Chapter Nine: The Prey

A shadow hurtled through the air, carried by the wind, and crashed heavily onto the energy-draining beast’s head, producing a dull thud. In that instant, Faren felt as if he were hearing fireworks bursting during a festival, or perhaps the thunderous blast of artillery on the battlefield. The energy-drainer, which had soared skyward only moments before, let out a miserable wail as it plummeted to the ground. It struggled to lift its head, attempting a final, desperate resistance, but it was futile; before it could mount any threat, its body went limp, collapsing in utter stillness.

“Well done.”

Unable to help himself, Faren whistled as he watched the scene unfold. At that moment, a shadow descended from above, landing lightly before him.

She appeared to be a girl of sixteen or seventeen, with a gentle and charming face. Her soft, shoulder-length hair gleamed with a lustrous black sheen that would inspire envy and jealousy in women everywhere. She wore a classic maid’s dress, its long hem brushing the floor, paired with a crisp white apron—she embodied the very essence of the word “maid.”

However, the pair of dainty, adorable cat ears atop her head, and the long tail behind her, tied with a white ribbon at the tip, made it clear: she was not human.

“As expected of Derlin—a flawless strike.”

“You flatter me, Master.”

Derlin bowed her head with a respectful smile at Faren’s praise, perfectly exemplifying every aspect of what a maid should be. Only the “weapon” in her right hand disrupted this harmonious image: she casually hefted a massive spiked mace, just over half a meter long. The sphere at its end was as large as a naval mine, bristling with menacing black spikes like the fangs of a wild beast—a sight enough to make anyone draw a sharp breath. Though she carried it effortlessly, a mere glance at the elite energy-drainer’s skull, now caved in like a deflated ball, revealed the true, terrifying power behind the weapon.

A petite, adorable maid wielding such a brutal weapon was a sight entirely out of place in reality, for this girl was clearly not human.

She was a familiar.

Familiars were a race that suddenly appeared on Earth after the “Great Cataclysm.” No one knew where they’d come from, not even the familiars themselves. They only remembered living peaceful, tranquil lives, and then, somehow, inexplicably, being transported to this world—Earth, now shrouded in gloom, death, and ruin.

Perhaps because of this, familiars’ attitudes toward humans were complex. Some were friendly, some indifferent, and some harbored great hostility. Certain familiars believed humanity was to blame for their sudden displacement from their peaceful home to this filthy, dangerous, and cruel world, so it was only natural they bore humanity little goodwill.

In the peaceful society before the Great Cataclysm, such a situation would surely have led to massive conflict. Anyone could imagine how humans would feel if they suddenly found themselves forced to contend with limp, alien life forms on Mars. Fortunately, after the Cataclysm, survival became the overriding concern for both humans and familiars alike. Hostilities had to be set aside in the face of extinction; everything else could wait.

Yet familiars differed from other races in one crucial way. According to Lindy, familiars in their original world had no physical form—they were more like sentient thoughts, requiring neither food nor sleep. But upon arriving here, they were forced to maintain a physical body to secure their existence; failing that, their very being would unravel and vanish. Not only that, familiars also needed energy to strengthen and stabilize their forms.

Though nearly every familiar possessed unique powers, their numbers were still far too few to rival humanity. So, despite their strength, they posed no overwhelming threat to humans. Otherwise, only the heavens could know what chaos would have ensued.

To think, even a level-five elite has appeared...

Faren stepped closer to the corpse of the elite energy-drainer, narrowing his eyes in contemplation. The creature’s hide was clearly tough as armor, but its defenses were focused outward, neglecting its inner vulnerabilities. Now, looking at the crushed, shattered skull, Faren could almost picture the brain within, pummeled into a wretched pulp. He reached out, activating his collection mode; at once, a glowing halo appeared from his palm, enveloping the monster’s body.

Blue light shimmered across the carcass. At first, Faren was taken aback; then, a satisfied smile curled his lips. Soon, the glow faded, and the absorbed energy condensed in his hand into a small crystal chip. It looked much like the other energy crystals Faren had collected, except for its color—where the previous ones had been green, this was a vibrant blue.

[Energy Crystal (Excellent Quality)]

“We truly struck gold this time, Master.”

“Indeed…”

Faren couldn’t help but marvel as he examined the crystal and glanced at the system information beside him. He could feel the immense power radiating from it—the concentrated life and energy of a fifth-tier elite. Such a crystal was priceless in this ruined world. With just ten of these excellent-quality chips, he could raise his clearance in the Ninth District to level six. Or, if he chose to trade it with another faction, he could easily claim managerial rights over a small settlement.

Yet Faren had no interest in such exchanges.

After a moment’s thought, he slipped a hand into his coat, retrieving a palm-sized box resembling an elegant cigar case. With a soft click, he opened it. Inside lay a strange, shriveled object, like the fossil of a trilobite, resting quietly at the center. Faren barely glanced at it before placing the blue crystal inside and tucking the box away once more.

“It seems there’s no further danger in the area. We’ve had a stroke of luck, Master.”

“Yes, encountering an energy-drainer instead of a zombie horde is certainly a blessing.”

Faren nodded at Derlin’s words. As seasoned hunters, they knew that while the monsters of the apocalypse weren’t especially intelligent, they were fiercely territorial. Mixed habitats rarely occurred. Much like gangs before the Cataclysm, every creature here claimed its own turf and rarely crossed boundaries—at least, in the city outskirts. As for the core of these urban ruins… no one knew what lay there, nor had anyone ever returned alive to tell.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Just then, as if to prove Faren’s point, a series of thunderous blasts echoed from a distant street, reminiscent of anti-aircraft fire. Faren looked up to see thick smoke billowing skywards; through the ruined buildings, he glimpsed flickering flames.

“Her Majesty the Queen certainly has inexhaustible energy. I can’t say I share her enthusiasm.”

He cast a glance at the smoke-shrouded district, shook his head, then bent to retrieve his hat from the ground, dusted it off, and set it back in place. Turning, he offered his right hand to the maid beside him with a slight bow.

“Derlin, would you care to take a walk with me?”

“With pleasure, Master.”

As she replied, the maid placed her hand in his.

“If that is your command, I am happy to obey.”

“The pleasure is mine…”

Faren bowed his head as he spoke. But just then, a gunshot rang out—a bullet whistled past his hat brim and struck the ground nearby.

“Ah…”

Faren sighed helplessly as he looked at the fresh bullet hole.

“You see, Derlin, I’d thought they might know when to retreat.”

“Not everyone is as much a gentleman as you, Master.”

“Clearly not…”

Before he could finish, dozens of armed thugs burst from the sides of the nearby street. They quickly took cover behind rubble and wrecked cars, surrounding Faren and Derlin with a bristling semicircle of gun barrels aimed their way. On either side, two burly men hefted RPGs, pointing them straight at the pair.

A thin, weasel-faced man soon swaggered into view, grinning broadly.

“Well, well, who’d have thought we’d meet you here, ‘Doctor’?”

“I don’t believe we’ve met.”

Faren considered for a moment before replying. At his words, the scrawny man’s smile twisted into a sneer.

“Of course, the famous ‘Doctor’ wouldn’t know me. You’re one of the great Seven of the Ninth District, and I’m just a scavenging ‘Vulture’ scraping by in the wasteland. But you know, even a vulture finds the corpse of an elephant delicious.”

With that, “Vulture” raised his hand, and his followers did the same, weapons leveled.

“Hands up, Doctor! I know you’re dangerous. I don’t know how you took down that big idiot ‘Madman,’ but I won’t be so careless. We’ve got twenty guns trained on you and your little woman, and there’s an awakened sniper nearby! Whatever tricks you try, don’t bother—there’s no escape. If you hand over the energy crystal you just got, maybe I’ll let you die without too much pain. Resist, and I’ll blow you and your cute maid to pieces! Shame to waste such a lovely girl, but hey, a corpse is still good fun… Now, hands up and turn around!”

“How pitiful…”

In response, Faren simply sighed and glanced at the maid beside him.

“Derlin, what do you say?”

“From a humanitarian standpoint, I agree with you, Master.”

“Well said.”

Faren smiled at her reply, lifted his head, and lowered the brim of his hat.

“Well then, it’s time for ‘treatment.’”