Fantasy Hunter's Moon: Ascendancy [IC] [CLOSED]

[Infab]

Later...

Castle Dorchester, Braumwich, Kingdom of Atraca

​

Alexander Newmont was quite a busy man these days. As King of Atraca, squarely in the middle of a continent spanning war as well as in the aftermath of Velin's Great Purge, terrorist attacks from the rogue island nation of Nocturne, and a slew of other factors affecting the nation, he had grown weary. Tired of everything. The fire that he had shown at the grand meeting of nations to sort out rights for the supernatural had long faded, and he was now simply focused on making sure his nation survived. As great an empire as Atraca was, it was colliding with the forces of two other massive nations. Tsavania to the north, and Daristein to the east. This would be a struggle. Wars on two fronts always were, as Nocturne had seemed to have given up their terrorist activities against Atraca in the midst of a potential invasion from Tsavania's navy.

It was the time of day where Newmont had actually gained a moment of respite, able to sit upon his throne in the great hall as aides performed their assigned tasks. He never actually sat on the throne all that often, save for moments of pomp and circumstance. There was none of that at the moment, and wouldn't be for quite a while. The silver accented throne wasn't all that comfortable either, having mere feather stuffed red cushions to sit on and against. He was sure there was some sort of old saying about it, but it slipped his mind at the moment.

An advisor stood nearby, speaking with aides. Most were dressed in suits, or at least something dressy given their environment and association with the King. The Royal Guard, dressed in fancier versions of officer uniforms usually reserved for high ranking members of Atraca's army, were stationed in different spots around the hall. All clutching newly cleaned and polished bolt-action rifles. Swords hung from their hips, razor sharp sabres laced with silver and gold.

As Newmont sat back on his throne, his head resting in the palm of his hand as he tried to relax, he glanced about the room. The throne room hadn't changed in the past few centuries, save for a few touch-ups of paint here and there. Grand pillars held a large arched roof overhead, the white clashing with the black marble floors. Candles sat atop tall silver candelabra standing about the room, and silver chandeliers hung from the ceiling above. A long red carpet stretched from the double-door entrance at the end of the hall right up to the base of the throne, climbing up the five steps at the throne's base.

A few paintings marked the walls, most being of locations around Atraca. A few were of former rulers from Atraca's long and storied history. Maybe he'd have one placed in the grand hall after his passing? He hoped so.

As he straightened up, running a hand through his short brown hair, he began to hear a commotion outside the throne room. The occasional shout, followed by silence. Shouting was common at the castle, but not this close to the grand hall where the throne sat.

The guards looked between each other, unsure as to what to do, before looking towards Newmont. Newmont returned their look. "Well, go see what the racket is about." he soon stated, waving a hand towards the door. But they wouldn't need to move. The cause would soon appear in the grand hall itself, shoving the double doors open with ease. As if a gust of wind had simply pushed them out of their way.

A man with long black hair soon stood in the hall, clad in blackened steel armor. In his hand, the blade resting on his shoulder, was a massive executioner's sword.

"Who the hell are you?" spat Newmont, sitting forwards. The guards, scattered about the hall, soon were making their moves. Shouldering their rifles, aiming for the armored man whom had just barged in.

The man smirked, and simply waved a hand. And a moment later, the guards all dropped to the floor. In fact, everyone that wasn't Newmont seemed to collapse. All at once. Newmont looked about, his expression shifting to shock and fear.

"I believe you might already know who I am. If your ancestors passed that knowledge along, of course." soon said the man, as he began to approach the throne. Walking slowly across the red carpet as he spoke. "I am known as Sazak. Formerly Icon of Vainglory, and now Demon King of the Abyss."

Newmont swallowed hard. He knew exactly who Sazak was. Every King of Atraca going back to the first of the Newmont line knew.

"And I'm sure you know why I'm here."

Newmont shifted on the throne, eventually standing up. "...You're here to collect on my family's debt."

"Yes. Your ancestor made a deal long ago. The throne of Atraca, for a favor of my choosing at a point in time of my choosing." Sazak stopped at the base of the stairs, looking up towards the King of Atraca. "That point in time is now."

"...What do you want, demon?" responded Newmont, his eyes narrowing. "Spit it out. I'll see it gets done."

Sazak grinned, before lifting his free hand. Index finger extended, pointing directly at the throne behind Newmont.

Sazak wanted the throne of Atraca. He wanted to be King.

"...Are...Are you serious?" responded Newmont, practically forcing the words out.

"As cancer, dear Newmont." Sazak grinned wider. "A deal is a deal."

"A deal made by my idiot of an ancestor." spat Newmont, before leveling a finger at the newly crowned Abyssal King. "I'll give you anything else, but you're not getting the fucking throne."

Sazak raised an eyebrow. "My, you're a ballsy one. A lowly human standing up to the King of the Abyss." he muttered, "...I could snuff you out in the span of an instant, in a variety of ways. An infernal deal is an infernal deal. I will get what I want, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"Fuck your deal." bluntly stated Newmont. He then raised his hands out beside him. "You bring your titles in here, along with your deal and threats, as if they mean anything to me. I could care less as to who you are, or what you could do to me. You could be one of the Divine Five, and I wouldn't give a single smidgen of a shit."

"You've come to cash in on a deal you made with a true bastard of a person centuries ago. Someone I'd loathe if they were alive today. Hell, I loathe them now, because all they did was drop a massive burden upon my head. He screwed over the Bainbridge family, his own king, out of jealousy and spite. Now, I'm dealing with the consequences. And the only reason I still claim the throne is because I care about the people of Atraca. All of them, including the supernatural now. They are my subjects. My citizens. My people."

"You are a proper, Grade A coward who preys on people's weaknesses and insecurities. You're a snake, slithering through the realms. Living only to take power from others so you can raise yourself to whatever grandiose level you think you belong on. And now you intend to level that power at me, in order to take what is mine. Screw you. Take your threats and shove them. The rest of my family might have been too spineless to stand up to the likes of you, if you came knocking, but you picked the wrong Newmont to make demands of."

He then pointed to his own chest. "Kill me. Send me to the Abyss. I'll die defiant, and I'll be laughing at you from beyond the grave. Because you're a massive fucking joke, and that's all you'll ever be regardless as to how much power you lay claim to. Someone will come right along, and put you in your own grave."

Silence filled the hall after Newmont finished, Sazak simply staring up at the King of Atraca. His gaze was fixed, locked onto Newmont's face. Newmont lowered his arms to his sides, looking upon the demon with contempt. "...No witty comebacks?" muttered the king.

There was no response from Sazak for a moment, but the demon soon lowered the sword from his shoulder. As the flat tip of the blade touched the stair in front of him, he finally spoke. "...I'm not going to send you to the Abyss." he said, his voice filled with hatred. "You're going somewhere far worse."

"What are y--" was all Newmont was able to get out, before the blade of the executioner sword split him in half. Vertically. Sazak had swung it upwards, only taking a single step up the stairs with his arcing swing. The halves of the King of Atraca landed with wet thuds to the sides, blood quickly pooling and running down the stairs as Sazak straightened up.

The demon took a few more steps up the stairs, before turning about and sitting down on the throne with a clack of his armor. He then slowly smiled.

Atraca was now his.

 

[K0mori]

Kur, Land of Vainglory
​

Ten days after her encounter with Lisykna, Kellea was still shaken, wandering the halls of Sazak's palace aimlessly while reliving the battle in her head. No matter what metric with which she tried to qualify the disaster, there was no formulation which could render it palatable in the slightest. No, what had happened simply defied all imagination; it was impossible. The sensation of a clawed gauntlet, wrapped around her tender throat, and the image of a burning blade suspended with its point only inches above her breast... These things haunted her, as a nightmare would haunt a mortal.

She had nearly died! And not at the end of a long and storied life- she had come a hair's width from being erased from existence by a cur, the very same lowly servant who once scrubbed the floors beneath her while shackled by her neck. The same bitch who likened her to a pineapple! And had she succeeded, Kellea's life would have ended without her ever being counted among the Icons, much less surmounting them and donning the Abyssal Crown, as a perfect creature such as herself deserved.

Now, there was no music playing in the halls of the palace. Kellea felt a dire pressure to prepare for the next encounter. First, she sent for a new sword to be made, one which could withstand a strike in excess of what had destroyed her old one. But beyond this obvious and necessary preparation, the demon princess was unsure of what could actually be done to prepare for the coming onslaught. If she had fared so poorly against Lisykna, then what would happen if Xager, or Tariun herself, came to Kur?

She suddenly sensed a powerful aura within the palace that broke her chain of thought. It was unmistakably Mazgith, and she rushed to the antechamber to meet her. Stepping through the threshold, she was quietly thankful that she had ordered the blood and viscera scoured clean from every surface after the massacre she perpetrated ten days prior. "L- Lady Mazgith," she greeted, "to what do I owe the honor of this visit?"

"You may dispense with the formalities," replied the mage, fiercely. "The reign of King Taranoch has ended."

For a moment, Kellea stared, wordlessly. "...What?"

Mazgith reached beneath her cloak and produced an object which terrified Kellea and filled her with awe. "King Sazak, long may he reign, has named you Overlord of the Abyss. In his absence, your word will be law, to safeguard his rule against all who oppose him." She moved closer and placed the object into Kellea's trembling hands. "...I present you with the Abyssal Crown."

"I..." She tried to speak, but words failed her. Mazgith appeared to understand, and merely stood there waiting for the shock to wear off. Slowly, the pieces began to fall together in Kellea's mind, starting with Taranoch's fate. Sazak must have killed him somehow, but how, she had no idea. But this meant that she had somehow been thrust into a unique position, akin to an expansion of her current role to extend across the entire Abyss. She was in control, but in a less-than-permanent capacity. Try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to say anything triumphant or insightful at the promotion. "Long live the King," she said quietly, placing the crown atop her head. It was ill-fitting at first, with its heavy, gnarled shards of horn nearly falling off of her, but slowly it began to reshape itself, contorting itself to her elegant form.

Mazgith gave an approving nod, her expression as stony as before, as she took a step back. Casting another portal, she was on her way to locate Astraal and inform him of his promotion to Icon status, but she held back as Kellea tried to ask a final question.

"I- I need more power," she stammered. "They've... The enemy... Somehow..." Unable to find the words to express that she had lost what should have been an easy fight, as doing so would admit that she was less than perfect and needed to improve, she babbled her problem incoherently, to the mage's annoyance.

Mazgith gave her a scowl. "Seek out Trig'dranuuch's bones."

"Trig's bones? You mean you want me to eat-"

"You are holding yourself back," Mazgith interrupted. "His bones will only unlock the potential that you've wasted thus far. If you are perfect, as you have long claimed, then it is time to hold nothing back."

The mage departed, leaving Kellea alone in the antechamber to consider what she had just said. A crooked smile appeared on her lips. Of course... Of course she was still perfect! Lisykna had beaten her because she was holding back. She had been holding back this entire time, never allowing the Abyss to bask in her true glory! Her smile turned to a wicked grin, as she felt power radiating from the crown on her head, and the course of her fate within the bounds of her control once more.

 

[Breadman]

Nocturne- Outskirts of the mining town Samael's fortune

Theodore looked at the map he was given by the constabulary before they had departed the safety of the city to seek their target in the mountainous region of Nocturne. They were close, only a little while more now. The past weeks he would describe as difficult as the most polite way. An entire city full to the brim with supernaturals of different kinds and the vast majority would look at them with suspicion if not outright hatred. It was hard to blame them when considering how many were refugees fleeing the Church and general prejudice from humans. Yet there were snakes hiding among them. Vipers that needed to be hunted and killed before they could spread harm. This of course did not sit well with the denizens of Nocturne, least of all the local authorities having to accommodate foreign inquisitors so they could check under every stone.

Aleister was...tolerant towards Theodore. Both men shared history with each other and a lot of it unpleasant, but he wasn't unreasonable when the the former inquisitor made his case in his court. The danger Pierre and his experiments posed to not only humans, but vampires, werewolves and everyone else could not be ignored. Rosanna's words seemed to reach him easier than Theodore's. Sara's own donation of her relative's remains also helped sway more of the court's opinion in their favor. There was of course the matter of Theo's wife. He didn't seem it fit to appeal towards Aleister's religious background given all that transpired during their expedition together. Yet, there was a sing of sympathy given by the vampire lord. Their combined efforts is what brought them the extra time they needed to chase their leads.

Weeks of hunting, searching and close calls with the reaper had exhausted many of their leads and burned through their contacts. The young inquisitor, Sara, she had a hunch however about several people who had arrived in the city. Sickly, poisoned by sloppy application of medical equipment, mutilated. Signs that pointed towards experimentation and then being discarded. The very sight of it made Theodore's blood boil. It had to be him. Questioning revealed that these were people who fled from somewhere deep in the mines located somewhere in the mountains. It took little debate to decide where to go next. Their prospects in the city had dried up. This was all they had now.

"Samael's fortune." The short man spoke as he looked at the map "Fine name for a place like this."

"A mining town, Theo." Sara answered. The small town was within view and didn't seem to offer much hope even in the daylight. They could tell something was wrong. "Do you think he's in there?"

"Positive. The victims we examined pointed to here and autopsies revealed black lung disease had begun to settle in along with other foreign substances in their blood. If its not him, we would be ridding the world of a maniac regardless."

"Odd optimism from you, I have to admit."

"I try to look at the bright side of things, Sara." He put the map away. "Rose, do you sense anything?"

 

[Infab]

"Rose, do you sense anything?"

A few clicks sounded off, a revolver's hammer being cocked back and the cylinder being rotated a few times. Rosanna had drawn a revolver from her hip holster, and was checking it as the other two were speaking. "Nothin' from here, but don't need to sense anything. Got a real bad feelin' about that town ahead, so we're probably in the right place." she responded, eventually slipping the Remington 1858 back into its holster. This wasn't her gun, having had to borrow it from one of Aleister's men back in the capital, so she was uneasy about using it. It was better to have this converted relic than to have lost her personal weapons somewhere up here if things went to hell. At least this one used cartridges, otherwise she'd have had to swap the cylinder out every six shots.

She shifted a bit, looking to the others with her. "I'll keep a close eye out, though. We'll find your man, Theo."

 

[Breadman]

"I hope so." The trio continued along the road, reaching the town shortly after. The town itself resembled the type one would usually find in Atraca. Looking just a little deeper would reveal that under the surface something was off. Streets were almost empty with a few people walking in a hurry. The town had a mostly human population so the evening should have seen more activity. Another giveaway was the local bar. Empty. No miners are going to have the collective decision to just not get blackout drunk after a day's labor unless something was seriously wrong. Rosana was right.

The tree of them walked a further into town until they met with the police force that was assigned to aid them. It consisted of two inspectors and that's it. It would seem like an insult, but there was something about them. The first was a thin man, pale with slicked back hair. His eyes had a spark when he saw them and he bared his teeth in a smile. Vampire. The other was a larger man with a bowler hat and ginger mutton chops streaking along his cheeks. He didn't wear a coat like his colleague, instead his badge hung from a simple shirt he wore. Very likely a werewolf if his size is like that due to the werewolf affliction.

"Welcome to Samael's fortune." The vampire spoke first "I'm inspector jaubert and this is inspector O'Brien."

"Good to see you inspectors." Sara greeted them first. "Didn't expect them to send anyone to be honest."

"You're chasing one dangerous fella supposedly and...we can't really let outsiders search willy nilly now. Needs to be done by the book and all that. Our book that is."

"Right. Can't upset the local law enforcement just yet." Theodore commented "We have one lead. The people who escaped all had signs of being exposed to the coal mined here. If anyone would know about their missing miners, it would be the foreman."

"Right. Saw him in his office." O'Brien pointed with his thumb in the general direction. "Vampire named Ervart."

"I suspect you didn't ask him anything."

"We are only send here as observers monsieur Boivin." Jaubert said while maintaining that smile "And I feel it would interfere with your own investigation."

"Your presence alone would spook him, I believe." Theodore sighed. "Very well, lets see what he knows." With the inspectors joining them, the group walked to building that was closest to the mines. Odd thing for the foreman to still be there, even if he was a vampire. The workers were all gone and he shouldn't be far behind. Theodore began to suspect their lead was something more than that. Sara knocked on the door to his office and they could only hear some rummaging inside and a voice asking them to wait a moment. The former inquisitor was ready to force himself in when they heard the voice beckoning them in."

"Ahh inspectors, what a surprise! How can I help you?" Ervart stood in his chair, his pudgy form barely fitting the piece of furniture. An unsettling smile across his face made worse as his thick spectacles hid his eyes from them. O'Brien shut the door behind him and crossed his hands as he observed. In the corner a furnace was burning to provide some heat in the room.

"Monsieur Ervart, I have a few questions regarding a group of miners that recently came in the capital."

"Can you be more precise? That doesn't sound out of the ordinary. Why..."

"Do not interrupt." Theodore cut him short "They were half dead when they arrived. Some didn't make it through the night and those who did are now suffering from being experimented on. We found out that they were from this mine. Do you have any information about them?"

"Oh those missing miners?" Ervart fainted a slap on his head "Yes. You see we get a lot of human rabble coming though here you see. War refugees and the like. Naturally all the good spots get taken by proper citizenry so they all congregate where hard labor is available instead. So it gets hard for me to keep track of everyone." Theorodre and Sara looked at each other and back to the foreman. "I think its coming back to me, yes." He scratched his chin "I honestly thought they called it quits and left to be honest with you, but being experimented on? That must have happened somewhere else."

"How are you so sure?"

"Well...I'll be honest with you inspector, nobody on this island likes humans. Even other humans. You treated us like dirt for so long and when we have our own little haven you come in. But I digress. Humans who settle here also tend not to like each other. People from Atraca and Tsavania constantly get into fights here and there. You know how it is."

"Does this tirade have a point?" Sara interjected with an annoyed tone.

"And so rude too." Ervart answered indignantly. "What's next inspector? You're already implying it's my fault that those men were screwed around with, when its likely they got drunk and ended up crossing the wrong person."

"Inspectors, I'm afraid I have to escalate to not waste anymore time." Theodore spoke calmly to the two "Will this be on the record?"

"I'm afraid I have to pencil it in." Jaubert shrugged. "But not right away."

"I'm not even in the room." His colleague gave his own answer.

"Alright then." Theodore upholstered his gun and pointed it towards Ervart. The man behind the desk raised his hands and looked in disbelief. "Pierre DeTrot! Where is he?"

"I...I don't know who you're talking about!"

"You take your time to let us in! We walk in and first thing we see is a burning furnace in the middle of July! You burned something and it wasn't firewood. And now instead of answering our questions, you're hiding behind your racism of all things! I have pistol whipped smarter men than you for such bold faced stupidity, but I don't have the luxury of time to do that for you. Now talk before I paint your walls and ransack your office myself!"

"Ok! OK! I'll talk." He gave up the ghost rather quick. "I don't know his name, but I assume he's your man. He came here some time ago. Talked about how he wanted to see vampires take the next step. I didn't know what he meant, but he said he had a plan for it. He said the secret was hidden in humans. In your blood or something. I figure its perfect. I supply him with stock for his experiments and he gets rid of more of you from this world."

"Where is he?"

"Abandoned shaft in the mines. If you follow the blue arrows along the walls, you'll find his workshop and...whatever he has cooked up down there." He panted and panicked before he said anything else "We send a lot of people down there. Nobody cared. Please don't kill me!" The foreman whimpered.

"I wont." Theodore holstered his gun "You're not getting off that easy."

"We'll make sure of that." Jaubert stepped forward with handcuffs in his palms "While we are not authorized to interfere in your investigation, we have to take any confession to criminal activity seriously." His eyes met Theodore's through his mask "Matters of security you see."

"Aye, don't worry about this fella." O'Brein commented while his partner cuffed a panicking Ervart "Make sure he's not going anywhere. May need to send a message for backup if we find more accomplices."

"Doubt we will." Theodore commented as they left the room "Pierre wont come quietly and he may have something prepared for intruders barging into his abode." He looked to Rosana and Sara. "Ready to face what's down there?"

 

[K0mori]

Peltragow
​

In the days after the battle against the two Icons, Sebastian had little to do. While some others within their party had suffered grievous injury or other trauma which required rest and recovery, he was feeling quite well. Unfortunately, he was not welcome back at the casino due to his poor behavior, and he had no one to visit with, either. Instead, he visited another local junk shop and procured a new book to read, a story about a man embarking on a daring journey around the world to settle a bet. He spent most of the next day sitting in and around the inn, when the weather was nice, reading as much as he could, and by the second day back, he had already reached chapters describing the western world - Redonia.

It reminded him of Takato, and the offers the oni had made, both to share the story of his past, and to teach Sebastian how to use his magical tools to take flight. Amazed that it had taken him this long to find a good opportunity to ask, he hustled to the room where he believed the man was staying and gave it a knock.

 

[Damian0358]

Xiaòzhou laid in his room, feeling despirited from the latest endeavor. Though he was fine physically, the party was weakened, so much so that two of them were incapable at the moment, and there was nothing he could do to aid them. Even Zazriel seemed unsure how to help, after he had placed his staff briefly onto Royland. He had finished his usual routine, and was just left to ruminate in his room. At least until he heard a knock on his door.

The hermit could tell it was Sebastian through it. Eyebrows raised, he got up and opened the door, putting on a smile.

"Why hello Sebastian, what can I do for you?" the oni asked plainly.

 

[K0mori]

"I was just thinking about how to pass the time until we're ready to pick up and move on," Sebastian replied, "and I remembered a couple of things. You offered to tell me about yourself, I mean... Not about what you are, since we already discussed that, but rather, where you're from, and what's your story. That sort of thing." His expression turned a bit mischievous. "You also told me that you would show me how to fly with those spell cards you carry around. Are you busy right now?" he asked, although it was plainly clear that the man was just as idle as he was.

 

[Damian0358]

"Not particularly, no," Xiaòzhou said simply, though his smile seemed to have become far more genuine after hearing what Sebastian was here for, "I'm free to share either if you'd like! Would you rather we talk in my room, yours or downstairs at a table?"

 

[K0mori]

Sebastian considered it for a moment, and figured that if he was to be seen by one of the others conspiring with the oni, that that someone would undoubtedly intervene and muck everything up. And since his own room was no better than Takato's, he decided it would be best not to go anywhere. "Here would be fine," he replied. "If we sit out in the tavern area, I'd be tempted to start drinking."

 

[Infab]

Rosanna grew up in a mining town, back in southern Atraca. From what she remembered of her childhood, she never could recall a time where the streets were this empty or when the bar wasn't open and packed full of people wanting a drink after (or before) a hard day's work.

As they met the two inspectors assigned to them both, Rosanna simply folded her arms and eyed the pair. She wondered just how much direct influence that Aleister had over the local constabulary, and if these two were legitimate and trustworthy. They'd find out soon enough, she reckoned. And if they weren't, they'd have to answer to her.

After all, a vampire and a werewolf were nothing compared to a dullahan.

They soon continued on, moving towards the last building before the mine proper. Foreman's still at work. Not a good sign. When he didn't open the door immediately, another sign of nothing good. And then, the furnace roaring as if it were the dead of winter. Three strikes. They'd learn what was going on through Theodore's interrogation at gunpoint. As the inspectors soon hauled the man off in cuffs, Theodore turned to face Rosanna and Sara.

"Ready to face what's down there?"

"Born ready, mon ami." said Rosanna, her a smile appearing on her face and her eyes shifting to their ink-like dullahan black.

 

[Damian0358]

Sebastian considered it for a moment, and figured that if he was to be seen by one of the others conspiring with the oni, that that someone would undoubtedly intervene and muck everything up. And since his own room was no better than Takato's, he decided it would be best not to go anywhere. "Here would be fine," he replied. "If we sit out in the tavern area, I'd be tempted to start drinking."

Xiaòzhou nodded, and invited Sebastian into his room. He offered him a seat, and went to sit down himself. Looking around, Sebastian could see the room basically looked like his, with the only difference being the hermit's bag resting to the side, and an extra cushion being present on the seat the hermit was about to sit on. The oni grabbed the cushion and placed it into his bag, before finally sitting down.

"What would you like to hear about first then? My journey, or the preliminary on flight? The latter might be a bit more difficult to start with, since it would require a bit of conceptualization, such as with the notion of qi," the hermit asked.

 

[K0mori]

As much as Sebastian was curious about flight, he couldn't help but feel fascinated every time he heard Takato throw around terms like "qi." It reminded him of how much of the world he had yet to explore or experience in any way aside from the representations he had encountered in fiction- in some cases entirely fabricated by an author who had never gone west in their lives. He wanted to hear something that was true.

"We can wait on the flying lesson," he replied, sitting down in a place that was comfortable. Out of respect, he wouldn't smoke in the hermit's room.

 

[Breadman]

Born ready, mon ami.

"You wont see me unprepared" Sara answered with a smile as well.

"Good. Let us go then." Theodore led the group outside the building and towards the mine. The inspectors cuffed Evard to a post before catching up. The mines were of course dark and deprived of their light. For the two humans, the lanterns would have to do the trick, given their supernatural companions had ways to see through the darkness themselves. A few dozen meters in and they already noticed a fork in their path. Sara moved her lantern to shine its light across the walls until they saw it. A blue arrow pointing towards the direction of Pierre's lair. They kept going, following the trail down the mine until they came upon an elevator platform used to load coal. The next arrow pointed down, so there was little choice but to go down.

As the elevator dissented, the tunnels and shaft steadily started feeling more claustrophobic from the atmosphere. Suddenly O'Brein started sniffing the air.

"You feel that?" He asked as he kept sniffing. "Smells like we're not alone down here." There was zero doubt about his werewolf nature now.

"Is it Pierre?"

"No, vampires don't smell like that. This is something else." He paused for a few moments "These are still alive, but...not"

"Thralls." Theodore turned back to face forward "He's using some of the humans as his servants." The elevator continued to go down and take the party down the mines, until they entered a chamber in the mines. Overturned minecarts, mining equipment and stacks of coal were littering the floor. They were close. The group disembarked from the elevator and moved forward, but stopped when they saw something moving in the darkness. The lantern lights revealed it was a humanoid shape, but it was moving with a limp, dragging something behind it. A moment later it was revealed it wasn't the only one as more started to appear from other paths leading out of the chamber. "Merde! The thralls are under his control, but they're still human. Try not to kill them."

"I suggest you take another look at those there thralls." O'Brein spoke up. Sara shinned a light towards the closest one to reveal the wretch's face. Blank, eyes milky white and skin in a state of decomposition and a maw of razor teeth. It screamed as it swung towards her direction with a pickaxe. The young inquisitor deflected the blow with her sword and kicked the thrall back.

"Theodore, they're zombified!" She shouted as another one took another swing.

"Not again." Theodore said under his breath. "Not this horror again." He aimed his revolver at the nearest one and fired a shot into its neck "They're his ghouls! Kill them now before they overwhelm you!" He fired another shot, bringing another one down. The commotion was enough to mask something else. Deep from within the mine a howl was heard, something was coming. Its heavy steps lumbered forward from out of the darkness. A hulking monster of rotting flesh and sharp claws marched towards them. Pierre's experiments were let loose.

 

[Damian0358]

Xiaòzhou nodded, but just as he wanted to begin, he seemed to confuse himself for a moment. He placed his hand on his cheek.

"...I wonder how to begin," the hermit seemed to admit, "I am in many ways still processing everything I had learned down in the Abyss, as I had the unique opportunity to meet family during the Beaumont Mission. Oni, no matter how good they are, are destined to head to the Abyss due to our demon-descent..."

He seemed to look to the side slightly, as if ruminating on what he had just shared. He then shook his head.

"I suppose you'll be the first to hear my story with the facts I had learned," the hermit remarked.

"From what I had learned, I am the only son of Nari Kanggili and Enggule Turge. Their union would end in tragedy, as my birth would result in my mother's passing, and the already-strained relationship between their clans would prompt my father to hand me to my uncle, Algin Turge, who was told to keep me away from both clans. I had not even known any of their names at the time, only finding out by meeting my mother in the Abyss. But an event would occur in my early life that would change my destiny," he began, with the tone of his voice indicating just how new this information really was for him.

"My uncle, his clan as a whole was mercantile, so he interacted with the humans commonly. And then, one day, he was killed. As no one from the family knew where I was, I was alone. Those my age I was around mocked me for trying to understand why the humans killed my uncle, and I grew frustrated enough to leave the mountain underground and find the village where he was killed," he said with a slight frown, "Nearly got myself killed in the process, near beaten to death with beans."

The oni then realized he needed to briefly explain the beans. "Y-yes, beans. The people of Redonia grew to have so much faith in beans having an effect on us that it did begin to have an effect..." he kept it brief.

"The crowd present was stopped by an elderly human stepping in and defending me. I would fall unconscious and wake up to see myself being nursed back to health by this man. And he offered to guide me home, but I still remembered the atmosphere below. I was reluctant, and so he offered me a different option. To stay with him, and be taught the Way, the Dou."

"So, I had become the pupil of one of the oldest hermits still alive in Upper Redonia at the time, Shan Douzhou. And had lived outside of oni society ever since," he said, leaning back into his chair, "I just knew too little about my origins to be able to return to it... though with what I had learned below, I might finally be able to make progress," he commented, as he moved to remove his headwear, allowing Sebastian to see his clean cut horn-stumps.

"He taught me ways to hide my complexion and look more human, as to allow me to join him in village visits," he said, as he revealed his true complexion, his actual skin color being much redder, and in turn, his eye and hair color being slightly lighter, "He educated me as best as he could in what he knew of oni. He cared for me as though I were his own. As I did not know what name I had, he bestowed me one. I was Gaá Xiaòzhou to him, and, with a different reading of the characters of my new name, Ka Takato to the rest of humanity. Since my time in the Abyss, I have chosen to go with Xiaòzhou, but to expect people here in Adonia to know how to say and write it would be silly," he remarked, as if implicating telling Sebastian it was fine to call him Takato, "all this occurring... sometime in the 11th century, according to your calendars," casually revealing how old he was, as well as how he predictably didn't know when exactly he was born.

"The life of a Douean hermit would not be a simple one. Our practices allow us to exceed our intended lifespans - my own master had been a child back when the Dou began to spread - and that rendered us enemies of nature, for death was inevitable. As such, for ever daring to prolong their lives further, every hundred years of a hermit's existence, the greatest misfortune is to fall upon them, and if ready they are not, struck down they would be and sent to the Abyss itself. At least, so it was according to tradition," he explained, though pausing for a moment, as if realizing that, even if this may just be tradition, at bare minimum being sent to the Abyss applied to him eternally.

"It would be sometime between the 13th and 14th centuries, that a new art would emerge in the region," he reached in his clothes, pulling out his card pack, "the spell cards. Perhaps as a result of the Age of Darkness, Redonia was more sensitive to magic, to the point even children could learn to wield magic. But so too did remain creatures from that time, yokai as they are commonly called, who too could utilize magic. Encouraged by the spiritual leader of our lands, the head of Shouki Shrine, they became the preferred means of duel for all, but especially so between man or weaker beings, and yokai. Rather that focusing on natural strength, mental strength became the new focus. In these fair duels, two parties would wield cards, generally composed of multiple sets of five, which bore descriptions of their respective spells, akin to talismans, with both parties dodging the opponent's barrage, avoiding to be struck. The party who had been struck the least and had the most visually impressive barrages would be declared victor," he explained at length.

"Mystic barrages, they would become known as. The spell cards nominally dealt no physical damage to those they had been used on, unlike talismans, and used minimal qi. They would soon become a game as common as regular playing cards, and would be used as means for teaching the young how to use magic even if they did not have the aptitude for it, naturally lending itself to cards such as those for flight I had shown you before," he elaborated, "But if one were to channel enough qi into them, the barrages can possess destructive capabilities, so bloodshed still occurs. A very common sight with assassins..."

Xiaòzhou's expression saddened, "as I am very familiar. Assassins would be a common sight for me and my master, coming to end our lives for our hermitdom. And between the 14th and 15th centuries, before I had become a hermit proper, my master would be assassinated. Dying after being struck with a poison-laced short blade as he protected me from an assassin... and so, I was alone once more. my master's home now mine. A century later, I would be attacked by an assassin once more. He would fail, but not before setting my home aflame, destroying it and forcing me to spend the next century a wandering hermit. Another century after, and I was in the midst of fighting a heinous yokai besieging a village, demanding tribute from it. I bested him, but in his final moments, he had concentrated his aura into one final blast headed my direction. Before I could dispatch of it, it shrunk and intensified, forcing itself within me - it was so intense, it had broken the incantation used to pale my skin, and resprouted my horns. The villagers were horrified, and even tried to strike me down. I fled, and soon word spread of a 'false hermit', one who had slayed my master, who hadn't been seen in the last three or four centuries."

"I would spend the next century attempting to return things to as they were, but none wished to do anything with me. The rumors outpaced my own words. And soon, I was faced against the head of Shouki Shrine himself, a descendant of the man who, with his group, defeated the demoness in control of the former Heavenly Empire's lands..." he paused for a moment, "...incidentally, as I would find out in the Abyss, she is also the mother of Sekath and Sagath, the Icons of Lust and Envy..."

The oni deliberately kept silent for a moment, just to allow Sebastian to realize what this meant for him, if they were to run into them.

"...back to what had happened with me, the shrine master approached me carrying the very blade used to kill her. We fought intensely, as I avoided harming him to show I had no ill-intent. But he ultimately defeated me..."

As he spoke, he began rolling up his right sleeve. He revealed to what extent his right arm was wrapped, before carefully and gently taking off the wrapped section, revealing its true nature. Sebastian could see the silver item protecting the true end of his right arm, which the hermit also proceeded to remove, revealing some cushioning between its inside and the arm stub. He could continue speaking as he began putting everything back in its place.

"...the only thing which prevented my death was the fact that, in my pain, to calm and steady myself, I recited the first mantra that came to mind - a mantra otherwise associated with my master. The shrine master would cauterize my arm on the spot, and take me with him back to Shouki Shrine, where we would talk the entire night. Having heard everything explained from my end, he advised me to depart Redonia, for I could not live peacefully there until the story of the 'False Hermit' was forgotten from wider memory. He took the part of my arm that he had cut off as 'proof' he had slain me, as he arranged for me to head eastward to the Grand Port Towns of the Kairaku League, and head to the lands dominated by those who followed the Five Immortals... or, the Divine Five. And so, for the past century or so, I have lived in Adonia, traveling the continent and doing what I can here. I would make for myself an artificial arm made of hermitical 'dark mist', with my preferred mystic barrage projectiles added for further solidity, but keeping its true nature to myself.

"More recently, High Inquisitor Nathaniel Weston would save me from a situation that nearly led to my exposure, and through him, I began to work with the church in a limited capacity. Hearing what had happened to Weston's adoptive daughter, the descendant of Saint Rebecca, Valeria Witlock, through him I headed for Eternis, and that would result in my partaking in the Beaumont Mission and..." he spread out his arms.

"Now I am here. Fighting against the rupture of the status quo that the current Abyss-induced affairs present."

Xiaòzhou hoped he hadn't overwhelmed Sebastian with everything he had shared, and carefully watched his face.

 

[K0mori]

With each turn in the story, Sebastian grew more amazed at the degree to which he underestimated the depth of Takato's past. Now, he knew that the man wasn't just another supernatural being, applying his unique gifts for a unique situation, like Rajko or Claire... Come to think of it, he was probably underestimating them all. Over the course of a long enough life, every place changes, every good friend and family member passes on, and one's great achievements either fade into a lost memory, or twist into a local legend. As Takato lives on and continues experiencing life unending, he'll be forced to tell a longer story each time to listeners who are increasingly ill-equipped to comprehend him.

He felt sorry for the man. Sebastian found his past to be expectedly unique, and yet mostly irrelevant due to the ages. He only hoped that the party's ongoing efforts would help to bring him closer to his goals of returning peacefully to the lands from which he hailed.

"Do you think," Sebastian replied, "that once the people of Redonia have forgotten about the 'false hermit' and you can go home, that it will still feel like home?"

 

[Infab]

Zombies and abominations. This was starting to remind Rosanna of Oar's Rest and the river delta back on Grimtham, though this time there was a distinct lack of one particularly insane pureblood and an armored up corrupted dullahan. Hopefully this abomination went down as easily as the one back then, but it'd have to wait till they thinned the heard of zombies a bit.

The moment that Theodore fired his pistol into the second zombie, Rosanna's revolver came out. In two brief flashes of light, the Remington sounded off. A pair of shots ripped through a zombie in front of them: a bullet punching through their knee to knock them down, and a second to blow a hole clean through their head. A second slap of the revolver's hammer fired a third shot, as Rosanna swiveled slightly and put another round through a zombie to their right that had emerged from a narrow flanking passage way. The mining lamp fitted to the helmet on his head exploded, as the bullet ripped through it and the helmet.

Then, she turned her attention to the abomination, actually taking aim and firing off the remaining three shots in her revolver into the creature. The bullets hit the abomination, making audible slapping noises as lead hit thick flesh, but the creature didn't seem fazed by the gunshots. "Shit. Guns aren't gonna do much against this thing!" he spat, ejecting spent rounds from the cylinder and slipping fresh ones in. As she reloaded, she kicked another zombie away before delivering a pistol whip to another.

As she pistol whipped him, however, she noticed he had a sledgehammer in hand. Likely used for busting rocks and boulders in the mine to get them out of the way, or driving spikes into rocks. That looked useful. She shot the zombie clutching the weapon in the face, putting it down for good, before quickly grabbing the hammer. And then, in one swift motion, she lifted the sledgehammer overhead before hurling it through the tunnel at the incoming abomination. All of her strength was put to use, and it seemed to pay off as the hammer collided with the abomination with a loud meaty thwack.

It seemed to stun it for a few seconds. Time to figure out what to do next. "We need to move, we can't stay here!" she said, glancing to the others, before firing off another shot into the zombie she had kicked before.

 

[Damian0358]

"Do you think," Sebastian replied, "that once the people of Redonia have forgotten about the 'false hermit' and you can go home, that it will still feel like home?"

Xiaòzhou almost seemed surprised by the question, and reflexively placed his hand on his cheek.

"...my, it has been a while since I had thought of that question. Before I answer it though, I will mention that, in the time between the Beaumont Mission and now, thanks to the venerable Cassiel, I did receive the opportunity to head briefly back to Redonia to inform the current head of Shouki Shrine on all I had learned. The memory of the Age of Darkness hangs over Upper Redonia, so the shrine has long held plans in case of another Abyssal invasion. And then, what was supposed to be a brief few hours informing her then devolved into her challenging me in a very public mystic barrage - one of the toughest I had ever fought in, and lost - and her, with Cassiel's permission, keeping me for a month or so for training....

"I had even planned to use one of the techniques she had taught me in our last battle against the icons, but you had managed to close it out," he remarked in a rather paternal tone, both impressed and proud of what Sebastian had managed to achieve.

"...but whether it would feel like home still was not something I really answered in my brief time back. Even with her celebrating my name after my defeat - or at least she said she had done as much, I was unconscious by the end of it - I largely kept to the shrine to concentrate on training, so I hardly saw the rest of the region. But somehow, I do think it will still feel like it, and the reason why I think so is Adonia."

The hermit got off his chair and stretched his arms out, as if presenting the outside world as an example. "While I consider myself unfamiliar still with Adonian society and history in general, to say your continent had not changed at all would be a lie. And yet, despite all that had changed due to your advances, it still feels like Adonia. I can only imagine the same could be said about my own homeland of Upper Redonia."

The oni sat back down, and his expression changed to one of slight concern: "...really, what I worry most about when it comes to what awaits me there physically, is whether the villages me and my master used to watch over remain. He and I, living atop Butoo Mountain, would descent from our hermetical home and visit the surrounding villages. Their proximity to us meant that yokai sometimes besieged them, and often, we were the only ones there to save them."

He looked to the floor. "Perhaps the waves of time had passed them by and allowed them to remain... or they had been washed over, only to be remembered in records. Life moves forward, unending, with no way to resist it."

Xiaòzhou looked back at Sebastian.

"This is the Way."

 

[Breadman]

"Theodore, she's right!" Sara took the head off another ghoul "We can't fight that thing and kill all of these. We have to get back."

"No!" The former inquisitor cried out "If we retreat now, we may lose our only chance." He glanced back and noticed that the two inspectors were still near the elevator. Hands in their pockets. "Are you two just going to stand there?"

"Observe and not interfere, monsieur" The vampire answered with a sly smile. "We are still under orders. Unless something were to force our hand." A zombie had somehow managed to sneak up behind O'Brein and it swung a shovel towards his head. The loud clang knocked off his bowler hat and made him take a step forward. The large man looked back and he wasn't looking happy. "Something like that." Jaubert sighed and he unbuttoned his coat to take it off. By the time he got to the last button, O'Brein was finished with his werewolf transformation.

The werewolf sank his claws into the zombie and tore into it. Meanwhile his colleague brandished his own gun towards the zombies. The others continued to cut their own path forward. Rose's plan had worked and the giant beast was stunned, letting them focus on the smaller ones. Stabbing, slashing, shooting and evocating through the wave of bodies. But the beast began to rumble again as it got its faculties in order. The flashes of the lanterns revealed what sort of thing it was. Its skin was covered by patchwork of fur, scars and grafts of flesh. Its legs were bend like a wolf's, but lacked any fur. The head had wolf ears and nose, but no snout, instead it had the eyes of a vampire and their signature fangs in its mouth. Theodore instantly understood what abomination they were seeing. An experiment gone horribly wrong or a deranged proof of concept? It's face contorted as it looked into them as if trying to communicate with them.

"Lass, the hammer!" O'Brein shouted towards Rosana as he charged the creature. Their size roughly the same, with the thing's growth hormones winning out. Their strength was the same as both tore into each other.

"We need to take that thing down if we want to get out of here!" Theodore lit one of his grenades and threw it among the ghouls that were bunched together. The fragments tore right through them.

 

[Infab]

"Lass, the hammer!"

"On it!" shouted Rosanna. Time to play things aggressively, it seemed. She spun about, noticing Sara nearby as she finished cutting down a zombie with her sword. "Sara! Gonna need a favor from ya!" she said, before reaching up with both hands.

"Hold my head! Keep it safe while I do my thing!"

And a moment later, Rosanna's head popped off. She gently tossed it to Sara, who barely caught it in her free hand and tucked it close to her chest. Then, the now headless body of the dullahan gunslinger proceeded to beat a bloody path through the zombies before her.

It was as if her strength had been amplified by multitudes, obliterating heads with simple but brutal punches and ripping bodies apart like wet paper as she powered through them all. The dullahan seemed unstoppable, a faint trail of black smoke from her neck drifting behind her as she marched on towards the abomination. On the way, she grabbed the sledgehammer she had thrown from the mine floor. It had simply bounced off the creature's body when it collided before, landing a few feet from the beast. It wouldn't bounce off this time. Not with her swinging it.

As her werewolf compatriot slammed into and slashed the abomination with his claws, Rosanna chose a more focused approach. The moment she got close enough, she pulled the hammer back like a baseball bat. Then, she took a step forward and swung. Another meaty thwack, forcing the abomination to stumble backwards from whence it came.

A hit like that would kill an ordinary man. This creature was anything but ordinary, however. She prepared to strike again, as she noticed it was quickly recovering from the hit. It looked as though she was going to have to beat it to death, or let the werewolf rip it apart. Whichever came first.

 

[Breadman]

Hold my head! Keep it safe while I do my thing!

"Your what?" Sara blinked rapidly as Rose handed her head over to the inquisitor. "Sorry!" She nearly dropped her head, but managed to get it under control. She stopped for a second as Rosana tore through the ghouls. It was the dullahan strength coming through. She didn't have much time to appreciate it as she had to continue fighting her way forward.

O'Brein for his part was tearing through the creature's flesh as Rose was working on its skull. Its unnatural healing was the source of their problem of bringing it down, but he had a brute force solution for it. With the other assailant constantly ringing its bell, he dug his claws in its chest. Each dig was deeper and deeper until he could feel his paws wrap around what he needed. He squeezed its heart until he felt it pop. The shock was enough to make it stop wriggling so Rose could smash its cranium with repeated shots to the head. A final gurgle came out with its last breath before it finally died.

"Did it say...thank you?" The werewolf looked bewildered from what he heard. There was no time to confirm or dismiss as they had to move. The group had punched a large enough hole in the wall of flesh to move in one of the tunnels following the blue arrows. Theodore stopped in his tracks and turned around to throw another bomb. The passage behind him erupted in a blaze, buying the group more breathing room. The arrows would eventually point to a door.

They burst through the door and quickly closed it behind them, followed by slamming the barricade. Sara handed Rose her head back and turned the lantern off as there was no need since the room was well lid. Theodore got a few short breaths in before realizing where they were. The door led to another large chamber, maybe half as big as the one they were already in, the space was needed to fit all the equipment. Across them was a board with scribbles and notes hanging along diagrams and sketches of vivisections. One the left piles of discarded clothes and personal belongings.

They were placed next to a massive door. Once serving as a entrance to another part of the mine, now it served some other purpose as a trail of blood leading to it and the center of the room where a table stood. A body layed out on top of it with its chest wide open. The chamber had containers of floating bodies in them, each in a different state of being cut open. Finally to the right were tables with beakers, tools and jars with floating organs. In the center among the tables he stood. Slightly hunched over, writing down something in his notes.

"My my, you make such a racket." He didn't turn to face them. Just writing down his notes "I was hoping I could work in peace tonight."

"Pierre!" Theodore pointed his gun towards the vampire. His target didn't seem to care. "Whatever this is, ends now!"

"Ah, inquisitor Boivin!" He turned around to face them. The face of the man was the exact same as Theodore remembered save for some minor scars. Why did he have to live? "I was wondering if you'd show up." He took off his hat and bowed in a mocking gesture "Is the lab setup to your liking?"

"Tell me who helped you put all this together and your death will be quick."

"Obvious isn't it? A conman from Escaria with a curiosity for natural science, suddenly finding himself in Nocturne with a laboratory of his own. Quite the story." He reached back to one of the notebooks at the table. "Indulge me for a little bit, won't you?" He tossed it towards the group. Theodore glanced towards it for a moment before bending down to pick it up, never breaking eye contact with Pierre. With his free hand he flipped through it. It was his writing. His notes. "How did you find this? All the documents were destroyed."

"You weren't the only man lady Lynch financed." The vampire grinned. "Your original notes were destroyed yes, but not the copies she had made. They have been very useful for my own research, save for the final pieces of the puzzle by one Edward Henderson. Sloppy work that one."

"This is some kind of trick."

"Come now, how would I possibly know about her? Or your friend who...ended our benefactor. By sheer luck, I survived our last encounter and by luck I was recruited by her. You are right again of course, professor. I couldn't do this alone. Even after her demise." He glanced towards Sara "Condolences for your loss." She had to restrain herself from firing a shot of her own "Her estate was devastated after her death, but thanks to some very fine accountants, the money went to where it belonged. The rest came from like-minded people. Names I'm sure you would want to hear, but I'm afraid we are out of time." He took a whistle that hung around his neck and blew into it. They didn't hear anything save for O'Brein, who covered his ears. His pained snarl distracted them for a second. The massive door from before began to creek open. From within another massive beast emerged. "You bested my prototype, but he had served his purpose." The creature towered over the werewolf, its paws adored with massive claws. The head fully transformed into a wolf's head, but the same vampiric eyes.

"Behold the rumble of scientific triumph!" Pierre raised his hands in the air as his monstrosity stood tall. "Kill them!"

"Merde!" Theodore switched his focus away from Pierre and towards the new abomination he had created. Those with firearms shot at the creature, while those who could fight it up close would have to improvise. Theodore took his shot against Pierre, but the madman managed to evade the bullet. He ran back towards his creation to put it in front. If they wanted to get to him, they'd have to destroy his life's work.

 

[Infab]

It was times like these that Rosanna wished that she had invested in a nitro express rifle.

She gazed up at the massive creature, unleashed upon them by the very man they had been after this entire time, and wondered just how exactly they were going to kill this thing. Her Remington wasn't going to do anything against the beast besides piss it off, unless she could shoot it in the eye or something. That would at least distract it, given her bullets were silver coated and would likely disable whatever abilities it had... if it still had the weakness to silver that some supernatural beings had. She drew her revolver, carefully aiming and firing three shots towards the creature's large head.

They'd need a proper weapon to kill this thing. Sledgehammers and pickaxes wouldn't work all that well, as they'd be here all night trying to bring it down. They needed something powerful. Rosanna then remembered that they were in a mine. Mines had explosives, used for blasting rocks out of the way. Exposing ore veins and creating new passage ways. There had to be some dynamite here somewhere. A stick of it shoved down that thing's throat would work wonders. A lot more boom than Theodore's handmade explosives, and possibly dangerous in such an environment as this, but it was a good option.

"Theodore, look for some dynamite. A stick or two will work." she said quickly, firing off another shot towards the thing's face and eventually hitting one of its eyes. Blood spurted from its wound, and it roared in pain before charging her. She quickly darted out of the way, moving around the room in an attempt to get it to chase her.

 

[Breadman]

Theodore, look for some dynamite. A stick or two will work.

"On it!" Theodore responded and ducked after the beast charged Rosanna.

"What?" The vampire inspector yelled "Are you mad? That will bring the entire mine on us!"

"You have a better idea?" His werewolf colleague slammed his claws into the monster and started tearing into its legs. He got a kick for his troubles that send him back a few meters.

"Times are desperate inspector and they require desperate solutions." Theodore repeated as he searched the room for any sign of dynamite of explosives. There had to be something of the old chamber still here. Even with its processed state, the dynamite itself could be broken down to useful components if the notes he remembered were the right ones. The folly of his arrogance made him curse his own name. Was Rose's plan better than anything he could come up with? Very possible. His own plan would have taken longer and likely have the same results. This is more efficient.

Fortune was with him this hour as he found a box under one of the tables. It contained a few sticks of dynamite. He just had to make sure Rose got them. He readied another grenade and tossed it on the ground behind Rose. The substance spilled in a large wet spot and made the creature halt its charge as it stepped in the glue. He used that moment to throw another one over it, covering it with acidic sludge. It roared in pain as the chemical concoction melted its flesh. It would only last for a few moments as its healing factor would kick in and repair the damage, but it would be enough. Hopefully.

"Rose, catch!" The scientist tossed the sticks to the dullahan. The others were now redoubling their efforts to inflict damage to the beast.

 

[Infab]

Rosanna caught the sticks of dynamite, snatching them out of the air and bundling them together in her arms. Four would work, guaranteeing a nice big boom. She then reached down and unbuckled her belt, snatching it off and wrapping it tightly around the bundle.

Once it was secure, she moved back over to Sara. "Gonna need you to hold my head again. This is gonna get rough." she said, leaning over slightly so Sara could grab it. Once the inquisitor had done so, the now headless dullahan shifted her body around and pointed at the beast. It looked as if she was motioning for the others to continue their assault on the beast, but in reality, it was a dullahan's method of singling out a target.

Ser Tristyn had called it the Mark of Death, an ability that dullahans had which allowed their headless bodies to track targets without line of sight. It also seemed to enhance their strength when focused on that one target. Rosanna had always thought it was just a dullahan choosing their first victims, but it turned out there was an actual reason behind it.

She felt it, as she pointed at the beast. Its aura glowing brightly like someone had lit a torch in pitch black darkness. She had placed her Mark. She then felt for and wound the long fuses together on the dynamite bundle, before drawing out a match and striking it.

Soon enough, the fuse was lit. They only had about twenty seconds.

She rushed towards the beast, as O'Brien clawed more at the creature to wound it. Then, the werewolf grabbed the arms of the creature, pulling them backwards to prevent them from knocking Rosanna away. As she arrived, she quickly climbed onto it and began to pummel the beast's face with her fist. It needed to open its mouth just wide enough for her to pry it open.

And soon enough, it did. She slipped her hand inside, pushing upwards while she forced her boot in and pushed its bottom jaw down. Separating the two and opening its mouth wide. Then, in went the dynamite bundle, shoved right down into its mouth with her free hand. And to prevent it from spitting it back out, she used her other boot to shove it down its throat.

Now was the time to get clear!

 

[Breadman]

The fuse finished burning inside the thing's throat and the explosion rocked the chamber. All that remained from the abomination was a lower torso as its body was ripped asunder by the dynamite. Blood, bone, meat and entrails flung and splattered across the laboratory. The explosion's consequences kicked in soon after as parts of the ceiling broke off and fell on top of them. A rock falling and shattering Pierre's leg, pinning him in place. Stone fell on top of much of the equipment damaging it beyond repair if not outright destroying it. It was done. This fight was over.

"You have so much to answer to." Theodore spoke as he approached the vampire with his revolver in hand.

"I suppose I do." The let out a faint laugh. "So now what? You take me in to question me?" The smile faded "No, you didn't come for that. You wanted revenge for her, don't you? But you can't because of what I know. Of who I know."

"Cute." Theodore shot him in the leg. Pierre let out a scream of pain. "You are not the first monologuing predator, nor the most original. Silver bullets. Designed to break apart in your body. Talk!"

"I suppose this is the new merciful order now." Pierre coughed. "Poisoning me so I will speak."

"It wont kill you. Only cause you pain. Perfectly treatable."

"Fine then. I have something for your order." He coughed again as he reached inside his coat. The vampire smiled again as Theodore prepared for his next deception, but the vampire managed to surprise him yet again. Pierre took out a stake from his coat and smashed it right into his heart. He let out one last dying laugh. Theodore instinctively reached to pull it out, but it was too late. His target was dead by his own hand.

"Merda." The professor exclaimed as he looked at the corpse "Enjoy the Abyss, canard." He turned back and walked to the tables that still had the notes and plans on them. The inspectors were looking through the evidence themselves, Jaubert flipping through the books.

"Absolutely barbaric experiments." The vampire remarked. "Many were still living as he stitched them together."

"He was...deranged is the right word I suppose." Theodore looked at the notes. "We must destroy this. All of it."

"Are you sure?" O'Brein turned back. Now in a human form. "All of this is evidence."

"No, he's right. We have seen enough for the court to side with the inquisitors." He tossed the book on the table. "Frankly this should also make a case for abhorrent oversight and behavior towards the humans here, but one thing at a time."

"Dreams of a better world I suppose." Theodore looked through what was gathered. Very little pointed to names of financers and accomplices. "Stand back." He motioned for the inspectors to move away. He sprayed the documents with some concoction and lid them on fire. He stared at the flames for a few moments. The revenge that he craved was his, but all it did was raise more questions and worries. His own actions sowing more misery. He turned around and walked to the group. "There is a door leading to another part of the mine it seems. Might be another exit we can take to bypass the ghouls."

"Sounds like a plan." Sara nodded in agreement. She sounded exhausted.

"This chapter is finally closed. Thank you for your assistance. All of you. Only way we even got this far."