Chapter 78 - The Hunt (3) (1/2)
Somewhere 100 metres above a huge forest, Simon's group or 'fang team' stood in a floating platform in the sky. For the beginning of the assessment, they would be tasked with identifying possible locations that their target maybe be situated at. Through this step, they can then thoroughly plan possible strategies to handle the target and come up with contingencies for any unexpected occurrences happening in a certain area.
With this in mind, Simon knelt down at the edge of the platform and scanned the area with his eyes, instantly identifying exactly where the puppet was hiding. In a natural cave entrance, the puppet seemed to be half melted into the wall and simulating the appearance of a skeleton. Seeing this, Simon smirked and thought of ways that could make his battle epic and particularly legendary. With the assessment possibly being the only way he could escape from academy life, he would not hesitate to use some theatrics and manipulate the events to make himself look even greater as a 4th ranker.
He did not really care to much about what happens to his team during the hunt, but he did feel a sort of responsibility to make sure that Cortasia stayed safe. This is of course because he was very fond of Lenn and wanted to keep his subordinate's daughter. He also felt like he wouldn't just leave Rieza to die either, because she seemed rather warm and not annoying as a person. Other than those two, he did not feel much warmth towards. He associated Hecate a lot with Jazukal's death and therefore found her to be quite an eyesore, and Talise was just too arrogant and hot-blooded. He simply did not want to assist someone that would get the group into more trouble.
”Rieza, do you see any possible spots?” Cortasia asked as she took a break from scouting. Seeing that there was not much to work with, Cortasia asked her teammates. She was not much of a perceptive person, but she could handle a sword. If she could not do something, she would not hesitate to ask for assistance.
”I think I see something at a cave just north west...but I can't confirm without getting a closer look.” Rieza responded with an unsure tone. At midday, the sun overlooked the forest from overhead, but it was still too hard for her to perceive the finer details from 100 metres away.
”There is a clearing around that cave, looks like the perfect spot to have a fight, don't you think?” Said a bored Talise.
”Yes, indeed.” Hecate agreed.
'It seems Rieza has a good set of eyes...I should watch her more closely.' Simon thought to himself as he shot a brief glance at her.
In all actuality, the cave seemed to be very unwelcoming to Simon. From the looks of it, an aura of death had encased the entire area and signs of a battle had been left everywhere in the clearing in front of the cave entrance. Simon concluded that the aura was definitely not from the puppet, but from a devil of at least the mid 7th rank. But as to how strong the devil truely is, Simon could only conclude that this person was on a completely different level when compared to the late Reaper.
Without even leaving a trace of blood, the devil had managed to kill so much that the area had been stained with an invisible aura of death. The worst part was the fact that the aura seemed to be less than an hour old.
'Something like this would be hard to handle...if the opponent is not a male, I will definitely not be able to do what I did to Reaper. But even if they are a man, I am not completely sure about this... I do not believe I can keep my team safe. Heck, I am not even sure if I can keep myself safe...'
”Hey Simonifirac...yeah that name is too inconvenient...I will just call you Sim. Sim, what do you think of the cave?” Rieza spontaneously asked as she crept over his shoulder.