Chapter 55 Cheating Death - Hunted (Part 3)

…

As he was running he’d felt the monsters in the forest spreading through the area. The raging bulls had terrified all of the weaker monsters into running away from the area.

Feeling uncomfortable with all of the monsters that were nearing his direction, Jeremy moved around trying to avoid every single monster. After a few hours of moving in circles he was exhausted.

Finally seeing a cave up ahead, Jeremy jumped at the opportunity to enter some form of shelter, however temporary.

As he was entering the cave, relief coursing through his mind Jeremy’s eyes turned huge.

Up ahead of him was one of the girls from before!

Jeremy’s eyes widened as he remembered that when he ran into the group before, not all of them had been there.

Jeremy had assumed the others had been killed by the bulls, but taking a look behind her he could see Daichi as he opened his eyes.

His mind reeling, Jeremy instantly considered his immense luck!

I couldn’t get any weapons before because there were so many of them! Now look at my fortune! It’s finally taking a turn for the better!

A few hours ago I thought I had a windfall, and next thing I know I’m fleeing for my life but now it’ looks like the gods are finally favoring me after all!

The mare was staring at Jeremy with intrigue as she saw him smile so wide, such an innocent and truly happy smile.

The mare was confused as to his happiness. Had he been looking for them this entire time?

Jeremy’s innocent smile lasted only for a second as greed creeped into his eyes as he moved past the mare as if she wasn’t there.

“Boy! If you give me your swords right now, I promise to spare your life! In fact, not only will I spare your life, I will help you survive despite your stupidity! Hahaha!” Jeremy spoke up as loudly as he could, glee evident in his voice.

Daichi merely stared at him. Tilting his head to the side almost confused by Jeremy’s words, he glanced down at himself and the swords in the scabbards on his thighs.

Taking a glance back at Jeremy, Daichi expressionlessly pulled out both swords very slowly and then watched as Jeremy’s expression began to grow dark.

Although much to Jeremy’s surprise and glee, Daichi merely tossed the two swords out a meter or so in front of him.

“I’m hurt, if you want them, take them.” Daichi said in an even tone.

Jeremy was staring at the swords barely hearing Daichi’s words. These are the two items he’d really wanted from the start. He’d been willing to settle for the two daggers assuming that this stupid boy had been killed by the bulls and the swords lost. Now staring at them, all his desire manifested as with little hesitation, he barely glanced at Daichi as he stepped forward.

Remembering to have a slight semblance of self-restraint, Jeremy pulled off his battle axe and moved forward slowly.

The mare stood behind and after taking a glance she moved further outside to stand at the very mouth of the cave.

If Daichi asked her too, she would step in and stop this idiot. These two swords seemed to be of high quality, they would be wasted on him.

As Jeremy walked forward, wary of Daichi trying anything funny he was finally standing in front of the swords and his eyes were lighting up like candles.

Daichi simply stared at Jeremy will pitying eyes as he triggered his Chaotic Erupted Sphere as Jeremy was slowly bending down to pick up one of the swords with his free hand.

As Jeremy bent down he realized he was frozen in place and fear trickled down his spine as he wondered what Daichi had suddenly done.

Getting up off the ground from his cross legged position, Daichi briskly moved forward and tripped Jeremy pushing him forward onto the ground.

Getting down on top of him and pinning his arms to the floor, Daichi finally spoke “Poor choice, then again I was probably going to do this anyway.”

Daichi squeezed the back of Jeremy’s neck with his left injured hand and triggered his Life Release Aura ability.

“Wait wait wait! I’m sorry! Stop! Let me go! Please!” Jeremy began to beg for his life, but it was too far late.

Immediately Jeremy’s life-force left his body in a swirl, as Daichi’s hand and arm was healing at a extremely fast rate. The healing could visibly be seen, as skin peeled off and fresh slightly red but perfectly fine skin appeared underneath all of the burns.

Within a few breaths all of Jeremy’s life had left his body and circled the air as Daichi’s injuries were completely healed.

Daichi got up and moved to side to sit back down, he re-entered his meditative state and began to reabsorb the wasted mana.

The mare stared at Daichi as he killed the other human with absolutely no emotion. Her eyes opened wide a bit as she realized Daichi’s indifference was nearly equal to her own. After taking that man’s life, he showed no expression, nothing at all.

Feeling a little perturbed by his coldness, the mare walked over to the corpse as the remnants of his life lingered in the air. Triggering his suction ability, she absorbed what little mana was fixed into the air with the lingering life aura and felt a slight increase.

It felt like eating one or two stale crackers.

Thinking something was better than nothing, she walked back over to the mouth of the cave and continued her watch.

…

After recuperating his mana, Daichi opened his eyes and got up. He walked over to the mouth of the cave and decided to venture forth.

Standing next to her as he glanced out at the forest, Daichi took his time before finally speaking “Do you know of any way we can kill those two bulls?”

The mare thought about the question, a little surprised that he still had the intention of even trying, “No. Not for you. Not with two of them. Even if they were separated, killing one would be an immense task for you as you are.”

Rubbing his chin, Daichi felt a little anxious and annoyed. He still felt the desire to kill them, except he was clearly out of options on how to do so.

Thinking about this, he turned around and looked back seeing Jeremy’s corpse as he looked around the cave.

Looking for nothing in particular but trying to think, Daichi began to pace back and forth. Walking as he let his mind wander, Daichi continued to think of a solution to his problem. Occasionally his eyes would wander back towards the corpse near his feet as if there was something to be gained, something he was missing.

Instead he continued to dismiss it thinking that Jeremy had been useless alive, he was equally useless dead.

“The best thing Jeremy probably did for anyone in his entire life was probably give up his life willingly in order to heal my burns. Although perhaps I was quick to kill him, he could have still had some value as bait. Maybe I should have kept him alive a little longer.” Daichi thought as he continued to pace.

Thinking about his behavior, Daichi felt like just dismissing it considering he wouldn’t get answers anyways.

Daichi didn’t want to waste his time pondering something he wouldn’t be able to answer, as he felt this feeling washing over him his whole body stiffened and his mind felt like it had been dunked in a bucket of cold water.

I don’t want to bother thinking about this because I won’t get an answer?

Since when have I ever not wanted to think about something just because I wouldn’t have an answer?

My entire life I’ve spent my time reading and learning. Everything I learned made me want to think about the world, and think about everything in it. Most of my thoughts my entire life have been focused on pondering things others have dismissed.

Why have I suddenly dismissed every single thing that has happened to me since I woke up in town as if it was all inconsequential?

I would never have done that before. Never.

I may not have ever shown it, but I loved my father. I loved him but I never wanted to admit it because I could tell a small part of him hated me. He hated me because he blamed me for mother’s death.

I wake up and not once have I bothered to think about how he is, whether he’s even still alive…

An eerie feeling of being lost overwhelmed Daichi. For the first the time he began to question his own behavior. His inability to care about anything, his random rash decisions, his calculating perspective. Suddenly he felt like he wasn’t himself.

He’d never thought about it, because so much of it was exactly what he would do. He would do what he would have too in order to survive. He’d always known that, he’d been a survivor his entire life in some form or another.

Now Daichi realized how different he’d become. How strangely he’d been acting. How dismissive he’d been over the things that would have intrigued him the most before. How much he he’d done without experiencing the feelings that would have caused him pain before.

Looking to the side he saw Jeremy’s corpse and his throat tightened up and waves of nausea filled as his eyes widened.

He’d killed a person. A human being… He would have done it anyways. It was the right decision… But before he would have felt disgusted, ashamed, disheartened. Daichi stared at this lifeless corpse and despite not being exactly sure what he would have felt, he knew he would have felt something. Anything.

Instead he’d realized that from the moment he killed him, he hadn’t so much as had a second thought about his actions. Felt nothing for what he’d done.

He had not second guessed his actions or lack of feelings even once since he woke up in town. Not once.

ME! Me! I’ve always thought about everything inside and out, I’ve second and third guessed my actions, my choices since I could so much as remember. The reason I’ve always been so resolute is because I could assure myself that I would have done the same thing over and over in the same scenario… Now look at me… I’m not even questioning the things I do or feeling a single thing about them after I do them…

His own lack of fear at his sudden change in behavior was making him feel as if he should be terrified.

Realizing the immense changes to his own personality Daichi begun wonder what the cause was, the mare said there was something else causing his bloodlust…

Is there really something or someone else inside of me…? Is that the reason every time I should have asked a question and tried to think of an answer I dismissed it…?

Am I being manipulated? Or is this…? Am I just different? Was I changed somehow…?

The more he thought about it the more he felt like he should just stop bothering with these abstract questions. The more he felt the urge to dismiss these questions the more Daichi realized how important they really were.

He was struggling with his own contrasting desires.

Entering into another state of meditation Daichi’s mind stopped wandering and for the first time was completely absorbed in just one thing, himself.

Daichi analyzed himself, every bit from the physical to the metaphysical. He searched himself only to find nothing.

Instead of feeling frustrated Daichi came to the conclusion that there was nothing out of place…

“If there is nothing out of place… That means what I should be looking for is something that isn’t out of place, but that was never there before. I am looking for something that is now a part of me but shouldn’t have been before.” he thought.

Examining himself Daichi tried to find what was part of himself but shouldn’t have been and the more he looked the less he found. Then taking a step back Daichi tried to look at the bigger picture as he stared at his chaotic mana from within himself.

This was a form of mana he had never heard of before, a form of mana that no one seemed to have heard before from the previous conversation he’d had with Ava and the others. He had never told him his attribute, but had gathered as much.

Now staring it from within, Daichi came to the conclusion that perhaps it was more complicated than he had originally thought.

“Am I really a psychopath now? Am I even still me?” he thought the question while his consciousness was inside of his mana only to be surprised as the Chaotic mana around him reacted instantly pushing him out of his own meditative state.

Staring wide eyed in front of him but not seeing what was there.

Daichi sat down suddenly in stupefaction.