The scent of blood was thick in the air, and even with the scented cloth on his face Jaeger could still smell the scene before him.

“…Jaeger… I think this hunt is extremely dangerous… I won’t stop you, if anything, I want you to succeed… but fighting the Chained that did this…” Viktor’s voice was a steady rock amongst the storm inside Jaeger’s mind, Jaeger lifting his boot slightly, looking underneath.

Reddish black greeted his eyes as the substance dripped off his boot.

Said substance was oxidized blood, or better referred to as old blood. There was a copious amount of it all over the floor, due to the dried up husks that were once human bodies.

One of them though, seemed to have metallic feathers on its back and arms, and a choker with a stylized number three symbol on it.

This was once the Chained known as Fenghuang, the phoenix… It was difficult, but Jaeger had heard rumours of the Chained and how he died, grabbed by a cloaked figure before his blood was sucked out of him.

Blood was the weapon of Leviathan. The weapon of his father’s killer, Jaeger hated the thing… now man, apparently.

Jaeger didn’t know whether to be thankful or angry at Typhon for turning Leviathan into a human shape once more.

On one hand, Leviathan probably wouldn’t possess the tough skin that kept Jaeger from hurting him the first time they fought.

On the other, Leviathan was now smaller and harder to hit as a target, as well as being able to actually hide now. He was much too huge to be capable of the latter previously.

Heck, the only reason Leviathan was capable of hiding in his swamp before was because it was artificial. The ‘water’ wasn’t always filled with blood, and it wasn’t always that deep, Leviathan likely created it as a spot for him to situate himself.

With that, and the ‘legends’ of those who enter that swamp dying, it was no wonder no one knew where Leviathan was.

“Viktor. I will kill Leviathan. Even if it takes years, I will hunt him down.” Jaeger stated with his dark eyes almost glazed over with how blasé he was about the situation.

Oh inside he was furious at what he was seeing, but he knew it was pointless to rage now, especially when the target of said rage was nowhere near them.

“Of that, I have no doubt… I just worry that fighting him will not be as simple as we thought it would be.” Viktor stated, and Jaeger glared at his assistant slash best friend.

“Viktor… where does this ‘we’ come from? I’ll be fighting, not you.” Jaeger’s words were not angry, despite what was said, but instead stating fact.

Jaeger fought, Viktor assisted Jaeger in all other aspects of his life.

This was how it always was.

“I know. It’s still annoying for me you know? But I do understand.” Viktor stated, reminding Jaeger of their age-old argument about Viktor being capable of at least helping in fights, but Jaeger refusing his assistance.

It wasn’t without reason, as Viktor still had a scar on the left side of his chest indicating the one time Viktor tried to help in a fight against a Chained, very nearly dying against Agares, though Jaeger ended the strange old man himself, Viktor was badly injured and nearly died from the fight.

“Good, let’s keep it that way. Do we have any idea of where he went next? He seems to be staying away from his real target while he gets a grasp on his newfound power, if anything.” Jaeger added as they turned, walking up the stairs leading into the cellar.

“Currently it looks like he was heading into Area four…” Viktor was understandably against entering the place, and Jaeger did not mind his reluctance.

“Viktor, this is an order, don’t follow me into that place. I know it’s a place of bad memories, no need to open up old wounds just to help me get revenge.” Jaeger stated, and Viktor blinked, a small smile on his face as they handed their scented cloths into the hands of some random member of the Eyes of the Hunter.

“Thank you for the concern Jaeger. I’ll head to Area three while you go into… that place. From what I hear, lots of people are going crazy thanks to Aaron killing Toy Maker.” Viktor smiled towards the end, even as Jaeger began to frown.

“Yes… while it’s a good thing he killed that insane rapist, I don’t quite appreciate hearing that name right now Viktor.” Viktor nodded, his smile instead becoming a neutral line on his face, not showing the same distaste for the name Aaron.

“I understand… the information he gave us was both disturbing and ire inducing.” Ignoring the sudden need for alliteration Viktor had, Jaeger nodded, looking outside to their cars.

“Right… the bastard gave us two bits of information, and while one was worthwhile, the other…” As he remembered the conversation, Jaeger felt his teeth grit in anger, Viktor just sighing as he signalled one of the Eyes to walk over.

“On one hand, he told us that Chase is alive… on the other, he would not tell us anything more beyond stating that getting Chase would be impossible.” Jaeger frowned at the reminder, not wanting to think about what had happened to his child.

Chase was alive, and probably a Chained… but getting him would be impossible.

And worse, Jaeger was not even told why, simply flat out told to forget his son and move on.

So was there any doubt that Jaeger would become pissed off at Aaron, and by extension Typhon who followed him?

If Jaeger got the chance, he’d be killing Aaron the next time he saw him, especially after their last aggravating encounter.

“One, Chase is alive. Two, it is impossible to find and take back Chase. Such irritating facts…” Jaeger growled out to himself as Viktor began to speak to one of the Eyes.

“They are. Jaeger, I explained everything, Kevin here will be your driver. I taught him a bit of martial arts myself, and he’s quickly becoming the highest ranked in the Eyes, bar myself of course.” Viktor gestured to the impressionable teen that he had begun training a year ago, though only fully working with the boy half a year ago.

“You must be good if Viktor recommends you… alright, you drive to Area four, and I’ll be sleeping in the back.” Jaeger ordered the boy who snapped into salute, shouting out his acknowledgement of the order as he walked briskly to the hearse.

“Why you enjoy sleeping in a coffin, I won’t understand… are you practicing for when you’re dead?” Viktor joked as Jaeger just shrugged, unwilling to continue the joke like he normally would.

“…I’ll be sending another car with you. The majority of people in Area four don’t take kindly to anyone telling them that what they’re doing is wrong. I’ll also make sure no women are part of the escort.” Viktor added as Jaeger nodded, walking to the hearse, and sliding out the coffin.

It was a known fact in Tartarus, that only the Eyes of the Hunter drove the undertaker vehicles, and on rare occasions, one might find the Hunter in one of the cars.

Jaeger, if he travelled with one, usually had his weaponry in the coffins, but if he travelled with more than one car, well, there was a free coffin to sleep in, wasn’t there?

It was one of the quirks Jaeger had that reminded Viktor that his friend was not perfect… that, and his lazy nature in everything but fighting and designing weapons and armour.

“Wow, he really sleeps in coffins… he doesn’t fear death, does he?” A girl standing nearby blushed as she was looking at Jaeger remove his cowboy hat from his head, jumping into the coffin as he called someone to slide the coffin back into the hearse.

Naturally, everyone close enough jumped to try and do it for him, once more reminding Viktor that Jaeger was treated like a celebrity amongst the Eyes.

Really, ‘doesn’t fear death?’ It’s nothing crazy like that, he just likes sleeping in a boxed in space for some reason.

If anything, Jaeger was like a cat in how he’d vanish, come back to be pampered, then leave again. He even enjoyed things cats did, fiddling with things in the same way a cat would play with those cattail things, and when he focused on something it was just like a cat focused on one of those moving lights.

Jaeger sat up slightly, yawning as he waved goodbye at Viktor, rubbing at his eye with his other arm at the wrist.

Yep, just like a humanoid cat.

“I’m pretty sure the only thing Jaeger fears is being sprayed with a water bottle.” The girl looked at Viktor with confusion in her eyes as Viktor just sighed and walked away, leaving Jaeger to go on his trip.

It was a week later, two weeks after Jaeger’s rematch with Typhon that Jaeger finally stopped moving around Area four.

He had finally found people despicable enough that he didn’t mind viciously harming them to get information, and his Eyes were more than willing to help after witnessing someone forcing themselves on a five year old boy.

After that, well, it was more of a struggle to keep someone alive to talk to than not.

“So you are aware of the victims drained of blood?” Jaeger asked while stepping on the hilt of his European long-sword, said sword was pierced into a mattress covered in unmentionable fluids, though recently it gained a red tinge due to the body it was piercing before the mattress.

“I know, I know damn it, take this thing out of me!” Jaeger’s eyes narrowed, though he did not outright state his anger that the man echoed the words of his last victim.

“I don’t think I will until you tell me what you know. The killer, the guy draining the blood, how does he look and where did he go. Tell me these things and I’ll remove the sword.” Jaeger stated easily, and the man clenched his teeth through the pain…

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

It was just his arm, not like there were any vital organs hit… maybe an important artery, but that wasn’t as important.

What was more important was that it would take quite a bit of sharpening and cleaning to get rid of the blood and fat on the sword…

Rumours about swords were exaggerated, the things took more effort to maintain than he liked, even if he was busy teaching that Kevin kid how to maintain them for him.

“I don’t know how he looks; just that he wears a hood and cape type of thing! Last I heard the victims were found in the direction of Area three, but he was going through the shortest path to Area two!” Jaeger nodded, glad for a target, of course Leviathan wouldn’t stop in Area three…

Regardless of how they wouldn’t be capable of stopping him, the entire Area wouldn’t like him. Area three was a near death-trap for any Chained, regardless of ability with how many people hated the enhanced humans there.

“Thank you for your information.” Jaeger stated, pulling the blade from the flesh of his victim. The man breathed harshly as he tried to cover his wound, leaving Jaeger to step off the mattress, now aware that the boots he was wearing should be burnt, after having stepped through a layer of blood and now whatever was on that bed.

“Someone, kill him.” the order was barely out of Jaeger’s mouth when the rapist had died, the members of the Eyes were all male here, but they were all people who nigh-worshiped Jaeger for both his skill and his beliefs.

What he said was law almost, the only time it wouldn’t be would be if he asked something morally wrong, like killing a child.

So if he asked for the death of someone morally wrong, they’d easily accept.

Aaron, if he were here, might deny this insanity… but he’d also be a hypocrite if he said he wasn’t guilty of the same thing… after all, he killed Toy Maker just to send a message to his friends that he was alive…

And he killed Toy Maker because Toy Maker was insane, but that’s beside the point.

Aaron was still a bit confused on how he was to live in Tartarus, wanting to follow the philosophy of Dawn, but in a place where living like that was nigh impossible, he was finding his new lifestyle threatened.

More than once, think about it, he had wished to never kill, but in Tartarus he had already killed two people, that Jaeger knew of. One was that asshole Lukas Vann, who was thankfully dead, and the other was Toy Maker.

That thing was another person who deserved to die in Jaeger’s eyes.

“Sir, can we really trust the information we got from this man?” someone asked, ignoring the recently deceased body left on the bed as they walked out of the building.

There were quite a large amount of dead bodies down either side of the road, left over from the other rapists the Eyes encountered on their way here.

Those ones did not know anything, so Jaeger and his men just killed them anyway, for them it was like cleaning. If you’re cleaning one room, might as well clean the others on your way too.

“Probably not, but if our target wasn’t here, we’d have to stop by in Area three anyway to pick up Viktor. Now that we know he’s heading in that direction, well, it’s simpler.” Jaeger stated, noting someone handing him his hat as he shrugged and grabbed it.

He had many of them, though some thought it was one particular hat that he kept from his father, which was just some myth they talked about amongst themselves.

He did have his father’s old hat, but he never wore the thing, he just had it at his base in Area three.

“I suppose you’re right sir… still… this place is horrible.” The man looked around with a scowl on his face as Jaeger patted the man on his shoulder.

“It is, but don’t forget… this whole prison is like this. We’re all horrible people. We just hold ourselves as better than the people inside this Area.” Jaeger’s words were bitter, and even if the man wanted to argue, he couldn’t, seeing that Jaeger was just as angry about it as they were.

“Pack up, we’re leaving. Let’s leave this place to self-destruct on its own after Toy Maker died.” It had been three or so months since the monstrous Chained had died at the hands of Aaron, but those in Area four were still confused.

It was only a matter of time until they either killed each other off, or some ‘ruler’ appeared to take over, whether that ruler is Chained or not.

So they left, leaving Area four behind them, not wanting to stay in the disgusting place for any longer than they had to… the place was disturbing not just for what happened to the weak in that place, but that the weak felt that they deserved what happened to them.

Jaeger didn’t know the name for what that mental issue was, but the victims of that place for some reason praised their abusers and disliked their saviours.

Madness really… but Jaeger felt it easier to let the mad kill each other off than for him to try and bring sense to the place.

He held that thought up until he reached his home, Area three, two days later, having only spent a week in Area four due to the near rioting nature of everyone in there.

They were worse than the fire-starters of Area two for how they kept trying to bring their madness outside their Area.

“Ah, you’re back. So I take it Leviathan wasn’t there… and judging by the fact you stopped by, he’s heading for Area one or two. When are we leaving?” Viktor asked as he allowed Jaeger into the larger building that he called home.

The Hunter’s Den is what everyone else called it, he preferred either ‘home’ or ‘place where I sleep’…

Area four always brought out the worst in Jaeger’s sarcasm he felt, recalling previous times he was forced to travel through the place while hunting prey.

“We’ll be leaving in three days. I want to make sure all my equipment is right, have my long sword sharpened again just in case Kevin got it wrong, and I want to test out the elephant gun.” Jaeger stated, making Viktor raise an eyebrow.

“And why do we need so long?” Viktor asked, not for complaining, but more wondering why Jaeger was pausing in his pursuit.

“No real reason beyond letting me rest.” Jaeger stated, walking away looking for his recliner couch even as members of the Eyes brought in his equipment, Viktor telling them where to put everything.

“Really, I don’t like sending them with you. They treat you as if you were God’s gift to earth.” Viktor shook his head, ignoring that Kevin was close enough to hear, making the teen scratch his head in a blush.

“If you want to complain, I won’t stop you, they are a bit overbearing.” Jaeger said, turning away from Viktor so as to end the conversation.

“But sir, you’re inspiration to us all, a normal human fighting against those monsters…” Kevin stated, making Viktor look at Kevin, then back to Jaeger who was waving them off.

It was Jaeger’s signal of ‘you deal with this’ and Viktor just sighed, grabbing the near adult and dragging him away to discuss his thoughts.

“Listen, Kevin, don’t go saying things like that. Chained are human too, and even if we Eyes go around getting the Hunter to kill them, that doesn’t mean we’re racist.” Kevin was stopped from talking by Viktor slamming Kevin’s mouth closed with a palm.

“Kevin, there is but a slight difference between righteous anger and blind madness. What you were saying was dangerously close to the latter, which is why Jaeger wanted you removed.” Viktor warned, letting go of Kevin’s mouth.

“I… I understand sir. I apologize. I realize, belatedly, that if I were to continue, I’d sound no better than some hatemonger from a place like Area five.” Marginally better, in Viktor’s eyes, was what Kevin stated in his apology.

It was still painting a group with a brush, but in this case it was rightfully so. Terrorism is an act of trying to create hate and fear in a populous, so getting sent there was what it meant.

It was the same way everyone in Area four could be said to be rapists, and Viktor would agree. Even if he was born in the place, he left, he didn’t stay, and anyone else could leave.

It’s easier to say something is impossible and do nothing, than to believe it is possible and achieve it.

“Good. And besides, Jaeger doesn’t hate the Chained, he doesn’t fight them because they are different, but because they abuse that difference and lord it over normal people.” Viktor tried to explain, and he could only hope that Kevin understood this…

Otherwise, he might piss off Jaeger, who did indeed have Chained he approved of, such as their old uncle Typhon.

Obviously not his son, but Viktor missed the man in coat and glasses, even if those stringed blades of his terrified Viktor once he found out the things they could do.

Kevin and Viktor would work together over the next two days, Kevin being shown how to maintain the weapons of Jaeger and constantly having the phrase: Do not grant his every whim hammered into his head.

Kevin managed to learn what this meant, seeing Viktor deal with Jaeger inside the house, scolding the ‘oh so great’ Hunter for being lazy, or leaving a mess, or even not finishing his food.

“Do you see Kevin? The truth of the Eyes of the Hunter is that every member is a glorified bag-boy or chauffeur for this lazy combatant.” Viktor pointed at Jaeger as he said this.

His argument was very convincing, especially as Jaeger was hanging backwards over the back of a couch, his head touching the floor as he snored.

“This doesn’t seem as glamorous as most made it out to be…” Kevin complained as he and Viktor swept up some dirt, before going back into the kitchen to check out the food.

“Of course it isn’t glamorous, we’re inside a prison. While I don’t know how old ones were, I do know that we don’t get a good standard of living.” Even if Viktor was pulling out a whole roasted chicken from an oven, Kevin understood his point, having been starving on the streets of Area two with burn marks when he heard about the Hunter and came to Area three.

“Kevin, you realize that there is probably something like a few hundred members of the Eyes, and over a few thousand who support us. And of those thousands, most are hungry… and yet they funnel the scraps they get to us.” Viktor frowned, making incisions on the hunk of meat.

“Jaeger eats like a king, and I always make him finish his food because of the sacrifices that go into making him full.” Viktor said while pouring some gravy into a bowl, dropping cut off chunks of meat into the sauce to soften them.

“I think it’s a silly question, but why does he eat so well?” Kevin asked, looking once more into the lounge and seeing the napping Jaeger, still in that odd posture.

“It’s because he’s our weapon, the spearhead of common man against oppression in this place. And we need our weapon to be in his best condition to do what he sets out to do.” Viktor said, now fanning the food, not to cool it, but to wake up Jaeger with the smell.

“He eats good because of what he does Kevin. He fights Chained and those who can’t give him food in thanks, even if they never actually encountered a Chained.” Jaeger’s nose twitched as he took a sniff, blinking blearily as he began to yawn.

“Jaeger is a great man. He makes one believe in him, and wish to see him succeed, and so we support him to make sure he never fails. And that is what the Eyes of the Hunter are for.” Viktor said watching Jaeger falling over the couch as the rest of his body tried to follow the position of the head on the floor, leaving him groaning.

“We keep him going and he’ll handle the rest.” Viktor smirked to Kevin, making Kevin just chuckle and shake his head at the sight of Jaeger yawning and standing.

As stoic as the Hunter was being these days, at his core he was still the same… a slob, lazy, and oh so picky and lost in his thoughts.

“Oh, its dinner… man, that looks good… thanks you two.” Jaeger yawned even as he spoke and slumped in his chair, allowing Viktor ample opportunity to slap him upside the head.

“Why did you take a nap, now you’re going to be up whole night tinkering. Losing sleep makes you stupid you know?” Viktor admonished the Hunter as Kevin watched, chuckling.

Kevin couldn’t help the thought that Viktor would be a great mother.

And yeah, that was the joke.

On the last day of their resting period, Jaeger finally checked out his elephant gun which he designed to pierce armour.

“Do you think he’ll make the shot?” Someone asked Kevin from over his shoulder, Kevin turned seeing someone from the maintenance and ammunition departments in the Eyes, this girl was one of the people who made Jaeger’s ammunition for him, after being taught by him.

No one was allowed to make Jaeger’s guns except him, no one was given the information, but he was willing to share how to make ammunition at least.

“I’d call that a stupid question given who the subject of it is, but I’ll be realistic. He’ll probably miss the first shot, should no complications occur. And then he’ll never miss again.” Even with being realistic, Kevin couldn’t keep the expectation away.

The girl didn’t even know Kevin was only being slightly serious towards the end, instead staring at the target they stood near.

Obviously, they were behind cover, just in case Jaeger missed, but the target was easy to see.

It was just a giant bulls-eye anyway, what mattered was what was behind it, some material which Jaeger would use to judge the damage a human target would receive.

The first shot went off with a deafening crack, and already Kevin knew that Jaeger would account for that, this was a weapon that was only stealth worthy once in a fight.

And as Kevin said, the first shot missed, though not by much, given that the bullet landed just a metre away from the target, and Jaeger was shooting from over one hundred metres away without a ballistic sight.

There was a moment of waiting, and then the next shot went.

Centre mass, as expected, cheers were heard in the distance as a whistle was blown, a signal for Kevin and the girl behind him to go check the target.

The entrance hole for the target was not as big as Kevin expected, but if Jaeger was to be believed, the strength of this weapon wasn’t in the entry wound…

And he walked to the back of the material, said material being stone, and nodded in appreciation.

The block was lined with cracks, and an exit wound… it was even better than expected.

The experiment was a success.

When Kevin told Jaeger as much, he just smiled, placing the weapon into its new casing, handing it to Viktor.

“Good. Let’s go hunt a Leviathan.” And thus, the hunt was well and truly on.