Part 4 - Hellish City

Due to the war, many people flew out of the Tremblay Guild. However, the Topaz Guild intercepted hundreds of flights.

But, as long the aircraft passed into the Wandering Lands or the Western Democratic Alliance Territories, Jacob Topaz and his guild couldn’t do anything to stop them.

As such, as soon as Christiana drove her S-Craft out of the Tremblay Guild’s border, Aaron, Isaac and her were safe. They had successfully escaped.

Their destination was Hellish City, one of the largest cities in the Wandering Lands, owned by the Ortoz guild.

Since he didn’t know much about it, Aaron decided to play a documentary for Hellish City on a tin electronic tablet that he found.

It started with an image of the city. Hellish City seemed like a decent place for tourists interested in spooky things to visit. It got the name ‘Hellish City’ for a reason.

Despite being a city rebuilt in the 20th century, it still kept some of the strange aspects from before, notably, its particular red atmosphere.

Looking at the different buildings, one could instantly tell there was a clear distinction between the upper and lower class.

A few towers soared beyond the clouds, where the wealthy lived. Meanwhile, the majority of the population lived in compact run-down buildings. The few lucky ones of the lower class lived right above the shop where they worked, near the plaza.

A tall blonde woman appeared in the video and started talking. “HELLISH CITY! Throughout the Second War (2052-2089), many aspiring magicians visited this city.

“It’s said that by meditating, some talented mages can feel the souls of the dead and gain great power by absorbing them. The souls have since diminished, and Hellish City doesn’t get as many visitors now.”

Isaac, seated next to Aaron with his arms crossed, already knew this strange fact. ‘No one seems to have found how the process of absorbing souls actually works, or if it is just a big hoax.’

“Hellish City gets its name because of one of the great calamities that happened during the Cataclysms Period (764-1501); The terrifying ‘Hellish Life Force Absorption Failure’ of the year 959.”

“So that’s where it happened!” Aaron suddenly remembered that he had learned about this at school.

Isaac looked up at the ceiling, organizing his thoughts before speaking.

“For unknown reasons, the Dark Faction had attempted to absorb the life force of millions of people by killing them. They deemed the experiment a failure, and Hellish City became a ghost town filled with human corpses.

“However, it got rebuilt over a thousand years later by the Ortoz Guild after discovering the mysterious ‘souls.’”

Christiana, who had been listening to them, started talking. “Despite happening so long ago, numerous souls remain here. Many scientists and expert magicians have assumed that the souls are the cause for this red atmosphere that englobes the entire city.

“Souls are one of the things that even with today’s technology, we can only theorize about.”

Aaron felt like his head would blow up from the abundance of information. “Okay, let’s watch the rest of the video now.”

…

“This place seems pretty busy because of the war,” said Aaron, out of the S-Craft.

They had arrived at the airport.

There were many small aircraft like their S-Craft as well as large airplanes ducking in and out. Hellish City was still in the northern part of the West Continent, so many people sought to flee farther away or to go to the West DA.

The airport’s main building was a dark gigantic double U shape.

As they were getting farther from the S-Craft, Christiana stopped making additional steps.

She showed a regretful expression. “Here are a few thousand credits for buying all the necessities,” she said while extending her arm with a handful of paper money.

Surprised, Isaac took it and asked his long-awaited question, “Are you not coming with us?”

Christiana had started walking away when she looked back at Aaron and him with vengeful eyes.

“I have to go back to help the guild and take revenge. Even if I die.”

Isaac looked down at his feet, fiddling with his fingers.

“I understand.”

“I think Alex would have wanted me to pass a message to you.” he followed.

“Alex, he….he loved you.”

Christiana’s eyes widened as she blushed and avoided eye contact before turning around, smiling, augmenting her pace toward the aircraft, and becoming sad again.

“So did I.”

Christiana entered the S-Craft and flew away.

“Come on, let’s go.” Aaron interrupted Isaac’s thoughts.

An airport information assistant stood near the terminal building’s main entrance, near a loud crowd of people rushing in and out.

Isaac walked up to her. “Hello, do you know where we can find someone named ‘Ejiro Sani?’”

The middle-aged lady responded formally. “Good afternoon. I have heard of a person with the first name Ejiro. His nickname is ‘The Vampire Hunter’ and is a rather big deal around here.”

“‘Vampire Hunter?’ Do vampires still exist?” The nickname surprised Aaron.

“From what I can tell, you two are mages. You probably know more than I do.” She responded while observing Aaron’s sniper.

Aaron and Isaac both knew that vampires had appeared in the Second War. They were on the Dark Faction’s side. However, only a few unconfirmed rumours claimed they had survived.

‘These rumours all originate from the Obscure Guild. It has been in a prolonged war against the Democratic Alliance for a century.’ Aaron was deep in thoughts.

The information assistant laughed. “I doubt he’s the Ejiro you are looking for. Why don’t you go to the plaza in the center of this city and ask around.”

“Okay, thanks!”

“Although you kids should be careful…. Oh, they’re already gone.”

Isaac and Aaron walked along the streets leading to the plaza. Whether it was because of the war or not, almost everyone seemed depressed. There were also many alleyways.

In one such alleyway, a man dressed in a long black coat, dark leather gloves and a bowler hat smirked as he watched them pass.

“Interesting….”

Unaware of his presence, Aaron smiled wryly. “The Vampire Hunter! It sounds scary, but that’s definitely who we are looking for.”

The plaza was a giant circle surrounded by a ring of restaurants and shops. There were also many advertisements.

Isaac sighed. “Alright. Aaron, let’s split up and start asking around.”

And so, they asked around for ten minutes before reuniting. Aaron was tired.

“Most people are here to escape the war. As such, they have no idea about this city. However, I’ve heard he lives at the top of the tower west of here.”

“Same. No one seems to know how he looks, and most citizens just back away when I pronounce his name.” Isaac was just as exhausted.

“Hello.”

Aaron and Isaac heard the deep voice of a man coming behind them.

The man had palish skin and black attire. His gloves were made out of leather, his boots out of rubber, and his hat out of felt.

It was the same person that observed them from the alleyway.

He bowed forward respectfully in a western manner as if he was addressing nobles from some other time.

“Have you been looking for the ‘Vampire Hunter?’ I can take you to him if you’d like.”