Dark Fantasy Genius Demon Hunter

A Rabble

“Didn’t he already notice and run off?”

“Is the information leaking?”

“Ah, damn it.”

The group that had been waiting for Gaon to arrive had let their guard down completely, squabbling among themselves with frowns and careless chatter. They looked as if they were practically setting the stage for their own ambush.

Gaon didn’t refuse their hospitality.

Swish—

The sound of something cutting through the air split the space between them.

Then, a sharp thunk! followed by a breaking sound quickly changed the atmosphere.

The dull, explosive noise easily captured the attention of the distracted group.

“…Huh?”

“What, what is that?”

“Sh-shit!”

Confusion and shock erupted simultaneously.

However, Gaon wasn’t about to wait for them to assess the situation.

Swish— swish—

The attacks shot through the air, and with pinpoint accuracy—

Thunk! Thunk!

Two more bodies dropped to the ground.

“Bow! It’s a bow!”

Only then did they realize what kind of weapon had just attacked them, and shock filled their voices.

The trembling object from the head of a former comrade was all too familiar.

Those who had been hiding behind cover, arguing about whose fault it was, scrambled to hide behind the terrain once again.

But in the meantime, arrows continued to fly through the air.

“Gah!”

“Why me, goddamn it!”

Since Gaon wasn’t aiming at stationary targets, his shots didn’t kill in one shot, but none of them missed.

‘Not bad for a bow I just started using.’

Gaon didn’t lament not finishing off the last two.

“Are, are you okay?”

“Your blood!!”

As usual, the injured ones caused more disruption than the dead, leading to a greater loss in combat effectiveness.

Huff.

Gaon took a slow breath, then pulled the bowstring to its limit.

Whoosh—

Releasing the string casually, the arrow tore through the air with a terrifying sound.

Someone screamed in pain.

“Argh! My eye! My fucking eye!”

Another person cursed as they barely dodged or missed the shot.

The impact sounds of the arrows reaching their targets caused emotions to swing from despair to relief.

“There! Over there, he’s there!”

Ignoring the threat of being attacked, or taking cover in blind spots where arrows couldn’t reach, they managed to track Gaon’s location by following the path of the incoming arrows.

“Charge!”

“Kill him! Kill that bastard!”

Angry shouts erupted.

“If we stay still, we’ll all die! After we get knocked down by the arrows, then you want to rush in?! Run! Run now!”

Fear was not something that could be solved with a single word.

Whoosh—

“Gah!”

Another one fell, lifeless.

“Sh-shit. We never said he could shoot like that.”

“So you wanna just stand there and die? If you want to do that, then just stay still!”

Amid the emotional chaos, a few calm individuals assessed the situation and added their thoughts in a matter-of-fact tone.

“If we all rush out, our chances of being targeted will drop. Maybe the confused guy won’t be able to aim properly.”

“Do you think so?”

“He’s just a human. He only has two arms, and he can only pull one bowstring at a time.”

“Right. He can only shoot one arrow at a time.”

Encouraged by the calm reasoning, the group took a collective breath and swallowed their anxiety.

“Three, two—”

The number game began suddenly.

However, not a single one among them was ignorant of what it meant.

“One. Now!”

The ones hiding behind the terrain rushed out all at once.

“Argh! My arm!”

Those who had poked their heads out or tried to move saw arrows piercing their bodies without fail.

“You bastard!”

“Die!”

Perhaps seeing their companions fall to the ground, struck by arrows, they let out a bloodthirsty rage.

It was too far to shoot another arrow with precision.

Gaon calmly set aside his bow, tossing it without hesitation.

‘Eight.’

The number of enemies still standing, uninjured.

Gaon drew his sword and charged toward them.

“W-what?!”

The one who was about to face Gaon for the first time was thrown into a moment of panic, surprised by Gaon’s bold approach.

It unintentionally turned into a one-on-one fight.

This caused even the weaker one to act even more recklessly.

Swish—

Gaon’s sword cut through the enemy effortlessly.

The man staggered and fell, an expression of frustration on his face.

Gaon saw that expression but felt nothing.

The sensation of the blade cutting through flesh, the intense emotions of someone on the brink of death, and the realization of having taken a life—all of that meant nothing to Gaon now.

The Gaon who had once been awkward and uncertain was no longer here.

In the short time Gaon had spent in this world, he had gained too much experience to feel guilty over murder.

It wasn’t that he had become numb—it was that he had accepted it.

Gaon’s eyes were already focused on the next target.

The sword that had just slain the first man traced a smooth arc through the air.

In an instant, it reached its target.

Thud!

The sword pierced the man’s body, avoiding the ribs and reaching the heart.

Gaon could feel the tremble in his eyes as the life left him.

Gaon calmly twisted the sword and pulled it out.

The man’s body collapsed to the ground, and Gaon moved forward again.

“H-Hey, we need to rush him all at once! Quickly! Get to my side!”

Seeing the first two men fall, one of the remaining enemies panicked and shouted.

However, they weren’t skilled enough to stop their momentum, and they stumbled forward.

Crash!

It was inevitable that they collided with Gaon’s shield.

“Gah!”

The man collapsed, vomiting a dangerous amount of blood.

The chunks of his internal organs pouring out with the blood were unmistakably large.

His internal organs had been pulverized, no longer functioning.

There was no way he could survive.

Maybe if he had divine healing, there could have been hope.

Gaon turned his gaze away from the man.

His eyes slowly shifted to the remaining enemies.

“H-Hik.”

“H-how…?”

The remaining enemies froze in place, as if they had forgotten they were still running.

The depth in Gaon’s eyes was overwhelming.

Fear washed over them.

It was so intense that some of them were grinding their teeth, not even realizing it.

They knew they couldn’t win.

That realization had deeply etched itself into their hearts.

Finally, the will to resist faded.

Their actions had already been sealed.

Thud. Thud.

They dropped to their knees, placing their weapons on the ground.

“P-please, spare me! No, please, I beg you!”

“I-I didn’t want this! He! He tricked me!”

They begged for their lives.

They thought that by overwhelming him with numbers, they could win.

What arrogance.

They cried, regretting their past actions.

But Gaon,

Thud! Thud!

Gaon had no intention of showing mercy.

He swung his shield and struck with his sword.

“Ughhh!”

“Cough!”

The only choice left for the enemies, seeing their comrades die mercilessly at Gaon’s hands, was to flee.

“Run! Scatter!”

It was as if they had coordinated it—each of them scattered in all directions.

But Gaon did not chase after the disorganized group.

Whoosh!

Just picking up the bow he had left behind was all it took to resolve the situation.

And then,

Thwack!

Gaon’s decision was firm.

To eliminate all those who had targeted him.

He gave arrows to the fleeing ones one by one.

After confirming the last one fell from an arrow, Gaon strapped his bow back and took up his sword again.

He was moving across the battlefield to end the lives of any remaining enemies.

“Please, spare me.”

“Why should I?”

Gaon coldly asked the man who was clutching the arrow lodged in his body, his face soaked with tears.

“Please, show mercy…”

“If I had been captured as you planned, would you have spared me?”

“Of course—”

“Ah! You would have spared me to steal my Vision, right?”

Gaon interrupted the man’s words and swung his sword.

Thwip…

The man’s head rolled off, and blood splattered everywhere.

Gaon turned his head toward the other survivors.

To them, Gaon’s calm, unwavering face, stained with blood, must have appeared as that of a grim reaper.

“Please! Please! I won’t do it again! I won’t even look at you! Just spare me—”

“I’m sorry! Please forgive me.”

The remaining survivors, whose eyes met Gaon’s, desperately pleaded for their lives.

Though each of them said something different, it was all the same.

They all begged for mercy.

Gaon swiftly beheaded them, piercing their hearts one by one.

One, two.

The screams of the enemies faded.

When all the cries had stopped, only one voice remained.

“Ahhh, ahhh…”

The owner of the voice no longer begged for mercy.

He had realized Gaon had no intention of sparing him.

Tears streamed down his face, snot and saliva dripped, but he didn’t even attempt to wipe them away.

Although it wasn’t particularly hot, sweat poured down his face.

The stench of urine filled the air, and his pants were thoroughly soaked.

There was no difference in the last moments.

Thrust!

Gaon’s sword pierced the man’s heart.

“Ugh.”

Under his tears, his bloodshot eyes were filled with resentment.

Gaon ignored the man’s lingering emotions and twisted the sword to pull it out.

Shlick-

The blood gushed out, soaking his clothes.

The vengeful glare in the eyes of the dead was intense and vivid, but it didn’t affect Gaon in the slightest.

As with his other stats, his mental strength had grown, supporting him in such moments.

Gaon collected valuable items from the fallen attackers.

Most of the items of value were their weapons.

Sometimes, coins were found in their possession, though the amounts weren’t large.

That didn’t mean he looked down on them.

He collected everything and strapped the items to his back.

The weight of the weapons pressed heavily on his body, but it didn’t matter.

He wasn’t planning to enter the contaminated zone just yet.

Gaon turned back toward the city.

***

Although Gaon hadn’t asked for it, he had become someone who drew the attention of others.

Curiosity about him never ceased.

Whenever the rumors seemed to die down, another story would arise, and just as it was about to quiet down, more news would follow.

One of those stories was about Gaon returning from the contaminated zone with a bundle of weapons that were the size of his body.

Monsters don’t use weapons.

If he had hunted a monster, it made sense that he would return with its remains.

But what Gaon had brought back were not monster parts but weapons, things humans would use.

Even if the quality was poor, they were not cheap.

It was no surprise that curiosity was stirred up.

Naturally, when Gaon headed to the contaminated zone, the truth about the three parties that had disappeared came to light.

Those who had coveted the Vision and gathered a party to join the attack had been approached by others, and some had testified about it.

“Those guys. They were obsessed with Gaon’s Vision. They even came to me, asking me to join them.”

“Is that true?”

“Yeah. Of course, I immediately turned them down because I found their actions unpleasant.”

“Good call. If you had accepted their offer back then, your weapons would’ve been mixed in with the ones Gaon brought back.”

“Hmm… that’s a terrifying thought.”

“Yeah, you’re lucky.”

“Yeah, they said there wasn’t a single scratch on him. Even with all those weapons, he didn’t show the slightest sign of fatigue. He really got off lucky.”

Such conversations were circulating in various places around the outskirts.

Of course, Gaon, who stayed holed up in his inn room as usual, had no way of knowing how the rumors were spreading, but it wasn’t as if he was surprised.

He had already experienced how rumors could spread, such as during the tentacle spider incident and when he inadvertently became a stepping stone for others.

Still, he had deliberately allowed these rumors to spread and let things take their course for a clear purpose.

‘It’s not just these guys who would greedily make a move.’

If he had secretly dealt with the attackers to avoid drawing attention, there was a high chance that a second or third wave of attackers would show up.

What if rumors spread like this: “Three parties who coveted the Vision tried to ambush Gaon, but Gaon defeated them without a single scratch!”?

No matter how greedy people were for the Vision, they wouldn’t risk their lives in a failed ambush.

Of course, the value of the Vision that had instantly raised Gaon’s abilities would only increase in the eyes of the public.

It might even draw the attention of powerful individuals who were previously indifferent.

But Gaon thought the risk was worth it, as this would shake off the weaklings who were only after his Vision.

Fortunately, the situation was unfolding the way Gaon had hoped.

The newcomers, who had been captivated solely by the Vision, were now rushing to secure it for themselves.

Moreover, the aggro that he had feared seemed to be developing in a way that was not as bad as he had anticipated.

When Ren, who usually never left his shop, came to find Gaon, it became clear.

“What… came in?”

“A commission. A commission has come in.”

The genius monster hunter in a dark fantasy world.