Chereads / Reincarnated as a Haunted House / Chapter 21 - Legend of Orochi

Chapter 21 - Legend of Orochi

-------- The night before the hunters arrived on the island in search of Moonlight-----

All four members of the 4 Calamities Hunter group had set up camp just outside the boundaries of the Serpent Forest. They sat around a crackling bonfire, where a thigh from some unknown creature skewered over the flames.

"Should we go into the forest?" inquired the man in the green robe.

"I'm inclined to agree that it's a risky proposition. The Pixie Queen has likely met her demise by now," remarked the bald man. "To the best of my knowledge, this forest is a wild, untamed place, teeming with perilous creatures. On top of that, we've heard rumors of one of the Twelve Supreme Beasts residing here. We can handle threats up to level C, maybe level B, but anything beyond that, and we're walking into our graves."

"I have reason to believe that Orochi, the eight-headed serpent ruler of the Serpent Forest, is no longer present there," chimed in the man in purple.

"Why do you think that?" inquired the man in the green robe.

"Many years ago, news reached the Monarch of Central Island that unknown forces had engaged in a battle with Orochi. Surprisingly, they succeeded in slaying the mighty beast. To verify the authenticity of this news, the King recruited 30 of the finest hunters from all across Central Island. Some of them were renowned hunters who had ventured far beyond the island's borders. These 30 hunters were divided into five groups to expedite the exploration of the Serpent Forest, and my grandfather had the honor of leading one of these groups," explained the man in purple. "They scoured the forest during the day and camped at night."

"What! They actually camped within the Serpent Forest?" exclaimed the bald man in disbelief.

"Yes, and that proved to be their gravest mistake. One of the groups had set up camp dangerously close to the den of a Flamehowler, but not just any Flamehowler—it was a Midnight Flamehowler," the man in purple continued.

"A Midnight Flamehowler? Aren't they believed to be extinct?" queried the man in the green robe. "I mean, there have been no sightings of them for centuries."

"Perhaps they found refuge in the unruly lands, protected by the Supreme Beasts," mused the man in purple.

Curious, the giant, who rarely spoke, was busy munching on a grilled pig thigh. Between bites, he managed to ask, "So, what happened to that group?"

"Tragically, all of them perished, save for one fortunate soul who managed to escape and alert the other groups," the man in purple answered. "Once the news spread among the other hunters, they hunted down and eliminated the Midnight Flamehowler. However, it remains a lingering belief that more Midnight Flamehowlers may still inhabit the forest, nursing a deep-seated animosity towards our kind. That's precisely why it's relatively safer to venture into the forest during daylight, as Midnight Flamehowlers are nocturnal creatures."

The giant, now more engaged in the conversation, declared, "I believe our group could take down a Flamehowler."

"I understand, but it's not just the Flamehowlers. The Green Lake teems with a multitude of perilous creatures. By the time the King's hunter group had completed their sweep of the forest, they had lost nearly 60% of their hunters to other creatures like Akuma Bears, Hungry Hares, and even the elusive Absent Chameleons. Only a dozen hunters remained, and the Green Lake still awaited exploration. They embarked on their search within the lake's depths, but the waters were murky, concealing dangerous entities lurking beneath the surface. Nevertheless, the remaining hunters were exceptionally skilled, and they combed the entire lake in just a few days. Yet, they found no trace of Orochi," the man in purple explained.

"So, the eight-headed serpent is truly gone," commented the bald man.

"Yes, that's what the hunting party reported to the King. However, the King continued to send a smaller group of hunters each year to check if Orochi had returned, but every time, the hunters returned without any sign of the supreme beast," clarified the man in purple.

"Then why does no one venture into the forest?" inquired the man in the green robe.

"Because the majority of the public remains unaware that Orochi no longer dwells there," responded the man in purple. "Furthermore, risking one's life to explore the forest simply doesn't seem worthwhile."

"Then the Pixie Queen is definitely dead," added the bald man.

"We still require concrete proof to claim her demise," the man in purple insisted.

The giant, now done with his thigh piece, declared, "Let's enter the forest, then."

"Now is not the right time. Let's move early in the morning," suggested the man in purple.

----------------------------------------Present time---------------------------------

The Hunter group, 4 Calamities, stood on the outskirts of the island with Butterbell in their custody. They had mostly recovered from their earlier encounter with Finn and the Pixies and had successfully used Butterbell as leverage to coerce Moonlight into submission. Reluctantly, she walked ahead toward the hunters, with Creambell desperately trying to intervene. Finn, too, was helpless, as the hunters had positioned themselves beyond the house's area, holding Butterbell hostage.

At that very moment, Orochi appeared, her usual stoic expression unchanged. She inquired with a slightly raised voice, "What's going on here?"

Butterbell, despite his bloodied state, managed a mocking laugh, "Oh! Now you're done for."

The bald man silenced Butterbell with a punch to his face before turning his attention back to Orochi. "Who are you?" he demanded. Meanwhile, the man in purple asked, "Who are you?"

Orochi remained silent, walking confidently toward the hunters with a captivating allure, displaying no sign of fear.

"I said, who are you?" the man in purple shouted once more.

And this time, Creambell declared confidently, "She is the ruler of the Serpent Forest, one of the Twelve Supreme Beasts, the eight-headed serpent known as Orochi, often hailed as the most beautiful."

Hearing this, the group of hunters erupted in laughter, with the exception of the man in purple, who regarded Orochi seriously.

"I'm not sure about the fancy titles that pixie used, but I'll be damned if I deny that you're truly stunning," quipped the bald man with a smirk.

Orochi continued to stride forward, displaying an unwavering resolve in her eyes. In mere moments, she crossed the edge of the island and positioned herself squarely before the bald man. Every onlooker watched in hushed anticipation as she locked eyes with him. In her humanoid form, Orochi stood just a few inches shorter than the 6-foot-high bald man.

The bald man gazed at Orochi's face and couldn't help but smirk. "Damn you're far more hot up close," he remarked. He then lowered his eyes and stopped to look at her perfectly shaped bustline, highlighting the curve of her chest. "I don't know about the 8 headed snake, but the snake in my pants is itching to gift you motherhood," he said with a lewd voice, and then he moved his hand to grab Orochi's chest with a perverted expression, but Orochi caught his hand with one hand, and in a fraction of a second, she pushed her other hand right through his chest, ripping his heart. For a few seconds, she kept her hand inside his chest, which came out from the back of the bald man, while she was still holding his bleeding heart.

The bald man was dead, the unspoken message evident to all the hunters. Orochi hadn't uttered a single word, yet her actions spoke volumes. Every onlooker stood frozen, eyes widened in astonishment and disbelief, including Finn and the pixies.

In a moment, she pulled out her bloodied hand, leaving the dead body of the bald man to fall on the ground Before anyone could fully grasp the situation, Orochi fired a yellow laser from her fingertip, creating a gaping hole in the giant's head. She then turned her attention to the man in the green robe who was attempting to flee alongside the man in purple. Orochi aimed her finger at him, swiftly ending his life with another laser to the back of his head.

As the man in purple desperately ran, Orochi momentarily considered her next action, her finger poised to unleash another deadly beam. However, she ultimately decided against it, lowering her finger as she watched him escape.

Meanwhile, the man in purple sprinted desperately for his life, a single thought pounding in his mind like a drumbeat: "Orochi has returned to the forest. I must inform the King."

However, Orochi had a different fate in mind for him. When he reached the brink of the frozen lake, he was confronted by an unexpected sight: a group of adorable pink bunnies standing before him, nestled in the forest. He skidded to a halt, scanning the surroundings as more bunnies began to appear. He swallowed hard and muttered,  "F**K! Hungy Hares."

In the next moment, a swarm of hungry hares jumped at him, resembling a frenzied swarm of piranhas., and ate him alive.

On the other side, Moonlight and Creambell rushed to Butterbell's side to tend to his injuries. Meanwhile, Orochi calmly strolled back onto the island, her demeanor unfazed, as if the preceding events were of no consequence. Finn watched her in stunned disbelief.