Chapter 199: Black Stalker’s Appearance

Despite the strength afforded to them by becoming Flesh Artificers, the group still didn’t feel completely reassured.

If anything, that was the greatest irony of all.

The entire reason they had sought to become Etheryeans in the first place was to increase their odds of survival in the Nether Lands. They had known from the beginning that the requirements for becoming one were exceedingly stringent, but they had still clung to the belief that, once they crossed that threshold, at least the outermost regions of the Nether Lands would no longer pose a serious threat.

According to Aelric, the Crimson Forest was merely the fringe of this cursed land.

The creatures roaming its depths were predominantly Rank One Animas and Netherytes. Compared to the monsters inhabiting the deeper regions, they should have been relatively manageable.

There should have been little here capable of threatening the lives of a group of newly minted Etheryeans.

At least, that was what they had believed.

In fact, their decision to leave the den previously had never been motivated by fear of fighting the pack of Animas. Rather, they had simply wanted to avoid an unnecessary confrontation while they were still unfamiliar with their newfound strength.

They had only just completed their transformations but they had yet to truly acclimate to what their bodies could now do.

Once they had become accustomed to their new strength, they had believed it would only be a matter of time before they could sweep through the Crimson Forest with relative ease.

However, they hadn’t even gotten the opportunity to test that assumption before the Nether Lands threw a bucket of ice-cold water over their expectations.

Perhaps they should have known better.

This was the Nether Lands; a region infamous for its hostility and danger. It was hardly a place where anyone could afford to become reckless or complacent simply because they had achieved a minor breakthrough.

And perhaps they had allowed their recent accomplishments to inflate their confidence. If so, the Nether Lands had taken it upon itself to remind them exactly where they were.

Before they had even begun celebrating their monumental achievement, they had already encountered one of the greatest threats they had ever faced, the Black Stalker.

Most members of the cohort had no real understanding of what made that name so terrifying but Veyrath, Regaleon, and Vaelorin did alongside Aelric.

Regaleon, in particular, had spent considerable time thinking about the previous confrontation.

He was a fighter and had spent much of his life learning to read opponents through the smallest details; the way they shifted their weight, the manner in which they moved their limbs, the timing of their attacks, and, most importantly, the amount of strength they were willing to reveal.

That was why something about yesterday’s battle had continued to bother him.

Aelric had appeared to have the upper hand against the Black Stalker... Or at least, that was how it had looked from the outside.

But after replaying the encounter in his mind, Regaleon had begun to suspect otherwise.

It seems the Black Stalker had been holding it’s strength back; perhaps a considerable amount.

If Regaleon were to make an educated conjecture, he would say that the clash between Aelric and the assassin had amounted to nothing more than tentative probes. And if that was true...

Regaleon’s expression darkened. It meant that they had yet to see what the Black Stalker was truly capable of...

"We need to leave."

Veyrath finally seemed to return to his senses.

He stumbled toward Regaleon in desperation and seized the latter’s arm with both hands.

"We need to leave right now. We can’t stay here any longer."

His voice was strained. There was no embarrassment in it nor was there an attempt to hide his fear.

The failed Alchemist had always been regarded as the least courageous member of the group. But looking at him now, it seemed the combination of the Black Stalker’s appearance and the memories of their previous encounter had finally shattered whatever remained of his composure.

His breathing was uneven while his fingers trembled slightly against Regaleon’s arm. He wasn’t suggesting that they stay and fight neither was he even trying to convince himself that their numbers gave them an advantage.

All he wanted was to simply get away.

Aureleah frowned as she asked. "And where would we go?"

Veyrath’s mouth opened, but Aureleah continued before he could answer.

"Look around you." Her silver eyes swept across the surrounding forest. "There is nowhere to escape. And even if there were, don’t you think that would simply give the Black Stalker more freedom to act without restraint?"

Veyrath’s breathing was still uneven but he was no longer as agitated as before. Meanwhile, Aureleah’s gaze hardened as she concluded.

"If we scatter ourselves in the darkness, it can pick us off one by one."

Her reasoning immediately gave the others pause.

Had this been daytime, escaping might have been a reasonable option but it was nighttime. And the Crimson Forest had become a completely different place beneath the cover of darkness.

The trees stood like towering silhouettes, their branches blocking what little light managed to reach the ground. Somewhere beyond their immediate surroundings, nocturnal Animas were already prowling and the occasional roar drifting through the darkness was enough to remind them of that fact.

Running blindly into the forest now was not an escape; instead, it was an invitation to disaster. They would lose their formation, their visibility would deteriorate, and their attention would be divided between the creatures of the forest and the assassin hunting them.

And since the Black Stalker possessed the ability to conceal itself, then separating themselves would only make its job of picking them one by one easier.

No one voiced an objection and neither did Veyrath. He simply released his grip on Regaleon’s arm, his shoulders still tensed.

Then, just as the group quietly discussed what they should do next, Aelric spoke. "Something’s wrong."

The words immediately silenced them and every head turned toward him.

"What do you mean, Aelric?"

Kaeloris adjusted his spectacles, his voice remarkably measured despite the severity of their circumstances.

Aureleah, Caelestra, and Valmyr were similarly composed.

It wasn’t because they failed to understand the seriousness of the situation. Rather, they simply didn’t comprehend the extent of the threat the Black Stalker represented.

In reality, fear was often proportional to understanding. One could not truly fear the depths of an abyss if you had never seen what lived within it. Four had but the other five were still ignorant of its dangers.

Aelric turned toward them, his brows slightly furrowed. "It doesn’t seem as though the assassin is here for you."

The statement should have brought relief but it didn’t. Instead, confusion joined the unease already hanging over them.

Aelric continued before anyone could question him. "There haven’t been any more attacks and that’s strange. If it truly came here to kill you, then it should have continued attacking until you were dead."

It was only after hearing him that the peculiarity of the situation truly settled upon them.

The Black Stalker had attacked once; only once... And after that, there has been no further attacks.

They had been standing here for several minutes, talking, arguing, formulating a strategy and the assassin had actually given them time... Time it shouldn’t have given them.

It had even allowed them opportunities.

Vaelorin had been almost completely consumed by panic earlier while Veyrath had been visibly shaken. Both had been vulnerable, yet no second attack had come.

The group exchanged uneasy glances. For someone they believed had come specifically to take their lives, the Black Stalker was behaving strangely, almost inexplicably so.

It was nearly as though that first attack had not been an attempt to kill them at all but had been an announcement.

However, the realization did little to comfort them. If anything, it made the situation worse because now they had no idea what the assassin actually wanted.

And an enemy whose intentions could not be understood was often more dangerous than one whose objective was obvious.

Before anyone could offer another theory or make some premature conclusion about the assassin’s intentions, a sudden sound broke through the stillness.

CRUNCH!

The sound of a foot pressing against dry foliage echoed sharply amidst the dark stillness...

Every conversation died instantly as the group turned toward the source.

Several meters away, between the trees, stood a figure shrouded in darkness and utterly motionless...

Vaelorin’s entire body stiffened the moment he laid eyes on it. His legs seemed to urge him backward, but he forced them to remain where they were. His breathing became shallow as he stared at the silhouette...

Veyrath reacted even more visibly. He took several hurried steps backward before his hand instinctively flew to his shoulder.

His fingers curled around the place where the wound had once been and for a fleeting moment, he could almost feel it again.

The warmth of his own blood, the weakness spreading through his limbs and the terrible certainty that he was dying. This made his face lost what little color remained in it...

Regaleon’s reaction was different and his expression became the epitome of grimness.

There was no panic in his golden eyes nor desire to flee but neither was there confidence.

His face was calm because he was forcing it to be. Inside, however, his thoughts were moving rapidly, while his hearts thudded almost audibly against his ribcage...

Aelric, on the other hand, was probably the calmest of them all.

Before the Black Stalker had revealed itself, the green-eyed youth had been constantly scanning the darkness, anticipating an attack from an unseen direction.

Now that the attacker had finally stepped into the open, some of that tension left his posture and his expression returned to its usual lackadaisical state.

There was a simple reason for that. An assassin was most dangerous when you couldn’t find him.

But now that the Black Stalker had willingly revealed itself, at least one of those advantages had been removed.

That did not make the assassin harmless; nevertheless, it made the situation easier to read...

Sylveris stared at the figure with unmistakable fear...

Caelestra’s expression was similarly tense, although she maintained enough composure to keep herself from trembling...

Valmyr, meanwhile, regarded the figure differently. He looked less frightened than irritated, as though he were staring at a particularly difficult obstacle that had appeared in his path...

Aureleah remained cold. Her face revealed almost nothing, yet a strange glint passed through her silver eyes the moment she saw the silhouette but it disappeared almost immediately the moment it appeared...