He who Bends Time-Chapter 43 - The night hunter

The arrow was a somewhat loosely crafted type. Its arrowhead was bound to the shaft using vines from trees, and the tip itself was made from a sharpened piece of stone. The arrowhead was visibly shaped and had a half-moon-shaped blank space carved into its center.

"This arrow shape... I’ve seen only one man use this type of weird symbol on his arrows—the Moon Night Hunter," said Marian as she got up, gazing toward the forest area where the arrow had come from.

But just at that moment, another arrow shot directly at Marian. She barely evaded it, though it left a shallow cut across her face as it passed.

Blood dripped from her wound, and the falling drops hovered above Marian’s palm, quickly shaping into a sharp thorn.

"Is this how you greet an old friend?" she said coldly, looking toward the exact direction the arrow had come from.

After a moment of silence, another arrow suddenly came directly at Marian again.

Clang!

Using the crystallized blood thorn in her hand, she deflected the arrow with difficulty.

"Alright, it seems you’re asking for it!"

Enraged, Marian prepared to jump toward the direction of the arrow’s origin. But before she could, a sudden sound came from the bushes—followed by a familiar voice behind them.

"I apologize, but I had to be sure whether what I was seeing was real or not. It’s been such a long time... and I’ve seen a lot of fakes, Bloody Queen."

Looking back, the group saw a man crouching to pick up the arrow from the ground, then turning to look directly at Marian.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Marian.

"Well, three years is a long time," said the Night Hunter.

"Not that. But I don’t think you have enough time to explain, because you’ve pissed off someone you shouldn’t have. We should first resolve that," said Marian as she looked at Auran.

"I’m getting déjà vu here, and I do not like it one bit," Auran muttered, lifting his hand and pointing it directly at the Night Hunter.

"Wait! Let’s not get bloody for a moment—can we settle this calmly without a fight, please?" Henry stepped in, trying to mediate.

"I knew you were cursed with kindness, Henry," Auran said, avoiding his interference. "But there are some things I absolutely cannot tolerate, and you should know that by now."

Ignoring Henry, Auran pointed his hand at the Night Hunter once again.

A moment passed in silence, without any expacted action...

"...Shoot. I ran out of mana," Auran said in disappointment, turning around with a bitter expression.

Phew!

Henry sighed in relief, while the Night Hunter stood in utter confusion.

"What just happened?" he asked.

"Count yourself lucky—you just got your life extended," said Marian. "I told you before: even though you hate Brain Deceleration Potions because they’re considered taboo in your tribe, not everyone has to follow your laws."

"Whatever. Now tell me what you meant before—what do you mean there are fakes like me?" Marian asked.

"Well, I don’t think I have the time to explain everything now either, since I’m in the middle of a hunt. Maybe after I’m done, come find me—and I’ll tell you all about it," said the Night Hunter.

Afterward, he added a few more words.

"You better move out of here. The Protectors should be arriving soon since you all used an unauthorized teleportation," said the Night Hunter.

Then, he disappeared right in front of their eyes.

"He’s quick on his feet... a friend of yours?" asked Henry after the Night Hunter vanished.

"A weird friend," said Marian.

"Hmm," she murmured as she noticed Auran once again rummaging through the bag he had with him, pulling out another Brain Deceleration Potion.

As soon as he took it out, he quickly opened it and drank the whole thing without a moment’s hesitation.

"Why is he like that?" Marian asked in confusion, looking at Henry for an answer.

"I don’t know either," Henry replied. It was the only honest answer he could give.

"Ahhh..." After drinking nearly half of the potion, Auran finally pulled it away from his lips.

His eyes remained closed, his mind focused inward as the effects of the Brain Deceleration Potion began to settle in. The violently shaking circuits in his mind gradually calmed, and the flow of thoughts tuned into smooth, synchronized streams—like the peaceful current of a river.

’This should take care of it for now.’

Phew!

A calm, relieved sigh escaped from Auran’s lips.

"He must really love Brain Deceleration Potions," said Octo, watching along with the others as Auran slowly recovered.

"Let’s move somewhere away from here. Didn’t that guy say that something like Protectors would be here soon?" said Auran, still keeping his eyes closed, enjoying the soothing sensation. He also tried to maintain just enough intelligence while resisting the creeping dizziness that tried to consume him.

"That’s right. We should get out of here before they arrive. If we get caught by the Protectors, it would be worse than anything we faced in those prison in the Malv Flower world. I’ve heard they interrogate criminals directly using intense physical torture. I also once saw it... and believe me, it’s not something you ever want to experience—even once in your lifetime," said Marian, shivering slightly at the memory.

"But shouldn’t they know you already? Since you’re the Queen of the Arena here, right?" asked Octo.

"They should," Marian replied. "But after hearing what the Night Hunter said, I have a lot of questions in my mind... so I can’t be sure about anything anymore."

Ahem!

At that moment, with a slight sound, Auran drew everyone’s attention to him.

"I also have a serious question," he said.

"Really? What is it?" Marian asked, with a bit of curiosity—though she held little hope, since she was certain that whatever Auran was going to ask, especially after specifically saying ’serious’, would be something she couldn’t answer.

Afterward, with everyone’s curiosity focused on him, Auran finally asked his question:

"...Where are we?"

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