PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

Desmond was about to prepare for battle as he endured the pain of his injuries. Still, he collapsed without warning, surprising both Cecilia and Kyuru. Desmond was oblivious to everything around him. At that moment, the only thing that filled his mind was a feeling of awful pain that seemed to come from all his sensory organs.

A second later, Desmond vomited on the floor as his body contorted in pain. Cecilia was surprised, to say the least, but that didn’t stop her from reaching out to Desmond to help.

Kyuru was about to do the same when a hand rested on her shoulder.

“Gladius is no need to make things difficult for them; they are guests.”

The voice emanated from beyond the stone gate, where a hand reached out on Kyuru’s shoulder. If a comparison is to be made, the only voice Desmond has ever heard as beautiful as this was Katya’s. This went beyond an acoustic issue; an unearthly charm in the voice made it irresistibly attractive.

If he had remembered that detail more clearly, Desmond would have realized that Harmony’s voice had that kind of charm. However, Desmond had just been through sensory hell; he didn’t have the time or brain cells to make such comparisons.

“Kyuru, why don’t you bring your friends home? I really want to meet them.”

Not bothering to listen to the answer, the owner of the hand that crossed the portal withdrew, leaving the trio in the company of the gigantic golem named Gladius. Unknown to the trio, although the voice owner didn’t say anything, she was amazed by Desmond’s performance.

.....

Do not take the things that happened before as a mere accident or a misunderstanding. Everything was planned by the owner of the voice. She felt that it was necessary to test the ruffian who dared to take Kyuru away from her.

From the outside, it might appear that Desmond had failed the test, given the deplorable state he ended up in. That couldn’t be further from the truth. She had to know that Desmond had been subjected to intense mana poisoning.

Given the tremendous amount of high-purity mana that entered his body, that Desmond could maintain his sanity was already good enough. That he could keep consciousness surprised the owner of the voice.

One had to know that this wasn’t that simple. The mana Desmond just came in contact with is not normal. It is something that would only be found in high-level worlds within a lower dimension or low-level worlds in an intermediate dimension. That kind of mana should have been a near-lethal poison for Desmond, who hadn’t even set foot in the two-star class.

“An interesting boy; maybe I should let him live.” The owner of the voice exclaimed with a mischievous smile.

Ignorant of the dangerous words on the other side, the trio looked suspiciously at the golem in front of them. At least that was the case for Desmond and Cecilia; Kyuru, on the other hand, seemed utterly furious at the voice’s owner.

“How does she dare? This was clearly no accident. She was the one who invited us here; there was no way she didn’t know we were coming. Gladius only activates when someone attacks the door or tries to force their way through it; clearly, she just wanted to mess with us.”

This was probably the first time since they had met that Desmond had looked at Kyuru with genuine anger. To put it briefly, Kyuru was very scary at the time.

Overcoming her anger, Kyuru flew to Desmond and helped him get the excess mana out of his system.

Desmond looked like a fish out of the water, breathing heavily as he sweated profusely. Barely catching his breath, Desmond asked the question that was bothering him the most at the moment. “What was that?”

Kyuru looked at him a bit apologetically and replied. “That was her acting like a know-it-all. She was surely testing you.”

Although Desmond already expected it to be her, his previous experience made it a little difficult for him to accept. “What kind of test was that?”

Hearing Desmond’s question, Kyuru puffed out her chest with unrivaled pride and did something Desmond didn’t expect. Kyuru didn’t brag about herself like she always did; instead, Kyuru started heaping praises on Desmond.

“She was trying to test your talent and affinity with mana, determining the extent of your potential. That woman probably didn’t have high expectations, and more than a test can be considered an assassination attempt. Still, she didn’t expect My Desmond to be so cool. You may not be a Natura, but you’re still a monster when it comes to mana. I wish I could have seen the expression that arrogant woman put on when she saw how well you did. That’s what happens to her for doubting my tastes. How could My Desmond be someone mediocre.”

Desmond could only smile wryly at the fairy’s words. Leaving aside whether that could even be considered a good result, the way Kyuru said it made it seem as if Desmond’s talent was part of the faery’s accomplishments. Kyuru could really be a vain little fairy, even at times like this.

Having received help from Cecilia and Kyuru, Desmond managed to get to his feet a few seconds later. The distant storm seemed to have peaked, but that was of no particular interest to the trio.

Now, with the stone golem returning to its resting place under the ground, the trio had a free pass to the stone gate. Under the guidance of Kyuru, Cecilia and Desmond mustered their courage. They passed through the stone archway only to vanish into thin air as if they had never been there.

A second later, a boundless golden glow radiated from within the storm. With a bang, the storm was ripped apart and dispersed. It was hard to believe that a storm of that magnitude and intensity could just blow away.

In the middle of the place where the storm had been before, a six-winged figure used its tiny hands to hold Skaylos’s corpse. It was as if the enormous feathered serpent weighed no more than a cotton bag for the six-winged figure.

Having erased the annoying aftermath left behind by the arrogant four-winged serpent, the victorious little figure gave off a golden glow before disappearing. A second later, the figure appeared again in front of the stone door where Desmond, Cecilia, and Kyuru had disappeared.

“This was not in my plans.”

Though unexpected, the figure didn’t seem worried or hurried at all. The figure only stared at the stone door for an instant before diverting its attention and looking back at Skaylos’s massive corpse.

“Well, knowing that woman, she will only make things difficult for the boy for fun. Knowing the boy, he might even get some unexpected benefits from that blessed land. I knew that the fairy was special and that he would need it to survive, but I never thought that she would receive the call from that woman. The boy seems to have a greater fortune than I had imagined.”

The figure backed away from the stone door without hesitation, dragging the dead snake behind it. In a few moments, the figure was gone from the clearing, but a few words still found their way into it, although there was no one to hear them.

“To think that man went off to get the attention of that stupid queen, and I’m here hunting something to give him his reward. I can’t wait to get my part of the deal and get off this planet. I miss the battlefield; this snake didn’t even serve to warm me up a bit.”

Back on Desmond’s side, he, Kyuru, and Cecilia walked through the stone gate to appear in a completely different place. Desmond had that feeling again during his passage through the stone door, only this time it was much more intense and clear. Only now did Desmond manage to make the connection; he already knew why he felt so familiar. Desmond felt this when he used the hunter’s book to travel from one world to another.

“We are no longer in Serefia.” Desmond commented to himself and his group.

Unexpected to Desmond, his comment was answered by a now familiar voice. “Indeed, quite sharp of you, Hunter.”

Searching for the source of the voice, Desmond felt his mind almost stop, unable to process the unearthly beauty of the voice’s owner. Said woman’s smile only widened when she saw the spellbound expression on Desmond’s face. This was a familiar image, so she didn’t take it wrong.

“Welcome, travelers, to Avalis, the kingdom of fairies. My dear Kyuru has probably already told you, but let me introduce myself properly. My name is Titania, and I am the queen of this place.”