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Post by HungryHunter on May 27, 2017 6:35:12 GMT
North Korea is not considered a hot spot for many things. It's no great bed of freedom or civil rights or the arts. At night, North Korea is a blank space. But to the Hidden World it is a paradise. Like the good old days of feudalism, there are wide spaces with few humans, a state with no grasp on a chunk of land, and an ignorant population who has every reason to avoid you. It is these features that drew the Hidden World yakuza. Jun Li knew they used this stretch of beach to land drugs for shipment into China. Needless to say, they didn't appreciate the drugs entering their country. Perhaps it reminded them too much of the way Great Britain subdued them with opium back in the day.
It was good money hunting the smugglers. She had already sunk two ships last week. Now she waited for a third where she had found consistent signs of boats coming to shore. A deep green hooded cloak spread out on forest floor, giving her the impression of some land dwelling ray. Binoculars peeked out from the hood to see past the open, sandy shore. Stealth wasn't her interest, but these boats wouldn't very well land with her standing there. Her heartbeat picked up when she saw lights on the distant horizon. It wouldn't be long now. She frowned when another light appeared over the horizon. Another boat? Was it just another shipment to make up for the lost ones? Or did they send some backup? A hand went to her sword. At least she had spotted it early. No more surprises.
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Post by RedLenai on May 28, 2017 5:23:36 GMT
It hadn’t been long since he had found a track as fresh as this, after the inadvertent incident in Arata, it wasn’t difficult to contact the tourists who had gone on vacation.
Although he couldn’t find his whereabouts, he found some interesting details that caught his eye. Apparently, one of the killers who had tried to kill him was a member of the "infamous" and known “Bounty Hunter Association”. It was easy to get the information because the weak witnesses were nothing more than supernatural beings asking for their life to be forgiven.
Andrew slowly pushed his way through to deal with the name of that huntress, Jun Li. Although the genre and nationality of his current target were not of interest to him, his instinct told him that there was something darker hidden within this person. For now, the only thing that interested him was to verify the encounter, Derek Van Dercycle, prince of the Driaochta had finished in an Island by a "Treaty of Peace" apparently. All Andrew wanted to know was how they had dealt with him and how to get a new trail. It had been a year since he couldn’t follow him and only had two theories and it was that Derek had begun to cover his tracks no matter the motive, or the fact that he is plotting something on a large scale
He had stalked his prey all day, following in her footsteps, analyzing what she was doing. Slowly, the day had passed and he was ready to pounce, but the moment he watched the boats approach slowly his nose began to detect a new scent... He wasn’t completely accustomed to that smell, but it was quite recognizable, the scent that both humans and creatures of the hidden world possessed depending on their situation. It was the foul smell of drugs combined with the salty atmosphere of the coast. It wasn’t on his plans to interfere, while he was hidden in the shadows he would wait to see what Jun Li would do. What better way to get to know someone than see them fighting?
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Post by HungryHunter on May 28, 2017 7:28:58 GMT
It was another few minutes before Jun could see the boats clearly. "Ugh. Looks like they're on to us." She muttered to herself. One was like the other ships she had taken down. A standard looking Japanese fishing boat, long and slender, name printed in kanji across its side. It was painted a muted olive green all over. Nothing that made it stand out of course. But its companion vessel defeated the attempt at subtlety. It was squat and short, which made the sheer number of guns on it rather impressive.
Jun counted a mounted anti vehicle turret at the front, two heavy machine guns on each side, and another at the back. Each gun had what appeared to be a human being manning it, with another piloting the boat. She could see two rocket launchers in the corner, leaning against the edge of the boat. They really weren't pulling their punches. The spotlight on the mounted turret searched over the beach. At least they couldn't use the launchers without coming ashore. The boat was too small to fire off a rocket launcher with any safety. Better yet, they appeared to be mere Awares, normal humans who knew about the Hidden World but had no real powers. Easy prey if she could get through the guns. Of course, she'd want to do it quick. The other side would be here soon enough for the handoff, as the first boat was already landing.
Jun scrambled to her feet and ran down the slope to shore when the spotlight was on the other end of the beach. She looked up onto the drug ship's deck, locking eyes with a massive white man, easily 7 feet tall and ripped to a ludicrous degree, with biceps wider around than Jun's torso. Neither protected him from the spinning crescent that flew up and sliced clean through his neck. Before his body even hit the ground, Jun had placed the circlet back on her head, not minding the blood that soaked into her hair. That would wash out well enough. Equally huge men of various origin ran up to the edge of the deck. They began to snort and bellow, making Jun raise an eyebrow before she heard one of the other ship's guns going off.
She ran for the closest cover-the drug ship. Bullets kicked up sand behind her, but the sound ended when she came into the shadow of the drug ship. There was no reprieve here, as one of the huge men from the deck dropped before her, sailor's fuku tearing as his stature grew even further. He was eight, then nine feet tall, newly revealed skin covering itself in black fur spreading over his already hirsute body. That was far from the last change, as his increasingly deformed skull sprouted horns, sticking out straight from his temples, accentuating how his ears remained human. He turned, pounding a fist now decorated with hardened black knuckles into his hand and giving her a view she very much didn't need as the last scraps of his clothing fell away with his completed transformation.
Two more minotaurs, or werebulls as some knew them, dropped down in front of her, one an off white, hunchbacked sort and another bright orange with enormous horns with the ends sawn off to attach hefty hammers. The three snorted and moved to cut off her escape routes. Well at least we don't have to fight four. The Shattered One gave his optimistic insight as she drew her sword. "Save it for when I win." Jun grumbled, backing up until her back hit the ship. This was such a well planned matchup for her she suspected they knew it was her. How she didn't know and wasn't going to ask until later.
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Post by RedLenai on May 31, 2017 21:01:07 GMT
Andy observed the situation for a moment... Now he could understand why she hadn’t been able to kill Derek on Arata. Sneaking up, he began to prowl among the trees, slowly approaching the boat, with quick but silent movements, he managed to get close enough to begin the assault. Taking advantage of the darkness of the night and having calculated his position as well, Andy threw the first separation-arrow. The smell of the minotaurs was new to him, even after he had faced many creatures he hadn’t been able to smell this beast before but seeing them even from afar was enough to recognize them as enemies. He wouldn’t let them take his prey, not so easy. Taking a new arrow, this time he decided to aim directly at one of the minotaurs, he didn’t knew exactly how powerful the paralyzing effect would be but it would be enough to slow him down, at least he was sure of it.
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Post by HungryHunter on Jun 1, 2017 1:15:07 GMT
Jun swung her sword in short arcs, leaving blue trails that abruptly stopped when the minotaur's knuckles blocked it. She barely dodged the retaliation, ducking under a punch that left a dent in the boat's side. The next strike came immediately after, the longhorn's horn weapon smashing into her raised blade and sending her rolling into the water. She threw off her cloak as she stood, getting the water-heavied garment off her body. Under she wore her usual outfit, as fancy as ever.
She held her sword carefully, looking for openings, but she didn't have much hope in taking them down. That changed when the arrows came in. The spreading shot hit all three of the murderous werebulls. The arrows sank shallowly into their flesh, causing very little real damage. The three turned and snorted, staring for a second before the Japanese bull spun and charged up the shore for Andy's position. Before the others recovered, Jun's sword bit into the hunchback's arm.
He bellowed in pain as blood sprayed out in a geyser of crimson. Jun thrust her bladed arm at his neck, but his fist smashed her in the stomach before she managed to land the hit. Jun flew back into to water, striking the surface hard enough that she was briefly on land before the water flowed back into her impact crater. She sat bold upright, spitting up blood and water before rolling again to avoid the longhorn's horn fist pummeling the sand where she had sat. She couldn't rest easy just yet, but now at least she possibly had a chance. Up the beach, the black bull climbed the slope, sniffing for Andy. He looked down in surprise when the paralyzation arrow appeared in his chest. He looked back up where the arrow came from and bellowed, ducking his head and charging, perhaps with less grace than he would normally.
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Post by RedLenai on Jun 2, 2017 15:36:30 GMT
Andy observed the situation... with now a bit of interest, he also had is eyes on Jun. Well at least she could protect herself but still the werebulls were alive... or awake, whatever. Grabbing a new arrow Andy pointed against the asian werebull again. This one was a light arrow, normal compared in damage but it will catch the interest of the other creatures so Jun would have a breath. The light of the arrow iluminated the area for just a few moments, showing the blue eyes of Andy whose expression was brave and defiant.
He let go the arrow, hoping it would stun him.
He moved fast and ran towards the others, throwing more separation arrows and some of the paralizing ones. The sand felt nice, as well the sound of the ocean but the disgusting smell of these creatures and their drugs were ruining it.
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Post by HungryHunter on Jun 2, 2017 22:13:29 GMT
The Japanese bull huffed at the arrow shining a light in his face. It opened a gash on his face but couldn't pierce his thick skull, made for taking hits from other minotaurs. It would take a perfect shot to get through such a hard object. He kept charging, but found himself striking nothing as Andy dashed right by him. With the light still flashing in his eyes, it took him too long to realize that he had missed and Andy was already on the beach. It wasn't quite over for Andy yet, as the gunboat fired off its machine guns at him, hundreds of bullets a second.
Still, his arrows were of great help to Jun, riddling the backs of the distracted bulls. The pale bull's wounds bled at an exagerated rate, every little arrow taking a toll. Weakened further by blood loss and the paralyzation arrows, his defense was slow when Jun pointed at him and her shining finger extended into a deadly lance. His fist came up in time to break it off in his heart. He looked down at the glassy weapon impaled in his chest dripping blood and back up at Jun.
He bellowed, his dying strength flooding his body. He rushed Jun, but she was ready. She sidestepped him, letting him splash into the ocean harmlessly. He half turned for another charge but before he could he dropped. The waves began to come in tainted with red. She waved to Andy with her sword. "Get back here! The gunners can't get us back here!" "Who is that?" The Shattered One asked in her mind, inaudible to the world. "I don't know, but he helped me, so we're keeping him alive." Jun turned to the orange minotaur, her last standing foe, as the black minotaur charged at Andy's back.
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Post by RedLenai on Jun 9, 2017 21:56:02 GMT
As the situation began to look more and more interesting for him, Andy knew that he needed to cover near the water. Running like a wild animal the boy went to Jun's side, without looking her, he pointed his arrows towards the black bull letting his deep yet tired voice sound:
I wonder if minotaurs are edible...
The boy said, more talking to himself than Jun, bulls were edible animals... but what about werebulls? His thoughts were interrupted by a mysterious new scent he didn't knew where it was coming from... well, he knew exactly from who and that's why the reason why he had to keep distance too. Jun had a peculiar smell, not the typical female one but something dark inside her, he didn't care too much, not his bussines if that wasn't related to Derek. He knew in that instant that it was a bad idea not carrying with him a different type of arrow but nevermind. If his arrows weren't enough he'll use strenght instead... even if he knew it was a bad idea.
Throwing a new paralizer he hoped for the black bull to surrender but just in case he threw another two separation arrows.
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Post by HungryHunter on Jun 9, 2017 23:33:07 GMT
Taking another arrow to the chest slowed the bull's charge to a pained stumble. The sheer amount of venom in his bloodstream was finally getting to him, slowing his muscle activity. He stopped his charge to attempt instead getting close to Derek and throwing two huge punches to crush the vastly smaller fighter beneath his fists, an attack with less margin of air. Behind Andy, Jun danced with the mighty longhorn, clashing her blade over and over against his mighty fists and horns, unable to break through his guard, while he swung his fists and horns at places she no longer was when the blows landed.
This dance continued, neither making ground until finally the bull extended his neck just a little too far swinging his horn. Jun jumped forward instead of back and swung. A gush of red rushed from the great beast's neck, painting Jun's body crimson. She swung the blade in a grand flourish, cutting through the rest of the neck. Unfortunately, her fancy finish left her right under the collapsing body. She awkwardly squawked when the mountain of flesh toppled onto her body, smashing her into the sand. She slowly struggled her way out from under the dead minotaur, hoping Andy wasn't paying too much attention. This didn't need to be her first impression with anybody. Unfortunately, humiliation wasn't her biggest problem, as coming into view far down the beach were three humans. One carried a rocket launcher, two working together to lug a heavy machine gun from the boat. Jun saw them and swore. "Hey arrows! Get moving, it's not safe back here anymore!" She redoubled her efforts to free herself, figuring she had until the last minotaur was dead before they'd start shooting.
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Post by RedLenai on Jun 10, 2017 1:02:11 GMT
Andy wasn't interested in what Jun was doing, although part inside him said: "Pathetic". Andy made his way to the ship, the smell of those humans seemed harmless at the moment and probably they weren't supernatural creatures. Climbing the drug shipping boat, he put away his bow and arrow before moving to the next one.
With a fast move he jumped to the deck of the gunboat, being as quiet as possible. It was the moment for a classic fight, he made his fingers crunch as he began to go slowly towards one of the enemies. With a defiant look, Andy invited him to fight. Why let guns take all the fun? Now, one thing was in his mind, punch those assholes right in the face and make them bleed. He hoped for Jun to join him soon, to have a fair match, well, honestly that didn't matter to him.
He let a growl escape from his lips, anyone could tell this guy wasn't normal at all, it was like looking an animal... a wild and fierce one.
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Post by HungryHunter on Jun 10, 2017 4:44:25 GMT
At the thud of Andy's landing the remaining two gunners turned. They didn't engage in the hand to hand combat that he may have wanted, instead pulling pistols from their tactical vests and fixing them on him. They both began firing, on wielding a semiauto, the other a revolver, aiming for body shots. On the other side of the boat, Jun struggled free of the corpse before an armored fist smashed her back into the sand face first. The black bull still stood, if only barely.
He raised a foot to stomp Jun's head into a million fragments, but before he dropped it, she raised a single finger. It shot out, extending into a glorious spear. But instead of aiming for the torso, it went right through his exposed most sensitive areas. He howled in agony and fell backwards, huge body smashing through the side of the boat. Their comrade out of the way, the machine gun began pouring bullets in Jun's direction, but it was already too late. She jumped after the minotaur, stepping on his body in her haste to enter the boat.
A few bullets tore through the hull in chase of her before stopping, leaving only an empty silence. She knew they were plotting out there. How to kill her without ruining the cargo? It must be quite the predicament for them. The minotaur began to rise, but Jun's blade fell to rest right over his neck. "No. You're staying down. Or I'll finish what I started. Speaking of which, cover that. It's disgusting." Jun stepped back and the minotaur reluctantly lowered his head and put a scrap of his old outfit over his crotch. "I was under the impression you were attracted to males." The Shattered One commentated in the back of her skull. "I'll explain the intricacies when- okay, I won't explain them. I'll have a handsome husband one day and you will understand." She scoffed, making the werebull tilt his head. They knew she was dangerous. They weren't informed she was a madwoman who spoke to herself.
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Post by RedLenai on Jun 26, 2017 20:44:33 GMT
The moment the gunmen loaded their weapons, one of Andy's commissures rose to show a mocking smile. With a quick movement Andy threw himself on the one with the revolver, stopped a few inches from him, turning on his own foot he threw a kick pointing to the hands of his opponent. He reincorporated himself again to position himself behind him; he didn’t mind using him as a shield against the one with the semi-automatic. His cold eyes radiated a determination worthy of a beast, grabbing from his bag his bow, pointing at the nape of his opponent. Then, he began to move around to try to get as close as possible to the missing one, although a bullet ended up giving him in the left arm, but that didn´t matter. He had to beat them to fulfill his goal, nailing his bow to the floor of the gunboat; he pushed himself to spin in the air. The thump of his landing was strong enough to give a shiver in his spine, using his right arm with all his strength; he fought to strike the other's jaw.
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Post by HungryHunter on Jun 27, 2017 0:37:09 GMT
Bullets struck the side of the drug shipping boat, aimed for the space Andy had stopped occupying. His first target yelped in pain and shock when Andy's foot struck his hand head on, snapping two fingers. The revolver clattered to the floor. The other gunner grabbed the Bowie knife at his hip and charged. His friend was too near Andy to be shot. The injured mercenary jumped away from Andy, trying to avoid the continued use of his body as a shield.
"I wasn't aware killing a child was so difficult." All three turned when they heard Jun's voice from the deck of the other ship. The injured looked at his revolver on the deck, but it was far too late for him to attempt going for it. Jun dropped and her sword went right through his vest and deep into his body. She saw his eyes behind his mask, wild with fear. They weren't that different from her own eyes. She turned her head away and shoved him off her blade. Before he could even collapse, her sword had flicked out and his head fell on its own. The other stared at his decapitated companion and backed up to the railing of the boat. "You can have him." Jun said to Andy without interest. She jumped off the boat and began trudging up the beach. How was she going to take the machinegunner? That was the real problem here.
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Post by RedLenai on Jun 27, 2017 3:42:50 GMT
Andy, just watched Jun for a fraction of a second, not looking into her eyes. He wasn't interested in the other gunner at all, so he took an arrow from his bag, he took up his bow again in absolute calm and aimed at the one that was missing. His expressionless face said nothing, only looked for a moment at his goal, he pointed, although his hand trembled a little. The pain in his left arm was present, but he had no choice but to ignore it. He aimed the arrow at the gunner's chest, which looked a bit rustic because it was made by the boy, but he wouldn't deny that his point was sharp like a knife... and then he let it go.
He knew that one was still missing, and without caring whether the gunner he fired was still alive or not. Andy went in Jun's direction, after all, her scent wasn't difficult to follow. His raspy and grave voice was noted between the swell and the wind on the shore.
Any plans?
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Post by HungryHunter on Jun 28, 2017 0:50:46 GMT
The mercenary lifted his gun again, but it was too late. The arrow went into his chest like there was no bulletproof vest at all. After all, it was made for very different projectiles. He gasped at the sharp pain of cold steel entering his body cavity, falling against the railing to catch himself. His gun fell from his hands, into the waves below. It tumbled in the surf, seeming to match his heart rate. But soon, that was slower than the surf, and finally it was still, and yet the waves kept coming.
Jun peaked out of cover and instantly withdrew. Bullets whizzed by so close her hair fluttered in their breeze. "There are three. One is manning the machine gun, another has a rocket launcher. The third should just have his handgun. I can take the pistol all day, and the machinegun... well, I'll survive. The rocket launcher I unfortunately have to admit will kill me. I could use your help with that." Jun readied her blade, turning its point down and the flat out so it formed a barrier for at least a small strip of her body. "You should do that spread shot you did before while I take shots. Do it quickly, too."
Jun left the cover of the boat again and began walking across the shore. Hundreds of bullets bounced off her blade, deflecting to dig themselves into the sand in tiny explosions. Hundreds more struck her body, leaving cracks in the shiny scales that spread to cover her entire front. The rocket launcher was raised and aimed, just waiting for her to get a little further from the boat. It would do them no favors with the boss to do even more damage to his property.
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Post by RedLenai on Jul 5, 2017 2:24:25 GMT
Andrew remained expressionless. He positioned himself near the cover, making sure the place was still safe at the same time was easy to attack. His haggard eyes focused on the man who was in charge of handling the rocket launcher. He took several arrows from his bag and decided to throw three arrows at once. Once he released them, they became twelve arrows. Before the enemy could react, he took the opportunity to throw three more arrows, if his calculations didn't fail, some of those arrows could end up through the throat of his rival. But he woudln't feel satisfied with that, the arrows that attacked the rocket launcher ended up being twenty-four. Andy took that opportunity to throw another two separation arrows towards the two that were left.
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Post by HungryHunter on Jul 5, 2017 3:50:13 GMT
Jun was beginning to stagger under the wave of bullets when she finally stepped far enough away from the shipment for the rocket launcher to come into play. Andy's interference came into play just in time and was the definition of overkill. The launcher dropped to the floor with five arrows sticking out of it, its wielder falling not long after with far over twice as many. Just the spillover was enough to spray the others with a dozen arrows. One dropped at once, snapping off shafts when he fell on them. The machinegun's bullets spat up into the sky as its operator slouched, grabbing it for support.
The second round dropped him, arrow sticking from an eye socket. Jun didn't waste a moment to rush up to the fallen bodies and check them. Two were dead. The gunner and the rocket launcher both had arrows in clearly fatal spots. However, the third moved when she approached. "Mmm... mercy..." Her blade was through his neck without a thought. "A hitman shouldn't beg the person he tried to kill for mercy." She snarled. She looked around the beach, at the carnage she had wrecked. At last she could breathe. She let out a deep puff of air and began walking back to the woods.
"Wait here a moment." She said to Andy, not much caring for his input on it. She entered the woods and did some digging in the bushes where she had been laying. She unwrapped a basket from the spare cloak wrapped around it, throwing it over her own tattered outfit. She picked up the basket and carried it down to the beach in front of Andy. "Come. Have some of my meal while you explain who you are and why you're here." She set down the basket and opened it, making warmth waft out. The magic of the basket was displayed in the way the grilled salmon was still warm, the bread perfectly soft like it was just out of the oven, the wine glasses unspilled despite being full.
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Post by RedLenai on Jul 5, 2017 18:10:15 GMT
Once the targets had fallen, Andy watched as Jun retreated into the forest, 'he could hear as she took something out of the bushes. When he finally saw what was inside the basket, he sniffed to verify that they were not poisoned... for now everything seemed normal. Sitting in the cold sand, he took a piece of salmon with his hand, while his other arm lay motionless from the wound. He chewed the food gently, it wasn't for courtesy, but by the fact that he was tired. He didn't rest for three days and now he was even exhausted to eat.
Black Lion, free hunter - The boy said once he swallowed - I investigate somebody and by the fact you didn't covered your tracks, I ended following you. Tell me how you have located Derek Van Dercycle - He added expressionless.
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Post by HungryHunter on Jul 5, 2017 19:58:13 GMT
Jun paused in her sip to glare at Andy. "You try covering your tracks when your employer becomes an ancient deity and wrecks half a heavily occupied tropical resort island." She defensively grumbled. "I didn't locate him, I was just told where he would be by my employer. If you're looking for him, have you considered the kingdom he's heir to? If I recall my research, it was called Draiochta and is located on some island in Ireland. Now, why do you want to know? Are you mad about me trying to kill him?" She glanced at the sword lying in the sand next to her. She could take him for sure. In an instant.
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Post by RedLenai on Jul 5, 2017 20:55:01 GMT
Andy arched an eyebrow - To be a killer, I think you forgot to "mute" the witnesses - The boy replied, as if it were something as common as turning on and off a light.
It is impossible to enter the Driaochta Kingdom, humans can't see the walls or any citizen within what appears to be the magical dome and we could be attacked by surprise - The boy explained, of course, he had been on the neighboring island and like with his fellow hunters of that time, he knew well the situation - Derek Van Dercylcle is my target, he is guilty of the murder of a girl eight years ago - The boy continued as his eyebrows frowned - I've been chasing him since then, his trail tends to disappear when he visits the Kingdom, but apparently he is as little as possible in that place. I came tracing him from Arata, he made a stop in Ireland and then I lost track again - He explained as a snarl escaped his mouth, His blue eyes seemed almost black because of the dim lighting, noting his cold determination and the thirst for vengeance emanating from his body - I decided to go back and spoke personally with the monsters and people that were visiting in the days that he was in the Island of Arata, after "motivating" the witnesses a little I have obtained some information of The Wild Hunt, as well of the Mercenary Falken Degiraz and the Shattered Warrior, as they described you - The boy finished, taking another bit of salmon as well he grabbed the glass and approached it to his nose... smelling it for a bit, as he took a drink his body arched... Fancy people really enjoy wine? He preffered eating something raw instead of that attempt of "drink".
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