Merry belated Christmas and Happy new year everyone! i hope you enjoy this chapter and continue reading into 2025. God bless you all and enjoy~
The worst part of being in hiding was the waiting. Despite the initial business of settling in, hiding their tracks, and scouting a few kilometers around the Nyx, there was still more free time than anything. With no connection to the CCT signal and no time to bring any luxuries, the crew and team CRLN were left to fend for themselves when it came to staving off boredom.
For the crew, it varied from trying to forage or hunt with limited equipment like bows or spears, making 'trench crafts' out of junk, or plain old setting up fighting rings. Usually, however, the largest reprieve was when they went undercover in the nearby town of Vicus undercover. Despite orders of limited interactions with the locals and posing as passing travelers leaving them with little time to stay, they enjoyed the local cuisine, especially since word of a local bakery run by an elderly woman made the rounds. Soon all the men were drooling for their turn.
Thankfully as the Nyx had been retrofitted and newly automated, the ship's systems and maintenance no longer had to be manned by thousands of people as it did nearly a century ago. Now a crew of barely a hundred fit the bill albeit sparsely. This small crew meant more rotations for the men, and less conspicuous gazes from the locals as there wouldn't be too many new and recurring faces. Although there was the fear of being recognized too often, it had to be put aside.
Team CRLN meanwhile had the option of going whenever they wished, a benefit of nepotism and being the most combat-effective. However, Caelum still had yet to make the venture despite his three teammates going several times without him. He, however, made up for this in the rest of their free time with harsh and rigorous training as well as drilling the crew.
With no reason to hide his past experiences, knowledge, or skills, he now provided his peers with a full-fledged Atlas-based special training program. It was far more technical and straining than their introductory classes at Beacon. It was based on combat and decades of doctrinal experience dealing with terrorists after all. With a firm foundation of fighting monsters and aura techniques, he now taught them to fight viciously, without hesitation, to grapple and use terrain. To never think twice about taking a life when it came down to themselves or another. Caelum wanted and needed his team to be able to fight humans just as well as Grimm.
Despite what Lukas called harassment and abuse, with minor agreements from Raiden and Niel, the three admirably held up and persisted. Just as they had against CFVY and against what seemed an inevitable death that night with the Wendigo. At the end of an exhausting six hours of grappling and sparring, the four took a well-earned rest.
Gasping for breath, they took off the gas masks that Caelum had forced onto them to train for inhibited breathing and stressful situations. Sure terrorists had never used chemical weapons as in the great war, it was outlawed by international treaties and even the most rare Grimm on record weren't known to produce breathable toxins but that hadn't stopped him from essentially hazing the lot.
Drenched in sweat and enjoying the cool, fresh air, the four wound down as their damp clothes chilled their bodies and they became comfortable enough to chat. The main topics were of their ventures into Vicus. Caelum wished to know more but his teammates, even Raiden, were beginning to treat the trips as more of a vacation-like reprieve from their situation.
Noticing his dissatisfaction with their talks, Lukas was the one to bring something of value to the table. "Put away that sour mug of yours, heard some news from a local butcher on the town council that apparently, they're taking donations to hire huntsmen from Vale."
Caelum gave a furrowed brow. "Why's that?"
"Not for us, far as I know. Seems that they need some Grimm cleared. I read the notice he had posted. Something about a ranch to their east having been spotted with a large gathering of Grimm."
"On par with the cave we cleared?"
"More or less. My money's on more. Seems they thought it a passing group before finally seeing it fester into a bigger problem."
Caelum thought for a moment before making a decision. "We have to take that request before they send it to Vale."
Lukas groaned. "I thought you'd say that."
"Shouldn't we stay low?" asked Niel.
"It'd be harder to do that with professional huntsmen snooping around putting the discovery of the Nyx at risk or worse get stationed here permanently. If we take the quest we can pose as passing graduates or even make an excuse for our extended presence here."
Niel cocked his head curiously. "From what I've been told by Lukas, would any true aspiring Huntsman come this far out for such an insignificant station, mission, and reward?
Raiden raised a finger in arguing they would. "Freelancers, company contractors, even some graduates build a reputation by being stationed temporarily."
Lukas frowned and added a contentious point. "Even worse if they're go-getters with a sense of justice larger than their capabilities or area of responsibility."
"My thoughts exactly" agreed Caelum.
With this consensus, the four arrived before the town's Mayor the next morning. They wore a mishmash of clothing apart from their usual attire to help seem like random huntsman while leaving their personal weapons behind in favor of some cheap streamlined equipment intended for the ship's crew. Despite the lower quality material and appearances, the elderly man before them and his young assistant, his granddaughter, were more fixated on how young they seemed rather than equipment.
"Pardon me but how old are you all again?" he asked from behind his desk.
Lukas smiled politely, his semblance undoubtedly at work. "We're all twenty, fresh graduates of a subsidiary training academy under Beacon."
The lie worked, in part of the handy semblance and part because of the potent mixture of aura along with physical training making them appear more mature than they were."
"I see. Pardon me. You all seemed around my granddaughter's age" he chuckled as the girl in question filed some paperwork. "Now please allow me one more question if I may."
"Sure thing sir"
"I see you all are bright young men." he gestured over Raiden, Niel, and Lukas who stood politely at the front of his desk, the paper notice of the town's collection efforts to combat the Grimm infestation lying before them. "But may I ask his story?"
The man raised an empty hand, gesturing behind Lukas where a figure in bland clothing stood with a gas mask on. A crowd of village children gathered outside the nearby window to stare at the figure with innocent curiosity until he turned to them, sending them running away giggling and shouting rambunctiously.
"Ah don't mind him there, he's just a mate of ours and happens to be a bit self-conscious of his appearance. See we all graduated recently but our teams went separate ways. I know, I know, unusual for huntsman teams to split up post-graduation, but that's for those top-of-the-line academies like Beacon. Us, we're trying to eke out a living. We all met up and figured we try our luck together. Turns out we make a good team and a killing with quests."
The lies flowed so smoothly that his teammates would have believed him if they didn't know any better.
"And what are some of these recent quests you have done?"
Lukas grinned triumphantly as he dropped a piece of paper with directions. "Well for starters, we cleared out one infestation to the west of here on our way. Cave filled with Grimm, about forty beowolves lodged in. Feel free to send some people to check for evidence of their recent dwelling. We can wait."
As the man looked over the directions he asked his granddaughter to fetch some recent reports to correlate with the story. As she did so, Lukas looked at his team with a smug grin. Expecting the man to be dubious of them, they had warned the Nyx's crew to be alert and remain stationary so they could use the closely located cave as a bargaining chip in getting their foot in here.
After a few minutes and a short local call, the man sat down and apologized. "It seems you're telling the truth. Apologies, we've had many visitors before who lied as to their capabilities and recently had an influx of new travelers coming through." The boys paid no offense, knowing a fair amount of the recently suspicious folk were their crew who looked almost every part the threatening syndicate members they were.
"Now for this job, I and many others would be more than happy for you to take it. It would save us headaches, trouble, and money. However, until we can confirm the job is done, we will have to withhold pay. Our town can't afford to get scammed of what little excess we have you see."
Lukas waved his hands. "No worries sir, we are huntsmen after all. We understand the plights of others." Despite his selfless claim, his three teammates could practically hear Lukas internally call the old man a "cheap ass."
With a few details hashed out and the location received, it took a little bit of convincing but sure enough Lukas and his semblance convinced the mayor not to send a witness along with them. Reasoning that the individual may be put at needless risk, he assured them that they would not mind waiting for someone to inspect their handiwork once they were done. Miraculously, he even convinced the man as to why none of them had scrolls on their persons. It was a bit of work but the man was willing to wait until after the mission for an in-person explanation and briefing of the task.
The boys then set off on foot, their official story saying they had arrived as such and therefore would have to play to it. They were no strangers to trekking at this point, and they quickly made their way with one parting glance at the mayoral residence, the man and his assistant watching them with polite smiles and waves as they left.
Outside the town perimeter and a decent way out of sight, Caelum unstrapped his gas mask and stored it away in his hip pocket. "They're suspicious of us."
"I can't say I blame them. I imagine they think much the same as my tribe despite the population difference" acknowledged Niel.
"Don't even think of blaming me" defended Lukas, heading off any expected critique. "You know how my semblance works. They may have been receptive and polite but they by no means were welcoming."
"Really?" asked Raiden. "They seemed perfectly content with our presence."
Lukas shrugged. "They have a lot on their plate and a lot of people they're responsible for. Can't say the skepticism isn't warranted or unhealthy."
There wasn't much more talk along the way. Four boys cut off from the outside world and on the run with each other left little variation of topics to speak of while they worked. After a quick hour's trek at a quick pace and they arrived at the locale.
It was a small ranch that had bloomed from a single family into somewhat of a little commune over the past decade and maintained contact with Vicus until the recent weeks. The consensus amongst those in Vicus was the obvious thought in which Grimm had somehow overrun or displaced the inhabitants.
Whatever had happened, it was obvious from the outer gate that the place had seen better days. Dilapidated buildings showing wear from years of standing without maintenance stood side by side with newer freshly painted dwellings in a staunch silence as the wind whipped up loose dust from the empty animal pens.
"Alright" announced Caelum. "Usual drill. Split up into pairs, then inspect individually no more than ten meters or one room separating the other. Melee only until we confirm no survivors to avoid any overpenetration and accidental fatalities. Our objective is to first find any survivors and second clear any Grimm in the area of operation. If engaged don't forget-"
"Combat is louder and quicker in alerting the others" mimed Lukas with a sarcastic tilt of his head. "We've heard your babble and done your drills enough to have it tatted in the back of our minds. Let's get on with it."
Caelum glanced with a blank expression, not angered but not pleased with his comrade's usual impatience. "You and Niel go to the old dwellings, Raiden, and I will search the animal pens and storage sheds."
With a nod from Niel and a "roger" from Lukas, the four split into two teams and then began investigating individually within earshot of their partners.
As the boys drifted separately, NIel and Lukas eyed up the small ranch houses and noticed no damage to the walls. A closer look however showed splintered framing and scraped wood on the steel-backed entryway. Bat at the ready, Lukas wound back his arm as he cautiously pushed the door inward. It quietly swung in and then slammed back shut in front of him and Niel with its spring-loaded latches.
Turning to Niel, Lukas gestured for him to go first. Niel pulled his two revolvers out and with the tip of one bladed barrel pushed the door open while keeping the other at the ready. At first, his eyes struggled to peer within the darkness and so he focused on any movement, sound, or strange smells.
He was met with stillness, silence, and the now familiar stench of dried blood assaulting his nose. Stepping forward, he propped the door open with his foot and lowered his guns. As sunlight filled the entryway, he let a depressive sigh out as Lukas peered in to investigate.
On the other end, Caelum and Raiden had picked through the barn where all tools and machinery were stored with no findings. With bayonet and halberd at the ready, next came the stables. Caelum had already smelled the blood meters away from the large open doors. As they closed in, cautiously peering in and checking the corners, the sound of sharp maws tearing into flesh and crunching bone could be heard within.
Keeping his eyes on the doorway, Caelum signaled Raiden with a hand gesture to be ready and cover him. The two, now long acquainted with Grimm and grizzly sights, had a steady pulse, no fear or emotion aside from the anxiousness that came with an impending assault. Surprise on their side, they rushed in, weapons raised.
Within a second they were already in the center of the stable and saw no less than seven Beowolves and an Ursa feasting on the deceased livestock within. Two eating a horse's corpse in its pen, another two sifting through mud for pig bits, three in the back partaking in the sheep, and the Ursa having asserted itself uncontested, in the center atop a cow that was rotting.
Without delay, they split to the left and right to eliminate the pairs. In one powerful swing, Caelum shifted his blade into a scythe, cleaving the first Beowolf in two, and smoothly brought his weapon back to its bayoneted form to impale the other through its torso. Ripping the bayonet up and out its shoulder as it shrieked in surprise.
Opposite him, Raiden had brought the hammerhead of his halberd down atop his first prey's skull indenting it as it went silent and limp. The second Beowulf had barely reached half the distance of his weapon when he rotated his grip and swung right, driving the large axehead into its neck and nearly decapitating it.
With the first four dispensed, the Ursa finally became aware of the attack and roared in anger as it lifted the bloating cow corpse and threw it at Caelum. The limp sack of rotting meat collided with a wooden support beam and burst into pieces of raw meat and newly festering maggots as Caelum ducked behind the pen's wooden gate to avoid the filth.
Still roaring in rage the Ursa turned to Raiden only to find the silver-haired boy fearlessly charging forward and impaling the back of its left knee with his halberds spearhead. Buckling to one knee from the new wound, the Grimms weight trapped Raidens weapon in the joint as it swung its large paws behind to tear his head off.
It then found its left paw suddenly hacked off by Caelum who had charged through the wooden fencing and seamlessly sheared off the offending limb. Reeling back, the monster thrust its right claws forward to impale Caelum's chest.
Its claws shot high and hit the air as Raiden took a knee and braced the shaft of his halberd against his waist, using himself as a fulcrum he strained his smaller frame to leverage his strength against the Ursa's weight. His weapon now embedded firmly in its bone, shifted the beast's body enough to miss his partner.
With Raidens assistance, Caelum freely spun on his heel and swung his scythe into the Ursa's neck, its bone armor absorbing much of the impact even as it cracked and bled beneath. Caelum then dropped to his knees, bringing the Grimm down to its side with him. Lungin up and forward, he jumped over the Grimm, rotating his blade along its thick-furred and fatty neck, slicing clean through the flesh as he landed behind it.
Confident it was dead, Caelum immediately drew his pistol and fired a mag into the group of three Beowolves at the back. The small group had tried to assist the Ursa but within the eight seconds of combat, they had noticed the situation and began to flee. Five of their kin had been slain before they could even cross the stable after all.
The closest Beowulf received all ten of Caelum's rounds to its skull, one of which tore through its eye and two through the soft bottom of its skull as its head recoiled back. Dropping dead, the last two Beowolves made to escape. One broke through a small exit door as the other leaped through an open window.
Without a glance or an order, both Raiden and Caelum immediately pursued.
Chasing the two fleeing Grimm, the boys each picked a head and pursued it even as the two diverged leading them separately. Caelum's target fled into a barn where it attempted to flee upwards to the second floor by leaping up and grabbing the wooden railing. Caelum was quick to throw his bayoneted MG like a spear and impale it in the back. The Grimm screamed and fell backward onto its side. Struggling to get to its feet with the large weapon sticking out its side, it was easy prey as Caelum walked in and planted a knife into its skull.
Retrieving his weapon, he noticed a strange steel door on the floor. Broken inwards and a familiar stench of death emitting from below, he carefully stepped into the depths.
On Raidens end, his hunt had been a little longer and led him behind a grain silo where the Grimm had dug a small den underneath the foundations. The peculiarity of such a dwelling for the beasts didn't even strike him as odd as he leaped down onto the Beowolf and drove his axehead into its back. As the Grimm gave its final death growl, he heard several more next to him.
Looking up, he saw multiple sets of red eyes peering out from the small den entrance. It appeared to be bigger on the inside. Erupting in roars, the Grimm tried to charge outwards simultaneously clambering onto each other to reach him first. Seeing the small advantage he had, Raiden carefully jabbed at the monsters with his halberd spear tip to keep them contained within and limit their numbers advantage.
After several bloody wounds inflicted on the Grimm, one grasped his halberds hammerhead and threatened to pull him in. Instinctively he pulled back into a defensive stance, the moment was enough for the first Beowolf to trip outwards and fall as the other five came clambering out and over it.
Raiden took to escape before the loose soil beneath him gave and he slid onto his back. As the Grimm loomed over him, a terrifying sound erupted above. A familiar cacophony of gunfire erupted, shredding through both sides of the sheet metal silo walls and into the backs of the Grimm who fell dead atop him. The hail of lead continued for a few seconds after the Grimm were already deceased and fizzling, the excessive rounds impacting the soil around him and their corpses as his body felt the vibrations from the impacts.
Once deafening silence rose, Raiden stood up in a huff and stormed around the silo. Sure enough, he saw Caelum, nonchalantly holding his MG at his hip, reloading a new drum with Lukas and Niel standing behind him. Their surprised faces and Caelum's indifference were met with an uncharacteristic chastising from Raiden.
"What the hell was that?! This is the second time you've shot at me! And without warning this time!
Niel interjected with an apologetic frown and an expression of worry. "We didn't know you were back there Raiden."
"I had assumed much" answered Caelum, his honesty reigniting Raiden's anger as Niel looked at him in exasperation.
"Then why did you shoot?!" demanded Raiden.
"I knew your aura could withstand a couple of rounds."
Without missing a beat, Raiden posed another question. "What happened to your order of no gunfire in case of survivors?!"
"There are none" answered Caelum matter of factly as he gestured to Niel and a somber Lukas.
Raiden's unusually heated attitude dissipated immediately. "What?"
"We found bunkers" explained Caelum. "Emergency hideaways for whoever resided here if they couldn't escape while the men fought. Had supplies, food, and a few last-stand weapons. Now they hold what's left of a few mothers and their children."
Raiden's eyes widened.
"Picked clean" added Lukas ruffling his hair in discomfort.
"But there is evidence to believe some escaped" added Niel. "Tracks and some missing vehicles show they may fled north."
"Why not West to Vicus?" asked Raiden.
"An incursion" replied Caelum matter of factly.
The statement drew worry from Raiden as his teammates seemed to concur. "Are you sure?"
Caelum nodded. "Just like Port and Oobleck taught us. Increased Grimm contact, migration influx, new dwellings, larger pack presence. Most likely something out east beat them out of their territory or a population increase is causing the movement. Either way, Vicus can expect to draw a few hundred at least with all those people."
"We have to warn them!" urged Raiden. His eyes stared into Caelum's calm irises that showed no urgency. In a panic, he tried to convince his partner. "I-if Vicus disappears it'll draw the kingdom's attention and an investigation and-"
"I never said we wouldn't tell or help them" interrupted Caelum raising an eyebrow. "I already know what you're telling me and I intend to do something. It just won't be easy."
Relief washed over Raiden as he couldn't believe his ears. "Thank, thank god. Then what's your plan?"
"We have to convince them first. We gather all the signs and info we can here and scare them a bit if needed with possible outcomes. After that, we start pushing for them to listen to us in terms of preparation. On both these we'll need Lukas as for the probable defense of Vicus, we are on our own. We can't utilize the Nyx and its resources for obvious reasons. So we'll make do with the town's manpower and resources."
Further relief filled Raiden and Niel at the well-thought-out plan even if some points were vague and heavily dependent on Lukas.
First, we need to finish this investigation before we tell them. Let's get going" ordered Caelum. Niel urged Raiden to follow him as Lukas lingered behind. Caelum watched him carefully until he finally spoke.
"Hey… Cae" Said Lukas weakly.
Caelum turned his head at the unusual use of his rare nickname. "Yes?"
Niel has his morals, his understanding, and experience from his tribe and the wilds. I know you didn't offer to show Raiden so you could spare him and he gets by not thinking about Eclipsis. But this is the second time now and I understand I'm gonna be seeing it more often. How do you stand the sight of dead kids? People killed in horrendous ways and seeing what's left of them?"
The question wasn't unusual to be asked of huntsman, especially by their juniors. But here, these two peers had experienced hardships unknown to many.
Caelum stepped forward and planted a hand on Lukas's shoulder as he looked him in the eye. "You do it because you have to."
Lukas snickered at the answer. Such a simple response should have been expected of Caelum. Then his leader shook him slightly and continued speaking.
"The world doesn't stop because we want it to. If you let it break you, the world continues regardless. It is an unfortunate reality. One that we are privileged to fight against. But if you let it stop you, then you can't prevent it from happening again. It's our burden, shared by those few who feel the same and fewer who can do something about it."
Lukas choked on his words slightly. "Do you grow numb to it?
"If you do, then you've started losing yourself. There will always be that initial feeling, a moment you feel the immediate disgust and regret. But you make it something else. A motivator, a lesson, a reason to savor what life you've had and have left."
"Even if we take lives just the same?"
The question obviously questioned both boy's characters, unlike their partners. Even so, Caelum was unfettered.
"We do what must be done. But I, I'll do whatever it takes to achieve my goal."
Lukas turned silent at the answer. Averting his eyes he tried and failed to give his typical snicker. "You really make me feel bad for you at times you know that?"
"Don't, my struggles have made me who I am. A life aside from this is only in our dreams. Come on, we have work to do. Now and for the foreseeable future.
Nodding, Lukas held back the doubt in his mind as Caelum wiped the sympathetic expression and forlorn gaze from his face. Joining their teammates, they set to work.
-Chapter End-