Château de Châteaubriant, France
Diana Cavendish, the daughter of Countess Bernadette Cavendish of Edinburgh in Scotland, the same who a decade ago was hunted and rewarded by the Catholic Church to the hunter who managed to hunt her head. Only the girl was not to blame for anything, not even her mother, for her being so sought after in this way. After the mission of Chariot Belmont and her partner Croix Meridies, the purple haired huntress took the 10 year old child into her arms to free her from the hands of the vampire who would possibly be killed by the huntress and her partner.
But things didn't end well, Chariot disappeared, nothing is known about her whereabouts and also Bernadette, so this way the daughter of the vampire had to be under the care of Croix, who in these 10 years made sure to be a very careful person and full of respect, besides giving a huge strength training her how to handle weapons and everything else, although she already has a skill with them.
In all these years Croix continued in her role as a hunter of creatures of the night and also in assembling and inventing things, living where used to be the residence of the Belmont Du Nord family that this time was empty, Diana ended up taking this role also as a hunter of creatures, even with fear for seeing his fellow creatures being killed by her hands, she knew it was better than simply let live while causing chaos and death to this world.
This way the French got to know a little of Croix and Diana's reputation, who worked together in this business, also getting a little jealous, since the Cavendish was extremely skilled and they believed she had vampire powers, although many times she appeared in daylight quietly, which removes any insinuation of her being a creature of the night, since she has no such weakness, although most of the time the Scot still hides much of her power, not to cause any chaos and panic when they discover her true side.
The duo was on another business trip, exploring a little bit of France, with the intention of maybe getting help for a bigger mission, this way they arrived at the city of Châteubriant, where they heard about records that at night things get very chaotic, with creatures appearing and making people lock their houses with fear, but it's of little use.
As night falls, the two listen to the sounds of the creatures attacking, so one looks at the other, signaling that they would start to put the plans in action.
Diana: One more chance, these creatures really can't get enough.
Croix: Well come on, let's not waste time.
Duke of Châteaubriant: Please try to save my palace, do not cause any fire and no damage, I promise I will pay you well.
The duo leaves that house, and Croix has already left her arquebus ready, taking a shot at a imp who was trying to break down the door of that inn, but was soon feeling the power of the duo. Meridies was soon charging for another shot, Diana went up to the other creatures that went up to her, with precision hitting them with the sword. They just didn't expect to hear the sound of people fighting at the same time as well. Since they always end up locked in the house.
Sucy: Unhitch our wagon, you wretched gargoyles! My gold!
Marianne unintentionally hits the gargoyle with a piece of wood that she found in the shape of a stake, but the cart and the horses end up falling, this fall left the horses badly hurt to the point of having to be sacrificed, and the cart was destroyed, only the cargo was left, which left the group very frustrated.
Diana looks well at this quartet and when she sees that they would be attacked, she doesn't hesitate and goes up with her sword, hitting precisely breaking in the middle the gargoyle that would attack the group, impressing the group when seeing the green haired girl.
Akko: A hunter around here how wonderful!
Diana: Go home, it's dangerous out here.
Akko: But no way, we are hunters too, let's help.
Diana only remains in silence, she leaves the place and goes next to her mentor, already the quartet only remains in confusion, this way they are concentrating more on the creatures that are attacking them, mainly the gargoyles that don't stop appearing, and they were leaving the castle, not only the same ones, but other creatures were appearing too, what was a moment only for the group, that was soon interrupted by Sucy.
Sucy: What are we going to do with our things?
Croix: You want to put your stuff away, leave it to me, Diana you stay with the girls, I'll catch up with you soon.
Sucy: There's no way I'm going to stand out here and trust someone I barely know my stuff from.
Croix: Let's put these things away together, take them to where they can be looked after and then we can solve this problem.
Akko: Mari, you go with the woman with the arquebus, me and the girls will make our way to the castle.
Marianne just nods, going with Croix carrying things to the inn where they were setting up, which luckily wasn't a lot of things, nor a lot of bags to carry, the vast majority being gold.
On the other hand Diana and the trio were going towards the castle, the Cavendish, remaining in a huge silence, Kagari even stared at it and remembering a little of what Chloé had said days ago about a girl with reddish eyes that could be a creature of the night that was proposed even a reward for the head of it and at the height of curiosity and impulse, made a point of asking the name, this while they were making their way to reach the castle.
Akko: Hey blondie what's your name?
Diana: Diana, but this is not the best time to think about it, we have a mission to continue.
The trio stares at each other, thinking the same thing as before, they remember the conversation they had with Count Deppailer's daughter in Loches, but they move on, their priority becomes another as soon as they reach the door, where guards with spears appear and immediately want to defend themselves. The trio simply stops and Diana goes straight, she jumps over the spear of the two soldiers, supported in a jovial way, then hits with precise stabs right in the eye hole of each one of the guards that falls on the ground, getting to kind of evaporate with this, which even makes the three slayers confused.
Diana: It surprises me that you don't recognise warriors in armour, they are creatures of the night just as much as the others, you narrowly missed being attacked by them.
Cavendish pushes the door open, Akko and Sucy just keep moving their hands pretending to speak as the Scottish woman gains access to the inside of the castle and from there she hits the creatures, opening the way, as if it was nothing, leaving the trio jaw dropped, since they never saw how with such ease someone alone can simply deal with a wave of creatures of the night in such an easy way, the same ones just keep walking, hitting the few that were left, usually leftovers as usual, following Diana, as if she knew the way with great tranquility.
Few creatures reached the trio, they all simply went towards the Scottish woman that with her way to attack made little case of each creature, she knew how to move quickly and attack with the sword with extreme precision, even being a huge Claymore, it seemed a light sword in the hands of Cavendish, something that the trio little understood.
Meanwhile at the inn, Marianne and Croix left their bags stowed and were leaving there to get back to the action, Leblanc, soon strange the Meridies look from calm to serenity, the creatures of the night even stopped appearing in the town, starting to focus more on the castle as if something was going on.
Croix: Diana as always attracting all the creatures to her, they just aren't getting a handle on this girl alone, it was a wonder they taught her to hunt creatures of the night, reminds me a lot of Chariot.
Marianne: Chariot? You mean Chariot Belmont? Wait a minute, I recognise those lilac-coloured hairs, those glasses, I've seen you somewhere, you look familiar.
Croix: Maybe I shouldn't be as recognisable as the one I used to be in the days when I hunted these creatures, but pleasure, Croix Meridies and yes I'm really talking about Chariot, she was my partner.
Marianne shook Croix's hand and got an expression of ecstasy, she didn't expect that she would end up so quickly finding someone who has a huge proximity to the Chariot, the same already knew enough of what she heard about the Meridies, getting delighted with that, already the lilac haired shooter was just laughing, shooting a few of the gargoyles that were left in the city.
Marianne hardly hit the whip at all, due to her little skill, but when she picked it up and tangled it in torches she ended up hitting them full on, being one thing Croix soon noticed, Leblanc is extremely lucky and this could be something interesting for the journey and the plan she had in mind.
Croix: I'm on a new quest, but I'm starting to get interested in your group, what do you do? From what I see you use a whip similar to hers and have a dagger, but you don't seem to be that skilled with that weaponry.
Marianne: I never had any training, I am unprepared, clumsy, I know, I left the castle where I worked as a servant and decided to start an adventure as a huntress, together with the trio inside, they are the most skilled ones.
Croix shakes his head, already preparing to give another shot, observing well the surroundings, seeing the castle door open and from there he goes in giving precise shots to creatures, one thing that Leblanc had never seen before and even delighted her was a firearm for the first time, besides the cannons that the castle where he lived contained, besides that he saw how Meridies shot with precision, as it is as interesting as the bow and arrow.
Back in another corridor of the castle, Diana was practically sweeping that one right past werewolves in the utmost tranquility, while the trio
were standing off to the side, having no idea what to do, though they were trying somehow to hit the remaining monsters.
[Akko's Thought: This girl is just ridiculous, I never thought I would see a hunter as good as her and what scares me is seeing that she's our age but can attack with precision and everything, just the night that I rarely go on the mission because the creatures get stronger, she's just acting like it's the quietest thing in the world]
They reached another bigger door, this one Cavendish pushes and from there they come across a creature that is the mix of several others, a woman, with the lower part of octopus tentacles, with one head being a wolf, the other being an eagle and the arms looked like armor, full of scales, in this also had smaller creatures, which she summoned, like gargoyles, flea men, jellyfish heads, skeletons, armed guardians, everything to make even more difficult the way of the girls and that way Diana just signals to the girls.
Diana: You lassies cover me with these smaller ones, I'll take care of the bigger creature.
The trio just nods and that way Diana opens her way reaching the bigger creature, which will attack her, already the trio will attack as always attacked the smaller creatures, only in larger number than they were used to, even worse that at night these same creatures are stronger, needing much more accurate hits.
The Cavendish arrives with everything on the monster, cuts one of the tentacles and dodges a fireball that would be thrown towards her, giving a mortal and this way the Scot takes the opportunity to decapitate the woman's head that ends up gushing blood everywhere, but then another one grows in its place, only it was a goat's.
Diana turns and quickly cuts another tentacle that would come to attack, strangely having fast reflexes at that moment, what was making that creature more irritated and attacking quickly, but its tentacles were simply cut off and always regenerated quickly, even so the Cavendish was still on the defensive, trying to study how the creature was acting.
The trio was slowly getting better in relation to the creatures, holding on better, with Lotte having enough magic, she could summon a hippogriff that yarn assisting finishing with each creature that saw ahead, from time to time Akko even rode on it to hit the flying creatures closely. Sucy stayed by Yanson's side protecting her with arrows, or else throwing potions and firecrackers, the three of them were also watching Diana who was fighting calmly against that creature.
Soon they are met with the arrival of Croix and Marianne. The Meridies hit a precise shot on the monster that Diana was facing that got well in one of the heads, which was all fallen beside the others, somewhat dead. Leblanc accidentally stumbles with the whip in hands and ends up making her catch it on a torch that ends up falling on the same creature and this way it catches some fire.
Diana finishes by breaking in the middle the creature passing with speed, what at that moment, everything seemed slower, but it was at the same time spectacular, the speed of Cavendish, it seemed that everything was in the blink of an eye, only that way the same creature regenerates itself joining the two parts and makes the Scottish woman touch more about the creature.
Diana: You lass from the book, I will need your help, I need you to capture the soul of this creature, I will wound it as much as I can and you take its soul for your summoning book.
Croix: I think it was a really good idea to call Diana to start joining my creature hunting missions, I don't regret her joining for good.
Lotte: It will take a while, I can't do it that fast, but I will do it.
Diana: That I know, take your time, it's the best way we can defeat this thing.
Lotte agrees with the head and goes concentrating the spell, already the girls go continuing to perform the attacks to the creatures, Diana goes simply with an enormous easiness cutting that bigger distracting as she can, for her it is easy, cutting tentacles and dodging fireballs and poison, she simply finds the easiest thing of the world.
The trio and Marianne go on to marvel at her speed, even if distracted by the creatures of the night, it's noticeable that Cavendish is more than calm, even with the risk she could take. Marianne as usual always hit in the most ironic and lucky way possible, her whip always latched onto something and caused an effect on another that saved its life, already Croix went from afar shooting with the arquebus, leaving that heap of things with more injuries. Yanson manages to perform the spell, that way she opens the book and goes draining the soul of that same creature Diana and Croix simply go attacking with everything, the Cavendish giving multiple cuts and Meridies shooting each one of the heads, it was simply making easy for Lotte to suck the soul of the monster that went to the book and that way one more was defeated, making the northern creatures disappear too. The Scottish girl keeps looking at the ground and she goes to the window looking gloomy at the sky, which makes the girls miss the moment, since they were celebrating.
Akko: Why isn't she celebrating? We managed to wipe out another one of those damned creatures.
Croix: We have things to reveal and since you have trusted me with your bags and also with the other things, I will tell you before the nobles arrive. We are no ordinary huntresses.
Marianne: That's true! Akko she is Croix Meridies, the partner of the great Chariot Belmont! This could be a sign for us! We can discover her whereabouts! We might have a chance for the journey to continue.
Croix: Wait a minute there, it's not quite like that, I will explain everything straight. I am yes the former partner of Chariot Belmont and yes she is still missing, even if I try, she is not at the Belmont residence, that's where I have been living for the last 10 years next to Diana and she is not a normal person like any other.
Everyone is kind of in confusion, Diana is silently staring at the outside, the girls have no idea what Croix stated with that, they were even afraid that she was a creature of the night and were already kind of apprehensive almost putting their hands on their guns, but Cavendish makes a point of opening her mouth to speak, this while looking at the sky.
Diana: I don't know if you've heard somewhere, but I Diana Cavendish, I'm a hybrid, I'm not human, I'm the daughter of the countess Bernadette Cavendish, I have fangs, I can turn into a bat, I can have a little more strength than a common human, I can walk in the sun, unlike common vampires, I can eat normal food and satiate myself, my life is eternal, I don't age any more than I do now, I feel bad for killing these creatures of the night, because I lived my whole childhood next to them and was never attacked, I was always in the greatest tranquility, now these creatures are attacking us and doing evil deeds, I become discredited that I grew up in an environment where this didn't happen and now I see these horrible scenes with my own eyes. It touches my heart, I only really want to live in peace, away from this persecution, where these creatures will be at peace in their place, but we are now living in this hellish period and it's all because of what happened to my mothers.
Croix: Diana lost one of her mothers when she was about to turn 10 years old, the church captured Laura McLaren, tried her for several crimes, and she did nothing wrong, she always helped others, she was on a journey in search of a cure for the curse that afflicted the Countess Cavendish, but her journey was interrupted and this was the trigger for Bernadette to become angry and go on a rebellion against humanity, in this case against the church.
Diana: That's when they called Chariot Belmont and she went to hunt my other mother, unfortunately the mission was inconclusive, I don't know if my mother died or what happened to Chariot, I only know that it was on that mission that since then I live with Croix and it's been that way until today.
Akko: So Chloé's suspicion was right girls, but let's also not act without thinking, she did nothing wrong to have to be put down.
At that moment Diana turns around, she even gives a smile, she goes walking towards Akko who at that moment even gets a little terrified, the other girls of the quartet also get a little, they even put their hands on their weapons, Croix simply stays calm with her arms crossed, not afraid of what might happen, without fear of the girls getting defensive, at the moment the two are staring at each other closely, Kagari simply swallows her saliva and notices the deeply red eyes up close, and then Cavendish giving that look, until the same one pushes her forward putting her hand over her chest.
Akko: I don't know what you want with us, but you don't come near us wanting to kill us, we are not fast and accurate, but we don't give up.
Diana: Kill? I just wanted to see in your ruby eyes if you have good intentions lass and from the reaction it seems that you do, well anyway you are too little skilled for such a thing, I wouldn't risk doing that, anyway. You are the first ones that don't think about this wanting to kill us, if you are denying an offer of capture then I think that for now we can think about the idea of including it in our plan.
Akko: And what plan would that be? And who do you think you are to order or demand anything for our quartet, that's not how things work.
Diana: I guarantee they will not be poorly rewarded.
Sucy: You can take it Akko!
Akko: Sucy go fuck yourself you only think about gold, let's at least see what these two have to propose to us.
Diana: We cannot talk here, but if you want to come with us to the residence of the Belmont family where we can discuss the plan in more detail, the noble lads will soon arrive and I don't want this plan to be heard by anyone but those we trust.
The girls agree with their heads, and so they leave the castle, returning to the city, where little by little the people were leaving after the sounds of the gargoyles hitting the windows and wanting to invade the houses had stopped, some bodies still remained on the streets of people who could not defend themselves on time. They arrive at the inn where the duke was taking refuge and from there they go to talk to him about the reward.
Far away from there, in the castle town of Loches, Count Deppailer's daughter was getting ready to leave the place, she was organizing her suitcases, then getting ready by putting on armor and the like, even looking at herself in the mirror of her chamber's bathroom, getting angry and indignant, since she cannot have her proposal to murder Diana Cavendish accepted.
Chloé: If they will not perform the service then I will perform it on my own, she is the reason for all this evil that plagues this land of ours and she will not go unpunished after she killed my suitor, he was the perfect prince, Nicolas, he was a strong and powerful warrior, so gallant, a perfect man, my father was agreeing with the idea, but now because of these creatures he was killed and now I have no one but mediocre and horrid suitors, but I will change that, I will bring Diana Cavendish's head and end these attacks of night creatures, I will end this torment that passes in this world.
She finishes dressing the clothes and armour, and sneaks away, having the help of a servant, who opens the way for her, leaving a horse ready at the exit of the castle, so Deppailer leaves that place once and for all going towards where Diana Cavendish could be, wanting to find some trace of her, she carried a picture of how she imagines she is and also a good amount of gold that she reserved to get information with the local people to get the trace of her in a possible future confrontation.
Back in Châteaubriant, already in the castle, the group of girls goes towards the duke's castle. The duke is immensely grateful for the help of the girls, giving a bag of gold to each one of them, and Manbavaran even looks at that, a bit annoyed, while the duke keeps showing a happy smile from the corner to the corner of his mouth.
Sucy: That little bit?
Lotte and Akko: Sucy!
Duke of Châteubriant: Pardon me, ladies, but this is for the damage caused by the castle, they will not pay for themselves and neither will my city, I will also make sure to guarantee your stay for one day here at the palace, enjoy yourselves, this is a more than fair payment for the services I am offering and also for everything you have done.
From there the duke leaves towards the throne and a servant of the palace goes with the girls to their quarters, when they arrive there they are impressed, the luxury was minimal, the duke was a person extremely cowhand, notable for the way the guest room was in a cold basement and with very precarious beds, looking like the soldiers' quarters, because it was precisely a pavilion of the soldiers' quarters.
Sucy: Holy shit, I never thought I'd see someone so petty, but this count outdoes himself, we saved the whole town, the whole castle and we're staying in the soldiers' quarters that night.
Palace Servant: Excuse me miss, the duke is being a very rewarding person with you, it is rare to see him being kind to women, even more so having the privilege of sleeping in a lodging where our greatest heroes stay, oh and I was forgetting, if you want to go to the bathroom, here is the bucket and the sponge, anyway, any help, just call me.
The palace servant delivers the bucket into Akko's hands along with the sponge, and she makes a point of throwing it aside in disgust, already feeling the smell of the rooms, which was not pleasant at all, reminding her of the deck of the ships where the two Asians stayed when they were still slaves.
Diana: It's a miracle that they offer us a free stay, usually when they look at us they don't even want to see us in the city, even though we saved a lot of people's lives.
Sucy: We should have waited a bit, when the city is more devastated, then they would have valued our mission more, but instead they make a point of throwing away our admiration, just like in Tours, Loches and Châtaumorand, at least in those places the people gave us rooms worthy of a king.
Akko: After years on a ship's deck, honestly this is a luxury here, you even forget our past Sucy, we have lived in much worse conditions.
Sucy: We were slaves, today we are free women, we should have at least a cozier room, we saved this city from destruction caused by creatures of the night and we still saved it from causing more devastation, the other cities we passed were much more devastated than this one, in fact this one didn't even have destruction besides broken windows, go understand these people, remember to let Châteubriant be destroyed by monsters...
Lotte and Akko slapping Sucy: Sucy!
Croix and Marianne just keep laughing together, of all the interaction of the girls, while Diana stays more alone, she walks with her hands on her back through the rooms, even looking through the stained glass windows, kind of reflecting a little, which in this way awakens something in Akko who goes there trying to talk to Cavendish, while Manbavaran just shrugs.
Akko: Do you do that a lot?
Diana: It's always good to reflect on life, to be like this thinking about missions, I really wish I didn't have to do it, but it's all for the greater good, as my mothers always said, for me to protect the innocent and weak people and fight injustice, because the world always wants to put you down, life itself doesn't want to see you well, life wants to spoil everything, it's up to you to be strong and to hit head on all the trials of it.
Akko: I know well how it is, we have to run after our dreams and not give up, I when I ran away from my land and came here did not give up, I have not seen my parents since I am 10 years old, I travelled as far south as possible, I ended up finding that Portuguese ship and since then my journey has only begun, they stepped on me, treated me like a slave, I met Sucy, we ran away from there, paid our freedom and today we are here, to think that it will be 10 years since I ran away from home, I could not stand living in that home anymore, my family wanted me to be a good woman and of the home, they wanted me to serve my future husband, they were going to sell me to a samurai, but I ran away before he showed up at home.
Diana: It seems that we don't have so many differences in staying away from our relatives, in my case it was different, but I had to grow up next to Croix, she was my mentor all these years, I learnt from her what I know today about the world, I knew what it was like outside my mother's castle, who was scared to death of me leaving there and being captured by men.
Akko: And I can see that you are excellent with a sword, it must be heavy to hold one of these, I have tried and I can't, I much prefer my good old katana, it is light and agile, perfect for cutting, perfect for my style.
Diana: Being honest here, there is a lot you have to do to improve your style, I could see a lot of loopholes when I watched you wielding that sword, it could cost you your life someday, you need to learn to wield it right, because it will still kill you.
Akko: You say that because it is easy for you, you have supernatural powers helping you, I am only a mere human mortal, I cannot hold a heavy sword like yours with one hand, let alone be fast and agile like this.
Diana: Practice makes perfect lass, you four need to practice a lot, mainly because the mission we are going to deal with will need a lot of precision, it is not something that is just very easy to deal with.
From there the girls talk a little more, Akko and Diana get into a discussion where Kagari defends her friends while Cavendish presents her point of view, more realistic and down to earth, showing that they have a lot to practice and improve. Another mission that is very well succeeded and even was easy with the presence of this new duo that has intentions towards the quartet regarding a bigger plan that can change once and for all the lives of this group that are still on local missions that possibly can be the extra challenge that the Japanese were so much looking for.
See you, Cavendish witches...