PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

On a typical day, the rain was a welcome thing in the city, something the citizens were used to. This was the first time in the city’s history that its population feared the rain. Perhaps this was because it was not water that fell from the sky but burning spears.

Panic and fear flooded the city streets in seconds, by which time the fire spears were already finishing their journey to the ground. A few seconds passed before the terrified people realized that fire and death were not falling on them. Instead, the spears of fire that filled the sky on the city’s south side were all coming down, focused on one point in the city.

To be more specific, the place where the fire lances fell was the southern commercial plaza of the city, where the forces of the royal family faced an inhumanly powerful existence.

Seeing the sky above them covered in flames was terrifying for any of the people in the plaza. Can I survive that? That question flashed through the minds of everyone watching the spears of fire rain down on them.

The people hit by these fire lances saw their defenses overwhelmed and knocked down instantly. Their pathetic efforts to defend themselves simply weren’t enough. Then something extraordinary happened; aside from being thrown everywhere like rubber balls from explosions, these people seemed untouched.

In fact, the most surprised were none other than those struck by the burning spears. The moment these people thought they would die, the only thing they felt was a huge push. It was like being hit with a cotton sack. Yes, it was annoying, and yes, it even felt suffocating in a way, but no one was hurt.

Seconds passed, and the forces of the royal family met between laughter and tears. No one had died, which was to be appreciated, but their current situation was humiliating. Everyone could tell that the strange existence was toying with them.

Every time a knight managed to stand up again, he has knocked down again and sent flying. Some were even continuously knocked into the air, causing their bodies to bounce comically.

.....

The only exception was Camila, who was too powerful to even be moved by this attack. Camila might not be physically hurt, but her pride couldn’t be considered intact.

While it was true that Camila was utterly unaffected by Harmony’s little trick. It was also true that this move alone proved that Harmony’s control over fire was on a level that transcended anything she had ever seen.

To make matters worse, it was obvious that Harmony wasn’t making any effort. Harmony stood where he was, looking with interest at the chaos he had caused, with an amused smile always on his lips.

Camila had taken her time analyzing Harmony’s behavior, always looking for any signs of real aggression hidden behind that harmless, innocent appearance. When Camila was sure that Harmony was just messing around with them, she thought it would be good to let Harmony have some fun before calming things down. That way, she could avoid a conflict with the strange creature.

Converging all the gray mana on the edge of her sword, Camila exploded with the full power of a three-star class and split the sea of ??fire in two. The gray mana on Camila’s sword carried an infinite weight that swept away the rest of the fire spears from the sky, ending the pathetic spectacle on the ground at last.

Paying no attention to her companions on the ground, Camila focused her gaze on Harmony, waiting for her reaction. Although it was a calculated move, Camila still didn’t understand the strange entity in front of her and had to be ready to fight. She was relieved when she saw that Harmony didn’t seem to turn hostile.

However, the following words almost made a person as serene as Camila want to swear a thousand times. Using a voice full of grievances, like a small child who was bullied by an adult, Harmony spoke up. “Why did you have to spoil my fun?”

Camila tried to be as patient as possible and explained. “Those people are my teammates and are not having fun.”

Camila didn’t expect that Harmony’s childish tone would change in the next instant, giving a rather ruthless response. “It’s good enough that they’re keeping their lives. They should be thankful that I only play with them a bit. After all, I know their mission is to capture Cecilia. I think she would not have such a bad time thanks to you since I feel how much you care about her.”

Getting there, Harmony was distracted for a moment, his eyes like precious gems of different colors fixed on Cecilia, who rested in his embrace. Camila didn’t fully understand how Harmony could make such deductions. Moreover, she didn’t understand why Harmony went from a wayward child to a calculating adult.

“It is a pity that one of you intended to harm Cecilia.”

Camila was focused on trying to understand Harmony’s strange and erratic behavior when the latter made one more comment with a creepy tone. Camila cursed when she understood that Harmony had stopped being nice.

Camila’s insight came, of course, from the actions Harmony took as he made his last comment. The change was instantaneous, to the degree that it was impossible to determine if this was still within the realm of speed. Now a deep blue prism was in the place where Harmony used to stand, and behind it, Harmony stood, reaching out his hand towards the crystal.

Switching positions aside, Harmony’s actions couldn’t be more familiar to Camila. Although it had taken Camila only five years to get to where she was, the amount of experience and combat acumen she had was no small feat. Seeing that the red crystal was not restored after being used by Harmony, Camila had her own assumptions about Harmony’s abilities.

What followed now was something Camila didn’t want to see; Harmony used the energy in the blue prism to unleash another attack with the power of a three-star class.

One had to know that an existence like Camila would never have a fight with someone on her level within a city. This is because the destruction resulting from such a clash would eventually be enough to annihilate a city.

Camila had no idea if Harmony was just playing with her again or if this was a serious attack. That was what Camila was worried about since before; she could get rid of the rest of Harmony’s attack only because the latter wasn’t resisting. From having a real showdown against Harmony inside the city, it was impossible to avoid collateral damage.

To make matters worse, Camila had no wiggle room this time because she let her guard down because of Harmony’s attitude. Unable to predict Harmony’s changes in mood, Camila had to watch helplessly as something emerged from the blue prism.

“Jormungand, devour those who oppose me.”

This time, no fire demon emerged from the scattered shards of the prism used by Harmony. Instead, a bolt of sapphire lightning shot out, reaching its target instantly.

Even Camila, with her superhuman reflexes, only saw a flash of blue light past her at mind-boggling speed. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead as she realized that attack could have hit her before she had managed to defend herself against it.

What worsened Camila’s mood was the grotesque sound behind her. With her experience on the battlefield, Camila didn’t have to turn around to identify what sound that was. It was the sound of flesh being torn apart, bones being crushed, and someone’s life meeting a tragic end.

Turning around stiffly, Camila could get a better look at the strange lightning that now looked more like a blue pillar extending from where Harmony was standing. At first glance, this looked like a simple water mana beam, but one could notice two strange things upon a closer look.

The first was that this blue pillar did not have a straight shape and extended with some curves; something strange for this type of attack. The second thing to note is that the mana construct wasn’t smooth either but was covered in scales instead.

When Camila finally managed to turn around completely, the source of that bloody sound entered her eyes. The head of a snake, or at least it looked like it. Camila had never seen such a gigantic snake that seemed so scary.

The snake’s jaws were the source of the sound, and Camila didn’t have to think long to realize that this gigantic beast had swallowed someone and chewed them alive. Camila swallowed hard; she finally understood how close she came to meeting a bad ending.

With another flash of blue light, the snake contracted back to Harmony’s side in the blink of an eye. A severed arm fell out of the snake’s jaws and was probably the only thing left inside it when it closed its mouth. Although one arm was all that remained, due to how unique the armor used by each knight in the royal family was, Camila was able to identify the owner.

The owner of the amputated arm was the man who gave the order to attack without considering Cecilia’s safety. Seeing this, Camila had to make a decision. The collateral damage didn’t matter anymore. Even her desire to protect Cecilia had to take a backseat; Harmony was too dangerous to be left alone.

Camila had just decided in her mind when she felt a gaze on her. Was that mockery? Camila wasn’t sure why but Harmony was smiling in her direction. There was no friendliness or amusement in that smile anymore, just intense teasing.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t stay to play. My time is running out.”

Camila had a bad feeling and decided that this time she had to be the one to take the initiative. The ground around her turned to scattered sand just from the force of her footfall as Camila lunged at Harmony at full speed. However, Camila was still one step too late... literally just one step.

Harmony’s body crashed into one of the two remaining prisms with a single step back. With a flash of emerald light, Harmony disappeared. Free and unpredictable like the wind, temperamental and capricious like fire, sometimes soft as water or firm as steel; Harmony was that kind of existence.