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Stepping out of the tavern, Avenger was greeted by a light breeze that pressed the chill of the night air past the opening of his cloak. Pausing, he closed his eyes and he dug his toes into the dirt road beneath him. The atmosphere reminded him of the nightly escapades around the city with Bazett. Hunting other Servants to devise a strategy to defeat them or fighting the leftover shards of his body. It was troublesome, tiring, he was way out of his league, and his Master was a slave driver. How man times had he fought a one-sided battle against another Servant and lost spectacularly? Complaints aside, he couldn't help but gleam a bit of pride from being able to push monsters that outclassed him into using their trump cards. Before the end they even managed to defeat all their opponents before a reset occurred. A laugh snuck out from under his hood, he had to admit that the nights during that infinite loop were just as enjoyable as the days.
After the brief reminiscence, Avenger's red cloaked figure casually began to stalk through the night streets.
It was a funny thing to hide his visage when his body was supposed to be the living reminder of the devil and his legend. He played with the cloak's hems a bit before the distasteful thought that "this seems like something a hero of justice would wear" cropped up in his head.
"You don't want to draw too much attention to yourself. You can't erase tattoos. We have to be discreet." Avenger grumbled. "I swear if she says killing is off limits she's officially more overbearing than Bazett."
Then without warning the seemingly drowsy town exploded with energy as wolf like howls clawed through the streets and melded together with the frantic ringing of an alarm bell.
Cinder's two followers shifted in mood as the tattoo covered man left the lively and chatter filled tavern.
"So, what did he write on that paper?" Emerald spoke up.
"Probably something creepy." Mercury added with a exaggerated shudder of disgust. "Next time you get to carry him."
Without a moment of hesitation Cinder slid the note out onto the table for the two to read. She was prepared for any protest that would arise but was certain that she'd fostered enough trust and loyalty from the two in front of her that they wouldn't question her decision. Still, the addition of the chaotic pawn named Angra Mainyu to her side of the board was something she would make sure to fix.
"Told ya so."
"Mercury!" Emerald planted the sharp of her elbow into his rib.
"What? It's not like this is anything new." Mercury nursed his side. "Besides, I bet he's just some faunas murder who hides his trait under the bandanna."
Cinder watched her underlings bicker at each other. Their odd way of expressing camaraderie placed a vague and warm smile on her face. She questioned if she would gain a similar spark once she reached her goals, but swiftly brushed the preposterous idea away. The smile disappeared and was replaced with contempt for their easy going and relaxed mode of being.
"Cinder? Cinder?" Emerald said.
"What is it, Emerald."
"I- I don't think it's safe to have him talk to you alone." Cinder glared at the girl causing a wince and sheepish apology to come forth.
Mercury took it upon himself to chime in. "That's all fine and dandy. But how do we know he isn't running away right now?"
"It would hardly be a challenge to track down such an odd man." she replied bluntly. When did her two followers get the gall to start questioning things they need not concern themselves with. If this was going to occur every time something unexpected happened she would need to find a remedy.
"Remember, don't think, just obey." she said.
At that moment, a frantic man with fear filled eyes tripped through the doors of the tavern. The jovial air was throttled out of existence as the eyes of the patrons crept to his fallen figure and in it's place the haunting chimes of a bell slowly crawled in.
"G-GRIMM!"
If this was once a bar for friends and associates to relax then it was now a den of sheep and wolves. Stray huntsmen in the establishment immediately began checking their equipment and pulling panicked people to the side to negotiate protection prices. The few other patrons that remained quickly bolted out the door in some desperate attempt to reach their families. Meanwhile, Cinder and company calmly made their way to the door and split up to search for their new companion. The tavern made into their impromptu meet up point.
The screams of terror and the howling came flooding toward Avenger's side of town. He stood and watched as panicked villagers fled their houses with what little they could and escaped off into the night. It didn't take a genius or any special ability to figure out what these clues meant. Acting quickly, the devil threw off his cloak and summoned his fangs, Zarich and Tawrich. A blood red pair of reverse grip short swords covered in the same black markings that marred his own body. Their twisted and warped shape resembled a cross between the fangs and claws of a feral beast.
A sigh escaped him and his fingers tightened on the black cloth covered handles. They weren't his Noble Phantasms but they were the weapons he could call "most familiar."
"Don't I ever get a break?" Avenger took his feral beast like stance and kept his eyes focused on the approaching cacophony. It felt like an old western film, his body relaxed but firm as he dutifully watched the street ahead of him waiting for the signal to shoot. Of course, he didn't have a gun and wasn't prepared to throw his weapons so carelessly. In the end he adopted the old rule of "wait until you can see the whites of their eyes."
"Help, help! You're a huntsman, right?" A man came running out of an alleyway followed by a women holding a small child. "We'll pay you whatever you want! Please save us!" He shouted.
Avenger's tension loosened as he gave a confused look at the sudden intrusion.
The man noted Avenger's facial change and tossed a wallet and ring at his feet. "T-that should be good, right? I can give you more. I promise!"
The plea for help was met with a sickening laugh. Avenger couldn't contain his amusement for humans, they were the the same no matter the time or place. "Sure, just don't blame me if something happens."
The trio hurried to take refuge a short distance behind Avenger's small frame. It was then he spotted a small source of the chaos. Moonlight beamed down on the street to reveal five pale white masks surging forward. Creatures the same shape as his leftovers, the only visible differences being the bony protrusions from their bodies and the black fur in lieu of shadows.
Avenger shook his head in disbelief. "I'm gonna kill everyone if this turns out to be another loop."
Without warning two masked beasts came charging out of the same alley as the family and bum-rushed the devil. A duck and twist was all it took to dodge the attacks. The moment they stepped past Avenger he spun on his heel and sunk his left and right fangs into the black flesh of the beasts.
He didn't let up after the first strike. Quickly withdrawing his blades, he swung at their legs finding purchase in soft flesh. The beats cried out in rage as Avenger hacked again to remove the limbs before they could retaliate. He jumped a few paces away from the black failing forms as they tried to regain balance on their three remaining limbs.
The brief exchange gave Avenger enough information to discern more differences between these monsters and his leftovers. His shards were a killing curse that felt no pain. Strictly mindless machines who's only purpose was to swarm and devour. In comparison, these pathetic squirming animals before him felt much more human.
He turned to check on the approaching crowd only to receive a crushing blow to that face that knocked him flat on his back. With all the grace of a feral beast Avenger rolled backwards to his feet just as a claw smashed were his body was. He let out a heavy breath into the night air as more blows came toward him. Only four of the beasts kept up the assault while slowly moving to surround him. Dodging and blocking, Avenger lamented the thought of Bazett laughing at this scene from where ever she was. How could he give up so much ground to a bunch of small fries after all the time they spent together.
Immediately his body dropped into a low crouch. "I'll show off a little."
In the blink of an eye Avenger shot up into the air above one of the beasts. An endlessly cruel laugh raggedly escaped his mouth as he drove his fangs into it's red eyes. It barely finished a death howl before it was crushed flat. Without hesitation he pulled his blades from the corpse and moved viciously to the next victim, severing it's arm with two fast blows before driving his weapon through it's throat. The remaining two monsters were mauled to a disturbing degree before disappearing into smoke.
After the last two kills, Avenger scanned the area for the fifth only to find it gone along with the two cripples. He dematerialized his weapons and worked to steady his breath. Perhaps he got a bit too serious with them, straight out of "showing off" into "did you really need to put that much effort?".
"I feel like I'm missing something." Avenger's eyes suspiciously roamed over the scene before he dismissed the thought. Casually, he made his way past a three fresh human corpses to find a seat between some barrels in a nearby alley. It wasn't until just now that he found he couldn't dematerialize his form. It struck him as strange. His weapons came and went with ease but his body didn't. He took a few minutes to access himself, going through a checklist and only to find that one issue.
"The weakest Servant! Now with extra an handicap!" He laughed.
Dusting himself off he made his way back into the street to pick up his discarded cloak.
"Not a yellow raincoat." Avenger muttered another Servant's ill fate as he tucked the cloak into his waistband. It's amazing what some Masters would suggest in order to make up for shortcomings. The scenario of Cinder suggesting he wear such a bright raincoat played out in his mind. "Yeah right, I'd have killed her on the spot."
He willed his weapons back into existence and began back toward the tavern. From the sound still coming out of the town he would probably need to fight again.
It had been a few hours since the assault began and the situation was finally concluded. The bells of alarm stopped long ago with the howls of man and Grimm alike. Replaced by a new air that crept in like the cold of a winter night on a fire.
Grief, fear, anxiety . . . hatred.
There was no rest or solace for the survivors here. The Grimm had be routed but the villagers knew what would happen if they stayed. They knew the Huntsman who were here tonight would leave tomorrow. All that was left was the need to move to a safe and more protected city. All that would be left were the vestiges of their failed town.
A Pyrrhic victory for the humans who lived here.
The trio of Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury met up outside of the inn. Their search ended in vain, the town itself wasn't very large so they could only assume the man was either dead or escaped during the confusion. Not that they believed he would die to stray Grimm but taking time to double check the area during daylight wouldn't hurt.
"We'll retire for the night and continue our main objective in the morning." Cinder said.
Opening the door to the establishment a pungent blast of air assaulted their noses as a gory scene greeted their eyes. The mutilated bodies of some townsfolk who must have tried to escaped laid around the room as morbid pieces of décor. Mercury gave a detached look and Emerald reeled, biting back the rising burn of bile in her throat.
Cinder eyed the scene carefully. This sight wasn't the the work of Beowolves, it was a similar but. . . .
"It seems our new comrade beat us back." Cinder nudged her head in the direction of a red clad man sitting at the bar slouched over the counter.
Wanted to do a 4k word chapter. Got to the last part and felt like it was a good end. Kind of annoyed it took so long to get this done but life is a bitch. Something, something, I feel like I had other things to type here but can't remember.
