Chapter 307 (1/2)

Meanwhile, in another corner of the City of Shadows…

On the hill where the Lucas Family was based, three silhouettes stood and looked down upon the burning city—two tall men and one petite woman, all draped in black wind coats. The guy had short, grey hair, a face with scars, an eye mask on one eye and a huge, sophisticated crossbow hanging over his shoulder as he stared coldly at the ferocious fire.

Standing next to him was a dark-skinned man who tall and bald. He looked like someone of South American ancestry. His eyes were shut as though he was listening to news from afar. When he opened his eyes, looked at his leader. “Elder Hasse, our attack in the west has been thwarted.”

“The west… the vampires from the Hessianite Family?” Hasse, the one-eyed elder nodded. “It seems like these vampires are different from the rest. They’re a little difficult to deal with.”

“They have machine guns, bunkers, tanks, cannons, mines, howitzers and biochemical weapons that are all blessed with magic,” said the black man, looking confused. “It’s like battling humans, not vampires. They have a large number of light and heavy arms. Intel from the frontline indicates that those vampires are resistant to holy power. The use of holy water and exorcisms are not effective against them.”

Hasse was surprised. “They’re resistant to holy power? That reminds me of an ancient one… I hope she has nothing to do with this…”

“Who are your referring to?”

“Nothing. Never mind”—Hasse shook his head—”maybe it’s not her. She’s not a real vampire. She can’t pass the power in her blood to so many people. Just scale up the attack in the west; those vampires may have figured something out after spending thousands of years in the sanctuary. We can’t just sit by and let them spread their influence to other otherworldlings.”

“But, do we really have to burn down the entire city?” After remaining silent the entire time, the female demon hunter suddenly spoke. She looked 19 at most, but she had eye-catching, long white hair and a matching pair of white eyebrows. She gazed at the burning city below as her quirky face was mixed with a slight hint of sympathy. “They haven’t been a threat to others for thousands of years.”

“Keep your sympathy to yourself, White Flame,” said Hasse indifferently. His face was solemn as he glanced at the white-haired maiden. “They’ve killed more people than all the people you’ve known in your entire life. They’ve quieted down for the last couple thousands of years simply because they haven’t found a chance to kill again.”

“It’s a pity that the whole city is paying the price,” White Flame, the young demon hunter tried to explain herself, “as there must be some civilians in there.”

“When Mohenjo-daro was destroyed, no one came forward to plead for the civilians; it was the same for Knossos. They were condemned just because their sacrifices were not fresh enough or one of them didn’t make it to worship in the temple on time.” Hasse’ arms were crossed over his chest as he continued to stare indifferently at the burning city. “The creatures and races in this city deserve no mercy. My only regret is that their death has come 3,000 years late.”

White Flame lowered her head in silence while she listened to Hasse. The black guy beside her glanced at her and said, “White Flame, you’re the most talented demon hunter in history, but you have a weakness—sympathy. Perhaps, it’s the law of balance; but your sympathy is your Achilles’ heel. Be mindful and don’t let this strange thought ruin your life.”

White Flame bowed and said, “Yes, your teaching is duly noted, Master Teuton.”

Hasse looked on and frowned as his right-hand man, who had been working with him for years taught the talented yet problematic prodigy. He knew White Flame had a curiosity for the otherworldlings. He also knew that many new generation demon hunters had doubts about their missions. But, this girl was just too brilliant that she stood out. The sages had observed this anomaly and covertly conducted a survery 100 years ago. They found that in certain generations, about 50 % of the demon hunters would have an anomaly in their faith; it usually happened in the seventh or eighth generation. The fact that this phenomenon occurred in the last two generations on a global scale could not be explained away by educational or environmental reasoning; the cause was more of internal than external.

Perhaps, there was an anomaly in their bloodline.

Or perhaps, it was just as the heretic, who was sentenced to death last month said: “the anomaly in their bloodline was being corrected.”