Around the same time, elsewhere in Murusburg…

Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang…

Roland and the vampire hunters carry onward through the dark streets of the city. Pale blue magic lamps shine left and right as the squad check their corners. Roland can hear the faint sounds of an unstifled conversation ahead. One of the hunters adjusts his magic lamp, and sees a beheaded demon on the street. Its body is tumbled over backwards into an awkward, and presumably painful pose if it were alive, while its head lies just a few steps away.

The light shines across the gap between the buildings at their side, and the sound of the conversation coming from a street there abruptly dies down. Mildly alarmed, the three vampire hunters at the front right behind Roland exchange glances, and powerfully nod their heads in sync with each other. Roland stops as the three men jog up to the corner without saying a word, seemingly none being necessary. They look at each other one more time, then jump out of the corner, pointing their Flashlights down the dark street.

A group of vampires are standing there, looking at them. Two humans are at a corner, pointing odd staves of wrought iron at them, while the third is kneeling just below their staves.

Clickclickclick.

The vampires furrow their brows at the clicking sound for a fraction of a second, before turning into confused piles of ashes in three, near-simultaneous flashes of orange light.

Seeing the ashes in the dim light of their magic lamps, one of the hunters smirks.

「We got 'em.」

Pat.

He says, and pats the kneeling man on his shoulder as he backs out, then turns his gaze to Roland.

「Good. Let's go.」

Roland nods, and moves on just as before.

Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang…

His armored feet stomp heavily on the ground. They walk past the beheaded fiend, taking a good look at it, now that they can see one up close and in mostly decent shape.

「She killed it, huh?…」

One of them remarks, pointing his magic lamp at the demon's head.

「No joke. Are we seriously going to follow a trail of corpses?」

Another points his light at the blood splattered the wall behind its body.

「What an ugly fucker…」

Another hunter remarks with a scowl on his face while looking at the demon's noseless, pale, and surprised face.

The volunteers advance deeper into the city, and arrive at the main road, lit by a trail of magic lamps stretching left and right, from the city gates all the way across the bridge.

「They didn't break the lamps?」

One vampire hunter furrows his brows at the lights shining onto the cobblestones. So far, the road is the only space free from the oppressive darkness of the overhead roof.

「That's not good, is it? We should stick to the shadows…」

Roland asks, and glances over his armored should at the rest of the men.

「Ah, no. Vampires can see in the dark just fine. It makes no difference to them, so it's actually better for us if we have the lights.」

A hunter at the front replies, shaking his head with his palm raised.

「…Is that so?」

Roland nods, and swivels his head both ways of the main road.

「Where do we go from here?」

Someone from the rear asks. Roland looks at the bridge, then towards the gate.

「…Let's check the gate. If we clear it, the survivors might be able to get out.」

He adds, and nods his helmet down the lit road towards the gate. The vampire hunters nod back, and trail behind him.

Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang…

Watching all directions at all times, the squad cautiously follows Roland as their vanguard. Long shadows stretch onto the buildings as they pass underneath the streetlights. One of them glances upward at a home's window, and sees the faint jiggling of a curtain, as if someone was looking at them down from above and had just quickly backed away. Roland can hear a conversation from outside the walls, and stops nearby the stables inside. The hunters take it as a cue to investigate.

「…Ahahahah!」

Standing outside the gate, a crimson-eyed guard guffaws with his head thrown back, fangs showing. His clawed hands grip onto his sheath's belt around his waist.

「But wait, that's not even the best part!…」

Another guard holds his clawed finger up.

「…So I'm chasing them… You know, just to fuck with 'em- Eh?」

He continues telling the story, almost equally amused as the other vampire, but then he notices something akin to a magic lamp's enclosure stick out from within the city. The vampire guards glance over their shoulders, and notice two humans standing in the gate. The only thing that keeps them from instantly killing the two, is the fact that they don't recognize the staves in their hands as weapons.

「Huh?」

「What the fu-?」

Click. Click.

The guards look closer at the lamp-like objects. They spark to life, and the two vampires are turned into a pile of ashes before they can process the orange light shining into their red eyes. A gentle wind scatters a small portion off the top of the piles.

「Right. Check the tariff booth too.」

Escaping the stale air of the roofed city, and taking a deep breath, one of the vampire hunters says to the other as he heads back into the city.

「These things are too long and too damn heavy for swinging them around buildings…」

The other hunter grumbles, though he jogs towards the small opening in the wall, right between the two raised portcullis. He cautiously peeks his head in, and finds nothing. The room inside is dark and empty, with only a small stool right beneath the wooden table by the opening, a coffer in the rear, and apparently a wanted list full of sketched faces. He backs out, and rejoins the hunter waiting for him.

「Works like a dream, though. Cheaper than burning oil bolts, and more reliable than just burning stakes. Seems like there's no risk of setting your weapon on fire, too.」

The second vampire hunter replies, shrugging his shoulders as he looks down at his weapon. A long dark rod of wrought iron, with a vampire lamp hastily attached on top, albeit without its top cover. A small rectangular box sits right near its grip, and a familiar crossbow-like trigger is found just below it. It weighs just enough for it to be tiring to the arms of an average man, is front-heavy, unbalanced, as well as simply awkward to grip due to its roundness.

The only saving grace is a hook at the rear end, which enables the wielder to at least somewhat comfortably hold the weapon one handed, without a significant risk of accidentally dropping it. It digs into the arm painfully from the side, leaving much to be desired from the aforementioned comfort, but it's better than straining one's wrist trying to hold the heavy vampire lamp part from hitting the ground.

「We've got another two.」

The man declares as the two hunters return to the rest.

「Right. Looks like they've got the population too frightened to do anything. I noticed most of the homes still have people in them-」

Roland nods his head, and looks at a window of one of the buildings at the main street.

「Oh!? What is this?」

A man's voice calls out from behind. Roland turns around, and the vampire hunters point their lights towards a dark side road.

「…Humans!? Well, looks like you spoke too soon, Roland!」

One of the vampire hunters grins, and the rest of the volunteers relax their stances when a small band of masked, hooded men emerge from the city's shadows. The group bears a broad assortment of weapons in their hands, from small daggers and clubs, through longswords resting on their shoulders, and ending at crossbows.

「What are those things?… Who are you with?」

The masked man asks, lightly tapping his shoulder with his longsword.

「They're our weapons! They turn them into ashes in an instant! We're vampire hunters from the capital!」

One of the volunteers raises his Flashlight, and announces to the band. The masked men exchange quick glances between each other.

「From the capital, huh?…」

The man with the longsword nods along, echoing the hunter's words with a disinterested tone. He looks at Roland, then at the Flashlights in the squad's hands.

「…We'll give him one and keep 'em… Just in case…」

The man mumbles quietly under his mask to another standing beside him, and the two shrug.

「…Alright… Hand those things over.」

Holding his hand out, he takes a step forward towards the volunteers, and expectantly wiggles his fingers.

「Uh… But that's all we've got. We have a few IEDs and potions we could share…」

The vampire hunters look at each other with confused eyes, while Roland stares at the masked men with an undecipherable gaze.

「Oh, you have potions too? Lucky. Someone beat us to the guilds… That's fine if you don't have more. Hand 'em over.」

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The man demands, and his longsword's tapping grows impatient.

「We can't! We need them to get rid of the vampires! I'll see if we can get more delivered-」

「Ahhhhhh…」

The vampire hunter explains, spreading his arms. His explanation is interrupted by the man's loud, frustrated sigh.

The man with the longsword looks over his shoulder at the one with the crossbow, and nods his hooded head towards the vampire hunters.

FWAP!

In a split second, the crossbowman raises his weapon and shoots a bolt towards one of the vampire hunters.

「Agh!」

One of the volunteers lets out a pained grunt and recoils, stumbling backwards. Roland steps in the way with his shield raised.

「What the fuck are you doing!? We're here to help you!-」

「They know! Draw your weapons!…」

The vampire hunter looks at the wounded man, then shouts at the armed band. Roland cuts in, blocking the masked men from maneuvering into encircling the hunters.

「…Bandit scum. You dare raise your arms against your fellow man, not against the vampires!?」

He shouts, clenching his armored fist on the handle in his grip, raising his mace.

「Yeah, well… We've got a pretty sweet deal from the baron…」

The man with the longsword shrugs nonchalantly while the bandits try to position themselves around the group of vampire hunters.

「…The baron?… So you are not only a lowlife, an outlaw, and a scumbag, but also a traitor! What does it take for you to abandon being a human!?」

Roland shouts in anger, and the masked man chuckles.

「Women, booze, food… We're going to get all sorts of shit, and all we have to do for it is beat down some idiots who want to cause trouble…」

The man shrugs, and spreads his arms. At the same time, he points his hand and commands members of his band to maneuver around. The distance between the vampire hunters and the bandits begins to shrink. Some of them begin to throw feints, but no actual blows are exchanged yet. The wounded man is clutching onto his injury, hunched over, and bleeding onto the cobblestones.

「…Ah, don't get me wrong! We're not loyal to him, or anything! He just gave us a good deal, and you'd be stupid if you'd turn it down! Heheheh…」

The bandit leader raises his palm, and quickly correct himself, before letting out a quick chuckle.

「…We were outlaws, and now we're city guard for the baron. Funny how the tables have turned, innit? We'll give him one of those weapons for a reward, and keep the rest for ourselves.」

He adds, shrugging his shoulders.

Clang!

One of the volunteers deflects a dagger with his sword. Another vampire hunter runs in and makes an attempt to club the bandit with the grip of his Flashlight, but the masked man leaps backward out of the swing. The volunteers are visibly uncomfortable with the situation, and most of them haven't even drawn their swords. The bandits don't have that problem, and are actively seeking the most distracted members of the squad to attack.

Thunk!

Roland steps in just before one of the vampire hunters attending the injured squad member can be clubbed over his head, placing his shield in the way.

「Rrrargh!」

Fwoop!

With a roar, he swings his mace at the bandit. The bandit ducks, and the mace flies just above his hooded head. The masked man backs away, clearly unnerved by Roland's level of aggression.

CLUNK!

Though he's not positioned for another attack with his mace, Roland swings his shield around, and drives its edge into the bandit's torso.

「Oof!」

With a breathless grunt, the man is sent flying backwards like a ragdoll, losing grip of his wooden club. Just as the crossbowman slips another bolt in, he catches a glimpse of something moving at a high speed towards him. He looks up, and his eyes widen as he makes a feeble attempt to dodge.

「Ugh!」「Agh!…」

Tfwap-Thud!… Clunk!

The flying bandit slams into the crossbowman, knocking him down. The club and the crossbow bounce off the cobblestones and land somewhere in the darkness.

「…Gahh! Boss! I lost my crossbow!」

The masked man rises to all fours and briefly searches for his weapon. He panics when he can't find it, and calls out towards the swordsman.

「Tsk…」

The bandit leader clicks his tongue. Though they were already outnumbered at the start, with two of their members disarmed, the disadvantage only grows.

He clenches his teeth in frustration, and looks at the large armored man swinging his mace wildly at his band, who are helpless when he's surrounded by the vampire hunters. He looks over his shoulder, and notices multiple pairs of red eyes, along with a set of amber ones approaching from the dark path.

「…Retreat! Let them handle it!」

The bandit with the longsword exclaims, and rushes towards the group of red eyes. His band proceeds with a semi-organized retreat, though the vampire hunters don't give them chase.

「Hey! We're under attack! They came from the capital, and have anti-vampire weapons! We're going to tell the baron!」

The man shouts at the vampires as he draws near, pointing down the road. He and his band run past, while the vampires exchange concerned glances.

「…Get them.」

The vampire at the lead says, and points his finger towards the vampire hunters, who are busy recovering from the skirmish.

「Argh… Shit. I can't move my fucking arm.」

The injured man says after a grunt, sweating profusely and bleeding onto the ground.

「How is he!?」

Roland asks, peeking over the squad at the man.

「…I think it bounced off his collarbone and got stuck in his chest! I think he'll be fine, but he can't use his arm!」

The volunteer attending the wounded vampire hunter shouts back, and digs around his pocket.

「Here. I'll pull the bolt out, and you drink this. I think you should go sit it out with the guy we found.」

He hands the wounded man a corked vial of red liquid, and grips onto the crossbow bolt shallowly lodged into his the upper side of his chest.

Rrrip!

「Ungh!」

The casualty grunts, and his bleeding accelerates. The dripping blood now trickles down onto the ground.

Pop!…

The injured man pulls the cork out of the vial with his teeth, and guzzles down the potion. After a few seconds, the bleeding slows again, though it continues.

「Try to keep pressure on it-」

…Thud. Thud. Thud.

「Demon!」

The other man instructs the wounded, when a panicked shout distracts them both. Roland walks out with his shield raised ahead of the group, while magic lamps shine into the darkness. The squad point their lights at the amber eyes far too high for it to make sense, and panicked shouting begins when the light shines on the fiend approaching.

「Oh shit!」「That's a fucking big one!…」「What the fuck!?」

Wide-eyed, the volunteers at the front jump back and draw their swords.

「…How the fuck are we supposed to fight that thing!?」

A fearful voice shouts from somewhere in the group, when the fiend steps into the streetlights' range. Its muscular pale body becomes plainly visible, and its twisting horns tower over even Roland. He directs his tower shield towards it, and glances at the panicked hunters.

「I'll keep it busy! Just think of something! We can hack it to death if we have to!」

Roland shouts towards the volunteers, and the fiend begins charging at them with an uncanny speed seemingly belies its massive body. Roland braces himself and raises his shield, when the demon rears back its clawed hand the size of a bull.

THUNK!… CRASH!

Roland is swept aside with a swing of the fiend's hand, and crashes through a wooden wall of a nearby house.

The hunters' jaws drop at the ease with which the massive man was thrown out of the way, and the demon's face twists into an inhumanly wide ear-to-ear grin. It takes a few steps towards them.

「…Arrrgggghhh!… I expected worse!…」

Thud… Crash!… Snap!… Crash!…

A pained groan comes from within the hole in the wall. The fiend stops in its tracks, and it turns its surprised face towards the house as ruckus begins inside.

「…Demons aren't that tough after all! You're only a tenth as strong as Straf!」

Roland declares as he emerges from the damaged wall. The entire group of vampire hunters are not only greatly relieved, but also shocked and surprised at his sight…