Hidden Predator (1)

I didn't expect to encounter one of them so soon. I had waited a long time for this, but now was not the time to hesitate. I had to give it my all. I crouched down and pulled out a spare reel with my finest threads from my cloak. I opened a hatch on my arm and quickly swapped it out discreetly. Grabbing a linen cord, I tied my hair back. Nothing could distract me at that moment.

His hair was a medium brown, and his eyes were a deep, piercing gray. He wore a dark, fitted tunic with a low hood that concealed part of his face. His tight pants and boots revealed that every detail of his outfit was designed for movement.

Beside him rested a medium-sized blade, larger than a dagger but smaller than a sword. Its shape was peculiar, distinct from any conventional weapon.

"It landed on heads, so we'll have to play. No need to look so angry; it'll be fun."

"Was it you who killed everyone that entered the forest?"

"I was just playing with those who lost the game."

"What a joke. Are you saying you let them go just because they won in this little game of yours?"

"I'm a man who believes in fate; that's why I decide everything with this." He raised the coin, showing it to me.

As we talked, I took the opportunity to start spreading my threads around me, moving my fingers almost imperceptibly. I had to be careful; first, I needed to figure out what kind of power he had.

"Then why did none of them return?"

"Who knows? Maybe they didn't want to come back."

"Heh. You must have killed them all."

"I was bored. It had been a while since anyone showed up. When I saw you all entering, I could barely contain myself."

So I wasn't wrong; that feeling of being watched was real. It had been him all along.

"Why wait until now? You could have attacked at night while everyone was sleeping."

"That wouldn't be any fun… I sent one of my babies to assess your group's strength, and you were incredible. You killed it, and not just that, you took down five more of them on your own. You're really good."

As he spoke, a bizarre smile formed on his lips, and his body trembled slightly, as if he were restraining himself.

"You talk too much."

He began moving his hand toward his sword, and I focused, not looking away. However, in an unexpected move, he pulled his hand back behind the tree trunk, grabbed something, and threw it at me.

"Brought you a little present."

I quickly realized it was a head. It rolled to a stop in front of me, and only then did I recognize it: it was Lucas's head.

When I looked up, he was gone. I couldn't believe it; I had only looked away for a split second. I turned my head quickly, scanning my surroundings, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Panic started to consume me, and my breathing became erratic. I needed to calm down. I took a deep breath, started carefully listening, and observed my surroundings.

The next moment, as I slightly turned my head back, I saw the tip of a blade approaching my eye. At the last second, it stopped just inches from striking me. Reacting instinctively, I quickly jumped to the side.

"Huh? What's this? Threads? Ahh, so that's how you killed my babies. They seem pretty sharp." He spoke while running his blade along the thread.

What did this guy do? Out of nowhere, he appeared behind me. What kind of power does he have? If I hadn't placed a thread there, I'd be blind right now.

According to the master, it seemed that each of them had a different power. That was the problem: how could I figure out his? I needed to analyze carefully without losing focus.

"You bastard, how did you do that?"

"Haha. You're definitely an interesting toy…"

In the blink of an eye, he vanished again before me, even though I hadn't looked away for a second. Seconds later, I heard the snap of a branch breaking beside me on the ground. Instinctively, I turned and threw a punch into the air with my left arm.

"Whoa! That was close. You've got great reflexes."

That's when I realized: he wasn't disappearing. His body was still there, just becoming harder to see, but still vulnerable to attacks. That was why he wore light clothing, allowing him to move silently and remain undetected.

In an instant, he vanished again. I focused on the sounds; luckily, I had trained extensively with my master to fight against those monsters, which usually acted at night. My threads were already strategically positioned throughout the battlefield, nearly invisible in the air.

I heard a faint movement on the ground to my right. I pulled one of my threads diagonally, and it suddenly tensed, cutting through everything in its path. He appeared for a moment and dodged, spinning before launching a horizontal attack. I reacted instinctively, retreating and falling backward.

"What's wrong? Are you already going down from a simple strike like that?"

He started repositioning for another attack, but I hadn't thrown myself back just to dodge the blow. I had already prepared several threads, and as soon as my back touched them, I used the momentum to launch myself forward, delivering a punch with all the strength in my left arm.

Just as my strike was about to hit his face, he dodged with impressive speed, leaping to the side and executing a few rolls. My arm struck the tree trunk in front of me, shattering it into pieces instantly.

Dust and wood fragments scattered into the air, momentarily obscuring my vision. I took a deep breath, ignoring the sting on my face, and quickly regained my balance. My eyes locked onto him again; I couldn't afford to look away for even a second.

"You've spread a lot of those things around here… And what kind of strength is that? You destroyed a tree with just one punch!"

"Stop hiding like a rat and come at me already!"

"You're too impatient. When you find a fun toy, you have to go slow so it doesn't break too quickly."

He took his coin and flipped it into the air. The moment it started to fall, he became invisible. Apparently, that was the only power he had, since his eyes remained normal when he wasn't hidden. If my memory was right, when the power of the Corrupted was active, their eyes took on the same appearance as those monsters. I had already spread several threads around me, and if I focused hard enough, I could detect his position.

I can win!

Feeling confident, I let a slight smile form. I focused on the sounds around me, but before I could react, a sharp sting sliced across my face. When I touched it, I saw blood on my glove.

When I turned, he was already behind me, ready to strike with his sword. Reflexively, I raised my left arm in front, blocking the attack. The impact sent his arm and blade recoiling.

I quickly retreated, propelling myself backward with a series of rapid jumps, keeping my attention fixed on the enemy.

"Now I get it. Your arm is made of steel… I've never seen anything like that before. Interesting." He smirked, resting his sword on his shoulder.

What was that? He was way too fast! In just a few seconds, he was already behind me. He really is just playing with me. From the start, he could have killed me at any moment.

My confidence crumbled in an instant. A cold shiver ran down my spine as sweat formed on my skin, a silent warning of danger.