Re: That Time My Mom Got Turned into a Monster!

Re: That Time My Mother Got Turned into a Monster! - Chapter Eight

I had to be meticulous in my search. Tracking monsters was more than just picking them up on their trail. You had to understand how a beast like a monster hunts. A new monster still acts in a somewhat manner like a human would. However, those instincts soon twist into a dark and primal form. Knowing the way they think is crucial. I've learned to hunt monsters by putting myself in their shoes, to hunt like a beast, to think like a beast, and only then does the hunt become easy.

They'd still be in shock at their new state of being, unsure of what was happening and ignorant of their newfound powers. It was during this volatile time when monsters were the most unpredictable. As such, this is when the importance of knowing their background and what kind of person they had been before was crucial in safely capturing them. I stopped in my tracks, my mind racing with thoughts and plans for approaching these unstable creatures. Only time would tell if our strategy would work or if we'd be in for a world of trouble.

My nostrils caught a whiff of something lingering in the air, a scent, a sign. My sense of smell has improved over the course of the last ten years. The group of hunters were inside the mansion now. I could smell the bait they were using. Animal meat, no, that scent was human flesh. 'My God, they were using human remains as bait!' A sense of urgency surges throughout my body. I had to find this creature soon. These weren't just monster hunters. They were black market traders. I wasn't the only person capable of capturing monsters. As they are often called, the monster tamers hunt them down for the purpose of using them in war, assassinations, and murders. They were vile people who used these dangerous creatures for personal gain.

Undoubtedly, they would go straight to the basement in search of the monster. It was the typical area, and the beast would have gravitated there too. However, new beasts don't follow patterns like this. As newly transformed monsters, they go to where they spent the most time when they were human. I had an idea of where that place was due to the little girl in the picture. I thought about the subject the Hall had tasked me with, as this was a particularly serious case since it involved a child who had recently undergone a transformation.

That is unheard of and has never happened once in recorded history. There were myths about this happening, but no concrete evidence. I made my way up the flight of worn stairs to the second and third floors. Time was running out for the girl and for me. My senses alert me that Mum was inside the mansion too. Stalking the hunters in case things went south. That was usually the case when I encountered hunters.

After some searching, I located the room I was searching for on the third floor. The door's half open, but I notice fresh footprints on the floor. Dust covered everything inside the mansion, and the footprints made it easy to conclude I was on the right track. I carefully look inside. The room belonged to a young girl, a young girl of around ten years old. A hunched-over man stands beside the bed, much to my horror. Blood is everywhere, but he looks alive. Judging from the arrow in his chest, this older man had a run-in with the hunters.

Archers in a hunting party like this used poison arrows to slow monsters or kill off family and friends of the turned. I could sense the presence of the beast in the room. She was in the closet and more terrified than I had expected. That was unheard of in new monsters. If anything, there would be rage or confused frustration. The man spotted me as I entered the room. He half-heartedly lifted a blade in defense.

"It's okay, Mister... I'm not here to hurt you. Are you okay?" I asked.

"Who are you and why are you here?" the old man countered, coughing up a copious amount of blood.

The man wasn't in good shape. I sheathed my katana as I slowly walked closer to him. He tried to stand up but slumped down on the ground. His wounds were severe, maybe even fatal. I had to get this man back to the Holy State Hall. Mum could carry him with ease and reach the Hall in no time.