Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest-Chapter 415 94.3 - Not every negative thing is negative

The moment he realized that the academy was planning to trap them, everything made sense. But, it was still not the time to think about all those things. After all, in a way, he was running for his life there.

He knew he needed to get out of there quickly since staying here only meant Death, and that wasn't something that he could accept no matter what.

He had a map of the academy and its bird's-eye view, so he had a general idea of which direction to run in to leave the academy grounds.

WOOSH! He began to run, his breaths coming in ragged gasps as he sprinted through the forest.

After all, the amount of mana he had spent while fighting against the professors and the little energy that was left inside him was not enough to coat himself with mana completely.

He also spent quite a bit of mana while activating the artifact, which made it worse. Adding to the injuries he had sustained, it was evident that he would have a hard time.

The slight darkness resulting from the thick foliage made it difficult to navigate, but he pressed on, driven by desperation and the need to escape.

SHIVER! Suddenly, he sensed someone's presence. A bloodthirstiness that made his body quiver from the pressure and the 'intent.'

'What? Is there a monster here?'

The pressure was so much, and the bloodthirstiness was so crazy that he couldn't help but remember that one time when he was a hunter, he faced a boss.

This level of bloodthirstiness was comparable to that.

The world seemed to slow down around him, his senses heightened by the imminent danger. His superhuman senses and intuition parameters that he had honed after years of fighting when he was a child made this possible.

'Too fast.' Despite this, he couldn't react completely in time. The speed of the attacker was much higher than his own.

CRACK! In an instant, he deployed a quick barrier of mana, which lacked depth and good formation.

The barrier managed to block some of the impact, but the force behind the attack was overwhelming.

CRASH! He was sent flying back, crashing through the underbrush and slamming into a tree.

And he was not alone. The other two students that he was carrying on his shoulders also flew up in the sky, each hitting a tree and stopping.

Pain coursed through his body, but he forced himself to stand, groaning in agony. He looked up to see his attacker emerge from the shadows—a figure with long purple hair cascading down to her shoulders.

A figure that looked young, most likely an academy student.

But something was different about that figure.

What was it?

'Those eyes. What the hell?'

Blood-red pupils filled with madness. Symbolizing the bloodthirstiness.

'Fangs?'

And two fangs directly seeping through the mouth.

'That expression.'

The face that would normally pass as beautiful was now contorted. It looked eerie and dangerous.

"Grr….."

Bill's eyes widened in realization. This was no ordinary student. This was a monster, a result of the corruption seeds they had been spreading. But could such a strong monster be created just by those seeds?

Before he could answer that question, the monstrous girl disappeared from his vision. He spread his senses to detect her presence, but his senses picked up nothing.

'Is she gone?'

He thought inwardly that the danger had finally passed.

"What the hell was that girl?"

Leaning against the tree, he released a hearty breath.

But the moment he did that, his eyes met with two crimson spheres.

'!' His body turned cold, his blood stopping. The girl hadn't left; she was just right on top of him.

The monstrous girl's fangs gleamed in the dim light, and before he could react, she lunged at him with terrifying speed. He tried to raise his arms to block her, but she was too fast. Her fangs sank into his shoulder, and he screamed in pain.

Bill struggled, trying to push her off, but her grip was like iron. The pain was excruciating, and he felt his strength draining away as she fed on him.

"Gulp."

He did his best to use the demonic energy in his demonic core, which was recently integrated into him. Though the power was hard to use and it went berserk often, he knew he didn't have a chance.

'But why?'

However, it didn't work at all. The energy wasn't responding to his calls.

No, it was rather about to go berserk. The situation was too dire for him.

'COME YOU FUCKING ENERGY! WHY ARE YOU NOT WORKING!'

He wanted to shout with anger, but even mustering the strength to move his mouth felt like a chore.

His vision blurred, and he knew he had to act fast if he wanted to survive. However, he couldn't use the demonic energy.

Thankfully, because his core wasn't completely integrated into his body, he was still able to use normal mana like other humans, but it was limited to non-delicate type. His connection to normal mana was corrupted, making it a lot harder to control.

Yet, if it was a primal way of using it.

He could do it.

With a desperate burst of energy, he summoned all the mana he could muster and blasted her with a shockwave.

"Grr….."

The force threw her off him, and she landed a few feet away, hissing in anger.

His body was shaking in fear. For the first time in a while, he was feeling such a thing. Even while facing the professors, he hadn't felt like the death was this close.

"Haaaaah….Haaaah….Haaaaah…."

It was as if something was suppressing him initially. Inherently, he was against a superior being from the start.

'Ah….'

And at that moment, the realization hit him.

The reason why his demonic energy didn't work.

Because he was against a demonic being right now.

A demonic being was ranked much higher than him in terms of hierarchy.

'Why is there someone like her? And why is she attacking me?' There were infinitely many questions that lingered in his head, but he couldn't answer any of them.

He staggered to his feet, clutching his bleeding shoulder. He knew he couldn't fight her head-on. He needed to escape.

"Grrrr..."

But how could he do it?

How could he escape from this situation?

As he asked himself this, the girl attacked him once again, instantly appearing right beside him. He raised his hand to attack to fend her off, but the girl just ignored it and went straight for his neck. He managed to push her back once again with a burst of raw mana, sending her skidding across the ground.

'She's not acting rationally,' he thought, panting heavily. 'She's only focused on something… but what?'

Then it hit him. The first time he had blasted her with a shockwave, she should have been able to sense it easily, but she didn't react just as this time. Her movements were erratic, driven by an insatiable hunger rather than strategy or awareness.

His blood.

The moment he realized this, his eyes darted to the two girls lying on the ground. Then, another question arose this time.

Why was she this focused on his blood? Those girls were also there, but her attention was solely on him. And it was not like he posed as a threat either.

'Threat? Ah…..'

Then he understood why, and a plan began to form in his mind.

'Please work...'

"Grrrrr..."

SWOOSH! The girl once again rushed towards his body with erratic speed. It was faster than before. But this time, he was ready for the plan.

"Argh-!"

His body was in pain, but he couldn't care less. There was only one thing that could be done here.

His mana was depleted, and his demonic energy was inaccessible. Therefore, he did something that Hunters would only do when their lives were on the line.

Using his own life force.

The essence that displayed his vitality. The essence of his whole very being. The moment his life force was depleted, he would die.

But what was the use of lifeforce if he couldn't even live to deplete it?

In an instant, amongst the pain that he was feeling, strength started filling his veins. He felt like his body was a lot stronger than before.

Even with this, he knew that he wouldn't be able to face the girl on his own. Thus, he did what he needed to do.

–SWOOSH! He reached the red-haired girl first and quickly smeared some of his blood onto her neck.

The monstrous girl's eyes locked onto the new scent, her predatory gaze fixated on the red-haired girl.

"Growl-!"

She let out a guttural growl, driven by the overpowering scent of blood. But at the same time, something felt like holding her back. She was not moving but rather wriggling.

As if she was fighting with herself.

But Bill could care less.

He took this moment of distraction to move to the silver-haired girl.

He smeared more of his blood onto her as well, ensuring the monstrous girl's attention was fully diverted.

With the monstrous girl now focused on the two unconscious students, Bill began to leave the place, pumping life force into his legs. He felt his skin slowly deteriorating, his body aging rapidly as if he was being drained of years with every step.

But in the face of his death, he could care less. He just wanted to leave the place.

His heart pounded in his chest as he ran, the forest blurring around him. He pushed himself harder, his legs burning with the unnatural energy. He could feel his muscles straining, his bones aching, but he didn't stop.

He looked back and saw the girl was no longer pursuing him. She was completely fixated on the two students, her predatory instincts overriding everything else.

"Yes….I am alive…..Haaah….Haaah…."

A feeling of joy and relief washed over him. He was alive. At least for now.

SWOOSH! POP! But suddenly, something happened.

His vision turned dark. He couldn't see anything. "What...?" he muttered, confusion and panic setting in.

In an instant, he lost consciousness.

His world ended. His body fell to the ground, with blood oozing from his forehead from a small, precise hole.

He lay there lifeless, his skin wrinkled and aged, a stark testament to the toll of using his life force.

All of his desperate attempts, all of what he had done to survive.

It was meaningless.

He faced death randomly by a simple mana bullet burning his forehead.

Right on the side of the monstrous girl, she attempted to attack the red-haired girl, no longer able to control herself. She leaped towards the red-haired girl's neck, fangs bared and eyes glowing with bloodlust.

SWOOSH! But then, suddenly, someone appeared from the shadows, moving with swift, silent precision.

He put his arm right before the girl's fangs just as she was about to sink them into the red-haired girl.

The monstrous girl bit down hard, her fangs piercing the flesh of the newcomer's arm.

"I am here, Senior. You can calm down now."

---------A/N----------