Vincent looked at the lonely hut in the middle of nowhere. The screeching noises made by nocturnal animals echoed in the dark giving off an eerie atmosphere. Isabell moved closer to Vincent as he was holding a lamp.

"What kind of witch is scared of the dark?" Vincent didn't know how to act after looking at the young witch. She was timid to the point of jumping at every sound she heard.

"I... I am not scared. This is just a breeze." Putting on a brave front, Isabell put some more distance between them once again.

"Where is the gargoyle?"

"Behind that haystack."

Even though it was night, the full moon illuminated the hut and its surrounding clearly as the nearby trees had been quelled. Vincent squinted his eyes to get a better look at the haystack. After much effort, he finally made out what seemed to be a petrified wing.

"Hold this." Handing the lamp to the girl, he readied his crossbow and circled around to get a clear sight of the gargoyle.

Having walked around the haystack, he could finally see the foe clearly. It was a nearly 2 meter tall statue with an ugly face and a pair of wings. The legs supporting the structure were thin enough to be compared to that of a lithe woman's. Its arms were similarly slender but their length stood out. Attached on the end of its long arms were huge palms equipped with deadly claws.

Vincent unloaded his crossbow and exchanged the piercing bolt with a blunt one. The gargoyle was a creature that took advantage of its light weight and slim body to move at an extraordinary speed. It used its wings to maintain balance and make swift agile turns. The standard recommended method to hunt a gargoyle was to start by injuring its wings.

He continuously checked his watch for the time. As a gargoyle stayed petrified unless it needed to act, Vincent took his time going through the plan in his head. He had swapped the piercing bolt for a blunt one because the gargoyle had really thin wings. When in its stone form, the wing would break like old pottery if hit by a blunt bolt. A piercing bolt would just make a small hole in comparison.

As the clock hit 12, he calmed his breath, took aim and pulled the trigger. The bolt flew at the gargoyle in an impressive speed and hit the mark. The wing crumbed like the bark of an old tree and a gaping hole was left where the bolt had passed by. The creature undid the petrifaction in a hurry and growled at the attacker. Vincent calmly discarded the crossbow and unsheathed his knife. Holding the cutting weapon by his left hand, he pointed his right index finger towards the gargoyle which was almost done transforming. Sparks buzzed in his fingers for a moment and a bolt of lightning flew at the gargoyle's chest.

The poor creature had just completed its transformation but was assaulted twice in a row already. It's right wing had a gaping hole while its chest had a burn mark. It had no hair in its body and hence lightning was more than double its usual effectiveness when used against it. This was also part of the reason why Vincent had agreed to come here on such a short notice.

The creature ignored the pain and charged at the human standing dozens of meters away from it. It was a distance it could cover in a single breath and it launched off the haystack in an explosive manner. Sadly, it's wing was torn and it failed to maintain its trajectory. Contrary to its evil and scary appearance, it stumbled and fell down like a clumsy human. Watching this reminded Vincent of the girl who had crashed down his windowsill.

Chasing away the stupid thought, he fired another electric bolt at the pitch black beast. Turning a blind eye to the creature writing in pain on the floor, he used the same spell four more times. The beast had burn marks all over its body and many of its muscles were not responding to its commands.

Vincent would have liked firing more spells at it to ensure the completion of the job but he was out of mana and was breathing heavily. He picked up the crossbow and loaded a piercing bolt. Moving closer to the gargoyle, he aimed his weapon at its ugly head. He steadied his breath while watching the beast bare its fangs at him. Steeling his heart and his hands, he pulled the trigger.

The bolt pierced its eye socket and pinned its head to the ground. After ensuring that the job was done, Vincent finally relaxed. Just to be sure, he loaded another bolt and watched Isabell approach him. He was prepared to put her down if she showed any signs of acting against him.

"Wow. Did you kill it? That was quick." Bringing the lamp closer to the corpses head, she took a good look. She didn't avert her gaze after seeing the fluids flowing out of its eye sockets. Contrary to Vincent's expectations, she moved closer to get a better look at it.

Recollecting himself, Vincent picked up his knife and crouched beside the corpse. He cut open the creature's chest and tried to reach for its heart. Unfortunately, the rib cage was getting in his way and he couldn't get it.

'Looks like I will have to get messy.'

Beneath the curious gaze of the young witch, he cut open its stomach and extracted one organ after another. Suppressing the sense of disgust arising from within him, he grabbed a bunch of slimy entrails and pulled hard. The long tubes kept on stretching and it felt like there would be no end to them. He used the knife and cut it to bits leaving some inside the belly. After some minutes of labor, he finally managed to extract the heart.

"Is that good stuff?" Isabell asked after looking at the satisfied smile on Vincent's face. She had observed him throughout the entire process and concluded that the heart was something valuable.

"Yes. This is great stuff." Vincent nodded and answered with a bright smile.

"Let's cut it in half. Half of it is mine after all."

"What? Our agreement was to divide the loot. This is my spoil of war. You are not getting any of this."

"Tch. Stingy. You wouldn't be getting your hands on this if it weren't for me." She put on an exaggerated expression of disgust. "Let's go. I can't wait to loot the house. I am going to be rich. Hu hu hu."

Ignoring her snarky comment, he wrapped the heart which had turned into stone in his handkerchief. He got up and followed the girl who was hopping with excitement. He developed a much more favorable impression of her after the event. Her information had been true. The gargoyle was much weaker than what would be expected of a tier two creature.