PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

However, Desmond had more than enough combat power to fight against someone in the three-star class who used an unholy and deteriorated version of the arcana.

Although Arcana and Mana’s users shared similar weaknesses, they weren’t quite the same in that their strengths weren’t the same. Given his physical prowess that, with the help of his lineage, had reached a very high level, Desmond was able to maintain the advantage against Emerard.

With the support of the mana from the wind continuously fueling his movement ability, <Wolfhound >, Desmond could move with great freedom, always keeping a wide gap between himself and Emerard.

While approaching an Arcana user might sound like the smartest option, that would only be if one could find a way to do it without dying trying. Given the green field of fire around the Licht clan ancestor, Desmond had to put enough effort into reaching Emerard safely.

Little by little, as he continued to dodge Emerard’s crazed attacks, Desmond gathered and condensed more and more wind mana, eventually covering his entire figure in a gale of emerald green wind. Desmond lashed out with all his might as soon as he reached the proper mana level, trying to overwhelm Emerard’s defenses. “<Wolfhound – Fenrir>.”

Immediately, Desmond’s body was engulfed by a huge wolf’s head made of blades of slashing wind. With thunderous speed and gaping jaws, Desmond lunged at Emerard.

Although mentally unstable, Emerard still had his battle instincts working correctly, and his reaction was relatively quick. Two giant meteorites made of bone covered in the green fire immediately flew towards Desmond to crush him or at least take his momentum out.

Emerard’s movement would have worked for someone who only moved in two dimensions. Still, Desmond had long since incorporated the sky into his hunting ground.

.....

With an abrupt movement, Desmond changed direction twice before leaping into the air and stepping on it as if it were solid ground. Like a rubber ball bouncing off randomly appearing walls, Desmond proceeded on an unpredictable route toward Emerard.

Seeing Desmond’s massive manifestation of mana almost reach him, Emerard summoned an enormous wall of bones around him.

A second later, the huge wolf head made of wind blades smashed into the bone wall of the Licht clan ancestor.

Hidden within the chaos of emerald green wind and bone fragments, Desmond arrived legs first and with a rather wicked grin. “Nice try, old man, but I’d like to see how you deal with this. < Titania’s Collection – Gungnir>.”

Barely a fraction of a second later, a spear made entirely of crystallized metallic mana pierced past Emerard’s bone defenses. The spear’s tip quickly found its way into the bowels of the old man of the Licht clan.

Desmond’s victorious smile was just growing on his face when he saw a sea of green flame seep out from behind the wall of splintered bone. Alarmed, Desmond kicked another bone fragment and tried to back away at full speed, but his legs were still caught in the spectral fire.

Resisting the pain, Desmond backed away until he was out of range of Emerard’s fire. A single glance revealed the rotting flesh on Desmond’s legs, which made him frown. Although he knew that the fire of the Licht clan was quite special, it was not the same to experience the effects of one’s flesh.

A second later, new flesh began to grow on Desmond’s legs, but that absurd recovery rate didn’t come for free, and Desmond knew it. Looking back at that old bag of bones, Desmond had to admit that he had lost out on that last exchange.

Emerard had a hole in his stomach left behind by Desmond’s spear, but the wound barely seemed severe. Regeneration wasn’t the Licht clan’s forte, but they weren’t as fragile as Desmond had made them seem when he’d invaded his mansion. As if to test this theory, Desmond drew his silver pistols and poured copious amounts of metallic mana into them before opening fire.

Added to the natural metallic mana the weapon imbued into each bullet, Desmond had doubled that reinforcement, but the bullets barely sparked as they struck Emerard’s bare bones.

Desmond didn’t even seem surprised, but his face changed completely when a huge bone spear came out of the ground without him noticing. With barely a split second to react, Desmond instinctively covered his chest with both weapons, only to see them explode into a million pieces.

The force of the impact knocked Desmond out of the way of the spear, but it did little to improve his mood after watching his prized pistols shatter to bits. Had it been another time and opponent, Desmond would have complained and cursed, but seeing Emerard’s current state, he stopped.

Desmond could only assume that Emerard’s latest injury had unleashed him, not that the reason mattered too much; the problem was that the short, aging ancestor of the Licht clan looked like he’d eaten half a ton of steroids and stimulants.

Seeing how a substance like tar seeped from Emerard’s flesh and his bones seemed to deform aggressively and dangerously, Desmond couldn’t help but think of the necrotic beasts he had seen in Erack before he met Sasha, as well as the necromancer that both of them had defeated together.

Despite the pain in his heart, Desmond sped back, ignoring the crumbling pieces of his pistols. Having stepped back, Desmond saw that the bone spear that came out of the ground a second ago was actually a bone tail that had grown on Emerard at some point.

Seeing the increasingly large and dangerous ancestor of the Licht clan, whose energy fluctuations kept getting more intense, Desmond made up his mind. Without a second’s hesitation to speak, Desmond sprinted in the direction of the mural that acted as the entrance to Lilith’s tomb.

“Traitor, slave of the witch.” Emerard’s crazed roars made the unholy scent reverberate in the air in a way Desmond didn’t like. Only now Desmond realized that the old man seemed to have lost his little sanity due to the stress of the battle and the injury it caused him, which led him to become a slave to his impulses and that evil essence.

Though the earlier exchange had been brief, Desmond had still gained enough information to see the gap between himself and Emerard, which was possible to cross before the latter’s transformation. As for taking on the unholy steroid version of Emerard? Desmond had better things to do than seek his own death.

As he sprinted for the door, Desmond racked his brain for Nicolai’s memories of the mechanisms and seals used on Lilith’s tomb. After a couple of seconds that felt like an eternity, Desmond nearly spat blood at how absurdly elaborate the method needed to open that damn door was.

As if the goddess of fortune was trying to mock the hunter’s current exasperation, Emerard finished his transformation before Desmond made it to the door.

“Witch, curse, sinner.” Accompanied by the mindless growls of the now-crazed Licht clan ancestor, a massive bone whip almost completely covered Desmond’s field of vision.

Alarmed, Desmond aimed his ring, <Fated Star>, and instantly cast one of his most potent abilities, <Jormungand >. The giant snake made of aquatic mana mercilessly smashed into the huge bone whip, creating a massive shock wave.

At the same time, Desmond, who had relied on the ring to unleash an ability of that caliber, took the opportunity to activate the first door-opening mechanism. Quickly locating the first key in the mechanism, Desmond saw the symbol of the Lupan clan and knew immediately what to do.

“I guess this is Karma for calling them mangy dogs all this time.” Desmond muttered bitterly as he resorted to burning one of the drops of essential blood within him.

A single drop of blood, pure, brilliant, and crystalline, almost like a ruby, stored within Desmond’s heart along with his elemental seeds, melted, and the power within it flowed into the hunter’s body, giving him more than just a burst of momentary power.

At that very moment, Desmond’s canines grew, as did his white hair, which soon formed a long mane behind Desmond’s back. A golden glow and a pair of sharp pupils could be seen in Desmond’s blood-red eyes. Beyond that, Desmond’s physique grew by a small margin, with every muscle within his body brimming with latent power.

At the same time, a huge explosion of dark green fire completely vaporized Desmond’s attack. The huge necrotic beast that Emerard Licht had become bellowed in primal fury to establish some kind of dominance. This act made Desmond roll his eyes and respond with the howl of a wolf.

AAAWWWL*

The powerful wolf howled reverberated throughout the catacomb, drowning out the last roar in a second and activating the corresponding mechanism of the Lupan clan key.

Seeing the golden glow of the first and the remaining four keys, Desmond cursed again at the jerk who designed the door in such a cumbersome way.

“Screw it; I only have to open four more mechanisms.” Desmond commented angrily and tiredly, giving up on insulting all the ancestors of the unknown door creator.