After Mittelt and Ravel finished collecting the Magic Stones. They rest for a bit and wait for Tanya to return.
"Hmn. What took her so long?" Mittelt mutters as she holds her spear while resting on the wall of the tunnel.
Tanya isn't the type to wander off on her own or try to pull a prank. The two become increasingly worried as time keeps ticking.
"Mittelt." Ravel called and stood up immediately.
"I know. Let's go." Mittelt didn't need explanations as she stood up. The two immediately run into the tunnel that Tanya went into a while ago.
The two Fallen and Devil duo sprint into the tunnel at full speed.
When they approached an intersection, they saw some damage on the surrounding area that is regenerating. However, the odd thing is the damage was a spider web crack with a slash mark in the middle.
"Someone else is here…" Mittelt analyzed the damage on the ground before trying to look for other marks that could give a clue but they found none.
"Fucking cunt!" A scream of pain echoed into the tunnel.
"It's close by!" Ravel said and rushed forward to the right side of the intersection.
Mittelt arrived a moment later and saw a dead adventurer with Tanya's knife lodged in his neck. They also saw a trail of blood droplets on the ground which they quickly followed as anxiety and panic started to settle in their mind.
"Please make it in time!" Mittelt prayed as they ran and started to find more damage and traces of battle around the tunnel.
"This bitch caused us quite a lot of trouble. She is worth the effort." The girls heard the hoarse voice of a male and a loud *thud* followed by the sound of bone cracking.
Then they arrived at the scene of a large wolfman riddled with a bullet wound on his body which bled while holding a handle of some weapon that shattered and now used as mace. On his hand is Tanya choked by the neck and smashed into the wall with numerous injuries and blood trickling down her nose and mouth.
A very gruesome sight even for Mittel with how battered they torture Tanya.
"These trash!" Mittelt instantly enraged and materialized her two pair wings and conjured dozens of Light Spears. "How dare you harm my sister!" She howled and pushed her hand forward to shoot all the Light Spears, turning the wolfman into a pincushion.
Ravel immediately swoops in and catches Tanya before she falls to the ground. She held Tanya in her arms with tears falling from her eyes onto Tanya and healed her instantly but her tears didn't stop and kept falling. "Tanya, please wake up." Ravel's tears are genuine instead of just trying to heal Tanya.
Meanwhile, in a corner. The Pallum rogue hides with fear written on his face as he holds his breath and sneaks away. Once he is far enough, he releases his breath that he holds and quickly bursts into running like Death is chasing after him.
"What the hell was that girl!" He gasped as he ran. "Those wings! That's not normal! Her power suddenly jumped!" He said and his face suddenly turned from fear into a smile.
"I can still make profit from this in black market! Those Ikelos pricks in the black market will definitely be interested." The Pallum said after remembering the Ikelos Familia members are doing Xenos trafficking, selling exotic humanoids to rich people outside of Orario.
"They will not be interested in a human. I can claim her as my price." The Pallum was driven by greed and obsession, went crazy and crafted an evil plan.
———
In the evening, Mittelt and Ravel carried Tanya back home. The moment they returned. They were greeted by Pandora as usual like a loving mother greeted her children after a hard day of work.
"Welcome back!" Pandora greeted them and then she saw Tanya's state. "Hmn? What happened to Tanya? Did all of you meet trouble in the dungeon?" Pandora assumes they probably encountered some danger with monsters in the dungeon. This isn't the first time it happened and Tanya back then passed out due to exhaustion.
Seeing the grim face made by Mittelt and Ravel, Pandora frowned and thought something even worse had happened.
"Come in and tell mama what happened." Pandora invited them in and told Ravel to put Tanya down on the couch.
"Now. Tell me what happened?" Pandora said with a stern tone that would accept any argument.
Mittelt and Ravel then told Pandora what hand transpired in the dungeon. They weren't planning to keep it a secret at all. They hesitate because of what Leo would do. He is very protective of them after all. The state of the Devil race after what they did to Ravel is proof of it.
Pandora listen they regaling the event that transpired all the way to the moment they rescued Tanya from the wolfman. Pandora is angry. Incredibly so for the audacity of anyone to do something horrible like that to the child she claimed as her own.
"Grayfia." Pandora was trembling trying to reign in her emotions as she called for the Devil maid of Leo.
"Yes, Pandora-sama. What is your order?" Grayfia asks as she also overheard the story. She is angry because those lowly lifeform dare to not only harm but rape the property of her Master. She is willing to sacrifice herself in order to flip Orario upside down and raze it in hellfire for this crime.
"You heard what they just told us. Inform my son of this terrible news and please make sure he will not go overboard." Pandora said before Mittelt and Ravel brought Tanya into her room.
"Yes, Pandora-sama." Grayfia bowed solemnly but she wouldn't follow her order entirely because regardless of hierarchy, Leo still her true Master and Pandora merely his mother.
———
On a fine evening in the grand city of Orario. The civilians went along with their routine and most Adventurers returned from the dungeon with the fruit of their labor, going to exchange them for Valis before hitting the bar or going back home.
However, a weird phenomenon suddenly occurred. The day rapidly got dark as the sun was replaced with a pale red moon that gradually dyed red like blood.
"Look at that moon. It's getting bigger." An adventurer points at the sky.
"No, idiot. It's getting closer! It's going to crash into the city!" Another adventurer already went into a panic and ran like a headless chicken.
Numerous gods and goddesses also saw what happened and frowned.
"This… Who has the audacity to use Arcanum? Do they not fear the repercussions?"
The question left unanswered.
Suddenly, fog starts to fill the city until it's barely visible. One cannot even see two meters ahead. That's how dense the fog was. Then like a thunderclap, a surge of killing intent so strong and potent that all civilians and many Level 1 Adventurers fainted instantly. Those who didn't faint aren't afraid that well either because they were left paralyzed in fear and terror like a giant predator is staring down at them. Those above Level 4 were able to resist and unaffected but still feel danger like an impending doom is upon them.
The only one that has an idea what happened is a voyeur on the top floor penthouse of the Babel Tower.
Freya has an ability to see the soul of the living. Even prior to all this anomaly. She had been staring at a certain soul that caught her interest.
At first. The soul looks just like any other normal soul, gray and dull. However, it starts to shed its disguise. There she noticed, it was a disguise all along. The veil of fog on the soul shedding away reveals a brilliant red soul. It glimmers very brightly unlike most other red coloured souls that take a darker red hue similar to blood.
Red soul is a particular color that indicates the owner of that soul had killed a lot. Not just a few or a hundred. Those numbers aren't enough to dye the soul entirely red. To achieve a fully red soul, one needs to kill a lot more. But usually those who committed such heinous crimes would have darker souls. This one however, was shining. An indication of virtue, a virtuous person.
But Freya was mistaken to think that was the end. The soul were simmering and then boiling before it erupted like a volcano. She senses Arcanum which means this soul could not belong to a human. But she did not recognise a god with this kind of soul had descended from Tenkai. Not to mention, this god was hiding his/her soul.
The Arcanum congregated on the sky above Orario and called forth a moon to obscure the sun. A brilliant silver moon that evoked the feeling of tranquility and peace but the silver luster was slowly replaced by redness that eventually turned the moon red like blood. This moon is the opposite, it evokes the feeling of frenzy driven by madness, the thirst for blood.
After a few minutes, the soul suddenly vanished and once again enveloped by the veil of fog. Freya frantically tries to find this one of a kind soul but no matter what she tries, sge cannot find it as if all traces of it were erased.
"Ottar. Go and investigate this person." Freya ordered because she had doubts that this soul belonged to a god.
A god's soul has an invisible link to the terminal in Tenkai and this soul didn't have one. She has an assumption for that, perhaps an offspring of god and human.
"As you wish, Freya-sama."
Freya continues to latch on her the artifact, God's Mirror, trying to search for the soul even if it's futile. She can feel the soul is far from reaching its full potential yet it's already shining brightly even if its radiance is sanguine.
"Ahhh~ I want it. I want this soul so badly." She made a hot sighs while reminiscing the soul her eyes laid on a moment ago. Her body shivers with anticipation and excitement of pushing the soul to its maximum potential.
———
In Leo's forge a few minutes before the anomalies.
Leo halted his forging while taking a seat with Grayfia next to him, always ready and eager to complete any command he had in store for her.
He already heard of what happened to Tanya. He was shocked, angered and now trying to calm his wrath.
"How is she right now?" Leo asks with a cold face devoid of emotions.
"Miss Tanya is fine and devoid of injury but still unconscious. Lady Pandora and the two carried Tanya into her room and are currently taking care of her." Grayfia replied.
"I see." Leo's expression remains unchanged but his body is visibly more relaxed. However the anger inside him had not faltered. Instead, it raging harder by the second.
Leo then uses his authority without restraint. He doesn't care anymore if Ouranos or any other gods found out. He uses Phoebe's clairvoyance authority to gather information about the attacker. He is disgusted when he discovers what kind of scum those attackers are.
Murdering fellow adventurers in cold blood to sell the equipment they loot on black market, targeting female adventurer to rape them in the dungeon, most of the victim were killed before they rape the corpse of the unfortunate female adventurer. Leo didn't want to look too much into their history. He is already disgusted enough.
This incident made Leo realize something. This world isn't just all sunshine and rainbows. Numerous evil committed due to the gods. The Soma familia, the Evilus, the Knoss dungeon are the notable few and many more are happening inside the dark corner of Orario. It's his negligence to address this matter that Tanya fell victim to it.
"I will not let it repeat anymore." Leo declared with fire of resolution burning inside his hardened eyes.
Leo took out the Beckoning Bell.
Those he wants to remove are beasts in human skin, monsters and vermin. He will give this task to the experts.
He chimes the bell which causes a unique sound echoes through the city. The blood moon descends and hangs above Orario and the fog blanketing the city. The stage is set as the Hunters emerge in the city with only one goal.
"The Hunt shall grace Orario tonight." Leo whispered as he don his Hunter attire. "Leonis Ashford shall join the Hunt tonight." He said and vanished into the fog.
—————
(So, how do you expect this will go? Also, this will be quite a long one because the reaction from the major characters or groups to the purge happening on the street of Orario.)
(Also, Yes. Leo basically declared a Night of the Hunt on Orario just like what happened on Yharnam. Night will be long and neverending until the Hunt is concluded.)
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