Chereads / How to kill a Nightmare / Chapter 10 - How does one kill The Nightmare?

Chapter 10 - How does one kill The Nightmare?

Profile - Title: The Nightmare

Name: Callahan Nyx

Age: Unknown

Crimes: Murder (approximately responsible for the personal slaughter of four million soldiers from all nations)

Threat Ranking: Maximum and absolute top priority

Notes: Little is known about the physical features of this abomination. However, nearly all survivors report that the target has a coercive voice and demonic red eyes. Possesses superhuman strength, speed, and agility. Though only a hypothesis, it is presumed that the target can drain life like that of the Vampire nobles. Kill on sight, from a distance.

Reward: 10,000,000,000 Gold Units

(Sebastian POV)

I shut the report and closed my eyes, deep in contemplative thought. Callahan Nyx, the sly bastard, is the ultimate prize. Should any one person's slay him, they would possess far more than simply an emperor's ransom. If the reward wasn't backed by the most powerful nations on the continent, many would believe the astronomical sum a joke, and a bad one at that.

However, though the world thought Callahan Nyx dead, I personally believe that he still exists and is still kicking despite the relentless hunt for his head. And as one of the hunters interested in the bounty on his head, I must say that should I get the money, I would be able to buy nearly anything I could ever even dream of. Though born into the lap of luxury, since I planned to ask Francine to marry me, I wished for Francine to have the entirety of the world and then some. To make this possible I will hunt Callahan Nyx until the ends of the earth, and now more than ever before I finally can prove that my theories were correct, and collect the unclaimed reward of ten billion Gold Units.

….

The ground erupted to my left and right, the debris covering my face and clothes with hot mud. I ran raggedly in an irregular pattern, hoping to not get killed as round after round of cannonballs splintered trees and vaporized the earth. My breathing became rougher, adrenaline was pumping through my veins, the ever growing sound of my pounding heart became all I could hear. The howling shriek of shells and the booms as they hit near me seemingly at random, filled my heart with a mix of emotions. Hate, fear, excitement, and a bottomless rage clouded my mind. A warped and monstrous smile slowly spread across my face.

"HAHAHA! It's been a long time since I felt this! HAHAHA!"

"B-boss? You okay?"

Vanessa glanced backwards towards me and gave a worried look. Seeing and hearing my outlandish smile and laughter was probably strange. To her I only had one thing to say:

"Never been better!"

"Alright the- Boss! Look out!"

Clang! With a speed and strength impossible for an unblessed human to ever achieve, Vanessa jumped into my path and backhanded an incoming cannonball. She then stopped moving and glared at the airship with a an almost palpable bloodlust. If she hadn't done that, I might be dead by now. (I say might, but I've been hit by cannonballs point-blank before, yet, I still live).

Now that brave girl's arm was bent back at a weird angle. Clearly, though her personality may be tough as nails, her body wasn't.

Since we happened to be on a rather intense time crunch, Vanessa and I had to high tail it out of here. So, with a wriggling Vanessa thrown over my shoulder, I continued to charge in the direction of the city, amid the unceasing molten rain of the cannonballs.

….

As expected, after nearing the outskirts of the town, the Air Hunter circled the city, but did not open fire. Even the Misiril Theology did not wish to bring itself unnecessary trouble. As the trees thinned and we came across a wide dirt road leading to the city gates I set down a Vanessa who had fallen asleep at one point and was drooling down my back.

"Wake up kiddo, we have at most twelve hours before that Airship gets the authorization to bombard this town until it's wiped from the map."

"Yes boss, let's blend in."

"That would be for the best." Approaching the city, we were greeted by the towering walls of the fortress city that defended the Ascret Republic's main route of commerce to the Kingdom of Gandol. In most normal circumstances, I would expect that merchants from all races and creeds would be waiting in line for miles with their assortments of goods and carts. However, with the presence of the shadowing Air Hunter nearby the well traversed path to the city gates was barren but for two sets of footsteps.

"Halt! Identify yourselves!" A young, peppy guard stood at attention, his shining chain mail armor gleaming blood red in the late afternoon sky. His short sword had been drawn, his face clouded with obvious suspicion, as he stared at both the cloaked figures of Vanessa and I. Seeing as he most likely would faint should I truly identify myself and Vanessa, I chose the depressingly easier option.

"Go to sleep." The effect was instantaneous. The lads eyes quickly dropped before leaning against the nearest wall, and behininning to snore.

"Remind me not to get on your really bad side, eh boss."

"I suppose so, but I would hope I don't scare you to much."

"Boss, sometimes you say the strangest things."

While exchanging cheerful banter, the two of us waltzed into the empty city unopposed by anyone. Like a ghost town, it seemed as though nearly all the residents had up and vanished. With only the minimum skeleton crew of guards was patrolling every once in a while to prevent theft.

Using this manpower shortage, I entered several shops for foodstuffs and supplies, finding and taking what I needed.Theft you say? No, no, I am merely borrowing a multitude of consumable items for later usage, and to be return in an undetermined amount of time. Like this, me and Vanessa bootlegged it out of the Fortress city unnoticed and in the nick of time, as the Air Hunter soon after outlet departure pounded the city into oblivion.