He Who Hunts Demons Chapter 16: 16-Bullwings

Read chapter 16 of He Who Hunts Demons by A_Random_Turtle on NovelPedia.

I managed to drag the Bullwings a considerable distance from the entrance to the Wall without losing my footing, falling into the snow, and giving myself up to be ripped apart like a single mouse caught by a thousand cats. And I patted myself internally, proud of that achievement. But I couldn’t run forever. I needed to face the monsters. However, doing that out in the open was suicide. Flight gave the Bullwings greater range than I possessed. To win and ensure my survival, I needed to destroy that—level the playing field even a little bit. So I found a cave and rushed inside, hoping with all my racing heart that there wasn’t a monster waiting to pounce. Luckily for me, that wasn’t the case. Loud shrieks and the annoying flutters of wings slapping skin bellowed behind me as I was covered in the dimness of the cave, clouding the sound of the water dripping from the ceiling. I turned around, breathing heavily as I tightened my grip on my bone spikes, took my stance, and awaited the Bullwings. Their presence drew closer. I waited. Closer again. I took a heavy gulp. And a second later, all ten of them zoomed into the cave. A few slammed into the walls, disorienting themselves as they spun around mildly concussed, while the rest managed to pull themselves back at the last minute. It was just as I had thought. The Bullwings, despite their semblance of smartness from not easily being baited by bright flashes, were generally idiots. Leaving a large haul to chase after a spindly husk of meat just because it still had breath in its lungs was the first giveaway—in fact, splitting themselves into two groups could have worked just fine. The second now was rushing into a cave at full speed, not only when it was clear that they were being led into it, but knowing that their ability to exploit the width and range of an open space would be limited here. Their idiocy was of no concern to me though. All I was worried about was the possibility of Bel encountering danger within the Wall. What if there was some sort of monster waiting for her on the other side of the Wall? So far, the abyss was unpredictable. I couldn’t afford to sit back and take my time, so I had to hurry up here and head back to her—to keep her safe. And with as much of my strength as possible. The Bullwings shook away their dazes a few seconds later, and then their eyes latched onto me. In sync, they shrieked. It was like a stainless plate was being scratched by countless forks, and it was amplified by the fact that we were in an enclosed space. My head hurt, and it felt as though my brain would explode any second now. I tensed my shoulders and clenched my jaw, fighting back the pain as my body was being pulled to the ground by an overwhelming force. And then they stopped and flashed forward instead, surrounding me in a circle. My neck tightened and my heart raced as I carefully watched them. I was like a prey surrounded by a swarm of eagles; and everyone knew how terrifying those birds of prey were when they were hunting. It was safe to assume the Bullwings were worse. And I took that into consideration as I strengthened my resolve and made my first attack. I jumped and swung my bone spikes at the closest Bullwings to me. Two of them. They shifted upwards with mild shrieks, and another two closed in from behind me, attempting to take advantage of my disbalance. But I had timed my jump as perfectly as I could, and before they could dig their horns into my spine, my feet touched the uneven ground of the cave and I lowered my height just in time for them to zoom past. I turned around immediately. They had left a gap behind me, and I intended to escape their cover through it. However, the Bullwings immediately re-coordinated. The gap was gone in half a second, and I was once again trapped in the midst of ten birds with horns, hooves, and fiery red eyes. The tension was palpable. To survive this altercation, I had to do something really spectacular. And as I calmly watched the Bull