The system notification came in and informed us of having slayed corrupted beasts.

[Alert] You have slain: Corrupted Beast x2

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Calculating Hunt Reward

Applying Strain-Modifier: -25%...

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Calculation Complete.

After the notification appeared, it blinked out, and no other changes were made. Apparently, I wasn't lucky enough to be rewarded every time I hunted something.

When I asked Devon why the number count was so low, he shrugged. The system had its own method to decide whether or not I deserved to share experience for a kill.

Frustrating, but fair. I shouldn't have gotten a lot of the kobold kills but I did so I can't really complain.

We headed back to the church for several reasons. One was to get cleaned and bathe in a place that had some crude but better-than-nothing soaps. The second reason was to satisfy the insane appetite that showed no signs of calming down.

Every time the priestess served what must have been a smorgasbord of food, I felt bad. But every time I expressed my concern over their food supplies, I'd receive a chuckle and a hand wave.

Now that our civilized needs were settled, we were once again with the head priestess. She regarded the contained piece of shifting cloth with apprehension.

"You want me to close the gates and tell the town to hide away in their homes. Is that right?"

"Correct," Devon answered.

Thelassa tightened her fingers, and the lines in her brow furrowed deeply. "If that's what you think is best, Hunters. I will do so. Will this guarantee an end to our problem?"

"The ritual will bind the creature to where it is during the binding. Once done, we'll be able to track it and then dispatch the monster."

"And…" she swallowed. Hesitantly, she cleared her throat. "And what about the… captured people?"

Devon might as well have been the grim reaper with the look he gave her. "If they survive the hunt, then we'll secure their safety."

She nodded and stood up. "Give us an hour. We'll have everything prepared."

We watched her leave and shut the door behind her. With the head priestess out of the room, I turned to Devon and waited as he pulled out a small vial filled with almost glittery yellow liquid. After placing it on the table along with a small cloth sack and several other small pouches, he looked between the two of us.

"Once I start the ritual, you two will have to defend me," he started. He then reached for the sack and pulled out the contained piece of shadows bitten off by my summon. "The creature will panic and throw everything at us. If the ritual is disrupted, we waste the ingredients and won't be able to do it again."

That's not good. You're our strongest member.

"Why not have one of us do the ritual? You're the strongest one here. Wouldn't it be safer to just have you do it?" I asked.

"Because you don't know the runes needed. And you barely know any runes whatsoever," he said, holding up a hand to forestall the obvious question. "And neither does Alice. Even if she did know the right runes, you both don't have enough mana to support it."

That shut me up.

"Fine, so we have to fend off waves of monsters? That's crazy, and insane. And why do you plan on doing it outside the town, the town with nice big walls to protect it?"

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"Cain," he stated coolly.

"What?"

"Is that a serious question?"

You know what?

"Yes, it is a serious question. We have the means to defend ourselves, why not use it?" I insisted.

"You're still angry over the missing child, so tell me, what happens when the monsters break down the walls and start ravaging the city in a mad scramble? Will the sacrifice of innocent lives be morally acceptable to you then? Is this what needs to happen for you to get over the shackles of your old world?" he asked, his tone edged with severity.

My blood ran cold. "No, I understand," I conceded.

He held my gaze, his irises tinged with red. "I'm glad we're in agreement then," he said. As we resumed our walk, he paused and sighed. "The seals contain the creature we're targeting. They could interfere with the ritual's targeting and cause it to fail. Considering what will happen if we don't take the brunt of the attention and danger, we can only perform the ritual away from the city."

That's a much more reasonable definition… Still I see your point, even if you're a jerk about it.

From there, Devon outlined the plans. We would be heading towards a spot, coincidentally near the campsite we had used for the past two nights. I vaguely recalled the area – it was densely forested, providing ample protection with its thick trees. Additionally, a river on one side of the area would limit the types of creatures that could approach from that direction.

Glancing at Alice, I found her smiling.

Her skill was versatile, making me somewhat jealous of her ability to send out a literal wave of frost.

A slight nudge from my chest made me look down and see the blurry form of a wolf snout poking out.

Yeah, yeah. You're great too, I promise.

With Devon done explaining the simple plans, we waited for the hour allotted to the church. Once the hour passed, loud bells rang from the roof, and I could hear each thrum vibrate the walls.

Devon stood up and collected the concoction he was preparing. "It's time."

We followed him out of the room and into the hallway. As we reached the main room, a third ring of the massive bells just barely drowned out the rush of hushed whispers. A child cried, and I could hear the mother shush the baby.

Turning the corner, the usually roomy church was packed to the brim with people. Mothers, fathers, teenagers, and other town folk dressed in various articles of clothing took up the benches and stood together in groups.

As one, they turned and cleared a path out of the building. Bodies pressed together, and eyes watched our every step. Some looked angry, others looked hopeful, and plenty looked afraid.

As we crossed the room and neared the door, my senses decided to kick into overdrive, and a new kind of smell assaulted me. It reeked of sweat, a sour scent that caused anger to well up, as well as another emotion that disgusted me.

Why does this make me wanna smile?

It brought an excited feeling to the energy within, as if my nerves wanted to fire up and force my legs to pounce.

Turning my head, I noticed the smell came from a man to my right. When I met the eyes of a skinny bloke sweating through his shirt, looking like a leaf in the wind, the excitement faded away and gave rise to disgust.

He glanced up, then whimpered before looking away and rubbing his scarred arms. Five lines of off-coloured pale flesh ran from his shoulder to his elbow. A tug on my sleeve made me turn my focus forward, where Alice motioned with her chin. Nodding apologetically, I followed, and we left the church, turning down a sidestreet to get away from the crowd.

Even outside, people were starting to gather, and I could see multiple couples or groups slowly making their way towards the building.

"You'll get used to the smells," Devon said.

"Huh?" I shook my head and looked at the tall man.

"What did you say?"

"Back in the church, your eyes briefly shifted, and you stopped to smell the man who nearly pissed himself. The face you made, excitement turned to revulsion. That's because you smelled his fear," he explained.

Fear? Then why did I get excited?

“Why… did I feel…”

"Excited? Ready to hunt?"

"Yeah."

"You're a predator, Cain. A rabbit to a fox is a fun chase, the next meal. If you realize that your prey is none of those things, the excitement will die."

"I don't like looking at scared humans and calling them prey," I stated.

Alice cocked her head. "You called them humans. Do you accept that you're not one of them?"

I didn't know what to say. I hadn't even meant it that way, but now that the thought was implanted in my head, I couldn't help but feel that she was right.

Like Adeline said, you won’t be human, no matter how well you hide it.

“Sorry, I’m ready.”

The two of them said nothing, and we continued our way out of the gate. More than ten guards were around, standing tall with their shoulders tensed. Those who were whispering under their breaths stopped when the rest of their company shut up and turned to face us.

Again, the people saluted, not all, but most. They had grim looks, dark enough to colour the sky. Over eighty percent of them had spears, seven feet long with little wings under the head. And currently, they stood straight, gripped in tight fists.

The last two, the ones with swords, stepped up and nodded at Devon. “We’re ready, sir. Is there anything you need of us?” one asked.

Devon stood, unfazed by the guardsmen looking to him like a general.

“Just be prepared. There’s no guarantee of monsters showing up, but if they do, protect the walls. If that fails, protect the stone spires. The chains cannot be broken,” Devon ordered.

One guard looked pissed, but a silencing glare from the one who spoke prevented him from speaking up.

“It will be done. Good luck on your hunt.”

After exiting the gate and having it shut behind us, I looked up at the tall walls. The doors looked thick and sturdy. Bands of metal reinforced their frame, and the city looked ready for a siege.

“Do you really think there are enough monsters to swarm the city?”

“No, not even close,” Devon responded. “But it only takes a few to slip through to do enough damage.”

“And the chains? The seals? Do you think normal monsters can destroy them?”

“Maybe.”

He went silent and moved into the tree line, leaving me standing, staring at the walls.