Chapter 97: Welcome to the hunt
It’s already four o’clock, the dull ringing of the bell echoing through the basalt chamber.
For a moment, nobody spoke. The four Crows sat in their respective stone thrones, staring at Vesper as he lounged back with his boots propped lazily on the petrified wood table.
Sara shifted her weight, the leather of her armor creaking softly. Her icy blue eyes narrowed as she rested her pale hand near the hilt of her twin rapiers.
"As amusing as it is to see you strut back into Malgrath, Vesper," Sara said, her voice dropping into a cold, dangerous rasp, "you weren’t invited to this summit. We gathered here today to discuss the expanding merchant syndicates pushing into the lower slums—not to host a reunion for Duke Owen’s lapdog."
"She’s right, you know," Kira chimed in, leaning forward and resting her chin on her hands while her spider tattoo caught the firelight. "We have actual turf business to settle. So unless you brought us gold or a fresh corpse, spill why you’re really sitting in that chair."
Vesper caught his blood-red coin in mid-air, sliding it between his knuckles without breaking eye contact. A thin, razor-sharp smile touched his lips.
"The slum syndicates can wait," Vesper said smoothly. "Because what I’m offering is bigger than petty territory squabbles. I came to offer the Death Crows a real hunt."
Brian let out a low rumble from deep in his chest, crossing his massive, chain-wrapped arms. "I already told him, Vesper. The Crows don’t work for Duke Owen. If the Duke wants a target dead, he can send his own garrison."
"Owen doesn’t even know I’m here," Vesper replied, leaning forward and dropping his boots to the floor with a soft thud. "This isn’t about the Duke’s pride. It’s about a target so far out of the ordinary that leaving him alive is a threat to anyone who calls themselves a predator."
Sara scoffed, rolling her shoulders. "And who, exactly, is this grand target that made you run all the way back to Malgrath?"
"Vince," Vesper stated plainly.
Silence blanketed the room.
Kira paused her casual tossing of an alchemical vial, tilting her head. "Vince? As in the magicless kid who turned the Royal Academy upside down?"
"The same," Vesper confirmed. "He dismantled Moira at the Academy. And on his way across the border, he wiped out both Balthazar and Rin. Completely erased them."
A heavy, oppressive wave of mana suddenly rippled through the room.
From beneath his dark iron helm, Gideon—the silent sentinel—slowly raised his head. Two glowing crimson slits flickered brightly behind his visor.
"A human... without mana... destroyed two Dread Commanders?" Gideon’s voice boomed like grinding tectonic plates, echoing off the stone walls. "Absurd."
"I saw what he did to Moira with my own eyes," Vesper countered, his tone turning ice-cold. "If he relies on mana, I can’t tell. He manipulates raw kinetic force and structural frequencies. If you treat him like a normal human, he will shatter your armor before you can even draw your scythe."
Sara leaned back in her throne, a cruel, skeptical smirk playing on her lips. "Even if this boy is as dangerous as you claim, Vesper... why should we care? Malgrath stands outside the Dukes’ reach. We rule these streets. We have no reason to go hunting a ghost in the wilderness just to satisfy your mission."
Vesper tilted his head, his eyes gleaming with a lethal, calculated light beneath the flickering braziers.
"Who said anything about hunting him in the wilderness?" Vesper purred softly.
Sara’s smirk faded slightly. Her eyes flicked toward the high arched windows overlooking the chaotic, smoke-choked streets of Malgrath below.
"You’re saying..." Sara started, her voice dropping an octave.
"If I’m not mistaken he’s already crossed the border," Vesper revealed, a dark grin spreading across his face. "In fact, the stage has already been set... Vince and his companions stepped into Malgrath less than an hour ago."
Kira burst into a high-pitched, wild laugh, clapping her hands together in delight. "Oh, now that is hilarious! A threat of that level casually strolling into our city?"
"He didn’t come here to hide," Vesper said, looking around the table at each of them. "It’s all part of the plan. He’s passing through. Which means we have a choice."
Vesper stood up from his chair, resting both hands flat on the petrified wood table.
"Option one: We let him walk through our city unchecked, ignoring a monster who could burn Malgrath to the ground the second someone rubs him the wrong way. Option two..." Vesper’s bat tattoo pulsed with a deep crimson glow beneath his sleeve. "...we assemble as the Death Crows, hunt him on our own terms, and claim the kill of the century. Imagine the reputation. The thrill. Taking down an anomaly that even a Dukes couldn’t leash."
Brian grinned wide, exposing his jagged teeth as he picked up his heavy war-cleaver. "I told you he was a gambler. Count me in. I haven’t fought anything worth killing in five years. I don’t see how killing a magicless human is a big deal but I’ll take your word for it."
Kira raised her hand eagerly, her spider tattoo visible. "I want to see what happens when I drop my flesh-rotting toxins into a guy who can’t produce mana! Count me in!"
Gideon offered a single, heavy nod, the crimson glow behind his visor burning bright with unspoken bloodlust.
All eyes turned to Sara.
The snake-tattooed woman stared at Vesper for a long, agonizing moment. She slowly reached up, tracing the dark ink along her neck before letting out a soft, defeated sigh.
"Fine," Sara said softly, her twin rapiers sliding an inch out of their sheaths with a sharp CLINK. "If he’s that much of a monster, we’ll teach him how the Crows hunt. But if you lied about his strength, Vesper... my blades go through your throat first."
Vesper’s razor-thin smile widened into a lethal blade.
"Fair enough," Vesper purred. "Welcome to the hunt."