He Who Hunts Demons Chapter 17: 17-Primal Skill

Read chapter 17 of He Who Hunts Demons by A_Random_Turtle on NovelPedia.

Eating the liver of a Quatratis had unlocked my Primal Trait, so I had been half expecting drinking the blood of another monster to do something similar. Which was why I wasn’t exactly surprised when golden words appeared before my eyes. However, I did pause for a moment. A Primal Skill? Shriek? My mind instantly went to the shrieks of the Bullwings, and I caressed my throat as I was suddenly plagued by a stifling feeling. It felt like there was excess mucus clogged in my throat. I took a deep breath and tried to clear it, but the feeling didn’t go away. It was as though it was asking me to cough, or, more precisely considering the circumstances, scream. As much as I would have loved to test that out and come to a quick conclusion as to what exactly had changed in my body this time, I was pressured for time. I picked myself up with the energy that had been restored to my body, took my bone spikes, and hurried out of the cave. But I was met with a rather troubling sensation. A chill crawled up my spine as soon as I stepped out of the cave, and it was not due to the cold. I could feel all around the movement of beasts. It seemed my battle with the Bullwings had alerted them to the presence of prey around here. The fact, however, that they weren’t rushing into the cave either meant that they were smarter than the Bullwings and didn't want to restrict their mobility in a fight, or they were afraid of trying to steal the prey of the Bullwings. Which brought me to considering the fact that no monster had tried to fight the Bullwings for their large haul a few minutes ago. Was it because the Bullwings were extremely strong to the monsters, and trying to steal their catch could result in their deaths? If that was truly the case, then I had an idea to get past the cluster hiding in the harsh winds of the abyss without spilling blood. Hopefully, it worked. I rushed back into the cave, and picked up the dead Bullwing whose blood was still streaming down my chin. With it in my hand, brandished like the prize of the hard fought victory that it was, I walked into the snowy plains of the abyss. The shadows lurking around became clearer with each step I took. The persistent Whiteclaws were one of them. The rest, on the other hand, were beasts I’d never seen before. Some were tall up to my waist, with hard shells upon their backs and four, green eyes. A few more were covered in spikes like porcupines, but fatter and larger. And there were more kinds with grotesquely combined features, like different animals had come together to birth abominations. I winced at the sight of all of them, but I was now surrounded so I couldn’t allow myself to show fear. I was the apex predator. And I had to show it. If the monsters cautioned against attacking the Bullwings and their haul because they were scared, then the fact I killed those damn beasts of the sky should mean that I was way above them. So far, things were looking good. Despite snarls and predatory huffs, the beasts all kept their distances; I walked forward with my shoulders raised high and each step as heavy as I could make it. The first problem I encountered came when I approached my escape path. My heart thumped hardly in my chest as I paused before the cluster of monsters before me. They were so close to me that it felt like I could feel their breaths upon me. I narrowed my eyes, took a deep breath, and said with a deep voice, “Move.” The monsters leaned forward slightly. I stood my ground. They paused. I tossed the Bullwing I held onto the snow, painting the white space with the red of its spilled blood, then took out my second bone spike from where I’d kept it held to my waist by my pants waistband. I assumed from my conversation with Wyg that the monsters were intelligent to some degree. Maybe that was a reach, but I had no other way to communicate with the beasts. So I tacked on as much of an imposing aura I could conjure with my words to ensure that I was not misunderstood. “I’ll only say