Same class as yesterday. Victor doesn’t seem to mind today’s subject, instead choosing to daydream while gazing outside the window. Maya stares at him for a while, disappointed. She quickly turns around to follow the course…
Teacher: And that’s on Holy Armaments. Now, most of you are probably going to pick something other than Hunter, so I get why today’s class can seem quite… unnecessary.
The class agrees.
Teacher: It is important, though. Researchers are still trying to decrypt how holy armaments manifest, and how they even work. And remember, we have a pretty short list regarding known armaments and their abilities. Can anyone tell me why??
Kid: Because they manifest with unknown conditions, we have little information throughout history. Also, some hunters die before they reach their peak, so they never get to use them at their full potential!
Teacher: (They are on FIRE) Exactly.
Maya raises her hand…
Teacher: Maya with a question? Now that’s rare…
Maya: Sir, what about the trick abilities?
Teacher: Hmm, that is interesting. They can vary with each weapon. Some have innate abilities so there is no trick. Others do have, but as made clear, we have little documentation on each ability. We do know that most of them require incantation to activate, but they have massive drawbacks. So be careful. If you ever, and I hope not, ever come across a situation where such a choice needs to be taken, make sure you know the risks…
Kid: Do you remember any?
Teacher: Yes, but I won’t say…They are your homework for next week’s presentation…
The class disagrees…
Back to our hunters. After two days of simple patrols and small requests, the hunters manage to recuperate from the two intense fights of the week. However, something seems afoot. Inside the pub, the fellas sit at the grand table around what appears to be an open letter of Shroud. While Url and Suiga seem fine, Aaron seems desperate…
Aaron: Again…
Url: It won’t change the outcome…
Aaron: Again…
Suiga: Aaron, I must agree with Url. Maybe this is a good thing
Aaron: AGAIN GODDAMIT!!!
Url reads the letter:
“Shroud hir’. Hey young’uns, how’s it hangin’? Sorry for the last letter, yer chief’s antics made my blood boil again. So first of all, to our newcomer prince. How’s Landen, hope the smell hasn’t melted yer nostrils yet! I’ll be there next week ta’ see yer face and make sure ma boys have you well installed. Then Url. Hope Aaron has taken you out of that pub so ya’ can get some fresh air. Sent a letter to the gal at admin fawning all over ya’ face (take that mask out already, will ya’). Ya’ won’t have to rush every damn second to the infirmary for new supplies. Take your vitamins, late nights can kill ya’, take it from me. And last, ma boi’, ma man, the stick up my arse, Aaron. Now that my blood levels are back to normal (meaning dead bad), I sincerely hope you are doing well. I know that you hate having responsibilities…That’s exactly why I sent you Suiga. Judging from the last few day’s you guys are killin’ it. Guess havin’ another hand isn’t so bad after all? So, big news: I’m sendin’ ya one more. Another royalty. Pirouette this time. She’s the Lecourt scion, so make sur’ you show a good image, these guys have cash. She’s arriving Friday, which is pretty much the time this letter will arrive. See ya’.”
Aaron knocks his head on the old but sturdy table…
Suiga: I have to say, for a senior, this man’s writing is a mix of grammatical errors and foul vocabulary.
Url: Yes, Shroud is kind of self-taught…
Aaron: Another one…we are already packed…my head is still ringing from topknots morning jingles…
Suiga: I adore my homeland’s songs. And Url said the space next to your room has great acoustics…
Url: So, any info on this new girl?
Suiga: I have heard Lecourts are master hunters. They take the craft seriously and have multiple branches beneath them. The head, François, has had regular meetings with my father. He is a stern individual, but immensely powerful…
URL: Well, Suiga, we might have to count on your royalty to break the ice with the princess. We hope you can help.
Suiga: I shall be on my best behavior!!
Aaron: Uuh, might as well get on with it. It’s not like I can kick her out of Landen, she’s a DAMN LECOURT!!!
The boys return to the train station, this time a little late. They search desperately for the princess who is awaiting their arrival. As they search, Suiga notices a lot of posters showing a man with a large mustache, and the phrase “Landen needs you now!”.
Suiga: What are all these posters here? Is there some sort of event?
Aaron: Aah yeah, that’s Wutsworth. He’s managing the tramways around Landen. He’s peculiar, but his trams are what made Landenians go around town in the evening. Guess they might be hiring…
Aaron notices a sweets shop. A short girl stares at the candy by the window, while savoring some herself. Black hair with blue highlights in pigtails, wearing plated women’s armor with the crest of the Lecourt’s on the left shoulder: two rapiers crossed in front of a sparrow. They immediately recognize their new teammate…
Aaron: OK, Suiga, I’ll lead the conversation. You chime in when you see that my language starts to…turn poor man’s.
Suiga: I fear you won’t be needing my help, chief. Your words inspire me every single day of the-
Aaron: HELLO MISS!!!
The girl turns around to witness her new teammates. She looks…disappointed.
Girl: Uuuh…Once more, my father chose to torment his only scion and talent of the family in the name of “discipline”, by sending me to this dirty metropolis to be greeted by a brute with not an ounce of linguistical finesse…
Aaron:…Excuse me?
Girl: Well, knave, I shall do you a favor and start. My name is Lau Lecourt. Scion of the Lecourt house, second princess of Pirout. I am here as a recruit for Landen’s front and as a complementary back-up since two of your seniors chose to visit us.
Suiga: (I remember the receptionist mentioned the visit yesterday…)
Aaron: (Kill meter rising) I’m sorry for the abrupt welcome , my lady…We received a late notice from my senior. We only learned of your arrival this mor-
Lau: Sweat thy apologies, knave. While you were sleeping like a peasant after a night out, I was wasting my time around this…station…trying to figure out what numbskulls I would have to work with.
Aaron: You were eating sweets when we arrived.
Lau: Aaah, candy. The royalty’s comfort food when disappointed by the world. Peasants like you could never AFFORD to understand the taste and texture of a watermelon jawbreaker.
Aaron: Ooooh, listen here you-
Suiga: My friend was trying to say, we excuse our late arrival. It is not customary for a princess to be the one waiting for the caretakers. We shan’t repeat it, I hope you can look past this.
Aaron: Damn, Suiga knows how to sweet talk. Maybe he can take her on…
Lau eats another jawbreaker from her brown paper bag…
Lau: Aaaand you are?
Suiga: Akira Suiga, prince of the Asian Empire. As my father, I took on the path of the Hunt, and now cruise with my comrade and senpai, Aaron Willheart
Lau looks confused. But once again, disappointed…
Lau: Really, how can a prince reduce himself to calling a peasant “senior”? Noting that your “comrade” certainly looks less than capable of doing his job. Maybe he’s rubbing off on you…
Suiga pulls out his sword slowly…
Suiga: You little shrimp, how about I cut those pigtails before you-
Aaron holds Suiga before he commits manslaughter…
Lau: Well, I wasn’t expecting anything more than this. Now since you two arrived late, I suppose you’ll take care of my luggage.
Lau packed around 8 large suitcases…
Aaron: The devil…
The boys separate the suitcases into two groups of 4. Struggling, they somehow manage to return home, angrily throwing away the suitcases at one corner of the salon…
Aaron: Next life, I’m joining the vampires… No man should be subjected to such torture…
Lau: Oh please, my suitcases shouldn’t be that heavy! The train staff had no problem handling my luggage.
Suiga: They probably thought it belonged to a group of 10…
Url quickly comes down the stairs. His mask hides his expression, but his troubled, urging movements indicate that he needs to say something important…
Url: Everyone’s here! Aaron, quick, we have a mission!!
Aaron: Can’t we just have a break instead?!
Lau startles and starts flailing her rapier around the room. The two boys desperately try to avoid her…
Lau: GHOOOSTTT!!!MY FATHER SENT ME TO A BLASTED HAUNTED HOUSEEEEEE!!!!!
Suiga swiftly takes position and smacks her head with a hand chop to stop her assaults.
Suiga: Ehem…Miss Lau, this is our medic, Url Schellinger…
Url: Stop your nonsense for a second and listen! This is a huge one…
Url lays out some open files on the grand table… Photos of Wutsworth, the poster man from before, are shown in the files along with some photos of his train factories and its staff. The crew gathers around…
Suiga: That’s Wutsworth!!
Lau: Uuughh, the mustache is most unflattering, are all Landenians just ugly?
Aaron: You brat…
Url: I present to everyone Sir Franklin Wutsworth, entrepreneur, and 44th President of Wutsworth Industries, one of few organizations that handle train manufacturing, means of transportation etc, etc.
He grabs photos of his staff and points forcefully…
Url: For the past few weeks, employees have been complaining about strange phenomena inside the east factory…
Aaron: Like?
Url: Kidnappings. 14 employees have been missing from Factory 4.
Suiga: Vampires… first bones, then our information, this time it’s humans?
Url: Yes, and we can’t just narrow it down to a few rogues searching for food. This is organized and carefully at that…No traces, no witnesses, no sightings…
Aaron: Lau, you might want to stay out of this. Might be a ghost…
Lau kicks Aaron to the shin, pouting in response to his mockery
Suiga: What is our course of action?
Url: Sir Wutsworth wants this to be dealt with under the table. We go to the factory today, lay out an investigation, and figure out what is going on. This definitely has to do with Jack’s cult, he said himself that a factory might be the next target.
Url notices Lau looking at the files…
Url: Miss Lau, were you informed about-
Lau: I already know about your last two encounters from that drunkard’s letter. I know about “Jack” too…
Url: Then we won’t have to waste time explaining why this is so important. Now everyone let us-
Aaron: What? Hell no, you’re staying here! Not after the shit you pulled last Tuesday!! Everyone’s ready? It’s the 3 of us today, Url has some “fractured” paperwork he needs to attend to…
Url sulks in a corner far away…
Suiga: Guess payback is a rather unfair woman after all…
The 3 depart. The factory is on the east side of the neighborhood. Ironically, in the spirit of today’s mission, the group takes a tram instead of walking. The tramways are a convenient way for humans to travel around the city, especially around at night. The stations have overnight support groups from the VHC to look out for any suspicious behavior. Passengers are required to have their pupils checked for any unfavorable discoloration, and mouths for any changes in teeth. They can sound the alarms for the nearest hunters if they find any trespassers searching for prey. The inside is filled with sun-powered lighting to weaken any vampire that could escape security. These trams travel around town, and thanks to Wutsworth’s use of reinforced steel railways, the trams can travel mid-air, allowing for shortcuts between regions that could take hours to reach by foot.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
This only shows how important Wutsworth Industries have been for Landen’s safety and progress despite the vampire blight. Wutsworth is a respected household name around the city, so Aaron realizes how dangerous a hit would be in one of the factories. He tries to hide his stress, but his shaky hands hold together to tell his teammates otherwise… Suiga holds his shoulder firmly, and looks over his chief confidently…
Lau: Shall I leave the room? I don’t do well with crybaby couples…
They arrive in front of the factory. From the automated steel tram doors, Lau is thrown out violently into a nearby garbage can. The other two walk off before the doors close, Suiga holding Aaron back…
Suiga: Aaron, she doesn’t matter!! We are going to get punished for this!!
Aaron: So be it, I don’t have time for brats.
Lau gets out, annoyed and flustered. Luckily the can was empty, so she only shakes off leftover dust…
Lau: You brute!! Who do you think you are throwing like luggage!! Didn’t your parents-
Aaron picks her up, much easier than the 4 suitcases he had to carry earlier. He puts her over his shoulder, while she struggles to escape…
Aaron: Let’s go.
Lau: Unhand me!!
Suiga: We are going to lose our license for this won’t we…
Aaron lets her off just as they knock on the gate. A big factory, they stand in front of a tall steel fence. They move to the right side, where they encounter a metal box with a button and a speaker phone. Aaron presses the button, sounding a small ringing bell. After a few seconds, a high tone, loud voice.
Voice: HELLO!! WELCOME TO WUTSWORTH INDUSTRIES FACTORY 4!! COULD THE KIND HUNTERS PLEASE REPORT IMMEDIATELY TO MY OFFICE ONCE YOU ENTER THE FACILITIES???
Suiga: How does he know we are the hunters?
Lau: Never seen a factory, country bum prince? He’s probably inside that small office on the highest part of the brick building, looking over us from the window.
Suiga: Offence wasn’t needed, but you are unfortunately right.
Aaron: Plus, he’s the client. This is a personal request, so they know what time we will arrive at the scene. Oh, look the door’s opening…
The fences slowly separate into two parts as they retract to leave an opening for our group. They enter and stumble upon an entire factory full of warehouses. Hundreds of workers can be seen coming in and out of the gates, carrying anything from notepads to large steel rails. To the right side of the factory, between two warehouses stands out a large brick building. Our hunters enter and immediately ask around for Wutsworth. They are guided to a spiral staircase, up to Wutsworth’s office. They kindly enter. Before them, a tall, slender man with long brown hair and a large mustache greets them.
Wutsworth: Hello my hunters!! I am Franklin Wutsworth, president of this beautiful enterprise. Please sit down, there’s much to discuss.
Aaron: Soo, we heard the details. Apparently, there have been some… “layoffs” in the past few weeks.
Wutsworth: Direct and under the covers. Just what I asked for…
Aaron and Suiga shiver at that last sentence as Wutsworth shrugs his fuzzy mustache in a slightly perverted manner…Lau stares at them confused…
Wutsworth: Oh excuse me, my manners. Yes, these layoffs have been frequent for the past few weeks, ironically after the debut of this expedition from the VHC.
Aaron: Has anyone noticed anything out of the ordinary? Drawings, maybe coworkers acting weird…
Wutsworth: If you are talking about vampire spellcraft, my cleaning crew has noticed nothing of the sort. Even if they didn’t have any idea, any graffiti or tag was reported to me immediately. As for my workers, I’ve been to this factory since the first kidnapping. I know my workers, none of them have been acting out of the ordinary.
Aaron: So really no traces… What about you? What’s your take on this?
Wutsworth gets up and stares over the factory by the window of his office. Hands tied together behind, he sulks…
Wutsworth: Nothing. Years of security, posing as humanity’s biggest counter against the vampire blight by allowing citizens to travel without any worries inside the city. And this happens… Worst of all, the families are here today…
Suiga: Hmm? Are they searching for the workers?
Wutsworth: Aaah yes, I wasn’t going to let them do it, but honestly, after a few weeks of begging, wallowing, and sad children’s eyes, I let them scatter around the factory for anything valuable left from the victims…
Aaron stares down the floor for a few seconds…He lifts his face.
Aaron: Sir Wutsworth, we might need some time to gather our thoughts on this. Can we maybe check out the site, and talk to a few family members or coworkers? Anything could be of help.
Wutsworth: Oh dear, of course, you can! Search all you like!!
Suiga: We’ll make sure we are finished by sunset.
Wutsworth: Actually, you can take your time!! Today’s the weekly feast for the workers. We have the families too, give them some consolation for… well, possible losses, I hope.
Aaron: We’ll do our best.
The crew exits the building…
Aaron: Hmm, what do you guys think?
Lau: Definitely a vampire at work. But I don’t believe any of the victims are alive. Can’t see why a vampire would want a bunch of sweaty workers as dependents.
Suiga: A little respect for the victims!!! They are neither dead nor dependents, nor sweaty!!!
Aaron: As much as I hate agreeing with the shrimp, she’s right. If we talk to anyone, don’t raise any hopes…
Suiga: Is it really this serious?
Aaron: Security’s tight, the place is filled with sunlight panels, and a vampire hunter would be here in a matter of seconds if the alarm were to be sound. Whoever did this is probably a smartass…
Suiga: Hmm…Jack said they needed a factory for a trial… for a ritual.
Lau raises her finger…
Lau: IF I could shed some light on my two poor juniors-
Aaron: We are older than you.
Lau: The ritual is probably large. Could be that they are searching for dependents to help with the chant and preparations. A logical use considering they are workers!
Aaron: Well sure, but vampirification is a long process. And vamps can’t just go a turn everyone into their own, they have a cooldown.
Suiga: Aah yes, Url was explaining it to me the other day. The gene-altering fluid in their fangs reproduces within a certain timeframe.
Lau: Hmm, can’t disagree, it seems…
Aaron: Anyways, let’s scour the place for any signs they might have missed. Url, Lau, you guys talk to the families, I’ll talk to the workers.
Lau: I don’t want to spend my time talking to peasants, especially with the samurai next to me!!!
Suiga: Silence, shrimp!!! You WILL be following me!!!
Suiga pulls a nagging Lau away. Aaron sulks and moves for the workers. As he converses with them, he notices much. Everyone’s delighted to work here, Wutsworth is a pleasure to have as a boss, and the occurring kidnappings have been a stress factor to point out. No one has been able to see anything, their coworkers were just as normal as every other day. Aaron checks out the sites where the workers were last seen. No traces, as if the Lord had lifted them off the Earth and into Heaven’s Gates. He scratches his head trying to figure out how everything could connect…
Suiga and Lau on the other hand talk to the families. Cries and begs for help can be heard from their desperate faces. While Lau has the boldness to avoid any reassuring, Suiga’s faint heart can’t take on the fact that there might be no hope for the victims. He does not reassure them, but the tears on the children’s faces are not something he’ll easily shrug off his head. However, no information was found from the families either. Same as the workers, Wutsworth is a proud and wonderful man, who veils on his employees and even sees to it that their families are well taken care of…
Around sunset, the crew gathers around…The feast Wutsworth mentioned has started. Everyone dances around, eats, and drinks to their hearts' content…The crew looks from the distance…
Aaron: No luck either, huh…
Lau: Other than hearing how much of a good boss this mustache man is, no… I have to admit, that he is a capable leader.
Suiga: To the point where even in this crisis, he can make his employees and friends dance around the courtyard…They must admire him.
Aaron: You guys need to understand, this place is where humans can say “suck it” to vampires. Even we can’t give that kind of safety to them. And it’s all thanks to him and the workers.
Suiga: The workers that we…can’t find after a day of searching around…The families…They’ll be-
Lau: Oh Lord, stop sulking!!!
The boys stare at the princess…
Lau: It’s only been a day!! We can’t give them any hope, but that doesn't mean we should lose it either!!! We are vampire hunters for lord’s sake!!! We’ll find them!!
The boys agree with her. Hope is not lost just yet…
Aaron: Shrimps right? Guess talking to the peasants opened that rock inside her chest…
Suiga: Were the crying kids the softening blow, or the begging mothers, huh?
Lau kicks the boys to the shin after their attempt at mockery…However, instead of pouting, she notices something in the corner of her eye. A figure, at the far end of a warehouse, quickly trying to hide away.
Lau: Hey, brutes!! We have a runner!! Behind the warehouse!!
Aaron: Run after him! Don’t alert anyone or this could go sideways really fast!!
The trio tries to catch up to the intruder, but after countless turns, sprints, and checks, they don’t manage to find him. The warehouses seem infinite in number, and the minutes pass as they look out for the runner.
Suiga: Chief, I believe we should return quickly to the feast. This could be a diversion.
Lau: The place is filled with alarms, if they showed up to the staff, we would know by now!
Aaron: No, Suiga’s right. This guy’s a snake, he could find a way to attack under our noses…
The trio returns to the feast. What awaits them is a horrid sight of blood and gore: A pile of dirty corpses, children women, and men, now mixed up in a putrid hill with one vampire sitting at the top… The sight is enough to freeze the hunters in place, shocked that in a mere matter of minutes, a peaceful feast became a vampire hunting ground…Speechless, they can only stare at the vampire munching on a worker’s hand. As he raises his head, the thick, fuzzy mustache the hunters knew is now dripping with human blood. Wutsworth looks at them once and starts smiling to the tip of his ears, his gritty fangs glowing in the dark…
Wutsworth: Welcome, hunters…to Wutsworth Industries!!!