Chapter 67: Divine Hunter
Through the haze of fading consciousness, Fenry’s voice pierced through.
“Your life’s hanging by a thread, and believe me, I’d rather avoid you kicking the bucket.”
“…Cough!”
“You didn’t summon me just to watch you die, did you? Tell me how you’re planning to survive.”
“I… I need to get the heart…”
“The heart?”
Fenry’s head turned sharply.
At the top of the hill, where corpses were piled like a grotesque monument, the heart hovered in midair, radiating an unnatural presence.
Moments later, a small figure emerged near the heart.
It was her—the monstrous girl who had given Fenry so much trouble earlier.
Arena Huaton.
The heart was now in her hands.
“Goddammit, are you telling me I have to fight that monster again?”
Fenry’s brows furrowed in frustration.
Dornef’s warnings about Arena hadn’t been exaggerated.
Her reflexes were beyond human, her strength monstrous.
But the worst part was her relentless, suicidal counterattacks. Lacking the capacity to feel pain, Arena charged recklessly into battle, forcing even a close-combat expert like Fenry to fight cautiously.
She was an opponent no one could guarantee surviving against.
And now, the situation had gotten worse.
Fenry scanned her surroundings, biting her lip.
The problem wasn’t just Arena.
Krrr…
“Hah, it’s been a while since I felt a chill like this.”
Countless Chimeras, gathered in massive hordes, were closing in around her and Arena.
They were completely isolated.
Fenry let out a dry chuckle and quickly began calculating her options.
Fighting both Arena and the unified Chimera horde would be nothing short of suicide.
‘Should I just grab him and run?’
Looking at his condition, she doubted he’d make it to the city alive.
If he died before they got there, she’d face the penalty for his death—a loss she couldn’t afford under any circumstances.
“But if I stay and fight, I’ll die too.”
If she left him behind, the Chimeras would kill him anyway.
Either way, his death seemed inevitable. Her best option was the one with the highest survival odds.
If he could just stay alive until they reached Beneta, there was a chance.
“Let’s hope you’ve got a tough enough life to survive this.”
Having made her decision, she began to activate her shadow magic while hoisting Arthur onto her shoulder.
But then—
“……?”
Fenry’s expression shifted to confusion. She glanced down to see that the shadows she had intended to summon were gone.
The faint change in the environment didn’t escape her notice. A strange, ominous light was rising from between the corpses on the ground, gradually intensifying and suppressing the creation of shadows.
“What the hell is going on?”
Fenry narrowed her eyes, focusing on Arena.
But it wasn’t her doing.
It didn’t take much intuition to figure out that Arena was just a puppet following orders.
So who was pulling her strings?
The answer was clear—it was the heart.
“Dominic’s dead, after all.”
Fenry had personally cut Dominic’s body to pieces, so there was no doubt.
If the heart had a will of its own, then this was its doing. But for what purpose?
Suddenly, Arena began to act strangely.
She raised the heart slowly, bringing it toward her mouth.
“…No way.”
Fenry’s denial came too late. Arena opened her small mouth and swallowed the heart whole.
Thump—!
Moments later, a deep red pulse radiated from her body, accompanied by the sound of a beating heart.
The rhythmic thumping echoed like a drumbeat, filling the surroundings.
Responding to the sound, the ominous light rising from the corpses surged skyward, before sinking into Arena’s body.
The light condensed into a crimson aura around Arena.
Something was happening.
Feeling a deep sense of foreboding, Fenry hoisted Arthur onto her back and began searching for an opening in the Chimera horde.
With all the Chimeras standing still and staring at Arena, now was the perfect time to escape.
“W-Wait…”
“What do you mean, wait? Are you trying to die for real? If you’ve got the strength to speak, use it for your damn abilities.”
“…….”
Arthur fell silent, but with great effort, he stretched his hand toward Arena’s direction.
A faint, white glow began to radiate from his palm.
Was he really about to use his abilities in this state?
Muttering something under his breath, Arthur finally managed to force out a single word.
“…I’ll hunt her.”
“What?”
Fenry thought she’d misheard.
This half-dead man was suddenly talking about hunting?
Before she could respond, a sudden energy surged around them.
Wuuuuuuuuuum—!!!!
The light, pure and white, emanated not from Fenry but from Arthur.
Her sharp eyes turned to the man she was carrying.
Hundreds of threads of glowing mist were spilling from Arthur’s body, growing denser by the second and weaving together into great, rippling waves.
“What the hell is this?”
She muttered the question to herself.
“Put me down,” Arthur answered calmly.
When Villains Become Stronger.
I knew most of this novel’s story, but I’d always prepared for unexpected variables.
You’d think I’d have gotten used to it by now.
But this time, the variable had surpassed every expectation—it was the worst-case scenario.
I had successfully killed Dominic, yet here I was being blindsided by the heart I thought would be my reward.
‘Is this the end?’
As I teetered on the edge of death, I felt something stirring within me.
Deep in my core, something was rising—a familiar energy.
Sacred Power.
It wasn’t speaking to me in words, but I could feel its presence, like a voice resonating through my very being.
The Sacred Power was focusing on something.
It seemed to be asking a question: Will you hunt ‘that existence’?
Hunt?
The word triggered a memory—my unique ability.
Could it be? Was Arena Huaton the prey it was referring to?
The thought caught me off guard. But with death staring me in the face, I wasn’t in a position to be picky.
I mentally nodded, and then… a transformation began.
“…Hunter of Divinity.”
Muttering the name of my awakened ability, I felt the changes ripple through my body.
My mind cleared, my sluggish limbs surged with new energy, and my ragged breathing became steady.
As I opened my eyes, Fenry’s face came into view, her expression equal parts confused and irritated.
“The paralysis is gone? And your wounds are healing faster now.”
“Thank you for saving me.”
If it weren’t for Fenry, I would’ve died several times over by now.
Slowly, I sat up and assessed my condition.
The wound in my abdomen was still severe, but the bleeding had stopped, and my complexion was already improving.
The paralysis from the Chimera fluids had worn off, allowing the special potion Fenry had used earlier to take effect.
But that wasn’t the only reason for my recovery.
‘Everything has been enhanced.’
My physical strength, mana reserves, combat instincts, and even my recovery speed—they’d all skyrocketed.
If I had to guess, I was now strong enough to take on a four-star opponent.
The enhancement was overwhelming, one of the many perks of awakening as the Hunter of Divinity.
“How are you feeling?”
“I can fight.”
“Good. Then listen to me from now on—”
“I don’t think I can do that.”
“What?”
“I already know what you’re going to say.”
Fenry’s eyes narrowed.
“You do? Fine. What was I going to say?”
“You were going to tell me to clear a path out of here.”
“And you’re saying no?”
“I’m saying I can’t.”
Fenry froze mid-step, then glared at me with her sharp eyes.
“You know how insane it was to summon me into this mess, don’t you? This isn’t a place someone at your level should’ve come.”
“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have dared.”
“You lunatic. I’ve already done more than enough for you. Forget the heart. Let it go.”
“Have you realized it?”
“Realized what?”
“You figured out I haven’t taken my eyes off the heart, even when I was about to die.”
“…….”
“I can’t give up on it now—not when things have escalated this far.”
“What are you talking about?”
“If we don’t stop that thing, the entirety of Tobaron will drown in blood.”
I clenched my fists, gazing up at Arena Huaton.
Behind her head, a dark, glowing aura shimmered like a halo.
Only I could see it.
Floating near the aura were strange glyphs written in ancient runes.
Somehow, I could understand their meaning.
It was another ability of the Hunter of Divinity—the Eyes of the Hunter.
[Arena Huaton – Avatar of the Undying Retonicals (50%)]
[A Chimera body modified to its extreme limits.]
[Bearer of the Hundred Hearts.]
The information revealed by my eyes confirmed it: Arena had become the new master of divinity.
Or rather, the heart itself had inherited the divinity.
It now inhabited Arena’s body, turning her into its host.
Dominic had been the only one who could control the heart, thanks to his mastery of ancient knowledge and rituals.
But with Dominic dead, the heart was running rampant, forging its own avatar.
What would happen if the avatar reached 100% completion?
‘Nothing good, that’s for sure.’
Even as an incomplete avatar, the heart belonged to Retonicals, the Undying.
Artifacts of divinity, whether wielded for good or evil, were always linked to beings of immense power.
And the Undying was a calamity of pure evil.
If allowed to fully manifest, it would birth a disaster far worse than the red monster I had faced earlier.
This had to be stopped—no matter the cost.
Thud—
“……!”
Before I could act, Fenry smacked me on the back of the neck.
Was she trying to knock me out and drag me away?
But with my newly enhanced resilience, I shrugged off the blow.
Her face briefly registered surprise.
“…When did you get this tough?”
“You’ve helped me this much; why not see it through?”
“See what through? I’ve saved your ass so many times that you’ll have to sell your soul to pay me back.”
As expected, she wasn’t budging.
[Arena Huaton – Avatar of the Undying Retonicals (60%)]
60%.
The completion rate was rising rapidly.
If I wasted time arguing, it’d reach 100% before I could act.
This was my only chance to stop it while it was incomplete.
I had no choice.
“I’ll repay my debt later. Promise.”
“You don’t have to—where the hell are you going?!”
Ignoring her protests, I leaped into the middle of the Chimera horde.
I glanced back to see Fenry cursing furiously as she chased after me.
She wasn’t going to let me die—not when the penalty for failing to protect me loomed over her head.
This would probably be the last time she ever agreed to make a Life Mark pact.
“You damn lunatic! I’ll kill you myself after this!”
“…….”
I wasn’t sure how I’d make it up to her later.
‘But that’s a problem for another time.’
For now, my focus was on the task at hand.
All around me, the Chimeras had gathered in numbers so vast they seemed to stretch endlessly beyond the Raup Forest.
They were packed so tightly that it felt like standing on the surface of a dark sea.
Thousands of eyes turned toward me, tracking my every move.
Kiaaak!
Kaaaargh!
The Chimeras bared their fangs, their bloodlust suffocating.
Arena was the same.
She licked her lips, her gaze predatory. To her, I was nothing but prey.
I raised my hand toward Arena, the ancient glyph on my skin glowing brilliantly.
The energy surging into the glyph felt different now—boundless, as though it would never run dry.
Wuuuuuung—!!
Pouring mana into the glyph until it reached its limit, I flashed a feral grin at Arena.
A grin that revealed sharp teeth, like a hunter eyeing its prey.
Once the target was set, the hunt could begin.
Hunter of Divinity.
“You’re not the hunters. I am.”
Flash—!
A golden wave of light exploded outward, splitting the air as it surged across the battlefield.