Chapter 52: The Cleansing
The night was as black as a raven’s feather.
Moonlight was shrouded by thick, ominous clouds, casting a gloomy layer over the dim streets.
It was well past midnight, and the residents of Winter City had long since retired. The doors and windows of the buildings were tightly shut, with hardly a flicker of light to be seen, leaving the city in complete silence.
Occasionally, a dog barked—a sound that seemed more frequent than usual, as if forewarning of the not-so-peaceful night and the impending events.
Or maybe, the events had already occurred.
In a shadowy alley in the north of the city, three hunters emerged, armed with strange weapons and clad in leather coats.
They appeared to be in a hurry, their footsteps quickening as they glided through the cloak of night. After navigating several streets, they finally halted in front of a low building.
The hunter in the middle spoke up.
“Michael Street, number 46… this is the right place, right?”
“Yup, spot on.”
“Let’s get this over with, knock on the door.”
The hunter beside him nodded and raised his hand to knock.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
“…Coming, coming.” A female voice called from within, the footsteps getting closer, accompanied by her muttering, “Who the heck is it in the middle of the night…?”
Moments later, the door creaked open. A sleep-dazed middle-aged maid stood at the entrance, holding a lantern and rubbing her eyes.
Upon realizing that three armed men were standing before her, she froze.
Before she could react, a bizarre long sword pressed against her throat.
CLANG!
The lantern slipped from her hands and shattered on the floor, the maid staring horrified at the expressionless hunters.
“You…”
“Shh—”
The leading hunter gestured for silence.
“Don’t make a sound, or we’ll k*ll you. Nod if you understand.”
The maid swallowed hard, her legs trembling from fear. After a moment of struggle, she timidly nodded and stepped aside to let them pass.
“Very good. We’re coming in.”
Creeeak, creeeak—
The sound of their boots echoed ominously on the wooden floor. The interior was dimly lit, and it was clear the owner of the low building had gone to bed. The hunters glanced around.
“Where is he?”
The sudden question startled the maid, who instinctively jumped, not daring to lift her head. She shivered and pointed toward the second floor.
The leading hunter looked up, spotting a closed door. Lowering his round top hat, he signaled to the other two.
The three tightened their grip on their weapons and hurried upstairs, arriving at the door, which they kicked open with a mighty THUD.
The door splintered and crashed to the floor, waking the shadowy figure in bed.
“Who!”
The hunters continued their advance, silent and determined.
Creeeak, creeeak.
The long sword, accompanied by a strange scraping sound, suddenly protruded forward as the leading hunter raised his right arm and swung violently at the man who was still trying to process what was happening.
With a glint of cold light, the head flew off. bl**d sprayed from the neck, splattering across the hunters’ faces.
“AH—!!”
A woman lying beside the man let out a piercing scream. In the next moment, the still-dripping sword was aimed at her throat.
“Shut up. Tell me the name of the dead man.”
The woman’s jaw quivered.
“…Who are you… Do you even know… you’ve just killed a member of the Shanter Army…”
“Tell me. What—was—his—name? Say another word and you’ll d*e too.”
“Flicks…”
Upon hearing this, the hunter nodded to his companion.
“Yup, that’s him all right.” He then casually wiped the weapon on his coat, “Let’s go, next.”
He didn’t care about the bl**d dripping down his face, turning away without a second thought.
Creeeak, creeeak…
The noise was like the d*ath rattle sliding through the darkness.
At the same time, in another small building across the street, the same scene unfolded.
CRASH!
A hunter burst through the window, leveling his blade at a half-n*ked man’s chest.
“Gunter?”
“…A hunter? This is outrageous! Which team are you from? I want to talk to your captain…”
“Seems like you are the one.”
SWISH—!
A flash of cold light, and bl**d gushed from the man’s throat.
“Next.”
…
Central Workshop.
The towering furnace glowed brightly, seeming no different than any other day.
Disheveled workers arrived for their shift change, each one seeming sluggish and yawning as they trudged toward the dormitory.
“Say, is there any booze tonight?”
“Come on, drink? I got chewed out last night for being drunk! If I did it again tonight, I might not even get through the door.”
“No way, you seriously afraid of women?”
“Don’t even mention it, you know my wife’s temperament…”
“Yeah, haha!”
“Hey, have you guys felt like something’s off tonight?”
“Off? How so?”
“I don’t know, just feels like something’s missing…”
“Now that you mention it, we’ve been walking this long, has anyone seen any patrolling hunters?”
“…Doesn’t seem like it.”
“That’s kinda weird, isn’t it? Aren’t they usually all over the place? Where did the hunters go, on vacation or something?”
“No way.”
“But surely no one’s going to care if we take a little break? No one dares to cause a ruckus here anyway.”
“Hahaha! Hunters have their struggles too—”
A group laughed as they wandered off.
No one noticed a shadow lurking on the warehouse wall behind them, a dark figure creeping up behind the guard and stabbing him in the chest.
…
In a corner of the southwest city wall, two groups of hunters were poised for confrontation. A lanky male raised his serpentine sword, its tip pointed directly at the fragile-looking woman across from him.
“Bella, what are you getting at?!”
“To k*ll you.”
The silver-haired woman in the triangular hat stood her ground against the wind, her expression unyielding, gripping her dual-headed sword tightly.
The cold wind blew, causing her robes to ripple gently.
“k*ll me? You want to k*ll me!? …Do you even know what that means?”
The man’s eyes bulged with rage, but the venom in his words lacked conviction.
“You can’t k*ll me… what gives you the right?! I’m the deputy leader of the second squad of the Shanter Army! You don’t have the authority!”
“Too much blabbering.”
Bella tilted her head, stepping forward.
CLANG—
The dual-headed sword split from the hilt into two narrow blades. She held one in each hand and casually swung her arms, calling out to the hunters behind her, “Stay out of this.”
Her steps quickened.
“…Go, k*ll her.”
The man waved his hand to the hunters nearby, retreating slowly himself.
“Hmph.”
A hint of disdain flickered across Bella’s face. With a light step, she leapt toward the hunters.
Moon Step.
SWISH—
Turning in mid-air, with a flick of her wrist, two hunters collapsed to the ground. Stopping momentarily, she immediately bent her body, dodging a simultaneous attack, and slashed, cutting through an enemy’s throat.
Dodge, slash. Dodge, slash. In less than half a minute, only the deputy leader remained standing.
The air was thick with the stench of bl**d.
Bella glared at him, lowering her narrow blade.
BOOM!
Flames erupted from the blade’s edge.
“Not going to resist, huh?”
“…AH—!!”
The man let out a hoarse cry, lunging his serpentine sword toward Bella, clearly desperate to fight back.
CLANG—, CLANG—
Only two clangs of metal rang out before Bella thrust her blade into his chest.
The scorching flames sizzled, cooking the flesh.
“…AH! BELLA!!”
Bella’s face remained cold as she pressed forward, the tip of the narrow blade protruding from his back.
Before the bl**d could spill out, it evaporated.
“Cough, cough…” The man weakened and fell to his knees, the light in his eyes diminishing, “Wait… Bella… I was directly appointed by His Majesty, you cannot k*ll me… spare my life…”
The narrow blade slowly withdrew from his chest, and the flames extinguished.
“What you people do… has already sealed your fate.”
THUD—
He collapsed, twitching a couple of times before falling silent.
…
In the study of Shanter Castle, the flickering candlelight cast erratic shadows. Duke Skarlij was seated at the desk, engrossed in a book.
Suddenly, the door swung open. The well-dressed lady entered, and the duke looked up, smiling lightly.
“Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
“You’re smiling? With everything happening, how can I sleep?”
“Where’s Pepé?”
“She’s sleeping soundly.”
“Then you should go to bed too.”
The lady shook her head.
“Are you hungry? Should I make you some soup?”
“I’m not hungry; don’t worry about me, just go to bed. With so many people in the kitchen, it’s not like you need to do everything yourself. You worry too much.”
“…Worry too much? You just do things without even discussing it with anyone. I’ve been fretting all day…”
“Don’t think about it, I’ve got everything covered.”
The lady opened her mouth to respond, but at that moment, a knocking sound echoed from the door.
