Chapter 131: Her savior

[The same evening]

[Training Facility, Hunter’s Association]

"The reinforced training dolls are designed to withstand several strikes and spells from even an A-rank warrior. Yet, when I entered the training hall, I found a single woman who had butchered more than twenty of them in one session."

The woman spoke with a smile, not a trace of complaint in her eyes despite the considerable damage she was describing.

All around was wreckage, several broken parts of the machinery lying around. And amidst them stood a certain Hunter.

"Silvie... send me the repair bill. I’d like to contribute something."

The woman responsible for the destruction spoke with a hint of guilt, finally realizing how far her absent-minded training session had gone.

Silvie raised an eyebrow. "Your paychecks have always been pitiful. Are you sure you can afford it, Hunter Hannah?"

She was addressing none other than Hannah Veilbourne, the recently evaluated S-rank hunter who had dominated the front pages of newspapers until quite recently.

Hannah had quickly made a name for herself, not only because of her beauty and strength, but also because she had chosen to undergo the Association’s formal recruitment procedures and evaluations rather than rely on any special privileges. Her rise had been nothing short of remarkable. Whenever she entered a battlefield, the tide of battle seemed to turn in her favor, and her ability to overwhelm her enemies was almost ridiculous.

Yet, despite all her accomplishments, her most recent mission had left the deepest impact on her career. And on Hannah as well.

"You’ve been rather distracted these past few days, Hunter. Is everything all right?"

Silvie’s voice carried genuine concern. She wasn’t merely Hannah’s assistant, but also her friend, which made it difficult to overlook the unusual change in her behavior.

"I... recently realized something important, Silvie."

Hannah turned toward her, a thoughtful expression settling over her face.

"Tell me, what do you think has always been my preferred way of dealing with powerful beasts?"

Silvie hummed in surprise at the sudden question. She didn’t need much time to come up with an answer. It was simply the unexpected shift in conversation that had caught her off guard.

"You either dismantle their spells or disrupt the mana enveloping their bodies. Once you’ve thrown them off balance, you exploit that brief opening to secure your victory."

Hannah offered a wry smile.

"Exactly. But this time, I faced beasts that didn’t care what I did to them. No matter how much I interfered with their mana or disrupted their abilities, they simply kept charging at me."

She glanced around the training hall, taking in the battered dolls scattered across the floor.

"I’ve beheaded these advanced training dolls within seconds. And yet, fighting a single monster during that mission took me several long minutes."

Silvie fell silent.

Part of her was shocked by the admission, but she also understood that Hannah needed room to express what had been troubling her. This was the first time her friend had spoken openly about the incident, and Silvie had no intention of interrupting her unnecessarily.

Hannah let out a weary sigh and shook her head.

"I finally understand that I won’t reach the heights I want by simply training against weaker monsters."

She had never become a hunter for the sake of a comfortable life. What drove her was the desire to learn, improve, and push beyond her own limits. She wanted to experience the satisfaction of becoming stronger through her own efforts, not to prove herself to anyone else, but because that sense of personal accomplishment meant everything to her.

And now, for the first time in a long while, she had encountered something that made her question how far she still had to go.

After allowing her a moment to gather her thoughts, Silvie spoke again.

"What about the person who saved you? How did they fight?"

Hannah glanced at her friend, and the look in her eyes was enough to make Silvie immediately raise both hands in surrender.

"I’m not asking for their name or any confidential details! I just want to know what you learned from watching them."

Hannah exhaled softly and turned her gaze toward the distant wall, though her eyes seemed focused on something far beyond it.

"Well, if there’s a difference between hunters and their respective ranks, then that person stands entirely outside those distinctions."

She paused, searching for the right words.

"With strength like that, they didn’t even need to fight those beasts in any conventional sense. They simply overwhelmed them."

A faint, almost incredulous smile touched her lips as she recalled the scene.

"He was... like a god. Bestowing death upon those who had no right to live."

The memory remained etched deep within her mind. She could still picture that warrior moving across the battlefield, his every action driven by a singular purpose: to eradicate everything threatening the people inside that car.

There had been no elaborate techniques, no dazzling spells, and certainly no display of refined combat skills. His fighting style had been brutally straightforward, almost primitive in its simplicity.

And yet, Hannah had sensed something far more terrifying beneath it all.

A hunger to annihilate anything that dared endanger those he sought to protect.

It was that overwhelming presence, more than the sheer destruction he had unleashed, that had left such a lasting impression on her.

Unfortunately, she had been explicitly warned against pursuing the mysterious hunter. Otherwise, Hannah would have gladly gone out of her way to meet him, even if it meant searching for him on the streets.

"Hmm, well, I think I’ve figured something out."

Silvie’s sudden remark pulled Hannah out of her reverie.

Turning toward her friend, Hannah found her wearing a mischievous smile that immediately put her on guard.

"My Hannah’s savior is a man."

Hannah’s eyes widened.

"God, no... Silvie! You are misunderstanding something here!"

°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading. If you have been enjoying the story so far, please leave a comment or review to help the future readers.