Chapter 10: Hunter Hound

June 22, 10:20 am

Baskerville's Manor.

"Aahhhh!" somebody screamed. Who? It could be anyone of the people present in the scene. Phoenix, Athena, Trucy, even Simon. They were all frost in fear, watching at the demoniac monster standing just a few feets away from them. A Hound, showing all of its teeth and growling like a demon.

A metallic sound ringed in their ears. In their current state no one could say what that sound was, however, it was enough to jolt Simon awake from the shock.

The moment the hound moved closer to them Simon jumped with his sword ready. Metal clashed and suddenly it was all clear.

"It's human! It's a mask!" growled Simon while looking at the beast's eyes. The light that the mask was emitting was enough to see part of the body of the assailant, it was wearing a cape with fur at the neck to add impact to his mask. He was wielding a sword and moved fast. "Run! Get out of here! Now!"

Phoenix blinked, Simon's words had been like a slap for him. He was right, they had to escape, quickly. He took the girls hands and dragged them to the closest source of light he could distinguish among the darkness. If they broke down a window they could easily exit the manor unharmed.

Suddenly, a deep howl filled the manor and made the blood of everyone present go cold. It wasn't a sound that a human could do.

"Arghh!" yelled Blackquill in pain, a growl could be heard and right after it sounded like someone's blade had hit flesh. Then absolute silence.

Trucy yelped as something pulled her cape with force, Phoenix panicked and tried to reach her.

"Not the girls you stupid mutt! The man! The man!" ordered a voice that was clearly modified by some sort of device. Phoenix then felt like someone pushed him to the ground with an amazing force, he couldn't see a thing but soon felt a sharp pain in his arm and the same force pushing it against his face, like trying to reach it with its fangs. Even if he couldn't see it he knew that it was an enormous dog, mad and aggresive. It's hot breath against his face filled Phoenix with terror.

"Mr. Wright!" screamed Athena and, being guided by the sound and encouraging herself, kicked the dog to try and get it away from her boss. The dog yelped and flew a pair of yards before hitting the floor with force where it stayed quiet.

"Taka!" yelled Blackquill, his voice hoarse. The hawk heard its master, screeched and searched for him, it found the window closest to them and tried to enter with all it's energies. Taka managed to break the window and flew against the masked man, distracting him.

"Daddy, daddy! Are you okay?" asked Trucy. Phoenix felt dizzy, his sight started to blurry as he felt his arm completely damped. The window that Taka had broke allowed some light to enter, showing them the path to follow. He knew he had to move but his heart beating desperately in fear kept him in his place, fearing the return of the demoniac dog.

"Mr. Wright! C'mon!" Athena helped him to stand on his feet and started walking to the window. Fast steps followed right after them, quick but strong.

A metallic thing flashed just in front of Athena, almost cutting her nose. The masked man had reached them and was ready to finish, he attacked again but Trucy threw a deck of cards at his face and he gave a pair of steps behind. The light had touched him for a moment, allowing the team to see that he was wearing a green vest, shirt and gloves along with the mask. Taka flew again and managed to grab the mask from the man and pull it off. The man ran to the dark again, hiding among the shadows and calling back his dog.

The light of the sun hit their faces the instant they stepped on the grass outside the manor. They weren't being followed anymore.

"Trucy…Athena, are you okay?" asked Phoenix, trying to calm himself from the terrifying experience they just lived.

"JUST WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT" yelled Athena. She was clearly altered.

"Daddy…your arm, you're bleeding." Said Trucy trying to stay calm. Phoenix looked at his arm; it was a mess of blood and tattered fabric, now that the adrenaline was fading away the pain was becoming unbearable.

"I'm…okay, Truce."

"You're not! You're shaking and your face is pale, sit down while we call for help." Now his own daughter was lecturing him. However, being honest he wasn't feeling so good so he did as she told him.

"Where's Simon?" asked Athena. They looked at the broken window and found him, he was getting closer to them. However, something was wrong, he was stumbling and dragging his sword.

"Wright-dono…" he said, sweating a lot "That…was" he stopped in his tracks "The Hound…" then he fell face down on the grass.

"Simon!" yelled Athena and ran to his aid. His back was all covered in blood, it was coming from a large gash that crossed his back. "Simon! Hold on, please!"

Wright couldn't do other thing than watch, he was too confused and weak to being of any help. However, what Simon said hit hard on his head; "The Hound". The same word that Apollo had muttered just after being attacked.

The image of the terrifying mask and the giant dog that bit him suddenly had a whole different meaning. He came to the realization that they had found their culprit.

They had been atacked by the same one who attacked and almost killed Apollo.

"G-get away!" yelled Phoenix "Who are you?! What do you want from me?!"

It was a dark and foggy place, he wasn't sure where it was or why he was there. The only thing he knew was that he was being chased by a man with the head of a dog and a sword in his hand. He could hear a dog running and growling but he wasn't able to see it. His arm was hurting badly, he didn't want to be wounded again. He just wanted to run.

"Ryuuichi!" someone yelled."Wright-san!"

Just before his eyes the mist seemed to banish. Even if the man that appeared was wearing all black Phoenix could still see him.

"Get a hold on yourself! Ryuuichi!"

It was Naruhodou. He stood between Phoenix and the Hound and lead a hand to his hip. He was now wearing a sword too, it had a long and red band tied to it, it seemed to banish a part of the mist with its fluttering. He drew it and faced the Hound.

The Hound tried to shield himself in the darkness and attack, but for some reason Naruhodou was able to see him and slashed quickly and clean. The Hound growled and fell, then dissapeared.

Phoenix honestly thought that he had died, but then Naruhodou looked at him and his eyes had an aura of sheer determination so strong that it forced him to pay attention. The old ghost still had blood all over his face and torso, but somehow it looked more…lively.

"Get a hold on yourself, Ryuuichi!" he repeated."You're so close to the truth! You can't let it go now!" Ryuu never touched Phoenix, but his voice alone was enough to make him feel like he was being shaken, almost like Apollo's Chords of Steel."You're so close! Just hold on a little longer, you can do it! You can solve both cases!"

He then showed him Karma, the sword he was wielding.

"Karuma, the sword that it's said to banish darkness is the key! You remembered that to me, you brought some light to me! I'm sure you can overcame whatever is put in your way!" he offered his hand "Get up! Get up Ryuuichi! Many have wielded this katana, now is your turn. Now is your turn! Wield it to banish the darkness, wield it to reach, THE TRUTH!"

Phoenix then took his hand and everything got cleared. The last thing he saw were these determined eyes speaking right at his soul, and a confident smile that felt familiar…

June 22, 2:00 pm

Kura'in Hospital.

Phoenix stared at his arm, now all covered in white bandages and kept in its place by a sling. They have given him meds for the pain and now he was really sleepy and numb.

But he couldn't sleep. Not after that weird dream he had on his way to the hospital. Everytime he closed his eyes the demonic face of the dog mask appeared again in his mind, the glowing eyes and the sharp teeth pinning him to the ground. He was rendered useless by fear, he couldn't protect even his daughter.

He started to wonder, Apollo felt the same? He had nightmares as well? Poor boy. Phoenix felt mad, he thought that nobody deserved that, he was now eager to make the culprit pay. The trial in which he had to uncover the whole truth was just a few hours away and he still didn't know who could be the masked man, or even which was the item Baskerville claimed as robbed.

"Mr. Wright?" asked someone at the door, "may I come in?"

Phoenix looked carefully and recognized the girl.

"Oh, of course Ema. What brings you here?"

She entered and sat next to him, offering him some snacks.

"Are you okay?"

"They had to put in some stitches but the doctor said I would be fine."

"Oh, glad to hear that!"

"You know how's Blackquill?"

"Asleep. The doctors said he's out of danger, his wound wasn't that deep, they think he avoided the slash at the last moment and that saved him. He still lost a lot of blood tho."

"He saved us. The assailant wielded a sword too, I can't imagine what could have happened without Blackquill."

"You would be like Apollo…" answered Ema sadly. "He had serious cuts in his arms and was stabbed…you think he tried to fight back?"

"Maybe, but he couldn't. What's strange for me is that a dog also attacked us, but Apollo had no bites or anything of the sort. Are we talking about the same assailant?" he hoped so, at least they have the clue that he attacked at Baskerville's Manor helped by the dark, whoever it was didn't want to give his identity. Suddenly, Phoenix remembered. "Ema! Where's Karma? Where's the sword that stabbed Apollo?"

"In custody. Ms. Von Karma arrived a while ago and is keeping it safe, she plans to recover it."

Well, at least it's safe.

Something scratched the window, startling Ema. It was Taka, he was outside and was helding a rag in its beak. As soon as she recognized the bird she let it in.

"How did Simon manage to bring his pet here?" asked Ema. Taka entered and put the rag next to Phoenix, staring right at him. "What's that Mr. Wright?"

Phoenix took the rag in his hand, flinched and put it down again.

"What's that? Are you okay Mr. Wright?"

" Y-yeah, it's just that…" he was trembling again, he tried to get a hold on himself. "The Hound" Ema examined it and found out that it was a mask with the face of a dog. It was really well done, if it wasn't for the flames coming out from the eyes and mouth you would believe it was a real dog's head. It even had speckles of dried blood "Our assailant used that mask, I don't know how but it glowed, the fire looked real." Phoenix tried to look calm, but the cold sweat told otherwise.

"GET A HOLD ON YOURSELF, RYUUICHI"

He suddenly remembered the voice of the old ghost. It sounded so clear in his mind.

He looked again at the mask, ubderstanding what Ryuunosuke wanted to say. He had to overcome his fear, he had to move, he had to control himself. The truth was closer, he knew where were the lost pages of the journal, he had faced Apollo's assailant face to face. And most importantly; he had the mask.

"Ema, I need you to run a test on this mask. Everything you could. The blood, the fur, god…if there's even a hair inside it I want to know who is its owner, please!"

"Mr. Wright!" Ema fliched but then smiled "It will be my pleasure but please explain why you suddenly look so determined! It's a side effect from your meds?"

Phoenix smiled.

"Someone's counting with me."