Taming The Villainesses

Chapter 428: The One Who Halts (3)

“We’re almost there. But from here on, you’d best stay on high alert.”

The hunter spoke in his low, grim voice.

I’d thought it before—his voice always carried an unpleasant quality, like someone dragging a nail across glass at the bottom of hell.

And his appearance was no less unsettling. Exceptionally tall. But instead of being heavily muscled, he was built lean and long, like something shaped for minimal air resistance.

His wiry frame made him look exactly like a mantis. Especially when he drew his twin daggers at his waist and fought monsters—it was unmistakable.

Shff.

That was when Mirna poked me in the side with her finger.

“Lord Teo, what have you been sneaking glances at this whole time?”

Had she caught the direction of my gaze? I quickly reined in my stare. I mumbled something like, “It’s nothing,” to brush it off.

But I was distracted.

It was because of what Stella had whispered to me earlier—quiet enough that no one else could hear.

—That man... I feel like I know him. Just a feeling, but it’s strong.

Of course, even Stella hadn’t been certain enough to say it aloud. But I knew exactly what she was getting at.

‘Could the hunter be Isaiah Gospel?’

That seemed to be the conclusion Stella was tiptoeing toward. It wasn’t something I had even considered until now, but Stella’s instincts were sharp.

So sharp she could practically identify people by the rhythm of their heartbeat. She didn’t say things lightly.

Could the hunter really be that Isaiah?

Like I said, it hadn’t even crossed my mind before. But now that the idea had taken root, everything about him began to feel suspicious.

He’d mentioned once that he had a child and a wife in the past.

And there was his age—if Isaiah had survived all this time, he’d be in his mid to late forties.

It wouldn’t be strange for his hair to have turned white, especially if he’d suffered through a lot.

His eerie strength as a villain-hunter also caught my attention.

Isaiah, after all, was once the perfect duplicate of the Demon King Solomon. In a way, you could say he was both son and twin. If anyone could be that strong, it would be him.

But then... why hadn’t he recognized Stella? Was he pretending not to? Why hadn’t he said anything to me either?

My questions piled up. And along with them, possible explanations surfaced—like “He must have his reasons.”

Still, it could all be confirmation bias.

The theory that the hunter is Isaiah Gospel might just be wishful thinking, forcing facts to fit the narrative.

—If I could just see his face, I’d know for sure. I still remember Senior Isaiah’s face clearly.

As Stella had said, the surest way to confirm it would be to see his face. But the man’s face was tightly wrapped in bandages, leaving no room for confirmation.

Could I somehow get him to remove them? That old fable came to mind—the one where the West Wind and the Sun competed to make a traveler remove his coat. Maybe I understood how they felt now.

If only I could get a glimpse of his face.

I sidled up to Miriam, who was walking nearby. She looked at me with immediate suspicion.

“Sorry, but you’re not my type. I’m tall, and I like guys taller than me.”

...What? I got rejected before I even confessed? I hadn’t approached her with that in mind at all. It reminded me of the kind of person who assumes anyone who talks to them must be interested romantically.

Was Miriam one of those?

I was caught off guard, embarrassed, and a little annoyed. But I didn’t show it.

“I wasn’t trying to hit on you. I just wanted to ask something about the hunter.”

“Ohh, so you’re just trying to change the subject to keep the conversation going, huh? I like the persistence.”

...Nope. This woman was impossible to talk to. I’d thought she’d be more reasonable than Rene, but clearly I miscalculated.

So I backed away from her and moved toward the warrior Rene instead.

“Excuse me—can I ask you something about the man you call the hunter?”

“What is it?”

Her tone was curt, but I knew that was just how she was. I asked casually,

“Have you ever seen him without those bandages? His real face, I mean.”

“His real face, huh... Now that you mention it, I don’t think I have. But does it matter? With hunters, skill’s what counts. What you hunt matters more than what you look like.”

Unexpected answer—but telling.

Even someone who had spent considerable time with him had never seen his face. That meant the chance of anyone seeing it was slim.

I was almost ready to give up...

***

It was just around the time we were finally approaching what the hunter had described as the “exit” of this bizarre cave.

Just as he’d warned, strange monsters began appearing all around us.

They were glowing, fluorescent clumps of slime—

SSSSSSHHHHHH.

—so acidic that just brushing against them melted the tip of Mirna’s sword.

“Acidic Wildlings. Be careful not to touch them.”

The hunter gave his warning as he loaded a bolt into the crossbow mounted on his arm. With acid that strong, a mere burn would be the least of our worries.

Luckily, other than their acidity, they weren’t especially tough. A bit of magic and they were easily dispatched.

The problem occurred right after we took a short breather from fighting.

Something felt wrong.

I glanced up—and spotted it. A massive green blob curled against the ceiling, oozing light.

Compared to the Acidic Wildlings we’d just fought—which were about the size of a human head—this thing was the size of a small car. Their boss?

No, that wasn’t the point.

“Everyone, above—!”

I shouted and began preparing a spell. But before I could even finish the chant, the thing launched itself.

━━Juuuiiing—

With a grotesque shriek, it shot through the cave like a child hurling a bouncy ball. It struck the jagged walls and ricocheted unpredictably.

Tiiing, tiing, ting—

The more it bounced, the faster it moved, and the harder it became to track. If I attacked it now and it exploded, its acid would fly everywhere. I halted the spell and started casting a barrier instead.

━━Juuuiiing!

It suddenly charged at someone.

Straight at Elga.

Did it somehow sense she was our most vulnerable member?

“Wha—!?”

Elga let out a startled cry.

I began casting a protection spell toward her. But before I could finish—something swept past me like the wind.

“Hup—!”

A short grunt. A long arm shot forward and shoved Elga out of harm’s way. She tumbled, letting out a soft “Ah!” and fell into Ayra’s arms.

SSSSSSHHHHHH!

In the same moment, the hunter was engulfed by the massive blob.

Chiik— A sickening sizzling sound filled the cave.

“Dear heavens!”

Priestess Miriam ran over and splashed water from her flask onto the hunter. The blob sizzled and hissed, shrieking as it melted away.

But the hunter’s condition was clearly dire. Even through his charred bandages, it was obvious—his body was in terrible shape.

Even Narmee, who had the strongest stomach among us, muttered, “That’s nasty,” and turned away.

“Hunter, if I cast a healing spell right now, your bandages will fuse to the wounds! We need to replace them and treat the injuries with holy water!”

While Miriam fussed, the hunter remained calm. He didn’t seem to be in pain. Just stared down ❀ ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) at his own hand.

Rene spat on the ground where the blob had melted and said,

“Taking a hit to save someone else? That’s not like you. You’re going soft. Why?”

“Not like me, huh...”

“More importantly, we have to replace the bandages!”

Watching the commotion, I too felt confused.

Even if he hadn’t acted, I could have saved Elga with magic. And that man—he wasn’t the type to leap in to protect others.

At least... he hadn’t been.

But then my thoughts were shoved aside by the sight of his arm—his filthy, tattered bandages uncoiling from the elbow.

Slip...

His hand, revealed beneath, was covered in scars—so many even beyond the burns.

His upper body was the same. Covered in slash marks like a child had gone wild with a box cutter.

His lower half remained bandaged, but I could only assume it was no different. Then Miriam reached toward his face.

“That’s enough. I won’t die from wounds like these. I can’t die.”

He batted her hand away and crudely rewrapped himself with fresh bandages nearby.

Faced with the grotesque tapestry of scars, none of us could say a word.

Then Elga, having regained her composure, spoke.

“Sorry. No—thank you, I guess?”

“......”

The hunter said nothing.

But I could tell. His gaze was fixed on the empty air... lost in some distant memory from long ago.

Then he spoke.

“Don’t rely too much on magic. Power gained too easily... has always been the first to betray me.”

Was he... talking to me?

It sure felt like it.

I didn’t know what he meant, but it sounded important. I nodded silently.

We reorganized and resumed walking for a few more minutes.

Then Miriam approached me again.

“I think... it’s best if we separate here. Ever since we met up with your group, the hunter’s been acting strangely.”