White Huntress (3)

"If it's a hunting raid I think it would be best if we all organized ourselv-" Ria was about to say before Judith interrupted.

"No way we're letting another guild have the rewards this time. You guys can work together if you want, but the Riot Guild is doing this solo," announced Judith before walking into the forest with her team following close behind her.

"She's right. Logically speaking there is no real benefit in working together. We can't trust each other and even if we did, we haven't operated as a squad before. By grouping together we would reduce the chances of succeeding in a hunt where teamwork is a necessity." said the black-haired leader of the Haphhaestus Guild.

"Hephaestus Guild follow me," said the leader as he walked into the forest as well, taking a different route from that of the Riot Guild.

"And what about you guys?" asked Ria, turning to the members of the information guild.

"What about us? Do you think we have time to babysit that kid you brought? If you're planning on leeching off of us you better just stay here, there's no telling what accidents might occur in the forest," threatened Arena as she lead the Information Guild members into the forest.

Everyone followed, everyone except Tesse.

'Master won't be pleased if his prize has to be shared amongst the Information Guild,' thought Tesse as she watched her group go.

"White, come on, we're leaving," shouted Arena once she noticed that Tesse wasn't following them.

"I'm not going with you guys,"

"What?" replied Arena, confusion, and anger audible in her voice.

'What is she thinking?' thought Clare as she watched Tesse carefully, interest painted across her face.

"I only take orders from master. I will complete the task, however, the rewards will be his alone,"

"Are you mad? The master was the one who ordered all this, we're all on t-" one of the other members of the Information Guild was about to add before Amos stopped him midway.

"Her master is different from ours. It's okay, leave her be. But White, remember this, if you don't perform well, your master's absence will cause his contract to be terminated," warned Amos before walking into the forest.

"Are you really going in alone?" asked Clare in a shaky voice, intrigued by Tesse's determination.

Tesse ignored her, disappearing into the shade of the forest.

'She might be interesting to play with,' thought Suzzie as she stared at Tesse's back.

Tesse walked silently through the forest holding her sniper rifle ready to fire at a moment's notice.

The forest was quiet, so much so that Tesse could even hear her own footsteps as she marched through the muddy ground.

***

An hour had passed without seeing anyone, the only form of life she had come across were silent flying fruitflies, that seemed to follow her wherever she went.

'Night already? But it's only been two hours,' thought Tesse as she looked at the watch that Gray had given her.

[Eternal night has fallen. Beware the hunter.] announced an autonomous voice as the moon rose into the night sky. It's full circle akin to an eye looking down on all the raid members.

"Run!"

Tesse heard shouts in the near distance, followed by the sound of at least a dozen people stampeding through the forest.

A split second later the night sky was lit up by the spells of retreating guild members, drawing Tesse's attention.

'Is it the hunter or the shadow runner?' wondered Tesse as she slowly approached the scene, stalking behind the cover of nearby trees.

***

"Retreat and fall into defensive positions. We have to locate the position of the enemy," said the leader of the Hephaestus Guild as he watched his members disappear one by one.

At first, he had thought that perhaps they had just wandered off, but the carcass of one of his comrades was found lying just outside their camp. Their skin and bowels missing.

"Clockwerk" as the leader said this a giant mechanical golem rose from the ground, standing at 3 meters tall.

In its hand was a giant spanner, and on its right eye it had a weird-looking ocular device, as if it were an inventor of some sort.

'Clockwerk isn't really meant for battle. If whatever this thing is turns out to be powerful. I'll have to use clockwork as a distraction to get the other members to safety,' thought the leader of the Hephaestus Guild as he stared into the darkness of the forest.

"All those with melee offensive skills come to the front line right behind Clockwerk. You will act only as a secondary attack force, do not strain yourself until we are sure of what exactly we are facing," ordered the leader.

"Those with ranged skills, do not activate your abilities, without vision you might hit a comrade. And those with supporting abilities, use them all on Clockwerk and the other melee fighters. If we continue to run any longer we will all end up prey to whatever this beast is,"

***

"What kind of doll are you looking for today?" asked the man at the reception of the dollhouse.

The place looked worn down, and although there was some effort to hide what the building was previously used for, it was still very apparent that it had been a prison.

"Give me anything you have," replied Gray, while trying his best to survey the area without looking suspicious.

"We just got some new shipment, though it will cost an extra 10 Arcanian points," replied the receptionist with a grin on his face.

"Yeah sure," replied Gray, sending the receptionist the necessary funds.

'It seems we got a rich customer today,' smiled the receptionist.

"Room 2D, here are the keys. And here's the nectar, the dolls only behave if you feed them this" said the receptionist, handing Gray a single silver key and a bottle filled with purple fluid.

As Gray walked to his room he looked around. There were at least 50 guards stationed outside the rooms, and all of them were armed with firearms of some sort.

'Even with bloodlust mode, killing 50 armed men will be difficult.' thought Gray as he opened the door to room 2D.

Inside it lay a ragged-looking girl with blue hair. She seemed to be 19, with cuts and bruises on her face.

Gray ignored the girl, walking towards the only chair in the room. He sat down and began plotting his scheme, his eyes lost in thought.

The girl approached him, attempting to find the zipper to his trousers. The second she touched Gray the katana he had hidden in his cloak danced at the tips of her fingers, ready to sever them off if they weren't any further.

"No need for service. Just keep quiet while I think. Here, this is what you want, isn't it?" asked Gray, tossing the bottle with purple fluid towards her.

She lunged backward in order to catch it, falling to the ground.