12 Chapter 12

-[Rowan]-

Something was very wrong. They thought it would be easy to lure the unknown Grimm out of hiding but it was proving much more difficult.

They had spent the last week clearing out the seemingly never ending Grimm horde that marched towards Shion village and it hadn't made an appearance.

Other than the fact that the intensity and size of each individual Grimm increased, there was no indication that their actions were taken note of.

Rowan grit his teeth in frustration as his sword tore through a larger than normal Beowulf. Julius who stood behind him was no less tense than he was.

"Are you doing okay?" Julius asked Rowan. The frustration he was showing was uncharacteristic but understandable in the situation they were in.

"Yeah. It's just…" he trailed off as he spun on his heels, beheading another Beowulf in a single swing. "We've been at this for a whole week. I didn't think it would take this long."

He had been on edge every minute that they traversed the forest. He'd been so on edge that he hadn't used any of the points he'd gotten from the battles so far.

•••

Name: Rowan Arc

Title: [Huntsman in Training]

Level: 74

HP: 10,500/10,500 [300 per minute]

AP: 19,000/19,000(20,000) [650 per 30 seconds]

STR: 130

DEX: 176

VIT: 150

INT: 200

WIS: 130

Points: 60

•••

"I feel you kid." Elma who was the other person who was in their group of three. The other four were on the other side of the forest. "None of us thought it'd take this long but there's nothing we can do about it.

"I'm starting to wonder if it's even here anymore." Rowan muttered before freezing in his steps, something Julius noticed.

Rowan usually had [Aura Sensor] active to avoid surprises. It was useless against Grimm but it worked perfectly on humans which was why he was bothered when he felt Gerard's aura disappear.

"Dad, call the others. Check if they're okay." He said hurriedly, confusing the man who quickly took out his scroll.

"What's wrong?" He asked as the scroll rang only for nobody to answer. "Shit!"

It was the first time Rowan had heard the man curse but it was the furthest thing from his mind. "I know where they are, follow me!"

With that he sped off in the direction he felt Gerard's aura disappear, not waiting to hear their response. 'Is he…?' He didn't want to complete the thought but it was the most likely possibility.

Even if a person's aura was shattered, he'd still feel something there. This one was simply extinguished.

"Rowan!" He heard Julius calling him from behind. A few seconds later, Julius in his berserker state caught up to him. "Don't just run off like that! How did you know something was wrong?"

"I could feel it." He said simply, not slowing down. As they got closer, a shockwave erupted in the distance in front of them, the recoil reaching them.

"Could it be?!" Julius wondered, though he was partially convinced that it was their target. He felt Quint's aura slowly fading.

"I'm going ahead." Rowan said, activating [Aura Augmentation], disappearing in a burst of speed.

"Geez." He just barely heard Julius say as he pushed ahead of them.

With his new speed, it didn't take him long to get to them, another shockwave impacting the area, forcing him to use [Aura Adhesion] to stay unaffected.

He finally got to a destroyed part of the forest, seeing Quint on the floor with a large hole in his stomach and Jaye kneeling over him.

"Rowan! Thank goodness you're here!" The woman exclaimed, seeing him arrive.

He immediately activated [Aura Healing] placing his hands over the bleeding hole. The hole slowly but surely began closing but Rowan's mind was anything but there.

His attention was on the large monstrosity standing to the side. The explanations did it no justice. A single glowing eye with a horn on its armored head, a body that was almost three times his size.

"What the hell?" He muttered before noticing something. The creature held a bloodied club in its hand, a bloodied corpse on the floor in front of him.

[Aura Healing has leveled up]

•••

Character Name: [Cyclops]

Title: [The Fifth Herald]

Age: [N/A]

Character Type: [Intelligent Grimm]

Status: [Alive]

Affiliation: [The Ten Heralds]

HP: [100%/100%]

MP: [99%/100%]

Current Emotion: [Amusement]

Thoughts: [Human toys]

Special Skills: [Energy Shot] [Grimm Pool Creation] [Harvest]

Secrets: [Unsatisfied with its siblings][Wants to destroy humanity]

Overview: [An evolved Grimm created by Ishar. One of ten Grimm heralds, he toys with the lives of humans for his own amusement, feeding on their fear to grow stronger. Even after hundreds of years of terrorizing humans, he hasn't lost the joy caused by human suffering. He is mocked by the other Heralds as the weakest of them all.]

•••

'What the hell is going on?!' He barely recognized Quint's death. The damage was already done, he died before the healing could be completed.

Just then Julius rushed into the site, Elma trailing behind him as they also stared at the Grimm herald.

Rowan took a step back, his hand on his sword as a drop of sweat rolled down his neck.

"Dear god." Julius muttered.

Jaye had tears streaming down her eyes at the quick deaths of Quint and Gerard. Rowan's eyes widened. "Where is Devon?"

A dark and rough chuckle rang out in the forest from the cyclops in front of them, raising his other hand which held a now unrecognizable corpse. "Looking for this?"

It's voice shocked them all to the core. "You can talk?" Julius questioned, tightly gripping his claymore.

"Of course I can." The amusement in its tone was palpable. "I must say, I've had fun playing with you humans. Your fear is quite exquisite!"

'What the hell?! There was never anything like this!' Rowan thought, gulping as he steadied himself.

Julius quickly shook himself out of his shock as he dashed forward, swinging his weapon at the Cyclops who, despite its large size, easily dodged it.

"Hahahaha!" It swung its club at Julius who just barely jumped out of the way. "I've had my fill for now. I can't have humans finding out so early. You're all going to die here!"

Without warning, it shot forward at incredible speed towards a still frozen Jaye. Rowan blurred, kicking the woman away and leaping away to dodge.

He wasn't fast enough as the club swung into him, sending him crashing through a few trees. Elma took out her guns, shooting at the Cyclops from behind Julius who dashed forward.

In his berserker mode, he swung his sword, Cyclops using its armored forearm to block it, swinging the arm to push the weapon to the side and bringing its weapon forward to swing at the man.

A particularly explosive shot from Elma crashed into the large weapons slightly altering its course and allowing Julius to dodge.

Rowan shot forward, [Aura Augmentation] and [Aura Reinforcement] active as he slashed at its leg only for the Grimm herald to leap into the air.

Rowan slashed in the air in front of him, sending arcs of aura shooting towards the creature. It batted then aside with relative ease as it descended at full force.

"Rowan, we have to time our attacks together." Julius warned as they leaped into the air in the moment that it landed, avoiding most of the violent shockwave.

Elma wasn't so lucky as she was blown out of the site. As they were airborne, they caught sight of the Grimm' s single eye glowing as orange energy shot out, engulfing both of them.

The two were sent crashing through the forest at dangerous speed as they painfully tore through the trees. Their aura took the brunt of the attack but they still felt the impact.

"Since when were Grimm this strong?" Julius wondered out loud as Rowan dragged himself to his feet.

"He's too fast." The boy corrected, watching a thin line of blood roll down the side of his face. Julius was no better with his forehead bleeding as well.

Just as he was about to pull up his status to assign those points, a blur crashed into him, sending him even further back. Regaining his bearings, he found Cyclops above him with its arms raised to smash him into a pulp.

Julius back in his berserker state appeared just in time, blocking the hit with the flat of his blade. It wasn't enough as the force was enough to send him flying.

Rowan took the chance to get to his feet, his aura coated sword already slashing forward. It was blocked by the club, leaving a deep crack in it but nothing more.

Activating [Big Bang Impact], he punched forward. Cyclops brought its club forward only for it to shatter like glass, the recoil sending it stumbling back.

Julius had already returned and swung at its leg, catching its foot. Rowan dashed forward, leaping forward with [Big Bang Impact] still active in his hand as he punched forward.

*BOOM!*

The amount of aura he put into the punch was absurd but it was for naught as Cyclops raised his armored forearm just in time to block it, the shockwave pushing everything away.

Julius took the chance, swinging at its leg in an attempt to cripple it. He got halfway through before Cyclops kicked forward, sending the man away with brutal force.

The herald's single eye glowed ominously as it fired an orange beam of energy at point blank range, engulfing Rowan in its destructive energy.

"Aaahhhhhhh!" Rowan screamed in pain as he was sent into the ground but Cyclops didn't stop its assault, maintaining a continuous blast before raising his arms in the air and smashing down on Rowan.

*BOOM!*

*BOOM!*

*BOOM!*

*BOOM!*

It continued, nonstop smashing Rowan into the ground with increasing power. "Hahahaha! You are truly fun!!!"

"Get away from my son!" Julius emerged with a limp but not giving up, his violent red aura still burning strong around him as he slashed his aura coated weapon at the Grimm herald.

It brought up a hand to block it but the man wasn't done, smashing his claymore into the ground and sending debris into the air.

He swung the flat of his blade at the pieces of earth, sending them flying towards the Cyclops. As it raised its arms to block the projectiles, Julius dashed forward, grabbing Rowan and putting space between them.

They couldn't run away, it was faster than they were. They'd only be leading it to the village. Looking down at his son, Julius choked on a sob.

Rowan's stomach and part of his chest was caved in. His arms were mangled pieces of flesh and his face was barely recognizable.

"Rowan! Can you hear me?!" Julius asked in panic at his son's state. "R-Rowan…"

The Cyclops watched with open amusement. "Hahaha! Do you really have the luxury to worry about someone else? He's already dead! HahahahaHAHAA!!" Its deranged laugh only angered Julius.

Before he could act, a cough squeezed itself from Rowan's throat, the boy's eyes wide awake. "You're alive! We have to get out of here."

"We both know…that's not possible." He managed to say, Julius' face squeezing in numerous emotions of anger, frustration and panic.

Rowan's healing worked through his hands and they were basically paste at this point. As the man was about to speak, Rowan interjected.

"Can you buy me some time?" He asked, confusing Julius.

"What are you planning on doing? You can't do anything in the state you're in!" The man said worriedly.

A strained laugh escaped Rowan as well as a sound of pain. "Just trust me, old man."

He wanted to deny it. He wanted to just take Rowan and run away no matter how futile it was. No parent wanted to see their child like this. Yet…the look in Rowan's eyes were those of someone who still had some fight left in him.

Julius' face squeezed in reluctance as he nodded painfully, laying Rowan flat on the floor as he picked up his blade.

"What a touching moment! Too bad this is where it ends." The grimm herald said with cruel excitement as a black liquid began secreting from its palm, landing on the floor and expanding into small pools around him.

The pools expanded as Grimm began crawling out of them, taking shape. While this was happening, Rowan had assigned all of his points to WIS.

•••

Name: Rowan Arc

Title: [Huntsman in Training]

Level: 74

HP: 389/10,500 [300 per minute]

AP: 6,794/19,000(20,000) [950 per 30 seconds]

STR: 130

DEX: 176

VIT: 150

INT: 200

WIS: 190

Points: 0

•••

Speed or strength wouldn't help him here and neither would vitality as the cyclops would whittle at it just like he had just done. Splitting the points between the three was just a terrible idea to begin with.

He had a different approach to take. In his injured state, he was able to activate [Meditation] which was at level 79, increasing his health and aura recovery by 79%.

The Cyclops seemed to enjoy the show of an injured Julius swing against the creatures of Grimm it spawned, its attention completely off Rowan.

He found his mangled hand just barely laying on his leg, activating [Aura Healing] while keeping [Meditation] active.

With his INT and skill level at 200 and 47 respectively, putting his healing at 9400 per minute along with the boosted health regeneration from [Meditation], he found his injuries healing at faster speed than they had ever been.

Within 15 seconds, he was able to move his body but he didn't get up. Within the next 20 seconds, he was fully healed. Other than his almost destroyed clothing and scattered state of his being, he was okay.

He stopped [Meditation] as he activated his new skill. It was one that he had spent every night practicing and it was also his reason for scouring so many medical books.

With cracking sounds, Rowan's aura exploded around him, getting the attention of a thoroughly confused Cyclops and a happy Julius.

"I'm quite sure you were dead." The Grimm herald said, sounding displeased for the first time, bringing some joy to Rowan.

"I guess you were wrong." The boy said as he pulled himself up, the golden aura solidifying around him, forming a golden ribcage with him as the focus.

'W-what is that?' Julius wondered in silent shock at the golden ribcage surrounding Rowan but the boy wasn't done yet.

The rib cage expanded, growing as what looked like a spine formed behind it, more bones forming from his golden aura.

Under two pairs of shocked eyes, the construct grew until it formed a giant skeletal upper half with arms. Aura colored flesh filled out the skeletal arms, forming muscles as the eye sockets of the demon-like gained a white glow.

•••

[Aura Avatar(Active)][Level 21]

A gigantic, humanoid avatar made of the user's aura which surrounds them and fights on their behalf.

•••

He had blatantly copied the Susano'o but even then, it wasn't complete. He was able to form a partial Susano'o but that was all he could do while minding his aura levels.

"Rowan? What the hell is that?!" Julius asked in confusion.

"I'll explain later, get out of there!" Rowan said as he rushed forward, the construct moving with him as he engaged the spawned Grimm. Each smash from his avatar's arms were enough to destroy a large number of them.

*BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!*

[You have leveled up]

Within moments, it was only the three of them left. Rowan immediately controlled an arm to grab Julius, pulling him beside him and into the Susano'o as he assigned the 5 points into WIS.

The construct's speed and strength didn't work based on his own stats so aura was the most important thing. He needed to focus on recovering his aura due to how aura taxing [Aura Avatar] was.

"I'm starting to get annoyed." Cyclops said in visible frustration.

"That makes two of us." Rowan shot back as the Grimm herald dashed forward, cocking its arm back to deliver a punch.

The aura avatar did the same, the two attacks canceling each other out. The other arm shot forward only for the avatar to mirror it as well.

The avatar pushed the cyclops off, quickly grabbing its arm and pulling it to the ground. The construct and the herald were roughly the same size with the aura avatar having a slight edge in size.

[Aura Avatar has leveled up]

They began throwing punches and letting a barrage of hits fly back and forth. The shockwave lashed out around them, further destroying the environment as they battled on.

[Aura Avatar has leveled up]

Cyclops moved back, putting some space between them as its eyes glowed, shooting out its signature orange beam.

Rowan pushed more of his aura into his construct as a circular shield of aura formed in front of its arm, barely managing to raise it to block the blast.

It didn't let up, continuing its blast as it slowly trudged forward, forcing Rowan to keep the shield up. As it got closer, a crack formed on the shield, causing Rowan's eyes to widen.

"Rowan, it's cracking!" Julius announced as the Cyclops got closer, the crack expanding further.

Rowan grit his teeth as he forced the rest of his aura forward, stopping the crack from widening further. 'Come on!'

By this time, Cyclops was already in front of them with its arm cocked back. Rowan managed a strained grin as he released his bookmark on Neela, forcing the aura into the construct as a blade of aura formed in the other hand of the avatar.

"What?!!"

Under the shocked eye of the Cyclops, the blade swung at full force into it, cracking its bonelike armor with some difficulty before cutting through it.

It wasn't able to form words as the construct dissected it in half, the lower half quickly dissipating.

Not even a second later, Rowan's aura gave out, the construct dissipating as he fell to his knees. Julius's arm was the only thing that kept him from falling flat.

Though Rowan was lacking injuries, the blood was still there, making it look worse than it actually was.

"You'll pay!!! You'll pay for this!!! They'll find you!! AND THEY'LL KILL YOU!!!" Cyclops screamed as its severed upper body began to dissipate with the wind.

He immediately used [The Author], not wanting to risk anything.

•••

Character Name: [Cyclops]

Title: [The Fifth Herald]

Age: [N/A]

Character Type: [Intelligent Grimm]

Status: [Alive]

Affiliation: [The Ten Heralds]

HP: [1%/100%]

MP: [0%/100%]

•••

He watched its health drop to zero as it fully dissipated, leaving nothing behind.

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

[You have leveled up]

…

His eyes were assaulted with numerous level up notifications. He was forced to mute the notifications for the moment as he allowed himself to look to the sky.

He felt Julius' hold on him tighten but his mind couldn't be further away from that. He remembered the last line in the Cyclop's description.

There were ten Heralds and this was the weakest…

'We're all going to die.'