The Primal Hunter Chapter 1238 - Dragon Hunter (7)

Yrelstromoz had maintained a sharp focus from the moment she recognized the genuine peril she faced. Relying on her inherent power as a True Dragon, she allowed her training and primal instincts to guide her actions. Ancient techniques, combat maneuvers, and skills dormant for decades flooded back into her consciousness—strategies that should have guaranteed the death of even the most formidable B-grade opponents at her level.

And yet… nothing succeeded. The human simply refused to perish, regardless of her efforts. She was convinced the battle had concluded when he took her Dragon’s Breath directly. She expected him to be reduced to ash; even if her Dragon’s Breath wasn't her most refined attribute, it remained the devastating breath of a True Dragon.

Seeing him remain standing, his aura barely diminished, rattled her to her core. Her shock only deepened when the Chosen of the Malefic Viper resumed his assault despite his shattered physical state. As she felt her own soul and body begin to fail, she tried to repel him and strike him down, but his advance was relentless.

Her determination slowly crumbled, replaced by cold terror. When her second Dragon’s Breath was neutralized by the human using some form of time-affinity survival technique, her confidence shattered completely.

This human… this mere C-grade… was an opponent she could not overcome. Arrogance and pride evaporated, leaving only a frantic urge to survive. Her objective shifted instantly from killing the human to finding a way to flee.

She acted on two fronts simultaneously. First, she attempted to contact her aunt through the specialized token she carried. Second, she unleashed a wave of magic intended to blast the Chosen away, creating a window for her own escape.

Yrelstromoz was acutely aware of her critical condition. Without external intervention, her survival was in doubt. She hoped that if she could distance herself quickly enough, she could survive until her potion’s cooldown ended. However, her primary hope rested on her aunt’s intervention. While she prayed for a rescue, Yrelstromoz knew she had to do everything possible to save herself.

Expending her remaining resources, she took to the skies, aiming for the vacuum of space. As a member of the Lumenflight, she belonged to one of the swiftest dragon lineages. Despite acknowledging the speed and power of the Chosen of the Malefic Viper, she remained certain he could not match her in flight.

She assumed that while he might have temporary bursts of speed or pursuit skills, she would eventually outpace him in a long-distance chase. As she ascended, it appeared her assessment was correct.

The human was slow to react after being pushed back, allowing Yrelstromoz to gain a significant lead. A desperate hope flickered within her that he had simply conceded the fight. It hardly seemed to matter now; as the distance between them grew, the human remained stationary on the ground, watching her climb.

As she breached the upper atmosphere with the stars ahead, Yrelstromoz allowed herself to believe she might actually live… but fate had other plans.

The world shifted. As she gazed at the distant stars, they suddenly seemed to recede and grow dim. A voice resonated from every direction at once, yet seemed to come from nowhere.

“Event Horizon.”

The stars vanished into nothingness, and light was extinguished from her reality. Even the glow of her own failing body was swallowed by the dark. For a moment, total blackness reigned, until a new sight appeared.

A faint ring of light manifested around her. It seemed both incredibly close and impossibly distant. Despite the frantic beating of her wings, Yrelstromoz couldn't tell if she was making any progress at all. Ahead lay a void, as if she had reached the boundary of the universe. Unable to feel her own movement, she instinctively looked back toward the planet.

The world below had vanished. Only a single figure remained in this void, though the distance between them was impossible to calculate. She couldn't see his physical form; instead, two piercing eyes stared back at her from the abyss, sending a wave of dread down her spine.

Then… the vision broke.

Light flooded back, the world returned to its natural state, and Yrelstromoz felt herself moving through the air again. Everything looked normal, but the sensation of wrongness lingered. The skill he had used planted an inexplicable horror in her heart. In that moment, the truth became clear:

Survival was no longer an option for Yrelstromoz. Her only remaining hope was that her aunt had received her final, desperate plea for help.

--

Jake had held Event Horizon in reserve for exactly this type of situation. He hadn't been entirely sure of the skill's visual effects or its full mechanics. Seeing it in action, he realized immediately that the skill possessed a depth he had only begun to uncover; he was merely touching the surface of its ultimate potential.

The Event Horizon was… breathtaking. Once the words left his lips, the rest of the world faded away, leaving only Jake, his target, and the horizon itself. He observed Yrelstromoz and a distant line of light that marked the very edge of existence. Then, the horizon warped, curving until it became a flawless circle surrounding the True Dragon as she flew against a backdrop of pure void.

For a fleeting moment, Jake’s perception was absolute. His Sphere of Perception expanded to fill this pocket world. Even though Yrelstromoz was more than a thousand kilometers away, he saw her with perfect clarity. Nothing was hidden from him, and he felt as though the unreachable horizon was within his hand’s reach…

Then the vision faded.

However, the effect of his Event Horizon endured.

Even as reality stabilized, the mark remained visible to him. A ring of light, seen only by Jake, encircled Yrelstromoz. He tracked her with every ounce of his Perception. It felt entirely natural as he raised his bow and produced the Protean Arrow he had readied.

He had already molded Eternal Hunger into the shape of an arrowhead, and fitting it into the arrow’s shaft was simple. Jake drew the string and took aim with an ease he had never felt before.

Actual aiming felt redundant. In his mind, the path between him and his prey was already established. Within his Event Horizon, it was simply a law of nature that any attack would find its way to Yrelstromoz.

As Yrelstromoz fled with desperate intensity, burning through her mana to reach the stars, Jake’s Arcane Powershot gathered strength. He remained unconcerned by the growing distance, focusing entirely on charging the strike that would end the True Dragon.

Jake released the shot only when his body reached its absolute capacity. At the moment of release, he channeled every bit of his accumulated Hunting Momentum into the string.

Just before the arrow flew, Jake sensed a presence that nearly broke his concentration. He knew Villy was watching, but another entity had turned its gaze upon him—something far more powerful. Jake pushed the thought aside, focusing solely on the kill.

An explosion of arcane force erupted as the Protean Arrow tore through the sky. Its velocity was beyond anything Jake had ever achieved, surpassing his wildest expectations. While his arrows were always incredibly fast due to Unblemished Arrows and his own stats, this was a different league of speed entirely.

In less than a second, the projectile reached the True Dragon, who was near the edge of space. She had no time to react or dodge. The frantic barrier she tried to manifest was useless against the impact. To ensure the kill, Jake applied one final Primal Gaze just as the arrow struck.

The arrow pierced Yrelstromoz’s back and tore through her body, inflicting even more damage than his opening strike. A pained roar erupted from her as the Protean Arrow ravaged her internals, effectively ending her life from the inside out. Combined with a massive concentration of Dragonsbane Poison, her roar cut short as she began a terminal descent back toward the surface. Jake doubted she would even be alive by the time she hit the ground.

Her scales lost their luster as her consciousness began to fail. Jake saw no reason for a follow-up shot and began flying toward her landing site. As he moved, he triggered his Hunter’s Mark, hoping to grant her a quick end. Despite the massive burst of destructive arcane energy, the legendary vitality of a True Dragon kept her clinging to life—a fact that only prolonged her agony.

Jake could tell her soul and body were beyond repair; she was merely waiting for the end. The Dragonsbane had paralyzed her internal energies. She could do nothing but fall, her survival likely fueled by sheer draconic stubbornness.

She crashed into the earth, creating a small crater. Jake arrived shortly after, looking down at the broken dragon. Her breathing was heavy and labored. He teleported to her side, intending to finish it quickly.

With his katar ready, he approached her neck. Suddenly, her eyes cleared and locked onto him with a look of pure malice and resentment. Jake paused, sensing a strange shift in the air.

Yrelstromoz’s body surged with an aura unlike anything she had shown previously. She mobilized her remaining energy even as the Dragonsbane consumed her. The proximity of death seemed to empower her final act.

A shroud of black, smoke-like energy billowed from her as she gave herself over to resentment. Her final words were thick with hatred.

“Why? You had no business with me. I had no business with you. Why do this?”

She wasn't looking for a reply. The aura intensified, and tendrils of dark smoke began to wrap around Jake. These were the final remnants of her power.

“I hate you… I want you to die… just… die…”

As the last spark of life left her, the black energy exploded, surging toward Jake to invade his soul. This was a purely emotional energy, the kind born from intense spite. Such curses were rare, usually requiring the collective hatred of a multitude or the death of a powerful magical entity. Yrelstromoz’s final emotions had manifested this rare phenomenon.

Jake, however, felt no fear.

As the curse rushed him, he drew his katar. The moment the weapon appeared, the flood of black energy diverted its course. Instead of striking Jake, it was sucked directly into Eternal Hunger.

It wasn't a choice; the Sin Curse of Hunger within the blade was far more potent than the death-curse Yrelstromoz had tried to inflict. Within seconds, the weapon had devoured the energy, humming with a sense of dark satisfaction.

The dragon’s final attempt at vengeance had been transformed into a meal for his weapon. It was perhaps a mercy that she wasn't alive to see her final act fail so utterly.

Jake shook his head at the corpse, but he didn't deactivate his combat skills. Even with his body screaming in pain, he could feel another presence watching him. He decided to address the observer.

“Come out already,” Jake commanded, projecting his voice with his willpower. He had used a Pulse and knew the person was outside its immediate range, but he was certain his voice would carry.

A moment later, a figure materialized beside the dragon’s remains. It was a woman—or rather, a dragon in human form. She shared a resemblance with Yrelstromoz but appeared older and vastly more powerful.

She looked down at the body and sighed heavily before meeting Jake’s eyes. She bowed her head respectfully, her hands cupped.

“I greet the Chosen of the Malefic Viper.”

Jake tensed, realizing he was facing another member of the Lumenflight, but he forced himself to relax. Given her aura, caution was irrelevant; if she intended to kill him, he’d be dead already. Her respectful tone suggested she wasn't seeking retribution, despite her obvious grief.

“I assume you were related?” Jake asked. He knew he was being somewhat blunt, but he was exhausted and in pain, and he didn't want to keep his buffs active any longer than necessary.

“She was my niece,” the dragon replied with a sigh. “I gave her a token to call for me, but she never used it until the very end.”

The woman sighed again. “Do not fear; I am not here for blood. I am simply saddened it ended this way. Yrelstromoz was a troubled hatchling from the start, and her parents struggled to restrain her. Once they passed and she reached maturity… I wanted to believe she had simply lost her way, but I suspect she was merely finally able to act on her nature. This outcome was likely inevitable.”

Jake felt a bit awkward but offered a small nod. “This might not mean much, but I’m sorry for your loss.”

“There is no need,” the dragon said, a faint smile appearing. “She crossed a line. She took a life she shouldn't have, and if it wasn't you, someone else would have stopped her. If she had to fall… I am glad it was to someone of your caliber. At least her Legacy will be tied to a worthy battle rather than just another tale of an arrogant dragon's folly.”

“For what it's worth, it was a good fight,” Jake said. It hadn't quite matched the scenarios in his head, but it had been a significant encounter, if a strange one.

Yrelstromoz had been a contradiction of weakness and immense power. Had she been serious from the start, the fight would have been much harder. Even with her late start, she had demonstrated why True Dragons were considered an apex race.

“I appreciate that,” the dragon said sincerely. Her expression shifted from sorrow to something more formal. “I know this is a significant request, but she is still my kin. If the Chosen permits it, I wish to take her body so she may be laid to rest in our ancestral graveyard alongside her parents.”

Jake looked at her curiously as she continued.

“I will ensure you are compensated. I know a True Dragon’s body is a treasure trove of materials. If you allow me to take her, I will extract her heart and empower it with the remaining Records of the corpse before I depart,” she offered.

“Fine,” Jake agreed quickly. He didn't want to explain to the woman that his alternative plan involved butchering her niece for parts. The offered trade was more than fair.

“I thank the Chosen for his generosity,” the dragon said with a bow. “The Lumenflight remembers this kindness.”

She gestured toward the body and spoke in a tongue Jake couldn't comprehend. The corpse glowed briefly, and Yrelstromoz’s heart phased through her chest. The aunt guided the organ toward Jake.

He took the heart without inspecting it immediately. The dragon’s corpse now looked hollowed out, its powerful aura completely extinguished.

The aunt took one last look at the remains before stowing them in her spatial storage. She closed her eyes, took a final breath, and looked at Jake.

“Thank you again. I shall depart now… Dragonslayer.” With those words, she vanished, leaving Jake in the silence of the crater.

Once he was sure he was alone, Jake collapsed onto the ground. He deactivated Arcane Awakening, and a wave of crippling exhaustion washed over him.

“Damn,” Jake wheezed. The adrenaline was gone, and the pain returned in full. Every breath felt like a knife, but he forced himself into a meditative state to begin the long process of healing.

The lingering heat of the Dragon’s Breath still burned within him, and it would be a while before he was fully recovered. Still, he had a mountain of system notifications to read through to keep his mind occupied.

As he sat there in the quiet, the reality of his victory finally sank in, and a grin spread across his face.