Capítulo 27: Meeting

"There is only one day left before the hunt. We can't risk the catastrophe surviving Fort Eger!" shouted the gray-haired old man, known as Huntsman Striker, as he smashed his left hand into the desk. His right arm was a closely bandaged stump.

"I never thought that I'd say this, but I completely agree with Striker. Now that even that traitorous bastard Lance is teaching him, his chance of survival is concerning me. What do you think, Archer?" asked the burly huntsman, Aegis, his fingers blackened from the frostbite caused by Damian's gift.

"Still, that's just a child…" Said Archer with reluctance evident in her voice.

"Archer, that 'kid' took my arm, and he wasn't even aware of it. That thing is dangerous, and we all know it, even you!" shouted Striker.

Rewritten: "Then what, should we ask some of our hunters that are going to join the hunt with them to hunt children instead of beasts?" spat back Archer.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. We obviously can't go without alerting Damian or Paul, we need some of our hunters to deal with the kid." said Striker.

"And now you want to send our hunters to kill the kid? Do you think that they would keep their mouths shut when Damian or Paul inevitably goes after them? Not even talking about the fact that we are asking them to kill children!" asked Archer, beginning to grow more and more frustrated with her fellow huntsman.

"Of course, we should kill them afterward so that their mouths remain shut. And who cares if they would kill 'children'? Those are monsters, and our hunters would do the best for our kingdom," answered Striker nonchalantly, which made Archer shout in anger. "Do you even hear yourself?! You really are beginning to grow senile, old man. Even if I would go with your insane plan, do you think that they can evade Paul's foresight? That bastard would know it before the hunt even happens."

"I haven't told you about this, but we were contracted by someone who feels hatred towards the gifted. This someone is a really special person, he sent us some special gear. We've never seen beast gear this perfectly crafted before, much less with effects like this," admitted Striker. His tone was solemn, but his eyes betrayed his true feelings. His old, wrinkled face barely managed to hold back the feeling of joy, his mouth almost curved into a smile.

"Are you really agreeing with this madness, Aegis?" Asked the huntress, her tone was almost pleading.

"You don't understand, Archer? We have a chance to save our kingdom, prevent a catastrophe that would take countless lives. We only need to deal with that... thing. Maybe it looks like a child, but we all saw what happened when he lost control. That wasn't the sign of a normal Haunted, that thing is at the breaking point of being a Fallen, and a special one at that." Said Aegis, his words attempting to convince Archer.

"Do you... truly think that the situation is that hopeless?" asked Archer.

"I believe so, and it's not just because of the catastrophe. We have contracts with other seers, not just Paul, and most of them said the same thing." Aegis paused for a while, his expression grave. "The brothers, one of them with the blond hair, his condition is one of the worst. Before we would even send the catastrophe to Fort Eger, he will become a Fallen."

"I know the child you are talking about, his name is Orion, his brother is always next to him, Quinn, if I remember right. I can't see how that child would Fall. Are your sources trustworthy?" Asked Archer, still in disbelief.

"He's not even the only one. The orc and the mute... they are on the last stage of the Haunting, there fall is closer then we would think." said Aegis, his complexion worsening as he continued. "Listen, Archer, you know that I don't want to do this either, but we have three gifted on the verge of falling, not even talking about the catastrophe on our hands."

"What about Quinn and the other child that came together with the catastrophe, the elf girl?" Asked Archer.

"His condition is the best out of all of them, not even a sign of being Haunted. But the other one worries me, no one knows anything about the elf… we asked our most trusted Seers, none of them ever seen that girl. She is basically invisible." Admitted Aegis.

"That sounds worrisome for sure, but we really don't have any other choice?" Asked Archer again, but this time, Striker was the one to answer to her with an angry tone.

"We've done way worse. Why are you trying to act like a saint when you're a sinner just like us? The other gifted that we personally killed were people too. I've never seen you hesitate when it came to them. For once, it really would help our kingdom if we would deal with these filth," shouted Striker.

"You really are sick, Striker..." Archer's stomach began to churn, and she began to feel nauseous.

"What? It changes nothing, or are you trying to act more lenient towards them because you are a mother? Well, your children aren't gifted, so you have nothing to be scared of," said Striker. But before Archer could lash out at him, it was Aegis who acted first.

"It's enough, old man. We talked about this before. We are trying to ask her to join us, not antagonize her, so you better stop before I make you."

"Very well, I apologize. Now, I don't have anything more to say. Our situation is obviously grave, so will you stand with us and help save Rondor, or should I look at you as a traitor?" asked Striker, his sole remaining arm ready to fight if needed.

"You really disgust me, you old prick... But I somewhat agree with Aegis," said Archer, her stomach still churning, and the room began to spin around her. She still held back the feeling of nausea.

"Thank you Archer, I hoped that you will see our reasoning." Smiled at her Aegis, his smile genuine.

"So, what is the plan exactly?" Asked Archer as she had to sat down at her chair still feeling overwhelm by a feeling of guilt.

With a small smile, Aegis raised his voice, indicating to the hunters outside of the meeting room. "Captain Grayson, you can come in."

The wooden door of the meeting room opened with a loud creak, revealing a tall, middle-aged man with black hair. A feeling of resilience followed the man, his jawline was sharp, and his muscles were defined, barely hidden by his linen shirt.

"I greet the Huntsman!" saluted Captain Adam Grayson.

"Captain, you and your men are tasked with eliminating every member of the special gifted division. Your most important target is the one-eyed boy, the catastrophe. Your second most important targets are three gifted on the verge of falling: the orc, the mute, and the blond boy. I hope we can count on you to eliminate every single one of them, but there is a priority," instructed the old Huntsman.

"And before I forget, you and your men will be equipped with special equipment to cover your steps against the two gifted inside HQ, Damian and Paul," said the old huntsman before walking to the back of the meeting room. There stood four big wooden crates. The old huntsman removed the lids of the crates, revealing black-colored robes with golden threads at the neck area, closing the robes together.

"You and your man will wear this from today, this will mask your presence from Paul's Foresight." Said the old huntsman with a deeply disturbing grin on his face.

"Understood, sir," saluted the captain once more before asking, "How should we exactly eliminate them?" His voice was disturbingly calm and monotone to even Aegis, not just archer.

"I knew that I can count on you, Grayson. You and your team will lead them to the southern edge of the hunting grounds in the forest. There will be two yellow-rated beasts waiting for them, while their equipment will only be sufficient against green-rated beasts." Instructed Striker.

"Understood, sir? Will that be all?"

"Not exactly, I don't want to risk the operation, we are talking about gifted that are rated red, and even the first black rated in history. You and your man will cut them down first, then kill the beasts to cover your tracks, this way, you can say that it was the beasts that killed them." Said the huntsman while getting up from his seat. "This will be all, Grayson, we are counting on you."

"It will be done, Sir." Said Capitan Grayson as he saluted one last time and began to head to the exit.

"Then, I think that our meeting is over, I'm glad that you choose correctly in the end, archer." Said the old hunter before he left the meeting room, the old wooden door creaking behind him.

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