From Peace To Predator – He Called It Hunting But I Was The Weapon

Tell me what happened at school today." She asked as if waiting for her new favourite long waited drama. We took turns. First me. I told her everything like I was reciting a mission report. My voice was steady. Hers nodding along, soaking in each detail like a sponge to rain. Then Nasuke, he didn't hold back. People kept asking him: "If he was really a Raman? If he was just nine?! And he's was already at the academy?!" He repeated every question like a trophy. His chest puffed, his voice gleamed with pride. Then came the moment I dreaded. I turned to Dad.

"Um... Dad?" He turned, eyes steady.

A faint sound of his cup hitting the table, hollow, quiet. "Yes?" With calmness as if he was waiting for this conversation. "Are you coming with us to the hunt?" But half knowing his reply. He laughed, short, rough, dry. A laugh that meant. You don't know yet, do you? "You really think the president goes hunting himself?"

He leaned forward slightly. "No. You're going. As me." My breath caugh, the room shrank slightly. I could feel Mom glance over. "But I'm not a hunter yet."

"Officially? No, but you're qualified, you've earned it. "So go. Represent me." I nodded slowly. "Someone will be coming with me. A friend. I haven't told him what we're doing yet." Dad studied my expression for a moment, like he wanted to say something but held it back. "Fine. Just make sure he comes back safe. Watch his back."

" Sure," I replied, voice firm but my chest was heavy. The words echoed in me like a sealed order. A mission I didn't know I was ready for, the weight of his words was more than a request. It was a command. The last time Dad took me into the dungeons... something terrible happened, and he promised he'd never take me there again. I guess he changed his mind.

I was only six, back then, he wasn't the powerful president he is now, he was just a low-ranking hunter. Still earning his stripes, he had a small team with him, men who now hold seats of power, but that day, they were just hunters. And I? Just a curious little boy tagging along. Or so they thought. Somewhere deep in the dungeon, while they were scouting lower corridors, I vanished.

They thought I was lagging behind. Footsteps echoing, shouts faint in the distance. Until I didn't answer. "Nageya?... Nageya!... Where are you?!" But there was no response from me. Panic spread like wildfire, they searched, they called out. Then they heard it. Not a scream. But something else. —CRRRRK.— SNAP.— CRUNCH.

The sound of gnashing teeth. Bones breaking under pressure.

When they found me... I wasn't crying... I wasn't afraid either, I was Calm and Still.

Covered in blood that wasn't, kneeling over a giant green goblin, it's neck was nowhere near its head. It was the first thing I eat up piece by piece untill it's death, blood soaking the floor beneath me. and I wasn't done yet.

I had killed it, not with a weapon, but with my bare teeth, I was done with the neck and held the arm. The arm I held in my hands still twitched from whatever life was left, and I remember clearly, I was smiling. As if eating my favourite, chicken-rice porridge, but inside my eyes, my father said, there was no joy but fury. A cold, wild, unnatural fury that didn't belong to a six-year-old boy.

No one said a word as I stared back at them, blood dripping from my mouth, but I could see it, the horror in their faces. From that moment on, the other hunters marked me. Unfit. Not because I was weak, but because I was something else entirely. Something dangerous. My father never took me back after that day. He swore he wouldn't, he promised to keep me away from the dungeons, away from what they revealed inside me. For years, he kept that promise, trying to protect me... or maybe trying to protect others from me.

And those men who were with him? The ones who now sit at the top of the Guild? They remember it, too. That day, buried in their memories, is why they still look at me like I'm something they can't quite explain. And maybe they're right, maybe even I don't know what I am. A moment of silence settled over the room. Like everyone was breathing in that memory. After talking to Dad, I excused myself and headed to my room to freshen up. The evening hunt was getting closer, and I needed to get through my lessons before then.

Just as I sat down, a gentle knock landed on room's door. —Knock, knock, knock.— "Can I come in?" Mom's voice. "Sure, why not," then i remembered something. "Wait, wait, wait! Mom, don't come in!"

The door creaked as she started to open it. "But you just said I could," she replied, half-laughing. My eye brow twitched. "I know what you're up to, and I'm busy right now." I could tell it was part of her routine.

"Oh, come on, just a moment. Give your mom some time, would ya?" I sighed. "Okay, fine. Come in but don't touch anything in my room." The door creaked fully open, and in she walked, holding... a comb. And hair ties. "Mom, please..." I groaned. "I told you not to touch anything."

"I'm just standing here," she said innocently. "Haven't done anything yet. So, what are you doing?" she asked. Like she couldn't tell. "Having my lesson." I continued. "I need to finish up before I head out for the hunt." She nodded, lips pursed. "Oh, I heard about that from your father. Are you ready?"

"I'm not sure if ready is the right word!..."

"You've done it before. You'll do fine. Just make sure not to hurt the innocent ones."

"Yeah... I'll keep an eye out."

And then, like a thief in daylight, her hands reached for my ponytail. "Wow honey your hair is now at your elbows, did you stop trimming it!?" She asked padding it. "Mom! I need to concentrate!"

"It's okay. I won't take long. I just need to make my baby look cute."

"No, Mom, don't make me cute. You're gonna make me chop off my hair one day."

"Now, now. Don't you dare think of that." Before I knew it, she was styling my hair like I was a toddler again. I looked in the mirror and sighed. I looked like an adorable puppy.

Right on cue, the door burst open. My brother, he took one look at me—froze—and then exploded in laughter. "Pffft! Wha... what is on your head?!" This was classic Mom, she's the reason I've kept my hair long, every time she sees a new trend. Mafia style, beggar style, anime style, she tries it out on me.

Then jealousy struck. "Mom, style my hair too! Style mine, too!" my brother cried, already sitting beside me. "What are you even doing here?" I asked, squinting. "I came to study with you, but also... I want a hairstyle."

I smirked. Seconds later, I was the one laughing. He looked like a walking hairpin magnet, like a kitten, ready for a fashion show. Moments later, we're both in stitches, laughing at ourselves and at Mom's magic touch. That moment? That was peace. That was home. Being with Mom... is always fun. Some time later, a knock echoed through the hallway. —Knock knock.— Mom was the one to answer. When she opened the door, Ike stood there, eyes wide, mouth slightly gaped as if he'd just walked into the wrong universe. Standing before him was a radiant woman, graceful and glowing with warmth.

"Um... excuse me," he stammered, trying to gather his thoughts. "Is this... Nageya's house? Or did I... get the wrong address?" Mom chuckled softly. "No, you're at the right place. Come in, he's waiting for you." He stepped in, still half-stunned, as if unsure whether to follow her or pinch himself. Just then, I came out of my room. "Hey, you're here already," I said casually. He leaned in, whispered with wide eyes, "Nageya... is that your mom?"

"Yeah," I nodded, amused. "Mom, this is Ike. Ike, this is Mom." Mom smiled, tilting her head slightly. "Nice to meet you! You must be Nageya's new friend, right?" Ike said absolutely nothing. He was too busy staring, still floating somewhere in the clouds. Mom looked at me with raised brows. "Nageya, is he okay?"

"Don't mind him," I said, trying not to laugh. "I think he's just lost up there in the sky." But it didn't stop there. As I turned him toward the living room, he caught sight of Dad and spiraled even higher. His eyes locked on him. His feet carried him forward unconsciously as if pulled by magnetic confusion, until he was standing right beside Dad.

Dad turned his head slightly, eyeing him with quiet curiosity. Ike slowly pointed at him. "You... you have to be Nageya!" Then turned to me, "And you must be... his father?" I stared at him. "Come on, Ike! Look at my hair. It's long. His isn't. Look at our eyes mine are blue. Remember?"

He blinked, refocusing. "Yeah... yeah. Come to think of it. I'm sorry, dude. You just look so much like your dad." I couldn't blame him. I do look like him. But watching him fumble through the moment? It was absolutely worth it. When the haze of confusion finally cleared from Ike's face, he snapped back to reality. "Oh—oh no," he stammered, suddenly aware of what he had just done. "I'm really sorry, sir. I didn't mean to be rude. I just... I got completely mixed up."

My dad, calm as always, let out a soft chuckle. He placed a reassuring hand on Ike's shoulder. "You're okay," he said with a small grin. "We... get that a lot. People often confuse the two of us." His voice held no judgment, just a quiet amusement, since it wasn't the first time someone had mistaken Father for Son.

Ike rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, his cheeks turning the shade of cooked shrimp. "I really didn't mean to act like that," he mumbled. "I guess I let the confusion take over..."

"It happens a lot to us," Dad replied, and with that, the tension dissolved like mist under sunlight. Ike let out a nervous laugh, finally relaxing, though he clearly swore to himself never to mistake anyone's identity again. I stepped out with Ike by my side. The wind was calm, but something in the air felt different, like the world was holding its breath. We walked in silence for a while, heading toward the woods. The path ahead stretched far, the city slowly fading behind us.

"Hey, man," Ike finally broke the silence, his tone casual but laced with curiosity. "I agreed to come, sure... but you didn't say what we're doing. Is this some kind of a hangout or what?" I kept walking, eyes fixed ahead. "Ike... Have you ever heard of the Dungeon Thieves?" He stopped, confused. "You said what?"

"The Dungeon Thieves," I repeated, turning my head slightly. "The ones the hunters track and eliminate." Ike burst into laughter. "Dude! 'Dungeon Thieves'? That's the name you went with? That sounds like a kid's fairy tale!"

"Well... they do steal from people. And they do come from dungeons. Makes sense, right?" Ike laughed harder, holding his stomach. "Okay, okay, fair enough. But yeah... I've heard of them. Didn't they get sealed away or something?" I nodded, my voice dropping. "They were. But the seal's broken now. They're out... roaming the city." He froze, laughter gone in an instant. "Wait. What? You're telling me... they're here? Like, right now?"

He took a step back. "Dude, it could be anyone. It could be you!" I smirked. "Exactly. They're masters of disguise. They blend in... copying humans. But there's a trick to spotting them." Ike leaned in, serious now. "What trick?" He asked.

"They smell like fruit." I answered.

"Fruit?"

"Yeah. All of them. Their bodies give off a fruity scent. Sometimes light, sometimes heavy. But always there." He blinked, trying to wrap his head around it. "So what exactly are we doing out here?" I turned toward the forest, the shadows thickening before us. The answer was waiting in the trees, I glanced at Ike and said calmly, "We're going to hunt them." He stopped dead in his tracks. "What?!" he shouted. "Dude, you never said we were here to hunt those freaks!"

"Shhh!" I hissed, sharply turning. "Keep your voice down. You'll alert them." Ike's mind went into overdrive. "Man... we're not even hunters! Why are we out here in the woods? Shouldn't this be happening in the city?" I walked ahead, eyes scanning the trees. "The ones in the city are being handled. Barely. Once they blend in, it's chaos. You can't tell who's real anymore. Especially the goblins... They have to kill to take someone's identity. The others can choose to take your form with or without taking your life."

I paused, turning back toward him. "But we're not here for those. We're going for the big guy... the one still in the dungeon." Ike stumbled a step. "The big guy? Dude, there are thousands of dungeons in these woods! How do you even know where he is? And it's just the two of us!"

His voice trembled now. "This isn't what I signed up for. I'm not ready to die." I offered him a calm smile. "Relax. I'll protect you."

...But even I wasn't sure what we'd find out there.