The Hunted Regressor: My Heretic Saint System-Chapter 22: That Was Fun

Much like the Divine Hierarchy for Runebearers, there was one for monsters.

Though unlike Runebearers, monsters needed more than a single Rune to rank up.

Yes, due to their massive size, both physically and Soul-wise, all six Classes of monsters held many more Runes relative to their human counterparts.

For example, Seekers and Disciples could be compared to the Sixth and weakest monster class, a Youngling.

That class didn’t hold more than two Runes, the one above it, the Fifth Class, Fiend, held up to four.

That was what likely fought the Hierophant, for the strongest of them were comparable to weak Priests.

Meaning yes, this man was sure to be on the weaker side of Hierophants. Someone of his Class should’ve killed this monster without much struggle.

’He did his best, though.’

Thinking that, Ignotus calmly walked past the two Two-Headed Dogs devouring his once prison mates and picked up the Hierophant’s sword that was stuck in the ground right before a large group of dead dogs.

Grrrrr!

The moment he picked it up, however, one of the two feeding dogs lunged at him, swiping at his chest.

Ignotus calmly stepped back, easily dodging it, and took a stance with the sword, revising it for a second or two before it was somewhat proper.

’Hm, now how is it for...’

His Beholding Eyes scanned them as they tried to circle him.

—

Name: Two-Headed Dogs

Rank: Youngling

Runes: One

—

’Pretty easy.’

As expected, those before him were Younglings, who were just recently born.

There were three of them, and again, each one of them was the equivalent of a Seeker.

To put it so plainly and crudely, he was essentially fucked here...

Or, well, he would’ve been if he weren’t so used to their attacks.

"Come."

The three dogs snarled at him, their hackles raised, and their eyes glowing faintly.

Though large, they were tiny compared to the hulking three-headed beast that had fought and been bested by the Hierophant.

Each one padded across the bloody ground with quick movements, their tails whipping as they continued to circle him.

Ignotus rolled the sword in his hand, testing its weight, while keeping his stance. And though it might not seem like it, he was taking this extremely seriously; one mistake would do him in.

"C’mon, puppies! Attack me already!"

Thankfully, his name-calling worked, and the first one obliged immediately, lunging with snapping teeth.

Ignotus leaned back with a smile, letting it pass in front of him. The second quickly followed up, swiping at his midsection.

He twisted his body and let it slice past.

"Hm, yeah. It’s the same as always."

The third snapped forward in a quick bite, but he tilted his head away and jumped back.

"A lunge, a swipe, and a bite—perfect. The same three moves, nice and simple."

Ignotus tapped the flat of the blade against his shoulder, pacing slowly around them, his eyes tracking every twitch of their muscles.

Now that his safety check was complete, he could begin his attack and truly have some fun.

"Luck... bless me."

The dogs spread out, two cutting him off from the front while one slinked behind him, making him sigh and turn his head just enough to watch all three.

"Trying to flank me already?"

He quickly stepped forward, putting all of his weight into the motion. At the same time, the front two lunged with their teeth and claws to meet him, only to see him pivot right after, sidestepping so the pair crossed paths, crashing into each other.

That left the third one alone...

"Isolated."

The one behind.

"You’re mine."

He rushed it down, his boots splashing in puddles of blood as the creature snapped its jaws, biting straight at his arm.

Ignotus tilted his sword, smacking the jaw upward with the flat of the blade, and then swung hard across its neck.

The cut wasn’t perfect—he felt resistance halfway through, the blade nearly snagging on bone—but the dog jerked its head at just the right angle, splitting its throat clean, its blood spraying across his black clothes.

In moments, it slumped with a whimper.

"Huh, I almost messed that up..."

Ignotus blinked at the corpse and chuckled.

"I’m always forgetting how weak I’ve become."

Thankfully, his Luck Rune picked up the slack and assisted him in the kill... perhaps it wasn’t so broken.

He stepped over the body, spinning his sword in a loose circle as the other two were already on him, swiping and lunging in turns.

A claw sliced where his chest had been a second earlier, and the other leaped past him.

"That’s two."

By the time those words left his lips, the thing hit the dirt and tumbled, whining once before it went still.

It seemed that he slashed at it as it soared by, carving through its flank, using its own strength against it. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Ignotus tapped the flat of the blade against his boot, humming, finding this much easier than he previously expected, perhaps having unconsciously underestimated himself.

"Alright, come."

The last one paced slowly, growling with both throats while it circled him in widening arcs, its eyes never leaving his movements.

"Oh?..."

Ignotus’s grin widened.

"You’re the one who got the final blow on him, huh?"

It was smarter than the rest, and that was obvious to anyone watching, as it didn’t fall to his aggro like its kin did. That had them circle each other for minutes, man and beast locked in a silent challenge.

’Okay, if you have no intention of coming to me, then...’

With no warning, Ignotus stepped forward.

"I’m coming to you!"

His right boot scraped against the dirt, his body leaning as if he was about to sprint, forcing the Two-Headed Dog to react instantly, its jaws flashing in a reaching bite.

But it was too far.

Ignotus hadn’t moved into its range.

No, that was bait; he had paused mere inches outside.

"Got you."

Once clear, he truly moved, dashing in low, his sword piercing up in a clean line.

The blade cut through its throat before it even realized it had overextended, its blood spraying across his cheek.

Unable to retaliate even once, the dog collapsed with a loud thud.

Ignotus casually flicked the blood off the sword and planted it into the dirt.

He stared at the three corpses, and his grin turned into a genuinely happy smile.

"...hm."

Wiping his cheek with the back of his hand, he hummed away once more, as if nothing cruel or ugly had happened, as if a literal massacre wasn’t beginning to rot around him.

"That was fun."