"Ok...Ok...I've managed to make it to the church. That...tentacle faced...creature with an ax is still outside, but it doesn't seem like it wants to chase me in here. I am safe for now. Calm down. Calm down."
...
"I don't...don't know how long I've been here. None of the clocks in the buildings work. I haven't found anyone who doesn't want to take my head off. My sword's been broken more times than I care to admit. I've died more times than I want to count. One of my arms is missing. And I'm no closer to finding a way out of here."
...
"I just need to keep moving. Don't think about all the times I've died. Just need to keep going forward. I'll find the exit eventually. Then I can meet with Akuri-san and...
...
"Why...why do I know that name? I feel like...like I should know who it is...but...I can't recall. Who...who is Akuri-san?"
"...And since when did I have breasts?"
----------------------------------------
"We've arrived."
The Huntress pulled her steed to a stop as she gazed upon the high stone walls of Vinvers. Her first impression was that this place truly deserved the title of "city". The front gates were wide open and bustling with activity. Caravans pulled by snorting oxen were stopped at the entrance before being guided passed the six armored guards. People would walk passed their group of five, usually stopping to bow or offer a prayer to the Order Agents, before being halted by the guards who would inspect whatever they brought with them. Three of the guards wore green gambesons with pointed helmets and were armed with halberds, while the other three had leather jerkins with swords and shields strapped to their sides and backs. They stopped and moved people through with practiced ease never wavering once in their task.
But what caught the Huntress' eye was the fact that a good portion of the individuals moving in and out of the city were Mamono. A caravan being led by a woman with a squirrel's tail, harpies walking arm in arm with human men, a family traveling with a small bipedal dog-like creature, and even an odd-looking mage who walked with a floating black and white cat at this side. She found herself staring at the crowd despite her best efforts. The sheer contrast of everything she had been led to believe about Mamono fascinating her to the point where she didn't even notice how the monsters reacted to her presence. They either gave her a wide berth or took one look at her before quickly turning their heads away.
Hector watched a harpy hide behind the man she was with, turning back to look at the Huntress with a raised eye, "The Mamono seem to be frightened of you."
"An effect of my lack of Mana," the Huntress moved her horse to stand beside Hector's, "As I said, any who can sense or see Mana will feel discomfort when I am near. The more adept or powerful they are, the worse the effect seems to become."
Mars shook her head as her horse came up to the Huntress' left, "Forgive me if I still do not believe your claims. If you were truly without Mana, you would be dead. There is not a single living thing in this world that does not have Mana running through their body."
"Then explain what happened to me," Spencer called from behind the three, "I'm the only mage in our group and the moment I laid eyes on Cynthia, I passed out. Even now I can hardly look at her without getting a headache...no offense, Cynthia."
The Huntress waved the boy's words off, while Mars replied, "Pure coincidence. Or perhaps a result of your own inexperience?"
"Yeah someone who's managed to complete five missions for the Order is inexperienced. Whatever you say," Mars shot Spencer a glare that made the young boy wince, but he was saved when Valarie maneuvered her horse between the two. She turned on Spencer and shot him a confusing look to which he mumbled an apology.
"So, what will we be doing when we get inside?" the Huntress asked the Inquisitors as the five approached the open gate. A guard made his way to them and asked for them to submit themselves to a search. Hector and Mars dismounted, walked up to the guard, and began to speak in hushed tones with Hector pulling a scroll from inside his robes. The guard opened the scroll and scrutinized it for two minutes. Then he handed it back with a nod and shouted for their group to be let through.
Hector answered the Huntress as they made their way into the town proper, "Mars and I shall go to the Order Base here. They will be informed of your arrival and we shall prepare to administer your test."
"It will take us about two days to get everything ready," Mars reached into her own robes and tossed three bags of coins to the Huntress, Spencer, and Valarie, "There's one hundred gold in each of those bags. The three of you are to use that time to prepare yourselves for when you are needed. The two Heroes may stay at our Base, but you, Cynthia, but procure your own place to rest."
"You are not yet a recognized member of the Order, and thus do not have access to our facilities. You understand?" Hector finished as a small, red-feathered girl ran up to his horse, trying to pull at his leg. The glare he gave her was so frightening that the child ran crying back to a harpy with the same color feathers.
The Huntress scowled at the man while hefting the bag of coins in her hands. She noticed Valarie frowning at her own bag and asked, "Is something wrong, Valarie?"
"Do not use my name without the proper title, cur!" the Hero said as she attached the bag to her skirt. Then she spoke to Inquisitor Mars, "This is the gold the villager donated to us, isn't it?"
"Does that matter?" was the curt reply.
"N-no," Valarie replied, but the Huntress saw her bite her lip as her hands tightened around her horse's reigns.
The Huntress stared at the coins in her palm, thinking back to the village they had "procured" supplies from. She silently hoped that the advice she gave to Domonous worked. Many a time she had to make three coins last as long as three hundred when she was a child. While her advice might not be perfect, or even applicable to their circumstances, he should still be able to keep the village alive with what she had given him if he followed her suggestions.
"I understand," the Huntress placed the bag inside her cloak alongside the one she had brought from home, "I shall do so now, lest I waste time that could better be spent getting my name cleared."
"Me and Val will go with you," Spencer said as he moved his horse to follow the Huntress. Valarie loudly questioned Spencer volunteering them, and the Inquisitor's subsequent approval of the idea. However, being completely outvoted and outranked, there was little she could do or say about it. With a scowl etched on her face the entire time, she helped Spencer lead the Huntress to the closest inn.
It was a tall, rectangular, three-story stone building. At the top, it had a wooden sign with a picture of a smiling woman carrying tankards of a foaming beverage in her arms. "The Unusual" had been carved below the picture.
The Huntress dismounted her horse and handed the reigns to Spencer, "Thank you both for accompanying me. I shall be fine from here. What shall the two of you do?"
"Obviously find the Order Base and-"
"Um, actually, Val," Spencer interrupted the woman while looking at the ground beneath him. He squirmed in his saddle for a bit, mouth opening and closing with words unsaid. Then he took a deep breath and looked at his friend in the eyes, "Would you come with me for a bit? There's something I want to show you."
Her expression shifted from confusion to curiosity as she looked her friend up and down, "Are you feeling alright, Spencer? Your behavior seems to have...changed ever since last night. You seem more...forward."
"Really? Is that bad?" hints of sadness entered his voice as his determined expression fell.
Valarie shook her head, "No, no, that's not...ok. What did you want to show me?"
Spencer's expression brightened instantly as he turned his horse away from the inn, "First, let's go drop off our horses at the stable. It's easier to get there on foot."
The Huntress watched the two as they galloped away with her arms crossed. She nodded at Spencer as the two of them got further away, pride at the young man swelling in her chest, a small smile on her lips.
Then it fell away as she steeled her gaze and turned to the door to the inn.
She had made it to a neutral city, and she had two days to look for answers to the lingering questions she had after her time with the Dhampir. The faster she got started, the more quickly she could decide what to do.
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The inn's doors opened with nary a squeak keeping her entrance quiet. She walked right up to the open bar, pulling up a chair and sitting down. She waited a few seconds before turning around to examine the room. The patrons paid her no mind as she walked in, many of them too busy drinking or swapping tales with the others at their tables.
Three barmaids elegantly walked between the tables carrying drinks in their arms. Their white and green dresses were modest, completely covering everything from their waist to their ankles. However, their tops were made in such a way that it was easy to look down their shirts should they bend or lean over for any reason. Though this isn't what made the Huntress take note of the women.
It was the fact that only one of them was human. She was a young, raven-haired girl with a small beauty mark on her left cheek. A beaming smile was constantly on her face, her modest breasts hardly moving as she walked. The other two were had tails protruding from right above their hindquarters that were covered in green scales. The Huntress was reminded of lizards, especially when he glanced at their clawed feet and hands.
"Haven't seen you around before," the Huntress looked over her shoulder at who she assumed was the innkeeper. He was younger than she had anticipated with hardly any wrinkles on his pointed face. His dusty brown hair fell around his face to the point where his eyes were completely covered by his bangs. A comforting smile beamed on his face, "What brings you to this humble little place?"
The Huntress turned in her seat to look the man head-on, "Simply looking for a place to stay. How much would it cost to get a room for at least two days?"
"Thirty coins," the Huntress brought out that many coins and placed it on the counter. The innkeeper counted them up before moving them behind the bar, "Thanks. You want to see it now or later?"
"Later, please. I have some errands to take care of before I go."
"Then can I at least get you a drink?" the Huntress shook her head just as the human maid came over and asked the innkeeper for four more tankards of ale. He disappeared behind the bar for a bit, before coming out with four foaming glasses. The woman took the beverages and gave the man a kiss before turning back to the inn.
The doors to the inn opened and three of the guards from the gate walked over to the bar. They took seats to the right of the Huntress, their gambesons jingling they undid their helmets. The one right next to the Huntress was a male with a deep scar cut right around his jaw and a small amount of stubble on his chin. He sighed while leaning against the counter, "Hey, Howard, can you give me the strong stuff?"
"Sure. Tough day Mark?" the innkeeper, Howard, said as he started cleaning a tankard for the guard.
"Yeah, let's go with that," was Mark's answer. The other two kept their helmets on and started making small talk between them. They mostly spoke of the problems related to their jobs. People being uncooperative, getting yelled at by their superiors, and so on. The Huntress mostly tuned them out to contemplate what her next step would be.
Mark was on his third tankard when one of the other guards said, "Hey, Howard. I've been meaning to ask. Those lizard women are yours, right?"
The Huntress turned her attention to the men as the innkeeper shrugged, "Yeah, kind of. I beat Iri and Ris in a fight during my adventuring days, so they followed me here hoping to marry me."
"But you got with Greta before that," the second guard continued, "So, does that mean they're open?"
Howard chuckled while shaking his head, "Afraid not, Micheal. They're not trying to get me anymore, but they're not looking for new mates either."
"Aw, damn it," Micheal leaned back in his chair with a disappointed groan.
"The guy's had his eye on Ris for a while," the third guard explained, "Kept talking about how it was 'love at first sight'. Told him it couldn't work cause they wouldn't be here unless they were here for you, but he wouldn't listen."
"Why are you after one of them anyway?" Mark asked, half-empty tankard in one hand, speech beginning to slur, "What about Riza? I thought she joined up to be with you."
"Well, yeah," Micheal placed both hands on the bar counter and shrugged, "And I like her...but as a sister. That, and I"m...well I-"
"He wants a Mamono wife."
Micheal punched the third guard in the arm, "Felix! Cut it out!"
"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Felix said as he rubbed his arm, "Plenty of guys on the force have shacked up with Mamono. No one's gonna judge you for it. Heck, I'd bet money most of them think the same way. I know I do."
"Me too," Mark answered while finishing the tankard of ale, "I'd like to go home and have a smiling face waiting for me every day. Better than an empty house, that's for sure."
"Pardon me, gentlemen," the Huntress got out of her chair and moved it to sit between the three men. Felix scooted to his right to make room for the tall woman as she took up the spot between him and Micheal, "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, and I hoped you would answer a question of mine. If none of you mind."
The three guards held a silent conversation with their eyes before Mark answered the Huntress, his voice steady and suspicious, "Sure. Go right ahead, Ms...?"
"Call me Hunt," her answer sounded blunter than she meant, but she needed this question answered, "And, I was wondering, you all say that you want Mamono wives. Why? Why not look for a human wife like the innkeeper has?"
Micheal and Felix's helmets keep their expressions hidden, but Mark's clear surprise is evident. The three are silent for a few moments. Then they share a chuckle before Felix starts to answer, "Uh, no offense, Ms. Hunt, but isn't that kind of obvious? They're...better."
"But what makes them better?" her request for elaboration catches the three off guard. She is undeterred, "Especially if you consider what they do to the men they sleep with. Is joining with a Mamono truly worth the fact that you will be corrupted?"
"Look, lady, ask yourself. If you had to choose between two people to get married to, which would you pick? The one that will never leave you, stay with you until you die, love you for you and not ask you to change yourself, be there whenever you need emotional support, is willing and able to bear your children, will cook and clean your house while you're away, and have sex with you whenever you want, or the one to which many of those things are either conditional or completely off the table?" Mark shrugs before patting his armor down as the looks for something, "It's not exactly a hard choice."
"And not everybody gets corrupted," Micheal continues, "I know people who've been with their Mamono wives for months and they haven't turned. Sure they seem to spend a lot more time at home with their wives, but isn't that a good thing?"
"Right, Micheal. And besides, it's not like humans aren't marrying other humans. Just look at Howard! He could've had not one, but two lizard women for wives, but he chose Greta instead," Felix jerks a finger at the innkeeper who takes the coins Mark puts on the table.
The Huntress is silent for a moment. Her eyes remain focused on the bar counter. The tension between the four of them begins to climb, as the three guards share concerned looks. Micheal nearly jumps as the Huntress leaves her seat, "Thank you, gentlemen. Please, have a wonderful day."
She didn't bother to wait for their replies. She fast-walked out of the inn, dodging past the human barmaid. She made a tally in her mind as she stepped out of the inn and into the streets of Vinvers. She spent the rest of the day walking through the city, asking questions of everyone who would listen.
----------------------------------------
"And this your room. Again, I'm terribly sorry about the way Iri acted when she saw you. That's never happened with anyone else before..."
The Huntress waved the innkeeper's wife's concern off, "It is no trouble. Do give her my sincerest apologies if I caused her any discomfort."
Greta nodded to the Huntress before walking away, placing a key to the room in the Huntress' hand. The Huntress entered the small room with two beds and a single dresser in it and locked the door behind her. She waited until she could no longer hear the woman's footsteps. Then she moved away from the door and placed an ear to the right wall. Ten seconds passed before she did the same on the left wall. Both times she heard no sound coming from either.
She stepped back from the left wall...before punching it hard enough to leave a cavity in the stonework.
"Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!" she started pacing the room, hands flying to her head in frustration. She tossed her hat onto one of the beds while tearing her bandana off. Panting with anger and frustration she sat down on the bed to the left of the room, grabbed the pillow, and used it to muffle her scream.
By the time the sun had set, she had managed to question at least one hundred citizens of Vinvers. She questioned single human males, human/Mamono couples, and single human females. Her queries had to be tailored to fit her audience, but they all had the same core question behind them: Would you choose a Mamono over a human?
Of the one hundred she spoke two, seventy said yes or a variant of yes.
Meaning as it stood right now...
All your paths lead to the same outcome.
The Huntress didn't flinch at the sound of the voice. She calmly placed the pillow across her knees, "You've been quiet for some time."
Things are changing within you...
"What was that?"
I said I was merely observing your futile attempts to find a solution that saves everyone, waiting for the moment you realized the truth; That there is none.
"No," the Huntress' red hair shook with her head, "No, there must be something. There has to be a way to end this war without the extinction of an entire race."
The voice let out a deep, cruel laugh.
Truly? How? Even if the vast majority of the Mamono didn't rape and corrupt humans, they are too close to Beasts. Helping them would be damning the humans you try so hard to protect. The Order might be the human's best hope to combat the Mamono, but they have proven to be little better than the Healing Church. Helping them win the war would simply replace one horror with another. And, as you have discovered, even this so-called "Basion Of Co-existence" is not a viable option. For, even if all the Mamono and humans could be convinced to live together like this, the majority of human men will choose Mamono's over their own kind. Propagating these neutral towns will simply slow the erasure of the human race. But it will come all the same. And you will be responsible for it.
"Even so...I..."
CEASE THIS NONSENSE! YOU. ARE. A HUNTER! STOP HOLDING BACK! You know where the Beasts are, what they are, and how to kill them. You are the only one who CAN kill them. No more of this foolishness! EMBRACE WHAT YOU ARE!
"I REFUSE!" the Huntress shot up from her seat, eyes burning with rage as she stared up at the ceiling, "I REFUSE TO BE THE EXECUTIONER OF A SECOND WORLD! I will not repeat the mistakes of my past. What I did to Yharnam...what I did to its people...that will NOT happen here! I am a Hunter, yes! I am a killer! I am a monster! But, I will not let that stop me. Even if I can't find a way to end this war, I will find a way to save the human race from extinction! This I swear upon my pride as a Hunter! Humanity will not fall while I still draw breath!"
Silence.
The Huntress feels her heart hammer away as she waits for the voice's reply.
...So be it.
The Huntress feels the voice sleep.
She picks the pillow up from the floor, fluffs it up, the lays it down. She lets herself almost fall onto the soft mattress beneath her.
One thought permeated her head above all others. It was three simple sentences, but they carried enough weight to make the Huntress sob into her pillow until she finally fell to sleep.
What would she do?
What should she do?
What could she do?