Blood-Archive

by mgman

Kivotos is ravaged, the student council stripped of its power and unable to intervene, Students left without any kind of guidance or direction, truly it is hopeless. But soon everything will change, a hunter, somebody who knows only bloodshed and carnage will be tasked with leading those who lack direction.

4. Ailing Abydos

Hello everyone, welcome back.

As you can probably see, this is the third chapter of blood archive, which I managed to complete in just a little under 5 days. I will say though that I can't promise that all future chapters will be released in such a short time schedule.

But that's enough rambling, I hope you enjoy the official 3rd chapter of blood archive

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"I see... what a remarkable device indeed"

A man's voice filled the air, its tone was soft and quiet as its owner marveled at the piece of modern technology in front of him that was a personal computer.

The good Hunter recline in the office chair, idly tapping away at the computer in front of him, it had taken him less than a day and a half to actually figure out how to use the computer. In fact, figuring out the basic mechanics of how to actually operate the user interface as well as the keyboard and mouse was actually very easy, which is expected was most likely an intentional on the part of whoever created the miraculous device.

However, even though he had now mastered the fundamentals of how to use a computer and some of its basic programs, one aspect that completely stumped him even now, much to his frustration, was this thing that Arona had referred to as the internet.

Using the mouse and opening up the icon that was the internet browser, the hunter was met with his opponent, the overly cluttered and nonsensical homepage of the application which was referred to as Internet Express.

The way that Arona had explained to him made it sound almost too good to be correct, which he was still of the mindset of even after experimenting with it. The internet was said to be a vast repository of knowledge that was nearly limitless, somehow managing to contain civilisations worth of knowledge in this strange ethereal place that his new AI assistant had referred to as Cyberspace.

The hunter let out a quiet snort, giving the internet browser homepage one last glance before he abruptly pushed on the table in front of him, the force pushing the chair backwards and allowing him to stand up. Making his way over to the opposite side of the office, the hunter stood in front of the large double storey skylights, basking in the freshly risen sun and allowing its rays to wash over him.

Despite always preferring the cover of night and the pale light of the moon due to his nature as a hunter. This did not suggest that he didn't appreciate the majestic beauty of a fresh sunrise, after all the sunrise signified the start of something fresh and a new beginning.

Yet it wasn't just the sunrise that he appreciated, in fact that was only a small part of it. The part that he appreciated the most about this current scene was its tranquillity and peace. When he was a hunter of the workshop, these moments were few and far between on the night of the hunt.

However, even though that nightmare had long since passed and become nothing more than an unpleasant memory, the hunter still cherished these quiet and peaceful moments even if they were more common than they used to be.

It allowed his mind to be at ease and for him to think clearly, and at this particular moment he was thinking about everything that had happened to him, and how he was going to fit in as a teacher. While he wasn't worried about his lack of experience in such an occupation, he was concerned about his ability to lead and set a good example for others. Especially when the majority of his knowledge revolved around bloodshed and carnage.

'How can one teach those who are impressionable and without direction, when all they know is nightmares and bloodshed'

The hunter thought to himself, the smile which had been on his face moments ago quickly faltering as it faded away, being replaced by a slightly sour expression. As, for the first time since becoming a teacher. He truly began to doubt whether he could be a teacher when all he knew was violence and death

And yet, as he continued to stare at the fiery orange sky and the Illuminated cityscape below, engrossed in his own negative thoughts. The hunters suddenly heard an electronic beeping noise, which was quickly accompanied by a yawn that despite sounding slightly electronically distorted. It was unmistakable who it belonged to as the hunter immediately turned on the spot, managing to force a smile onto his face he banished the negative thoughts from his mind.

"Good morning Arona" the hunter expressed, the young girl still rubbing the sleep from her eyes as her entire body noticeably flickered.

The fact that she could manifest herself like this had shocked him at first, that was until it was explained to him how she was able to do it and his own curiosity. Which led him to find that there were small light projecting devices embedded in the ceiling all around the office and the majority of the building for that matter, allowing the AI girl to project a holographic image of herself almost anywhere in the building.

Although, since it was a holographic prediction, it was incredibly limited considering that it couldn't interact with any physical objects.

'I wonder if I could remedy that somehow'

The Hunter thought to himself, as Arona finally finished rubbing the sleep from her eyes. However, he quickly pushed that thought to the side, deciding to explore that possibility later when he had free time.

"Mm Sensei? What are you doing so up early?" Arona let out another yawn, stretching both arms about her head in an attempt to relieve the stress from her body.

The hunter couldn't help but chuckle quietly watching her do this, the more he interacted with the little AI, the more endearing he found her. In fact, he could say for certain that she had already carved a little place for herself in his heart.

Clearing his throat, the hunter swiftly began to speak. "Well, I suppose you could say that I was eager for my first official day as a teacher" Pausing for a moment the Hunter, gestured to himself. "I even changed out of my usual attire for something a bit more formal and less outwardly threatening"

Arona finished stretching, giving her eyes one last rub as she finally looked at the hunter properly. Her eyes practically fell out of her skull when she saw what he looked like. The biggest thing that caught her off guard was the fact she could see his face, which when she had first met him had been hidden behind a skeletal like mask, which she did find slightly unnerving at first but quickly got used to.

His face in general was normal looking, his cheekbones were noticeable but not overly so and his skin despite being very pale wasn't to the point where it looked like he was a living corpse or a vampire. Atop his head where the hat had been before was a full head of hair of luxurious dark black hair, roughly shoulder-length with a noticeably messy style.

What he was also wearing was also a massive departure from what she had seen him in previously. Before, he had been wearing what was essentially tattered and worn rags, with pieces of armour that lay obscured beneath the wrappings protecting his vital areas from attack. But now the rags and armour were gone, replaced by fine and ornate clothing that looked like it belongs more on a noble from an old fairytale book rather than somebody walking around in today's society.

"Wow! Sensei! You look... So cool!" Arona began to excitedly pace around the hunter, who despite the smile on his face simply stood motionless and allowed her to do so.

The boots on his feet were a dark brown in colour, they looked old and aged yet extremely well taken care of. His pants were another shade of brown but this time much lighter in colour, with a pattern stitched into them that almost resembled little interlocked rings.

Arona moved her gaze upwards, immediately spotting the dark overcoat outlined with gold a trim, as well as the shirt which also shared the same motif, both of them looked extremely fancy and expensive. To the point where the little AI briefly considered the possibility that the hunter might have been rich.

Finally topping off his outfit were a pair of dark red gloves, that were wrapped tightly over the ends of the sleeves of his overcoat, sharing the same gold trim motif around the edges as the shirt and overcoat they belonged to.

Continuing to stare for a moment, Arona quickly spoke, still somewhat flabbergasted at the sight before her. "Sensei... are you rich?" She didn't immediately get a response, the hunter looking slightly taken aback by the question before, a smile made its way onto his face as a jovial laugh escaped his lips.

The hunter gave a knowing smile, while he didn't own many articles of clothing that could be considered for non-combat use, the Cainhurst knight set was the only one that came to mind that at least looked somewhat normal.

In fact, other than his beloved bone ash attire, the knight set was perhaps his favourite. Because even though he despised the principles that Cainhurst followed. The hunter could fully admit that the Cainhurst's sense of style, elegance and grace, when it came to architecture and especially weapons and clothing, was second to none.

"I can assure you, Arona, that I am not that wealthy" the hunter said, still chuckling slightly to himself as the girl in question turned her upwards to look at him.

The look on her face implied that she wasn't entirely convinced by his words, after all the clothes that he was wearing looked like they belonged to somebody of Incredible wealth not to mention that it made him look like he belonged in some kind of dark steampunk fantasy novel.

"If you're not rich, then... Did you steal them!? If you did, I won't tell" Arona suddenly blurted out, quickly mining the gesture of pulling a zip over her lips to indicate she wouldn't tell anyone. The hunter was taken aback by her words but quickly began to laugh loudly, his voice echoing around the office, as his laugh graduated from chuckling to full belly laughter.

Arona quickly joined him, both of them laughing together, as the bond between AI and Hunter grew stronger by the second. However, eventually the hunter's laughter came to an end, managing to get control of himself as he tried to clear his throat.

"Well, now that we are both here, we need to get started with our first official day don't we Arona?" the hunter inquired, Arona laughter quickly fading as her eyes lit up and were filled with stars. She was incredibly excited to start, as well as be useful to The Hunter.

"Yes Sensei!" Arona responded enthusiastically, the halo above her head quickly transforming into an excited state. The hunter let out a quiet laugh, finding it somewhat comical that her halo was perhaps the best indicator of her emotions, considering that it changed according to how she felt.

But, pushing that thought out of his mind, he quickly sat back down in the chair he had been in before. Wheeling himself closer to the desk as he pressed one of the many keys on the keyboard in front of him, to bring the computer out of its sleep state and back into full operation.

Arona briefly dematerialised from existence, before quickly appearing next to the desk that the hunter was sitting at, while be coverage of the projector system in the building was amazing. It did have pretty annoying blind spots, which meant that she couldn't move her holographic form as freely as she would have liked.

looking at the computer screen, Arona's expression changed to a noticeably sly one, an almost Cheshire Cat-like smile making its way onto her lips as she spoke with a slightly sarcastically sympathetic voice.

"Are you still having trouble with the internet, Sensei!" Arona tried so hard to contain her giggling and by some miracle actually managed to do so, as the hunter didn't immediately respond to her. The overall happy expression that had been on his face at that point quickly evaporating as it was replaced by a slightly frustrated one.

Arona finally couldn't hold it back anymore as she quickly burst into a fit of laughter, giggling so loudly that the speakers that projected her voice into the room began to fizzle slightly.

*Heehee* "Sensei you're so funny!" The young AI girl managed to say between her laughs as she continued to give out like a mad woman, her halo changing in rhythm with her laughter.

The hunter didn't say anything, choosing not to respond to Arona even as she continued to laugh her metaphorical guts out. Instead, he took the mouse in his hand and began navigating his way to something else other than the still slightly perplexing internet browser page, ultimately deciding to simply close the program down and leave the computer on a blank desktop for the time being.

Finally managing to recover from her laughing fit, Arona took some deep breaths to calm her aching chest, laughing so hard like that made her chest actually hurt from the sheer exertion, but as far as she was concerned it was worth it.

"OK I'm done... Sensei" Arona took one last deep calming breath, managing to let out a few more giggles before she fully got control of herself again. Looking at the hunter, she wasn't surprised to see him staring back at her with a slightly unamused expression, however she could see a slight twitch at the corners of his lips, clearly him trying hard not to smile along with her.

"I think it's time we get to work, wouldn't you say, Arona?" the hunter tried hard to prevent the amused tone from creeping into his voice. Yet, judging from the sly expression plastered across the little AI's face, he clearly wasn't doing a good job of hiding is amusement from her actions.

Managing to finally wipe the sly grin off her face, Arona quickly bobbed her head in response to the hunter's suggestion. "Yes, Sensei! A Lot of people are starting to talk about Schale, we've received letters from students asking for help, in fact I would say that you're becoming quite popular amongst the students Sensei" Arona giggled to herself, quickly activating one of the numerous large screens scattered around the office. On it appeared an absolute barrage of letters taken from the official Schale inbox, as well as comments taken from all kinds of social media platforms.

Despite having accepted the idea that communication across long distances was entirely possible. The hunter was still at a complete loss for words from the sheer barrage of requests directed at him and Schale.

While the comments from what Arona told him was social media were completely irrelevant to him, he did also find it interesting some of the things that were being said about him, but he quickly decided that those kinds of things were not important right now.

"I'm truly surprised. To receive such a large amount of requests in only a few days is staggering" The hunter said mostly to himself as he watched the wall of text in front of his eyes continue to rush past. It was only now, seeing all of these requests, that he finally realised exactly what he had signed up for when he had immediately offered to help Rin and the rest of the general student council with their workload.

'A hunter always keeps his word regardless' The hunter thought to himself as he continued to stare at the hundreds of thousands of requests that were scrolling past on the screen.

"That's a great sign, isn't it? It means there's lots of work for us to do!" Arona exclaimed excitedly, clearly very enthusiastic about the amount of work that lay before her. For a moment the hunter didn't quite share her optimism, however eventually a smile made its way on to his face, he wasn't about to quit in the face of so much work, especially on his first day.

However, before he could open his mouth to ask Arona where they should start with these requests. She quickly beat him to the punch as her face took on a noticeably confused and slightly concerned look

"Um, there's this one letter we got..." Arona's expression and tone immediately made the hunter turn to look at her, one of his eyebrows arching as she continued speaking. "I think you should take a look at it sensei... it looks really important" She followed her words by quickly retrieving the letter from the inbox and placing it directly on the desktop in front of the Hunter.

Turning to the computer screen once again, the hunter hunched his back slightly bring his face closer to the computer screen, Arona doing much the same as both him and her began to silently read the letter.

To the adviser of the Federal Investigation Club.

Hello. My name is Okusora Ayane, and I'm student at Abydos High School.

I am writing this letter because I want to ask for your help.

Our Academy is being harassed.

One of the local gangs is tormenting us.

Arona and the hunter shared a side eyes look with each other, as the hunter scroll down slightly to continue reading.

It's a long story, but we think...

...this gang is after the school building itself.

The students are doing their best to stop them.

It's only a matter of time before we ran out of ammunition and supplies though.

At this rate, the school will fall to them for sure.

The hunter scroll down once again, allowing him to read the final part of the letter, his face noticeably hardening as he did so.

That's why I'm writing to ask for your help.

Can you please help us, Sensei?

With the final part of the letter read, Arona leaned backwards, allowing the information to be absorbed into her system. Clearly the school was on the brink of disaster, judging from the contents of the letter.

However, turning to the hunter something she stopped herself when she noticed the expression on his face, he was still staring at the screen in front of him, yet his soft and gentle features from before had completely vanished and were now replaced by a hard set expression one that exuded determination and a sense of duty.

"Arona... What can you tell me about Abydos High School" The Hunter quickly got up from his seat, and before the little AI could say anything walk to the opposite side of the room, coming to stand in front of the large double windows that looked out over the city below.

Quickly dematerialising and then reappearing next to the Hunter. A deep expression made its way onto Arona's face as she closed her eyes while concentrating, digging up every piece on the subject of Abydos she could find in her memory banks and other available sources of information.

"Hmm... Abydos High School, huh? It used to have a large, thriving district, but it fell on to hard times because of severe climate change" Arona open her eyes and looked at the good Hunter, staring up at him as he continued to stay out of the window for a moment, before he turned to look at her his face noticeably softening yet the determination in his gaze never left.

"Climate change, you say?... How unusual" The hunter raised an eyebrow at this.

While the idea of a rapidly changing climate was not new to him, considering his experiences with the ailing land of Loran. The fact that Abydos could supposedly suffer from rapid climate change while still remaining within the borders of kivotos struck him as slightly odd.

'Something more is clearly at play' The hunter accompanied this thought by turning his gaze back to the window in front of him. While he couldn't be exactly certain if it was what he thought it was, his gut feeling told him that the great expansive desert mostly obscured by buildings and hidden by the horizon was his next destination in the near future.

Although not physically being in the room with hunter sensei. Arona could still feel be almost oppressive atmosphere take over the room as the hunter continued to stare off into the horizon. However, deciding to light on the mood, Arona quickly spoke up.

"Hey sensei, apparently the district was so big that people would even get lost in the centre of town!" The Hunter turn away from the window to look at his little AI assistant, raising an eyebrow at her comment as she continued giggling while she did so.

Heehee. "That must sound really silly. How does somebody get lost in the middle of modern civilisation?" Arona couldn't stop herself from laughing more. The idea of somehow getting completely lost in a Modern City being completely ridiculous to her.

"I'm sure that's just an urban legend anyway" She said between her giggles, the hunter however while looking at her with a much softer expression than before didn't share her sentiment considering his own personal experiences, especially with that accursed Forbidden Woods.

"Anyway I can't believe the Academy is being harassed by some low life gang, it sounds pretty serious" Arona said, a very thoughtful expression appearing on her face, as she thought about the possible reasons why a gang would target an academy like this.

Even though the hunter suspected, there may have been some deeper reason as to why the gang was targeting this particular Academy. He decided to answer his little AI companion's query anyway, "Some people do not need a reason, Arona. Sometimes all that is required for them to do such a thing is simply a want for destruction and chaos" The hunter said with a slightly serious tone. Despite the fact that he was willing to help all students regardless, even if they were troublemakers or suspended students. It didn't change the fact that targeting an academy like this was an incredibly brazen act.

Arona looked up at the Hunter for a moment before quickly nodding in agreement. "I guess you're right sensei, some people just like to watch the world burn... still I wonder what brought this on all of a sudden, gangs caused trouble all the time but to target an Academy like this is incredibly unusual" Arona accompanied her words by rubbing her chin thoughtfully, something that she had picked up from the good Hunter considering he did it quite frequently.

The hunter looked down at the little AI, a smile making its way onto his face as he saw her copy his thinking pose.

"Regardless of how this started, I think it's time that I make my first official Schale visit" The Hunter accompanied his words by quickly turning away from the giant glass windows.

Arona was caught completely off guard by his words and his sudden action, but quickly her eyes were filled with stars as the hunter quickly walked over to the desk he had been sitting out earlier and retrieving the Shittim chest and tucking it into a conveniently large pocket inside his overcoat for safe keeping.

"You want to head there right now? You really don't back down, do you, Sensei!?" Arona said excitedly as she quickly materialised her holographic body next to the good Hunter, who upon seeing her do so smiled at her with a warm, kind smile, the determination in his eyes only growing in fury and intensity with each growing second.

He was determined beyond anything to aid the students who had cried out for help. It wasn't just his new duty as a teacher that compelled him, no, it wasn't that simple. As a hunter it was his mission to protect the innocent, he made a promise once, a promised to help one young girl finds refuge in a waking nightmare, but he had failed, leading to her death. It's scarred him to his very core, leaving a permanent wound in his very soul. But he wouldn't fail again, ever.

"Indeed I do, there is an old saying where I come from, Arona. Would you like to hear it?" The hunter asked as he began to slowly walk towards the office exit. Arona excitedly nodded her head, her body dematerialising as the screen on the tablet quickly lit up. The familiar classroom and her face in particular being easily visible as the good Hunter exited the office.

"There is no rest for the wicked, especially us Hunters"

…...

The journey towards abydos turn out to be a rather long but unremarkable affair. While the hunter did not have any currency to use on the public transportation system, with a little bit of careful magic from Arona he was able to easily access both trains and buses to his heart's content.

However, despite most of the journey being uneventful, there was one moment where it turned into a slightly more eventful one. specifically, when he came into contact with the other residents of kivotos. While he had seen students with animalistic like traits of all descriptions ranging from wings, ears and tail.

One thing he is not counted on was running into animal human hybrids, in fact for just a singular moment his composure and restraint almost failed him when he went to draw for his weapon, but thankfully he was without one.

Arona then how to explain to him exactly what these beings were, which he found interesting, because as far as he was aware, the only people that actually occupied kivotos were students.

Still, while he could probably assume that the animalistic residents of the city were most likely kind and welcoming. Just looking at them was enough to bring up unpleasant memories of certain townsfolk who would scream "Away! Away!" while waving around lit torches and trying to rip him limb from limb with various pieces of repurposed farm equipment.

Stepping off the final train, and onto the platform. The hunter was presented with a rather dismal site, the train station looked almost abandoned, not a single person other than himself was present. In fact, as he walked to the entrance of the train station, the train which had brought him here rumbling away as it continued on its journey. He didn't see a single soul, the rolling sand only occasionally populated by forsaken buildings and vehicles that had long since been abandoned by their owners.

The hunter did not say a word as he continues to walk away from the train station and down a particular street. He had absolutely no idea where exactly abydos high school was located, however that was not a concern for him as he decided to follow his instincts. Even during his most desperate times as a hunter, they had never failed him, so choosing to rely on them to find his destination was a safe bet.

"Sensei... Do you want me to bring up a map..." The hunter heard a slightly muffled voice emanating from his overcoat pocket. Any normal person would have jumped at the sudden voice while being surrounded by sheer desolation, but he didn't as he continued to walk and spoke at the same time.

"There is no need, Arona" Was all that the hunter had to say in response as he continued to walk amongst the sand covered ruined buildings. Arona let out a quiet grumbling sound, somewhat dejected at the fact that the hunter had refused to help, however instead of nagging him like she wanted to, she decided to simply sit back and wait for him to ask. Trying to find some way to occupy herself in the virtual classroom that was her home.

The hunter looked around the buildings that towered over him, while their design was alien and unusual to him, the state they found themselves in was eerily familiar to him. In fact, the longer he spent amongst the sand filled carcasses of these buildings, the sun beating down on him as his face was assaulted by sand kicked up by the wind. The more it reminded him of that hellish land that had worshipped the great ones, yet had been led to ruin and had been swallowed by the very sandy lands that they called home.

"This is too much like Loran, for my liking" The hunter whispered quietly to himself, shielding his face from a sudden gust of wind that kicked up an immeasurable amount of sand.

However, his words were not quite enough, as a familiar voice suddenly interrupted his quiet contemplation.

"Sensei... what's Loran?" Arona's voice emanated from the tablet, which was concealed within his overcoat pocket. The hunter didn't immediately respond, instead choosing to quickly retrieve the tablet from his pocket and holding it at Arm's Length, the confused face of his little AI companion looking back at him, as he continued to walk in silence for a moment before a sigh escaped his lips.

"Well you see Arona, Loran is... or was an ancient civilisation from where I hailed from" The hunter paused for a moment, he did briefly consider lying to her about the true Nature of Loran and ultimately what led to its downfall, but he ultimately decided against it.

"Loran, or as it became known the ailing land of Loran, was an ancient civilisation that once resided within a hot and dry land much like this one" The hunter gestured to the sandy ruins around him. "It was once the pinnacle of civilisation, featuring art and culture that was unrivalled by almost everything that came before or since"

The Hunter continue to walk as he spoke, the face of Arona on the tablet growing more and more amazed by the second as he continued speaking. While not much of Loran was left other than it's decaying sand filled tombs and catacombs, even in those dark and decrepit places. Some of Loran former beauty and Majesty remained, mostly in the form of its elaborate burial chambers and great underground tombs.

"It was said that they worship the great ones, beings of immense power who once walked the earth in physical bodies but then ascended to the dreamlands... of course whether such things were actually true is currently unknown to me and I suspect anyone" The hunter chooses his words carefully, while he was not afraid of the great ones considering his own ascension.

Invoking their names irresponsibly was still somewhat of a taboo for him. After all, he would prefer if that part of his past stayed buried permanently.

Arona's face lit up with each word that left his mouth, she knew very little about the Hunter, especially of his past and his homeland. So the fact that he felt comfortable enough to share stuff about his homeland felt like a great honour to her, plus it also ignited her ravenous curiosity, after all as a computer based AI, one of her most important jobs was to categorise and absorb new information.

However, as the hunter continue to walk, the density of the buildings around him and his AI assistant growing slightly more dense. A thought suddenly occurred to Arona, one that made her ask a question that has been on her mind since the hunter had started speaking about Loran.

"Sensei... this Loran place, you speak like it doesn't exist anymore?" Arona asked tentatively, she didn't want to pray if the hunter was unwilling to share, but her curiosity got the better of her regardless.

The hunter looked at her his eyebrow arching slightly, but he didn't immediately respond, for a moment the little AI thought that she was going to get brushed off, considering the look in his eyes was one of unease.

However, much to her surprise, the hunter quickly responded to her question. "Yes, indeed Arona... I use the past tense because Loran no longer exists, all that remains of its existence is ruins" The hunter considered his next words carefully, while he knew full well exactly the reason why that cursed land fell and became nothing more than a desecrated grave. He decided that changing a few details would ultimately be for the better, because after all some things, especially those pertaining to the beastly scourge, deserved to be forgotten.

"Nobody can be sure, but eventually much like the surrounding land, Loran was swallowed up by the very sans that it called home, leaving nothing more than decayed ruins and the remnants of a great civilisation" It wasn't technically a lie, while the beastly scourge had been majority responsible for its fall, Loran still suffered from being swallowed up by the very sans that it called home.

Arona made an *Oh* sound, the somewhat confused look on her face turning into one of genuine amazement as both her and the hunter were left in silence again.

However, the silence did not last very long, as Arona decided to speak up once again.

"So... Loran suffered a similar fate befell Abydos... slowly swallowed up by the very sans around them" Arona said thoughtfully, the hunter didn't verbally respond but nodded his head in grim acknowledgment.

Staring at the ruined buildings and vehicles around him, the hunter realised that the city itself was beyond saving, clearly those who could flee had already done so, leaving the city to its inevitable fate.

But even if the city itself is beyond saving, students who had cried for aid in saving their dilapidated School would not go unanswered, he would do everything in his power to try and save what little they had.

With that silent promise to himself the hunter continued walking, however as he did Arona quickly spoke up. "Sensei... I'm feeling a bit tired... if it's alright with you, do you think I could go for a nap?" the little AI asked tentatively, tapping her fingers together in a slightly nervous manner as she waited for the Hunter's response.

Momentarily taken aback by this, the hunter let out a quiet chuckle under his breath as he quickly responded to his little AI companion.

"Of course Arona... I will not stop you if you wish to rest" The hunter saw Arona's face brighten up considerably, the tiredness in her eyes momentarily dissipating as she let out an excited giggle. "In addition I also remember that you mentioned something about how this device only has a limited amount of charge, as such I think it would also be pertinent to conserve the little we do have"

While he had quickly come to understand how exactly the tablet worked, one thing here forgotten about, much to his embarrassment, was that it still needed to be charged from time to time. Much like a certain weapon in his inventory which he was fond of using but often forgot to charge up before battle.

Arona nodded her head and agreement, the tiredness in her eyes seemingly related to the fact that the tablet she resided in was beginning to run low on battery.

"OK sensei, but remember! If you need anything, don't hesitate to wake me up... OK?" Arona replied with a slightly authoritative tone, while she would take any opportunity to sleep, she also didn't want to inconvenience the Hunter at any point.

The hunter simply nodded, a smile making its way onto his lips as he quickly put the tablet back in his overcoat pocket, which was all the signal that Arona needed as she quickly found a nice quiet spot to lie her head, her Halo slowly beginning to fizzle out of existence, as the tablet screen itself went dark.

As the hunter continued on his seemingly aimless journey, he found himself alone with his thoughts. While he cherished the endless interactions with others, he also valued the serenity of these solitary moments, allowing him to quietly contemplate and reflect.

Casting his gaze around at the buildings that surrounded him, the hunter could feel a familiar sensation deep within his bones. He was getting close to his target, and while he was not on the hunt, thinking of his destination as a potential target to be hunted always helps to concentrate and help steer his sense of direction. Most people would have found it bizarre and strange, which he could fully accept, but it was just how his mind operated.

Yet as the hunter continues to slowly meander his way down the street, he suddenly became aware of a new sound, one that was barely perceptible over the quiet howl of the wind yet continued to grow in intensity as whatever its source was approached him from behind.

Turning on the spot the hunter squinted his eyes, at first it was a blurry shape, one that was completely imperceptible even to his keen vision. But slowly, be indecipherable shape began to become more recognisable.

It was a person on a bike, specifically it was a young girl riding a blue bike, her grey hair being blown behind her as she approached the Hunter at a rapid turn of speed. However, as she approached, the hunter could finally notice that the atop her head was a set of grey wolf-like ears that twitch and moved similarly to the canine predator.

'I wonder if she is an Abydos student'

Shiroko continue to pedal, a gentle smile gracing her lips as she worked up a very light sweat, the street in front of her was completely empty and barren as usual and perfect for bicycling.

And while seeing the surrounding city in such a state always made her feel sad, one good thing she did take away from it was that she was able to ride her bike almost anywhere without any kind of obstruction.

Going for a long bike ride always cleared her mind of any negative feelings and thoughts, in fact despite being urged to start bike riding mostly to keep in shape, now she did it almost exclusively as a form of relaxation. The wind In her hair, the sight and smell of the sand, the sound of her bike tyres against the pavement, it was just soothing to her mind and body.

However, as Shiroko continue to peddle her way down the street, occasionally stealing glasses at the deserted and decaying building around her. She suddenly noticed something in the middle of her path, it wasn't a piece of trash or garbage, or even a deserted vehicle.

No, it was... a person?

Pulling on her bike's brake handles, Shiroko let herself slow down, the person which was standing in the middle of the sand covered Street turning to look at her as she approached him.

The first thing that caught her eye was that he was a man, even so the second thing that pulled her attention was the fact that the spot above his head where a halo should have been was completely absent.

His clothes were also strange, having a very refined and elegant like quality to them that gave him the look, as if he had stepped out of some kind of fantasy novel or from an old work of art, and made him look completely out of place in stark contrast to the ruined buildings and sand around him.

Yet as she finally came to a stop, no more than a stone's throw away from the stranger, Shiroko felt a strange tingling sensation wash over her, one that made all the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and her ears shoot straight up on high alert.

It was hard to describe for her, but it almost felt like she was standing in the presence of some great apex predator, one that if it wanted to could easily overpower her without any effort on its part. It made her extremely cautious and a little bit on edge, despite the fact that nothing about the stranger looked outwardly forbidding, in fact quite the opposite, while he had no discernible expression on his face or didn't seem like he was a dangerous person.

Quickly dismounting her bike, Shiroko began to walk closer to the stranger, managing to get control of her emotions as she pushed away the uncertainty that she felt just looking at him.

"Are you OK?" Shiroko asked somewhat hesitantly, while she didn't see any reason to be afraid of this mysterious stranger, considering she could take care of herself and there was nothing outwardly alarming about him, some deep instinctive part of herself still kept its guard up just in case.

The stranger didn't immediately respond, instead choosing to somewhat discreetly look Shiroko up and down as if he was examining every inch of her. However, this did not last long, as he finally looked at in the eyes and spoke.

"Yes, I am more than well, young lady" His voice sent a shiver down Shiroko's spine. His voice had an almost ethereal quality to it, but paradoxically sounded completely normal, it was a strange juxtaposition that her brain simply couldn't figure out.

"Oh OK... are you lost then? You don't look like you're from around here?" Shiroko immediately mentally kicked herself for her word choice, to her ears it sounded like she was being condescending. Yet if the stranger was offended by her words, he didn't express any, as he quickly rubbed his chin for a moment.

"I wouldn't say that I'm lost per se... more just letting my Instincts guide me you could say" The stranger replied. Shiroko tilted her head to the side, a slightly perplexed expression making its way onto her face. If the stranger wasn't lost but wasn't looking for anything in particular either, then what exactly was he doing all the way out here in the middle of nowhere.

*Nm* Shiroko let out a quiet sound as she continued to stare at the stranger somewhat puzzled, he was a strange person for sure both in the way he dressed and the way he talked, but then it suddenly occurred to her that maybe he was here for a reason. As such, she quickly blurted out a question without really thinking.

"Are you an adult from the general student council? Are you here on some kind of academy-related business?" Managing to get a hold of herself immediately before she could blurt out anymore.

Shiroko felt a slightly embarrassed blush forming on her face, yet the majority of her embarrassment was out weighed by the hopeful feeling creeping into her heart. If he was who she thought he was, then it was possible that her and her friend's luck was about to change.

The stranger did not immediately respond to her questions, one of his eyebrows arching upwards as after a moment a quiet chuckle escaped his lips. Shiroko was a bit confused by this, but before she could say anything, the stranger decided to introduce himself.

"I suppose you could say that. You may call me the good hunter or sensei if you wish" The hunter paused for a moment, watching the grey haired wolf girls eyes go wider as he continued speaking "I am here as part of the federal investigation Club, I came in response to a letter I received the other day" With a wide sweep of one of his arms, the hunter gave a short bow.

Shiroko was completely at a loss for words, it sounded like it was too good to be true, which was what prompted her to do what she did next.

Gently putting her bike on the ground, she quickly walked over to the good Hunter, who was caught momentarily off guard as she began to pace around him. The look of bewilderment never leaving her face as after a moment she gently poked him in the side, clearly trying to figure out whether he was actually real or some kind of heat stroke induced illusion.

Continuing to watch the young wolf girl circle around him and poking him in various places occasionally, the hunter let out a laugh, finding her behaviour quite strange but understandable.

Clearly the situation involving Abydos was so dire, that even when help was presented to one of its students, they genuinely didn't believe it.

However, that thought made his smile waver for a moment, just how bad of a situation was this school in where the mere idea that help would actually come when requested was almost an unthinkable concept to the students.

'The situation may be much worse than I thought'

The hunter thought to himself, continuing watching the young girl doing a few more revolutions around him. However, after a moment he held out his hand managing to stop her from doing another circle around him and making her look up at him, her eyes were filled with bewilderment and disbelief but also a growing sense of relief as well.

"I can assure you, young lady, that I am real and here to help" The hunter smiled softly, gently placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder as he looked into her eyes.

It was only done that he noticed that one of her eyes was a different colour, specifically her pupils, with one of them being an unusual dark grey and the other being a more normal black.

Shiroko felt a massive sense of relief wash over her, the disbelief that had been on her face a moment ago slowly disappearing as it was replaced by a genuine relief-filled smile.

the hunter smiled back at her, withdrawing his hand from her shoulder, as the two stared each other in silence for a brief moment before a surprised look crossed the wolf girl's face.

"Oh... I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Sunaookami Shiroko. I'm a second year student" Shiroko spoke softly, a smile instantly returning to her face as she introduced herself to The Hunter.

"It's very nice to meet you, Shiroko" the hunter replied, giving another slight bow which did confuse Shiroko somewhat but not to the point where the smile left her lips. Even so, after a moment, the hunter quickly began to speak again. "Would it be fair to assume that you are a student of Abydos High School?"

Shiroko's face remained unchanged as she quickly nodded her head, her ears bouncing in rhythm with her head movement, much to the amusement of the good Hunter.

"Yes I am" Was all that the young girl answered as she turned and quickly retrieved her bicycle which was still laying nearby.

"I see, in that case, I wouldn't suppose you mind escorting me to the campus?" The hunter asked politely, while he didn't exactly need her assistance in locating the school, he thought it would be for the best to ask her, both in an attempt to get her to trust him and ingratiate himself with her.

Shiroko let a small smile spread across her lips, as she began to push her bike down the road, motioning for sensei to follow her.

"I'd love to Sensei" She said softly as the hunter quickly fell into lockstep next to her, both of them continuing to walk down the deserted road surrounded by dusty sand covered buildings.

As the Hunter walked beside Shiroko, he quickly determined that she was not exactly the most vocal of people, considering the silence that existed between them as they both continued to walk. However, he did not mind this simply because it was just the way she was, and if she didn't feel like making small talk then he wouldn't hold it against her.

…

The clubrooms double doors opened, allowing Shiroko to quickly step inside as she motioned behind her. However, before she could open her mouth to speak, she was quickly interrupted by a black-haired girl with cat ears and a cross-hair type halo.

" Welcome back, Shiroko. What took you so long?" The blackhead girl asked, raising an eyebrow as she quickly stood up from the desk she was sitting at.

Shiroko didn't immediately respond, instead of simply choosing to stand aside and motion to someone out of sight, much of the confusion of the blackhead girl and the others in the room.

*Nn*"You can come in, Sensei" Shiroko said softly As the hunter quickly entered the room, having to duck slightly as to avoid bumping his head on the low door frame. He was met with a very well-kept room filled with various kinds of school equipment, all neatly arranged. However, what caught is attention the most was the three students occupying the table in the centre of the room.

"Shiroko... Who is this" A girl with pointed ears and glasses quickly spoke, a slightly confused the look on her face as she looked at the mysterious adult that had just entered the room alongside her classmate.

"Wow, Shiroko brought a visitor to our school!" A girl with light sandy brown hair and a green halo exclaimed excitedly, letting out a loud giggle as she clapped her hands together in an almost motherly like fashion.

"Who are you exactly?" The cat-eared girl asked with a considerable amount of hostility in her voice, crossing her arms over her chest as she cocked an eyebrow while looking at the mysterious individual.

Shiroko open her mouth to answer these inquire, however she was quickly stopped by The Hunter who put a kindly hand on her shoulder. A smile working its way onto his face that conveyed that he was grateful for her offer, but he could introduce himself.

As such, removing his hand from the wolf girl's shoulder, the hunter quickly stepped forward, giving a slight bow much to the assorted reactions of the girls in front of him.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am the good hunter or Hunter sensei if you will. I am here as a representative of the federal investigation club, Schale" Quickly rising from his bow, the hunter put on a genuine and approachable smile. "It is very nice to meet all of you"

The hunter saw various reactions from the girls in front of him, the girl with the pointed ears, glasses and the red halo had a look of pure astonishment race across her face, her mouth hanging open in share disbelief. The girl with cat ears and black hair kept mostly the same slightly cautious and unimpressed expression, yet the hunter could swear he saw a small amount of anger beginning to manifest in her eyes. The sandy haired girl with the green Halo made a surprised face, as if him introducing himself was the most baffling and surprising thing in the world.

"W-wait, You're with Schale? The Federal Investigation Club?" the girl with the glasses said after a moment of silence, stumbling over her words a few times as the look of bewilderment on her face grew ever more present by the second.

The hunter simply noted his head, which made the bewildered expression on the glasses wearing girl's face even more pronounced, as she looked like she was about to faint.

"Wow! That means you got the letter Ayane wrote!" The girl with the green Halo said with a loud laugh, the hunter could easily ascertain that she was perhaps the most easygoing out of the bunch, judging from her overly relaxed and chipper attitude.

The glass is wearing girl now identified as Ayane quickly shook her head. The expression of the bewilderment quickly being replaced by a look of genuine relief and happiness.

In fact, she was so full of joy and joy, that in a moment of pure emotion she quickly ran over to the good Hunter, much to the surprise of her friends, grasped his hand and began vigorously shaking it.

"Thank you! Thank you so much! I didn't think anyone would actually come. You don't know how much of a relief this is!" Ayane spoke so fast that the words were almost unintelligible, her friends were giving her strange looks.

But quite frankly she didn't care, the fact that her letter actually made it to its destination and somebody actually came was just overwhelming.

The good Hunter, despite being momentarily surprised by her sudden actions, quickly let out a joyful laugh as he gently stopped her from shaking his hand and released himself from her hold.

He then quickly placed his hand on her shoulder, giving it a very slight but reassuring squeeze, while kneeling slightly so he could look her in the eye.

"When I received your letter, I came as soon as I could. After all a teacher's duty is to look after his students" Ayane looks like she could cry, fact a few tears actually formed at the corner of her eyes, before she got a hold of herself taking off her glasses and rubbing the tears away before putting them back on and taking a calming breath to get a hold of herself.

The hunter let a satisfied smile appear on his face, quickly removing his hand from the girl shoulder, and standing back up to his full height as he looked towards the other two girls in the room.

The brown haired girl was looking on at the scene with genuine happiness and excitement, while the black haired girl with cat ears just looked even more angry, as if the hunter had done something to personally offend her.

Ayane quickly turned to her friends, motioning for both of them to introduce themselves. The black haired girl let out an audible frustrated groan, while the girl with brown hair excitedly trotted over to the Hunter, her ample chest bouncing in rhythm with her step as she introduced herself.

"My name is Izayoi Nonomi it's nice to meet you, Sensei!" Nonomi said with a warm and kind smile, giving a little bow of her own, playfully mirroring the good Hunter's actions, which made him chuckle as he responded to her introduction.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Nonomi" The Hunter gave a mock bow back to her, causing the brown haired girl to giggle loudly as the two of them finished their introduction.

Turning to the black haired girl with cat ears, the hunter could see from the look on her face that she didn't want to introduce herself, let alone be in the same room with him. He wasn't exactly sure what about his introduction had seemingly offended her, but he hoped to remedy the situation before it got any worse.

"And who might you be, young missy?" the hunter said after a moment of uneasy silence, it was obvious that she wasn't going to initiate the introduction, so he decided to do it for her.

The girl let out an audible annoyed growl, noticeably rolling her eyes as she introduced herself. "I'm Serika" Was all that she said, her arms remaining crossed over her chest as she began to tap her foot, clearly irritated.

Despite not showing it on his face, the hunter he was a bit dejected by her behavior, he wasn't sure why she was acting this way, but he decided not to push her any further as he backed away from her. Choosing to stand next to Shiroko as Ayane motions to the other students to gather around the meeting table.

"Since Sensei is here, this means that we can finally get more supplies and ammunition." Ayane smiled excitedly as the look on her face was one of pure excitement. The prospective of actually being able to put up a fight against the frogs that have been harassing her and her school genuinely improved her morale.

Nonomi shared in Ayane's excitement, a bright smile making its way onto her lips as she quickly spoke as well. "It's like sensei as a guardian angel! Coming down from heaven to help us Heehee" Nonomi laughed loudly,

Ayane quickly joining in as for the first time in a while both girls genuinely felt happy about the immediate future.

"I have to tell Hoshino. Wait... Where is she anyway" Ayane began looking around for the person in question, pointed ears wiggling slightly as she tried to locate wherever Hoshino had gone off to this time.

The other girls quickly joined in with her, looking around the clubroom in all the obvious spots for the elusive girl but having no luck as she clearly wasn't in the room with them.

The hunter himself also idly looked around, trying to locate wherever this Hoshino could possibly be. However, it became quickly apparent to him that she was not here.

Serika quickly spoke up after a moment. "She's probably taking a nap in the next room. I'll go wake her up" The cat eared girl quickly turned up our heels and exit the room, not even giving anyone a second glance as she did so. The door behind her slam shut a bit more forcefully than she probably intended to, but simply didn't care.

Everyone in the room was left a bit stunned, before a slightly embarrassed and disappointed look crossed Ayane's face as she began to apologise. "I'm sorry about her, Sensei. I'm not sure what's gotten into Serika?" Ayane quickly stood up and gave an apologetic bow to the Hunter. Who simply disregarded it by waving one of his hands in a nonchalant manner.

"You should not need to apologise on her behalf Ayane, I will not hold her actions against her" The Hunter replied, trying to get the elf girl to understand that he wasn't offended by Serika's actions.

After all, if he was going to be a teacher then he needed to have patience with his students, not every single one of them were taken an instant liking to him. He needed to build a relationship with them, instead of simply just expecting one to form instantly.

Ayane still looked slightly embarrassed and frustrated but accepted the hunter's words as she quickly sat back down at the meeting table in front of her.

"Serika can just be a bit funny sometimes. I'm sure she'll come around eventually, Sensei" Nonomi said with a smile, trying to keep the overall mood of the room up. She knew that Serika could certainly be a prickly one sometimes, especially around new people, but this level of hostility to somebody that she had only just met was genuinely bizarre even for someone like her.

*Nn* "Serika is just like that sometimes" Shiroko said quietly, choosing to sit down in one of the many empty seats as she put her white assault rifle on the table in front of her, along with the small duffle bag that she had been carrying this entire time.

The hunter let the silence in the room linger for a moment, but just as he was about to open his mouth to say something, he was quickly silenced as the all too familiar sound of gunfire quickly opened up.

*pop* *pop* *tat* *pop* *tat* *tat* *pop*

The sound of the bullet impacting the wall and shattering the window caused all the girls to immediately go on high alert, each one of them instinctively grabbing their respective weapons.

Nonomi was the first to speak, "Was that gunfire!?" she accompanied her words by quickly hoisting up her massive minigun, the white and black rotary cannon being of such immense size, that the hunter was genuinely shocked and simultaneously impressed that a girl of her stature could actually lift the thing.

From outside the now shattered window, voices could now be heard speaking and laughing, and peering outside, Ayane was able to confirm that it was none other than the Kata-Kata helmet gang that was attacking the school.

"Hahah!"

"They're all out of ammo. Let's finish them off, Girls, and take over that school!"

"Hell yeah!"

"Let's go!"

The group of delinquents continues to shout loudly, as they went on to fire at the school with their automatic weapons, not caring in the slightest about the amount of property damage they were causing in the process.

The hunter let out a frustrated sigh, while he still wanted to help every student he can, even the ones that were troublemakers like this lot. He was beginning to feel his patience tested by just how troublesome some students seems to be.

Nonomi was the only one to notice the hunters' frustration, her gaze taking on a noticeably concerned look as she turned to The Hunter.

"Sensei... Are you OK" Her words were quickly and abruptly ended by another shower of gunfire peppering the outside of the school. The hunter didn't immediately respond to her, waiting for a pause in the gunfire before he did respond.

"I am fine, Nonomi. It is nothing that you should be concerned about" The Hunter let out another groan as he spoke. The minigun welding girl seemed like she wanted to say more in response to his words, but she couldn't before Ayane quickly spoke up.

"There's a large group approaching the school! It must be the Kata-Kata Helmet Gang!" Ayane quickly retrieved a smart tablet from the table in front of her, typing away at it with such ferocity and speed that it was a genuine miracle the little device didn't shutter from the force of the blows it was receiving.

Shiroko, quickly retrieved a result rifle from the table, ejecting the magazine and checking that it was fully loaded before inserting it back into the weapon. "Those punks... they have some nerve coming back for more" She said with a noticeably angry tone, quickly releasing the safety catch on her rifle and racking the bolt and chambering a fresh round.

The hunter shared a glance with Shiroko, a smile of admiration spreading across his face as he marveled at her unwavering determination. Although he had not yet seen her in combat, his instincts told him that she possessed exceptional fighting ability.

More gunshots rang out as bullets impacted against the outside wall of the school. The door to the clubroom quickly slammed open, revealing Serika dragging another girl behind her by the scruff of her shirt.

"I've got Hoshino! Now If she'd just wake up dammit" Serika let go of the half asleep girls' shirt as she quickly ran to the corner of the room, retrieving her rifle from a ready rack and making sure it was loaded. If the gang wanted another fight, then she was sure as hell gonna give it to them, especially considering the kind of mood she was in right now.

The hunter turned his attention to the newest edition in the room. The new girl which he could presume was Hoshino let out a loud audible yawn as she hoisted her arm over her head. She was short, shorter than the rest of her classmates by a noticeable degree, she had long pink flowing hair that cascaded down her back.

Her uniform consisted of a patterned skirt similar to the ones of her classmates and a simple white button-up shirt, with a blue tie very similar to the ones of her classmates, tucked into the shoulder harness which she wore. Her Halo was perhaps the strangest one he had seen so, it was made up of multiple concentric circles that immediately made him think that it looked like an eye.

*yawn* "Just five more minutes..." Hoshino let out another yawn as she hunched her back, practically falling asleep on her feet as the rest of her classmates got ready for battle. The hunter raised an eyebrow at her behaviour not because it was inappropriate but rather because there was just something that felt off to him, it was strange, almost as if her sleepy persona was...

Forced.

"Hoshino! Take this seriously! The helmet gang is attacking again!" Ayane was clearly frustrated by her upper classmen's behaviour.

Yet, she decided to put it to the side for a moment as she motioned to the good Hunter. "By the way, this is sensei from Schale" Ayane finished her quick introduction of the Hunter by quickly grabbing her pistol from the table, making sure it was loaded before placing it in the holster attached to her side.

"Ohhh. That's a problem..." Hoshino let out another yawn as she quickly rubbed her eyes, turning to look at the hunter with a look that he couldn't quite place for a moment. "Nice to meet you, Sensei"

Starting into the girl's eyes, the hunter noticed that she had very distinct heterochromia. With one of her eyes being a deep baby blue while the other was a deep orange.

However, the colour of her eyes wasn't what the hunter paid attention to. No he paid attention to her gaze, despite the fact that she hid it well, the hunter could easily see past her defences, seeing the look of suspicion and distrust in her gaze that was hidden by her deliberate and slightly forced laid-back attitude.

While her distrust and suspicion was a bit strange, the hunter decided not to pay it any mind for the moment as he quickly introduced himself as well.

"Nice to meet you, Hoshino. Although I wish our first meeting was under... Better circumstances" The hunter quietly observed the look in her eyes, noticing that the level of distrust and suspicion in her gaze did not change as she quickly let out another exaggerated yawn.

Serika quickly stomped back over to Hoshino, holding her rifle in one hand and a sleek white shotgun in the other, which she quickly pushed into the chest of the pink-haired girl, forcing her to grab it so as to not let it drop to the ground.

"For crying out loud! Wake up and get your butt in gear, Hoshino! Literally! We have to defend the school!" Serika set angrily, frustration creeping into her voice as she hurriedly walked to one of the nearby windows, being sure to stay out of sight while still peaking around the corner to observe the gang members who were still shooting at the school building from outside.

Hoshino let out another yawn as she took the shotgun in her hands, and with a swiftness and dexterity that the hunter found both impressive and surprising, quickly loaded the shotgun. Her face remaining the same as the look in her eyes turned into one of determination as she quickly racked the bolt of her shotgun, making it ready for use.

"Don't they know it's rude to interrupt somebody's nap? I hate the helmet gang" Hoshino put on a noticeably dopey expression as she put the shotgun over her shoulder, holding it by the butt stock as she walked over to a nearby weapon rack and retrieved a very unusual object.

Watching with slight fascination as she hoisted the object up by a strap, revealing it to be a large and old but well maintained shield of some kind. On the shield's front was a triangular-shaped logo, with a string of text beneath it that was partially obscured by both damage, wear and tear, but the hunter was able to make out the text regardless.

Iron Horus

The name sounded familiar to the Hunter, in fact, it immediately reminded him of some of the ancient great ones of Loran. But that was most likely just a coincidence.

"Let's get going, everyone. Sensei brought us some ammunition and supplies so we're good to go" Shiroko turn her attention to The Hunter, which was enough to remind him that he did in fact bring ammunition for them, he had momentarily forgotten much to his chagrin.

"Indeed I did bring ammunition, I didn't know exactly what kind of ammunition your weapons used, so I brought a wide assortment with me" the hunter saw all the girls visibly become excited when he mentioned the prospect of having ammunition for them. It was still a bit strange to him to see girls would get excited over such a thing, but he decided to not question it.

Reaching into his overcoat, retrieving what he was looking for and placing it on the table in front of him, all the students gathering around him as they looked down at the small little box.

9 mm Parabellum, 35 rounds.

All five Aybidos students looked at the single box of pistol ammunition, each one of their faces completely blank and featureless as they stared at the singular ammunition box.

Nonomi was the first to look to the good Hunter, her facial expression conveying confusion and perhaps a small amount of frustration, even though she tried her best to hide it with a smile

"Uhm... sensei... is this all you brought with you?" The blonde haired girl tried to not make the frustration that she was experiencing evident in her voice, after all, it could have been just a simple mistake on sensei's part.

The good Hunter opened his mouth to speak but was quickly silenced by Serika, an angry look in her eyes as she pointed an accusatory finger at him.

"Is there some kind of sick joke! Do you really expect us to fight a whole gang off with this!?" The angry cat girl gestured to the single box of pistol ammunition, her feelings of rage and frustration growing by the second as she briefly considered actually turning her rifle against the Hunter.

Once again opening his mouth to speak, the hunter was quickly silenced again as he felt frustration beginning to build within him.

This time it was Ayane, who quickly got between Serika and the good Hunter, trying to calm down the nearly incandescent cat girl. "I'm sure it's just a mistake, Serika! Just calm down" Ayane words fell on deaf ears as Serika continued to fume openly, the look of hatred in her eyes growing stronger and stronger by the second.

With his frustration now reaching a critical point, the hunter quickly tapped his foot against the floor, the force from his strike leaving a noticeable dent in the floor below as all the students turned to look at him now silenced by his action.

"If you had let me finish. Then I would have said that this is not all that I brought with me" the hunter cleared his throat as he stopped talking, managing to compose himself and flush the frustration from his system as he took a calming breath.

The students looked at him strangely, if the hunter had actually brought from ammunition with him like he said, then how exactly was he carrying it. Considering that, they couldn't see any obvious indications of where the ammunition would be stored on his person.

Reaching into his overcoat again, the hunter swiftly produced another box of pistol ammunition, yet before the students could say anything. He quickly reached into his pocket and bizarre produced another box this time of rifle ammunition specifically 5.56 calibre, the exact kind of ammunition that was needed for Serika and Shiroko rifles.

Again he reached into his overcoat, producing several more boxes of the same ammunition, which was more than enough for the students to feel a growing sense of shock as the ammunition on the table quickly began to increase. They didn't understand how it was possible, every time his hand reached into his pocket another box of ammunition would come out, and it wasn't just pistol and rifle rounds.

The hunter rapidly produced several boxes of 12 gauge ammunition ranging from double odd buckshot, to solid slug rounds.
Hoshino, raise an eyebrow at this, a slightly giddy look Crossing her face for just a split second at the prospect of being able to use some 12 gauge slugs
And just when they fought it couldn't get any more ridiculous, he then produced an impossible amount of 7.62 mm ammunition, the very same kind that Nonomi's beloved mini gun chewed through like no tomorrow.

With one final box placed in the pile of ammunition on the table, the hunter stepped back, allowing the girls to see the full extent of the ridiculous amount of ammunition in front of them. It was excessive, and it was ridiculous, but it was just what they needed.

"I apologise if this is still not a sufficient amount of ammunition. There was only so much that I could carry with me before becoming encumbered" The hunter said with a slightly apologetic tone, completely missing the shocked and stupefied faces on all the students.

Hoshino was the first to pick her mouth up off the floor and respond quickly, resuming her overly tired and laid back persona.

"Wow sensei. Is this really all for us?" she said with an exaggerated yawn, eyeing almost hungry the 12 gauge shotgun slugs resting on the table. While she couldn't begin to understand how he could carry so much on him, quite frankly she wasn't really going to complain or really question considering that he was giving this all to them for free and the fact that they were shotgun slugs involved.

"Sensei. Did you do that with some kind of magic trick?"

Shiroko quickly began to pace around the Hunter, much to his amusement, she was looking for any potential places he could have been hiding all the ammunition. Yet despite her keen eye, she couldn't see any obvious spots where it could have been concealed. Which only caused the slightly annoyed expression on her face to grow deeper as she continued looking, despite the fact it was becoming obvious that there wasn't anywhere it could have been concealed.

Nonomi after scooping her mouth up off the floor, quickly let out a couple of cheerful giggles. Despite the fact that it's seemingly wasn't possible for a single human to carry so much ammunition, the green-eyed girl wasn't really going to question it, considering that the hunter had been thoughtful enough to bring her a lot of extra 7.62 mm ammunition for her minigun.

"Wow, sensei. You're really full of surprises" She accompanied her words by hefting her minigun up onto the table. Which groaned noticeably under the sheer weight of the weapon as Nonomi began emptying the ammunition out of the cardboard boxes they came in, and placing the bullets into the magazine of her minigun, while also tucking extra rounds in the pockets of her sweater just in case.

The Hunter, still with Shiroko cycling around him trying to find any potential hiding spot for the ammunition, let out a chuckle, it seemed that even though he wasn't sure exactly how much ammunition to bring, the amount he did bring was more than enough for them. In fact, he was beginning to think that he may have brought a bit too much, but he's supposed that even if he did, the girls would put it to good use.

"OK everyone now that everything is in order" The hunter got everyone's attention with his tone of voice, all of them stopping what they were doing which was mostly loading ammunition into their weapons as they all turn to look at him.

"I think it's time we show these delinquents that this school is not as defenseless as it seems" Shiroko, Nonomi, Serika, Ayane and Hoshino all looked at the Hunter with resolute looks in their eyes as they all collectively cocked their weapons. Much to the satisfaction of the good Hunter, who quickly reached into his overcoat and produced a pistol of his own.

It wasn't a weapon that he particularly favoured, especially compared to his beloved Evelyn. But the repeating pistol, a creation of the healing church workshop, would certainly do for a situation like this. Especially with its ability to perform rapid follow-up shots

"Alright everyone let's go"

"Yes Sensei!"

…

The Hunter was the first to exit the school building, much to the protest of the Abydos students, as he surveyed the courtyard area of the school. He counted roughly 20 or 25 delinquents, all of them wielding various kinds of weapons, from machine Pistols all the way up to heavy machine guns.

"This shouldn't be a challenge at all" the hunter said murmured to himself as he was quickly flanked by his students, each one of them holding their weapons at the ready, eager to defend their school from these Invaders.

"Everyone scatter!" the hunter abruptly said, the students being briefly caught off guard before they quickly complied with his request, each one of them running to a different area of the courtyard and taking cover behind whatever they could find.

And it wasn't a moment too soon, as the group of delinquents quickly opened up with their weapons, spraying a hail of bullets with no rhyme or reason.

Serika was the first to engage the delinquents, quickly jumping up from behind the old filing cabinet she had been using his cover and with well-placed shots taking out two delinquents.

"Take this!" The black haired cat girl shouted angrily as she continued to target any delinquent she could see. She wasn't going to let them take the school from her, in fact they would have to pry it out of her cold dead hands before she would give up.

Shiroko quickly flew from cover to cover, managing to dodge a hail of bullets much to the good Hunter's amazement, as she quickly landed in the same position as Serika. Both girls sharing a confident glance with each other as they began to work together, using their assault rifles to take out any delinquents that they could target.

Hunter after hiding behind an old pile of sandbags for a moment quickly jumped up on top of them, he wasn't concerned about being hit by any stray bullets, considering that he still had more than enough blood vials on hand, so any damage he could sustain would be negligible.

Surveying the battlefield, the hunter immediately noticed that much like before, the delinquents had no rhyme or structure to their ranks. Most of them simply choosing to stand out in the open whilst spraying their weapons wildly, the few that did have common sense to take cover didn't actually utilise it very well considering that they either disregarded it choosing to jump out into the open, or simply didn't engage in the fight whatsoever instead of choosing to tap away at their mobile phones.

"It seems that some require more correction than other" The Hunter grumbled quietly, his voice being drowned out by the sound of gunfire as he let out an exasperated sigh. Quickly shaking his head, he returned his thoughts to the here, and now quickly issuing out an order, seeing a potential opening that could be exploited.

"Nonomi! Use your chain gun and kick up a dust cloud!" the brown haired girl in question turn to look at the hunter, a somewhat perplexed look on her face, as she didn't quite understand why exactly that would be helpful right now. However, then it suddenly clicked for her, a look of realisation crossing her face as she saw where her friends were and what they were doing.

"Leave it to me! Sensei!" Nonomi said with an excited and cheerful tone, as she jumped up onto the piece of cover she had been using and began to spray and pray with her beloved mini gun. The weapon spitting out hundreds of rounds a second as a gigantic dust cloud with kicked up by her bullets impacting the dusty courtyard.

"H-hey! What gives!?"

"I can't see shit!"

Multiple delinquents cried from within the dust cloud as their vision was obscured by it. The hunter from his vantage point smiled as his plan had worked, they were now even more disorientated and blinded, leaving them open to a counter-attack. Looking over to his right, he saw Hoshino standing by and looking at him with an expecting look. Even though it was obvious to him that she didn't entirely trust him, it was still a pleasant surprise to see her waiting for his word.

"Hoshino! Seize the opportunity!" The hunter shouted loudly as he threw his arm forward, which was all that the pink haired girl needed as she quickly ran into the dust cloud. The Iron Horus unfolding to its full size as she quickly held it up in front of her, using it as a shield.

"As a senior, I want to lose the juniors" Hoshino said playfully as she began to advanced forward, using the Iron Horse as a brace so she could shoot her shotgun one-handed, taking out any delinquents that she could see within her sight.

"There she is! Shoot her, damn it!"

Hoshino immediately turned to the source of the voice, using the Shield to block a hail of bullets that rained down upon her.

"I don't think so!" the pink haired girl said with a slightly displeased tone, as she returned fire silently thanking sensei for providing her with 12 gauge shotgun slugs, which had the power to easily put down a delinquent in one or two well-placed shots.

"Ha! I've got you now"

Hoshino felt somebody place the barrel of a gun against her head, however before the delinquent could react, the abydos student quickly spun around. Momentarily letting her shotgun fall to the ground as she proceeded to smash the Iron Horse over the delinquents head. Which immediately resulted in the helmet they were wearing exploding into a thousand plastic fragments as they dropped to the ground.

Giving the now unconscious delinquent one last look, Hoshino quickly retrieved her shotgun from the ground, loading in a fresh series of 12 gauge shells as she quickly folded the Iron Horus back into its travel configuration. Its job was done for now, so she didn't think it would be needed any more in this particular fight.

The hunter from his position watched Hoshino finish her fight, while the dust cloud obscured her and the delinquents from view for a normal person. He had absolutely no trouble scaring past the particles in the air and seeing just how skilled Hoshino actually was in battle. He was impressed, definitely so, but it also served to further indicate to him that her sleepy and laid back persona was either a complete act or at the very least a slightly modified put on.

"Shiroko, Serika both of you advance while their guard is open!" the hunter yelled to the two girls. Deciding to put the issue of Hoshino and her strange behaviour on the back burner for the moment as he focused on more important matters at hand.

Both Shiroko, Serika looked at the hunter in surprise for a moment before looking back at each other and then nodded in agreement. Jumping out from behind the piece of old sport equipment that they had been using as cover, and running into the mostly evaporated dust cloud.

Serika was the first to open fire, using the burst setting on her assault rifle, to quickly take out five delinquents before ejecting the empty magazine and inserting a fresh one.

Shiroko did much the same, but instead of using a burst function, she simply preferred to use fully automatic fire, quickly gunning down four delinquents before her magazine suddenly went dry. However, reaching into her pocket, she only just now realised that she was completely out of spare magazines.

*Nn* "Serika, I'm all out" Shiroko said matter-of-factly, making Serika turn to look at her, a clearly annoyed expression on her face as she finished inserting the last magazine she had on her into her rifle.

"Shiroko! For God sakes! Why didn't you pick up some spare mags before leaving?" Serika said loudly, chastising her wolf eared friend, to looked back with a slightly embarrassed expression on her face. Pouting noticeably as if she was a small puppy who was being disciplined for misbehaviour.

However, before Shiroko could respond to the black haired cat girl, both of them were suddenly confronted by two overly confident and aggressive delinquents, who pointed their heavy machine guns at both abydos students.

"We've got you now!" One of the delinquents said as she cocked the heavy machine gun in her hands, the other delinquent doing the same, as both Serika and Shiroko shared a glance between each other. While they weren't afraid of taking a few bullets, the fact that both delinquents were wielding heavy machine guns with high rates of fire made the situation a bit more precarious.

However, something unexpected happened just as both delinquents were about to pull the triggers on their respective weapons.

BANG! BANG!

Both Serika and Shiroko instinctively covered the ears, the sound of the bangs sounding much louder than any weapon that they were familiar with, in fact it almost sounded like a heavy cannon going off rather than any kind of man portable weapon. However, when they looked up they saw both delinquents now laying on the ground, their helmets reduced to nothing more than plastic fragments with their weapons laying nearby.

"Ayane! Shiroko needs another magazine" Both students heard the hunter shout from atop his perch, turning to look at him as they saw in his hands was the very same weapon he had produced back in the classroom, the twin barrels smoking noticeably from the shots that they had just fired.

"On it, Sensei" Ayane quickly adjusted her glasses, before proceeding to quickly take away at the smart tablet in front of her. One of the many drones that she kept on campus quickly activated and flew high into the air, in its metallic pincers containing a singular black rifle magazine.

Shiroko looked up into the air watching as the drone flew over her before quickly dropping the magazine from its grasp, as if by Instinct she reached out her hand allowing the magazine to fall into it before in one fluid motion inserting it into her rifle and pulling back the bolt chambering a new round.

"Thanks, Ayane" Shiroko quickly jumped from behind the piece of improvised cover she and Serika had been using. Completely ignoring the complaints of her black haired friend as she speedily charged the nearest group of delinquents.

In a quick burst of automatic fire she managed to take down four out of five of them, however instead of wasting her rounds on the last delinquent, she quickly dodged around the helmet wearing delinquents automatic fire, before delivering a swift roundhouse kick to her stomach. Causing the delinquent to fall to the floor clutching her gut, completely incapacitated and out of the fight.

"Everyone, I think it's time we end this" The Hunter accompanied his words by jumping down from the spot, landing on both his feet as he pointed his strange double barrel pistol at the remaining delinquents.

The abydos students immediately realised exactly what he meant, all of them collectively reading their weapons for one final push.

Shiroko was the first to act, quickly rushing what was left of the delinquent group as she fired the remaining rounds in her assault rifle, the magazine quickly being depleted and ejected. A fresh one abruptly falling out of the sky and into her outstretched hand, courtesy of Ayane's quadcopter drone.

Serika quickly joined her classmate, both of them sharing a glance before they quickly set to work gunning down the few remaining delinquents, as Nonomi and the good Hunter both provided fire support with their respective weapons.

"What the hell!" The leader of the delinquents shouted, looking around completely dumbfounded at all of her fellow gang members which were now incapacitated. She was dressed similarly to her gang members, with the biggest difference being that her uniform was red instead of black, signifying her higher position in the gang.

Shiroko abruptly separated from Serika, ignoring the shouts of the overly aggravated cat girl as she charged at the gang leader. Rapidly reloading her rifle one final time as she hurriedly dodged a barrage of bullets.

"Stay still, damn it!" the gang leader cried as she sprayed another inaccurate hail of bullets.

Shiroko not even needing to put any effort into dodging them this time, as she quickly left onto a piece of gym equipment, using it as a springboard to throw herself into the air.

Firing a burst from her rifle in mid-air, mostly in an attempt to distract the gang leader, Shiroko landed right in front of her, the gang leader's eyes widening behind her helmet as she quickly brought up her machine gun, trying to gun down the student in front of her.

Shiroko was ultimately quicker however as she closed the gap, using the stock of her rifle to smack away the gang leader's machine gun, ultimately throwing it from her grasp. And in one lightning-quick motion. She quickly kicked the gang leader's feet out from under her before delivering a strong and powerful roundhouse kick, throwing the gang leader onto her back as Shiroko stood over her gum pointed directly at her face.

*Nn* A quiet sound escape her lips as Shiroko's trigger finger inched ever closer to the trigger of her rifle, she really wanted to shoot the gang leader repeatedly in the face until she stopped moving. After all, it was only a fraction of what her and her gang members deserved after harassing her and her friends as well as trying to take their school.

However before she could do so she felt somebody place a hand on her shoulder causing her to look behind her, finding that it was none other than the good Hunter, a look of sympathetic understanding on his face as he quickly opened his mouth to speak.

"Shiroko, that's enough. I will take it from here" The Hunter gently squeezed her shoulder with his hand, both to reassure her and to get his point across that this was the end of the fight.

Shiroko looked at the hunter for several moments, her gaze and face remaining flat and even, yet the hunter could see in her eyes the burning conviction and the fervent desire for revenge. Yet finally what after what seemed like an eternity she let out a sigh, lowering her rifle as she stepped away from the delinquent who quickly use the opportunity to get to her feet.

"If you think this is over! Then-" The delinquent didn't get a chance to finish her words, as the hunter quickly closed the gap between her and him, moving so fast that it almost looked like he teleported straight in front of her.

Staring into his eyes, the delinquent found herself beginning to tremble uncontrollably, his gaze held both a mixture of anger and frustration. Yet there was something more to it, something that was hidden yet as clear as day, that made an uncontrollable shiver rundown her spine.

"Young lady... I believe it is time for you to turn back, especially if you do not want to be punished like the naughty little urchin you are" The abydos students felt a shiver run down the spines as the hunter spoke his words.

All the warmth in his tone was completely absent, replaced by a cold and sinister edge to it that was truly strange and slightly unnerving to listen to. In fact, despite nothing about him being outwardly threatening other than his overall structure, all of them felt themselves be put on edge slightly, looking at him as if he was some great predator ready to strike.

By some miracle, the delinquent managed to stay on her feet, despite the fact that her legs and her entire body for that matter were shaking noticeably.

"A-nd W-w-why should I be S-s-scared of Y-you" The delinquent managed to cough out, the shaking in her legs growing to such an incredible degree that she was very close to collapsing outright. The hunter, despite feeling his aggravation increase slightly by her response, he begrudgingly had to respect her determination in the face of danger.

"Well my dear... I could tell you exactly how I punish you and your friends... But unfortunately for you, I am not at liberty to give secrets, especially when those secrets will make your punishment more severe" The hunter was deliberately trying to scare her at this point, silently apologising to her in his mind because even though she was a severe troublemaker, she was still a student in need of guidance.

"Now... leave! And never come back" Leaning in close so he could whisper the last part in her ear, the delinquent's reaction was almost immediate as she quickly turned on her heels and began to sprint in the opposite direction. Completely ignoring her rifle, which still lay on the ground. As the rest of the delinquents that could stand and walk, quickly did the same, following their leader while helping them more incapacitated members as the entire gang retreated from the school grounds.

"Well done, Shiroko" The hunter quickly turned on the spot, bringing his hand up and resting it on the young wolf girl's head as he began to gently rub the spot between her ears. Which, judging from the happy and slightly comfortable expression on her face, she seemed to enjoy to no end.

"I don't believe that those delinquents will be giving you any trouble in the near future, girls" Turning away from Shiroko while continuing to gently rub her head, much to her continuing enjoyment. The hunter addressed the other four abydos students, who had all quickly gathered around, all of them looking extremely contented and overjoyed that they had been able to defend their school against the group of delinquents who had attacked them.

"Wow! We won" Nonomi cheered excitedly, jumping up and down on the spot despite the fact that she was still holding her mini gun in both hands.

The hunter idly thought to himself that the girl must have had incredibly ridiculous levels of strength to do something like that, considering that even with his preposterous strength he struggled to wield a chain gun of similar size and stature.

"Hahaha! How do you like that, your stupid helmet wearing freaks!" Serika cupped her hands over her mouth, hoping that her voice would carry far enough that the retreating helmet gang members would hear her taunt.

"Uheee~ I can't believe we won, the helmet gang seemed really tenacious this time" Hoshino promptly found a nearby piece of gym equipment and seated herself on it, placing down both her shotgun and shield next to her as she yawned while stretching both her arms over her head.

Ayane didn't appreciate Hoshino's as she began to noticeably pout while stamping one of her feet against the floor. "You shouldn't say that, Hoshino. "Those thugs could have taken over the school if we had lost"

Hoshino responded to Ayane's retort by nonchalantly waving one of her hands and giving a big dopey looking smile. Ayane didn't appreciate this one bit, the frustrated expression on her face growing more and more evident. Yet before the poor elf girl's anger could explode, she felt somebody place a hand on her shoulder, causing her to immediately her turn to see who it was.

"Ayane, you should be calm, this is not the time for anger. If anything we should be celebrating our victory" the hunter remarked as the anger and frustration in Ayane's quickly subsided, a slightly dismayed yet calming sigh escaping her lips.

"I guess you're right sensei" Ayane closed her eyes for a second before a small smile made its way onto her face. While the main troubles of the school when nowhere near to being dealt with, she could at least take some comfort in the fact that this day had been a success, and the first one that she and her friends had in quite a long while.

The hunter was happy with the fact that he managed to cheer up the glasses wearing girl, quickly releasing his hand from her shoulder as he turns to look at all the students. All of them looked back at him with a happy expression, even the seeming sourpuss of the bunch, Serika let a little smile appear on her face, despite the fact that she most certainly was trying not to let it.

Despite the lingering problems at the school that were far from being resolved, a sense of warmth filled the hunter's heart as he observed the happiness of the students. It was essential for him to safeguard this happiness, ensuring that every student under his guidance would have the opportunity to lead fulfilling and prosperous lives, free from despair and worry.

"Nn Sensei"

The hunter's attention was immediately taken by the sound of Shiroko addressing him, causing him to look at her as she looked at him. Her gaze filled with admiration and pride.

"Sensei... you gave us the edge that we needed today. We couldn't have done it without you" Shiroko said happily, a small and delicate smile making its way onto her lips.

The hunter didn't immediately respond, yet all the students watch as a genuine smile appeared on his face. He was genuinely touched by her words to the point where he quickly reached out and began to rub her head, much to her satisfaction.

The other students, especially Hoshino and Nonomi giggled loudly as they watched their classmate and friend received her head pats. Shiroko fluffy ears twitching noticeably as she closed her eyes, a broad smile quickly developing on my face.

"Haha, It looks like Shiroko has a new friend" Hoshino laughed with delight, seeing the grey haired girl so happy and content truly warmed her heart. It was also an incredibly touching site considering how Shiroko used to be when she was first enrolled.

Hoshino's smile quickly faulted for a second, reminiscing about the past was something she always hated, especially considering it made her remember...

Quickly shaking her head, Hoshino forcefully pushed out those thoughts from her mind, managing to force a smile to return to her face.

"Well everyone, now that the delinquent issue has been dealt with for the moment, why don't we return inside so we can discuss more about what ails your school" The hunter commented after a moment, removing his hand from Shiroko's head much to her disappointment as her ears noticeably flattened against the back of her head.

Nobody immediately replied to the hunter's words, all the students looking around somewhat hesitantly between each other before Ayane eventually stepped forward, holding her smart tablet close to her chest as she spoke.

"Well sensei, we'd love to, but it's actually nearly the end of the day, and it would take far too long to explain in detail..." Ayane sounded clearly afraid, much to the good Hunter's displeasure. Yet, after looking at the glasses wearing girl for a moment, it's suddenly clicked for him why she was so nervous.

"I see... well in that case then, I suppose I will have to come back tomorrow, preferably in the morning, so I can get a full assessment of the situation" His words had to be desired effect, Ayane's eyes immediately welling up with relief and happiness at the reality that the hunter would in fact come back for them, and simply not forsake them like the general student council had.

The students smiled with relief upon learning that the hunter would return for them, unlike the general student council, which had neglected them.

"T-that would be great, Sensei!" Ayane jumped forward and hugged the hunter tightly. This surprised him and the other students.

Looking down at the girl who had her face buried in his torso, the hunter could see tears of happiness beginning to form at the corners of her eyes. The sight of her beginning to cry was both upsetting and touching. Just how much these girls have suffered in abject silence, their cries for help being completely ignored by the general student council.

"Come now, Ayane. There is no need to cry" The hunter used one of his hands to gently nudge the girl away from him, before quickly lowering himself down onto one knee and retrieving a silk handkerchief from one of his overcoat pockets.

Ayane looked incredibly confused as the hunter gently pushed her glasses up onto her forehead and wiping away the tears arise using the handkerchief. Shiroko, Nonomi, Serika, and Hoshino all watched the scene somewhat bewildered before Hoshino out a loud squeal of laughter.

"What a sight to behold, it's almost enough to make a young maiden's heart swoon" Hoshino accompanied her words by overemphasizing them, striking a pose that wouldn't have been out of place in an old romance novel or movie as the rest of her classmates turned to look at her.

Ayane's bewildered face suddenly turned a bright red, steam practically flying out of her pointy ears as the Hunter quickly finished wiping away the tears from her eyelids, making sure to place her red framed glasses back on the bridge of her nose once he was done.

"Oh Wow! Ayane's face has gone all red!" Nonomi laughed uncontrollably, cupping both of her hands together beside her face, as she watched the clearly embarrassed elf girl quickly bring her hands up to try and hide the self-conscious look on her face.

"I think somebody's in looovvvve" Hoshino said loudly, exaggerating the word love as she quickly walked over to Ayane placing on the girl's shoulder which made her remove her hands from her face, the embarrassed the look still clearly evident but also now mixed with a dismayed and slightly irritated look.

"W-would you please S-stop it" Ayane managed to splatter out, the redness in her cheeks only growing as Nonomi and Hoshino continue to take extreme delight in teasing their younger classmate.

With a glint of genuine happiness in his eyes, the hunter observed the scene before him. It warmed his heart to witness them behave in a manner befitting girls of their age.

"Well I suppose since the day is now over, I should take my leave" The hunter said as he swiftly turned to go, yet he suddenly felt somebody grab his hand causing him to stop in his tracks as he turned to look at whoever was responsible.

"Nn You will come back, right Sensei?" Shiroko asked with a slight pleading tone in her voice. While her face remained mostly emotionless, the look in her gaze made his heart ache. She clearly feared that he would not hold to his promise, choosing to abandon her and her friends like had been done before.

The hunter looked at her, choosing to remain silent for just a moment as he looked at the other students, who by now had stopped their teasing and antics and were all looking at him anxiously and hopefully.

"Of course I will return, Shiroko. I will never abandon any of my students… I promise" The hunter's spoken words broke the silence that hung in the air, all the students immediately feeling an immeasurable amount of relief passed over them as they all visibly felt at ease.

With his promise now made, The Hunter gently patted Shiroko on the head once more, before turning once again and making his way out of the school grounds, all the students watching him as he left. However, as he continued to walk, he suddenly turned around and quickly shouted.

"I will be sure to arrive early tomorrow morning. So until then all of you behave yourselves" The hunter hollered playfully as all the students, minus Hoshino strangely enough, shouted back waving at him as they did so.

"Yes sensei"

With a satisfied smile on his face, the hunter turned and continued on, already having memorised his initial trip from the train station, so getting back wouldn't have been an issue. He also made a silent promise to himself, that he would bring even more supplies with him tomorrow. Because even though it was most likely spoiling them, he supposed that it was acceptable considering how they had been treated up until now.

"I suppose my first official day couldn't have gone better" The hunter silently chuckled to his own satisfaction as he continued to walk. Not noticing that a particular abydos was staring intently at his back, a critical and very distrusting look in her gaze as her blue and orange eyes narrowed considerably.

'Just who are you really, Sensei. And... what exactly do you want from us'

---

Well that was certainly a doozy of a chapter wasn't it. Overall I'm quite happy with how it turned out, even though I think there are some parts that I could have done a bit better, but I will leave them as is for now.

Also, it seems that our little Hoshino much like in cannon isn't entirely trusting of the Hunter, so hopefully that won't lead her to make some stupid decisions later on. Additionally, as for Serika and her terrible attitude, let's just say I have some particularly evil things planned for her that are really going to put the lovecraftian horror aspect of this story to the forefront for the first time.

Anyway, that's all I wanted to say, be sure to leave your thoughts about the chapter in a review as well as potentially even a like or even a follow, but until next time I'll catch you later.