Chapter 14 HUNTER BECOMES HUNTED

“Move your ass, Scar! They’re closing in again!” I hissed, half-dragging the big man through a narrow gap between two collapsed towers. Distant horns blared behind us, louder, more organized this time. Multiple clans working together. News of the basement massacre had spread like wildfire through the wastes.

Scar grunted, pressing a bloody rag tighter against his side. “I’m moving. You’re the one glowing like a damn beacon every time you pull a vein. Slow down before you bring the whole damn world on us.”

I laughed sharply, ducking under a glowing vine. “Slow down? They’ve got elite trackers now. Three clans pooling resources just for little old me. I’m flattered.”

We’d been running for hours. Scar’s wound kept reopening with every hard sprint. Blood stained his leathers fresh. Every time I offered to pull a small vein to patch him up, he snarled at me to save it.

A scout’s voice echoed not far back. “The system user and the traitor were spotted near the old highway! They can’t have gone far! The elders want Chen’s heart on a platter by sunrise!”

Scar leaned against a wall, breathing hard. “See? Coordinating. You killed their pride when you wiped that strike team. Now they’re scared.”

“Good,” I said, eyes scanning the ruins. “Let them be scared. I’m done running scared myself.” I spotted a weak spirit vein pulsing under a pile of rubble ahead. “Wait here. I’ve got an idea.”

I moved fast, slapping my palm down and pulling just enough to sharpen my senses. The power felt clean this time. Controlled. “We set a trap. Use this weak vein as bait. They’ll sense the residue and come running. Then we hit them first.”

Scar’s eyes narrowed. “You’re getting reckless with that thing. Every pull makes the voices louder. I can see it in your face.”

“Or maybe I’m finally getting good at it,” I shot back, grinning despite the sweat and blood. “You’re slowing us down, big guy. Let me pull a little more for your wound and we can actually fight instead of crawling.”

He grabbed my arm, grip still strong enough to bruise. “No. I’ve seen what happens when you chase the rush. You black out and suddenly I’m the one who needs saving. We do this my way. Smart. Quiet.”

“Smart and quiet is getting us cornered,” I muttered, but I didn’t pull more. Yet.

We worked fast. I weakened the vein just enough to leak tempting spiritual energy into the air while Scar set up an ambush point in the shadows of a half-fallen bridge. My heart pounded with that old street adrenaline mixed with the new power. It felt good. Too good.

“They’re coming,” Scar whispered from his position.

Four elite trackers crept into view, tight formation, glowing talismans, weapons ready. Their leader, a sharp-faced woman with Crimson Lotus markings, raised her hand. “The residue is strong here. The system user pulled recently. Fan out but stay linked. No heroics. We call in the main force when we spot him.”

I waited until they were right under the leaking vein, then struck.

“Now!” I shouted, leaping from above. I landed on the leader’s back, knife flashing across her throat before she could scream. “You wanted me? Here I am!”

Scar exploded from the shadows like a wounded bull. His axe took one tracker’s arm clean off, then buried in another’s chest with a wet crunch. “Should’ve stayed home!”

The remaining two turned on me. One thrust a glowing spear. I dodged and grabbed his wrist, pulling a thread of his cultivation vein just enough to weaken him. “Too slow!” I laughed, driving my knee into his gut.

The last tracker, a young guy, maybe eighteen, backed away, eyes wide with terror. “Please… I’m just following orders. My sister… she’s waiting for me back at the fortress.”

Something in his voice hit me. I hesitated.

Big mistake. He swung his sword desperately. The blade grazed my shoulder. Pain flared. Instinct took over. I lunged and slammed my palm against his chest where his main vein pulsed brightest.

“Extract,” I growled before I could stop myself.

Power rushed into me. Sweet. Hot. The boy gasped, knees buckling. His final memories flooded my head clear as day. A little girl with pigtails running to meet him at the clan gates. “Big brother! Did you bring me sweets from the wastes?” His promise to come home safe. The pride in his mother’s eyes when he earned his tracker badge.

I froze mid-pull. “No… stop.” I ripped my hand away, breathing hard. The boy collapsed, alive but pale, vein partially drained. He stared up at me with tears in his eyes. “Thank… you…”

Scar limped over, sword already drawn, blood dripping from his own wound. He looked at the boy on the ground, then at me. His sword stayed ready at his side.

The Emperor’s voice rolled through my mind, clear and mocking, laced with dark amusement. “Mercy is just delayed hunger, Chen. You’ll crave him later. They always come back for seconds.”

I staggered back, hands shaking as I stared at the half-drained boy. His sister’s laugh still echoed in my skull. “Shut up,” I whispered. “I stopped. I chose to stop.”

Scar watched me silently, sword heavy in his grip, eyes full of that familiar mix of dread and readiness. The other bodies lay around us. The weak vein still leaked power into the air, calling more hunters.

The boy coughed weakly. “My sister… she’s only seven…”

I clenched my fists, blood from my shoulder mixing with the blood already on my hands. The Emperor chuckled softly inside my chest, patient and certain.

Scar took one step closer, sword rising slightly. “Chen.”

The wastes felt smaller. The power in my veins felt louder. And I wasn’t sure if the hunger twisting in my gut was mine… or something far older learning how to wear my face.