It was the next day, and Bie allowed Casmere to exchange the head of the Gania leader for a flag Wanxi liked. She said it had the same function as a scepter, and since it was the only superior gear amongst the Guides, he simply let her have it.
Casmere also brought back a sheet of paper, standing in the center of the room surrounded by all except Bie, who continued to stand in the doorway. He was manning his post diligently, remaining vigilant just in case some random clergyman barged into hunter headquarters in objection.
"Our first case has arrived, and Balir let us off pretty easy. We will be going after the Chickenfooted Ghoul seen just south of the capitol." Casmere said, showing them the paper as he did so. On it was an illustration of a smooth creature that had a beak covering the top half of its face. Its lithe body was laced with feathers and open scars, and two horns were atop its head. Lastly, it had massive chicken-feet, its legs rigid and falling in sharp waves.
"This won't take more than a day." He rolled up the paper and stuck it into a small bag, gesturing for the Guides to follow him as he left. Lulac looked toward Bie, who shrugged his shoulders and accompanied the man.
The five were out of the Hunter's headquarters, and out of nowhere Hunter Balir jumped from a high place, landing directly beside Gyuho. In his hands was a shining text, dark green script placed upon it.
"Continue," said he, before closing the seal on the text and rolling it up. "This is a grant that permits the lass to be part of your squadron, seeing as we are required to enlist a member of the temples if a new squadron lacks any holy personnel."
He handed Casmere the scroll before strolling off, a hand raised in a gesture of departure. In his free hand was a massive axe that hung just above the ground, his form rapidly leaving past the gates.
"I suppose he is going on his own hunt, then." Casmere put the scroll away with the bounty text, withdrawing the bag back into the rags that were his own clothing. He tilted his head toward the gate, the five resuming their leave as they emerged out from the other side of the gate.
--
They went to the south, improving their teamwork along the way as they fought off demonic rabble. Gania Dogs, Fallen Caverse, Horned Horses, etc... they practiced on the hordes as they went.
Wanxi clutched her flag, the long pole even taller than her as it stuck firmly to the ground. Ink was coursing through it as small milky discharge crackled off of it. She grinned in delight when she realized she could charge it full of much more Ink than she could her other scepter, it being able to hold more than ten times her Ink if she could spare the time to charge it.
"Mansion Parapet." Lulac devised a new skill, where lilac haze spread upwards from his feet and solidified into a wall as it rose upwards. This was good for defense, as it reduced the momentum of attacks aimed towards him and would rebound impacts back at the attacker. Of course, it wasn't effective on all enemies, but it was a start.
Gyuho worked to refine his movements, his bat even beginning to carry his shadow as he strikes. He could dart forwards and backwards in one bound, learning a baiting gesture that would taunt the enemy into launching an offense that he could quickly parry. He even discovered that although difficult, he could produce the red crosses from his Bridge if he even slightly bowed, as opposed to the full bow he was doing earlier.
And Bie saw to it that he collected corrupted Remnants, feeding the small ones to some of the flickering orbs that seemed to want it. He discovered that although the dirty orbs rejected him, Ekulech could pull them into his Inner World just fine. What he didn't know was that there was a crown that had distanced itself from the heap somehow, corrupted Remnants infusing themselves within it as it started to become rusted and dirty, the metal greying with black particles clinging onto it like dust.
Ekulech noticed it and moved it by the Inkwell, singing to itself with dim glows as it did so. It had begun cultivating this artifact as thanks for its master, picking up on his curious nature by performing experiments on its own. It had promptly named this artifact The Dirty Crown, and she brought it before the effigy of Smile of the Mountain.
Any movement it had made was quickly suppressed by its luminous presence, and it became subservient to Bie's Inner World itself. Once Ekulech gathered enough power within the crown, she would show it to him proudly.
With that out of the way, the Pinions of Ire became much more coordinated. Bie worked as both a control and the main attacker, disrupting the balance of demons and breaking their frontline with powerful blows. He was the fearsome scourge of the group, living up to the name Weapon Breaker that seemed to follow him everywhere, Lulac and Casmere calling him it this time.
Wanxi was the support and ranged attacker, raining down magical lightning attacks on enemies that crept up on the frontline. If she was sure she would be able to aim properly, she would send out attacks to aid the teammates in the melee from where she stood. Of course, since her flag was rather hefty her movement was limited, so the four worked to protect her as well.
She could also infuse them with cloud energy from her Ideal, which worked to increase their speed and reduce their weight. With effort, she could produce temporary equipment made out of the clouds in order to help when needed most. She pouted, though, since Bie often refused her infusion, citing that he wanted to improve himself rather than get used to buffs if the situation wasn't dire.
Lulac was the mobile air attacker as he soared with his waxen wing, flowing above the ground and weaving between the enemy's ranks to deliver piercing impacts with his beam saber. He resumed emitting a frosty aura in order to slow down the demons, cold creeping up on their forms and aiding his friends to finish off what he started.
Gyuho was more like a tank, taking the forefront and baiting demons into attacks as he stepped into his shadow and battered them back. Of course, he had no objections about his current predicament, taking it as more of a challenge than anything else.
Casmere's position was...interesting. He quickly ran in and transpierced the demons with his bone pick, pulling out odd abilities with his rotating wheel when he saw fit to do so. The phantom procession, the amber flasks poured over the demons that seemed to significantly reduce their miasma...he even had a vial full of ashes that seemed to lead the way to even more prey.
In a word, he was the tracker. Demons could not elude them for long if he was around, the man's baleful eyes tracing each and every move.
Which was why they found the Chickenfooted Ghoul before long, the three meter tall demon feasting on some corpses amidst a ruined village, its awful body blanketed by haze that once carried heavy poison...