-3rd POV-
"Alright, everyone in position," ordered a blue-haired huntress.
The Artemis Familia had been tracking a pack of wild wyverns that had been destroying multiple villages.
As a hunting familia, it was their duty to hunt them down. For a whole week, the Artemis Familia had been attempting to find this pack of wyverns, but each time they came close, the wyverns managed to slip away.
It was as if they were avoiding them on purpose. Luckily, they finally managed to find them; if their predictions were right, the pack of wyverns would soon be flying through the narrow canyon where they had set up an ambush.
"Goddess, everything is ready," whispered a red-haired familia member.
"Good. Are they coming soon?" asked Artemis.
"Yes, the scouts reported that they are heading our way in just a few seconds," replied Rethusa.
Artemis nodded and drew her bow, ready to release her arrows at any moment. As the familia members and their goddess waited, a screech echoed from the canyon.
It was the wyvern pack.
All the familia members prepared to attack, but suddenly, a strange purple sphere flew toward the pack of wyverns.
As the ball reached them, the area around it distorted and exploded, completely obliterating 12 of the 31 wyverns.
"Damn, I thought that would get more of them. Sigh, I need to improve my control," muttered a masked man standing atop the canyon walls.
The Artemis Familia stared at him in confusion and wariness, shocked that someone could take out 12 wyverns in one shot.
But what surprised them even more was the sight of a blonde girl hanging from his back like a koala.
"Whoa, who is that? His armor looks cool!" said Lante, the half-elf, in an excited tone.
It wasn't every day you saw someone take out multiple wyverns in one move. Plus, his epic entrance had made her excited to see who the mysterious character was.
"Be quiet, Lante. All archers, shoot," ordered Rethusa, snapping the girls out of their daze.
Taking advantage of the wyverns' distraction, the archers fired their arrows, causing several wyverns to crash to the ground with injured wings.
The rest of the familia, who specialized in close combat, rushed forward to finish off the grounded wyverns.
"Hey, mind if I help? I've got some beef with the one that has a scar on its face," said the masked man. He took a step forward and fell off the canyon's edge.
"Kyaaa!!"
"Hahaha!"
As they fell, both the man and the girl on his back screamed—though one in excitement and the other in fear.
Artemis, startled, thought he had slipped, but then she saw him cock his legs and jump midair just before hitting the ground, stopping the fall completely.
"Geez, you could've warned me before doing that!" the blonde girl scolded him, lightly punching his back. He only chuckled and patted her head.
"Tsk," one of the girls clicked her tongue at the scene before them. The Artemis Familia was female-only, and dating was forbidden. Scenes like this made the women jealous.
"Oi, Francis, stop jumping ahead," called another voice from above the canyon.
"Hm?" Artemis looked up toward the voice and saw two young men descending from the sky—one using a rope, the other a glider.
As they landed, they regrouped with the pair who had already landed. Artemis, watching the group, met eyes with the masked man—or rather, gazes. Even though she couldn't see his eyes, she felt him looking at her.
He gave a small wave and turned around, facing the wyverns.
"Light 'em up, Angel. Alex, stay for support and shoot any that get past Angel," ordered the masked man.
Artemis frowned. They had been tracking this group of wyverns for weeks, and now, out of nowhere, this mysterious group swooped in.
Of course, Artemis wasn't angry—after all, her priority was keeping people safe by eliminating the wyverns. But the masked man's attitude rubbed her the wrong way.
-Francis POV-
As we prepared for battle, I could feel Artemis staring daggers at me. I wasn't sure why, but I had a feeling I'd find out later.
Looking at the group of wyverns fighting the Artemis Familia, I immediately spotted the Xenos—the one with the big scar over its eye. Uriel's father was a level 2 adventurer, so I'm guessing he was the one who made that wound.
Our eyes met, and the wyvern gave me a smile, as if it found something amusing. Yeah, it was definitely looking down on me.
Damned lizard.
"Stay here, Uriel. I'll be back soon."
"Umu, come back safe," Uriel said with a smile.
I'm glad she's stopped crying. Of course, I'm not saying that because I'm a simp, but because I see potential in her. Maybe she'll develop a powerful fire skill when she becomes an adventurer.
In her ORV version, she has the nickname 'Demon-like Judge of Fire,' which implies some serious firepower. And okay, maybe she's cute, but that's beside the point!
Right now, all I care about is improving my skills.
I've been thinking of getting [Darkness] next time I have the opportunity, I really want to create weapons from [Strand].
Maybe I could pull off that Itachi move where he catches enemies with a wire and unleashes a barrage on them.
[Mission: Angel's Revenge]
Description: Defeat all wyverns along with your brothers.
Reward: 5X Gacha draw.]
Hell yeah. Now I feel even more motivated to kill these bastards.
I drew [Yamato] because I wanted to try out the one-handed blade skill I have. They're not katana skills, but one-handed blade skills.
Stupid, right? But that's just how it is. I crouched, focusing mana in my legs, and thanks to my leg armor's special effects, I could jump even higher.
I launched myself into the air, reaching the wyverns' altitude.
"Reaver." I jumped mid-air again and thrust Yamato at one of the wyverns.
My sword struck its head, making it convulse mid-air before dying. I quickly jumped off its falling body and glided down slowly.
The remaining wyverns noticed my descent and tried to take advantage of it. Two swooped down, opening their mouths to unleash fireballs.
I slashed through the fireballs with [Yamato], cutting their magic in half.
The one with the scar looked surprised.
"Human strong. Not strong enough," it spoke. So, that confirms it—the Xenos theory was right.
It roared, and suddenly, all the wyverns—even those fighting the Artemis Familia—turned their attention to me.
...Shit.
All at once, the wyverns rushed toward me like they were kamikaze pilots. It was like I was one of the Twin Towers.
*Ratatata*
Angel, standing far off with a worried-looking Uriel, started shooting down as many wyverns as he could—Shit, Angel, you almost blasted my head off!
*Cough*
Anyway, this gave me an opportunity, and I took it.
I canceled my glide and dropped to the ground. As expected, all the wyverns dove straight for me. I crouched, ready to draw my sword, waiting for them to get close.
...Now!
Just before they could crash into me, I drew [Yamato] and cross-slashed the air, tearing space apart. The wyverns passed through the portal and reappeared, crashing into the canyon walls, splattering the rocks with their blood.
Their angle may have changed, but the momentum of their dive ensured their demise.
Sigh~ that was easy.
It would've been harder if the Xenos hadn't gathered them for me. A sentient being should be smarter than that. I looked back to check if the others were alright since they were still dealing with the ground-bound wyverns.
Hm? Why are they looking at me like that? Oh yeah, space tear. It's probably a rare skill around here.
Even Angel looked surprised. Maybe he never figured out how to split space when he wielded the sword.
To activate it, you need to have a strong intent to cut—or rather, to separate—what you're targeting.
"Human die!" Oh yeah, the Xenos was still alive. It opened its mouth, preparing to shoot a fireball.
Shit, never mind!
I punched the ground, summoning a barricade of light to protect myself from the massive flamethrower attack the wyvern sent my way.
The heat melted the rock around my shield, showing just how intense the flames were.
I heard gasps from the people behind me and another scream—probably Uriel.
Meanwhile, my brothers started bombarding the wyvern, forcing it to stop its attack on me and focus on dodging.
I deactivated my shield and pulled out [Ticcu's Divination]. I notched an arrow and let it fly.
The three shining arrows homed in on the wyvern, hitting it and setting it ablaze.
That gave Angel the chance to shoot its wings, causing it to crash. I gave him a thumbs-up for the assist.
"👍" (Angel).
As the dust from its fall settled, the wyvern suddenly rushed at me in a final act of desperation.
It caught me off guard, and I had a bow in hand instead of my sword. Before I could fully draw the bow, it lunged to bite me.
I abandoned the bow and focused light energy into my fist, delivering the most devastating uppercut I had ever delivered in my whole life.
But that wasn't enough. It quickly recovered and lunged at me again, but—
*Whistling*
An arrow struck it in the eye, giving me just enough time to draw my sword and slice the wyvern in half.
*Shing*
*Splat*
Its lifeless body flopped to the ground, blood spurting everywhere. Looking back, I saw Alex, still in his shooting stance. His arrow had saved my ass from being chomped.
Gotta thank him later.
"Hu-mam," the half-cut wyvern spoke.
Shit, it's still alive?
Wait, that's actually good.
I quickly ran over to Uriel. "Hey, come with me."
-Uriel's POV-
I still vividly remember the day my village was attacked.
The blood of people I knew was splattered on the walls, limbs chewed until they were unrecognizable, and a terrible fire consumed everything, including my home.
But the image that's etched most deeply into my mind is the grin of a wyvern, watching as its lackeys destroyed everything.
That's why I felt an indescribable rage as I looked at the dying wyvern in front of me, clinging pitifully to life, refusing to die.
"I thought you should do the honors. You have a sword, right?" Francis asked from beside me.
I caressed the sword hanging at my waist. It used to belong to my father. Even though I didn't know how to use it properly, I had brought it with me.
Drawing the sword, I locked eyes with the wyvern. It stared back at me with seething anger, likely furious that it would die at the hands of someone as weak as me.
My hands trembled, but I didn't let that stop me. With a swift stab of my sword, the wyvern started writhing in pain, still refusing to die.
I kept stabbing it, again and again, each thrust causing it to squirm in agony. Eventually, my body moved on its own.
*Fwoom*
My mind went blank, and flames erupted from my sword, engulfing my hand entirely. But I didn't stop.
*Pat*
A gentle hand landed on my head. "Calm down, Uriel. It's over." Francis's voice brought me back, and the flames around me vanished.
Looking down, I saw the wyvern, dead and charred.
"Feel better now?" he asked.
"Mhm." It felt like the weight on my chest had finally lifted.
"Thank you, Francis." If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have gotten the chance for revenge. I'd have died in that forest before I could even think about it.
"No prob," he said with a smile, lifting his cape and wiping my face with it. It seemed like I was covered in blood.
"Wait, your cape is getting bloody!" I tried shaking him off, but he kept cleaning my face. I didn't want his clothes to get stained because of me.
"It's fine; I can just wash it later," he replied. Francis is too kind.
"Oi, you okay?" Francis's brothers arrived and began checking on him. They seem to care a lot about each other, despite the constant bickering and fighting.
Hehe~.
"Is something funny?" Francis asked.
"Nope, I'm just happy," I said.
"Happy about what?" He looked confused. I was happy because he was here, but I couldn't say that. I would die of embarrassment.
"Just because~."
He gave me a weird look but then softened. "Good. We've got a long way to go until we reach Orario. Can't have you sulking now, can we?"
I giggled "Yes, let's go."
"Ugh, stop flirting, you two. I swear to God, I'll shoot myself in the head," groaned Angel.
"Shut up, Angel. You're just jealous because you don't have a cute girlfriend," Alex said with a grin.
"Eh, girlfriend? Since when?... It's not like I mind, but... wait, you're teasing me!" I blurted out, my face heating with surprise and embarrassment.
Angel and Alex looked at me with teasing smiles, while Francis just chuckled.
I will have my vengeance, Francis brothers.
I'm not even going to bother saying your names.
*Hmph*