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Authors: Hideyuki Kikuchi
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her opponent.
The sand that fell between the crone’s feet and the tips of Clay’s boots began to
take human form—an image of Clay himself appeared on the ground.
Something gleamed in the old woman’s right hand. The moment the short knife she kept
hidden on her stabbed into the sand painting on the ground, Clay clutched his right
ear with one hand. Redness seeped out between the palm of his hand and his cheek,
but he didn’t make a sound.
“What do you want carved up next? An eye, or maybe your nose?”
Buffeted with the kind of threats that made grown men and fire dragons alike freeze
in their tracks, Clay smirked as if the situation was so amusing that he just couldn’t
help himself. “Granny Viper, People Finder—I guess the name ain’t just for show after
all,” he said. “
Now
things are starting to get good. This is just the way I like it!”
“I was about to say the same thing myself,” Granny said, licking her lips. The situation
was rapidly escalating to a dangerous boiling point where more blood could be spilt
and lives could be lost.
And then someone said, “Hold it right there.”
Both of them froze at that pitch-black voice. Two pairs of eyes zipped halfway up
the rocky mound, where the hem of a black long coat billowed out in the scant breeze.
It wasn’t clear whether it was Granny or Clay who mumbled D’s name.
“Put your personal differences aside until we figure out what’s going on with the
desert. Where’s the girl?” the Hunter asked.
Clay and Granny finally noticed that Tae was no longer there. An almost pitiful look
of distress rose on the old woman’s haughty countenance.
.
Tae came around the rocks and wiped her lips. Bewilderment and despair were rising
from the pit of her stomach, spreading through her whole body. She didn’t know what
she was going to do next, or even what she should do. She started walking. She didn’t
want to sit there crying, though she wasn’t really sure why she shouldn’t. She wasn’t
sure where she was going; all she knew was that wanted to get away from everyone.
As countless phantoms flickered in her consciousness, one vivid image came to the
fore, and then faded: crimson eyes glowing in the darkness . . . coming closer.
Where will I go? What will I do?
Those eyes were peering into her patiently. As she tried to squeeze out a scream,
her throat convulsed, barely choking it off. From behind the crimson glow, a pale
visage vaguely drifted into view. It was a face that was incredibly beautiful, manly,
and above all, sad. An emotion that felt like crystal-clear water filled the girl’s
heart.
Compared to that,
she thought,
compared to the fate that fashioned those eyes and that face, my pain is nothing.
The red points of light faded.
Tae noticed she’d come to a standstill.
I should go back
, she thought. Though she had no idea what awaited her, she decided to forge ahead
anyway. Then suddenly Tae turned right back around as she heard something stir behind
her. She looked over her shoulder. A good two seconds passed before she could push
a scream past her lips.
.
The first one to race over to the girl was Clay. The instant he came around the rocks,
he saw Tae running toward him. Steadying the girl who’d just thrown herself at his
chest, he then concentrated his gaze on the person before him. It was a man clad in
a tattered shirt and trousers. Covered with a bushy overgrowth of hair and beard,
his face looked emaciated, although his physique was relatively well-defined. The
man stood there dazed for a few seconds and then fell to his knees on the spot.
“What in blazes do we have here?” Granny said from behind Clay.
“I don’t know. By the look of him, he seems like a traveler lost in the desert. But
how the hell could he get by living in this hole in the rocks? Could be dangerous.”
Grabbing Tae by the arm and pulling her away, Granny told the warrior,
The sand that fell between the crone’s feet and the tips of Clay’s boots began to
take human form—an image of Clay himself appeared on the ground.
Something gleamed in the old woman’s right hand. The moment the short knife she kept
hidden on her stabbed into the sand painting on the ground, Clay clutched his right
ear with one hand. Redness seeped out between the palm of his hand and his cheek,
but he didn’t make a sound.
“What do you want carved up next? An eye, or maybe your nose?”
Buffeted with the kind of threats that made grown men and fire dragons alike freeze
in their tracks, Clay smirked as if the situation was so amusing that he just couldn’t
help himself. “Granny Viper, People Finder—I guess the name ain’t just for show after
all,” he said. “
Now
things are starting to get good. This is just the way I like it!”
“I was about to say the same thing myself,” Granny said, licking her lips. The situation
was rapidly escalating to a dangerous boiling point where more blood could be spilt
and lives could be lost.
And then someone said, “Hold it right there.”
Both of them froze at that pitch-black voice. Two pairs of eyes zipped halfway up
the rocky mound, where the hem of a black long coat billowed out in the scant breeze.
It wasn’t clear whether it was Granny or Clay who mumbled D’s name.
“Put your personal differences aside until we figure out what’s going on with the
desert. Where’s the girl?” the Hunter asked.
Clay and Granny finally noticed that Tae was no longer there. An almost pitiful look
of distress rose on the old woman’s haughty countenance.
.
Tae came around the rocks and wiped her lips. Bewilderment and despair were rising
from the pit of her stomach, spreading through her whole body. She didn’t know what
she was going to do next, or even what she should do. She started walking. She didn’t
want to sit there crying, though she wasn’t really sure why she shouldn’t. She wasn’t
sure where she was going; all she knew was that wanted to get away from everyone.
As countless phantoms flickered in her consciousness, one vivid image came to the
fore, and then faded: crimson eyes glowing in the darkness . . . coming closer.
Where will I go? What will I do?
Those eyes were peering into her patiently. As she tried to squeeze out a scream,
her throat convulsed, barely choking it off. From behind the crimson glow, a pale
visage vaguely drifted into view. It was a face that was incredibly beautiful, manly,
and above all, sad. An emotion that felt like crystal-clear water filled the girl’s
heart.
Compared to that,
she thought,
compared to the fate that fashioned those eyes and that face, my pain is nothing.
The red points of light faded.
Tae noticed she’d come to a standstill.
I should go back
, she thought. Though she had no idea what awaited her, she decided to forge ahead
anyway. Then suddenly Tae turned right back around as she heard something stir behind
her. She looked over her shoulder. A good two seconds passed before she could push
a scream past her lips.
.
The first one to race over to the girl was Clay. The instant he came around the rocks,
he saw Tae running toward him. Steadying the girl who’d just thrown herself at his
chest, he then concentrated his gaze on the person before him. It was a man clad in
a tattered shirt and trousers. Covered with a bushy overgrowth of hair and beard,
his face looked emaciated, although his physique was relatively well-defined. The
man stood there dazed for a few seconds and then fell to his knees on the spot.
“What in blazes do we have here?” Granny said from behind Clay.
“I don’t know. By the look of him, he seems like a traveler lost in the desert. But
how the hell could he get by living in this hole in the rocks? Could be dangerous.”
Grabbing Tae by the arm and pulling her away, Granny told the warrior,
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