.”

“Gradiu, foreign Gray Sword.” Shire raised this dark weapon high. The sunlight shone on the blade, reflecting a dazzling light. “A devil blade used to hunt devils.”

“Alright, I can’t wait any longer.” Gradiu was eager to try. “Hurry up and cut something. Hurry up and cut something. Otherwise, I will feel very uncomfortable…”

… “That’s right.”

“You don’t have a master anymore, but I can teach you a lot of things. The first lesson is: You need to learn to go against the flow. After you get the power to control everything, whether it is killing me, avenging others, or expanding your own ambition, you can do it. But before that, Weaklings only have the right to endure!” Gradiu said.

Although his words were sharp, it was also a fact. Shire thought to himself. I am nothing now. I don’t have the ability to bargain with it, and I can’t hope to kick this noisy thing out of my body.

As a Demon Lord, Gradiu still has a lot of secrets he can dig up, and there will be a long time to come.

I don’t trust it, but I have to rely on it.

I don’t know if it is reading my thoughts right now. Forget it, as long as it doesn’t bother me.

Shire thought about his next plan.

First of all, the most important thing was that he had to leave Twilight Forest and return to the Gray Tree Hall where the Hunter Palace was located. It was a coastal town in the north of the Lawman Kingdom. It was close to the border and belonged to the Upper Lawman.

The entire Lawman Kingdom was divided into four regions according to the geography.

The Upper Lawman region was located in the northeast of the kingdom. It was very close to the Magus’ homeland, the swamp. At the same time, it was also close to the barbarian kingdom and the land of darkness.

The West Coast was the capital of the Lawman Kingdom. King of Lawman Kingdom established his rule there. The large territory surrounding the West Coast was the territory of the Wang family, making the king become the strongest lord in the territory.

The Green River region was located in the middle of the kingdom. It was a vast and flat village. There were elves’ homes scattered around it. It was a forest that could walk.

The Lower Romon region was located in the south of the kingdom. It was close to the Southern Peninsula Kingdom, and it was adjacent to the Shanei Empire in the east.

These hunters came from Upper Lawman. There were also Hunter Palace in other places, but the relationship between the various holy halls was not close, and they rarely interacted with each other. The first thing Shire needed to do was to return to the Gray Tree Hall and take over the jurisdiction of the Upper Lawman.

There was only one Devil Hunter left in this area.

Shire knew that he was not ready yet, but other than him, no other Devil Hunter could bear this responsibility.

Maybe I still need to train a few new hunter recruits. Shire thought.

Managing the Hunter Palace was a very serious responsibility. Shire had visited the Holy Church with Etienne. There were many people outside the Holy Church, such as documents and spies. He heard that Frederick had a loan, but he did not know how much money he owed.

Now all of this belonged to Shire, a Holy Church, an organization, and an industry.

It was time to set off. He looked towards the north. He returned to Gray Tree Hall and rebuilt Hunter Palace. He took a step forward. Behind him, in the ruins of the Dew Camp Stone, flames erupted endlessly, devouring hope and pain.