The morning rays of light pierces through my eyes, forcing me to wake up. Good thing too, I had that nightmare of that fateful night, which means it's that time of the year again.

"All right, Ad. I'm awake now." I yawn and stretch. Getting up, I go to the kitchen and brew green tea. The familiar smell fully awakens my spirit. Two slices of bread, cheese and ham is all one ever needs in the morning. Can't be too full for duty. Which reminds me, I need to grab her present. Essentially gulping everything at once, I take the gift and go out for another mundane day. Just the way I like it.

My name is Brendon Raziel. I know. Brendon is such a lame name, which is why I introduce myself as Raziel. I'm Captain of the Guards in a small village known as Widow's Den. As the name suggests, there are many widows here. It's normal for a husband to be kidnapped or killed in these parts. That's why young boys and girls are trained to be soldiers to fight against monsters. It sucks, but we need to protect ourselves somehow.

"Good morning, Captain Raziel." Margaret greets me. She's the old lady who has been watching over us ever since we were all born. Everyone's favorite grandmother. Her hair has gone completely white. She's actually taller than the average woman, which may make her intimidating at times, but she's the sweetest gal around. She lost her husband around her thirties like everyone else here.

"Morning, Granny Marge. I'm just stopping by Lisa's place to drop off Mona's gift."

"How sweet of you. Do you mind sending my gift, since you're on your way? My age is finally catching up and these lady legs aren't what they used to." She exaggerates her pain. I laugh. Lazy is another word to describe her. I walk up to grab it. She catches me off guard by pulling my sleeves up, revealing my pentagram tattoo. I pull it down immediately. She sighs. "After all this time, you're still going through with it?" I stay quiet. "You know we need you. They need you." She means Lisa and Mona. "I just don't want another name to be added on the Memorial." She frowns.

"I have to get going. See you." Smiling, I nod and leave. The Nearly Witches Memorial. It's a monument where we write the names of the fallen. It's a short walk to the woods, so there's no danger of coming across a monster. I finally arrive at their house and knock on the door. Garrett answers with only a towel on. There's an awkward silence in the air, then his face contorts to fear.

"C-C-C-Captain Raziel!" He nervously salutes, but doing so, made the towel drop and now I can see his dick in its full glory. He's one of the young recruits in my division. He's a pretty handsome fella. Brown hair, green eyes, tan, built, fucker is even slightly taller than me. Problem is that he's a nervous wreck. I smirk.

"Nice to see you're getting personally acquainted with the people you are going to protect with your life. Now get yourself dressed. There's a child in this vicinity."

"S-S-Sir, yes, sir!" He quickly grabs the towel and runs into Lisa's room. I step inside and see her brewing coffee with a burgundy sleepwear.

"I feel bad for Sarah, but that's what she gets for playing hard to get." I set the gifts on the table. She gives me a cup of coffee and kisses me on the cheek.

"Girls these days. Think they make themselves desirable by acting all high and mighty. All a man wants is a good time and someone to empty their balls~." She grins. This is Lisa. Ad's wife. She is a very beautiful woman that we saved from vampires in our scouting mission. They fell in love the moment they laid eyes on each other. Can't blame him. Blonde, amber eyes, pale, nice big tits, and rocked his world in bed. I would know since he never stopped yapping about it. But like the name of our village, she's a widow. The worst part is it was when his daughter was born. So one can imagine how bittersweet both of us feel about today.

"How did he do?" She rolls her eyes.

"For his first time, he did okay. His thrusts need more technique, but he is surprisingly good with his tongue. All in all, Sarah will definitely have an amazing time with him." At that moment, he comes out trying to put on his uniform. Nothing flashy. Just the usual brown leather armor we use, since mobility is key against any monster. Even I wear it, with the only difference being some patches to show my Captain rank. Those knights in shining armor are more for show and not useful for combat since one has to either eliminate the target quickly or get away from the influence and you can't exactly do that wearing plate. I smack his ass as he passes by me, making him jump in surprise.

"Congratulations on becoming a man! I'll see you at the training grounds later." I chuckle as he stumbles out the exit.

"Uncle Razzy!" Birthday girl is up. She runs up to me and I hug her. She looks like her damn father. Wavy Dark brown hair with yellow highlights from her mother. Hazel green eyes. A little darker skin than Lisa. She's wearing her white sundress.

"Mona! How's my favorite niece in the entire world doing?" I spin around with her.

"Hehehe! I'm very excited today! Look!" She grins and shows me her fangs. Uh oh. I glance at Lisa who gives me the same concerned expression as myself. Oh yeah. Forgot to mention the little detail that they're Dhampir. Only me and Granny Marge know of their true identity.

"That's great news! That just means you'll get to eat your vegetables better and become as beautiful as your mom."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, hon." She snarks as I laugh.

"Gross! I hate veggies. Especially garlic. They smell bad!" She sticks her tongue out in disgust. She jumps up and down excitedly. "Are you going to spend the day with us? It is my birthday!"

"Really? I didn't know that was today?"

"Yes you do! Otherwise you wouldn't bring my presents here!" She points at my gift. "I could smell it before you came in!" Oh no. Now I'm worried. I give Lisa the "We need to have a serious talk" look.

"We'll open your presents later. Why don't you go outside and play with Bruno and Taylor, while me and Uncle Raz have our adult talk?" She suggests.

"It's Uncle Razzy!" She pouts and looks at me.

"Tell you what? Once I'm done with the training grounds, I'll show you around the barracks and the wonderful people who are devoted to their duty." I pat her head.

"Pinkie promise?" Ah the pinkie promise. You'd have to be a true scum to break such a bond. Especially if it's from a sweet girl!

"I swear." We cross pinkies. She gives me a quick hug and runs outside. "She's developing much quicker than I expected."

"She's only eight years old. She is at that stage in life where her monster side is maturing." Lisa sighs. "I'm going to have a little talk with her once she has her fun." We stay silent for a moment. "Did you go through with it?"

"Yea." I pull up my sleeves, showing her the pentagram. It's essentially a mamono detector that vibrates when there's one nearby. It's slightly doing it right now with her presence. I just tap it to stop as it gets annoying. The process of getting one takes weeks to set up and has a success rate of sixty-seven percent. The reason for this is because in order for it to work, our body has to absorb some monster energy. Which is why anyone with it is more susceptible to their influences and it will shorten our lifespan. That is why this ritual is only used for extremely special occasions. "It was a painful process, but it worked."

"There's no turning back now, huh?"

"Ever since that day, I knew what had to be done. And while I might not make it to the Demon Lord, I will destroy everything precious to them."

8 years ago

We were exploring the deeper parts of the forest at the time. We were one of the few who could go, due to our impeccable teamwork. That day was different. That gut feeling that you know something wrong is going to happen.

"You sure about the report, Ad?"

"I know what I saw, Raz. It's definitely the Demon Lord."

"But why would they be here? There's nothing special around these parts." We check our surroundings for any monsters. "Look out!" An arrow comes our way and it barely misses him. We hide behind the trees.

"Did you see where it came from?"

"Yea. The top of the tree that's five meters away."

"Hmmm. We might be dealing with an Elf. Get your bow ready. I'm going to give away its position and you take the shot." I nodded. We prepare ourselves and he runs cover to cover. I heard an arrow being shot and quickly shot at the tree. There was a scream and just as he suspected, it was a Dark Elf. We cautiously approach her. She was wearing a bikini plate, which can only mean she's with the Demon Lord. She grunts and I kicked her bow away.

"Hey! You awake?" Ad crouched. I have his back while he interrogates. I saw a figure on the corner of my eye.

"Who's there!?" I aimed at the tree where I saw movement. A purple haired maiden revealed herself. She was wearing the typical wizard get up but purple. I was entranced by such beauty. Ad brought me back to reality.

"Get away from her! That's a Dark Mage!" He jumps forward to strike as she chants a spell. I try to distract her by shooting. Then all I remember is getting uppercutted and landing head first to the ground.

I don't know how long I was out, all I know is that it was raining. Whoever struck me must've had inhuman strength and speed for me not to notice. It was still night. Scouting my surroundings, Ad was nowhere to be seen.

"Ad! Where are you!?" Silence. That gut feeling comes back. I know he can take care of himself, but he would at least check up on me. Panic has overtaken. I start running looking for him. "Adonai!" Give me a sign that you're still fine. A clash of blades, a shout, anything! I heard a grunt nearby. Checking the source, Ad is impaled by his own sword on the tree. The pool of blood under him is quite staggering and it made me freeze in place.

"T-T-The...b-bo-!" He tried saying but he's coughing blood. I rush by his side.

"It's okay. I'm here now. We'll find a medic and get you patched up." I attempted sounding calm, but I couldn't control my nerves. He weakly grabbed my arm.

"T-The b-b-book…"

"Shh. Save your breath. I'm going to get the medic. Just...just hang in there for a bit longer!" Tears escaped my eyes. He looks at me, smiles and closes his eyes. "Adonai? Adonai! Stay with me! Don't you die on me!" It was futile. He was gone. I don't know how long I was there, but eventually another group of guards found me bawling like a baby on top of his lifeless body.

Present Time

I walk up to the memorial. I always pay my respects to everyone who served to protect our home. Especially today.

"Soon. All your sacrifices will not be in vain." I'm tired of constantly writing names here. We know what we sign up for. It's expected to lose some men, but it never gets easier. Monsters are becoming more aggressive and bolder with every passing year. All we can do is pray that some heroes chosen by the Chief God will end the Demon Lord's tyranny. But that ain't happening fast enough. I may not be God chosen, but if my efforts will aid in the fall of the Lord, I'll gladly give my life to it. The detector is going off. There's a monster this close by? I prepare my bow for anything.

"I know you're there. Show yourself!" I see a gorgeous woman walk on the same path I just took. She has long purple white hair, pale skin and crimson eyes. She's wearing a simple white priest robe meant for males. Wait a minute...That's Michael's robes! "Where did you get that?" She smiles mischievously.

"Oh this? The priest was nice enough to give it to me after a mana exchange~." She giggles. Any lust I had was replaced with anger as I trained my bow at her. "Don't worry. I didn't take too much. He's sleeping on his bed right now. Which I'm surprised you haven't offered your body for pleasure. I guess that's to be expected from the Cold Hunter himself." She eyes me up and down.

"What's a Lilim doing in these parts?" I ask.

"You know what I am?"

"You may not have your wings and horns, but you definitely fit the bill of one. The fact that you're this far from your realm means nothing good." She thinks for a moment, then pulls out a book.

"You're right. We usually don't venture this far. However, I have been traversing the lands to find anyone that can read this encyclopedia. You already know what the Mamono Lord did to the Monster Girl Encyclopedias?"

"Yea." I lowered my weapon. "They went to every corner of the world to destroy all of the encyclopedias. Smart move. I would've destroyed the one thing that could potentially reveal my weakness." That's the only compliment they'll ever get from me.

"Correct. I actually managed to salvage the only surviving copy. The problem is that it is written in a bizzare language I have never seen. I've searched all known languages, including extinct ones, but to no avail. The last resort was to travel and hope to find someone that might understand the contents." She sighs. "Hopefully you might know something about it. If not, we can at least have a fun time together. A man that has served ten years on the service surely knows how to manhandle a monster~." She gets closer. Had I've been five years younger, I would've given in to temptation. But now I know ways to keep a clear mind. By biting down the inside of my cheeks hard. Pain is a great way to break any influence. I feign disinterest.

"If you show me the book, will you leave?" She seems disappointed

"I swear." She opens it and shows me the content. It has very crude drawings of monsters. Like a five year old drew them. Hold on!

"This is Adonai's handwriting!" I try to grab it for a closer look, but she pulls it away.

"Oh? So they're the one that wrote it? Excellent!" She bursts with joy. "After so long, I finally have a lead! You must tell me where they are!"

"He's dead." Her joy quickly turned to utter despair.

"W-What!?"

"Eight years ago, when the Demon Lord came here looking for something near here." That's when it clicks. Ad's last words make sense now. The Lord must've been here searching for his copy of the encyclopedia.

"Noooooo!" She slumps on the ground. "All that effort has been all for naught!" Geez. What a drama queen. I almost feel sorry for her. Keyword being sorry.

"Calm yourself." I put away my bow as she's proven to not be a threat. "I can actually read the book."

"Really!?" She quickly picks herself. Her constant mood change is going to be very irritating.

"Yea. It's a language that me and Ad created when we were kids to freely talk with each other without fear of others understanding." There's confusion written on her face. That's to be expected. I'm even surprised he used it to write the damn book.

"Thank the Dark Mother for this fortune! If you can please write the translation for it, I will highly appreciate it!"

"Hold it. Why are you so determined about it?" You'd think monsters would be happy that any documentation about them is destroyed to not exploit them.

"It's simple. I'm going to use it to overthrow the Mamono Lord." She says proudly.

"I'm sorry. I must've misheard you. A monster wants to take down their own leader?"

"Yes. It's no different to when humans rebel against their own kings when they're being mistreated. As a descendant of the first Dark Mother, it pains me to see the current Mamono Lord is much colder and only sees humans as nothing more than cattle. Not to mention, she mistreats anyone that isn't her own kind and there's constant faction conflicts throughout the land." She babbles on about her dream about bringing back the golden ages and yada yada. "In conclusion, with your help, I can finally start achieving my dream."

"That's a noble cause and all, but I won't be doing that." She gets shocked and then becomes angry. "Now before you do something you'll regret, think about it for a moment. Say I do what you request. Word will spread that someone has knowledge of the encyclopedia. They'll trace it back to me and that will put the village in danger. I will not let that happen. Which is why I decided to join you on your journey."

"Join me? Why would you do something suicidal like that? As far as I know, you're not a Hero chosen by your God."

"True. But I didn't survive this long by luck. I know how to pick my fights and with the aid of the encyclopedia, it will make the battles that much more manageable." She gives me a curious look. "It's also better to leave it as is. It looks like a children's book, so anyone trying to read it will not know it's the real deal."

"That is too much of an ordeal! I will not accept such conditions!"

"Well that's too bad. And if I feel any of your influence, I'll swiftly take my own life and you have no way of defeating the Demon Lord." She frowns and ponders.

"Fine. I accept your offer." She begrudgingly accepts. "I understand why you are given such a title."

"Only to people I don't like." I give my biggest grin. I couldn't help keeping a straight face when everything was going my way.

"Hmph. Well if you are to come along, I must see how good you are with that bow of yours." Oh yea. My time to show off. I point at one of the trees and shoot rapidly in the same place. There's a gust of wind, so I change trajectory and still hit the mark. She whistles. "Impressive. Your marksmanship is that of an average Elf."

"If you ever want to make money and impress the ladies, you have to be amazing on what you're good at." I take pride in my skill. "I also know my way around a sword, though it's nothing compared to Ol' Reliable here." I pat my bow. Been with me since I started my service.

"That's good. Means I won't have to babysit you, after all."

"Good. I'm not into the nanny foreplay anyways." She raises an eyebrow. I don't expect everyone to understand my eccentric humor. I fail to understand it too! Just the way I am. "Before we depart, I'd like to grab a couple of things and say my farewells." She nods.

"Plenty of time to find someone to have a good time~." She clasps her hands and walks back. I can see her hips swaying back and forth. I shake my head and sigh.

"Fucking monsters only think of sex all the time." I turn to the memorial and see Ad's name. I write my name next to his. "Adonai Urie and Brendon Raziel. The inseparable duo that managed to take down the High Orc that was terrorizing the village. Since then, we were known as the "Hot & Cold Hunters". It's going to take awhile, but I hope you wait for me at the Gates of Heaven once my journey is over." I start walking back. For some reason, I feel a familiar warmth wash over my body. Feels good.

Back to the village

I grab all the necessary items for travel. Don't need to overcumb myself in the face of danger. Double-checking to make sure everything is there, I leave my house and go to the exit. What I didn't expect was everyone waiting for me. Mona runs up to me and hugs me tightly.

"Uncle Razzy! Everyone keeps saying that you're leaving. It isn't true, right?" She is crying. I pat her head.

"I'm sorry, Mona. I have responsibilities that require me to leave." She sniffles and looks up to me. "I may not be here, but you have your wonderful mother and everyone here to look over you."

"But you pinkie promise!"

"Of course. You know I keep promises. I'll come back once everything has been taken care of." It calms her a bit.

"I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too. Now come on, birthday girl. Let me see that smile of yours." She beams a grin. "There it is! I'll treasure that smile forever." She giggles and lets me go. I walk up to Lisa. "The time has finally come."

"I figured as much, when I saw the Lilim skipping happily out of the forest. I don't need to tell you to be careful, but be careful." I chuckle and hug her. "When you finally come across with the Mamono Lord, make them pay dearly for me."

"No need to tell me twice." She gives me a peck on the lips and smiles melancholic.

"Everyone! Give a hearty goodbye salute for our captain!" The Guards salute me as I leave. I salute back.

"It has been an honor serving beside you all. I expect everyone to keep the peace maintained." Some of them are shaking with sadness. Especially Garrett, who's letting out the waterworks. I see Granny Marge wave me goodbye. I know she expected me to stay and marry Lisa with a generic life, but she knows better than that. The entire village says their goodbye. I can't look back. Don't need any doubts in my mind. I have to do this no matter what. The Lilim is waiting for me by the trees.

"You know, it's not too late to turn back and write the translation for me."

"Once I get something set, no force in this world will stop me from achieving it." She shrugs. "Oh yeah, what's your name? It'd be rude to just call you The Lilim."

"What a gentleman." I roll my eyes. "You can call me Lily." I nod and we make our way to take down the Demon Lord.

Chase-Batta english cover Gezeus

My essentials are about to be robbed

The devil slipping in and out through our days

My peaceful times already crumbling

Feeling detached and unconcerned

Stolen from my grasp before I noticed

If you want it back go get it now's your chance

just as sharp as the arrow piercing through your soul

As our heart start to collide it's dazzling

No matter where I'll chase you

I'll always CHASE You

I know i'll chase you there's no escape now

So try to run i'll chase you

Tomorrow chase you

I'm gonna run into you hastily!

What's between defeat and victory?

Determination, is why

I'll chase you!

Man, I listen to Chase and my brain just makes a whole story about it.