✔ The Hunters | Garou

SECOND HUNT

MONSTER HUNTER

"There are no accidental meetings between souls."

A couple days passed since my first sighting of Infernogun. During those days, I took down a couple more heroes of different classes, and needless to say, I'm getting famous now.

The Hero Association is on their heels trying to catch me, but they're miserably failing with their failures of heroes. Looks like the monster has the upper hand now!

Today, I decided to finally confront Infernogun. During the past few days, I had glimpses of the way she uses her guns, but I still couldn't find anything else. If she has anything up her sleeve, she sure is good at hiding it.

I stood balanced on the narrow railings of a walk bridge that went over a highway and stared ahead at the road in wait. A monster that looked like a huge mound of moss, possibly a demon-level threat, was wreaking havoc some distance behind me. If the evacuation announcement was right, Infernogun would show up to deal with the monster.

I would have paid attention to the distinct sound of her motorcycle, but in the noise and chaos, that was pretty much impossible. My eyes would have to do it.

I didn't have to wait long. The motorcycle soon appeared in the distance, and as it drew closer to the bridge, I jumped down in front of it. I accidentally cracked the asphalt under my feet. Oops! Silly me.

Seeing me, she swerved and screeched to a halt, the side of the motorcycle facing me.

"Greetings, Infernogun." I said in a tone of mockery, now lifting my hand to point at her, "Prepare to be hunted."

I expected her to be provoked, but I saw her cheeks rise up to her eyes, a clear indication of a pleased smile. There was a mischievous, playful glint in her eyes as she kicked out the motorcycle's stand and got off.

"Hero Hunter," she said, standing before me, "I've been expecting you."

"You have?" I chuckled, "Why? Are you that excited to lose to me?"

Her eyes met mine for a split second, and she smiled again. "I've heard about your exploits, and I was dying to get my paws on you."

"Well, I'll get my paws on you before you do!" I retorted with a smirk and took my stance.

She undid the buckles of her gun holsters and kept them on the motorcycle.

"What's this? Aren't you gonna use your weapons?" I asked.

"I heard that you're proficient in close combat," she pushed up the sleeves of her hoodie, "so, I thought I might as well meet you at a common ground."

I felt my body tingle in excitement. She knows martial arts! Perfect! But I didn't see any of it in the catalog. Like I said, she's smart not to include anything like that.

"Your choice!" I scoffed, "Don't cry if you lose."

She took her stance too; knees bent, one leg forward and another at the back, and her arms forward, ready to fight. Her stance looked very similar to mine, but not exactly the same. My latter remark made one of her cheeks reach her eye; that was an unmistakable smirk.

"I'll be the hero that loses to you." she said.

What?

Those words alone disoriented my concentration to the point that, for a moment, I didn't see her fist charging at my face. But when I did, my knee-jerk reaction was to immediately dodge her left hook. However, I didn't move away far enough, and her fist actually grazed my cheek.