In front of them are sets of weapons and clothes. Behind them was the Guildmaster, who haggled with the Priests their fees. Stefan wondered if haggling with people of the cloth would sit well with the gods. But then again, it wasn't his place to question such things. His hands moved towards a tunic and a brown coat made out of leather. He put on the tunic and chainmail over it. Adequate protection for most threats, but it wasn't enough for him. He put on the chestplate and moved his arms a bit. It was manoeuvrable, but it wasn't like his old chestplate. But it will do.

"Not... the coat. That's mine."

"Oh, pardon. Here."

The old man, known as Ruric, took the coat from Stefan's hands and donned it with a certain dramatic flair. He adjusted his glasses and smiled at the young man beside him.

"Name's Ruric. The three knuckleheads over there are boys from my town."

"Your accent... You're from up West, aren't you?"

"Damn right. Was going back there tomorrow when these damned Demons showed up."

The man tightened his belt. Stefan looked down by chance and glimpsed four strange yet familiar pieces of steel on his side. Ruric noticed where his eyes were and chuckled.

"Out of us four, I'm the only one who uses these things. The others over there are all Swordsmen."

Stefan's eyes widened at the sight of the silver barrels.

"Blackpowder weapons... Pistols?"

"Dwarven made and tinkered by none other than yours truly."

Blackpowder weapons. They were rare, as rare as Wyverns during the winter months. He already saw his fair share of them within the Empire's borders, but it was a rare sight to see one who knew how to wield such weapons this far east. Ruric let go of the coat and it covered his weapons like the curtains of a theatre after a grand show. Ruric grinned, but his grin was short-lived. Elya, a woman with muscles far larger than that of both of them walked towards them.

"Hello, boys. What are you talking about over here? Seems I wasn't invited to this small meeting between party leaders."

"Fuck off, old hag. Nothing could get through that thick skull of yours anyway."

"Oh please! Are you still mad I took that kill from you yesterday? By the way, I am Elya of Ixh'tha. Nice to meet you, young man."

"Stefan. Are you from the jungle continent, perhaps?"

"Axalusia, Young Stefan. We call it Axalusia. But I'm impressed! Not everyone is knowledgeable in their maps."

"Well, I'm a fan of maps."

Stefan chuckled as he took the leather cloak from the table. He was fond of maps, yes, but he's more of a collector than someone who actively studies maps.

He glanced over at Riel and Semilia. The cloaks given to them were similarly blessed with Holy Magic. The one given to Semilia was blessed by an Elven Priestess, or so Liam claimed. Semilia didn't mind the fact, but he could tell that she would have preferred her regular cloak instead of the one blessed by a High-Elf. He shrugged. There was always this disdain in Semilia whenever she had to use something made by High-Elves. This wasn't any different but Stefan hoped that her disdain of the High-Elves' Goddess will not damper the potency of the blessing.

With an audible click, Stefan fastened his cloak tightly. His new sword, one made of high-quality steel, was blessed with quite a few incantations from various Clerics. It was light, but not as light as the Mithril sword the Goblin gave him. It was a damn good sword for most adventurers, but he had held swords that were far superior in the past. But it will do. He will have to make do.

"Oi! Alfred! Bertholdt! Tobias! Get yourselves ready and load The Marie on our wagon."

The three young men nodded and hurried out of the door. One of them, a young man with hair as red as that of a freshly fallen leaf in autumn, carried a large bag that could've fit Riel.

"That's a tool that will help us later. Those things-"

Elya raised a brow as Ruric tapped the flat side of her claymore with the back of his finger.

"-won't help us later. Now Marie on the other hand, she'd have this mission wrapped up and done by the time the sun rises."

Just as he said that, the door closed behind Katherine. Ruric glanced at the door and shrugged.

"Cold girl. Anyway, we will be taking a wagon to the main road that leads up to the castle. I will be setting up near the front gates while you and Elya's team will be taking front. Now, the Marie will need to warm up before I could fire it so you better keep those things away from the walls."

Ruric was about to pull out something from his pocket when Elya's arm wrapped around his shoulder. She had a cocky grin on her face as she waved a hand at the three women behind her.

"I think we can all say that everyone here has an inkling or whatever about what your plan is. Oh, Qiya! Why don't you wait for us outside with Ruric's boys?"

The burly woman nodded silently and she and the others left the room without making so much as a peep.

"Ah... Amazoness. Your girls are Amazonian? I thought they were men at first glance. Sorry."

Ruric wiped his glasses while Elya laughed.

"The three of them are. I'm just a woman who wants to find adventure."

"Arenhein really is a strange city. Anyways! I'll be counting on you two to keep those things company. Once we drop off the white-haired chick, we'll be making a beeline towards the castle!"

Ruric slipped away from Elya's grasp and patted Stefan's shoulder. He glanced at Riel and Semilia, and scoffed.

"Though I doubt that you folks will be of any help."

They rode the wagon in silence. One of Ruric's men drove the wagon while he himself sat beside Stefan as he held the black bag tightly. Elya stared at it. It smelled of gunpowder, and it attracted the tense attention of everyone around Ruric. Semilia sat beside Katherine and both of them anxiously stared at the old man as he examined the steel balls and cartridges laid out in front of him. There was a strangeness to it. An old man with spectacles carefully examining and tapping each ball while he held up the cartridges filled with gunpowder into the light of Riel's Light Spell.

"Ahh... Thanks a lot, miss. These Light Spells are really useful. Right, Freddie?"

"It's Alfred, sir. And I have to agree with you on that point, sir. It's a pain having to clean up after Sir Ruric here whenever he accidentally ignites a blackpowder cartridge."

The driver of the wagon spoke with a tired tone. He glanced back at his comrades, and they nodded at his remark in unison.

"Yeah... A few horses have lost their lives due to unfortunate incidents of splinters wrecking their legs."

"Oi... Don't tell 'em that, Tobias."

The young man beside Elya sighed as he stopped a steel ball from rolling away with his hand.

"Sir Ruric... What brings you in this part of the continent?"

Stefan asked while Ruric inspected one of his pistols.

"We were on a mission. A simple scouting mission the details of which I cannot expose nor disclose. Anyway, we managed to accomplish our mission and the four of us are currently travelling down the Aren to reach the Daegon Coast so that we may all return to our lives in the empire with money that will last us a lifetime or a few years if we continue this career path we chose."

The old man smiled, then he turned towards Stefan with a sly grin.

"Now, if you don't mind me asking, are you the same Stefan Hendrickson I've heard about? The famous "Greenskin Killer" that once roamed the frigid north?"

"Hm? Ah... That nickname. Yes, I'm that guy. Umm, what el-"

"Woah! Really?! I-I'm a big fan, actually! My father's village was once saved by you!"

Ruric grumbled as Bertholdt clamoured towards Stefan.

"My big brother actually talked with you once and he talks about you all the time! Although I don't think you can remember. W-We heard that you'll be here so we decided to check this town out but then-"

"Ehem! Bertholdt... You said enough."

"Oh, sorry."

Ruric adjusted his spectacles while Stefan's hands moved towards his sword.

"I thought you were scouting..."

Ruric glanced nervously at Stefan's sword and at Semilia's dagger as they both hovered their hands over it.

"There is no need for that here! Look, I am a scout! Although what I am scouting for in this particular mission is not a place, but for people! People of remarkable talent and skill which could be imparted onto the hands of others!"

"In other words, you're trying to find mentors? Teachers?"

Ruric snapped his fingers at Elya's words.

"Exactly! And you, Mister Stefan, is a person on a lot of lists. One of those lists was given to me, and it is my job to see if the rumors around your person hold up to scrutiny."

"Sir, are you sure we should tell them this?"

Tobias spoke in hushed tones. Ruric shrugged.

"Our client will never know. Anyway, I wanted to talk more about it but it seems..."

The wagon lurched forward, its wooden frame groaned in protest at its sudden halt. It was followed by the sound of flesh being torn open and Alfred's desperate cries as he swung his sword in an arch over his head.

"We have company."

"Semilia! Cover my back!"

Stefan yelled out as all of them dove out of the wagon. With a thunderous cry, a sword made out of hardened bones slammed down onto the wagon.

A Demon, one as big as two men, stared at them with its horse-like face. Five eyes were clustered at the center of its head while its maw gaped like that of a serpent. Stefan cussed as the Demon tore out chunks from the horse that pulled their wagon while its left arm deflected Alfred's blows. Muscles that looked like it was about to burst flexed as the Swordsman's blade slipped by its hand. The blessed blade bit into it and seared the Demon's skin, yet it remained unfazed as the Swordsman jumped away from the Demon.

"Katherine, Elya, and Stefan! There's another one coming up from our right. Semilia and Riel, I need you two tell me the distance between me and that Demon."

Ruric spoke in a calm tone as the sound of stone crumbling beneath heavy footsteps alerted them to another presence.

There was a blur. In an instant, Elya stood in front of Katherine as her blade met the bony appendage of a Demon. Wings flapped behind it as its feet and tail lashed at Elya's claymore while its crooked beak snapped at her. She shouted, and the Demon jumped back as the girls in Elya's party swung at the nimble Demon with their massive swords. Bones sprang out from beneath its wings and formed two more sets of leathery wings that flapped quickly in an effort to dodge the Amazonian women that lunged at it. It lashed at one of them, a girl called Ximaya, with its bony tail like a whip. Skin and muscle were shredded in an instant. The Demon hollered and screamed in pain as Katherine flicked her hands once more to take out what remained of the Demon's tail.

The other Demon looked at its companion and hissed. But its eyes immediately turned towards Bertholdt and Tobias as they dashed towards it with their blades pointed straight at its chest. It moved quickly. A blur of tight, red skin that stretched over hard muscles the size of large rocks. Tobias clenched his sword tightly as the Demon's cheeks were torn open as it forced its mouth to unhinge and dislocate. Stefan bolted forwards, his eyes locked onto the third arm of the Demon as it slid across the ground and towards the throats of the two swordsmen. Bone and steel clashed as the Demon's great body moved at unnatural speeds and angles while the three of them did their best to parry and defend against the Demon's flurry of slashes.

Stefan looked up as his sword sliced off a few of the Demon's fingers. In front of him was the open mouth of the Demon and within it, a tongue tipped with a poisonous fang that dripped blood. Instinctively, he swerved his head as the tongue shot out of its jaws at great speed. Stone cracked as it impaled the ground behind Stefan but it quickly snapped as the Demon bit down on it without pain or discomfort. It hissed at him, but then stopped.

There was a flash. A bright flash that was followed by foul smoke. Then the Demon's head exploded and showered the three of them with gore and disgusting liquids. The Demon's headless body took a step back as it clawed at what remained of its head before another bullet blew off the Demon's left arm. Although the damage seemed fatal, the Demon simply jumped back as flesh began to grow and repair its savaged body. A large eye appeared on its shoulder and looked at the person responsible for the damage done to its body.

Ruric threw his two pistols into their holsters as he quickly pulled out another pair. Semilia looked at the strange weapons as Ruric trained his sights at the Demon. He pulled at the trigger and parts of the weapon moved as a powerful bang made her cover her ears. The Demon had no time to react as the bullet pierced and ravaged through its chest with enough force to send flying towards a wall. Suddenly, Ruric pulled repeatedly at the guns' trigger and with each pull, more bullets flew out of the guns' barrels.

"You like that, Low-Elf? The power of a cannon in the palm of my hands, although..."

Ruric's hands moved quickly as the gun's center swivelled outward. Metal rained down on the floor as he emptied the chamber of his strange guns.

"I would prefer if I had a pistol that could fire more than 5 bullets."

Ruric sighed as he filled the chambers of his guns quickly while Semilia notched an arrow into her bow.

"You might want to load that quicker. There's another one over there."

"Whe- Duck! Duck the both of you!"

Ruric tackled both Riel and Semilia to the ground. Just in time too.

Fragments of bones obliterated the area where they stood. Semilia shot an arrow at the figure that crouched atop one of the buildings yet it was met only bt the thick wall of blistered fat that covered the Demon's body. It stared at them with a large eye that sat at the center of its chest. Semilia looked at where the head was supposed to be and found strange, bony growths that pointed towards her. She wasted no time and loosed shot after shot towards the Demon's eye while Ruric loaded his pistols with strange ammo as he and Riel hid behind the rubble.

"Damn. We're surrounded! Here, take this."

Ruric shoved a large knife into Riel's hands as he fired a shot onto the first Demon. It tore through the Demon's right thigh but the Demon simply brushed it off and regenerated new muscle.

"S-Sir, I think we should retreat for-"

"Run? There's no way we could make it out of here with those things at our backs. And besides, you don't run from Demons."

Ruric loaded 6 bullets into the chambers of his guns. He cursed softly under his breath as he took a peek at the Demon.

"It's a rookie mistake for many Demon Hunters... Gotcha!"

Smoke and flame flared out from the barrels of his gun and a thunderous roar echoed out from it. The bullets streaked through the air and Riel saw the unmistakable glow of magic that trailed behind it.

The Demon looked at the bullets with what could only be described as a stunned and shocked expression. Hard bone formed on its chest and body, yet it did little to mitigate the damage of the special bullets Ruric loaded into his guns. Silver dust and magic exploded as the bullets collided with their target. Whatever death scream the Demon tried to make was snuffed out as the bullets destroyed the Demon's throat with Holy Magic while the rest of the bullets disintegrated the Demon's body. Its arm clawed in front of it for a moment before it inevitably turned into ashes that smelled of sulfur.

"Silver bullets with runic carvings."

Riel muttered out as she watched the old man pull out new bullets beside her. Ruric smiled at Riel as he reloaded his guns.

"Meant for killing things of the... Unhallowed kind."

Ruric said with a proud tone and a slight grin. His grin faded, then it turned into a sour scowl as he looked up at one of the ruined buildings.

"Fuck me."

A large shadow enveloped the area. She looked up at the sky and saw only the twisted visage of a Demon that hovered over them with its large wings. But the Demon looked different. It felt different.

"Stefan! I'm gonna need my boys over here!"

Ruric yelled as he holstered his pistols. The Demon tilted its head at him as he opened the black bag behind him.

"It seems we're gonna have to use her."