Chapter 694 - The Hunter
"Inara!" Burak almost let out an unintentional squeal when his sights fell on Princess Inara.
What a sight for sore eyes she was for him. Both his demeanor and tone of voice changed instantly. He took a few large strides forward but was stopped by the guard's spear that threatened to pierce the skin of his neck.
"Haha, w-what are you doing here?" he asked while raising his hands.
Princess Inara was already incensed as it were due to her needing help even standing upright and that too from the person she hated from the bottom of her heart, so Burak's manner of speaking that implied a close relationship between them pissed her off even more.
Not to mention she didn't recognize him to begin with.
"Who the hell are you to speak to me like that?! I don't know any filthy monkeys!" she almost spat on his face, even going as far as calling him a monkey which was a derogatory term that others called the Barbarians, mostly behind their backs.
Princess Helena was forced out of her daze by her sister's inconsiderate and crass words. She threw her a quick glare which promptly shut her up before looking towards Burak with an apologetic smile.
"Lord Burak, I...did not expect to meet you here. I'm sorry for Inara's behavior...." she commented with a tone full of doubt and suspicion, but even then she went as far as ordering the guards to lower their weapons without even asking any other questions.
Princess Inara genuinely looked surprised when her sister called out Burak's name but even then she did not bother to apologize for her statement.
Some of the younger barbarians behind Hao Xuan were angered by her actions, and quite understandably so, but since Burak himself did not react, how could they?
Burak gave a toothy grin showing his sharp canine teeth and shook his head, "No no, it doesn't matter at all. It's easy to get me confused with a monkey or two sometimes, hahaha," he tried to lighten the mood with a self-deprecating joke but this was hardly the right time or place for such banter.
But Princess Helena simply smiled courteously in response, choosing not to even give a factitious laugh.
"How are you her-...are you okay?" she changed the question at the last minute upon noticing their terrible condition.
Burak nodded spiritedly at first, "Of course! This much is....nothing," but his enthusiasm died down pretty quickly once he recalled what they had just been through.
Behind them, the empty passageway from which they had crawled out of was not devoid of life anymore. Hao Xuan who was keeping some of his attention directed towards the pyramid slowly turned his head. His ears twitched and eyes narrowed, focusing in on the opened space.
The rough guttural sound that had been emanating from it died down slowly. Hao Xuan redirected qi towards his ears, eliminating all the unnecessary sounds. The world became quiet for him, even his hearts slowed down to a crawl as he held his breath.
The first thing he saw were the long black strands of hair slowly coming down from the top of the opening.
And then a moment later 'it' came into view, that same shadowy outline that had followed him even into his dreams these past few months. It almost 'materialized' out of the darkness, poking its demented head.
The head was humanoid in its form. With a circumference of at least 90 centimeters, it was more than three times the size of an average human. There was no skin to speak of, only brown bones and a few strands of bright red facial muscles that connected the various parts together. The few strands of hair that were present were attached directly to the skull as if planted there by force.
The hollow eye sockets held two sickly yellow lights that swiveled left and right independently. There was no distinction between any sections which made the entire eye look like one big puss filled sack.
Then came two large skeletal hands out of the darkness, gripping the top of the opening. The hands only had three digits each which dug into the wall for support. It was hanging upisde down.
And not even a second later as if it could feel him looking at it, it abruptly jerked its head and peered right into Hao Xuan's eyes.
It didn't have any lips, just two shriveled worm-like muscle strands around its mouth but even those were enough to create a chilling little grin. The serrated teeth that still had some human bone shards stuck in them parted and it mouthed two words.
'Found...you.'
Hao Xuan's pupils shrunk to the size of needles.
"IT'S HERE! THE HUNTER!" he shouted channeling Qi into the Glaive, interrupting Burak and the Princess's conversation.
Other than Burak and Isak, all the other barbarians spun around simultaneously. Even these brave warriors couldn't keep down the fear that had been instilled within the very depths of their souls from the recent experiences.
It had found them again, and so soon?
Some of their legs were shaking, trembling upon seeing that warped smile.
Burak didn't need to turn around. The hair on the back of his neck were standing straight up, almost welcoming the creature.
But he still managed to let out a wry smile, "I-I'm afraid we will have to cut this short. Come with us, we might be able to lose it in the forest," he said looking at Princess Inara.
Princess Helena noticed the thick droplets of sweat condensing on his forehead which along with his stammering voice made her heart shudder. Although not the strongest, there was barely anything that could genuinely scare this mammoth of a barbarian.
And if even he was this frightened, then what should they feel?
The hunter, as it was referred to as by Hao Xuan and the other barbarians, noticed them swiftly moving into the forest that was in front of them and vanish from view.
It opened its mouth to reveal a long, hollow cylindrical tongue that unfurled, getting even longer. It had notches and tears all along its sides.
Whenever it breathed, that strange noise that was a mix of clicks and bubbles being popped would flow out. It was dampened by the rows of scally muscles along its long neck at first before being amplified, making for a truly hauntingly alien sound.
The noise echoed in every direction, inside and out.. The ground started shaking, the vibrations getting stronger by the second until a minute later when a horde of monsters rushed out of the passageway like a broken dam.