Becoming a Hunter in a Dark Fantasy

Chapter 6: The Village of the Dead XX (1)

Elwin and Gale dashed forward at a blistering pace.

They were moving so fast that the distance changed every second, and the scenery shifted rapidly enough to leave one's head spinning.

“Let me scout from above real quick!”

Ta-at, pa-ba-bak!

Leaving those words behind, Elwin skillfully climbed a tree trunk. Reaching the top, he leapt high into the air.

Flutter—!

His cape spread open like wings—just as it had when they first descended into this village.

Elwin’s body shot dozens of meters into the air in an instant.

Whether on the ground or in the sky, the actual distance remained the same, but the view from above was vastly different from what could be gauged from the ground.

“Hm…”

Elwin could see it clearly—the raging flames encircling the entire village like a blazing inferno.

If an ordinary person were to witness the village they had just been staying in burn down, how would they react?

They’d likely feel fury toward the perpetrator or sorrow at the tragedy befalling the peaceful village.

Or perhaps they’d be worried about the villagers’ safety.

Of course, the degree of reaction would vary from person to person.

“Well, this is troublesome.”

But Elwin’s reaction was different. His expression was cold, without much emotion.

He muttered indifferently,

“This is going to be a problem…”

It wasn’t because Elwin was mentally unstable or a psychopath with twisted thoughts.

Elwin simply sought revenge—but he hadn’t discarded his humanity.

He still held ordinary feelings—valuing good and hating evil.

However,

—this village had a far more fundamental problem.

After surveying the village and its surroundings a little more, Elwin descended.

Then he calmly rejoined Gale, who had been running ahead.

“Looks like the village is completely burned down. If we go in, we’ll end up roasted on the spot.”

“Yeah, figured as much. That explosion was no joke. Looks like they blew up the whole village to erase the evidence… tsk! What a pain.”

Gale frowned as though he had a headache. That was all.

His reaction, like Elwin’s, was calm.

“More importantly, don’t you think we’ve come pretty far from the village? We’ve been running forever, and we still can’t see the edge of it.”

“Who do you think is to blame for that, you little runt!”

“Hmm. If I had to say… maybe it’s the washed-up old man addicted to booze and gambling who’s obsessed with money?”

At that, Gale flared up again and turned around.

Even though Elwin hadn’t called him out directly, the words must’ve hit a nerve.

“I’m not washed-up! I’m just living life to the fullest—one fun, efficient, and fulfilling experience at a time, you brat!”

Gale shot a glance at Elwin, but then his eyes widened suddenly.

Then, pointing fiercely at him, he shouted,

“You—you!”

“What is it?”

Elwin tilted his head innocently.

“Don’t ‘what is it’ me?! What the hell are you?! Why are you flying?! That—that’s an artifact, isn’t it?! One of those ridiculously expensive ones…!”

Though their legs didn’t stop moving, Gale’s shock was written all over his face.

Because Elwin’s cape was indeed an artifact.

Artifacts were the epitome of advanced magical technology.

In LAMPAS, two factions represented the pinnacle of human advancement.

The Mage Tower—a haven for magicians.

And the Clock Tower—the peak of scientific innovation.

—What business do those stuffy Mage Tower geezers have here?

—Why are those Clock Tower half-wits even here? Absolutely unbearable.

In short, the two sides were like dogs and cats—natural enemies.

Yet, on rare occasions, they would cooperate—like beans sprouting in a drought.

And what was born in those rare moments of collaboration were the artifacts.

Naturally, their numbers were scarce.

At most, there were only a few dozen.

That was why Gale was so shocked.

“I’ve worked as a mercenary for years and never even seen one! What kind of noble blood are you carrying around to be using one of those insanely expensive artifacts…?!”

Ordinary people could go their whole lives without ever seeing one.

“That’s what I was trying to tell you.”

Elwin scratched his cheek.

Had the explosion not gone off when it did, he would’ve revealed his identity. It was just bad timing.

As expected from Gale.

The unluckiest man in LAMPAS still had no luck today.

“I’m curious! Damn it, now I really want to know!”

“Haha! Too bad. You’ll have to wait a bit longer.”

Once this was all over, he’d know whether he liked it or not.

Elwin smiled, eyes narrowing.

“For the record, if you take my request, I can make you artifacts like this as much as you want.”

“…Now that’s suddenly very tempting. Hey, kid. You could make a killing in business. You’ve got a silver tongue.”

“Right? I’m pretty resourceful.”

“Oh. So you’re already doing it…?”

The two bantered as usual—but only for a moment.

As they reached the village’s entrance, a stinging scent hit their noses, and their expressions hardened.

“…The smell of blood.”

“That can’t be right.”

Gale stared in horror at the village, burning fiercely and drenched in blood.

“There’s no way dead people would bleed…!”

It was obvious.

Because the people of this place—Virga Village—hadn’t been alive to begin with.

Virga Village was the starting location of LAMPAS. Basically, it was a tutorial map.

The incident was simple.

One day, Gale Garav encountered someone by chance at the Mercenary Guild.

That was the beginning.

“Ten million Arkl! I’ll hand over my entire fortune! Please, accept my request, Ashen Demon! I beg you…!”

The request target was a star actor from a famous traveling troupe. It wasn’t a war or assassination request, yet came with an absurdly large payout.

“…Hmm. Whether I accept or not depends on the details. What’s the job?”

Gale, intrigued, asked. But the response was unexpected.

“Eh? That’s it?”

The job was to investigate and resolve a “phenomenon” that had occurred in his hometown—a remote mountain village called Virga.

If there was a culprit, he wanted certain retribution.

But this “phenomenon” was incredibly vague. Because it was—

“Hey. This phenomenon you’re talking about… isn’t that just your gut feeling? It’s not even certain. Why bet your whole fortune on it?”

“…”

“If word gets out that I conned a dumb client, I’m screwed. A mercenary who’s lost his credibility is worse off than some retired old man in the back alley.”

The only basis was the client’s gut feeling.

“No! I’m certain. Something definitely happened in my hometown…!”

“That’s not what I’m asking. I mean, how do you know that—”

Interrupting Gale, the client shouted.

With unwavering conviction.

“I just! I just knew the moment I saw them! When I greeted them after a long time apart… my instincts screamed—these are not my family!”

“…”

“If that’s the case, what about my family? My friends, my lover, my neighbors? What happened to them?”

With trembling hands, the client raised his teacup and took a gulp before continuing.

“It’s a grim world. I don’t expect the villagers who went missing to still be alive… But still! That doesn’t mean I can let the one who killed my family go unpunished, does it? I’m begging you! You’re the only one who can take care of this!”

Moved by the client’s desperate plea—one that bordered on unreasonable—Gale, the supposedly washed-up old man with a surprisingly soft heart, responded.

“You’re a stubborn old guy, huh… You know there’s no refund, right? You’ll have to sign a proper contract.”

“…! Thank you, truly, thank you!”

In the end, he accepted the request.

“What the hell is this…?”

And so, about a month ago, he arrived at Virga Village.

It was then that he confirmed—the client’s gut feeling had been right.

“They’re all dead, aren’t they?”

The people of Virga Village had none of the vitality, the life force, that living beings should possess.

They were all corpses.

“…Are you a mercenary?”

“What brings you out to a remote place like this?”

“Hello, mister! Welcome to Virga Village!”

And yet, the villagers acted like they were alive!

As if the corpses were performing roles they used to play in life!

‘…Do they not even realize they’re dead?’

Not only their memories but also their appearances matched exactly what the client had described when they were alive.

There were no visible wounds, and no smell of decay typical of the dead.

Even when he subtly touched their skin, it felt… warm, like they were alive.

‘Their way of thinking, the way they talk—it’s the same.’

It didn’t feel like someone was forcing them.

They weren’t uniform—each had their own personality, and it all felt natural.

Everything was wrong!

‘Aaargh! I’m gonna lose my damn mind!’

—or so Gale must have been quietly tearing his hair out over, pretending not to, before he met Elwin.

A whole month had passed, and he still hadn’t found a single lead.

Now, back to the present.

“Damn it…! What the hell is going on here? I thought there was someone behind all this! There’s no way the dead should be bleeding!”

“…”

“Did someone sprinkle other people’s blood around? …No, that can’t be it. That’s way too much blood. If not that, then don’t tell me…”

Unlike Gale, who furrowed his brow and struggled to reason through the situation, Elwin remained calm as ever.

Because he already knew everything about the incident.

Elwin smiled coldly as he thought to himself.

‘So it’s already started.’

According to the original story, around this time, Gale was supposed to meet someone who would significantly influence his life.

A mere week’s encounter with that person was enough to make a free-living mercenary decide to become a Hunter.

‘Veteran low-rank Hunter—Jaigo.’

But due to Elwin’s interference, Gale never met that person.

To be exact, Elwin had intentionally lured Gale out of the village when that person was scheduled to visit.

And perhaps, because of that—

‘That’s why the village ended up in flames.’

Jaigo, who lacked patience, must have attacked the villagers—those corpses pretending to be people—after just a few days.

Because he didn’t meet Gale, he wasn’t stopped.

As a result, he must have exposed himself to the true mastermind controlling the village…

‘Mastermind. Hah. Mastermind, is it.’

Elwin let out a quiet chuckle.

“…How amusing.”

But the meaning behind that smile was anything but light.

Because to Elwin, who still considered himself human, those who abandoned their humanity were utterly unforgivable.

A faint murderous aura flickered around him.

“…Hey, kid? What’s with you—”

Startled, Gale turned to Elwin.

But he didn’t finish his sentence.

“Upsy-daisy.”

Suddenly, Elwin stood up from where he’d been sitting and began walking off somewhere.

“Oh, right. There’s one thing you’re mistaken about, Gale. Let me correct it for you while we’re at it.”

Then, after taking only a few steps, he stopped and looked back at Gale.

He said,

“Huh? Am I mistaken?”

“That’s right. You’ve been thinking that all these incidents happening in this village might not be someone’s doing, but rather some naturally occurring phenomenon… right?”

“…?! Kid, you reading my mind now?”

Gale asked in shock, but Elwin only smiled briefly.

“These villagers… no, these people who used to be people—are being controlled. Of course. Who else could make the dead walk around pretending to be alive? Such a vile thing.”

In a gentle tone, like explaining to a child, Elwin spoke terribly bleak words.

“It’s only humans who would mock humanity like this.”

“…Kid, you… Did you know? Since when?”

It was a loaded question. Elwin answered succinctly.

“From the beginning.”

With a thin smile, Elwin lightly patted Gale’s shoulder, who was now staring up at him in a daze.

“There, there. I’ll explain everything later. For now, get ready, Gale.”

“…Ready for what?”

“We’ve got guests, don’t we?”

Gale quickly turned his head.

“…!”

And beyond his gaze, he saw them.

An overwhelming number of corpses were closing in.

“We should give them a warm welcome, right?”

Elwin grinned savagely.