The sound of a blade cutting through the air could be heard for a moment, the next however was the sound of something heavy hitting the took a second to swing his blade to get the blood off it before sighing to himself. "Let's see… does this make fourteen or fifteen?" Garm made a noise before raising a paw and seemed to swipe at the air a few times. "Oh, we're at sixteen right now." He muttered as Garm lowered his paw as Gales pulled out his Hunter's Knife and cut off the bull's ears, before shoving them into a bag on his waist. "Well, sixteen isn't too bad, what do you say we head back now?" Garm was already moving, walking off leaving his Hunter to wander after him."I'll take that as a yes."Gales smiled as he and Garm started their truck back to Harribel. Sure, it would take some time to reach the town, but it would have taken longer if they had already headed further out into the wilds.

Regardless, the pair still got a chance to take in the sights.

Despite the bulls' actions, the wilds were still as beautiful as ever. The world was still swelling with an abundance of life and while it would bend under the weight of the bulls uprooting, it refused to break.

Nature wasn't as fragile as people were led to believe.

Still, it doesn't mind getting a little help sent its way.

Walking through the woods gales noticed that a few bushes were ruffling from some kind of movement. He chose to ignore it, as Garm wasn't getting worried then there was no need to switch gears and get ready for a fight.

Still, that didn't mean that their guards dropped.

When you're in the wilds, you can't drop your guard; not until you were dead certain you were safe.

If you did, there was a good chance you weren't going to make it home.

People died in the wilds; sometimes it's to weather, sometimes its to flora, but more often not it's to an opportunistic beast.

"And we have no interest in having them turn us into a meal." Gales muttered as he looked at Garm. "Right buddy?" Garm just looked at his Hunter before turning away and pressed on. Gales just scratched his head. "Right, right…" He muttered. "Let's just get back to town."


Scattered all across the world, there exist many things left behind by the Ancients. Altars, statues, grave sites and many more different breeds of relics could be found if you looked hard enough to find them. The most recognized relics - of course - would have to be the Towers; monolithic stone entities built on the backs of both beasts and man alike. No one knows how many there are throughout the world, but each was a testament of the Ancient's technological capabilities, reminders of the great and terrible things they had done to the world in their time. They pierce the sky, appearing like a finger raised towards the stars themselves. It's almost ominous how the setting sun tends to hang over these monolithic apparitions, much like the burning flame of a candle.

One such Tower was where a young man by the name of Siegfried found himself at the moment.

And if he was going to be honest, he felt very little joy in coming to such a place.

He couldn't accurately explain it, but there was something… wrong about this place.

He's not certain if it's the air or the soil, or the tower themselves, but he does recognize that something about this place makes the hairs on the back of his neck stand on ends. It was a feeling, similar but different when compared to the sensation he gets when a beast is stalking him. If anything, it was more akin to the sensation he got when he watched the Star is Disaster race the sky not one month ago. The fabled beast, an Elder Dragon - a living myth known as Valstrax hadn't fallen from the sky to bring calamity, but it had acted as an omen of sorts.

Since that ominous star had raced across the sky a month ago, the world below - in both subtle and profound ways - had changed.

Still, Siegfried wasn't too focused on the changes the world had gone through, rather his thoughts were more directed on the depths that made up the Tower's sublevels.

Already, he'd wandered through a great many secluded and forgotten chambers, and now his journey led him to what seemed to be a sealed vault.

Entering, he found it to be a treasury of sorts, one full of aged riches that had been locked away so that they might be hidden from prying eyes.

Still, for all the gold and jewels that were sealed away in this ancient vault, Siegfried found himself passing by every shard of glimmering treasure as he looked around.

He wasn't after treasures after all. There was only one thing here that he desired, and that was all he intended to take from this place.

Still…

Shaking his head, pushing back several lines of unheard thoughts, Siegfried pressed on, his attention drifting from one place to the next as he searched for whatever he was looking for. "Where are you?" He asked no one, as he continued looking around for a few moments. "Why hello there." He muttered, stepping forward, his attention turning to what looked like a skull sized crystal. Whistling Siegfried stared at the crystal for a moment as he put his hands on his hips. "That's a pretty big chunk." He admitted. "And exactly what I'm here for." He admitted as steps echoed throughout the vault, only, they weren't his, nor did they sound like they belonged to a beast. "Hm?" Now who could this be?" The steps sounded like they belonged to a man.

No, not a man…

"How curious." A woman whispers as she moves towards the hunter. "We don't get many guests in this part of the world." She admits. "A shame, had I been aware that we were getting one, I would have provided a much warmer welcome."

"Sorry about that." Siegfried lifted the crystal and started tossing it in his hand into the air a few times. "I didn't mean to drop in unannounced, but I couldn't help myself."

"I see." The woman stated as she watched him mess with the crystal. "Hm~" She made a noise. "It appears our guest wishes to bring ruin to these parts of the world."

"Oh?" Siegfried simply continues throwing the crystal in the air as though it were a ball of sorts. "What makes you believe that?" He asks but refuses to turn to face the one speaking to him.

"To begin no soul with good intentions would ever come down here." Was all the woman said as she stepped towards him as she pointed at the heart he was now holding. "Let alone one seeking that artifact left behind by the Ancients."

"A fair point." Her counterpart whispers before smiling. "But hey, what can you do? My~ superior told me to bring this in, and I'm just doing as I'm told."

"I see." The woman whispered as she started circling the figure. "You have no personal use for that artifact, you are simply the delivery man."

"Pretty much, yeah." Siegfried stated as he stopped tossing the artifact into the air and looked at the woman with a smile. "That said, what will you do? Do you plan on stopping me?"

"Should I?" The woman asked as she walked forward. "Hm~ perhaps I should." She muttered to herself. "The world will suffer if you take that, and as it stands, this shard of it suffers enough."

"You mean the bull infestation?" Siegfried asked. "If that's the case, I wouldn't worry too much, even without the Hunters' involvement, nature has a way of sorting itself out." He stated. "Or perhaps… you mean the reappearance of the Demonlord?"

"You're aware."

"Course I am." Siegfried smirked slightly as he caught the crystal time before finally looking at the woman. "Every fifty years they appear, their appearance marked by the unseen gates that humanity and beast walks across open up to reveal the convulsing paths that connect this world to the one below." He states. "As these paths open, cities are swallowed whole by the world below, as a maddening odorous scent escapes the once locked paths to claim the world above, painting the sky a sickly pale hue. It's then, and only then, that the Demonlord makes their appearance, and brings a time of darkness, before he returns to the world below to sleep once more." Siegfried goes silent for a moment before shrugging. "At least that's how one of the stories goes. There was another I heard about their arrival being marked by a falling star." He admits. "Personally I like the star one more, it adds a sort of otherworldly element to the story."

"Indeed."

"But, that doesn't matter right now." Siegfried raised the item in his hand. "Regardless the Demonlord rises and brings ruin to the world, and if they don't" He shakes the item like it were a rattle. "This may."

"And you're ok with that?"

"Honestly, I don't really care." Siegfried admitted. "As you said earlier, I'm just the delivery man." He admits turning the artifact over for a moment before stopping. "Still with that being said, what will you do?" He asked. "Do you plan on stopping me?"

"Now why would I do that?" The woman asks. "If anything, I would offer my assistance in gathering the rest of that artifact's kin." She admitted as she bowed slightly. "If you would allow it, that is."

"Why would you be willing to assist me?" Her guest asked. "What would you get out of it?" The woman just smiled as her guest looked in her direction.

She smiled.

"Freedom."


"Let's see…" Abigail muttered as she started counting up the pairs of ears that Gales had set on the table. "Two… four… six… eight…" She continued counting before nodding her head. "Sixteen pairs of Bull tusks, that means you earned… this much." She set the zenny on the desk as Gales just smiled and nodded his head.

"Thank you." He stated as he looked at Garm and saw his partner had already made their way back over to a table, and chose to rest underneath it. "Looks like someones done for the day."

"Well, you two have been working pretty hard these past few days." Abigail stated as Gales shrugged.

"We work as anyone else." He remarked as he rested his back against the receptionist's desk. "We do no more and we do no less." The youth stated as Abigail smiled.

"I guess you're right." Abigail muttered. "Still, thank you for your hard work."

"Hm?" Gales looked back at the receptionist.

"I know it's been a little hectic since the guild allowed open hunting of the bulls due to the infestation, but I want you to know we appreciate all the work you and the rest of the Hunters have been doing for us." Abigail stated. "We're in your debt."

"You appreciate our work?" Gales didn't mean for it to sound like a question, but it did.

"Is that strange?" Abigail asked as she scratched her cheek with a finger.

"No, I mean… it's just." Gales seemed at a loss for words for a moment. "A lot of times it's just…" He paused as he scratched his head. "You - well I don't hear it alot you know." He admitted. "I mean, I know this is my job, and people need us Hunters. I know they're grateful for what we do, but… you don't hear a lot of people actually say thank you, ya know." He blushed slightly as he broke into a grin. "It's kind of nice hearing it, that's all."

"I see." Abigail smiled as she reached over and made to ruffle Gales head before suddenly pulling back. 'Still on the clock girl, stay professional.' She reminded herself. "Well, I'm glad to know this makes you feel happy." She stated. "So are you going back out on another quest?"

"Hm~" Gales seemed to think. "Maybe in a bit. For now let's take a minute to rest our feet. It was a long trip back." He admitted as he made his way over to Garm and took a seat next to him. "Tired buddy." Garm made a noise as he raised his head and looked at his Hunter before lowering it back onto the floor. "I'll take that as a yes."