The eastern district is considered the city’s soul. Every lantern, every pipe, every alarm, every technological advancement the city thrives through, the east is its birthplace, through the efforts of hard-working citizens. A marvel to gloat at, a scenery to be lost in
Lau: A disgusting, smelly, steam hole!!! Even the mustache guy’s factory had some style!!!
Suiga: You already omitted his name…
To two noble scions from the most pristine hunter families, a worker’s quarter would be far from a dream destination. To Lau, the steam bursting from the pipes, the sight of sweaty workers smitting away at meta, and the wrenching sound of grinders at work, is enough to have her throwing fits…
Lau: I, a Lecourt, the scion of the esteemed hunter family, is forced to stroll through this backwater poor man’s-
Suiga: I beg you, please don’t finish the sentence.
Lau: Shut it, topknot!! The brute and the crazy lady have the time of their lives in Landen’s jewel, and I must suffer through this steam hell with you!!
Suiga: Was that an insult, shrimp?! I couldn’t hear you grouching from all the way down there!!
They bicker and bicker. Suddenly, they both feel a quick, flow of air graze them. Hair starts falling out from both hunter’s heads…
Luca: Keep bickering and the workers won’t need any new coal for firestarters…
They tremble at the hunter’s threat…
Lau: Such speed…when did he even…
Suiga: Draw his sword, was that Iaijutsu? Or is he just moving at the speed of light, and we can’t perceive it?
Luca stops walking, and turns around to look at the bickering duo…
Suiga: Have we arrived yet?
Luca: Pretty much…
Our group stands in front of a factory. More steam, smoke, and grinding sounds come out of the bronze industrial complex out of every structure in the district. The steel fence gates retract like the ones in Wutsworth’s as if they were awaiting the new arrivals.
Luca: Finn and Shaka must know we are here. So let me explain how this is gonna play out.
They walk inside the factory. Instead of a large complex of warehouses, the group travels through a maze of pipes, compressors, hydraulic machinery, and electrical wires attached in a spacious oval corridor…
Suiga: The train factory was nothing like this… What is this place?
Luca: Landen’s main power source. Pretty much everything you use finds its power here.
Lau: So, these guys here are to blame for my mirror lanterns flickering?
Suiga: I would say the excessive number of lanterns you use is at fault. I can’t see why this would be a good training ground though.
Luca: Trust me, after this, you’ll be begging to train here…Aah, your teachers are here!!
From the other end of the corridor, Finn and Shaka approach the group. Two opposites. The well-dressed, groomed, stylish, and official Shaka, walked through the workers, shoulders back, chest forward, whistling and waving around the factory. His bright, emerald eyes compliment his dark skin and brown-orange dreads…
Next to him, was the sluggish, sleepy, and jittery Finn. Slouched back, hands in pockets, wearing a set of pale blue pyjama-like clothes, he tries to avoid any contact with the rest of his environment, shying away from any attempts at waving. Black circles hang from his blue eyes. The extreme opposite of his partner….
Luca: Always on time, you two!
Shaka: Your student wanted to sleep a few extra hours.
Finn: We’ve been working non-stop; I think extra sleeping is expected…
Luca: Well, now you are here! I want you to meet the rookies we’ll be looking out for, Miss Lau Lecourt and Mister Akira Suiga.
Shaka takes a glance at the Assian Prince, amazed by his attire and natural posture…
Shaka: It is my pleasure to meet two scions of the top hunter families in our generation. I’ve been an avid follower of Akira Hanshiro’s feats, my lord.
Suiga: Oh, no need for honorifics!! In the Hunt, I’m your junior, so if anything, I’m just Suiga here! Uuum, the pleasure is also mine-and-and-
Lau: Good Lord, you are a clutz at this! You embarrass me!!
Finn observes the young Lecourt chastising the Assian prince…
Finn: Excuse me…You are the Lecourt princess, right?
Lau: Alas, another man falls for the Pirouettan beauty that is, of course, myself. You are permitted to serve, gloat, and-
Finn: Ugh, actually, I’m Finn Balecq. Of branch house Balecq. I’m half Landenian, half-Pirouettan, and I follow your uncle, David.
Lau: Wait-uncle David?
Finn: Yeah. He and your dad told me to look out for you in case you…god how did he tell it…aah “make a scene and be an encumberment to everything around her”.
Lau blushes from embarrassment and anger…
Suiga: Good Lord, she sure does embarrass me!!
Lau: Shut up!! And what does “be an encumberment” even mean?! If anything, the encumberment stands next to me wearing a bathrobe!!
Suiga: Be careful Lecourt, I just got a new katana today and I haven’t tested it out yet…
Luca: And now that introductions have been made, who’ll announce today’s mission?
Finn: Shaka…?
Shaka: Ts ts ts…Today we are hunting bats.
Lau: Newsflash.
Shaka: Not exactly. Here, we know where the bats are.
Suiga: You have already found the targets?
Shaka: More like they found us…A few days ago, some bats for Salazar found their way inside the factory. They squatted in one of the power rooms and turned it into their nest. About 15 workers were turned, and the other 20 who were inside were eaten.
Suiga: That’s horrible…
Lau: Wutsworth all over again…
Finn: The smell of guts still churns my stomach…
Shaka: We’ve been holding them back since yesterday, but weirdly…we can’t push past’em…
Suiga: Why weirdly?
Finn: We get violently slashed by gusts of wind coming out of nowhere.
Suiga and Lau: Huh? Maybe it’s senior Lu-
Luca: Let’s have them see for themselves, shall we?!
The group marches towards the branch power room. Separated from the rest of the factory by only a steel arch with the words “Power Room 4” engraved on it. Dimly lit and spacious, it is filled with large mechanical pillars, pumping machinery, and large cables on the ground allowing electricity to course through the building and out to the city…
Luca: Here, I’ll enter.
The senior passes through. Anxiously, everyone awaits the strange phenomenon, while preparing to intervene in case the situation turns ugly.
A long cut appears on the hunter’s cheek. Quickly, he’s swallowed by a flurry of whirlwinds, playfully cutting through his clothes and skin. He disengages before he bleeds to death…
Luca: Huh, that was fun.
Suiga: Are you alright?!
Shaka: Captain’s tougher than that. But yeah, walking in this room is quite the bitch.
Finn: The bats can pass through just fine, so we are stuck in the hallway trying to block off their advances.
Suiga thinks. Analyzing the slashing effect in his thoughts, he looks over to Lau…
Suiga: Lecourt…
Lau: Huh?
Suiga: What if you use that wind wall with your rapier to pass through?
Lau: The Wind Parry isn’t some wind wall! It’s a delicate, intricate technique requiring concentration, strength, and precision. Reducing such a complex technique to a wind wall would be
Finn: I think I remember your father crying about it. “How come my daughter can’t make the winds turn around after 2 weeks?” ‘It’s too easy!!’.
The samurai smugly looks at her, trying to hide her embarrassment…
Lau:…Even if I cast it, how could I cover everyone? I’m not that strong!
Suiga: A pity to the Lecourt line…
Luca: Fascinating. This will be your training then!!
Lau: Huh?
Luca: Pass everyone over the first pillar. The whirlwinds stop there, anyway.
Lau: How could my mind suffer through that?
Finn: Excessive armament use does lead to evolution in
Lau: SHUT UP!!!
Shaka: Great. But what will Suiga do as training?
Luca: I’ll let you decide that, Shaka. Anyways, I’ll stay behind in case things go sideways, to protect the workers.
Shaka: You’re just trying to avoid work are-
The senior dashes away, disengaging from the conversation.
Shaka: Of course. So, Lau, ready?!
Lau: Well, I’m carrying three people through some slasher ghost scenario, so I must be.
Suiga: Silence Lecourt. The very name of your lineage, your family, and your entire dignity are hanging in the balance. A single cut on me, Finn, or Shaka, and word to your father goes about how 5 years of training still aren’t enough to compliment your failing-
Lau: I SEE THE SMILE, STOP ENJOYING THIS!!!
The group hurdles. Lau casts her Winds. She chants the Wind Parry, and engulfs the quartet in a spinning wall of wind…
Pacing through the room to the first pillar, the slashing flurry starts. Sounds of small blades clashing with the rampant winds tear through their ears. Nonetheless, they carry on…
Suiga: Uh, Finn? Shaka??
Finn: Shaka, answer!
Shaka: Huh?
Suiga: How come the workers were so unbothered by the whole ordeal? Aren’t they afraid?!
Shaka: Oh, they’re scared shitless! They were ready to close the factory down when we first arrived!!
Suiga: What changed their minds?!
Shaka: Me and Finn! We promised them no one would pass through the arch as long as we were there. Yesterday, they tried to riot through the room, but we cut down their numbers!!!
Finn: It was an exhausting ordeal indeed…
Suiga: Huh…Wish we could have done the same for the families in Wutsworth’s factory….
Lau overhears her fellow hunter’s comment, sulking equally at their failure…
Shaka: I heard what happened. Avenging them was the best you could do. Don’t beat yourselves up. Hell, can’t count how many times me and Finn have sulked over victims’ deaths!!
Finn: Feels a little weird using human deaths as a motivational tool…
Shaka: The point is, we know how that feels! But we can’t let that drag us down on this mission!!
Lau’s wall starts falling apart. She struggles with the mental exhaustion and the overgrowing number of slashes…Shaka notices a larger attack winding up in the front…
Shaka: Finn!
Finn: Empower!!!
The sleepy hunter raised his palm and pointed towards the Lecourt. Glowing with the Lord’s light for a brief moment, the wind wall grows once again and flawlessly parries the attack.
Shaka: We have to keep our wits sharp, if we wanna prevent any more of these happening again!
The group makes it past the first pillar, and the attacks stop…
Suiga: Amazing coordination!!
Finn: That was stressful…
Suiga: How did you manage to foresee that slash?
Finn: Shaka’s armament…has some foresight crap…I don’t get it…Hah…
The Lecourt’s blessing dissipates. Shaka helps her up…
Shaka: You did well, kid.
Lau: I’m never covering for any of you again.
Finn: What if we happen to stand behind you during the
Lau: NEVER AGAIN!!!
Suiga: And that incantation. It’s much stronger than when we use it.
Shaka: That’s Finn’s armament. Plus, he’s an expert in incantations.
Lau: Like Uncle David…
Screeching and wings flapping are heard throughout the spacious power room. The vampires must be having a feast, confident of their stalwart defense.
The hunters approach the nest by crouching, to not alert the bats. With Finn casting the “Silence” chant, their presence is blocked by the vampiric echolocation.
In front of them, the main power source, a large construction of pumping machinery and electric circuits. The machine, now dead, serves as an entertainment unit and mess hall for the vampire squatters.
Blood spilled everywhere. Gore hanging from the inactive pumps, human remains either left mangled on the ground or used as decoration for the gruesome scenery.
Some dependents are humiliated by the vampires, who are drunk on blood and filled with flesh. On the left, a group of victims is forced to dance with the remaining skeletons. The bats throw mangled flesh at them, booing for better performance.
On the right, dependents fight each other ruthlessly. The vampires bet on them, promising false hopes of better treatment, such as frequent feeding, or less abuse.
Both groups have one thing similar. The dependents suffer through all the torture with a large smile on their face. As if it’s their life purpose to fulfill their captor’s sadistic desires, in false promises of blood and acknowledgment. “For you, master!!”. “I dedicate this dance to you, beloved!!”. The bats mercilessly laugh with their cries…
From the hunter group, the two rookies grip their swords with anger…
Finn: This is worse than I thought…
Shaka: This is weird…
Lau: What are you two talking about?! Let’s go and end the torture!!
Shaka: Something doesn’t sit right. Look at them, they’re drunk as hell.
Lau: Seems like an advantageous situation to me!
Shaka: Yeah, but that whirlwind. Who’s behind it? I haven’t seen a spell like it. And there ain’t no way one of those drunk fucks is casting it…
Suiga: A great observation. The culprit could be waiting in the shadows to backstab us…
Lau: And what does that mean!? Are we just gonna let them toy around with their servants?!
Shaka: Of course not, Lecourt. But if we dive in like that, we just asking to get killed.
Finn: You got any plans, Shaka?
Shaka: Hmm…
He looks over the samurai, focusing on his newly healed hand…
Shaka: Suiga…
Suiga: Yes?
Shaka: That’s a nice sword ya got there!
Suiga: Oh! This? It’s just a polished katana…
Shaka: I’m not talking about that toothpick…
Lau:…No, NO!
Finn: I forgot, we have the blight guy with us…
The samurai discreetly takes note of his comrades’ fears regarding the black blade…
Suiga: Uh, Shaka, I don’t think that’s a good idea…
Shaka: Let me tell you something about good ideas…
The senior reaches close to Suiga. Swiftly disarming him of his “toothpick”, he then pushes the poor boy in front of the drunken nest…
Shaka: Every idea’s good as long as you can make it work!!!
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Lau: He’ll run amok again!! Are you serious!!?
Shaka: Don’t worry, we got a contingency plan! Finn?
Finn: Ugh, yes…
The vampires screech and laugh like hyenas, turning around the alarmed hunter…
Vampire: Shit, I didn’t know the workers started delivering new toys!!
Vampire: I was getting bored anyway…Wait, zat a hunter?!!
Vampire: Nah, who’s hunting with that getup? Wher’s bosz anyway?!
Vampire: I got no idea!! But screw ‘im for leafing like zat!!!
Suiga: Ugh, compared to the stench and language, the sword sounds better now…
He stares at his trembling right hand. Clenching it, he steels his resolve…
Suiga: If I don’t use it again, the workers in the rest of the factory are next in line for this charade…I made a promise, I would stop avoiding this nightmare…
The vampires jump on the hunter. He casts out the blazing blade, and swipes them away from him, leaving them with burning wounds that only serve as food for his blade’s power…
Suiga: For my team, for this factory…I’ll shoulder this once again…
The others break the Silence chant. Shaka calls out his armament. Praying to the Lord, a thick, silver mask resembling a stone statue forms on his face…
Shaka:
Grace me with the Mad Tactician’s insight, show me the path to victory against the vampiric nightmare…Mask of Doku!!!
Finn only prepares the stack of silver cards he normally uses. On Lau’s further inspection, the cards are regular, but heavily protected with a sharp silver casing…
Lau: That’s your weapon?! Cards!?
Finn: Nope. But it’s easier to carry than swords and spears…
The two rush into battle to help their comrade. Shaka deploys the rookies onto the dancing group, while he and Finn take on the fight pit.
Shaka’s vision through the mask is changed… He views everything in dark figures, with white outlines to separate the environment from the object or body. Three bats take no second to even imagine how someone would watch from such a thick-face ornament and decide to use it to their advantage. They fly and silently try to attack from Shaka’s behind.
To his plain of sight, two bright flashes appear on the edges of his peripheral vision. He turns around and backsteps in a swift manner, avoiding the sneak attack. Regaining the advantage, he misses no chance and takes out his long spear, rampaging the assailants in a coordinated flurry of stabs and slashes with the tip of his blade.
Facing the other two, they approach him. They try to attack him, withholding to gain the element of surprise. Unbeknownst to them, in Shaka’s eyes, the figures representing them sprout glowing, light lines that lead to Shaka. Reading the trajectory, he dashes through the attacks and slashes the vampires with his spear’s edge…
Two other beasts attack the caster. Finn performs an intricate hand sign. He chants “Shield” …
Vampire: He’s raising that light wall!! Get around him!!
The bats see through his trick. Knowing the Shield chant is a straight-up light wall, they fly around the hunter, and hastily dash to attack him from the sides before he reacts…
To their surprise, the hunter not only survives the hits, but the attacks trigger a glowing effect on his body, leaving him still and standing from what would be two devastating blows for any defenseless hunter…
Finn pulls two cards and throws them to his shocked foes’ eyes. Blinding them for a few seconds before their wounds regenerate, he backsteps and performs another hand sign, then raises his palms towards the bats…
Finn: “Blow”
From his palms eject two strong airwaves, similar to the one Beryl used, and blow away the vampires before they react. Shaka quickly disposes of the prone opponents and Finn moves towards him to aid with the rest of the group.
The vampires in the fighting group seem to be more capable in a brawl. Even Suiga’s berserker flames aren’t an advantage against them. His brutal swings are dangerous, but the bats manage to see through his crude fighting style. Disregarding his misgivings, he continues, forcing Lau to stand beside him and guard his openings from every attempt at a sneak attack…
Lau: Topknot, get a grip already!!!
Suiga: I’m trying, Lecourt, it ain’t easy!!
After Lau manages to trick a bat into attacking an opening, she relentlessly stabs her, taking her out. Suiga keeps attacking at his whim, influenced by the enhanced blight’s negative essence.
Suiga: (I can’t control it…It drives me to go…And the blade’s too heavy…it’s like a rabid wolf stuck to the edge, barking and biting…)
Drawn back to a pillar, without Lau by his side, he struggles to keep his guard up with the rabid sword, and three vampires prepare to jump him, waiting for a chance where his weapon will fail him. An impatient one though, brushes them off and lashes out at the samurai…
Finn: “Purify!!”
An essence of holy light engulfs the sword, calming the flames and returning the blade to its normal state. Suiga is surprised but doesn’t waste a minute. Noticing the blight backing off his conscience, he waits for the bat to approach by faking to fall… Once the vampire comes to his proximity, he slashes upwards, giving the monster a large burning scar. He kicks him back to regain his ground. The bats strike him one by one, attempting to somehow overpower him. But with Suiga’s consciousness to some level of stability, he easily slashes through them and moves to Lau, stabbing a vampire she was dueling with.
Lau: What’s up with you?!
Suiga: Sir Finn did something. The blade still screams like a maniac, but I could control it for a moment there…
Lau: Well, until you start rampaging again, let’s take them out!!! Hurry up!!
Suiga: Don’t order me around shrimp!!! And these guys are tougher than it seems…
Lau: I don’t want to admit it, but they know their stuff. Who taught them to fight like that…
Suiga: None of our concerns. What if we tried that thing you did before? You’ll draw them in, I’ll finish them with the blade!
Lau: Like I’ll let you take all the glory for killing the group!! I’m not like a sleepy head there!!
Suiga: I wish you were like sleepy head over there!!!
Without realizing it, the vampires rush at them with flurries of blows. Incapable of defending, even with Lau’s dextrous parrying, they receive an awful beat down that pushes them to a nearby pillar, struggling to get up…
The vampires gather around, drunk and laughing, cracking their fists and gritting their fangs…
Lau: Damn it, topknot. Where’s that sword of yours now!?
Suiga: Oh, now you want me to go insane!?
A small spear flies to a vampire’s head. Unable to pierce through, the bat pulls it out of its skull. Looking at it, it sees an incantation glowing…
Finn: “Silence”
A simple blast of light shocks the five bats. They soon realize they can’t hear anything. A flurry of cards flies toward them, striking their throats, chests, and anything they can land on. The shocked vampires can’t find where they are coming from, and their echolocation is rendered moot. Suiga helps Lau up and they try to sneak away, but the vampires grab them and shout out loud that they will kill them if the other two hunters don’t show up…
Shaka appears from a pillar. He signs to the bats to initiate a fight with him, after they let the kids go…
Vampire: Like I’ll let them run around!! I’ll fight, you guys hold’em tight!!!
The vampire challenger, a tough-looking, tall, bald individual wearing tattered worker clothes, approaches the hunter.
Vampire: I might not be able to hear, but I can still see you good enough to pound you, hunter!!
Shaka: Courtesy of Hanshiro, bat.
Shaka takes out two smoke pellets. Having stolen them from Suiga when he threw him to the nest, he lunges towards the bat and smashes them to the ground. Now both blind and deaf, the vampire angrily lashes around, hitting air since Shaka sees through every movement he makes with his mask, stabbing him with every dodge he successfully pulls off…
Two of the other vampires move forward, using their wings to blow away the smoke…
The fight now returns to equal footing… But as the other bats join the fight, Finn sneaks up to the last two opponents and slices their hamstrings with his cards. Swiftly, he grabs their heads…
Finn: “Disintegrate!!”
Like Beryl’s knuckles, a veil of light runs through the bats, burning them as if they were standing in sunlight…
The rookies break free and slash the vampires to death, while Finn kneels to his fatigue…
Suiga: Finn, don’t overdo it!!
Finn: I’m…fine. Don’t worry. Help Shaka…
The hunter fairs well when it comes to dodging his foes’ assaults. He rather struggles to lay a hit, since one bat covers for the other. That ends when the rookies sneak up and kill two of the vampires. Shaka grabs his spear and ruthlessly attacks the last vampire standing, staggering him in a series of blows…
Shaka: Keep him alive! His boss is still somewhere around here!!!
Lau: How’s that possible? He’ll heal up and attack us again!!
The vampire’s regeneration hits up quickly… Again preparing for a clash, Suiga’s mind flashes with an idea…
Suiga: (I shouldn’t do this…) Shrimp!! Trust me!! Follow my plan!!
Lau: Ts, fine!!
She draws the bat in a duel with her… Shaka covers for her weak spots, stabbing the vampire from the sides whenever it tries to grapple the huntress…
Suiga makes a sheathing movement. The cinders in the blade start to grow ablaze once again…
Finn: “Puri-
Suiga: Sir Finn! I got this !!
Shaka: Let’s trust him, buddy!!
The caster stands down. Lau draws him in, and Suiga takes her place in a last-minute switch. He swipes his sword but to everyone’s surprise, the blade has disappeared…
Vampire: Heh, ehehahahahaahahh!!!! You dumbass, run out of fuel!???
The vampire tries to strike the hunter…
Suiga: “Arson Rampage”
As if Suiga had stopped time his, a dozen flaming slashes violently rain down on the vampire’s torso and face, opening wounds to his body and burning him relentlessly… After a brief stagger, he floats away, trying to regenerate…
Lau: He’s leaving!!
Suiga: Like hell, I’d let ‘im!!!
Suiga raises his sword’s hilt. The bat’s wounds burst in violent flames once again, writhing in pain and falling down…
Suiga; I got this idea from my comrade, Url.
Lau: Figures, only the doc could have cooked this tactic up…
Shaka: Seems like he’ll stick to one place. Finn!
The caster rejoins them…
Shaka: Purify him if the blade starts going awry on him…
They approach the vampire, who desperately tries to wash off the flames with blood and other fluids spilled on the ground…
Shaka: I’ll make this short. Tell us where your boss is.
Vampire: Screw you, silverass!!!
Suiga strengthens the flames once more…
Vampire: You fucking blight user!!! Ya’ feel big now!!?
Lau looks over to the focused samurai, who tries to hold his thoughts together…
Shaka: Tell us where he went, and maybe we won’t let you burn slowly to death…
Vampire: The hell ya’ askin’ me for?! Didn’t ya see him when ya came in?! Aaah!!
Suiga keeps burning the bat, turning more and more aggressive…
Lau: Samur-
Suiga: Listen here, asshole! We ain’t got all day to listen to you lying and stalling!! Start talking, or I’ll make sure the flames scorch you up from the inside and out!!
The more aggressive Suiga turns, the more the burning wounds on the bat grow and bring him closer to death. Each look in the other’s eyes, the samurai gazing towards his hellish, flaming self inside the vampire’s crimson eyes. The vampires sees that exact self in front of him, ready to engulf him in Hell’s flames…
Suiga: You tortured the workers enough!! Now ta-
Finn: “Purify”
Once again, the glowing spell calms down the blade, making the flames dissipate…Finn collapses, but is picked up by Lau…
Shaka: Nice one, buddy!
Suiga: (Damn it!! I let myself go again!!)
The hunter kills the vampire before his regeneration kicks in…
Finn: Shaka…
Shaka: What?
Finn: The boss…what if we already met him… at the entrance…
Shaka: The whirlwind…No that’s impossible…
Suiga: No…that last attack. The one sir Finn helped to block! It seemed like it was planned!
Lau: So you are saying the guy could just be waiting like a hawk to kill us when we are at our low?!
Shaka: No…something worse. We just left Luca and the factory alone and defenseless. We need to hurry back!!
The team departs. Shaka grabs Suiga’s shoulder…
Shaka: Keep it up, mate. Remember, don’t let one event determine the rest…
Reassured, the samurai charges forward…
Back at the gate, they notice people are missing…
Lau: No whirlwinds, no people…this is a much sad sign…
Finn: Don’t tell me it got to them…
Shaka: Calm down. Luca’s there, he must have found him before us.
Despite their high hopes, the more they pass through the corridors and into the grand entrance hall, the more corpses they find. Slashed, opened up, and cut from limb to limb in a horrid fashion, the hunters rest shocked…Before them, rests a bloody scenery, rivaling both the nests of Danno and Wutsworth…
Finn: …
Suiga: That monster.
Shaka: …
Lau: It’s like Wutsworth all over again… How did that creep…
Shaka: He was the whirlwind. That wasn’t spellcraft. He was flying around the room, attacking everything he could find…
Suiga: At that speed? If he’s that fast, even sir Luca-Where is he?...
Gusts of wind pass through the hunters, leaving them with cuts on their faces… Behind them, a vampire floats and lands on the inside of the power room.
A tall vampire, skin paler than his kin, black spiky hair, dark paint around his eyes, lips blacker than night, wearing a tight black leather outfit…The only thing that’s not dark is his grey stone chain around his neck, and his crimson eyes, staring right towards the vampire hunters with excitement…
Vampire: Oh, I was wondering when you guys would show up…
The hunters stay speechless….
Vampire: Cat ate your tongue or something?!
Again speechless…
Vampire: Maybe I should try introducing myself. That bowl-cut freak said so too…
He dramatically bows to the group…
Edward: Scissors Edward, my friends. But you can call me Edward! Not that you’ll need to, anyway, corpses don’t talk…at least the ones I leave around…
Suiga: (That speed. Even the Lecourt with her rapier can’t surpass this…)
Shaka: You fuckass. What the hell’s your problem!!?
Edward:…I fail to see through your phrase…
Finn: What did those poor workers do to deserve this!!?
The vampire scratches his head, pondering at the impromptu interrogation…
Edward: Hmm…I don’t know.
Lau: Doesn’t surprise me…
Edward: Honestly, it’s been a while since I could cut through something that wasn’t a guard. When Jackie blew a hole in Salazar, he didn’t tell me where to go, so I flew and flew until I crashed through the windows in here…
Suiga: (He knows the Ripper? How old are these guys?)
Edward: I wanted to get out and go find him, but… come on, it’s been so long, I was cooped up in that stone shack, getting beaten up by livestock!! I wanted a change. I wanted to cut people up…
Suiga: And innocent workers were the first thing in your mind…
Edward: Exactly!! See, you get it!! I found the others had shacked up already, so after a few talks, and a few beatdowns, they decided to make me their boss!!!
Lau: He kicked around those bats by himself!!?
Edward: Stuff was getting pretty fired up until you two came along with that bowl cut. Had to find a way to get to Jackie, so I waited and lured you in. Worked wonders until I found a bowl cut waiting for me at the door…
Suiga: Luca must be alive then. He seemed to be in a rush when he got here…
Edward: Anyways, I need to hide out again before that fuck catches up to me. For a skinny folk, he sure is slow…
Shaka: Finn…
Finn: Got it…
Both hunters stare angrily at the vampire. Finn chants “Empower” in Shaka’s spear. The latter engages him in a duel. Weirdly, his mask shows no signs of assault patterns. The figure representing the monster stands still…
Shaka: Guess I’ll just stab you full of holes!!
Attacking the bat, it spreads its wings. Four thin, long wings, flapping at high speeds, make the vampire float. He speedily dodges the strike, and stands behind the hunter…
Edward: That won’t work…
He attacks again, failing…
Edward: Neither that will…
Again and again, he strikes him and fails to deliver a real hit. The enchantment falters…
Edward: Let me show you how a real hit should be done…
The vampire raises his open palms. Growing from the edges of his fingers are small, iron blades. He clanks them together, making creepy, metallic sounds…
Edward: Here I come…
Blinking forward, he slices through the hunter, who only notices a bright flash. Finn casts Shield just in time to spare him some of the damage he could have been dealt…
Edward: Oh…that doesn’t seem to be fair.
He dashes to the frail hunter. Still, down from the mental drawback of incantations, he fearfully blocks and hopes for the best…
Lau casts her Winds and performs her Wind Parry just in time to save Finn. However, both moves seem too strong, and the clash blows both parties back. Edward quickly stands back up floating, and tries to attack the downed Lau…
Edward: Now that’s something worth cutting up!!! Get up girlie!!
Lau stares down the danger coming at her at full speed. She prepares to parry again, knowing her technique won’t be enough to block him…
Suiga throws him off track before he reaches Lau. Edward uses his blade edges to grab the sword, but the flames are enough to render the idea moot…
Edward: Blight?! Seriously, what’s wrong with you?!
Suiga: After that scenery, I could ask you the same thing!!
Shaka joins the frame. Tired, wounded, and anxious, they struggle on and try to keep up with the energetic Edward, who playfully runs circles around them, cutting them from head to toe…
Edward: Come on!! Don’t tell me those guys tired you out!!! I want to cut you at your best!! Show me a good fight!!
Suiga drags his heavy sword and parries the beast, staggering him…
Suiga : “Arson Rampage”
Once again, he tries to assault the vampire with that spell. However, Edward notices the lapse in time behind the surprise slashes and dodges the attack. He appears behind the hunter, kicks a tired Shaka away, and prepares to rain havoc behind Suiga’s back…
Edward: That’s more like it!!!
Before he starts, his ears pick something up. A rushing figure ready to strike.
He floats away before Luca swipes him down with his swords…
Edward: You just had to ruin my fun!!!
Luca: You find it fun picking on weakened prey?
Edward: I asked them to put up a fight!!! It’s not my fault!!!
Shaka: Luca!!!
Edward notices Suiga’s flames growing, Shaka regaining focus, Lau and Finn approaching…
Edward: That’s not fair…
He dashes through the crowd and tries to attack Lau once again. She successfully parries his strike, engaging in a fast exchange of strikes with her, raising dust all over the place…
Edward: At least I’ll cut you up before I leave, strong girlie!!!
Lau: Bold words for a creep with bad makeup!!
Edward strikes faster, rendering Lau on the defensive. He takes the chance and tries to land a strong strike while he grabs her rapier…
Suiga, Luca, and Shaka, all block him from attacking. Luca charges in and tries to take the bat’s head in one strike, but the latter flees immediately…
Shaka: Get back here you coward!!!
Edward: I would love to. But Jackie’ll get mad if I drag this on and don’t find him.
He points out the two rookies…
Edward: Blazes was weak now, I’ll get him when he’s all hot and bothered. Girlie, next time I see you…
He creepingly smiles and screams out of excitement…
Edward: I’ll cut you up!!!
He flees again, passing as a gust of sharp wind through the crowd and disappearing…
Shaka: We have to catch him!! The other workers will-
Luca: I evacuated the building before I found him, just in case. But the ones that stayed…
Shaka: What about them?...
Luca: They wouldn’t listen. They wanted to see you come back. Hear you say this whole thing is now over…
Both Finn and Shaka sulk in despair. Their promise was now moot. To them, Edward passing through was what they had to make sure wouldn’t happen…
Luca: Don’t sulk you asshats…You did what you could. None of us could have seen that thing, even when it was right under our noses…You got rid of him, though… at least now, that’s what matters…
A few hours later, support cases the whole building, making sure no bats would be left wandering. The remaining workers congratulate the two hunters, thanking them for their service. However, some folks still stay hesitant about the results. Vampires are dead, but at what cost. And another aristocrat on the loose only puts fear in people's hearts…
Suiga: Not everyone stays happy, I guess…
Luca: Can’t do anything about that…Suiga, how did Finn’s chant suit you?
Suiga’s mind lapses back to the torture scene. He shakes in fear of what could have been had he let his anger get the better of him…
Suiga: It helped me in the fight a lot…but without it, I fear I’m still a wild card…
Luca: I don’t expect you both to keep doing that in fights. Especially you, Finn’s a special case, but a normal hunter would collapse from using that chant…But that’s not what’s important here…
Suiga:?
Luca: The flames have two drawbacks. They make your sword harder to use, and they mess with your cognitive functions. You become reckless, furious, and uncooperative. “Purify” is a good solution for keeping the flames from going berserk and giving you an advantage in fights, but…
He grabs the samurai’s shoulder…
Luca: It wasn’t “Purify” that helped you that much today…
Suiga ponders these words. He looks over at Lau, who helps support him through the screening…
Luca: Purify might have given you some space to regain your focus, but she was looking out for you and had your back when needed…
Suiga: Even in the prison, it was her and Url that managed to calm me down…
Luca: Look at Shaka and Finn. When they first met, they were a mess. Shaka couldn’t stand Finn’s whining, and Finn couldn’t keep up with Shaka’s recklessness. Same period they couldn’t figure out how their weapons worked…
Suiga: But they seem so-
Luca: Pals? After 6 months, they started tolerating each other. They learned from each other’s mistakes and successes because they managed to accept each other as teammates…Lau might be a bother…but I think you owe her a thank you…
Suiga sulks as he realizes the reasoning behind…
Luca: Open up to your teammates. Don’t let that sword stop you from doing your job. You’re still human…
Luca leaves. The samurai approaches the lonesome Lau…
Suiga: …Lau
Lau: If you wanna sulk, go join the couple over there. We got too much to do-
Suiga: Thanks…for today…
Lau: Huh?!
Suiga: You could have just chastised me for messing up... But you had my back. You get on my nerves, but I have to give this to you…
She slightly blushes… She looks away and continues scanning the area…
Lau: You…
Suiga: Huh?!
Lau: You remind me of my sister.
Suiga: What about her? Surely better adjusted than this scion we are-
Lau: She was elegant. Nice to everyone, perfect at her job, beautiful to the eyes of men and women. And she held on, no matter what was dragging her down…Like you and the sword…
Suiga: Oh…my condolences…she sounds amazing, I’m…glad you see me as such…
Lau: Relax, topknot. I said remind, not spitting image! Like some fangirling goody, two shoes would be anything like my sweet sister!!
Suiga: Definitely better adjusted than this excuse of a scion we have.
The duo starts bickering again…