Staying in Brenik was a wise choice, according to Albert. The town was small but was along a rather important trade route between the Adaline and the Dusdolf region. The town was a better place for a long-term stay compared to Stelikan. While Albert did not mind the smog that much, he doubted Lilac could stand staying in such polluted city.

He also found that staying in a relatively safe and modern town proved to be a best way to stay away from attention. The morning news gave the grim news about the situation in Tragoria which started to spill to Adaline as the day went by.

Albert even heard talks about the situation while he was relaxing in a café sipping his coffee. The conversation was just a chair away so he inadvertently overheard.

“Did you hear? Those Lycans got even closer to the border every day,” said one of them.

“Should we be worried? We are deep into the region, you know.”

“That’s what they said before they broke through some of the best defenses they can muster. They really should think about treating these wolf people better if they want to turn things around.”

“Maybe they won’t. You read the reports, right? They say the Lycans are fighting each other. It doesn’t look like the humans are being attacked deliberately.”

“Well, that sucks. Some hardliners might even go double down against the Lycans after this.”

“That is if they can even keep the region. People are calling it ‘The Inferno Countryside’ right now. Farms are being burned down and communication across the region is lost. They say we got three to four months before Tragoria must be abandoned.”

“Tragoria? The whole region? You’re kidding, right?”

“I’m just saying what the paper says. Personally, that’s exaggerating. You know how sensational these papers can be. People write anything these days.”

Albert tried to listen without looking suspicious. It seemed the situation deteriorated after they left Sandorf by train. Albert sighed as he finished his morning coffee.

The news of the ‘Lycans’ fighting each other did not seem to faze the people of Adaline because, as Albert had long known, the influence of Dusdolf and the way they treated their Lycan population was the prime reason Adaline won the war that created their region more than a hundred years ago. Many Lycans got away from Tragoria during the worst of it, and most only returned or showed that they were Lycans after the government finally gave the Lycans the rights of a human being, though this decision proved controversial to the Tragorians.

In fact, the people of Adaline helped the Lycans who ran to their region and even appreciate the support of the Lycans who seemed to know what they were doing. Albert could tell these Lycans were hellhounds that knew what really happened, possibly those who worked with Anarim Winsel. He hoped he got all the answers he needed when he reached Summinat.

But before that, he needed a ride. He expected the ride to come some days later, but he expected it to come sooner than that. The replacement vehicle he ordered had such capabilities.

Eshdar, Lilac, Ifrit, and Sammael also read the news and were understandably concerned. The surface dwellers clearly had no idea how bad it would become. They had to get to Summinat as soon as possible, though Albert told them not to be hasty and not to waste any more money buying train tickets.

While everyone waited anxiously, Albert walked to the post office near the hotel that he knew had a telegram service. After going in, he immediately got to the front desk and gave the telegram address. While the operator was sending the message, Albert thought about something. He wondered if it was the right decision, but he knew the situation was dire enough to warrant a call to people he knew.

Albert returned to the operator after writing a different message on a nearby counter.

“I want an express service for this one,” said Albert. “Is it possible for you to deliver this message now?”

“Certainly, sir. However, there will be an additional charge.”

“Not a problem. Just make sure you send it immediately.”

The operator nodded in confirmation before Albert walked towards the nearby cashier to pay the total. His mind was full of deliberation on his choices, and what would be the consequences if he was wrong and just overreacting. But, considering the incursion was called a hellish incursion instead of Underworld incursion, he believed that involving them would be the wise decision. Demons could be involved, after all.

And even if he was wrong, it would not be a problem. It wasn’t going to change the fact that Tragoria would fall.

But Albert underestimated his enemies’ tenacity. As he walked out of the post office, he heard a loud bang coming from a gun. He instinctively turned towards where he heard it from: the park. The shot seemed to come from a revolver rather than a rifle. Then, a couple of seconds later, that shot was followed by more gunshots and people, humans and Lycans alike started running out of the park.

Albert saw Lycans running into the park carrying guns and rifles. However, upon closer inspection, he noticed that they were not Lycans, but hellhounds. They did not even bother concealing their horns. Realizing that the conflict already reached Brenik, Albert soon ran towards the hotel to alert his companions when he met Eshdar. The hellhound ran out of the lobby carrying a dagger and his bow and arrow, all geared up for a combat.

“Albert!” he exclaimed as he threw a rifle that Albert knew was his. “It’s loaded and ready!”

“You knew this would happen?!” asked Albert.

“I was expecting it to happen. There are several ‘Lycans’ that followed us on the train. They have been following us ever since Stelikan.”

“But this deep in Adaline?! Eshdar, how do you know about all this?”

“These bastards can easily pop out through a portal. There must be one near or in Stelikan. We should get to the park. Lilac and Ifrit are there.”

But just before they could reach the park’s gate, there was a gunshot that barely missed Albert, forcing him and Eshdar to find a cover behind the hotel’s façade. Albert quickly checked his rifle and positioned it over the cover while Eshdar assumed a spotter role. He soon found one of the shooters.

“20 degrees right! Take the shot!” shouted Eshdar. Albert turned to position and pulled the trigger. The shot hit the hellhound enemy by the shoulder. Eshdar readied his bow and released an arrow that hit the other shooter. This gave them ample time to rush towards the park’s gate and take cover as they noticed several hellhounds already taking a position to fire. Eshdar was quick to react and, taking a great risk to himself, ran towards the enemies before they were even ready and released a quick succession of arrows to those not in cover with such precision the arrows pierced through their skulls, instantly killing them. Albert saw the shooters that just got out of cover, ready to shoot Eshdar, and reacted first. He shot the one who already took aim and shot another whose head peeked out of cover. Like Eshdar, Albert’s precision with his bolt-action rifle was deadly.

After everything was clear, Albert ran into the park with Eshdar, but was then pounced by a monstrous beast. The beast was clearly not from the surface and could easily rend flesh much faster than a bear. However, just before Albert’s head could be bitten off, Eshdar stabbed its neck and slitted its throat, spraying Albert with hot, dark red blood. The best let out a gurgle as it fell to its side, dying. Eshdar then pulled Albert up, but then reacted towards a hellhound who simply throw up his hands.

“(Whoa, wait! Friendly!)” he shouted. “(You’re Eshdar Winsel, aren’t you? He told me you’d be a proficient archer).”

“(I’m sorry, but who are you?)” said Eshdar.

“(I was assigned here in Brenik by Anarim Winsel. He is concerned with the activities around this part. Turned out he was right, but we’re outnumbered).”

“(You mean you knew there will be a portal here?)”

“(No. We knew Dusdolf is already under attack when the situation in Tragoria escalated. Brenik is close to the Dusdolfian border).”

Eshdar turned to Albert, knowing he was a Dusdolfian and he would want to hear about this.

“He said Dusdolf was already under attack,” said Eshdar. “You know about this?”

“Not by hellhounds, no,” said Albert while shaking his head. “But by demons.”

“Oh, now we got demons, too?”

“There is a reason Demon Hunters exist, you know. Why exist if there’s no demon to hunt?”

There were then screeches that could only came out from something otherworldly, for it was high-pitched and hurting their ears. The hellhound that found them exclaimed, “(Demon call! We need to get to safety, now!)”

But just as the demon in question, a flying, eyeless demon, was screeching, there was a loud gunshot, then the demon’s head disintegrated, leaving its lifeless and headless body to fall back to the floor. There were a couple of gunshots that quickly dispatched the remaining demons and beasts while the hellhounds got into cover trying to find who shot at them. Albert and Eshdar followed suit, but then Albert noticed someone familiar being dragged away from the area of the conflict by a familiar-looking Lycan: Lilac.

She was dragging Ifrit, who was clutching one of his ears. He did not seem to be critically injured, but Albert could see that someone got to Ifrit. He was clutching what remained of his left ear, which was evidently damaged and blown off by a bullet. Sammael saw Albert peeking out of cover while Lilac, using a revolver Albert gave her for protection, shot some hellhounds that were trying to attack them. Her aim was not bad, but her shot did not kill. Instead, the hellhounds were killed by an unknown sniper.

“Lilac, drop on the floor, now!” exclaimed Albert.

Lilac did so while Ifrit tried to protect her. The shot missed his head, hitting the nearby pavement.

“Albert! Ifrit got shot!” exclaimed Lilac when she saw Albert peeking behind a cover

“It’s just flesh wound!” said Ifrit. “(Someone shot off my ear!)”

“Get to safety, you two!” shouted Albert as he checked the area, wary of a sniper shooting them. The park where the hellhounds were being attacked was a relatively open area with a lot of brick buildings higher than the gate’s park. Albert quickly focused his attention towards the roof, the most likely place the sniper would be, but after a quick sweep, he couldn’t find the sniper or the characteristic scope glint or the muzzle flash. The sniper could’ve shot from behind several trees, a blind spot from where Albert took cover. He wanted to risk it and ran out in the open, hoping the sniper was not good enough to shoot him while running. But after several deliberation, he realized it was too risky, especially considering how the sniper could shot a flying demon through the head. As he noticed the local law enforcement slowly taking over the situation, he implored the others to get back to the hotel before anyone started asking questions.

Once they got to Albert’s room, Lilac quickly pulled out the first aid kit she kept handy ever since they lost their horse-drawn carriage. She asked Ifrit to let go of his hand to let her see the damage. Ifrit had no problem in doing so, but once he did, Lilac gasped upon seeing the state of his damaged ear.

While the bleeding had stopped, the ear, once long and prominent like a wolf’s, was now partially blown off. The earrings that were once there were ripped off by the shot. However, the shot did not seem to cause more damage than one of Ifrit’s horn, which was shot off with the bullet grazing the back of his head. If the shooter did not miss, Ifrit would’ve died from a well-placed shot to the head, but for some reason, it only grazed and damaged his ear and horn. It wasn’t even a stray bullet either. Albert knew the shooter deliberately missed hitting where it would kill, but for what?

Curious, Albert told the others to wait in the hotel room while he walked back out to check the park. By this time, the police had cordoned off the park while investigating the scene. Albert managed to see the scene from the hotel’s third floor, which opened out to the park, and observed the conflict area with his binoculars. He found that the hellhounds that seemed to be the enemies were shot dead by an unknown sniper, all through their heads. The sniper was working against and with them.

Was it intended to be a message? Maybe they wanted to scare Ifrit into surrendering and not fight back by deliberately missing him, but for what reason? In fact, as Albert surmised, it would serve the opposite, with Ifrit becoming even more determined to survive and possibly strike back. Given that he was a Royal with an abnormal gift in improvised fighting, he would be able to fight against his enemies.

Then as Albert’s theory of the sniper’s intention slowly found its conclusion, he turned towards the demon that the same sniper shot. Unlike the hellhounds, the demon’s head disintegrated after being shot. Albert knew what kind of bullet would do that to a demon, but he never thought anyone would ever use it.

He did invent those anti-demonic bullets, after all. It may lack the rituals and proper handling of the incident, but it was necessary if the hunters wanted to stay relevant in the modern era. Too bad the Demon Hunters were uncomfortable with a weapon that would not discriminate demons and non-demons. It was their loss.

Yet, clearly, someone had the right idea to use them.