The Multiverse Hunter

Ali took Veska's hand, and suddenly the scenery around them shifted. White streaks of light blurred past, giving the impression they were moving at an incredible speed through space. The streaks soon became more consistent, settling into a steady rhythm.

Veska, still holding Ali's hand, reassured him, "Don't worry, this is just a transportation link I created to take you to your new home for a little while.

Remember, the world you're going to might resemble Earth, but it's dangerous. They all are. So be cautious with everyone you meet, and above all, watch out for the humans from Reincarnation Paradise. You'll recognise them when you see them.Also, you're going to need this."

Before Ali could respond, Veska's hand transformed into a liquid, enveloping his right forearm. He tried to wipe it off with his left hand, but before he could, everything froze-just like when he was watching from the throne room. Suddenly, he lost all sense of sight and touch.

'Fuck, I hate this shit,' Ali thought.

When his vision returned, he found himself surrounded by tall trees under the night sky. He scanned the area for any signs of life, but with his enhanced senses, he neither heard nor smelled anything out of the ordinary.

'Let's see what the hell he did to me, Ali mused, inspecting himself. He was dressed in a long-sleeve black compression shirt and oversized black joggers. 'Who gets sent to another world in joggers and a compression shirt? And he dropped me in the middle of a damn forest'

Ali sighed at his situation, then examined his right forearm. Slowly, he pushed up his sleeve to reveal a small tattoo-an empty rectangle outlined in black.

'What's this supposed to mean?' Ali wondered. He raised his left hand and swiped it across his right forearm, tearing the skin off completely. He didn't even flinch, as if the pain was insignificant. But then, the wound quickly began to heal, and the black tattoo reappeared. Ali repeated the action twice more, each time with the same result.

'This has to be useful somehow, but I don't know how yet. I'm sure l'll figure it out later, Ali thought.

He looked up at the moon. 'At least the moon looks the same, and there's only one.

Let's see how big this forest is! He then jumped high, scaling one of the trees with ease until he reached the top.

'I can see small lights about two kilometres away in that direction. Let's see what this world is about, he decided.

Without hesitation, Ali began running at high speed to that direction, weaving through the trees with practiced agility while keeping all his senses on high alert. A slight smirk played on his lips.

'How long has it been since l've been on high alert like this? I hope I'm not too rusty,' he thought.

As he neared the lights, Ali heard hurried footsteps approaching from the opposite direction. He slowed his pace, moving silently as he climbed up a massive tree, hiding himself among its thick branches.

From the shadows emerged a green-haired Asian man, clutching his bleeding left arm, clearly fleeing from something.

'Natural green hair? His hair doesn't look dyed, and his clothes are old-fashioned,' Ali observed, watching the wounded man approach the tree. But then Ali's attention shifted to the darkness behind the man, from which another figure emerged—a man with blue hair, sharp canines protruding from his mouth, and long, deadly nails. The blue-haired man lunged at the wounded man, slamming him into the tree next to Ali.

'So this is the danger l've got to deal with, Ali thought as he watched the blue-haired man tear open the wounded man's stomach, spilling his guts, and bite into his neck, silencing him before he could scream—a gruesome death.

'It ripped that man apart like he was made of paper, so it has super strength. Its speed isn't much, though, since I could see it coming easily. I'll be careful anyway,

Ali resolved.

He hopped down from the tree, landing heavily on the ground, making his presence known to the demon that was engrossed in its prey. The demon heard the noise and immediately turned, its eyes locking onto the muscular giant standing before it, whose eyes were so dark they seemed to absorb all light.

The demon growled at Ali, baring its sharp teeth.

Then the demon lunged at Ali, but he easily sidestepped the attack. It swiped at him three more times, each time missing as Ali evaded with effortless precision. The demon then charged at him, trying to land a punch, but Ali dodged once more and expertly nudged the demon's right foot, causing it to slip and fall face-first onto the ground.

'Pathetic. It's faster and stronger than an average human, but it can't fight—like giving a knife to a child. Let me finish this,' Ali thought.

He kicked the demon's head as it tried to get up, sending it flying several meters away. Slowly, he walked toward the groaning demon, whose eye socket and nose were shattered from the impact. The demon looked up from the ground, clutching its face, only to see the sole of Ali's shoe descending.

CRACK.

Brain matter and bone fragments splattered across the ground as Ali stomped on the demon's head, intending to kill. He studied the demon's body, examining its anatomy. Then, his eyes widened in surprise as he noticed the demon's fingers twitch, its head slowly regenerating.

'This changes things. Now I'm dealing with an immortal monster. How fun', Ali thought.

He grabbed the demon by the leg and dragged it back toward the massive tree he had stood on earlier, passing by the dead human without a second glance.

Ali positioned the demon at the base of the tree trunk and gathered sturdy pieces of wood. He sharpened the ends of each piece with his bare hands, and by the time he returned, the demon had fully regenerated its head and was standing, staring at Ali in fear.

Ali dropped the wood and approached the demon, which backed away until it was cornered against the tree trunk, unable to escape. Desperate, the demon mustered the courage to swipe at Ali with its claws, but Ali was faster, delivering a punch to its stomach that made the demon vomit up its insides.

Ali calmly retrieved the sharpened wood and approached the demon, which was still on its knees, gasping for breath. He grabbed the demon by the hair and lifted it to eye level, its feet dangling off the ground.

"You and I are gonna have an amazing time," Ali said with a smirk, locking eyes with the demon.

"Wait! Wait! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The demon screamed in agony as Ali impaled its shoulder with one of the wooden stakes, driving it through the flesh and into the tree.

"IT HURTS! HURTS! HURTS! STOP! NOOOOOOO!"

Ali ignored the demon's pleas and continued to impale it with the remaining stakes. By the end, the demon was pinned to the tree with ten sharp pieces of wood.

"Let's talk now," Ali said coldly.

"What do you want, you monster? Let me down, or I'll eat you! I swear, when I get free, I'm going to kill you-you and everyone you know!" the demon spat angrily at Ali.

BOOM.

Ali slammed his right arm into the thick tree trunk next to the demon's head.

His fist went through the trunk as if it were made of paper, his arm buried up to the elbow. When he pulled it out, there wasn't a scratch on him. The display of raw power terrified the demon into silence.

"I'm going to ask you some questions, and you're going to answer them completely, like a good little dog. If you don't, I'll rip you apart and wait for you to regenerate, then do it over and over again. Understand?" Ali's voice was icy.

The demon nodded fearfully, and Ali began his interrogation. Whenever the demon hesitated or didn't answer to his satisfaction, Ali would torture it in ways it hadn't even imagined until it finally divulged everything it knew.

Five extra chapters on patreon.com/Rondo312