Time to play catch up and post every single chapter that's already on Ao3 in one go!

The first thing Haseo noticed when he and Atoli approached the bridge was a man who would seem one hundred percent human, were it not for a forked tail swaying behind him. Was this the Kuhn he'd been told about, or a stranger who happened to be odd and there by happenstance?

"Excuse me…!" Atoli approached him first, Haseo forced to trail behind. "Are you Kuhn?"

He turned to look at them, a smile on his face. "Yeah, I am. You must be Atoli, right?"

"Yes!"

"And you're Haseo…" Kuhn seemed almost relieved to see both of them. "I'm glad you both decided to come. We have some important things to talk about."

"Yeah, well can we hurry up with that, then?" Haseo crossed his arms. "I'm only here because I was promised information about Tri-Edge if I came, I have no interest in whatever you wanna talk about."

"At least you're frank about it…" Kuhn gave an awkward laugh as he scratched his cheek. "A...anyway, come on. I can't exactly explain it all here, so we'll go to Raven."

"Raven?" Haseo furrowed his brow and Atoli tilted her head to the side.

"The Guild I'm part of, the guildmaster'll be able to help explain things to you faster and no one'll be able to overhear."

Now that just made Haseo angry. He'd come here for information on Tri-Edge… To the bridge, not to any place else! He looked at Atoli, eyes narrowing as he leaned closer to her.

"What's the information you have on Tri-Edge?"

"N… no!" Atoli shook her head. "I won't tell you until after we hear Kuhn out!"

God dammit , was she moving the goalposts? He felt like she was moving the goalposts and he didn't like it! He wanted to argue or to say to hell with all this, but… He knew that'd do him no good with the position he was in. He'd just have to grit his teeth and bear it for now.

"Fine…"

"Then follow me." Kuhn gestured and started walking, leaving the two to trail behind him. "As a warning, it might be a lot to take in at first, but… I think you guys can handle it."

Atoli smiled at him, nodding. "Thank you! I'll do my best."

Soon enough, they made it into a guild building. It looked about the same as Canard's, and the same as the Twilight Brigade's used to look… He shook his head, trying to forget about it. Now wasn't the time to be getting all sad and sentimental.

"Welcome to Raven." Kuhn gestured around. "We'll be going-"

"Kuhn, there you are." A woman with pink hair in two high ponytails walked into the room. That, however, wasn't the thing that really stood out to Haseo.

She was like the Kuhn guy, looking as if she was fully human save a few features. The one that was most obvious were the horns on her head, standing out against her red and gold outfit. They were so distracting Haseo almost didn't notice the tail when she turned around.

"Master Yata's been waiting for a while now." The woman was clearly annoyed. "I thought I told you to be back an hour earlier."

"Well, I couldn't do that, Pi! I found Haseo unconscious and there was no way to be sure he'd wake up at a specific time…" Kuhn rubbed the side of his neck, letting out an awkward laugh. "I got here as soon as I could!"

The Pi woman let out a sigh, walking towards the back of the guild. "Bring them this way. It's time they learn what G.U. is really for."

"G.U.?" Haseo grabbed Kuhn by the shoulder. "I thought you said this place was Raven!"

Pi looked back at them, eyes narrowed. "You didn't tell them?"

"I couldn't risk mentioning it out in the open!" Kuhn turned to Haseo after replying to Pi. "Raven is the name everyone thinks the guild has, but we're really G.U. The name's just to throw people off."

"I don't think I trust a group that hides their real name." Haseo crossed his arms, looking at Atoli. "Do you?"

"Um…" Atoli wrung her hands together. "I'm not sure, honestly... Sakaki told me I shouldn't come and now I'm thinking I should have listened to him…"

"Young lady, I know it's likely scary for you, but I promise if you stay, things will make plenty of sense." Pi's voice was softer as she spoke to Atoli.

"Well, alright." She looked at Haseo. "Let's keep going…!"

Dammit.

They followed after Kuhn and Pi, into an area Pi called the "Serpent of Lore". Waiting there was a guy who, if Haseo had to guess, was around his age. Just a lot buffer and a lot snootier. Was this the Master Yata guy that Pi had mentioned when they first got here?

He finally looked up at them, eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. "I see you've finally brought them, Kuhn."

"Yeah… Lucky me, they showed up together!"

Haseo shook his head, cutting off any other niceties that could go through the room. "Alright, no more. Tell me what's up with this G.U. thing so I can get out of here and get the information I was promised." He punctuated his statement with a glare towards Atoli.

Atoli swallowed hard. "I-I would also like to know what's going on…"

Yata chuckled, shaking his head. "I see you're both eager to learn the truth… You see, on the surface, Raven is just any other guild you could find. The only interesting part about it is that we rarely, if ever, look for new members…" He waved a hand and a screen appeared. On it, specific monsters known to stalk the lands. "However, G.U.'s true purpose is hunting down creatures like these, before they cause more instability in the area than they already have."

Haseo frowned. "And what's that got to do with us?"

"We're not a guild of any old monster hunters." Yata shook his head. "Every member has the ability to connect with some sort of creature, ones that can actually destroy these and protect the human from the harm usually caused."

"The harm usually caused…?" Atoli tilted her head to the side.

"Yes. I'm sure as a Harvest Cleric, Atoli, you've seen the afflicted. Stuck in a deep sleep, a strange black pattern growing across the wounds they had, no way to fix it…" Yata looked at Haseo. "Like Shino."

"Bastard! Don't say her name!" Haseo stepped forward a bit too quickly, flinching back as he pulled one of his wounds too far. "Don't bring Shino into your guild talk…"

"Don't you talk to Master Yata that way!" Pi stepped forward. "Our goal is to help the Lost One's like Shino, there's no way for him to not 'bring her in' to the conversation."

He grit his teeth, anger bubbling. "You're only bringing her up to try and get me to listen to you!"

"But of course." Yata spoke up again. "Atoli, in all my research, seems receptive to G.U.'s plans, you, however… It seems your interest lies only in Tri-Edge."

"Tri-Edge…" He balled his hands into fists. "What do you know about Tri-Edge?"

"We know that you're hunting him, and that he's believed to be behind a large number of Lost Ones." Pi spoke up. "We also know that we can find him, if you agree to work with us."

"I-"

"Please, wait a moment!" Atoli spoke up, cutting the others off. "I still don't understand! Why ask us, if the Guild is only for special humans, who can connect with monsters? I'm not sure about Haseo, but I can't do anything like that!"

Yata once again chuckled. "It may seem like that, but you are both candidates. It's simply a case of helping you awaken to your potential. Once that happens, the creatures will be drawn to you."

Haseo thought for a moment, closing his eyes. This seemed crazy, but…

"Would the monsters say something about a soul becoming whole again?"

Yata looked at him, head tilted ever so slightly to the side. "Perhaps. Would you go into more detail?"

"No." He shook any thoughts of trusting G.U. out of his mind. "This is stupid!"

"It's a lot to take in…" Atoli put a hand to her lips, deep in thought. "I-I don't know what to say. I have an obligation to Moon Tree-"

"You may remain in any other guild while also working with G.U., that would not be an issue…" Yata paused. "So long as you're willing and able to come when duty calls."

"I see…" Atoli continued to think. "Well… If I have the potential and it would help people, I…"

"You expect us to just answer when you put us on the spot?" Haseo scoffed. "Trying to corner us into saying yes? It's not gonna happen!"

Yata had just the hint of a smile on his lips when he spoke again. "Then I'll give you both a day. Think on it, the potential power a creature contracted to you could bring. The ways you could help people… And then give me an answer."

Atoli nodded as Haseo just turned to walk out the door. Soon enough, she was rushing to catch up to him. "I-I'll be sure to come back with an answer tomorrow!"

And Haseo planned on never coming back.

They walked out of the Serpent of Lore, finally making it back to the entrance of the guild. Haseo turned to look at Atoli. "I need to get going, tell me what you know about Tri-Edge, now."

"Oh, of course! Thank you so much for coming with me." She nodded, tapping her chin. "The last I heard from others at Moon Tree was that Tri-Edge was spotted at…"

"At?!"

"The Hulle Granz Cathedral! Apparently someone saw him defeating a hunter there before leaving!"

"Oh goddammit!"

Magus - Incubus

Tarvos - Minotaur