“Do you know my master?”

“We hunted in the same party a few times.” She chuckles while reminiscing the past. “Though she might not know or remember me anymore since she’s the kind of person who does not care about bonding with her teammates.”

“Mhm. Yeah, that sounds like my master indeed.”

She laughs out loud before showing a serious expression. “My name is Cassandra. Kid, your record is a proof of how talented you are. Lone found a gem indeed… One can’t help but be attracted to… How is your master faring nowadays?”

“Master… She…” She mumbles then a heavy short pause follows before she takes a deep breath. “Master Lone passed away more than a year ago.”

“Ah-… I see.” Cassandra replies softly. Her expression gives a hint of surprise which is quickly taken over by sorrow. “I only heard rumors of her declining health… but now hearing that she has passed away without anyone of us knowing is very saddening. Her reputation was… well… quite down the dumps, but she was… hmm… Phenomenal.”

“She’s gonna give you a sour look if she heard that.” Her voice is low and soft.

Cassandra laughs aloud as she imagines the scenario. She never had the chance to be especially close to Lone, but she used to observe her. She looked up to her skills and overwhelming power. Lone “The Blazing Army of One” is a name that almost all of the hunters know back in her youth. After earning her demon hunting license, Lone hunted a B-rank demon alone. It amazed plenty of people and some organizations. Despite all the growing interest and curiosity, just like her name, Lone kept to herself and ignored them all.

“How much did you hear from your master?”

“Not much.”

“She did not tell you much about her past experiences, did she?”

“…”

Cassandra sighs. “She’s not really much of a talker… Many things happened that she probably don’t wanna recall.”

“You seem to know a lot.”

“I hunted with them several times. I mean with Lone, Yuren, Renan, and right, Cyan too. Yuren is very friendly and approachable… Looking at them, it seemed like he was the only one who was able to overcome all the walls that Lone has built around herself.”

Azalea listens silently as they continue to walk slowly, putting a little distance from them and the rest of the group. Cassandra’s voice is low and soft but clear enough for her to hear.

“For Lone, Yuren was her light. When Yuren died, she was left in the dark. She was blinded. She was lost… She went on a rampage. But when her rage subsided, there was only grief… and guilt.”

Listening to those words, Azalea is reminded of the days she watched her master wasting away. She thought that she was dying little by little every day, but the reality was that she had lost her spirit a long time ago. Though she understood it, there was nothing she can do to ease that pain.

She was spiraling down the hell of endless misery. Her life was like a nightmare brought in reality by circumstances that were out of her control but ultimately made worse by her unguided decisions.

Cassandra looks at Azalea with a gentle smile. “Now, after learning that she has accepted an apprentice… I’ll take it as she haven’t left this world as miserable as I imagined.”

Azalea pauses for a second trying to imagine what the middle aged woman means. “If you were that worried about her situation, how come I’ve never seen you visit once?”

“I did.” Her voice trembles. She takes a deep breath. “Once… One look… and I knew that there was nothing I could do for her. It was… That moment was the most helpless I ever felt in my life.”

Azalea can only imagine the kind of disheartening show they have witnessed at that time when her master hit rock bottom. How could someone so strong end up like that? If the time she spent with her master was a “better” version of her, then just how miserable was she back then?

“During her prime, she was one of the most popular demon hunters.” Cassandra recalls. “A lot of youngsters lined up to apply apprenticeship. Despite her unapproachable personality, many young hunters wanted to become her apprentice, and if possible, her successor. She kicked them all out and scared them away. The few that were persistent, also gave up after a while.”

“I thought she didn’t have any apprentice because she was hella grumpy. Guess I’m wrong.”

She chuckles. “She just sent them all back, telling them that she doesn’t wanna deal with brats. Still many young hunters who aspired to be like her wanted to try their luck. She rejected them and then ran away never showing her face to them again. I thought she’ll never take anyone in.”

They are starting to pick up their pace, catching up to the rest of the group.

“You know… that look you have in your eyes kind of reminds me of her.” She walks ahead without turning back. The tone of her voice becomes deeper and heavier. “Hm. Right… I just want to let you know, kid… If you are ever in trouble, you can come to me.”

“I see. Thanks.” Azalea responds while following behind Cassandra.

She lets out a laugh that sounds hollow. “That sounded like you just agreed because it will be troublesome otherwise. Is that a habit you picked up from her? Though she always acts so rude making it quite obvious.”

She also starts to wonder if it is indeed something she unconsciously picked up from Master Lone. She honestly thought that outright declining will be bothersome. She remembers that she did not use to think that way. Since when did she start acting like dealing with other people is a waste of time?

“Please consider.”

“Why are you so concerned about me?”

“It will be such a shame… to do nothing but watch two great demon hunters tragically fall in this lifetime.”

“Mhm. If that makes you feel better then… when the time comes, I’ll think of your offer.”

“Thank you.”

“Why thank me?” Azalea is puzzled.

Their march towards the demon territory is generally peaceful. Most monsters in the path they chose are docile. They would rather avoid and hide than engage in battle. This is because the common paths that humans use are built far away from strong territorial monsters’ habitat. These dangerous areas and monsters to avoid are already marked in the map they have.

With the little light they have and the silent environment, Azalea takes the time to recall their plans.

The more experienced hunters like Aaron, Cassandra, Gustaf, Fred and Carlo are the most involved in the planning. They have taken everyone’s ability and experience into consideration. They all agreed to give the chance to lead to Gustaf. He lead some small scale hunts before, so with the other’s guidance, he could gain his first experience of leading a hunt with larger scale. Every demon hunter will someday have to experience the leading their own party. Building them up to take on that role is the older generation’s duty.

They will reach the demon’s territory around sunrise. The battle with Ur’Yarha can be tricky. It may take a lot of time, however it is a must that they slay the demon before noon, before the sun reaches its peak. One of the abilities they have to be wary about is Ur’Yarha’s ability to absorb energy from the sun. As the sun rises higher, the demon’s power also increases. Once the sun reaches its peak, Ur’Yarha will be invulnerable for few minutes.

They have considered to fight at night once the sun has set. However, according to the information gathered, Ur’Yarha lays various traps in his territory at night. It will take some time to know what kind of traps are there and device a way to counter them. These traps are disabled in the morning as the demon wakes up to move around. Furthermore, not everyone in their team are well trained for night battle. It will be more difficult to lure out the demon at night when it prefers to hide.

Ur’Yarha will be easier to lure out in the morning when it is confident of its growing power due to the presence of the sun. All they have to do is to be quick at slaying it.

Easier said than done.

The hunting party are divided into four subgroups, each lead by one or two licensed demon hunters.

Azalea and Matt are leading the group that provides support. The group’s main role is to provide healing, to cover for the frontlines, and defend the main fighters.

Gustaf and Aaron’s team are taking the lead in the frontline to lure Ur’Yarha. Gustaf is a Contractor with a giant earth golem as his Yashou. Its main ability is that it can harden the soft sand and summon little golems that add to their man power. Every time it hardens the sand, the giant snake demon cannot burrow and hide as fast as it could. This gives the main damage dealers a way to attack fiercely weakening the demon. Meanwhile, Aaron is an Esper. He is a Sand Master that rivals Ur’Yarha’s abilities. He can counter the demon’s attacks and anticipate its movements. He guides the other hunters on when and how to launch their attacks coordinating the movement of the teams.

Carlo is a Mage. He leads the group that assist the whole party. Their role is to keep track of the whole party’s positioning, and each member’s well-being. They are first to defend the supports and healers group. They can either defend or attack depending on how the situation unfolds and what action it calls upon. Carlo is a Water Elementalist, God-tier mage. Currently, he focuses on softening the demon’s tough armor.

The group of main fighters are led by two Ki Masters, Cassandra and Fred. Their main objective is to deal damage as large as possible every time Ur’Yarha surfaces from beneath the sand.

“This may be taking way too long.” Carlo backs away a few steps while taking a glance at the rest of the party. He then raises his voice. “The demon’s armor is tougher than we expected.”

“Let’s proceed to Plan B!!!” Gustaf commands after careful consideration of what Carlo said. “Everyone! Plan B!”

“Proceeding to Plan B!” The others repeat to make everyone aware.

“Plan B! Plan B!”

The party members are starting to shift their positions as they hear about the change in plans. The group of main damage dealers are getting closer to the demon every time it surfaces from the underground.

“Are you two fine with this?” Gustaf looks at Cassandra and Fred. They both responded with a nod. “Alright!”

“Whoever finds the chance can take it!” Fred declares with a confident smile.

“Sure!” Cassandra responds with a grin.

“We’re watching your back!” Carlo reassures while giving hand signals to his teammates.

“Right!” Matt joins in with an enthusiastic tone. “Y’all don’t have to worry about little wounds as long as we are here!”

“I can’t believe the loud mouth really got appointed in healing and support.” Aaron mumbles.

“He’s actually better than what I expected due to his lousy attitude.” Azalea says as she has been watching Matt since the battle started.

According to her observation, Matt has mastered the basic foundations of casting elemental magic, as most mages would have done. Although, he does not specialize in any particular element, as of now. Some mages choose what kind of magic to master in higher levels, which could be elemental in nature or some other less defined magic forms. Elemental magic being the most popular and thus easier to learn and practice once they find a mentor. Unexpectedly, Matt is able to cast mid-tier healing spells. Most mages do learn basic healing for emergency purposes, as it can save lives, however learning higher level spells will take time to practice. Mages generally prefer learning spells that allows them to fight because they will be vulnerable with only healing knowledge. If one wants to learn higher level healing, then they will do so after mastering a few destructive or defensive spells.

“Does he really specialize in healing magic?” Azalea wonders as it is quite rare in her experience.

Matt pays a lot of attention to his surrounding and teammates. He knows when to time his healing. When a hunter is injured, he uses a combination of low-tier elemental magic to cover while a couple of other hunters in support takes the injured out of the danger zone. It is basic knowledge when healing in a battle field but most often not utilized. If the injured person is healed within the danger zone, they can just be injured again and that would be a greater waste of mana. When the healers ran out of mana, that when the party starts to crumble.

Because Matt has displayed an unexpected level of competency, Azalea is able to focus on support buff without worries. She is continuously casting revitalizing spell to maintain the hunters’ stamina, preventing them from draining away too fast. Other buffs include heat and dust resistance. The heat around the area can add to exhaustion, just having the ability to be less affected by it helps them to fight longer. Meanwhile, the accumulated dust in the air they breathe due to the demon’s attacks can injure their lungs internally in the long term. The buff surrounds them with a zone that have safe air to breath by pushing the dust particles out.

As the time passes and the sun rises higher, Ur’Yarha’s attacks are becoming more aggressive. The range becomes wider and each attack hits harder. Evading and defending is becoming more difficult. Traces of exhaustion are starting to show in the younger and less experienced members of the party.

The hunt needs to end soon, however the demon’s skeleton armor proves to be extremely tough. To avoid the worst case scenario, it is the leader’s decision to call for retreat. If they cannot defeat Ur’Yarha before it reaches its peak strength, then they have to withdraw, regroup, and they may develop a new plan or call for back up.

“Secure the escape route!” Gustaf yells without moving his sight away from the demon.

“Are you serious?!” Matt reacts violently. “We already managed to put cracks on the damn armor! All the effo-”

“Stop complaining! You’re also running low on mana.” Cassandra cuts him off.

“Wait.” Fred joins in as he closes the distance between him and Gustaf. “Give me a bit more time- no, just five minutes is enough.”

“Five minutes, huh.” Gustaf takes a quick look at the rest of the party. “Sure, I can give you that much. What do you need us to do?”

“Nothing much.” He replies while a drop of sweat rolls down his cheeks. “Continue preparing for the retreat, especially for the tired ones. They’ll get in the way.”