The hooded figure let out a rumbling growl as he shed his disguise, revealing the full extent of his inhuman visage—a stony skin and jagged features, sharp claws glinting under the moonlight. His wings flared out from his back, a metallic sheen shimmering along their edges.

A gargoyle.

Seraphine took a step back, her hand tightening around the hilt of her blade. She had never seen a gargoyle before, but she knew enough about their kind to be wary. They were notoriously strong and fierce, capable of causing massive amounts of damage with little effort. And this one seemed no different.

She exchanged a quick glance with Levy, who looked equally unnerved by the creature's appearance. But they had a job to do, and they couldn't afford to back down now.

Not having her crossbow 'Heartseeker', along with more specialized tools and ammo, left her feeling vulnerable. She always carried her blade, but it wasn't nearly as versatile or useful against such a foe.

Her only hope was that the gargoyle's focus would be split between fighting them both, giving them an edge in the fight.

It didn't seem like it would be much of an issue, as the gargoyle—Cedric, she remembered Aubrey calling him—turned his attention to her. His eyes glinted dangerously, and he bared his teeth in a feral snarl. He lunged forward, claws outstretched.

Seraphine quickly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the swipe. She kept moving, trying to keep some distance between them as she tried to come up with a plan.

Meanwhile, Levy darted to the side, unleashing a volley of ofuda at the gargoyle. They flew through the air, their papery surface glowing with arcane runes, before slapping against the creature's stony skin. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, but then the ofuda burst into flames, sending tongues of fire licking along the gargoyle's body.

The creature roared in anger, clawing at the fiery ofuda. The flames didn't seem to be doing any lasting damage, but it was enough to distract him from his pursuit of Seraphine. She seized the opportunity, rushing forward and slashing at the gargoyle with her blade.

Her attack landed, carving a shallow gash across the gargoyle's chest. But before she could follow up with another strike, he recovered and lashed out at her, catching her off guard. His claws raked across her arm, leaving a stinging trail of cuts. She hissed in pain but didn't back down, pressing forward with another attack.

Levy circled around behind the gargoyle, firing more ofuda at him. They struck true, exploding into a shower of sparks. The creature turned his attention to Levy, launching himself into the air with a powerful flap of his wings. He swooped down, raking his claws across Levy's chest and sending him crashing to the ground.

"Levy!" Seraphine shouted, rushing to his aid.

She leaped forward, her blade flashing through the air as she slashed at the gargoyle. He whirled around to face her, blocking her attack with his arm. Her blade carved another shallow gash into his stony skin, but he didn't seem fazed by the injury. He retaliated with a punch, his fist connecting with her shoulder and sending her stumbling back.

Her injured arm hung limp at her side, pain shooting through her body with every movement. She gripped her blade tightly with her good hand, gritting her teeth against the pain. She had to keep fighting, for Levy's sake.

Cedric flung himself forward again, unleashing a flurry of punches. Seraphine dodged and weaved, doing her best to avoid the barrage of blows. She lashed out with her blade whenever she got the opportunity, but the gargoyle seemed to be able to read her movements, blocking or dodging her attacks.

As they fought, she noticed Levy starting to recover, pushing himself up from the ground. He reached into his pocket, pulling out another ofuda and hurling it at the gargoyle. Ethereal chains sprouted from the paper, wrapping around the creature and binding him in place.

It seemed like this would be their chance to strike a decisive blow, but the gargoyle bared his teeth, letting out a roar that shook the very air around them. His eyes glowed with an unearthly light, and suddenly the chains disintegrated, crumbling into dust.

He lunged forward, pouncing on Levy and pinning him to the ground. Seraphine dashed toward them, leaping onto the gargoyle's back and trying to wrench him off Levy.

The gargoyle reached up, grabbed her hair, and slammed her to the ground. Seraphine groaned as the pain jolted through her, her vision blurring. But she didn't let go of her blade, clinging to it with a death grip.

Cedric yanked her back up, his claws digging into her scalp. He slammed her to the ground again, then again, before flinging her aside like a rag doll. She hit the wall of a nearby building, her body going limp.

Levy struggled against the gargoyle's grasp, but he couldn't break free. Cedric brought his face close to Levy's, snarling.

"Is this the best you can do?" he asked in a low rumble. "I must say, I'm rather disappointed."

Cedric reared back and delivered a powerful punch to Levy's face. The young man's head snapped back, blood spurting from his nose. He went limp, his body falling limp to the ground.

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Aubrey sauntered over to Seraphine's side, then plopped herself down onto the ground next to her. She glanced at the unconscious girl, a smirk tugging at her lips.

She knew that the girl was skilled—she'd seen her fight—but even she hadn't expected the Hunter to fall so easily. Was Cedric really that strong?

"I thought you said you could take care of us," Aubrey commented, gesturing to Cedric as he walked toward them. "Now look at you—you're a mess. And your friend isn't looking so hot either."

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Cedric had dragged Levy's unconscious form over and dropped him unceremoniously on the ground next to Seraphine. The young man's face was a bloody, swollen mess, and he lay motionless on the cobblestone.

"You really did a number on them," Aubrey said, looking up at Cedric. "Remind me not to get on your bad side. I mean, damn—I've fought you twice... you must have really held back with me, huh?"

Cedric gave her a blank look. "I would not consider our prior engagements as fights," he said. "In fact, I would hesitate to call them battles at all."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," Aubrey grumbled, rolling her eyes.

"What... do we do with them now?" Liza asked, looking at the two unconscious Hunters. Her face betrayed a mix of uncertainty and discomfort, as if she couldn't decide whether to be afraid of them or pity them.

Aubrey shrugged. "I dunno. It's not like we can just leave them here. Can we?"

Thaddeus knelt down next to Seraphine and started rummaging through her pockets. After a moment, he pulled out a handful of coins and held them up triumphantly.

"It appears we have acquired some monetary gains," he said. "The progeny's belongings will also fetch a fair price on the black market."

"Damn, Thaddy... you sure know how to turn a profit." Aubrey whistled in appreciation.

She looked back at the two Hunters, frowning. While she wasn't opposed to taking advantage of their defeat, something about the whole situation left a bad taste in her mouth. Was it just her or did the whole thing seem kind of unfair?

It looked like she had just asked Cedric to beat up a protagonist and her sidekick. She'd thought that maybe it would have been more challenging, but instead, they had both gotten thoroughly curb-stomped. Talk about anticlimactic.

Still, they had attacked them first. Maybe this was just the natural order of things. The strong ate the weak, or whatever. Right?

She looked up at Cedric again. "You did a good job," she said. "But... I dunno, I guess I was kind of expecting more of a fight."

"They were ill-informed and ill-equipped for such an encounter," Cedric said. "I suspect that had they known the full extent of my capabilities, they would not have been so bold."

"Yeah, well, they're gonna get a rude awakening when they wake up," Aubrey said, sighing. "And they're probably gonna be pissed at us too."

Thaddeus stowed away Seraphine's belongings, then straightened up, brushing off his coat. "Let them be. T'was merely a display of our strength. An example, if you will."

"That's what I was thinking," Aubrey said, nodding. "But still... I guess we can't just leave them here." She glanced at Cedric again. "Do you think you could carry them? Or maybe drag them somewhere?"

"I am capable of both," Cedric rumbled. "Where would you like me to take them?"

"Hmm... Well, I guess we can just stash them somewhere for now," Aubrey said, looking around. "Somewhere out of the way, where they won't get murdered by other people or something."

"Very well," Cedric said, taking the two Hunters under each arm. "I shall deposit them within an alleyway."

"Alright, perfect," Aubrey said, watching as he did just that. "I think we've seen enough of this place for now anyway. Let's get out of here before someone else comes along and tries to start some shit."

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Seraphine's eyes fluttered open, a dull ache pulsing through her skull. She groaned, blinking against the harsh sunlight that streamed down from above.

As she regained her senses, she realized she was lying on a bed of garbage, surrounded by moldering refuse and filth. Her clothes were torn and dirty, and her body ached from head to toe.

She sat up, wincing as the pain in her head intensified.

What had happened? The last thing she remembered was fighting against the gargoyle. She had thought she could take him on, but he had proved far too strong. And then... nothing.

She gingerly touched her scalp, feeling the crust of dried blood matted into her hair. Great. Just great.

As she pushed herself to her feet, she caught sight of Levy lying nearby, still unconscious. He looked even worse than she did, his face swollen and bruised from the beating he had received. His chest had a nasty cut on it, but it seemed like he was breathing alright.

She staggered over to his side, kneeling down next to him. "Levy," she said, shaking him gently. "Levy, wake up."

Levy stirred, groaning softly. His eyes opened, and he looked up at her with bleary confusion.

"Wh-what happened?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"I don't know," Seraphine admitted. "But I think we lost."

Levy propped himself up on one elbow, wincing as he gingerly touched his battered face. "How bad is it?"

Seraphine frowned. "Pretty bad. Your face looks like it got run over by a carriage, and you're covered in cuts and bruises. Not to mention that nasty gash on your chest."

Levy grunted, struggling to sit up. "Help me up."

She helped him to his feet, and he swayed unsteadily for a moment before catching his balance.

"Thanks," he said, still sounding groggy. "What about you? Are you okay?"

"I've got a headache, but I'll live," Seraphine replied, gingerly touching her scalp again. "I'm more surprised that they didn't kill us."

Strange. Unhallowed beings never left anyone alive, let alone Hunters who had dared to fight against them. There had been no records of this happening before. But why did they spare them? It didn't make any sense.

"You think they were playing with us?" Levy asked.

Seraphine shook her head. "No... They could have killed us easily if they wanted to. But they didn't. I think it was a warning."

"Unhallowed don't give out warnings," Levy argued.

"I know. But it's the only thing that makes sense," Seraphine replied. She turned away, staring at the grimy wall of the alleyway.

That woman from before... the crowd in the tavern had referred to her as Nightingale, but the woman briefly referred to herself as Aubrey when she argued with the gargoyle.

Aubrey?

Seraphine couldn't shake the feeling that she had heard that name before. It was as if something nagged at the back of her mind, trying to break through the fog of pain and exhaustion that clouded her thoughts.

"Does the name 'Aubrey' ring any bells?" Seraphine asked.

Levy looked at her, frowning. "I don't think so. Why?"

Seraphine sighed, running a hand through her hair. "It's probably nothing. But it feels like I've heard that name somewhere before. Maybe it's just my imagination."

"It's probably not important," Levy said, looking around. "Let's just focus on getting out of here."

"Right," Seraphine agreed, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "We need to report this to our respective guilds. And maybe take some time to recover first."

"I still got my athame, at least," Levy said, using the cane to support his weight. "And some ofuda left. How about you?"

Seraphine checked her belt and sighed. "I've still got my blade, but it looks like they took everything else."

Levy let out a bitter laugh. "Figures. Bastards probably wanted to sell our stuff."

Seraphine closed her eyes, letting out a sigh. "Come on. Let's get out of here before anyone else decides to rob us."