The thought of killing a monster had always been so far away. However, this changed so rapidly that Taylor required some time to get back to his senses.
From the various stories and reports he had read about monsters, Taylor didn't feel guilty eradicating such a terrifying threat.
The sight of the Hawk's burned head had caused him to get overwhelmed by sudden nausea. It would probably be worse if he would have killed the Hawk with a dagger, digging deep into its flesh to drain its lifeforce and end the monster's life.
Taylor shuddered at this thought and his legs felt like jelly.
'I have to be strong!' He tried to tell himself, whenever the picture of the Hawk's corpse appeared in his mind.
It had been imprinted in his memory and Taylor would never forget it. But Taylor thought that this was actually something good because it would allow him to stay humane instead of ending like a mindless killer.
He lost the last physical possessions he had not too long ago and he needed money, which was why he went out hunting.
"You'll be fine after you killed a few times. Right now, you may feel like you will never want to kill anyone ever again, but this is actually harder than you think. In this world, you will face many challenges, whether you like it or not, you will be forced to kill…or you will get kil–..." Eris was not even done with her lecture when a hoarse scream echoed through the outskirts of the Everlasting Glacier Forest.
Both Eris and Taylor's heads flicked in the same direction and they saw a second Frozen-talons Hawk diving down at Taylor.
It was faster and larger than the other Frozen-talon Hawk that lay dead on the ground.
"The partner?" Taylor blurted out in astonishment, not expecting to be forced to fight right after he made his first kill.
However, Eris' comment reverberated through his mind, and he completed her lecture in his mind. 'Whether you like it or not, you will be forced to kill…or you will get killed!'
Taylor grit his teeth at the sight of the Hawk's dive. Monsters were innately extremely aggressive, which was why even herbivores turned into ferocious existences the moment they were enraged the slightest bit. They were completely different to ordinary animals and Taylor could tell that his life was on the line.
The protection he received from Eris was forgotten for the moment as a small fist-sized fireball formed in his left hand. Taylor began to sweat buckets and sudden exhaustion overcame him but he forced himself to go on.
Yet, when he was about to throw the fireball at the larger Frozen-talons Hawk, Taylor froze in his place. The image of the burned hawk corpse flashed through his mind and a foul smell formed in his mouth.
Taylor only regained his composure when he heard the Hawk screeching out angrily once again. The monster was right in front of him, less than a meter away from his face.
'I hesitated too long!' Taylor realized in terror. He couldn't throw the fireball anymore because he wouldn't be able to move quickly enough to gain momentum.
Thus, Taylor forced a fist with his left hand, squashing the fireball that burst open. The flames that gushed out of his fist mantled it under Taylor's will as he punched out with tremendous velocity.
Instinctively he had punched out, attacking the Frozen-talons Hawk with his fire-mantled fist. Taylor's eyes narrowed when the monster didn't show the faintest sign of fear or hesitation. Its' beaks collided with Taylor's fist, blood spurted through the surroundings and the sound of something breaking could clearly be heard.
Taylor's expression turned ugly as a searing pain spread through his hand upon colliding with the Hawk's beaks. However, he didn't give in to the force of the Hawk. Instead, Taylor's raw strength seemed to increase as he overwhelmed the Frozen-talons Hawk.
His punch that was filled with every ounce of strength he could utilize was powerful enough to stop the Hawk's advance, break its beak, and fling it against the closest tree.
The Frozen-talons Hawk smashed in the thick needle tree where it slumped to the ground, unmoving.
Taylor breathed heavily while remaining in the same position for several seconds until he digested what had just happened and a silent, "Fuck" escaped his mouth,
Eris just blinked with her beautiful eyes, looking at the entire situation, unsure whether she should congratulate Taylor for being far stronger than one should be as a newly awakened, or if she should start lecturing him once again.
"He got injured…" She mumbled mostly to herself, and Taylor flicked his head to her almost instinctively, fearing that she would wreak havoc in the Everlasting Glacier Forest
Fortunately, that was not the case and she seemed quite calm…too calm.
Taylor felt chills running down his spine and he didn't even realize that she meant him when she said that someone got injured.
Only when he opened his left fist did he recall the pain that started to spread through his body once again.
"Oh…the Hawk's beak pierced me a bit," Taylor mumbled innocently as he looked at the small cuts between his index and middle finger. It was nothing serious but that was actually astonishing as well.
'I thought my hand would look worse,' He thought in all honesty, but he was happy that his condition was better rather than worse.
Taylor didn't have anything to tend to his tiny wound. He could only disinfect it once he got his hands on some money, which was why he stepped forward to pick up the taller Frozen-talons Hawk's body.
He was still a bit nauseous at the sight of corpses but the second time it felt much easier for him to look at the lifeless corpse of a monster he had killed, with his bare hands at that.
Cold sweat trickled down his temples and he felt that his entire body was a bit sweaty.
'Is that the limit of my Fire Ancient Power? Looks like I need to train it a bit more. I hope there is a technique suitable for my Ancient Power…' Taylor contemplated.
He was just about to pick up the monster corpse to sell it in Kial when he noticed that something soft touched his hand. He felt a sting at the wound the hawk's beak had caused when something wet was spread on the wound.
'Huh?' Taylor just thought as his head turned to the left, where he found a Demon Queen leaning over his hand, licking his blood.
"Your blood is delicious~" Eris moaned excitedly, completely ignoring Taylor's confused expression as she kept licking his index and middle finger of his left hand.
His gaze locked on Eris, her seductive actions and her provoking expression, Taylor swallowed his saliva.
'She is really…dangerous…'
[Author Note: Please comment how you like/dislike the novel! I accept every type of criticism]