12 12. Dalmatian Dog

In Dawnshire Town, Ogden Lester's family of four has disappeared, and it is suspected to be the work of a roaming serial killer.

Mayor Field paced anxiously in his office:

"Where did those two go? I can't go on like this. If no one finds and stops that monster, I don't know how many more people will die."

Field closed his eyes with a determined expression:

"As long as it's done cleanly, the news won't leave this town."

He grabbed his coat from the rack, took a semi-automatic pistol from his desk drawer, and hurriedly left the office.

Half an hour later.

Hewitt asked:

"Is the mayor not here?"

The sheriff looked at Hewitt clad in full armor, somewhat surprised by his "luxurious" attire.

He replied:

"Field just left. I don't know where he went. However, finding the criminals and the Lester family should be more important right now."

The situation became a bit more complicated.

Hewitt rubbed his chin. The mayor was his most important lead for finding Nelson and Peter, but he left half an hour ago.

Did they contact the mayor during this time? But they shouldn't have known that Hewitt would actively hunt them down.

Or did they have another plan?

If he could find the mayor and learn their true intentions, it would be best. But even without the mayor, Hewitt had his own ways of tracking prey.

A hunter always has hounds.

Hewitt sneaked into the Ogden's house.

The demon hunter took out a chalk made not of calcium carbonate, but ground powder from various monster spines.

He quickly drew a simple magic array on the floor, placed a large, enticing piece of meat in the center, and began to recite with a magical language:

"Formless beings living in the non-material plane -- Dalot, I offer the blood and flesh of the rebel in the name of fire and call upon your arrival. Hunt down my enemies here."

As the incantation was spoken, the ground bone powders used to draw the magic array lifted off the floor, converging into the outline of a canine creature in midair. Amidst a sharp, nauseating wail, a Dalot manifested as a skeletal hound.

Hewitt only had one reason not to use this method to find Ogden immediately – the Dalot as a hound needed to have a reward for its efforts.

Without any hesitation, the hound began running in the air, as creatures from the non-material plane weren't bound by physical laws.

Gravity, temperature, distance – nothing mattered to them.

Deep within the Blackeye Forest.

Nelson was leaving the town.

After making threats, he decided to leave immediately.

He was furious about being threatened but wasn't a fool. The task wasn't urgent, and since he encountered someone who could kill him, coupled with having offended him badly, there was no point in staying. He reasoned only fools would stay.

He belonged to the noble Blue Blood, and he couldn't perish in such place.

Revenge could wait forever. After all, he wasn't a good person who couldn't waste any time. As long as he returned to Aaron City, he could devise ways to torture both the hunter and the girl at his side.

Even if the girl's mother really was a powerful figure he shouldn't provoke and knew about their actions, all he needed to do was hide and lay low for a few years.

Once the girl left the hunter, he would find reliable companions and kidnap their loved ones, using their lives to threaten Hewitt.

It would be time for revenge. He would dismember their friends, family, and lovers in front of the prey's eyes, force him to kneel and beg, make him shed tears of remorse, and let himself run wild.

As he thought about this, a pleasant smile spread across Nelson's face.

Bang!

A gunshot shattered the silence of the forest.

Intense pain shot through Nelson's body from one side. His right arm fell to the ground, and an eerie tearing sensation came from his wound. Somehow, he understood that-

He had lost his right arm forever.

The hunting gun struggled somewhat discontentedly in Hewitt's hand, as the soul of just one hand was not enough to satisfy its appetite.

Trying to be helpful, the demon hunter said to the hunting gun:

"You wouldn't want to fight with Dalot for prey. Trust me."

Nelson couldn't see the enemy's presence, but fear from the unknown tormented him.

He yelled at the surrounding trees:

"Who is it? Hewitt? I'm already planning to leave. Why do you keep bothering me?"

Bang!

His left foot also left his body, and the fallen Nelson's disguise vanished completely, revealing his blue skin. However, at this moment, the Blue Blood, which once gave him endless confidence, couldn't give him any peace of mind.

At this moment, he probably knew where that tearing feeling came from, just as Hewitt had said – he had a gun that could devour souls.

Having lost his ability to move and his courage, Nelson cried out:

"Please, don't let him eat my soul. Kill me, kill me. Don't let that gun eat me."

Because he knew too much, Nelson was even more afraid than ordinary people – because he knew that the soul really exists.

Hewitt walked out of the woods. Standing ten meters away from Nelson, he pointed the hunting gun at his head:

"I'll ask, and you'll answer. If you lie, I'll shoot you. If you don't tell a single lie, I won't kill you."

When Nelson heard this, hope rekindled. He had only wanted an ordinary death, but he didn't expect there might be a chance to live.

He didn't ask whether the other party was telling the truth or not. Even if Hewitt just wanted to play with him, he had no chips.

"Where did your partner go? What about Ogden?"

Nelson was taken aback:

"Wasn't he killed by you?"

Hewitt realized something was wrong and asked further:

"What do you mean?"

"Peter never came to find me. I don't know where he is."

He wasn't lying, and Hewitt could see it.

"What about Ogden? Do you know?"

Nelson chuckled nervously and shook his head.

Hewitt's face darkened:

"Do you know where the Blood of Frost Giant in your body, the so-called Blue Blood, came from?"

"Uh…" Nelson tried his best to recall, "I got it after becoming a core member and going through the ceremony, but after the ceremony, I lost consciousness."

Hewitt asked:

"If you know nothing, why should I spare you?"

Nelson quickly said:

"I have many uses! I'm a Blue Blood member of the White Lion Club, a Core Member, and I know many ancient secrets…"

"Such as?"

"Uh, uh, I know someone is trying to revive ancient deities. It seems to be called something like the Gods of Lies and Endings from the Aesir."

Hewitt interrupted him:

"There is no such thing as a God of Lies and Endings among the Aesir. Now, you are free. He is yours."

Upon hearing the word "free," Nelson's face initially showed joy, but then he fell into panic and despair again.

A bone claw he couldn't see grabbed his body, draining all his strength.

"I curse you! I curse you! You will fall into hell and suffer endless torment. You will…"

Dalot looked at Hewitt discontentedly, seeming to complain that the prey had become incomplete. However, he didn't have much of a reaction and left this world with Nelson in tow.