'Ha, ha ............ d*mn it! He escaped!

After a fierce battle, the demon let out a high-pitched scream that you wouldn't expect from its appearance and collapsed.

It was the end of my luck that I attacked Arnold. The reason why Arnold and the others were having a hard time earlier was because the demon was being unusually cautious. Even though it was a surprise attack, the victory or defeat had been decided when they challenged the Gorai Haha Sen , which was in almost perfect condition (maybe it was even more powerful than usual due to its rage).

Arnold fell to his knees as he thrust his sword at the head of the falling green demon.

I was able to defeat it. But it took a long time. I can't see the carriage of the Thousand Transformations anymore.
His body is heavy. I knew it would be difficult to catch up with him now.

I told myself, but my frustration showed no sign of abating.

A ray of light that had been supporting Arnold's fight came running up to him, checking the demons that had frequently tried to escape. Although she is a bit battered and bruised, she is the second most powerful of the Foreign Mist. His every move shows that he is a bit more relaxed than the other members.

'Are you alright, Arnold-san?

'd*mn it! d*mn it! I'll never forgive you!

'Please calm down, Mr. Arnold! We can't go after them right now! Hey, you guys, secure the camp. We'll stay here for the night.

The last words of the Thousand Transformations swirled in his head.

This was the first time Arnold had been mocked like this since he had become a hunter. Even when he had just become a hunter and his skills were not yet strong enough, he had never been treated so falsely.

He suppressed his anger, which could explode if he wasn't careful, in the back of his mind and let Ei lead him to the camp.
At the camp, there were still traces of the preparations made by the "Thousand Transformations". There were several skewers of meat and fish roasting beside the excessive flames, and there was no sign of demons around.

It was a blessing in disguise. It would be a good place to rest. The Crimson Flame has already sat down and is preparing to set up camp.

Take a deep breath and calm yourself down.

'You managed to get out of the predicament, didn't you?

'Ah, ............, well done.'

Arnold jumped out of the way the moment he found the Thousand Transformations. Instead, it was definitely Ei who protected the party from the demon attack.
At his short praise, Ei smiled.

'Heh. It was much easier than I thought it was going to be.

'......Shit, everything is in the palm of that guy's hand. ......'

In a fit of rage, I slammed my fist into the ground. The roar of the crowd made me shudder, and the members of the Crimson Flame looked at me, but that didn't dampen the flames of Arnold's anger one bit.

It's a ridiculous thought. There's no doubt that Arnold is pursuing the Thousand Transformations of his own volition.
It is impossible for a non-god to control all of this, but the timing was just too good.

'...... You may need to think about it carefully once again. What did you think of the contact?

'............This is a new opponent! d*mn it, ...... didn't even evade. What kind of logic is it to take my blow unprotected and not even wince? That's impossible.

I'm not sure what to do. And now Arnold has a weapon that he didn't have at the time - the "Thunderbolt Flash".
I know that many high level hunters have monstrous durability. But even if the blow is not fatal, it is impossible to take a blow and remain unharmed.

I thought he was an idiot when he showed his defenseless appearance while protecting the female hunter beside him. Even the best hunters can't escape death if they are hit by Arnold's blow to the vital point.
However, what came to Arnold in the next moment was an even greater shock.

He opened his hand and looked down. The feeling of the blade being flicked still lingered in his hand. It was definitely harder than the thunder dragon that Arnold had defeated.

'I don't think I can take Arnold's blow with pure durability. Isn't it a warding?

''I didn't give him any time to ....... I'm sure you'll be able to figure out how to use it.

It is possible that a top-notch mage could do such a thing with a bloody effort.
But the way the other party behaved didn't seem to be doing anything.

Aye said with a difficult expression.

'Isn't it some kind of ...... treasure tool? It's not surprising that a hunter of that level would have a Safe Ring.

It's not possible. I've certainly hit a few. I'm sure you'll be able to figure out how to use it.

The warding finger is a famous treasure, but it's also famous for its weaknesses. It's only a treasure tool to prevent surprise attacks. Therefore, a hunter of Arnold's caliber always keeps in mind the possibility that his opponent may have that treasure when dealing with humans.

'That guy had a lot of leeway. He didn't even show any signs of fighting back. d*mn, he didn't even take a stance in front of me, huh?

I can understand evasion. I can understand using a weapon to catch him. But that man was not intimidated by Arnold's attack.
It was as if he was showing off his superiority.

The Zekage that was attacking like a raging fire was indeed strong. His speed was exceptional and he was used to fighting, but more importantly, his blows were so heavy that it was hard to believe he was a thief.
Even a bandit like Ray would be no match for him. Even Arnold might lose if he was not good enough. That's a well-trained hunter.

But it's still better in the sense that it knows the trick. The Thousand Transformations goes far beyond that in only one respect: it's different.
I don't know how to fight it. I didn't expect that at level 7, even after having engaged it once, I would still get that impression.

'Illusion ......? With a physique like that, he wouldn't be a vanguard.'

'Illusions with substance? That's ridiculous. It would be more convincing if he had endured it in the flesh!

A hunter always assumes the unknown, but there is always a limit. If you assume that your opponent is omniscient and omnipotent, you can't be a hunter.



Think of all the possibilities and deny them yourself.
If he didn't let his opponent draw his sword, he wouldn't even be able to envision how he should act.

The only way you can win is to give it your all. Gorai dasen is Arnold's second name, the name of the weapon he won, and the name of his final technique.

Wards or flesh, all you have to do is deliver a blow that surpasses them. A simple answer, just the way Arnold likes it.

However, if an attack comes that he can't withstand, he'll at least evade it. There's no reason why an 8th level hunter should have low evasion ability. It's hard to believe that a big attack would hit him.

As Arnold calms his anger and thinks, a voice calls out to him from behind.
It's the voice of a daredevil who doesn't know his place.

'Old man! Is it possible that the old man's purpose is the 'thousand changes'?'

'......'

He raised his head and glared at Gilbert, but Gilbert didn't show any particular reaction and nodded with deep emotion for some reason.
In the background, the party members were looking at each other with shocked expressions. But Gilberto's airheaded voice did not stop.

'I know, I know. I'm aiming for it too. He's unavoidable if you want to be the best hunter you can be. I need the Purgatory Sword back. ...... Well, I don't think I can beat him at all yet.

'......'

The words were too arrogant. Gilbert has a fair amount of talent, and he's a mid-level player at this point, but from Arnold's perspective, he's still not good enough. It is unlikely that the attack of the boy in front of him will be able to penetrate the "Thousand Transformations" that Arnold's attack could not penetrate at all.

Gilbert sat down in front of Arnold and bit into a skewer of some unknown meat, chewing as he said.

'I've been looking into him. Well, as I said before, I couldn't find any detailed information. But I did find out something.'

'What's ......?'

Gilbert crossed his arms and frowned at Arnold, who asked back without much hope.

'It means that the Thousand Transformations is not a Thief, Swordsman, Paladin, Magi, or Alchemist. Apparently, before he became a hunter, he was careful not to have the same job as his friends.

Most of the jobs Gilbert mentioned are common ones.
Most hunters fall into one of those categories. Apart from that, there are only a few possible jobs.

'What's that at ............? Are you saying you're a healer?

'No, I think it's ...... probably not, because the healer was using a treasure. I couldn't tell even if I thought about it. I was wondering if an old man could figure it out.

Gilbert says wearily. A useless man.
But he didn't have the information to begin with. If what he said was true, it would at least be helpful.

As Arnold began to ponder again, Ei said.

'For now, let's rest for the day. We'll start the chase tomorrow, the carriage is a bit of a pain, but we can look for it in the city on the way.

'Do you know where ...... is?

It was unlikely that the carriage would have left any tracks. Arnold's lips twisted into a smile as he asked.
His pupils, dilated with tension, reflected Arnold's.

'Yeah, they're waiting for us to track them down, whatever they are. It was a small voice, but I overheard it by the lake. Next target is--
The next target is the Night Palace.

'What ......?

'The Night Palace'. Arnold had heard that name before.
It's a treasure hall that boasts one of the highest difficulty levels among the treasure halls that exist in Zebrudia. It was also the treasure house that the Ghost of Sorrows was attacking.

The recommended level of attack is 8. This is an extremely difficult treasure house that did not exist in Nebulanubes, where Arnold and the others were based.
My body trembles. It's a warrior's tremor.

The members of the Crimson Flame looked at each other as if they were in a tense situation.

'Are you telling me to come? If you're going to chase after me, you might as well do it.

The members riding in the carriage of the Thousand Transformations were weak. Leaving aside the fact that the one who looked the weakest was the Several Transformations , it was an inadequate force if you were trying to conquer a level 8 treasure hall.
No matter how strong the Zekage or the Thousand Transformations are, they alone cannot conquer the Treasure Hall. I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

'They might be planning to join us.'

I'm not going to start tracking them down if I'm afraid of that.''

Stand up to the strong. It's also a hunter's instinct.
I was going to go for it sooner or later. This is a good opportunity to do so.

Arnold smiled a feral grin, and Ay cowered and looked back at his friends.

The party is in this together. The time for the final battle is approaching.





In the heavy rain, Citrie, who was looking through binoculars toward the Castle of the Demons, looked at me and said in a troubled manner.

'Ah, ...... doesn't seem to be here anymore. It looks like we got mixed up. There's no carriage.'

'Seriously, ............, let's stop by the hot springs and go home.

It took me days to get here, avoiding all the commotion, lightning, and Arnold, but reality is cruel.
I shrugged my shoulders and stood up to talk to Black and the others who were acting as my guardians.