The Hunter’s Awakening

A single glance sent a strange tremor through Ming Yu’s tranquil heart.

The moment she encountered it again, all her grievances—be they mission objectives or personal vendettas—were suppressed, transforming into a different kind of emotion.

Ming Yu swallowed, her tongue darting out to moisten her lips. The crimson in her eyes intensified to an extreme, and a highly seductive, ethereal whisper seemed to urge her on from the depths of her mind.

“Eat it… eat it… eat it…”

It was as if an invisible hand, guided by destiny, had orchestrated their chance encounter, compelling them to a deadly struggle.

“Hiss—”

The colossal serpent suddenly thrashed, the flames in its golden eyes burning with intense fury. Its enormous maw gaped open, and a hint of saliva could be seen dripping from its fangs.

Deep within its vertical pupils, the beautiful silhouette of a figure with flowing silver hair was reflected.

It had fixed its gaze upon new prey.

Ming Yu, too, had done the same.

****

Evolution was a process of devouring; its ultimate goal, adaptation.

On this ocean planet, teeming with monstrous creatures, possessing the power to crush all opposition was one path to adaptation.

In a daze, Nicolaus’s soft laughter echoed in her mind once more.

“The chaotic beings of the sub-dimension replace arduous and prolonged psionic cultivation with consumption and plunder…”

“They call it ‘cruelty,’ but I call it ‘efficiency’…”

Molly propped herself up, wiping the blood from her lips. She stared blankly at the towering waves surging in the distance, listening to the colossal serpent’s furious, sharp hisses.

She saw monsters.

Two monsters.

Only now did Molly truly glimpse the serpent’s full form.

It stretched over eight hundred meters long, its entire body covered in pure black scales. Its trunk was thicker than a train, its terrifying fangs gleamed with a cold light, and its brilliant golden eyes burned with a fierce radiance.

The suffocating deterrent force that emanated from it was far beyond anything she had ever encountered from an S-class sea beast.

Yet, this behemoth was now consumed by a furious rage, lunging madly at its opponent, attempting to tear it to shreds and devour it whole.

Its opponent…

Molly rubbed her eyes, confirming she hadn’t misseen, and immediately gasped, sucking in a sharp breath.

The colossal serpent let out a chilling, prolonged hiss. Its thick, powerful tail suddenly erupted from beneath the water, lashing unexpectedly at its prey.

In a blink, Ming Yu, as if possessing eyes in the back of her head, effortlessly dodged the attack. She allowed the sweeping gales to whip her silver hair into disarray, her blood-red eyes narrowing. With a swift movement, she left five deep claw marks, tearing into the dark serpent scales and drawing blood.

She was intimately familiar with Jörmungaṇḍr’s methods and patterns of attack.

After several exchanges, Ming Yu’s brow furrowed slightly as she pinpointed a problem.

Although her claws were exceptionally sharp, their reach was insufficient. They couldn’t create deep wounds as effectively as a thermal cutting blade.

Just as Ming Yu was lost in thought, Jörmungaṇḍr suddenly erupted with a furious assault, lunging to bite her with reckless abandon.

Ming Yu narrowly evaded the fangs, only to be struck by the subsequent lash of the serpent’s tail. She was sent hurtling into the air, unable to use the ground to maneuver or dodge further.

Jörmungaṇḍr, a sovereign of the hunt, would naturally not squander such an opportunity. It surged from the sea, its menacing fangs once again aimed at the silver-white figure suspended in the air.

Suddenly, an eagle’s cry pierced the vast sky.

The reeking fangs grazed past Ming Yu’s left shoulder.

In that critical moment, the White-feathered Sea Eagle swiftly flew in, dragging Ming Yu away from the colossal serpent’s fangs.

“Thanks,” Ming Yu said softly, hanging by one hand from the White-feathered Sea Eagle’s talons as she glanced at the white eagle above her.

Hearing her, the White-feathered Sea Eagle seemed rather pleased, proudly arching its neck.

“Ehehehehe, no need to say more!”

“Mm-hm.”

Ming Yu nodded slightly, her gaze fixed on the soaring Jörmungaṇḍr, her expression growing subtly grave.

This creature had grown larger and become even more formidable.

Simultaneously, on the ships below, the onlookers on deck watched the airborne black serpent with trembling lips and incredulous, pale faces.

They had never witnessed a sea beast capable of hovering in the air. This was their first time, and perhaps their last.

Many exchanged glances with their loved ones, each seeing the despair reflected in the other’s eyes. Their lips moved, but no words escaped.

A suffocating silence slowly spread.

Molly clutched the hilt of the laser blade Ming Yu had returned to her, staring wide-eyed and dumbfounded at the shadow that blotted out the sky.

Beneath the clouds, blood-red eyes and golden pupils probed each other, both recognizing the formidable challenge of hunting their opponent. Their expressions shifted with uncertainty.

The standoff lasted for several seconds.

To everyone watching, those few seconds stretched into an eternity, agonizingly slow.

After all, their very lives hinged entirely on the silver-haired woman hovering high above. If that sea beast hunter were to fall, this sea would undoubtedly transform into a living hell.

Given a choice for survival, no one would willingly embrace death.

‘Would she win?’

They gazed up at the sky, silently praying.

Time trickled by, moment by moment.

Finally, the stalemate was broken.

Jörmungaṇḍr reined in the killing intent in its eyes and suddenly retreated beneath the water. Faced with a desperate fight to the death or self-preservation, it chose the latter.

A thunderous cheer erupted from the people on the ships.

However, only Molly, from a distance, noticed the sea beast hunter, suspended in the air, suddenly discard an empty syringe.

In that moment, she could no longer conceal the horror in her heart. Her pupils dilated sharply, and her very core trembled incessantly.

“She… she… only injected it now… impossible…”

She, who had always been hailed as the “Ultimate Hunter,” finally understood the true meaning of “there’s always someone better.”

An existence capable of wrestling with such a monster before injecting herself—what if she had completed her genetic enhancement?

She swallowed hard, a subtle chill creeping down her spine.

On the other side, beneath the firmament.

Ming Yu exhaled softly. In her crimson pupils, a slow, predatory bloodlust and savagery emerged. Every inch of her skin felt as if it were being seared by flames, and her powerful heartbeat, like a mechanical engine, pulsed with a rhythm that sent shivers down one’s spine.

With a flicker of thought, the White-feathered Sea Eagle instantly understood Ming Yu’s intent. It immediately released its talons and ascended above the clouds, its keen eagle eyes surveying the azure sea, watching her plunge towards the colossal serpent attempting to escape.

In that instant, as if sensing a lethal threat, Jörmungaṇḍr abruptly turned back. It furiously coiled its serpentine body, shifting to confront the silver-white figure, which appeared as minuscule as an ant.

Everyone held their breath. The surging winds and waves seemed to have pressed a pause button, frozen in place.

Facing the biting gales, Ming Yu’s eyes widened. She saw an ethereal Jörmungaṇḍr detach itself from the colossal serpent. This elusive phantom was infinitely faster than its physical counterpart, piercing through her body in the blink of an eye.

****

“Crash—”

Little Nightingale suddenly faltered, her grip slackening. The glass vessel she held slipped from her grasp, crashing to the ground and shattering into pieces.

“Meowww~~ (☉_☉)”

Hearing the commotion, Luna quickly came to her little master’s feet, circling around her.

Little Nightingale’s heart inexplicably throbbed with a sharp pang.