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The Hunters Volume Two: War Chapter Twenty Four: The Zoo
On Friday the ninth of September, a seventh grader Anna Marino received a week's suspension after she had injured a fellow student. The 12 year old had zoned out during fifth period and the boy had approached her hoping to surprise her. From an outside perspective it seemed like a pretty harmless prank. Hence why it seemed so bizarre that the supposedly harmless joke had ended up provoking a highly violent reaction from the normally cheerful if a bit reserved girl. In the end, her father had come personally to take his daughter home in silence that remained unbroken throughout the whole ride. Antonio Marino had seen many things in blood and sweat filled journey to the top of the mafia world. He had seen full grown men brought to the lowest points in their lives by impossible trials. He had experienced fear, had seen the extents fear could drive wholesome individuals to. And last month he had been forced to experience the worst fear a father could imagine.
The Hunters Volume Two: War Chapter Twenty Five: The Fallen Knight's Question
Anna giggled again with glee as she watched the snake move its head around in a circular motion, in sync with her own hand's movements. The snake was an Australian Diamond back rattlesnake, as indicated by the sign nearby the glass cage. Unlike most children her age, Anna had no deeply rooted fear of serpents. She had always found the creatures strangely fascinating, from the way they moved and behaved right down to their varied feeding methods. Which was why she had only spent a few minutes with the other reptiles before focusing all her attention on this one. At first the rattlesnake had paid her little attention, obviously used to being stared at by visitors to the reserve. Then she managed to make eye contact with it, or at least she thought she did. Those slitted glassy amber eyes were a different kind of weird even for her. That was when things got strange. When she had attempted to move to another snake, the diamond patterned creature had
The Hunters Volume Two: War Chapter Twenty Six: The Princess's Answer
"No." "Why?" "Because I don't believe that any one is ever truly born evil." Her answer hit him with the force of a sledgehammer to the gut. Was this it? The question that had plagued him for so long, had it really possessed such a simple answer? He remembered the last person he had asked that question and what had been her answer. Back then, his soul had rejected it firmly and so had he. But now, deep within him he could feel this little girl's words resonating with his soul. There was no mistaking it. Her answer was the one he had been searching for... but still... No. That couldn't be everything. He would have to hear her out more. To satisfy his own curiosity if nothing else. "And what do you mean by that?" Arthur asked, his face set in a thoughtful expression. "Do you mean to say that all the criminals and evil doers in this world are not to blame?" "No that's not what I mean," Anna shook her head
The Hunters Volume Two: War Chapter Twenty Seven: Threat Designation
After last week's game, school had been abuzz with various comments and thoughts on the event. Students discussed the game's statistics in groups and cliques in the hallways and courtyards, with the more knowledgeable ones offering their take on the matter. As had been expected, the Starlight Comets had trumped the visitors to take the first win of the new season. The whole team had spent the first few periods of the past few days stampeding through the school hallways in loud cheer. As the rowdy bunch crashed their way through the second hallway of the Department of Theater and Arts, the students parted to make way for the team with some of them even joining momentarily in the cheer. One of the students, a slightly tall girl with a slender build and dull red hair leaned into the white wall to avoid the crowds. Dressed in a form fitting dark blue blouse and pants combo, she looked just as desirable as any of the top diva
The Hunters Volume Two: War Chapter Twenty Eight: The Exchange Students
'Hey witch girl,' the monster called at her, turning his blood splattered face to give her the cruelest smile she had ever seen. 'Do you know any spells for reading this guy's mind?' His right hand dragged up the brutalized lump of breathing flesh that was the Rougarou, without a single care for the disgusting squelch it made nor the agonized wheezes that came from the creature. Even from where she stood, she could see where its slashed abdomen struggled to hold back its innards from spilling out all over the ground. It took a conscious effort on her part to avoid throwing up the contents of her stomach at the sight. Her ears picked up the inhumane laughter of the monster as he mocked her. Did he think she was like him? That she was as evil as that? The scene changed. She didn't know how but she was aware of what had happened. The iron tight grip around her
The Hunters Volume Two: War Chapter Twenty Nine: Suspicions
September 14, 2022, 1:37 pm, Starlight Central Academy, Literature Class. The bell rang thirty minutes later and a cacophony of noise filled the class as the need to remain quiet disappeared with the end of the lecture. As students began to make their way out of the hall, two girls moved instead to the left wing of the classroom where two other individuals awaited them. "You can't tell me that you don't at least find him a little bit attractive?" Mia sighed and turned to shoot Melanie a dry look. "It doesn't matter whether he's cute or not. I'm telling you, there's something seriously wrong about those guys." "Oh come on Mia, they're perfectly fine," Melanie said with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. Then she paused to tap one well manicured finger on her full lips thoughtfully. "Well, at least most of them are. That one guy just gives off total weirdo vibes. But the rest a
The Hunters Volume Two: War Chapter Thirty: The Council of the Cross
September 14th, 11:45pm, The Vatican City, An undisclosed location beneath St Peter's Basilica... The Holy Catholic Church was perhaps one of the most powerful yet controversial organizations to have ever existed in the history of mankind. Its history was both marred by atrocities committed by leaders in the centuries past and scandals that surrounded so many of its clergy in the modern day, as well as brightened by the wonderful fruits its faithful had brought upon the world throughout its existence. There were few aspects of modern day society that weren't affected even a little by the theologies, doctrines and ideologies of the Church. It existed practically everywhere, with ties to just about every major group in the modern world. That applied both to the normal, mundane world that most humans dwelled in and the darker, supernatural world that was filled with existences that ought not
The Hunters Volume Two: War Chapter Thirty One: Mentor and Student
September 14th, 11:58 pm, The Vatican City, St Peter's Basilica. The owner of the hoarse voice, Fr Josef Costa was a sixty something year old man with a balding head and bushy eyebrows and a slight moustache that was filled with gray hairs much like the situation atop his scalp. He wore a dark blue cassock and a royal purple stole that depicted his status as a Cardinal. His eyes were small but filled with a clarity and intelligence that reflected the knowledge his age had given him. The old man gave Vincent an unreadable look before shifting his dark eyes to the still seething Fr Enzo. "And you, have you lost all sense of empathy? Creatures of the night or not, those deceased were no less individuals than you and I. Do not spit on the face of their families and friends by disrespecting their passing." For a second it seemed as if Enzo was about to let the older man, though not by much, have a piece of his mind. But in a flash the expression on the man's face suddenly swit
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- The Hunters Volume Two: War
Chapter Ninety Nine: It Begins...
Rosaline stared at the ground in front of her where a raised mound of earth was all that remained of one of her longest friends. The pain and grief in her heart was far greater than the ones still wracking her body even as she stood in the pouring rain. Unlike other mounds around her, this one did not have a cross atop it, nor did it have a headstone. Rosaline had felt it would definitely not be fitting to put up a cross on Aria's grave considering how the girl had died. And as for a headstone, she had considered it at first, but that idea had eventually been discarded. After all, even if she were to make one, what would she write on it? Aria was the last of her family to die and as far as Rosaline knew, the girl did not have any other relations outside the Order of The New World. Even within the organisation, the only people she had really gotten along with had been Rosaline herself and Ezra. The latter had been in a strange love-hate relationship with Aria, something that Rosali
- The Hunters Volume Two: War
Chapter Ninety Eight: Vacuum of Despair
Chapter Ninety Eight: A Coming Storm Mia could not stop staring at the girl lying oh so innocently on that white hospital bed like she had not just tried to suck away all of Mia's powers like some kind of energy leech. The memory of that terrifying experience was still very fresh and raw in her mind, leaving her very uneasy about getting any closer than six feet to the girl's bed. She just kept pacing back and forth, imagining just what could have done this to the girl before her. But Rin was in no mood for such indecision. "Hey Mia," the ex assassin snapped the mage out of her thoughts sharply. "What the hell just happened right now?" "I... I don't really know..." She answered, her voice less shaky that it had been a few seconds ago but still just as uncertain. "I mean I thought I had recognized her from somewhere but when we first got here, I wasn't able to get a reading so I just thought I had been imagining things... But this..." "Ok you better start making sense or I'm
- The Hunters Volume Two: War
Chapter Ninety Seven: Looking Deeper
"As you know by now, all of the Hunters possess a specific Variant ability in addition to the powers we already have by virtue of our werewolf nature," Olivia explained. "Michael has his Erasure, Dean has Absolute Death Inducement, Jade has Space and Time Manipulation and Lee had his own particular brand of Blood Magic. As for me, well the closest thing we've been able to find as a suitable name for my ability was the Eternal Soul." "The Eternal Soul?" Mia repeated in surprise. "And if that name was to be believed literally," Rin leveled the girl with a flat look. "Then it means you are essentially immortal?" "That is correct." "But Shin said that he had both gravely injured you and hit you with an unavoidable attack that was meant to inflict death upon any target it hit regardless of—" "Ah ah, that's where you're wrong," Olivia cut in with a knowing grin. "Immortality does not always equal to invulnerability. You can cut me, stab me, shoot me and I'll still bleed just li
- The Hunters Volume Two: War
Chapter Ninety Six: Backlash
As the morning sun rose above the sky of Starlight Central Academy, the shrill sound of the wind whistling through the rows of ornamental trees planted all over the school was nearly drowned out by the loud singing from the large open field that was situated just off the north of the school. The pitch was mostly devoid of regular students leaving only members of the two most well known extra curricular clubs in the entire academy: the football team and the cheerleading squad. Both were having their practices on the same field, which was fortunately large enough to easily accommodate the two groups without either having to worry about bothering the other. As the cheer squad went through the complex choreography of their routine, a lone figure sitting on the middle row in the bleachers watched them with unconcealed interest. A few of the girls on the squad had noticed the individual's staring and had begun to whisper among themselves. Eventually one of them seemed to have had enoug
- The Hunters Volume Two: War
Chapter Ninety Five: The Unseen Shadow
Sometimes Loretta wondered if this power she had been born with was a blessing or a curse. The Celestial Eyes had always been something she had taken extreme pride in. With those Eyes, there was practically nothing that was hidden to her. She could see all the truths of the world, the inner workings of the human mind, even the most concealed secrets of most people she came across every day. But for the first time in her life, Loretta felt completely blind and lost on what to do as she stood on the paved walkway along the avenue that led out of the residential part of the campus. There was a slight chill in the air, something that was not uncommon this early in August since that was when fall started bleeding into winter. But though Loretta had worn a comfy looking long sleeved blue parka jacket and was even going as far as to keep cycling her magic through her body at all times, it did not alleviate the cold that was boring into her soul. At least unlike the last time she had
- The Hunters Volume Two: War
Chapter Ninety Four: Duty
A single flap of his wings had him closing the distance between them immediately, his swords coming up for a double diagonal slash from both sides. Ezra reacted accordingly by blocking both attacks with a brand new pair of blood axes that formed instantaneously from the swirling magic around him. Vincent raised an eyebrow at the appearance of a second arm in the vampire's body, formed from solidified energy to replace the the Exorcist had severed earlier tonight. But even then, the strength of a Celestial being was not something that could be matched by simple Blood Magic. The axes shattered after a few seconds of bearing the weight of the Exorcist's power and Vincent attacked again. Having fully expected this, Ezra did not make any attempt to dodge since doing so would put him in a far more unfavorable position than he already was. Rather he stepped forward and raised his arm, the one that was made of energy and intercepted the stab. The sword pierced right through the arm but t
- The Hunters Volume Two: War
Chapter Ninety Three: A Dead Man's Sacrifice
Vincent dove down sharply in the direction of Rosaline, having deemed her as the biggest threat among all three at the moment. Technically neither of them were a threat in actuality but the Exorcist still felt it it would be better to be safe that sorry later. The Arcane mage dodged out of the way of the dive-bombing angel/human but was immediately forced on the defence by the Exorcist's constant barrage of attacks. Whenever she tried to make space between them to cast one of her more powerful incantations, the man would always choose to close the distance between them with one flap of his wings. The first couple of strikes she had defended against with her stave had already gotten her seriously concerned since she had felt her own weapon crack ominously. A follow up diagonal slash directed her left arm away, leaving her open for another attack which came in the form of a powerful kick that Rosaline was barely able to block using the stave. The force of the blow snapped the st
- The Hunters Volume Two: War
Chapter Ninety Two: A Futile Struggle
The first time Ariana Carmine had ever seen an Exorcist had been when she was twelve. At that age, she had just barely matured enough to understand that the world was not as black and white as the teachers at her school had made it out to be. There had been duties, obligations and responsibilities that had been the cause of many arguments in her home back then. Every day she came home from school, she would almost never failed to find one new letter joining the stack on the table by the door. Whenever that was the case, her mom and dad would enter a shouting match that was often so bad that she would always flee into the safety of their attic to escape the noises. Eventually her parents found a way to somehow settle some of their outstanding bills. Right from a young age Ariana had always known that her mom and dad were... special in a way most other kids' parents were not. She had liked it back then, liked how she would come back from visiting a friend's house sometimes and get
- The Hunters Volume Two: War
Chapter Ninety One: Absolute Power
"Is it over?" Ezra asked as he rotated his left arm in a slow circle. "Did that last attack get him?" "I doubt it," Rosaline said, the irises of her eyes gaining an electric blue glow as she pushed arcane energy into them to boost her eyesight. "I saw him just before that last strike hit. His expression was way too relaxed for someone facing the possibility of instant death. He probably had a way to survive that thing." Ezra looked back at the large cloud of smoke and dust that drifted upwards slowly. The vampire chuckled in disbelief. "Well damn. If he really does survive that, then he is one tough son of a bitch." Beside the dark skinned mage, Aria tightened her hold on her daggers impulsively. "... We have to... We need to kill him..." "Someone sounds like they have a personal grudge," Ezra said with a smirk full of mischief. "Care to share with the rest of the class?" Aria turned to glare furiously at him. "It's none of your business—" "Actually it is," Rosaline cut
