Chapter 20 : The Candidates Eliminated by Germain
Swish! Swish! Swish!
A faint, piercing sound reached his ears.
Without even glancing, Germain ducked his head to avoid three poisonous needles. Then, pretending to draw a butcher's saw from his chest, he turned sharply and sliced off the heads of two venomous snakes that had slithered toward him.
My snakes! cried Scar Peng, his head wrapped in a gray cloth, panic flashing across his face.
Greta, her dark skin glistening with sweat, spat another poisoned needle but paled and took a step back.
All of them were candidates for the Hunter Exam.
Not long ago, the infamous rookie killer Tonpa had approached them with an offer of alliance.
Instead of searching the entire city of Yanisha for target cards like finding a needle in a haystack he proposed they lie in wait in front of the church, ambushing returning candidates and stealing their cards.
Tonpa carried a potent laxative; Greta wielded paralyzing venom needles; and Scar Peng's snakes carried a deadly toxin. The three poison experts hid within the crowd, cooperating seamlessly to select their prey.
Using that method, they had already captured two cards. Only one remained their plan was to hunt down Izenabi next.
But this time, no one showed up for a long while. Just as their patience wore thin, Germain appeared.
A dispute broke out immediately over whether they should attack him.
Greta opposed it, but Tonpa still angry over Germain's earlier threat with a musket urged them to strike. Scar Peng, tired of waiting, agreed.
With two votes against one, Germain was chosen as their final prey.
Yet now, Germain had effortlessly dodged poisonous needles and slain a viper without even acknowledging Tonpa 's interference. Could such a man truly be prey?
Was he really a newcomer?
Tonpa 's mocking grin froze. Realizing the danger, he immediately betrayed the others:
Hey! I've got nothing to do with them. Looks like you've got some misunderstanding. You guys work that out. I'm leaving.
He turned and jogged off, his satchel bouncing at his side.
Greta and Scar Peng cursed Tonpa 's cowardice and cunning under their breath, but they, too, began to retreat.
Germain, however, had no intention of letting them go.
Before Greta or Scar Peng could even react, Germain darted forward passing Tonpa in an instant and catching him mid-escape. Tonpa 's eyes widened as Germain suddenly appeared beside him. While Tonpa ran, Germain extended his right leg, tripping him off guard.
The short, pudgy man crashed to the ground with a cry, his head striking the hard pavement blood spilling immediately.
Don't hit me! Don't hit me! It was their idea! Tonpa shouted, clutching his bleeding head.
Germain's gaze turned toward the other two.
Greta, who had opposed the attack from the start, felt a wave of fear. She no longer wished to fight and flung her remaining poison needles toward him.
The needles hissed through the air.
Germain raised his butcher's saw and swept them aside in one clean motion.
Just as Greta prepared to vanish into the crowd, she heard several sharp clangs.
Before she could even understand what happened how her needles had been deflected Germain was already standing before her.
What speed!
Germain's fist connected squarely with Greta's jaw, sending her sprawling to her knees, dazed.
Greta felt a burning in his nose, wiped it, and saw blood. A strange object rolled around in his mouth one of his own teeth, spat out with a mouthful of blood.
In an instant, Germain had downed Tonpa and Greta. Now only Scar Peng remained.
Scar Peng adjusted the gray cloth on his head, raised his hands, and said quietly:
I surrender.
Passersby in the plaza stared in shock. To them, the entire sequence had taken less than half a minute.
In thirty seconds, a group of three had been crushed two fallen, one surrendering leaving the crowd stunned.
Some recognized Germain as the man who had stopped the reckless Beetle earlier that morning, and the same one who had felled three bandit-looking men in the afternoon. They could only marvel in silence.
Tonpa , Greta, and Scar Peng realized they had run into an immovable wall. They looked at Germain nervously, waiting for his next move.
But what Germain did next surprised everyone.
Hand over your yogis, he said, blinking his black eyes.
The three froze, staring at one another.
The onlookers, too, were stunned.
Could it be they had misunderstood that this dark-haired young man was actually a thief? But how could one thief rob three people alone? They had never seen him before, and yet now they would never forget him.
Germain repeated calmly,
I said hand them over.
Finally, Tonpa , Greta, and Scar Peng realized they weren't going to die or be crippled. Losing their money was a small price for keeping their lives.
They surrendered all their yinnis.
Germain counted the bills over ten thousand and pocketed them. But he didn't let them go yet. Instead, he snatched Tonpa 's bag, rummaged through it, and pulled out three drink cans.
Each of you, drink one. Then you can leave.
Tonpa 's drinks contained powerful laxatives. Even a sip would send someone running to the bathroom for hours let alone an entire can. There was no doubt: they'd be unable to continue the Hunter Exam.
The antidote, of course, was safely tucked inside Germain's pocket.
Germain knew it. Tonpa knew it. Greta and Scar Peng knew it, too.
The three exchanged helpless glances. Germain raised his butcher's saw slightly.
Grinding their teeth, they grabbed the cans, cracked them open, tilted their heads back, and drained them in one gulp.
Almost immediately, all three went pale, clutching their stomachs. Sweat dripped from their foreheads like rain, soaking the ground beneath them. The crowd looked at Germain with a mix of shock and pity.
Go, Germain said with a nod.
As if pardoned from death, the three staggered to their feet and bolted toward the nearest restroom.
Ignoring the murmurs around him, Germain tossed Tonpa 's bag into a nearby trash bin, turned, and stepped into the church under a wave of disdainful stares.
A man like him could hardly be called devout.
Moments after Germain disappeared, a hunter disguised as a beggar approached the trash bin and quietly retrieved Tonpa 's discarded bag still full of laxative drinks.
They performed their logistical duties in silence, careful not to draw the attention of townsfolk or other examinees.
Germain had faith but not in the gods enshrined within the church or its hidden chambers.
His faith was in himself.
Following the same route as before, this time without the priest's guidance, Germain pushed open the church's back door and stepped into the fog-shrouded graveyard.
Sunlight blazed in front of the church, but behind it stretched a gray, misty gloom. It wasn't just the weather it was something else.
Germain followed the familiar red-brick path back to the candidates' gathering place. Dozens were already there.
After all, the first stage wasn't that difficult.
Izenabi had moved to a new location. He sat cross-legged beneath a great tree, his torso leaning slightly left, left hand supporting his chin, right hand resting on his knee, fingers tapping rhythmically.
Before him lay a pile of cards each bearing the Hunter Association's insignia.
(End of Chapter)
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