The day went on with tension high. The denizens of Arbal were feeling tense due to expecting danger coming from Tragoria. As Arbal was situated on a hill, they could see the devastation and change of landscape that happened deep in the region. The whole rural countryside that was once lush green and full of life was now a barren wasteland decorated with eternal fire. Those with good enough ears could even hear faint voices that sounded like screams, though they tried to dismiss it as their own fear creating hallucinations. The region became a literal hell on Earth. Whatever it was before was gone by three years of gradual devastation.

The townsfolk who could fight along with the guards that were called to the town in time of need stood side by side guarding both the Tragorian and the Dusdolf side of the town, while the rest were evacuated. Despite its strategic location, the town was not a fort, and thus had no armaments or weapons one would expect to find in one such place. But even then, the age of fortified walls had long since passed with the advent of guns and rifles replacing the use of bows and arrows, with only a small percentage of people were combat-ready archers, while there were more who could handle guns and rifles ever since it was widely used during the preceding wars. Only a select people, such as Eshdar, still used bow and arrow as a primary weapon. The present-day forts would be fortified with guns as powerful as cannons of the past and wall-mounted anti-personnel machine guns, none of which were there in Arbal.

Those with knowledge of guns stood ready to protect the town, even though they were not sure if guns were effective. This soon changed to slight optimism when Albert did the best he could blessing all the bullets being used so that they would easily kill the demons. Despite their preparedness, however, they knew it would never be enough. The new arrivals had not proven themselves, and two demon hunters against a horde of demons, no matter how skilled or experienced they were, would not work. They expected more from the Demon Hunters, but in the end, they couldn’t do anything while there were demons to vanquish in Dusdolf itself.

In short, they were at a disadvantage. The best course of action was to do a tactical retreat, which would be against what Albert and his friends wanted in the first place. However, Lotte, the Lycan demon hunter seemed to understand what’s at stake. Albert wondered about this and decided to ask her. As he stood beside Lotte, he started a conversation in Dusdolfian.

“What is the word from Central?” asked Albert after offering Lotte a cup of coffee.

“The same thing I heard since a month ago,” she said as she kept the coffee warm in her furred hands. “They’re indisposed and occupied with the smaller incursions.”

“Even if Tragoria is part of the Demon Hunters’ jurisdiction?”

“There’s nothing to guard if the whole region’s already gone.”

“I wished I could’ve done more,” said Albert. “I was supposed to be responsible for Tragoria, and now look at it.”

“You? Wait, you? No one else?” She sighed. “The council missed great time on this one. Do they even realize how big Tragoria is? Even if most of the region is a rural countryside, they should have spent more resources.”

Albert scoffed. “Oh, it’s not that simple. For starters, Tragorians are superstitious lots who don’t even trust Lycans are not as natural as humans are. The city folks are already open to the progress, but then…the problem’s the countryside. Also, you know what they think of us?”

“What?”

“Fraudsters who played the kingdom of Dusdolf by our fingers,” said Albert. “They think we invented the demons, and we took money from the people.”

Lotte scoffed. “Well, now look what happened. I bet they think this is just a nightmare and they’d wake up on a nice cup of tea.”

“It woke them up. Too bad Central can’t spare anyone else. They thought a commander is good enough, but even I’m only as good as ten.”

“Commander? You?”

“Doesn’t look like it, huh? Oh, and don’t salute. I don’t need more burden on my back, not after everything that happened.”

“It’s not your fault, commander. Like you said, you’re only one, and even if you’re experienced enough, ten is not enough to cover Tragoria.”

“Maybe so.” Albert sighed as he sipped his cup of coffee while staring at the Tragorian wasteland. “Though that’s what I think on the first year of the Incursion. If it wasn’t for Struttemberg, I might end up depressed.”

“Struttemberg’s a town up north, right?”

“I have a friend there. I also convinced the Struttemberg chapter to take this Incursion business seriously. It’s one good step forward to the right direction. Alas, one small chapter with no influence with Central won’t change the old guards. If they can’t even embrace modernity, I doubt they’d even listen to me.”

“Facing modernity? What does that mean?”

“It’s just a thing I thought, really. Maybe in some cases, having a faster way to cleanse demons would help us immensely. Some of us thought about it, but alas, nothing came out of it. Central was reluctant to use other types of tools, reasoning that everyone can shoot a gun. But isn’t that supposed to be the case right now? You need soldiers who can utilize tools and those doing the ritual for it. You can’t just make the tool and the ritual as one. We’re at war. We don’t have time to capture demons and exorcise them. The demons are already there. We dealt with one, more popped up. It’s like we’re fighting a losing battle.”

“That sounds more like a grievance than a simple comment. Guess you’ve been thinking about it for a while, huh?”

“What do you think?”

“I met other unorthodox demon hunters and those claiming to be one. True, there is no finesse to it, but they get shit done. But I can see why Central is reluctant. They don’t want to be held liable if things do not work. Arming an army with cleansing bullets is unproven and can have potential problems. You can do it easily, commander, but not everyone can do it as efficiently as you. I can tell that you have been doing this ever since you learned it.”

“Maybe they really should treat this as an emergency.”

“A little too late for that.”

Both then sighed as they enjoyed their coffee.

“Commander,” started Lotte.

“Call me Albert,” said Albert. “We’re comrades in arms and I am not in command.”

Lotte nodded and said, “Albert, talking about modernity and rifles…what’s your story?”

“About me being a demon hunting rifleman?”

“Yeah. How is it like expediting the whole ritual in favor of shooting demons?”

“It’s pretty much reliability than finesse, but also a chance for others with a different set of skills to, well, improvise. I’ve met someone who got inspired, but he isn’t a demon hunter. He lacks training in the cleansing rituals, even if he has the knowledge of it. If he was a true hunter, the demons he entrapped would surely be killed by the ritual alone.”

“So, it only works for you.”

“No, not really. I taught this before Central promoted me to commander, back when I was like you. Unlike Central, my chapter agrees with me, and they still are. They are grateful for it.”

“What city?”

“Witwer. I was once part of that city’s chapter before Central. Technically, I still am, given that Tragoria isn’t exactly a chapter. You don’t turn your back on your brothers and sisters when you go up in the world. So, one day, if you become a commander, don’t forget where you came from. Schweinhollen will feel proud to know that their commander came from their chapter. I know Witwer did.”

Lotte laughed. “Do you really think I’m commander material? I can’t even convince more Hunters to help me other than Sophia.”

“You never know, right? Say, Schweinhollen might make a good ally to the An’ah Council. I mean, you are quite receptive towards hellhounds, right?”

Lotte sighed, which Albert took as a no.

“I don’t know about that, Albert. It took the chapter a lot convincing to include Soph as an official member. They only reluctantly agree because Sophia’s a second-generation surface born who never even stepped foot in the Underworld. She handled her training well, convincing all of us that hellhounds aren’t demons, even though it was clearly explained in the guidebook. Sophia’s a very special case, though. I doubt they even want to associate with Underworld hellhounds, which certainly are the ones you are associated with.”

They turned to look at Sovarn, Nergora, and Eshdar, who were talking near the walls with Lilac about something that both could not hear or could not bother to hear.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them,” said Albert. “Especially Eshdar. We’ve been fighting through the darkest of times ever since I met him. His grandfather has been fighting them far longer than I am. Than anyone else. But his problem is secrecy. Even after three years, I still can’t seem to know what he really after.”

“Has he ever let you down?”

“No, not yet. Hopefully not,” said Albert as he watched Eshdar. “That would be devastating for his grandchild.”

And yet, Albert couldn’t help but think about what Anarim Winsel had in his mind. He certainly had a certain flair of someone who had a lot in his mind. He could be playing a game of chess in his mind while looking like a harmless old fox, sipping tea in peace. A lot of missions and tasks he gave to his agents had a purpose, and those purpose inched them closer and closer to their salvation. He was also the one who told him about the importance of a member of the House of Caropus, one that was fulfilled by Anubis Caropus. Somehow, he knew what he was doing, and after three years of knowing him, Albert thought that, behind the façade of a supposedly harmless old vulpine hellhound, lied the shrewdness of a strategist; a former king that could end the Incursion before it even started.

Yet, something happened, and now he was stuck on the surface, running a tea shop. Maybe if he survived, he should go back to Summinat, look him in the eye, and demand to know what he was planning. It was better than risking his and his friends’ lives for some plan they were not even privy of.

It could even make the Demon Hunters see him in a different light. Hopefully, it wasn’t against them. Albert did not want to be forced to choose, not after all the hard works he had done for him, for the surface world, and for the good of every living being that were threatened by the Hellish Incursion.

“But the thing is,” said Lotte, breaking Albert’s pondering. “No matter how you put it, you take a very great risk bringing a half-demon here.”

“He is not a problem. I swear it.”

“I did not tell the townspeople about it because, if they knew, it’d be disastrous. Lilac’s condition, I can sympathize, but Nergora Schelkz’s half-demon ancestry is problematic.”

“And?”

“Do you even understand what I’m implying, Albert?”

“I know what you’re implying. Since he is a half-demon, his own existence is against everything the demon hunters stood for. This unofficial relationship cannot continue because of it. And I can tell another problem. If the demon hunters happened to devise a powerful ritual that would purge all demons, it would not discriminate. Anyone whose blood is tainted by demonic influence will perish.”

“Except the hunters have no way to do that ritual,” said Lotte.

“Well, they might, if someone’s insane enough,” said Albert. “Or if they have been given the right budget and unlimited time.”

“You’re kidding.”

Albert smiled and said, “Good thing research and development is not something we have. Otherwise, that might be the case. Well, I always lament the fact that we’re seriously behind in terms of modernity, but at the same time, it can be a blessing in disguise.”

“At that point, I’d not even want to be associated with this crest,” said Lotte while showing the Demon Hunter crest on her coat’s lapel. “But I get your point. We have no choice but to trust them, whether we like it or not.”

“Whether you like it or not, Charlotte,” said Albert, implying that he trusted them implicitly.

“If you say so,” conceded Lotte. “But we will hold you accountable if your trust is misplaced.”

“That, I don’t mind.”

“I am serious, Albert,” asserted Lotte with her piercing lupine eyes.

“I know.” Albert sighed. “Strange, isn’t it? I, a Demon Hunter, willingly allied myself with demons to fight against demons. It’s like selling my soul against a bigger threat.”

“I’m curious. How do you even got allies like them?”

Albert looked at Lilac, who was drinking tea with Sovarn and Nergora while talking, presumably about Ifrit.

“I don’t know. Maybe because I drew the wrong crowd?” he said, half-kidding. “But if I want to be serious, I know who to trust at first glance. That’s a skill I got from my side work.”

“I can tell they trust you too. Just be careful where you put that trust.” Lotte then yawned. “Rest well, commander Schafner. You’ll need it.”

“I told you…never mind.”

Lotte smiled while Albert scoffed. At this point, the Lycan was comfortable enough to tease the blonde human of his rank within the Demon Hunter command. He was never someone who was comfortable with having a high ranking. Not only it made him look arrogant and detached, but it also gave him too much responsibility. Not telling everyone of his rank unless it was necessary was something Albert lived for. He never liked pulling ranks unless he had to.

As Lotte walked towards where the guards and Sophia were, Albert considered taking his rest before the watch when Lilac approached him. Both Sovarn and Nergora were already going towards the hillside walls, presumably to help the night watch. The human wondered if Lilac wanted to talk about her corrupted body, but instead, she told him something more important.

“Al…where is Stadelitz?” asked Lilac.

“It’s a town near the base of the Antel Mountain. It’s the Dusdolfian side of the Morran tunnel. Why?”

“It’s the town that Rhynsa and the others are going to,” she said. “Apparently, she asked them to help her in return for her cooperation.”

“Her? Who?”

“Sahia Antelberg.”

“Antelberg as in the House of Antelberg? Where did you hear about this?”

“Anarim,” she said. “He contacted us through the car phone. It seems that Anarim is concerned about the tunnel leading to Morran.”

“He should,” said Albert. “That tunnel’s an engineering marvel, but with the incursion still underway, that tunnel is a gap in our defense.”

“Is Stadelitz close? Can we…?”

“At this point, I think it’s better to wait for Ifrit and the others to come to us. Hopefully, that’s what the old fox wants.” Albert sighed. “I can’t seem to get him sometimes.”

“But he is the one hound who knows what he is doing,” said Lilac. “Right?”

“I hope so, Lilac. I really hope so.”

Lilac could sense Albert’s uncertainty, but she kept it to herself. Still, she stared at him for a little longer to see what he was thinking before she walked towards Sophia. Albert and the others could hear the loud rattling sound from her tail, which usually indicated her unconscious feelings. Even after two years of gaining her snake-wolf appearance, she still could not use the rattle on her tail tip willingly, despite its great advantage for distraction.

The human did not want to be suspicious about Anarim, knowing that it was what the demons were looking for: discord and low morale. If that happened, then all hopes of ever repelling the demons would be gone.

Anarim was still their best shot at knowing what the deal about the Hellish Incursion was. Albert still needed to trust him, but at the same time, he also wanted to keep him at arm’s length. A shrewd former king who knew his way in politics, both the surface and the Underworld, would be a much more dangerous opponent than hellhounds and their demonic masters.

He just hoped it was exclusively their advantage…and not a mutual one.