Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest

Chapter 361 83.4 - Damsel?

Irina's eyes widened as she turned her gaze towards the figure who had just entered the room.

His presence seemed to fill the space with an aura of danger, and Irina couldn't help but feel a shiver run down her spine.

The newcomer's black hair fluttered in the dim light, his pale skin illuminated by the faint glow of the candles.

'He is here…'

But it was his eyes that drew Irina's attention the most—icy purple orbs that seemed to pierce through the darkness with a cold, calculating gaze.

'But, what is this suffocating feeling.'

But it wasn't just his appearance that sent a chill down Irina's spine. It was the palpable sense of menace and hatred that seemed to radiate from him, an unmistakable aura of danger that made her heart race with fear even before she could think.

It was not something that she could control. After all, even before her mother's presence, she had never felt this much threat. It wasn't because this presence was stronger than her mother, but the raw intent that was released by him warned her instincts.

It was as if she was now before a monster.

"Who are you!"

The girl whose name she had yet to know spoke, her voice filled with pain. How could she not be? After all, her hand had just been sliced down.

"…." Yet, no answer came. Under the dimly lit room, he looked at the girl.

SWOOSH!

The grey tendrils suddenly flashed, and then the blade that had just been thrown returned to his hands once more. Irina, with her strong mana vision, was able to see the grey tendrils.

CLANK!

"Tsk."

But this time, the girl was prepared. Growing her nails, she deflected the circular disc with her hand.

"It is you."

It seemed like the girl was able to recognize the intruder.

"Astron Natusalune." She muttered his name, locking into his eyes. "To think that out of all people, you would come here."

Then, Irina somehow remembered the girl before her. After all, she had seen this girl in their classroom before, the girl that was around Sylvie.

'What was her name?'

Yet she was unable to remember her name. Of course, her name wasn't that important in this predicament that she was in, considering that she could lose her life right at that moment.

Yet there was something strange. For someone who was on the verge of losing everything she had, she didn't feel fearful.

The sadness and anger that she had felt also vanished for some reason. Rather, it was replaced with a weird feeling.

She had a weird feeling that she didn't know why it was there. She felt happy.

'He really came.'

Even if she didn't want to make herself believe it, she knew inwardly that she wanted him to come. It was with such hope that she sent that message to him, even if that message was undoubtedly too lacking. Even if she knew that it was too unreasonable to expect him to come, she just expected it.

'That means I am safe, isn't it? Even if this girl is a demon-contractor, he was able to kill a demon on his own after all.'

SWOOSH!

The girl dashed from where she was standing, her body swirling with a dark energy. Her eyes gleamed crimson for a split second, her lost hand already regenerated.

It was undoubtedly the power of a demon. The girl, being a demon contractor, was making use of her powers.

–CLANK!

With swift and precise movements, he deflected the girl's claws with his shining-red dual daggers, the metal clashing against each other in a symphony of battle.

–CLANK!

Despite the ferocity of her attack, Astron maintained his stance, his movements fluid and controlled as he countered each strike with precision.

There was a gracefulness to his movements, a deadly elegance that belied the danger he posed to his adversary. His eyes didn't leave his enemy's face even for a split second.

Irina could see strange emotions in his eyes, emotions of such intensity that she had never seen before.

"I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL KILL YOU NO MATTER WHAT! I WILL KILL EVERY ONE OF YOU!"

But somehow, at that moment, she felt like a voice echoed in her ears. It was a voice that was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Irina felt like she had heard this voice before, but she couldn't say when.

As if she had lost that part of her memory. But she couldn't think about that now.

As the clash continued, the girl spoke. "You're not bad, Astron Natusalune," she remarked, her crimson eyes gleaming with intrigue. "Seems like you really earned your raise in rankings."

–SWOOSH!

"But, your mere strength won't be enough!"

Following that, she instantly appeared right behind him, seemingly teleported, her body leaving after images.

Her speed was so fast that even Irina was surprised. The strength of this girl could even match the students with a relatively higher ranking. She was no different than a prodigy if she displayed this prowess.

Her claws, filled with demonic energy, struck him rapidly as if to penetrate him right from his chest.

SWOOSH!

But, contrary to what both Irina and Danielle expected, her claws met with only air alone.

SLASH!

Because Astron had already twisted his body to the side, moving at a rapid speed, and slashed Danielle's legs.

THUD!

And then, without giving her any time to react, he kicked her from her feet, knocking her out of balance for a split second.

As Danielle fell to the ground, Astron wasted no time in following up with another attack. With lethal precision, he aimed to slash her neck, intending to incapacitate her before she could regain her footing. But before his blade could make contact, something unexpected occurred.

BOOM!

An explosion erupted from the ground beneath them, sending shockwaves rippling through the air and forcing Astron to leap back to avoid the blast.

Smoke billowed up, obscuring his vision and momentarily disorienting him.

THUD!

And Irina, who was defenseless without her mana, could only be blasted off. Her body hit the wall with a speed that almost made her cough blood. Her vision slightly blurred with the world constantly swirling around.

She was having a hard time holding her consciousness.

'It is okay now, right?' Yet she didn't resist. Even though she was incredibly curious about the prowess of this guy, right now, she didn't have the necessary strength to cling to her consciousness. She was tired of all these constant emotional turmoils she had today.

'It should be okay….He will take care of the rest.'

Now that he was here, inwardly, she trusted him and closed her eyes, letting herself succumb to the sleep.

When the smoke cleared, Astron's eyes narrowed as he scanned the area, searching for any sign of his opponent. But before doing so, he saw Irina with her consciousness lost.

'Now, I can go all out.'

With his constraints gone, he could now fight with all his power. As he scanned the room, he saw Danielle had managed to put some distance between him, her bloodied legs bearing witness to the intensity of their battle.

With a quick leap, Danielle landed gracefully a few meters away from Astron; her eyes narrowed in determination as she locked onto him once more.

Despite the pain and injuries she had sustained, there was a fierce resolve in her gaze, and with that, her injuries rapidly healed.

"You really are not bad," Danielle remarked, her voice tinged with both admiration and defiance. "I didn't expect you to be this skilled."

"…."

"Cat got your tongue; why are you not talking?"Danielle looked at him with a smirk.

"…..I had been waiting." Suddenly, a voice came from him, his purple eyes looking at Danielle.

"You have been waiting?"

"Yes. Waiting for an opportunity to kill you. And now it came before me; don't even think of leaving his place alive." His words held certain emotions, immense hatred.

"Hmm?" Danielle hummed, somehow feeling intrigued.

'This guy thinks he can kill me? With his measly abilities?' She couldn't help but smile. What could she do? After all, the guy who was the last ranked student of the academy just two months ago thought he could kill her as a demon contractor.

Where did this arrogance come from?

"Ahaha…." A faint laugh escaped her lips. "AHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!" She couldn't contain her laugh at all… "Ahahahhaha…. This is so hilarious….Ahahahahaha….I can't, I really can't…"

As Danielle threw a depreciatory look towards Astron and narrowed her eyes, she couldn't help but laugh. The idea that someone as seemingly insignificant as him could pose a threat to her was utterly ludicrous in her mind.

"To think that you are someone this stupid enough to think you can beat me with your measly strength," Danielle chuckled, her laughter echoing through the room with a mix of amusement and disdain. "You really are something else, aren't you?"

Her words dripped with sarcasm as she continued to mock Astron's audacity. Despite his confident demeanor, she saw through his facade and found his arrogance amusing.

"And here I was, expecting more after hearing so much from 'Sylvie,'" Danielle remarked, her tone laced with disappointment. "But I guess th-"

SWOOSH! But before she can even speak further, Astron's figure blurred. He was blended into shadows, and after a millisecond, he appeared right before Danielle.

SLASH! His red dagger flashed under the dimly lit room, slicing through the air with lethal precision. Danielle barely had time to register his movement before she felt a searing pain erupt from her right abdomen as the dagger made contact.

"Ugh!" Danielle gasped, staggering back as blood seeped from the wound, her eyes widening in shock and disbelief.

But before she could fully comprehend what had just happened, Astron's dagger plunged into her chest with brutal force. Agony ripped through her body as she coughed up blood, her senses reeling from the sudden attack.

Her reflexes kicked in, and she instinctively slashed out towards Astron, hoping to fend him off. But to her dismay, he effortlessly evaded her strike, once again disappearing into the shadows before reappearing on her other side.

SLASH! STAB! He once again slashed her abdomen, this time from the other side, and then he stabbed her in her chest.

"Urkh-!"

She coughed blood once again, her vision getting blurry. She once again sustained another internal injury.

'He is moving so fast! Is he teleporting?' He was seemingly teleporting, but Danielle wasn't able to keep up with his ability to move.

'Tsk! I didn't really want to use it, but I guess I have no choice.'

With that thought, she narrowed her eyes, biting her tongue.

"RAAAAA!"

BOOM!

With her scream, a sudden explosion occurred, blasting everything around them off. It was a much stronger explosion than the one before since Danielle didn't want to destroy the ritual before.

But now she had no choice.

That explosion also removed the remaining candles that Danielle had put herself, drowning everything in the darkness.

And with her transformed state, she looked into the darkness, searching for his enemy.

After all, she revealed her 'Rakshasa Form.'

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