1st Night: The Nightless Hunter
"When the half-gods leave, the gods come…"
On top of a certain building, a silhouette could be seen with the night as a background and the full moon as the only source of light. This shadowy figure wore a rather tight-fitting hooded wool jacket. That is why the outline of this person could be seen despite the cover of the night. It was too slender to be considered as a man and the rather long curly tendrils slipping from the hood being played by the cold breeze gravitates one to conclude that this was a woman. But, that is all that could be assessed of this mysterious female figure from her current position. She stood there not minding the height or the coldness of the evening. Time passes by and she remained there without even moving. She seemed to be looking for something in the distance. But without even a slight movement, one would wonder if she was truly alive. Then, the stillness of the night was broken. A scream tore the silence and she finally moved by directing herself towards the direction of the sound.
The source of that desperate cry was a little boy running for his life. He had unfortunately tripped on a small crevice on the pavement and was now on the ground defenseless to the one that caused him great horror. "Mommy! Help me!" His cries fell on the deaf ears of the night as a chuckle was the only reply. "I told you… your mommy abandoned you. You're going to be my food now." From the shadows, a middle-aged man wearing a long trench coat with a smirk on his face approached the terribly frightened boy. "No!" The boy's fearful reactions only made the man glad even further as his laughter became louder. "Don't worry, kid. I'll make sure it hurts!" It was then that the man's eyes glowed red and revealed his fangs to the crying boy who was stricken with great silent fear.
"A hunter from The Guild?" The question was from the reigning top vampire hunter, Toga Yagari. It is common belief that the Association is the only known Vampire hunter organization. However, there is another independent faction that had made itself, infamous and notorious among fellow hunters and vampires through the ages, the Guild. "Yes. This hunter would be arriving tonight." It was answered by the known President of the Hunter Association and a legend among his ranks, Kaien Cross. "I can't refuse since we do need more hands here more than ever, and this hunter had been surely sent to observe us especially with what happened here." Toga released a heavy sigh. The Guild could be likened to Enforcers among the Hunters. Toga may be the top hunter but truthfully, the Guild Hunters are said to be better. They just choose not to join the ranking system.
Ever since the fallout from the former president of the Association, the Guild dissolved any connections from them. Still, they continued implementing the rules of the Hunter Code and hunt vampires in their respective territories. But with the transition, the alliance is being repaired bit by bit. "It means they see us as incompetent. They want us on a short leash." Kaien agreed on what Toga noted. "Well, I can't blame Oswald-kun to do so." Upon hearing the name, Toga eye widened in surprise and slammed his hands on the table. "The Devil Satyr?! He is in charge now!?" Kaien was about to calm the rather upset Toga when a knock interrupted him. The two men looked at the door and Jinmu came in."President, you have a guest."
The mad vampire was about to do his deed when he was kicked on the stomach with great strength. He flew and slammed to the concrete wall behind him enough to make a noticeable dent. The scared child looked at the hooded figure that saved him. "Are you hurt?" It was the hooded woman who asked while taking a second to glance at the child behind her. She saw the boy gave a small shake of the head. "Would you do me a favor?" The fallen vampire was back on his feet. "Close your eyes until I say you can open them. 'I'll make this scary thing disappear." There was something comforting in the way she spoke. Trusting her words, the child closed his eyes. "You'll pay for that! I'll drink all of your blood bitch then the kid's!"
After that, the vampire rushed with inhumane speed to attack her. She stood calmly while reaching for something in her right boot. Instead of flesh, the vampire's hands met a golden staff that burned his skin at contact. "Ah! An anti-vampire weapon! You're a hunter!" He jumped away reassessing the situation. "That I am." With those words, she rushed forward to the vampire who dodged her strike with ease. The pavement that received the blow shattered like glass. "You're strong but, it's useless if you don't hit me." He laughed at her mockingly. "That's true sir." Those were the last words the vampire heard as the staff impaled him in the heart at midair. "You…" He managed to mutter before his body turned to dust. The staff returned to a much shorter length in her hand. The hood that hid her face from being fully viewed fell to her shoulders. "Rest in peace, sir." She said with gentle yet sad countenance. Afterwards, she tucked her staff away while whispering words of appreciation. "Thank you for the assistance, Apollo."
"You can open your eyes now." The boy slowly opened his eyes as instructed by the gentle voice. His eyes widened in surprise as one thing came to his mind. "A-An angel?" Before him, there is an incredibly beautiful lady. She had curly velvet hair falling around her like sewn flowers, eyes so gold as if they were the sun, coffee brown skin that glowed under the moonlight and a kind smile on her lovely face. There was no way that she was just a human. She must be an angel or a goddess that came to save him. That is what the little boy was thinking with much seriousness. "I'm sorry you have to experience that." She said while dusting the boy's clothes with care. The child stared at her speechless as he stood. "Come, let's take you back home." She offered her hand for the child to hold onto while a tender smile was on her face. The fear that filled the kid earlier was forgotten. He took her hand with a smile.
Kaien and Toga noticed another person behind Jinmu who moved aside so they could take a good look at the guest. Their eyes widened due to the unexpected surprise. "Good evening, President Kaien Cross and Mr. Toga Yagari." There were a few moments of awkward silence before anyone inside the room regained composure. Kaien had an awkward smile before greeting the female before them. "Ah! Good evening to you too! Uhmm…?" The guest replied with a polite and gentle tone. "I am the hunter sent by Guildmaster Oswald." Toga narrowed his eyes upon hearing the name of the Devil Satyr. Oswald never had a good reputation with Toga. It is because the two never met eye to eye. "Wait, are you saying you're that hunter…?" It was answered with a smile and a proud nod. "Yes, I'm Ashia Nightless, Judge Class, nice to meet you."
Somewhere else in the world in a certain room of a historic and grand castle, the sound of a broken desk echoed within like an explosion. "What the hell were you thinking sending Ashia there!? You damned old goat!" It was caused by a very angry man that was better known as the Scourge, Zelark NIghtless. He was not pleased by the decision of Ashia being sent to the Association which in his description is the center of vampire mayhem. It's good to know that the alliance was being restored, but why Ashia? The current situation there was not comforting at all. It also added to his dislike about knowing the mission given to Ashia by the Guildmaster. There should be other more able and experienced hunters that should suffice to handle that kind of mission. It didn't have to be Ashia. "I was thinking very clearly." It was the calm reply of Fredrich Oswald, Guildmaster located in the continent formerly known as Europe.
"I intend to show the Association that we mean business and I need the best for that." Drinking his coffee, Fredrich was able to save it before his desk was broken. Oceanic blue eyes gazed at Zelark. "Ashia is a superb hunter despite starting 5 months ago. As for others, they have missions." Zelark gritted his teeth in annoyance as he removed his hand from the broken desk. "That's bullshit! I won't let her be harmed because of your ego or the Guild's reputation! I'll bring her back!" Fredrich's calm blue eyes narrowed dangerously quickly. "Stop it, Zelark." That was enough to halt Zelark from his rampage. Fredrich placed his coffee at the ledge of the window behind him without removing his eyes on Zelark. "I didn't send Ashia without her consent." Fredrich removed his eyeglasses. "She is a prodigy in the making. What is it that you fear so?" Zelark tightly clenched his hands into fists, and his golden eyes filled with deep concern. "You would never understand, Fredrich." A sigh came out from Fredrich's lips. "She is your daughter that should be enough reason to believe she'll be fine, Zelark."
"I don't know how the hell did that goat became chief!" Toga complained while lighting up a cigarette. Oswald was still as whimsical as ever in Toga's opinion. It should be clear what the situation is here "Now, now, Yagari-kun, I read Oswald-kun's recommendation letter. She's a superb hunter and became a Judge in a short time. Plus…" Kaien paused in his statement while looking at the letter that Ashia brought with her earlier. "She is Zelark Nightless' daughter." Toga exhaled the smoke of his cigarette. "The Scourge…" The foreign hunter earned his alias Scourge due to his ruthless extermination of vampires and killing two purebloods singlehandedly. With that reputation, Zelark had a sure shot to become president of the Association or become a Guildmaster. But, Zelark refused and chose to retire after his infamous deed of killing purebloods. No one had heard from him ever since until now. It seeed like his daughter was walking the same path as him.
"Honestly, I don't see any resemblance." Toga commented while closing his eye. He had met the Scourge just once. It was also purely coincidental as they were riding the same train. "She seems too gentle for this line of work." This is Toga's impression upon meeting Ashia who exuded a kind aura and a beauty that could be compared to a pureblood. "I agree." Kaien had never met Zelark personally but taking from the stories, Kaien could surmise that Zelark greatly dislikes vampires very much. It made Kaien wonder if the daughter was the same. "Well, she clearly stated her mission. All I have to do is make it official." Toga released a sigh. Well, it was the only thing they could do at the moment. It's a good thing to know that Ashia could possibly be supportive of having all purebloods die considering her father's killing streak. Toga said as he went to the door of the office to leave. "Let's see how strong the Guild hunters are." After saying that, Toga left the room. Kaien leaned on his chair and sighed. Things were starting to get more complicated than it already were "The Invincible Guild... Oswald-kun, what are you planning?"