Saturday morning.

Amidst the banging of doors and clinking of chains, the guards took every prisoner to the back of the basement.

"Get inside, and get dressed!"

With a powerful shove, the guard shoved Ashley inside, who was covering her naked self as well as she could, and she backed up against the stone-cold wall.

When the door closed, and she was all alone in the dim, damp room, she looked around and saw that there was a strange kind of clothes on the bench.

There were long, silken silver ears, looking like rabbit ears, and with that, there was also a flowing corset dress with soft fur accents.

Added to the dress, there was embroidery with moon motifs, paired with a small cape and a pair of delicate gloves.

It was a rabbit girl costume.

Since there was nothing else to wear, she put it on and looked at herself through the cracked full-body mirror.

It was a little tight around her chest area, and her legs were sheathed in white stockings with a pink tinge.

It was like she was going to a cosplay party.

"Why do they want me to wear this…"

She asked in fear, and at that moment, the door opened, and the guard came in, pulling her out of the room.

When she was out, the rest of the prisoners were also there, waiting, and wearing similar kinds of rabbit costumes.

They were made to wait before a thick steel gate. The smell of outside air hit them, bringing a sense of freedom and dread.

It had been a long time since they had been able to smell the outside air, but they also knew that once these steel gates opened, the battle for freedom would start.

'F-Father, I am so scared…'

She grabbed the corners of her dress, feeling the tears threatening to fall.

…

At the guards' quarters.

"Today, we are using blunt-edged weapons!"

The master guard said, holding a spear with a tip that wasn't sharp, and faced the crowd of guards.

"The Hunt is beginning shortly. Whoever brings the most rabbits over to the finishing line will win. Killing rabbits is forbidden. We are on catching duty today!

"There will be one Prized Rabbit among them—Ashley Butcher—and capturing her will net as many points as you get from capturing ten rabbits!"

The guards held their non-lethal weapons and laughed and chatted amidst each other while excitedly waiting for the start of the Hunt.

Today was the day that they could change their lives forever.

"…"

Aren was holding his sword. It also had a non-sharp blade, and he couldn't cut someone with this even if he wanted to.

It could still be used to crush some skulls.

"…You're Beau, right? The personal bodyguard of my sister."

At that moment, Nike approached him with his sheathed sword dangling from his waist, and he was dressed in light armor.

Everyone expected him to win, just like he had won all three previous times, but this time around, they weren't killing the rabbits.

"Lord Nike."

Aren bowed respectfully.

"Hmm…"

Nike looked at him coldly, then walked behind him and took a sniff of his neck. It smelled strangely familiar, and it enraged him.

"Why do you smell like my sister?"

"…I am her personal bodyguard. I go wherever she goes. Some of her smell must've lingered on me."

Aren responded calmly.

"Hmm… Yeah, that does make sense. I mean, there is no way that she would sleep with someone like you… She's way out of your league."

Nike scratched his chin and patted Aren firmly on his shoulder.

"I hope you know to keep your dick in your pants. Don't you dare touch my sister. Don't even think about her sexually, do you understand?"

"I understand, I had no such intentions."

Aren said with his back straight.

"…Good."

Nike said, then walked past him and approached the gate.

'…Too bad for you, buddy, I already fucked your sister.'

Aren stood up with a deep sigh, popped his shoulder joints, and then grabbed his sword hilt tightly before also making his way to the gate.

'Time to rock and roll.'

He thought with a smile.

The guards and every participant arrived in front of the gate. The master guard was waiting for a signal to open it.

…

Wheel~ Wheel~ Wheel~

Athena pushed the wheelchair over the threshold and onto the terrace, where several dozen noblemen and women were all gathered.

"Ah, Jupiter!"

They greeted him with heartfelt smiles.

"Another Hunt already. Time sure flies!"

Jupiter greeted them all with a smile and looked up at the terrace. There was a tarp hanging over, which would block the sunlight.

If he were even touched by sunlight, he would get torched.

"Ladies and gents, today we have a special kind of the Hunt in our hand. We have a special guest appearing at the end!"

With a smile, he said.

The noblemen and women looked curious but excited nonetheless, and Athena looked at them all with a deep sigh.

'This Hunt will be the end of these rabbits, as well as yours, dear nobles. They don't even know that they have a countdown until their deaths.'

In that moment, Jupiter opened a briefcase and brought out three mechanical-looking birds that were metallic.

"These mechanical birds were created by Summoner Blessed One. I was able to purchase three of them, and they can be used to transfer video feed over here!"

Jupiter said.

"Oh, how wonderful. That makes watching the Hunt much more enjoyable. We previously had to use binoculars, which was pretty inconvenient!"

"That's indeed wonderful!"

The nobles were delighted.

Jupiter tossed the mechanical birds into the air. They started flapping wings. Their eyes started glowing, and three holographic screens appeared before the nobles.

The holographic screens were showing the exact same things as the mechanical birds were seeing.

They flew over the forest, took their perched spots by the branches, and waited.

"The Hunt can now begin!"

Jupiter shouted and clapped his hands together, and at first, the thick steel gate over the prison slid open.

"The rabbits will have one minute of a head start until the hunters get released!"

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