Code Collector

Gary's team were rushing to get back to their camp. They had managed to steer the beast's attention away by taking a stone and threw it as far as they could.

With their concealed state, the beast would have nothing to track them. They were completely invisible and their mana was faint, making it hard for even such a beast to detect their presence.

"I see the path!" Claudette cheered. She was the first one to enter the path and ran back to their camp, only to yell in fear. "Everyone! We need your help."

The crowd inside the town looked at her like she was crazy. Claudette's teammates followed her and were also screaming the same thing. They were trying to get help, but no one could understand what any of them were saying.

"Stop talking all at once," a man walked out from the crowd. He stood in front of the group and crossed his arms. "Senior Police Officer Jeremy here. What exactly happened for you to become this disoriented?"

Gary walked forward, "There's a giant beast inside the forest. It's powerful and terrifying. We need your help to hunt it."

"It must be a high tier beast," Jeremy said. "You're Gary, the Hunter King of Camp Twyla. Why are you so scared of just a beast?"

"I wouldn't normally act like this but… Gary trailed off as he give the pin to Jeremy as proof. "When you see something like this completely burnt in a middle of a crater, that usually isn't a good sign."

Jeremy gulped, "B-But this is…"

"A pin from a celebrity Hunter," Gary finished. "I do not know which celebrity since there are hundreds of them, but I do know that it's one of them just by the pin and how its made."

"Let me run this through a scanner so we can identify which celebrity Hunter it is," Jeremy said immediately. "And your group has to go to the hospital to treat your wounds immediately. I'll come to you as soon as I can."

"Thank you, Jeremy," Gary said. "And please do take care."

"You too," Jeremy said. "And treat your wounds, okay? Once I identity this person, we can hunt this beast."

The police officer left and Gary's team fell to the ground in exhaustion. Each and every one of them were tired from all the running and escaping. And the fact that they were terrified while running didn't help. It was like all their stamina was drained out of their bodies even before they ran.

"It's a good thing that the crater isn't too far from us," Claudette said. "Let's go treat our wounds to the hospital."

"Yeah, let's go," Gary smiled and agreed. They both turned to Hannah who was silent the entire time. She was just sitting there, staring at the void while her body felt like it was jelly.

"Hannah?" Claudette called out and nudged her friend gently. The moment her hand made contact with Hanna's arm, the woman fell to the side. Claudette panicked and ran to her, gasping as she saw something behind her teammate.

"What happened?" Gary asked in fear. He walked over to them, his eyes widening after she saw what his friend saw.

On Hannah's back was a large fang that pierced through her flesh. The wound that the fang made created a large and dark burn, as if the skin was made into charcoal. Their other members asked for help immediately.

Gary carried his friend and ran to the direction of the hospital. He was running literally for her life. Gary panicked when Hanna's breathing was getting slower and slower. She already lost consciousness a long time ago. It's only a matter of time before she'll lose her life too.

"I can heal!" a Hunter who was taken by their teammate healed Hannah as much as he could. "I can only stabilize her condition for now, but you have to get to the hospital as soon as possible."

"Run Gary!" Claudette yelled. "Please, save Hannah."

Gary grit his teeth as he forced his legs to run faster than he already could. He felt the adrenaline rush run through his veins as he felt everything around him get blurry.

Then, out of nowhere, Gary passed out.

Meawhile an hour had passed. Lewis and his team were still running back to their camp to escaped the beast, yet there was a lingering tension in the air.

"I'm scared too," Lewis confessed as they jumped from one tree to another. "But I don't want you to see your captain to be scared so I'm doing my best to hold it in."

There was only silence for a few seconds after he spoke. No one from his team said a word, and the only sound anyone could hear was the constant collision of their boots on the wooden branches and the noise coming from the dark forest.

Kyle opened his mouth, but closed it again. Selena and Irene were the same, all three of them unable to form words of comfort. When Kyle was about to speak, someone beat him to it.

"It's okay to be scared," the blonde woman who's name was Alice said. "We're all scared and showing that you're afraid doesn't make you any less of a captain that you are now."

"Thank you," Lewis said, making Alice smile. "And we're only a couple of minutes away from camp now. We should be there soon."

Not long after their short conversation, the group found the path that would lead to the camp. It was like a huge stone was removed from their shoulders after they saw the path. The nightmare that they just witnessed would be finally over.

That was until the ground split into two. A rift appeared right across the forest, splitting it into two sides. Allen and Alice were left on one side while the others had were at the other.

"Allen! Alice!" Selena yelled. She was about to jump across the rift when a blazing surge of fire blasted from the rift.

It was like a very long geyser of flames that separated the group. Allen and Alice were the weakest members of their team, and they were the slowest. Lewis didn't thought that there would be something like this to happen, so he didn't bother letting the two go first.

"No!" Selena yelled, still trying to jump. Irene had to hold her friend around the chest so she wouldn't attempt the very dangerous task she wanted to do. "Irene, let go of me, please. Allen and Alice are still on the other side!"

"We're fine!" Alice yelled from across the rift. The flames had slowly died down but the rift was still too wide to cross. The flames that was burning inside the rift was also too dangerous. Just by looking at it, anyone would know that it would burn you to the crisp.

"Let me go, Irene!" Selena yelled again. Irene sighed and had no other choice but to knock her friend out. She looked at Alice and Allen who were standing across the rift.

"Go get help," Allen signed. "We'll find another way out."

"That's just crazy," Kyle said. "We won't leave you here."

"But the longer you stay, the more dangerous it would get," Allen argued. "We'll be safe. We'll look for a tree to hide while waiting for you."

"But—"

"Go," Alice cut Lewis off. "Go now. The sooner you leave, the more chances of us surviving."

"We have no other choice," Lewis said. "Let's go."

While Kyle carried Selena and Irene following them, Lewis turned to the two that were trapped across the rift. "Stay close, okay? We'll be right back."

Alice nodded as she held Allen on her arms. The boy was starting to get scared and she could feel it. Allen was weak and he barely had enough power in him that it was a mystery how he still survived while working dangerously such as being a Hunter

"We'll get through this," Alice said. "I promise you that, Allen. I promise."

The woman looked around to see if she could find anything around them that she could use. Lewis said that they should hide on top of a tree, so that's what she looked for first. A giant tree that overlooked the ground.

"There," Alice pointed at the tallest tree she could find. She took Allen's wrist and ran to the tree. It wasn't far, but it wasn't exactly near either. The tree was across a clearing and they had to be careful since it was an open field and they could get attacked at any given moment.

"Just a couple of meters more," Alice said. 

Allen only nodded and did nothing but follow his friend. She knew the way to the tree and what he can do to help was to follow her instructions.

"We're almost there," Alice whispered. They were crouching on the ground while running when they heard a silent swoosh.

Allen turned his head to the side when he heard it. Then, Alice's grip on his wrist suddenly vanished. The boy looked in front of him to see what happened when his eyes met with Alice's body flat on the ground.

Her head missing from her body.