Chapter 1: A Simple Task

Squish*

The sound of Lucius' shoes stepping on flesh was something he was unfortunately used to. Killing nightcrawlers under the moonlight was all but routine for the 23-year-old gravekeeper, however daunting the task may be; a Blood Hunter must overcome any adversity, after all. After flicking the blood of his blade, he scanned the neighbourhood park for any strays that would dare cross his path.

Tonight was too easy, he thought to himself; there was supposed to be a large group of elite crawlers in the park based on the information Glenn gave him.

So then why were the crawlers here only basic grunts? Unless...(!)

Before Lucius could even finish the thought, the leaves on the trees suddenly rustled violently, and out came tens of nightcrawlers that appeared significantly bulkier than their low-threat counterparts, a handful of them even had wings.

"Ugh, of course the information would be accurate".

With a sigh, Lucius then placed his sword on his left palm and promptly slashed it, being careful not to outright cut half his hand off. He winced a bit, but years of surviving and fighting these monsters have numbed the pain significantly. The blood oozing from his left palm then suddenly flowed through the air like magic before finally finding itself lining the sharp edge of his sword. His eyes changed colour from a dull grey to an almost blinding crimson, but the biggest change was his demeanor; from a cold, calculating, almost emotionless expression to one filled with vengeance and bloodlust. With one audible growl, he lunged at the group, his head filled with one single command: "KILL THEM ALL"

Needless to say, the nightcrawlers stood no chance; piles of corpses lay everywhere, some even dismembered. Lucius stood still for a solid minute, trying to sense out other crawlers he might have missed or were in hiding. He then promptly flicked the blood -a combination of both his and the monsters'- off his sword and his demeanor shifted back to normal.

Thank God these bastards decay quickly. The last thing I wanna do after a slaughter like this is cleanup detail.

Shuddering, Lucius sheathed his sword and returned home. The one thing he needs right now is a good bath; his body is bloodied and he suffered numerous wounds, luckily none too debilitating.

Doesn't make it less painful to walk home, though... Oh yeah, better let Glenn know.

At Glenn's house...

Glenn had just returned home from an assignment of his own. Being the leader of the top hunters in the Association definitely came with more responsibilities, but he sure as hell didn't expect to be scouting an elite crawler's hideout, much less on his first day as leader.

Note to self, never plan anything on mission days, Glenn thought.

He planned to attend his brother's 16th birthday party today and he convinced himself he could make it by evening.

BOY, was I wrong...

After informing his family he couldn't make it, they told him it was okay, although he could hear the hurt in his brother's voice. Before he could dwell on it for too long, however...

BEEP!

Glenn almost jumped at the sudden notification. He promptly checked his phone to see that Lucius had messaged him.

Lucius: Finished the task you gave me. Took a little longer than expected, though

Glenn: Why? Anything happen?

Lucius: Sons of bitches tried to ambush me by sending out weak grunts first, thinking I'll let my guard down.

Glenn: Holy shit, you alright?

Lucius: Nothing a bath and some sleep can't fix. Anyway, see ya for Prof Lee's tomorrow.

Glenn audibly groaned at Lucius' latest message; Professor Lee was the worst lecturer at Clayton Brown University. He would simply drone on and on and would often go on tangents about his son, much to his class's dismay. However, that mattered little compared to the task he assigned Lucius to do; exterminate any crawlers that threaten St. Elizabeth.

The Hunter's Association has their hands full trying to keep high-priority areas safe, while also assigning individual hunters to patrol less populated areas, St. Elizabeth being one of them. However, Glenn's status as leader meant that he would have to leave St. Elizabeth occasionally for missions, leaving the area unguarded. Times like those were when he would give the assignment information to Lucius instead.

Being a Blood Hunter, Lucius outright despises the Association for the atrocities they committed 15 years ago based on a prejudice that still exists to this day. The only exception was Glenn, his best friend and confidant. Lucius would often receive the information from Glenn during their lessons, usually in the form of puzzles, so as to not raise any suspicion from the Association.

Glenn finally slid down on his sofa and closed his eyes, relieved that the nightcrawler situation was well taken care of.

At Lucius's house...

Upon entering his house, he was met with silence; a silent reminder of the fact that he was absolutely alone. He shook the feeling off before removing his shoes and clothes and headed straight for the bathroom. While waiting for the bath to fill, he looked up his schedule for the next day:

6.30am - Wake up and clean cemetery

(Remember to touch up on Mom, Dad and Nicky's graves)

9am to 1pm - Lessons

1pm onwards - Prepare Mr Collins's grave

Lucius sighed. He was only halfway done preparing Mr Collins's grave before he had to set off to the park, not to mention his daily cemetery cleaning. He was a gravekeeper, after all, and being the owner of one of St. Elizabeth's most famous cemeteries certainly did not help.

Once the bathtub has been filled, the gravekeeper then set foot inside, heaving a deep sign as his body relaxed into the warm waters.

Lucius had always enjoyed this part of the day.