“Excuse me? I have a few questions that you should be able to help answer.” Penelope’s voice carried even from this distance—after a few houses’ residents almost immediately closing their doors the moment they spied on me, I figured it was best to half-hid myself. I kept myself decently far, still able to see and listen. The best way to do that fortunately was just ensuring I wasn’t really in their line of usual sights.

I carefully kept myself still as I waited, watching the way the villager opened his door and almost immediately looked confused when he saw Penelope instead of the expected person—me.

Or at least that was my first thought. I watched carefully, at the way he seemed to go slack, his shoulders dropping almost immediately from when his eyes landed on Penelope and looking down—toward her clothes. I couldn’t help but do the same and…

The pattern was still as captivating as before. The lines, the fractals and whatever else mixing and matching one another, blending in such a way there was always more to watch… and I could follow them. Or tried to, at least. To just dig and look how they blended so beautifully and—

A snap of the finger, and I blinked—my mind slightly fuzzy, but those were easy to dismiss. I smiled weakly at Penelope, who looked disappointed. Well, I guessed she was feeling like that from the way she frowned and the clenching upon her hand. She didn’t tend to really radiate what’s running inside her mind, or her emotions, but there were clues from looking at her.

“I apologize, I didn’t manage to make this one talk as well.” She sighed, gently grasping my wrist to tug me elsewhere.

Anytime before this, I would have pulled my hand away and walked next to her, but somehow this felt—comfortable. I let her led me away, to somewhere a bit more secluded and under one of the trees growing everywhere in this village.

This time we were on the edges though, close enough that it would be easy to just… walk through and went into the forest. She let me go, and for a moment I wished she would do it longer before dismissing that. There wasn’t really any reason for all of these funny feelings, except maybe all the disappointment I was feeling was becoming a little too much.

Usually, I would be fine. You couldn’t really be a Hunter without facing these issues. But constantly having people be so against you, and perhaps, even hating you… I sighed. My hands came up to massage my face, as I struggled to really control these feelings that seemed to all bubbled up to the surface.

“Sorry, I don’t think we can have more conducive things to do for the rest of the day—so you can go back to being the helper in the temple.” I murmured, voice hitching slightly as I tried to push everything back down. I didn’t want to face these right now, maybe not ever. At least Penelope couldn’t see how my face truly was though—

And then she held my hand, and my breath stopped for a moment. She didn’t force me to open, to let her look into my face, and yet there was… something to be said about having the presence of someone, just being there. Not hurling abusive words at me, not being condescending, not looking down at me—Slowly, I took my hands down, and she didn’t let me go. On the contrary, her hand squeezed mine for a moment, just a little thing to solidify the fact she was there and not anywhere else.

I breathed, head spinning slightly as I looked right into her eyes. Just seeing the pure storm, the way the gray darkened as she smiled. One that seemed to be more for reassuring me than anything else.

“Hey… That’s okay. I don’t know what came over them, but I don’t mind helping you.” She whispered, leaning a little closer to me. Her voice sounded… different, a bit more resonant, rattling inside my head. “You don’t have to worry about me, okay?”

My head bobbed up and now, the slightest feeling of pressure on my chin—the fuzziness was spreading, and I should be worrying about that—but it was related to Penelope, and she said not to. And I had nodded, so that meant I agreed, and it was simpler to accept that.

I was tired.

The sense that I needed to worry about this was muted, and I didn’t have the energy to try fighting anything… and so I slipped.

My body relaxed further, as I heard and listened closely to her murmurs, of words that I knew I could understand if my mind was a little bit more present.

She asked me to breathe, and I did, and when she asked me to exhale, and so I followed. Calmness spread within myself, the buzzing in my head stopping all the constant thoughts and worry I always clutched close into my chest.

How my blessings weren’t working. How the people here weren’t accepting any sort of compromise. How I possibly would end up unable to help this place.

All of those melted down, wiped away as I listened properly. As Penelope’s words washed over me, as if I was a stone in the middle of the ocean, feeling the way the waves rocked onto me—slowly carving me down, wearing me down into whatever shape’s the sea wished for it.

“Do you feel better now?”

Her question was sudden. Or maybe it wasn’t, but my mind was still muddy and slow right now, leaving me uncertain. Before I could have ended up in another spiral, she repeated it again. A reminder, and I found my head gave her another nod. It was easy, and her fingers felt slightly cold against my chin.

It was surprisingly true. My brain was comfortably hazy, because a fog had swallowed what was making me anxious and worried. Leaving nothing else except for what she was putting in my head right now, and she smiled down at me, full of indulgence.

“I apologize for being a bit heavy-handed just now, but you were spiraling.” She said, for another line of truth. I had been feeling dejected, and, and… There was some part of me that was supposed to be worried, when I tried to think on what had caused that dejection. It didn’t reach me though, as if the anxiety and I were separated. “Just remember, this is all a completely normal thing for me to do. After all, friends help to take away worries—and you are no longer worried, aren’t you?”

I murmured a word—probably an agreement, because she looked satisfied.

“See? So this is all okay. You won’t dwell on this talk for too long, only knowing that you find yourself thinking of myself positively. After all… I’m the only one you find yourself talking with easily.”

Another nod, another affirmation. It was easy, and her soothing words silenced any other part of myself that had wondered. That would have tried to fight—but there was nothing to it.

“Alright, I think this is enough for now… You have been incredibly wonderful, Stella. Those people in the churches really didn’t know how to take care of you properly.” She said with a caress on my cheek. Intimate and yet, I didn’t think I should be doing this with someone I just knew, right? But I felt like Penelope’s trusted. That I didn’t need to worry. “Ssh, it’s okay. It’s time to go back up, and we can talk more properly.”

Before, she would have waited for me to say yes, but now she just—

“Now, it is time for your mind to slowly come back to wakefulness. You’ll find what happened just now a little hazy, but there’s nothing to worry about. Follow my words, and the numbers. When the number has reached three, you’ll then finally snap out of this trance. Now, listen closely…” Her words were still tinged with that resonant quality, overlaid with the tone that had made me find her words so easy to follow—and I did it for this one too. “One… two… three.”

A snap of the finger, and I couldn’t help the sudden jerk of my body as my awareness returned.

All the previous fog in my mind was all gone now, and… and the worry flowed away with it. I breathed, feeling as if my head was finally clear after so long. “That’s…” I started, wanting to ask  what had happened. And yet I couldn’t find the words, all of them slipping away before I could have done anything with it—until all that was left was merely me standing right in front of Penelope, a little confused but mostly relaxed and content.

Nothing was wrong.

“Considering how much searching here isn’t really working…” Penelope started, and I almost immediately put all my attention on her, finding doing that surprisingly easy. Perhaps because of the way she talked I suppose, just the right cadence and tone that made it far easier to shut out everything else and focusing upon Penelope herself.

I still nodded my agreement upon hearing her words, for I could still feel the bits of frustration and tiredness—anger and worry mixing in one another as I thought over the way all the villagers had been reacting. They stopped me short, and the only one who had helped me even slightly was Penelope. Well, Hermann did, but gaining the little information out of him was already like pulling teeth. He wanted to make me angry and bitter, stressing me out until I had no choice but to go back with my tail between my legs.

“Well, what if you go straight to the source?”

I nearly retorted, saying that’s obviously dangerous—didn’t she feel the danger in the air? The way I could taste the iron and metal from the air, a sign of bloodshed—and yet no one seemed to care for it? There was something dangerous going on, and I wanted to find out a hint.

My mind gleefully reminded me that I had no other choice anymore, though. Not unless I wanted to let Hermann win, and in some ways… I’d rather face a monster that was completely out of my league than letting that chief gained victory.

So instead of a refusal like any other Hunters should be, because the church preferred us to be more conservative in the way we did our job—I grinned at her, my eyes surely glinting under the sun. I barely realized it had been afternoon already, the sun already glowing orange as it slowly made its way down.

“You are right.” I whispered, holding onto her arms, excitement starting to curl and burn within my chest. “That’s the only way I can check—no one has gone to the forests, right?”

“No. Hermann told everyone to stay in the village as much as they can—even going as far as checking people’s houses when the sun’s setting.” Penelope answered me easily, and quickly. She’s making the case for going, and I found the plan solidifying in my mind.

“Got it.” I said, before realizing what she said on the latter parts. “Oh. I suppose you have to go back now then?”

She nodded, albeit I could see slight reluctance written on her face. “I’d rather not hear him more than I needed.”

I nearly laughed—hiding it with a cough instead. “Hah. Yeah, I got what you mean.”

Slowly, I released my hold on her, feeling slightly reluctant to do so. It was about time to separate and go on our own way, but it had been… a bit too long since the last time I had someone to talk with like this. There was someone back in church, but we weren’t exactly friends and more like roommates. The fact we were both Hunters meant we couldn’t meet up a lot too, as when I left would often be when she came back and vice versa.

“Don’t worry.” Those two words made me shudder, somehow ringing true in my head. “You can talk to me whenever you go to the temple’s library—I’m helping there for a while.”

I gave her my affirmation, before we finally separated for the day. I needed to go back to where I stayed, aka Tristan’s place to rest as much as I could.

For tomorrow… well, it was time to go to the forest. To explore what might be there.

Maybe the monster would signpost where it lived in. A cave, a dwelling… I wasn’t sure, with how thick and tall the trees were in this place.

But I was sure I could follow the scent of blood in the air.

The next day came quickly, and after freshening myself and ensuring all of my weapons—including my cross being placed back on the lapel, out and proud and hopefully, would affect any monsters negatively if they saw it—were all in their proper pockets, I walked toward the forest.

Instead of going through the village, where there probably would have another road of its own, considering Hermann’s feelings to Tristan—I used the one Tristan had. He hadn’t told me, but I could see with my own eyes how the main road in the farm just continued to snake on and going deeper into the forest.

I walked until I reached the edge of the farm—where the gate was kept shut with a fraying rope. Not going to keep anyone out, if that was the aim. But considering the protection’s already in the air, I supposed he didn’t need much beyond a little more obstacles on the road. Any animals walking through must have thought that there would be easier prey elsewhere than another part of the forest where it had some barriers.

When I was done opening the gate and slipped out, I tied it up properly again behind me. I didn’t want any accidents to happen, and well, if something was chasing me and I had to get inside hurriedly… I could just jump over the fence. No big deal.

Only, and only when I walked slightly further away from the gate, did I finally taste the pure, unadulterated remnants of magic in the air.

Most of them were fresh, the one that was formed naturally within the environment. Taste almost green even. But considering this place was also close to the towering mountain ahead… It mingled easily with cold, almost numbing my tongue with its temperature. The frigidness covered the still heavy tang of blood in the air, even if I felt them stronger now in this place, in the forest. I shivered slightly, pushing my hands into my jacket’s pockets for a moment. Just to get them slightly warmer.

While natural magic wasn’t supposed to be dangerous—I tended to be a little too sensitive to them, and warming myself up didn’t take too long anyway. After a few seconds of rubbing them against the fabric, I pulled them out again and started to walk on the already existing trail of magic. So far it was still following the ones people were walking through, but it should diverge later on.

I didn’t know where it would take me to, but I didn’t want to walk into the dark forest without any way to keep my bearings. My hands fidgeted slightly, and I grabbed my gun from within my jacket. Better than nothing, and I’d rather have my weapon right in my hand if something happened—even though so far, there weren’t even any sort of animals running in around here.

My ears were pricked, my head cocked slightly here and there, all trying to listen and see if there was something within this forest that might have been the cause for the recent missing cases within the village. Even a pack of wild wolves could be possible. Not everything needed to be something supernatural.

And yet, even in the middle of the trail like this, with the trees towering high and covering the sky—all I could hear was the almost deafening silence of the forest. Occasionally, there would be a rustle, and I would just jump and turn around, right toward the source. Only the stare of squirrels, or some birds would look at me back. They were silent, painfully still as they kept watch on me.

None of them were ever bats. Or more dangerous mammals—in fact, I was certain that I had seen a few rats scurrying around, even. They didn’t chitter or cry out, nor was there any scream of bugs around me still. Not like I wanted to hear the buzz of mosquitos or anything like that, but the silence of the forest was unsettling.

Woods were always full of life, filled with sounds, of bird chirping and cawing, of insects humming and hissing with one another. But here? The silence pressed down onto me, making my own breathing sounded so loud despite the fact I was trying my best to keep my breathing silent. Every accidental step on dried leaves or the crack of branches as my shoes came down on them, were always so loud that I could almost swear that they had thundered across the place and I would grip my gun a little tighter—and yet there weren’t any sort of crowing as bird took flight from being spooked, or any curious predators trying to see if maybe, there’s an easy prey afoot.

Blood rushed in my ears loudly, following the heavy thump in my chest. I was becoming increasingly nervous, despite the fact there wasn’t any sort of attack. My palm sweated, and I had to let my gun go to my other hand for a moment so I could wipe it before cocking it back once more.

I continued to follow the trail of blood in the air. There weren’t anything in the soil, but what I could glean from the magic was enough. Step by step, I went forward, slowly calming myself down with every minute that passed. I tried to keep my eyes to look around, checking as much as I could. Of course, I still had to turn around, looking toward my back—and the further I went, the harder it was to see where the village began.

I convinced myself to not turn around right now, because I was still walking on the trail, and that meant that I wouldn’t get lost when I would go back. Today I needed to go as far as I could.

How long did I walk under the trees, watched by those small animals? I didn’t know, but I only stopped when there was finally a split in the trail.

My heart was still beating a little too fast, worry easily clutching my inside with cold grip—and yet I kept my calm, breathing carefully before I closed my eyes for a moment. The taste of metal was thinning slightly, but… I turned my head left and right, trying to taste which one was stronger.

Both of the roads gave off some of that rust, luckily not tasting too awful against my tongue. But one of them were thinner than the other, and so I reopened my eyes and… turned to the right. Presumably, the left was going toward another village.

That meant this might be a monster after all, and I couldn’t help the excitement that started to form within me. I was tired yes. I no longer had such bias toward the church anymore too. But that didn’t mean I wanted to let monsters ran free, preying upon humans.

My hand gripped the gun tighter, my other taking care to ensure it was all running smooth. Lifting it up, I wondered if I should put in the bullets now or not. The fact I only had six bullets to shoot with was awful, if I was honest. Most monsters wouldn’t even be phased with one, and this meant I would be more likely to use it against the various animals the monsters might be controlling.

I took another peek around, the trees somehow growing even denser, pressing their bodies and roots against one another. This time, there weren’t any sort of animals looking—wait. No, there was a tiny sparrow perched upon the branches, its tiny beady eyes boring down upon me.

The edge of my mouth curled down as I looked at it, noting the way it didn’t seem to move and pecking the branches. I never stopped my walk, and soon after I left that behind me—and yet I could still feel its gaze staying on me.

I quickened my pace, not caring what sound I might echo out into the forest. If that was the monster watching, then there wasn’t any need to be stealthy anymore. If not… well, there weren’t any predators so far, and I didn’t want to go back to the village without knowing anything more except ‘walk a little faster and further next time’. That wasn’t conducive to my deadline.

I didn’t know how long but—the trees suddenly thinned, and when I get out of the foliage—my eyes were wide as I took in a building that I swore I wasn’t able to see from within the village.

It wasn’t the biggest of its kind, of course. Telehan had bigger ones, and I was sure that some other monsters probably had built something bigger—but it still towered over me, the bricks dark as they laid on top one another, making towers and walls.

A castle stood before me, albeit I could feel that it was more akin to an ‘idea’ of a castle. How people thought of one. My eyes watered as I tried to really take stock of what was there—and not really able to. A mirage of a building, and yet I swore that it would be solid the moment I walked in.

Still an incredibly fine work, considering it was all made out of magic. With this building and the heavy taste of metal on my tongue, I now knew for certain what the monster I would face now.

A vampire.

The corner of my mouth curled up this time, for that was the one I had prepared myself for. And with the sun’s still up… it was time to go in and explore as much as I could.

Maybe I was rushing myself, but the faster I finished this, the better.

I walked in, despite the few worries at the back of my mind.