The Animagus: From Hunter to Monster

Chapter 49 Bat Cave Raid II

'Swiuuu... swiuuuu..." came the whizzing sound of the arrows as it whooshed past them.

"Boom!! Boom!!!"

Following the deafening sound which reverberated through the cave, all the team members instinctively raised their heads up to see what had happened and they were collectively shocked at what they saw.

"Huh...!"

"What the...!"

Buji's breath hitched. He was unsure whether it was fear or sheer astonishment that got him. He didn't know they were surrounded by a shield created by the combined mana of Emra and Kira. The realization barely had time to sink in before a massive, nightmarish bat hurtled toward them from above.

With the deafening impact, the bat had crashed into the shield, shattering it into shards of lustrous energy that dissolved into the air.

Together, the team retracted as the force that emanated from the bat's landing sent shockwaves rippling through the ground. They assembled in readiness for what was next. Their weapons set in array to counter any attack that might come their way.

But the bats hadn't finished landing. A swarm of smaller bats, just the size of the former ones they had attacked emerged from above, stopping in front of the massive bat. Other bats which were slightly bigger in size also landed like the smaller ones had done.

For a moment, the hunters thought they had found the boss. They thought the boss was the massive bat, but there thoughts flickered into doubts the moment they witnessed another rumble on the ground.

Their collective gasps welcomed the appearance of the second massive bats, which landed beside the first one. With this, the whole surrounding became calm for a while.

With the sudden silence, the team stepped forward.

"Ready your weapons!" Instructor Gib shouted, gripping her twin daggers tightly.

Buji fumbled with his short sword. His hands trembled as he tried to steady himself. The sight of the monstrous bats towering before them, its leathery wings spanning nearly the width of the cave, was enough to unsettle even the most hardened fighter.

The two monstrous bats let out an earsplitting screech, sending waves off their mouth to brush against any thing that blocked its path, and pushed the hunters backward. The smaller bats were energized by the sound and the flush of energy that surged from the waves. Then, with a dash, they lunged toward the team.

The battle began in earnest.

"I think I will be using my daggers," Emra said, pulling out her twin daggers from its holder buckled to her legs. With an amazing dash, she sped forward, leaving Buji to stare in awe.

"She is this..."

He was distracted by the succumbing sound of a bat by the side. He saw Kira yelling and sending rope-like tendrils upwards to the bats as they flew towards her. As if the magic did no great job, she released the cord which Buji only realized she had come with, wrapped around her, and dashed forward.

Right in front of him was Rose. She was inside a shield of energy which glimmered briefly before it solidified, providing a temporary haven. The shield had been conjured by Kira, and it was to keep Rose off from attacks so that she could easily heal injured opponents without distraction.

Buji on his own side was distracted by the swish and smooth movements of his team members. He hadn't observed the instructors. Just when he was about to, he found himself face-to-face with one of the smaller bats.

"I thought it was a better school than my former one."

Rose pouted even more.

"Then, you might be very wrong. I mean, with your current status, the academy doesn't seem fit for you. If you continued with this, you might end up schooling in the netherworld too."

Buji was taken off-guard by her last statement. His thoughts quickly switched to think about Emra, but he flickered it off with the shake of his head.

Buji giggled briefly before finally asking her.

"But, why do you think so? Don't you think I can survive like others do?"

In his mind, the thought of having something like the monster system and is subordinate system, D.E.M.O.N.S. could take him far than this girl in his front would imagine. If only she knew...

Then Rose's voice cut in between his thoughts in response to his question. "Not like I'm thinking. I'm only considering her," Rose said, pointing to where Kira stood with other team members.

Buji was amazed by what he saw. One of the massive bats was dead already, and then, the second one was trapped in the magic transparent cage conjured and held steady by Emra and Kira. As they kept the second bat powerless through the caging, other slayers did the job of trying to send it to the world of it monster ancestors.

'I haven't really seen how talented those Instructors are,' Buji thought.

His treatment was almost over. In no mean time, he will or, they will be out of the shield since other hunters will take down the remaining bat.

But then, Buji's expression hardened when he realized he hadn't achieved anything in that raid.

'Really! I haven't killed any beast today.'

It dawned on him and he blamed himself for awakening with no talent. If only he had talent, only the Instructors together might be able to take him down.

He relaxed lazily but angrily, putting his head down in between his two knees and supporting them with his hands.

Out of the blue, someone shouted.

"Hey! There's an entrance here."

Only then did Buji raise his head to realize they had killed the monstrous bat. Even though the raid was not over yet until they killed the boss.

All other hunters rushed to check the entrance, while Jean called out to Buji.

"Buji, come over here," Instructor Jean said to Buji.

With the flap of her thumb against her middle finger, the shield that protected Rose and Buji, allowing Buji to rush over to where others stood.