01

(I need to control my feelings… I need to control my feelings…) Shouted Laurent in his mind.

In from of him was Raisa who showed her true self; That of a [Valkyrie]. The glass wings in her back shattered and the hairpins holding her hair fell.

“[Weissen Eiserne Jungfrau - Release]” She muttered as her minimum magic power was replenishing itself to its original, massive amount.

Her eyes changed from steel blue to bright golden color. Her hair became snow white and the look in her eyes changed from the usual gentle manner to a strong and resolute one.

She picked up the hairpins and put them inside her breast pocket.

Raisa started to survey her surroundings and started to clear her numb mind.

“Where’s this place?... Arlen, Carly, Laurent? What’s going on he-?!!! Argh!!!”

Then exclaimed Raisa. She felt an aching pain in her temple and everything became clear.

“What the… All this happened... “ She mumbled and then she directed her gaze towards Laurent.

“You!! Why did you did it?! WHY?!” Shouted Raisa with a voice and angry expression. She gave a step and-

In a mere moment without producing the minimal sound, she appeared in front of Laurent, who was at least 20 meters from her.

“Why did you do it?! Why did you erase my memories?!” Shouted Raisa. Due to her gentle nature, she refrained herself from either slapping, hitting, grabbing or pulling Laurent in any way possible. She couldn’t afford to do those things.

She was in the verge of tears and her cute yet strong face showed how sad she was.

Raisa was angry; she was so angry she wanted to shout like a mandragora.. But she was also sad. The same amount of both feelings clashed in her heart.

“.........”

Laurent who was dumbfounded from the sudden change of pace remained silent.

“Rai-”

“Shut up, I’m not asking you.”

Replied Raisa to Arlen’s little intervention.

Laurent regained his senses and replied to her. At this moment, he wasn’t able to hold his feelings either so he honestly told what he thought to Raisa.

“I-I…. I thought it was the best for you. You even said that you wanted to know how it felt to be free… I wanted you to have a normal life without being targeted or under dangerous situations. I didn’t want you to get hurt because of my fault. I only wanted you to be happy.”

“What?! That’s your excuse?! You did it for my sake?! At that time it’s true I wanted to be free, but… I already knew that being with you was… Was…

It was the best time of my life. With you I learned about freedom and what it is to be oneself. I didn’t care about the danger or the runaways. What I wanted...

What I wanted to be with you forever. I still want to be with you forever.”

Said Raisa as some tears fell from her eyes.

Right now, in this very moment, Raisa confessed to Laurent.

Giselle and Adele didn’t understand what was going on in the least; on the other hand, Arlen and Carly perfectly knew what she was talking about.

A month ago, in the middle of summer, Raisa and Laurent who held a very close relationship, had an unprecedented incident.

Just when Laurent was going to reply Raisa’s confession-

“Well then, I absolutely won’t allow that.”

A male voice filled the whole room.

“I spent a lot of time and money in this “project” so I won’t let you snatch my prey.”

Said the voice. It came from the place where Raisa was some moments ago.

Then as if the space itself distorted, a man appeared out of thin air.

“Who are you?”

Suddenly reacted Arlen. Then everyone, including Raisa, put their guard up.

“Me? I’m just a businessman waiting from a transaction.”

Said the man while leisurely walking towards Laurent and co.

He dressed in a black attire with no other color on it. He has black hair and blue eyes and his face is mature and handsome. The only white spec in him was the white crown in his head with a right side-horn pointing upwards.

(Wha?! That’s [World Gear Double Digit] - [Number Ninety-Nine]; [Unihorn]!!)

Exclaimed Arlen in his mind.

[Unihorn] is a world gear that creates an specialized space around the user where everything the user selects, even the user, turns invisible.

Laurent, looking at the man in front of him, raised his voice.

“Yo-You!! Black!!”

Shouted Laurent with all his strength. Just as he was going to jump towards him and incinerate him with his flames, a hand gripped his wrist.

“No. Don’t.”

Said Raisa in a low voice.

She knew how explosive Laurent was so she stopped him.

Laurent then noticed his feelings were out of control so he calmed down.

“Sorry Nathaniel but I don’t have time to be playing with you.” Said the man named Black

Then he took out of his breast pocket a small music player with external speaker and-

“GAHH!!! ARGH! UGAAAAHHH!!!!!”

Shouted Raisa with all her strength.

From the music player, an ominous but beautiful melody could be heard. Just by listening to it, your feelings could flow out as if nothing and you could feel surrounded by it.

“Oh! I just love Classical Music! Do you enjoy it? It’s [Mozart’s Requiem]”

Said Black with a smile in his face.

Giselle, Adele, Laurent and Carly kneeled due to a strange pressure in their hearts. As if it was the natural thing to do while listening to the song.

The one who was most affected by the music was Raisa.

In the moment the supernaturals fell in their knees, Black took out a handgun with silencer and shot Arlen in the abdomen and in his leg. He purposely avoided the vitals and then put it again in his lower back, where he had taken it out.

Arlen has already experienced being shot so he didn’t shout.

“Classical Music was and is the weapon of the gentlemen. [Supernaturals] can indeed die by listening to it.” Said Black as if explaining.

“Luckily I got my hands on the original versions of my beloved or it wouldn’t have such an effect on you.” He added while Raisa writhed in pain while in the floor she tried to gasp some air.

Arlen, as the only human, was there trying to figure out a way to help his friends.

He didn’t even consider to attack Black directly or he would be pretty much dead the moment he tried. Like that, he wouldn’t be able to find an answer to this predicament.

Then Carly slowly stood up as if the gravity around her was duplicated.

“You can re- I see, you’re a [Vampire]. They have lived hundreds of years so I bet they developed a natural resistance to it. Damn lovers of the human culture”

Mumbled Black as he increased the volume of the beautiful melody and pinned down Carly. Laurent and Giselle fell completely to the floor and Adele was trying to maintain her consciousness. She was inexperienced in dealing with such a method so the supernatural part in her was completely affected.

The track lasts at least 8 minutes but for them, even one minute was an eternity.

“Be grateful that I don’t recite the [Lyrical Chant]...” Said Black with a chilling expression in his face.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Enough chit-chat for today. Nathaniel, I’m deeply sorry for this, because even I have a lover, but orders are orders. We of [Night Predators] will achieve our objectives, won’t hesitate of killing if needed.”

He then approached Raisa and lifted her in his shoulders. At this moment she had already blacked out.

“I’ll be taking her with me. Today, she’s my objective; not you. If you have a problem with it, come and catch us- If you can that is.”

Added Black while mocking Laurent.

“Have nice dreams Nathaniel.”

Just as Black said this, the changed the track.

“[Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata]”

Then as the next one started to play; Laurent, Carly, Adele and Giselle completely blacked out.

02

“....nt…..ent…..urent…. Laurent!!!”

“EH?! AH?! Sis’ it wasn’t me!”

“What?”

“What?!”

Arlen, while hardly standing in his feet, woke up Laurent. Carly woke up herself a minute after Black left and she was waking up Adele and Giselle.

To Laurent’s strange words, Arlen was stunned.

“A-Anyways. Stand up. I contacted Jane a while ago to tell her about this place. She’ll be expecting us soon.” Said Arlen while helping Laurent to stand up.

Laurent felt a little dizzy as he stood up, but when his head cleared up, his emotions started to flow.

He clenched his fist as hard as he could until they lost their color and then started to curse.

“OH FUCK THIS SHIT WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY??!! HOW? WHEN?! WHY WAS HE HERE?! HOW?! THAT PRICK MOTHERFUCKER TWAT CUNT OH GOD DAAAAAAMN!!!! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!!! DAMN PRICK WHY WHY WHY WHY!!! YOU DAMN MOTHERFUCKER WHY DID YOU HAVE TO APPEAR!!!! I’LL BURN YOU TO CRISPS A HUNDRED TIMES AND THEN A HUNDRED TIMES MORE!!! SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT WHY?!!!”

As he vented out all of his rage, which let dumbfounded Adele and Giselle. They never had imagined the calm and compose Laurent that they met only a couple of hours before would shout like that.

Arlen and Carly were surprised too, but because they never thought that he would be so explicit with his curses.

(It’s been a while since he was like that….) Secretly thought Carly as Arlen tried to calm down Laurent.

“Are you okay now?” Asked Arlen.

“Not quite but cursing will not help me any more than this.” Replied Laurent as he took out the hairpins from his pocket and wore them.

Then the aura around him was suppressed and his body temperature dropped. His mood improved a little and his feelings became calm. His eyes then changed from the bright crimson color they had become to the usual silver blue.

“What… Was that?” Asked Adele in a faint voice.

“Let’s talk about that later. First, it would be good if you heal Arlen. Can you do that?” Said then Carly to Adele.

Adele strongly nodded and she went to help Arlen.

As she walked towards Arlen, she bit her lips and chanted some words. After that, her hands shone in a green light and touched the injured parts.

Arlen noticed he was going to he healed so he showed her the places he had been shot.

In an instant, the holes were closed as if nothing was there. Fortunately, the bullets passed throughout his body.

After he recovered, He noticed Laurent in front of the burnt [Hunter].

“Oh item that pierces darkness and fades light, grant me your power and allow me to take you from your tyrannical self. Please leave the dishonorable host that posses you and grant us with your divine power. Materialize yourself and bring chaos or peace to this unruly world.

[Materialize World Gear]”

After a long chant, Laurent took from the hunter his [World Gear].

As soon as the hunter passed out, the gear disappeared from his arm, but Laurent voiced some chant and as a light, the gear came to his hands and materialized.

There are various forms to obtain a [World Gear].

These are-

From birth.

You obtain a materialized gear from a diseased possessor.

You steal it from a possessor.

It’s transferred at will.

You obtain an antique gear created by a [Lost Civilization].

What Laurent did now was the third way.

“Adele, please come!” Said Arlen while approaching Laurent.

“[Seusenhofer]? You don’t need it.” Said Arlen as Adele arrives.

“Please heal him a bit. We need to take intel from him. Also maintain him immobilized and also the [Sorcerer] back there.” Added Arlen.

As Adele healied the hunter, Laurent talked to Arlen.

“True. I don’t need it, but you do.” He said while giving the [World Gear] to Arlen.

“Me? I don-”

“You need it. Right now Black would have killed you if it wasn’t against his and the predator’s principles. Also I know you die hard to have one of this.” Cut Laurent to Arlen’s words and with a small smile, he gave the gear to his friend.

Arlen only nodded and wore the gauntlet with the armguard.

“Oh divine item that grants power to those without it and vanishes the power from those drunk on it, allow me to use your strength and protect those who I care.

[Invite World Gear]”

Chanted Arlen.

The gears are a strange existence that no one knows where they come from or who made them. It has remained a mystery for centuries.

As soon as he finished the chant, the gear tightened and made it fit in his arm.

“Cool…” Voiced Arlen.

After Adele immobilized the hunter, she went after the [Sorcerer] and everyone left.

Laurent and Arlen were carrying both the hunter and the sorcerer. Carly had in her shoulders one of the onmyou twins while Giselle had the other.

The twins were properly immobilized.

As soon as they reached the way out-

There was a rope with a hook in the sewage stair.

“It should be Jane.” Said Laurent as he then put in the hook the hunter by his shirt neck and pulled twice.

After some more trips, all the unconscious people was lifted and Laurent and co. got out of the sewage by themselves.

There, there found Jane with a bigger car waiting for them.

“The principal is waiting for you. I suggest you to drive at low speed due to your injuries and exhaustion. I can’t afford to take you with me as I only am able to guard myself if any of the unconscious fiends were to wake up.” Voiced Jane in a stoic and cold way.

“They’re bound by magic so they won’t wake up so easily.” Said Adele in protest.

“I see…” Muttered Jane.

“I-It’s okay. It’s okay. You can go ahead with them. We’ll catch up with the other car.”

Said Laurent as Jane nodded and got into the big car.

After she left, Laurent and co. followed suit.

The way back was a bit gloomy and with heavy atmosphere with lots of doubts surging in everyone’s minds.

(I absolutely need to know what’s going on… I bet that schieming man knows the whole picture of this…) Thought Laurent as they arrived to the high school facilities.