22 Fire Blast, Barbecue Nekomata

In the pitch-black darkness, Catherine's flawless face was slightly flushed.

Since the destruction of the town, it had been abandoned for decades. There was no longer light pollution, meaning the night was very dark.

Even so, with Austin's superior night vision, he could still see as clearly as day.

Seeing his sister in her combat uniform, Austin wanted to shout out—Wow!

Although she's my sister, I think it's my first time being alone with her.

Austin thought as he looked elsewhere.

In the old and quiet master bedroom, a strange atmosphere was spreading.

The siblings felt awkward.

Austin coughed dryly and said, "You've been fighting a lot today, and you must be mentally and physically exhausted. Rest well."

"I'll stay on guard first."

Austin took out a mosquito repellent coil from his bag.

He set up the rack, lit the mosquito repellent coil, and placed it on top.

"Austin, you even brought mosquito repellent?"

His sister blinked her big bright eyes.

"And insect repellent. Want some?"

Austin produced another small bottle of insect repellent from his bag.

"Sure… spray me some."

"I'm so sweaty, and it stinks."

Catherine undid her hairband and let her long dark hair fall over her shoulders.

"My sister never stinks. I think you smell great."

"Here, let me spray some on you."

Blushing, Catherine lowered her head and mumbled, "How? You've never smelled it before…"

Austin sprayed the insect repellent and put it away.

He felt an unexplainable itch in his heart, so he could only turn his head and say, "Go to sleep. I'll keep on a lookout outside."

Then, Austin left the master bedroom.

As he sat outside and leaned against the wall, Austin spun the magic fire canister in boredom.

His eyes were as sharp as a hawk's and as bright as a cat's as he surveyed the night.

Even his super-perception spread out like a spider web and covered the surroundings.

Any movement near the residential area could not escape Austin's senses.

"There is no magick surveillance here."

"That's right. The Vicious Beast Town is so big. It's impossible for the royal family to set up surveillance cameras everywhere."

"Alright, that saves me the trouble of destroying them one by one."

Austin whispered to himself.

He did not have the habit of sleeping under the surveillance of others.

Austin had already destroyed the only magick surveillance camera in this area.

When Austin entered the residential area, he smiled at the camera and smashed it.

Hika, who was watching Austin through the monitor, was hopping mad.

"Austin…"

Catherine, who had slipped into her sleeping bag, whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I can't sleep.

"That means you're not tired enough. Get up. I'm going to find a couple of Shadow Cats to come over and give you some practice."

"I'm sleepy again. I think I can fall asleep."

Austin smiled faintly.

That was more like it.

Catherine was probably really tired.

From a rookie with no actual combat experience to an "expert" who hunted down seven low-level beasts, one could see how much Catherine had grown.

After a long day of battling and being on high alert, Catherine was naturally physically and mentally exhausted.

However, this was the wilderness. It was a town of vicious beasts. It was a hunting zone far away from the cities where humans lived!

If he dared to sleep now, his head might end up somewhere else the next day.

Catherine didn't dare to have a deep sleep and could only take a nap.

Perhaps because Austin was there, Catherine fell asleep immediately.

She had entrusted her life to her elder brother.

Austin's ears twitched as he heard the faint snoring coming from the room. He smiled and closed his eyes as well.

A corner of Vicious Beast Town finally welcomed peace.

Elsewhere, however, the hunting and killing had just begun.

Many ferocious and terrifying beasts were nocturnal.

They sleep during the day and hunt for food at night.

Most of the apprentice magisters who survived during the day found a place in the residential area or other hidden corners to rest.

One apprentice magister who had been hiding all day curled up in the corner of an abandoned underground warehouse, shivering.

"Huff—"

Heavy breathing sounds came from the underground warehouse.

He looked up and saw a pair of animal eyes, which resembled blue flames and as large as lanterns, staring at him through the shelf.

"Ah!!"

A piercing scream echoed in the underground warehouse.

On the top floor of a dilapidated house, a sharpshooter in camouflage was lying there, motionless.

Beside him, there was a specially assembled heavy magick gun. He observed his surroundings with his telescope while eating a hard French baguette.

Suddenly, a strong gust blew from above.

The sharpshooter's hair stood on end as he rolled on the ground and dodged the fatal blow.

However, before he could react, the enemy's broad and sturdy wings flapped down heavily, crushing the poor guy's muscles and bones.

It was just a microcosm of what was happening in the town.

Even for the apprentice magisters who performed well during the day, they were exhausted after a day of fighting. All they wanted was to spend the night peacefully.

There was really no one like Catherine who could sleep peacefully in her sleeping bag, with the pleasant smell of insect repellent around.

The night was as cold as water.

Austin closed his eyes for a nap.

Still, any movement would wake him up.

Late at night, Austin suddenly frowned and opened his eyes.

What a strong smell of blood!

Austin was alarmed and saw a cat with black fur that seemed to blend into the night.

It strode forward gracefully, its paws landing silently on the ground as it paced outside.

"Meow ~"

The black cat raised its tail and hissed at Austin.

Shadow Cat?

No, it was a high-level vicious beast—Nekomata!

In a flash, Austin and the cat moved at the same time.

Austin pushed his palm and opened the lid of the magic fire canister with his thumb.

Burning Fire Blast!

It was the name that Austin had given for his magic fire canister move.

The ability to control fire could control the flames of the magic fire canister. It was like a long straight line of burning flames and then using air control to ignite the flame, thus the name.

Austin's naming ability was a little nerdy, but he enjoyed it.

Boom!

The Burning Fire Blast immediately exploded, turning into an enormous ball of fire.

The blazing fire illuminated the night sky.