The Author's Viewpoint
Chapter 150 - We Hunt in the Dark

Chapter 150: Chapter 150 - We Hunt in the Dark

The darkness... it was where Tave thrived.

Tave and Vanya targeted the demons’ weaknesses with precision. The hollow of the knees, exposed throats, vulnerable wrists. Their huge frames made it near impossible for them to move freely in the tight, jagged space of the tunnel, while Tave slipped between them like smoke.

And then there was Vanya.

Her arrows came from the dark, silent and unrelenting, striking from angles they couldn’t predict. Every time the demons tried to defend one side, another attack came from elsewhere. They were overwhelmed. Crushed beneath the rhythm of a coordinated hunt.

The fight didn’t last long.

One fell first, his roar choking into silence as Soul Fire ignited around his neck, searing through him and speeding his death. The other staggered seconds later, cut down with a final blow that severed breath from body.

Tave fell to his knees, gasping, a deep wound tearing across his left arm. His pauldron had shattered, and blood streamed freely down to his elbow.

Vanya rushed to his side, dropping to her knees. She lifted her crystal lamp with one hand, casting light on his injury. Kaelira’s flame was already at work, softly licking the edges of the wound, cauterizing, and healing.

"Tave..." she whispered, her voice a mix of worry and quiet steadiness.

"It’s okay," Tave said, forcing his breath into control. "I can manage my own healing."

Vanya nodded softly, but still reached out, her fingers brushing the edge of the wound. A faint green light sparked at her touch, flickering as it merged with the fire already working on his flesh.

The warmth that followed was unlike anything else. Cool, refreshing, as if life itself was flowing back into his muscles.

With her awakened Echo, she had indeed become more versatile, and healing was one of them, even though her current build was more about damage, different from how she should be.

"You forgot, didn’t you?" she said gently. "That I feel it too."

Tave looked up, eyes meeting hers.

And... yes. He had forgotten.

When he was hurt, Vanya felt it too. Not in full, but enough to know the weight of the pain.

"We share everything," she said quietly, her voice calm but firm. "Remember that."

She placed both hands over his arm now, focusing, healing deeper.

Tave gave a slow nod, the truth of her words sinking in like gravity.

This wasn’t one-sided. It never had been. Their bond, the Pact, was a double-edged blade. When she hurt, he would feel it too. When she bled, he’d bleed. Their lives weren’t just connected. They were entwined.

That was the blessing. And the price.

This truth only made one thing clearer. They had to protect each other, at all costs. Their survival wasn’t just about individual strength anymore, but about how well they could move, fight, and endure together.

Still, the heavier burden undeniably fell on Tave.

Not just because he was the one leading their movements, or taking the frontline hits—but because, right now, he was still behind. Not by a little, if he were honest with himself... though he tried to shove that fact deep into the background of his thoughts.

He would catch up.

He would close the gap between them and reach Vanya’s level. So they could truly fight side by side, as equals. Her Echo had already awakened. Her powers had bloomed, and she stood on a different tier now. She could do more. Be more.

But fortunately, she had him.

Tave understood her power. More than anyone else could. He knew how to direct it, guide it, optimize it. And that would be their edge. Until he no longer needed to lean on that advantage alone.

For now, they rested briefly. Fang patrolled the tunnel ahead. Once Tave’s wound eased and strength returned to his limbs, they rose again, wordless, and pressed forward.

The hunt resumed.

Just like before.

But this time. Tave fought differently.

From the shadows beneath his feet, black tendrils burst forth, stretching with terrifying speed. They whipped across the rocky ground, slithering and lashing out toward the approaching demons, coiling around their limbs like serpents of smoke.

The demons snarled, thrashing in fury, their monstrous strength shaking the earth as they tried to tear free of the tendrils that bound them.

From afar, Vanya loosed arrow after arrow, each one glowing with elemental energy. The more they struggled, the more she rained pain upon them, drawing their attention and forcing them to expose their flanks.

Tave’s hands moved closer, slowly drawing together as if shaping the space between them. Energy gathered in the narrowing gap, swirling with chaotic intensity. It twisted and pulsed like a living thing, growing heavier, denser, more alive with each breath he took.

The Netherblaze Flames.

The orb grew, dense and violent, a volatile fusion of flame and shadow. Its light flickered in erratic bursts, casting warped reflections across the stone walls.

He surged forward, faster than the demons could react, and with a shout, he slammed the orb into the core of the entangling shadows.

And the world exploded.

The flames ignited like a solar eruption. Black and crimson fire tore down the tendrils and up the bodies of the demons, climbing their limbs like wildfire in dry grass.

The shadows fed the flames, wrapping tighter, burning hotter. The demons screamed, voices ripping through the cavern.

And as the firestorm raged, Tave summoned his sword mid-motion, dove into the chaos, and struck.

He slashed, ducked, twisted. Moving like a ghost through a collapsing storm. The demons swung back with brutish, furious strength, but their attacks met only air and stone. They were too slow. Too wide. Too predictable.

And behind, Vanya was merciless.

Her elemental arrows pierced with surgical precision. One after another, they slipped through the narrow gaps in the demons’ armor, embedding deep into their flesh.

Even three Gaia Grand Masters couldn’t withstand the storm brought by two hunters who knew how to dance with the dark.

They weren’t just surviving anymore.

They were dominating.

And so the hunt pressed on.

One demon after another fell beneath their coordinated assault, while Fang moved ahead in the shadows, scouting tirelessly.

They hunted, struck, and moved again with seamless precision. Tave didn’t even have the luxury of looting the fallen; every moment mattered.

They were not fighting for riches now. They were racing time.

And finally, nearly an hour later, it was done.

The last demon guarding the exit collapsed in a heap of scorched, ruined flesh.

Tave and Vanya wasted no time. Stealth cloaked their forms again as they slipped like phantoms out of the cave’s throat and into the open wild.

The demons would continue searching in the depths of the cavern, never realizing their prey had already slipped past them.

Tave dashed forward, leaping gracefully between thick roots that coiled out of the earth like the limbs of sleeping giants.

Vanya moved behind him. Elegant, balanced, dancing across the ground like she belonged to the forest itself.

Tave followed Fang’s lead now. The wolf, having picked up a new scent, dashed ahead, silent and sure.

Then, suddenly, Tave raised a hand, signaling to halt.

They stopped, slipping into the shadows behind the trees.

Without a word, Tave gestured forward. Carefully, they peered past the thick trunk of a massive tree.

There, in a clearing bathed in dim green light, something stirred.

A massive figure, still and seemingly dormant, sat hunched with its back against an enormous tree. Its body was a fusion of stone and earth, moss covering parts of its form like ancient armor. Humanoid in shape, but towering. Its form was easily as tall as the surrounding trees.

"The Golem?" Vanya whispered, barely audible.

"Yes," Tave replied, his voice just as low.

The golem sat motionless, as if part of the forest itself. It gave no sign of awareness, no flicker of life.

They had encountered this creature before, back when they were still with the others.

Vanya’s voice broke the quiet, her eyes still locked on the stone giant.

"We kill this golem, Tave?"

Tave didn’t answer right away. His gaze lingered on the golem’s frame, watching for the faintest twitch. Then, he turned to face her, and slowly shook his head.

"No," he said quietly, firmly. "We bring it with us. We make it fight for us."

"What?" she whispered, disbelief in her tone.