The siren sounded, marking the end of peaceful days in the capital.
It took less than minutes for chasseurs to assemble, waiting for orders from their captains. For Vanitas, it felt strange not having to follow a tall figure with long, black hair anymore. His transfer to the sixth division had been approved and this would probably be the first task requiring the involvement of the newly established team.
"We have a vampire on the run!" Roland announced, addressing his subordinates for the very first time. "The woman in captivity was supposed to be handed over for execution. Apparently, it didn't go well, now we have a highly dangerous criminal roaming the streets."
He clasped his hands together, raising his voice dramatically. "May God have mercy on His people! The citizens of Paris are under a great threat. We, the sixth division, will help guide them to the light. Let's hunt!"
While his new comrades cheered and held their weapons high in the form of a battle cry, Vanitas stood at the back, trying not to roll his eyes. And failing.
Led by the new wielder of Jasper, the squad raced to the scene to find hell breaking loose. They've received report of one vampire going rampant in the city but arrived to witness a whole group grabbing pedestrians, some already spilling blood. The coachman and the guards must have put up a decent fight before their fall, seeing as there were beheaded corpses surrounding the carriage.
Vanitas counted five targets in addition to the escaped woman, which shouldn't pose problem given their numbers.
"Maria, Georges and Vanitas, with me! The rest, prioritise getting people to safety!" The moment Roland shouted his orders, his spear was already drawn and ready to serve its purpose. Light from the gas lamps dancing on its surface, his new weapon sliced effortlessly through the monsters dooming the night.
The vampires dispersed, some stumbling into the waiting chasseurs.
A high-pitch shriek erupted from the woman's throat, glasses of windows and lamps shattering from the impact. Her shadow grew in size, consuming its owner in whole. Limping slowly towards Roland, who was focused on not getting chomped on by his opponents, she lashed out the same tentacles Vanitas had seen on Charlatan.
Another curse-bearer.
Without hesitation, Vanitas kicked Roland in his back, something he found inappropriately satisfying. Unfortunately, attempting such a bold move costed him his balance that he had to purposely fall on his side to minimise damage. An arrow flew by his face by mere itches, fending off branches of her shadows. Vanitas had no time to wince at the pain before he was up and slashing with his daggers again.
Safety in numbers no longer served as an assurance. To make matters worse, screams echoed from buildings nearby, hinting at more enemies than they currently acknowledge.
"Request mobilisation of the third. Get Olivier here!" Roland yelled to no one in particular. At the corner of his eyes, Vanitas spotted a white coat retreating to the way they came from, hopefully the messenger responsible for delivering Roland's message.
"Georges, take half of the team and secure the neighbourhood!" Benefitting from the flash grenade he launched, Roland gave his next command.
"But captain—"
"We will do something about this. Go." Getting rid of his coat for mobility, Roland assured his vice-captain and saw him go.
Vanitas was, on the other hand, left conflicted, unsure if he should be glad to be allowed to remain, or worried to be included in Roland's 'we'.
"Now, Vanitas." His name being called making him jolt, Vanitas turned to his new captain warily, who gestured towards the woman with a lift of his chin. "Charlatan, is it?"
"Yes, but no." He didn't have the time to explain it in details. He didn't know how to, to begin with, so he simply stared into those emerald eyes, hoping Roland would understand.
"I see." The leader of the squad nodded, a smile forming on his face. "Our job doesn't change anyway."
Separating his double-sided spear in two, Roland brandished it like a whip, the blades extending and cutting into flesh. Ordinary vampires stood no chance against him, the smarter ones running for their lives only to meet their ends in the hands of Vanitas or Maria.
Annoying he was, but Roland was probably one of the best among the paladins. He was faring against her reasonably well, dodging most of her advances which could be fatal. Despite that, Vanitas couldn't consider it a good sign. Roland was only human, it would not end well for him if the fight was prolonged. He stayed on the defensive, unable to inflict real damage on the curse-bearer who healed faster than Roland could cut her open.
"Where the hell is Olivier?" Vanitas grumbled, wiping away blood on his weapons before discarding his ruined coat. Spotting no other vampires in sight, he joined forces with Roland, fighting off sneaky shadows coming for the new paladin's back.
"Captain!" Maria's warning cry distracted them from the already dire situation, judging from her tone it wasn't because friendly forces have arrived.
Vanitas looked up at the sky. Someone was closing in on them from the rooftops, too fast to be human. A woman dressed in black, contrasting sharply with her hair —
Vanitas grinned, recognising the latecomer.
"Now we run!" He gripped Roland's wrist to stop him from injecting a second dose of booster and sprinted to put distance between himself and the curse-bearer. Help has arrived, not what they were expecting but far better than any paladin they could possibly get.
Without breakable obstacles in her way, Jeanne fired her gauntlet at full force, engulfing her target in flames. Just when the humans started to breathe a sigh of relief, the woman surprised every living soul by breaking out of the ball of fire. A shield created from her shadow was protecting her from the heat that her clothes were only slightly eroded on the edges.
Jeanne descended from the building, her eyes meeting Vanitas' briefly before proceeding with the chase.