Absorb light

A few villagers ran off in response to the old man’s shouts, but an instant
later a beam intercepted them, and they fell forward with their heads blown
off. Nobody could tell where the beams were coming from. The square had
become a place where bolts of light flitted madly, and, as fleeing villagers
vanished in the flashes, the origin of the murderous beams still seemed
impossible to determine.

However, the one clear image that greeted anyone who looked back was the
enraptured expression of the angelic young man as he stood by the entrance
to the square watching the mad dance of the lights. It was inspiring how his
face brimmed with joie de vivre as he gleefully toyed with the deadly rays.

All at once, the square reclaimed its original hue. Perhaps it was an
aftereffect of the powerful white flashes, but the green trees and brown
houses burned themselves into the scene in almost painfully deep tones
before gradually returning to their natural colors.

Villagers creeping to the edge of the square—or in some cases crouched on
the ground watching where this supernatural phenomenon was headed—
saw a pair of figures square off with some thirty feet between them. One
was a young man wearing an angelic smile, the other was a Hunter as
beautiful as the moon’s corona.

Which would prove faster, the racing figure in black or the coursing stream
of white light?

Everyone gasped as D fended off one white-hot attack but had two more
streaks pierce his body as he dashed forward. But what did the villagers
really see and gasp about?

D had held his left hand out in front on his chest. The two bolts of light
changed direction right before him, became a single flash, and were sucked
into the palm of his hand.