Ray stood up — baffled by the disappearance of the nun, yet he controlled his breathing and straightened his tie, rechecking every piece of equipment for any tightness before continuing onward to Redpines Town.
His mind wandered to the possibility of an Umbra-Class anomaly, his eyes gazing toward the western horizon.
"Beyond this town is Tartarus, several operations have been conducted there by the second-generation hunters and Helix Corps to gather anomalies and seal them into artifacts."
"It has 25 districts — and now, third-generation hunters are slowly being deployed to gain combat experience, since the anomalies there are unrecorded and there are simply too many dangers that only a trained third generation anomaly hunter can deal with."
"Sooner or later, I'll find myself hunting within a district."
The smell of burning wood snapped him from his reverie. He'd traveled far enough to reach the town's edge, where tall buildings stood — serene at a glance, as if a peaceful community still lived within.
But above them, a moderate fire climbed into the sky.
"There's several of them," he muttered, slipping into stealth and moving between trees that surrounded the town — minding his steps, avoiding making unnecessary noise.
From cover, he counted four to five anomalies — wounded men with bite marks and bloodied mouths.
"Multiple Caro-class. All T-1 hazards. These are barely any threat as a civilian could deal with them quite easily."
"The nun back then would've been Caro Class T-2 Lethal, with her aggression and physical strength."
Yet the soil was teeming with corpses, their skin covered in red blotches — and some of their limbs were grotesquely twisted. Ray gave it a glance, and he knew he must never reveal his neck from here on out.
"These undead came from the Red Plague. Infected humans died slowly — but they don't turn into Caro-Class on their own."
"Someone reanimated them. By a T-4 Apollyon Caro-Class anomaly, likely in the outer districts."
Screams—
"Are there people still alive?" There was something else mingling with all the noise, yet he couldn't pinpoint it. He needed to get closer to hear it properly.
He took a deep breath — then took out his knife, its straps behind his waistline, the sharp edge glinted as he held it in a hammer grip.
One Caro-class anomaly was already approaching him — patience was all he needed.
He couldn't risk making noise or being bitten.
His approach was straightforward — unseen and unheard.
The moment it got near the tree he was using for cover, he slipped behind the undead, wrapped his arm around its neck, and locked its jaw in place with his forearm to stop any sound or chance of a bite.
With the creature restrained by the hunter's strength, Ray drove the knife into its upper spine — severing the nervous system and dropping it instantly.
The first was dispatched.
Like a natural shadow cast on the trees, his movement was one with his surroundings — the right amount of fluidity, the ability to shift his weight without the fallen leaves rustling.
A second, a third, and a fourth anomaly collapsed, each falling before they even understood what had happened to them.
Until one remained standing — finally noticing the hunter hunting them from the shadows.
It was already too late.
Ray had already thrown his knife. It spun once through the air and struck the undead squarely in the head, dropping it instantly.
The hunter swiftly retrieved his knife from the skull of his victim. The blade slid out like butter, sheathing back into its strap, as he continued walking closer to the town of Redpines.
He pressed against the nearest townhouse wall, noting the row houses all shared the same design.
Noises—
"What the hell am I hearing?" He could hear it — faint, painful moans coming from the house's living room.
The hunter spotted a window and decided to take a peek… then immediately looked away, regretting what he saw.
"The Caro-class anomalies are… having intercourse." Neither violence nor close encounters usually disturbed him — but this did.
He shook his head, squinting his eyes, even using his suit to rub them.
Then the harrowing noises stopped. It seemed that they had finished the deed.
The hunter took out his knife again. "They have to die."
Using the back door, he silently entered.
On the windows, streaks of blood were visible — Ray had done it intentionally; this act of reproduction between anomalies could become a problem in the future.
"I'll have to report this… but how do I even begin explaining it to them?" he murmured.
The interior of the house had wooden floors, a deer head mounted above the fireplace, and family pictures on the walls. Ray planned to go to the second floor to get a better view of the outside without being exposed.
He spotted the wooden stairs and began ascending.
His steps creaked; it was difficult to move silently, yet he kept his senses sharp, knowing any anomaly could appear once he reached the upper floor.
With the knife in hand, he didn't need the flashlight from his pistol — the light coming from outside was still sufficient to illuminate the room.
He checked the time on his vintage silver watch on his right wrist, its face mostly hidden beneath the sleeve of the white shirt under his black suit.
"4:13 PM… I can't take too long. I need to get out of here before night falls."
Reaching the second floor, Ray found two rooms: a bathroom and a bedroom.
The bedroom was perfectly positioned, giving him a vantage point over the open neighborhood below.
He approached the door, hesitating for a moment before slowly pushing it open.
His intuition had been correct. A mangled, brutalized corpse lay on the bed. Ray maintained his composure; he couldn't even tell whether the body was a man or a woman — it was a macabre display of violence.
Ray didn't say a word. His focused to the perfectly placed window.
Ignoring the brutality in his peripherals, he took the opportunity to peer out over the open town of Redpines and finally see the source of the noise and commotion he had been hearing.
But one thing he couldn't ignore was the stench. He covered his nose as best he could, moved the window's curtain slightly, and continued observing.
"I see… four impaled bodies, burning."
"They're the town's police, judging by their uniforms. They've been burning so long they look like charred, dried-up raspberries."
"The streets are… interesting."
"The anomalies are dragging the bodies of the deceased into empty cars. I didn't know they were capable of driving — some of the vehicles are already leaving."
Then his eyes caught something far worse. "They're carrying pregnant anomalies into trucks and cars. They're transporting them somewhere… but for what purpose?"
He took a moment to gather everything he had learned.
He touched the wallet in his pocket, as if contemplating something.
"I'll purge this area and report immediately."
His eyes fell to the black ring on his finger.
"I hope I don't have to use you today."
The church at the center chimed its bells, signaling a mass.
All the enemies in the area began gathering toward it, except for those handling the transportation of the pregnant anomalies.
Yet within the center of the town, something was amiss — so much so that it shook Ray's heart.
His dark-red eyes intensified.
"These anomalies… are they going to repent?"
Chapter End.