Chapter 76: Chapter 73 – What Lies Beneath

“Objective is at 12 o’clock. 4 buildings, just as the intel said.”

Halfway up the snowy mountain, the expedition had stopped. Every moment in the bone-chilling cold was hard to bear, but the two groups huddled together for warmth as they heard the news they had been waiting for.

There wasn’t much mingling between the church hunters and Phoenix students, as the hunters cast dirty glances over in their direction any time they could. Sadly, a number of these appeared to be directed at Leona specifically, so it was clear that the rumours about her had been widely spread. Even so, they were working together on this mission, so the scout that crested the nearby ridge made his announcement loud enough for everyone, and the students quietly steeled their nerves.

“So this is it then. We will take the larger building to the left and leave the shacks to you. Once you have finished, regroup with us to clear the chalet at the back. Don’t take too long.”
“We’ll be there.”

The gruff man who represented the church barked orders over at them, and Yuuji responded with indifference. Mitra shot a glare towards the man, who ignored him and began to march his troop up to the crest of the hill.

“Tsk. They’re really looking down on us. Why can’t we just act as a team on this?”
“Don’t bother. They’ve made up their minds, and forcing a joint operation without proper practice would be even more dangerous than working independently. We’ll stay out of each other’s way, just as they wanted.”

Mitra couldn’t help but stare at their so-called companions with disappointment in his eyes. He knew that Yuuji’s words were true, but in an ideal world, playing to the strengths of their allies would improve their chances of success tenfold.

“You heard him everyone - let’s go.”

Once again taking the role of acting leader, Yuuji led the rest of Phoenix up to the ridge as well, where they first laid eyes on the compound they were due to attack. Based on its structure, it was likely once home to a small self-sustaining community that lived remotely, away from the bustling cities.

The large building that was identified seemed to be some kind of large storage room, perhaps a barn or grain room of sorts, and the smaller huts across the way looked like they were used for housing. They were shabby and had taken a clear battering from the weather, but more likely it was the lack of recent upkeep that had taken its toll.

By far, the most impressive building remained at the back, as a beautiful farmhouse stood firm in the thick snowy landscape. The charming arched windows and log exterior would surely have made for a picturesque home, had it not been marred by such horrifying residents.

The surroundings were still as they crept closer. The vampire hunters clearly had no intention of waiting for the students to attack simultaneously, and it was only as the first of them reached the door of the building that they stopped and turned backwards with a confused expression.

But by the time they'd realised something was amiss, it was too late.

“DIEE!”
“I’LL KILL YOU ALL!”

Everyone’s hearts froze as the snowy ground around them trembled with shambling figures bursting out from beneath the surface, bellowing roars of fury. There were cries of shock and surprise as two members of the church were immediately pinned to the floor by unseen assailants, kicking and screaming.

“Thralls! They knew we were coming!”

The head of the hunters shouted out once more as they jumped into action. Many pulled out crosses and personal bibles or grasped at rosaries as they began chanting to fend off their foes.

It was sheer luck that Phoenix had been lagging slightly behind, so as several thralls burst out from under the snow surrounding the buildings they had a brief moment to prepare. Had the church waited for them before continuing, they’d surely be in a similar situation, ambushed on multiple fronts in a desperate brawl.

There were 3 thralls in their immediate area, and they were approaching fast. More cries could be heard from around the compound, but they would need to be dealt with later once the threat before them was handled.

“Scáthach. Gáe Bulg!”
“Uriel, grant me your blessed flame!”
“Marena, give me strength!”

Yuuji’s hand traced a glimmering golden pole as it formed into a beautiful spear. To his left, Leona’s limbs were clad in flame, and to his right, Valeriya’s rapier grew frighteningly sharp crystals of ice that stemmed from her palm.

“DiediedieDIE!”

The first thrall stumbled through the unsteady ground and pounced at Yuuji. Though he didn’t want to seriously hurt the man, he was a danger to everyone as he was, so Yuuji parried his blow with the shaft of his weapon and flicked his wrist to send the spear butt whirling into his opponent's chest.

The single hit knocked the battered man to the floor again as he gasped out in pain and anger. Only in that brief moment of respite did it become clear just how poor of a condition he was in, and Yuuji’s eyes sharpened in disgust at the vampires once again.

The thrall’s hands were a deep blue colour from severe frostbite, likely from being submerged in the snow for so long. Under the man’s puffy coat, his body was thin and skeletal from starvation, which only became clear once Yuuji’s strike had effortlessly knocked him off balance.

The spots where his spear had touched the man had sizzled and begun to blister immediately, as the golden glow of the spear burned away at the demon-tainted flesh. Even the spear shaft was no exception, as it was a weapon conceived for slaying demons, and the slightest graze scorched the skin of the thrall.

He bit his tongue. They had known thralls to be a possibility and were granted unique cuffs from the church to subdue them, but the time and effort spent ensuring their enemies weren’t lethally wounded would only put them more at risk.

He stepped forward and raised his weapon, spearhead pointed down.

“-KILL YOU!”
“!?”

Suddenly, from his side, another thrall leapt out with her swinging fist poised to hammer down on his neck. With the battle around him already raging, he had missed that another thrall was not quite able to breach the snow for their ambush with the others, but the woman staggered to her feet out of his sight and savagely lashed out before he could dodge.

*CLANG*

A gleaming metal shield rattled the attacker and sent her rolling to the ground in pain. He had been moments away from death, as the weight of the superhuman blow would have crushed his spine to dust had his saviour not appeared.

“Yuuji! The cuffs!”

As Gale quickly followed through with her strike and pinned down the thrall while she thrashed, Yuuji shook away his thoughts. He wasn’t the person he was before. The Reaper was gone - here, he was Ishitake Yuuji.

He swiftly fell to his knees beside Gale, and with rapid movements bound the rabid woman’s hands and feet together with his cuffs. His fingers ached from the cold, and the poor woman had suffered such intense frostbite that her flesh stuck to the metal as it snapped shut, but at least this way there was a chance she could survive - though her limbs would likely never heal.

Scrambling to their feet, the pair of them tackled and restrained the first thrall that had attacked them in a similar manner before he could rise to his feet. Looking around, the vampire hunters had suffered several casualties already as members were being limply dragged from the scrap for emergency treatment, but on Phoenix’s side, Leona and Valeriya were still embroiled in battle.

“Get lost! Die! Die!”

Despite the thrall’s superior speed and strength, Leona’s hand-to-hand ability was exceptional, and she dodged the amateurish flails as the two of them stumbled around the thick snow. If she wavered for even a moment or let her guard down, the wild strikes would plough into her with the weight of a sledgehammer, so she deftly avoided each hit with intense concentration.

Similar to Yuuji, if her flames so much as touched the thrall it would cause significant damage, and though they had unnatural healing abilities it was unclear if they would survive such a blow in their feeble condition. They could only swing and lash out violently as they had no regard for their own safety, as even if their hits actually connected it would surely shatter the bones of both parties.

“..Now!”
“-GAH!”

After dodging countless life-threatening blows, Leona suddenly shouted out and landed a risky kick squarely on the chest of the thrall swinging at her. The smell of burnt flesh hung in the air for a moment, but she had timed her attack with the moment the thrall lost its balance from a poorly judged swipe, and it toppled over miserably with little force in her strike.

Before it even touched the floor, skeletal hands rose to greet it and it was bound by countless bony digits. It cried out in anger, but even as it thrashed and shattered the spectral limbs restraining it, more would only take their place. Leona quickly whisked away her fire and bound the ankles and wrists of the wailing thrall with her cuffs before taking a moment to catch her breath.

Another one down.

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Valeriya too had just finished dealing with her opponent, as she could restrain its movements with extraordinarily precise stabs to the thrall’s joins while it moved. For a while, she had battled with its rapid regeneration, but at a crucial moment in the fight, the jaws of the grey wolf Faolán had torn at the ankles of the thrall and pinned it down to be cuffed.

“Vanguard, resupply your shackles at once!”

Though the first scrap had ended, the fight was far from over. Akil shouted out to the group who had defeated their foes, and they quickly dashed back to their companions to be given a new pair of restraints from those who wouldn’t be facing the frontline.

“They’re not slowing down!”
“Damn things keep getting back up!”

The twins each struggled to delay the next approaching wave of thralls, as Mitra’s arrows targeted their legs while Hema sent blasts of gold which launched them into the air - but still, they shambled onwards.

The thought that humans could be pushed to such extremes was a haunting one, as their enemies were simply people who had been dealt a bad hand in life. It wasn’t their fault they had been turned into slaves to the vampires, but now here they were, trudging forwards through an onslaught of blows to try and rip apart the very people who fought to save them.

Now that the surprise attack had been dealt with, the thralls were simple and narrow-minded enemies. As their instructions were basic, they had likely only been told to wait and kill anyone who approached, then been buried under the snow by someone else to create a trap. It was unheard of for vampires to take such tactics into account, but with them retreating to such an advantageous location and even going through the effort of setting up a complicated ploy, it had all but been confirmed that they were receiving outside help.

Hema and Mitra provided support as the vanguard moved forward once again, and after a drawn-out struggle, managed to restrain the last of the thralls outside the base. There was still a chance that some were still buried in the snow or had taken position inside the buildings, but time was passing quickly and they still hadn’t faced a single vampire, who were the original threats.

They knew of at least 3 who had retreated to this location, and there was likely a first-generation vampire who led the coven to deal with as well. As a full-blooded demon from birth, the progenitor would be far older and stronger than its subjects, so they couldn’t underestimate it by any means.

“Aaaaah!”

In the few moments the students took to catch their breath, a loud scream came from across the way. The vampire hunters had been reduced to half their number by the fighting, with many being laid out motionless across the cold snow while a member of their group tried desperately to save whoever they could.

The remainder however had pushed forwards into the large building, and it was from there that the cry arose, now followed by a cacophony of shouts and loud crashes. Just from the sound alone, they could tell that the battle within was a brutal one, and many nervous glances were sent towards the small shacks before them.

“I… please, let me help them!”

Through it all, Elis could not tear her eyes away from the sight of the lone healer dealing with a dozen casualties. While not a medical practitioner herself, an aspect of her spirit could mend wounds, and she was far better suited there than risking close-quarters combat.

The silent group shared glances and nods, and the girl scrambled over as quickly as she could, before rapidly chanting mantras of blessing to heal the wounded. She was far less specialised than Aoi when it came to healing, but they had not expected their companions to suffer so greatly so quickly, and if they retreated now they’d be hunted on the mountain as night fell.

There was no other option than to press on, and quickly.

There were two shacks, one behind the other, and even with their shoddy quality, they were imposing up close. The windows had been tightly boarded up from the inside so there was no way to see what was happening within, and with the traps and all of the commotion outside, it was obvious that anything inside would know they were coming.

“...Yuuji, a moment, if I may?”
“Akil?”

As the young man stepped forward, he gently pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose and inspected the building. Taking a deep breath in, faint golden rings appeared around his irises, and he stared with intense concentration as his eyes shook mechanically from side to side. After a few moments, he exhaled with a pained expression, and while rubbing his forehead he turned back to them.

“Nnh… As I suspected, rot has pervaded this structure. Might I suggest a more… brutish approach?”

Yuuji squinted at him for a moment, before a look of realisation crossed his face. He patted his friend on the back as a smile crept across his face, and stepped away to let him get to work.

Akil called Wang Bao over, and the two shared a brief conversation before the giant took a stance and collected his breath. His spirit was helpful for larger-scale situations, but for one on one combat it was difficult to use, and that difficulty turned to nearly impossible when the opponent was a thrall that needed to be dealt with delicately.

But now was his time to shine.

The cold winter air above him danced as a radiant golden object formed, and spread into the shape of two hands. He held his mala beads tightly within his grasp, and carefully reached forwards with steady movements. Everyone surrounding him watched in awe as the beautiful golden hands drifted through the sky, and in a single fluid motion, wrenched the rooftop of the nearer shack off from the walls.

*CRAAAAACCKKKK*

“SHA-AAAAAHHH!!”

A blood-curdling screech rang out from within as the sunlight flooded the room. Though they couldn’t see what was happening from where they stood, the howl was unnatural and made the hair on the back of their necks stand on edge, so it was easy to piece together what had happened.

“...Baozi, the other one too please.”

As instructed, Wang Bao performed the same again for the second shack, with the assistance of Akil by his side directing the angle of attack. Though slightly more difficult than the first time, the roof peeled off nonetheless, though there was no ungodly shriek this time.

Yuuji thanked his friends for their work. Though it was a simple solution, it was an outrageous feat that was only possible due to their unique teamwork, and eliminating even a single vampire without a fight was a huge boost to their morale.

“Hibiki… Do you sense anything?”
“There’s something in the first room… but I think it’s…”

Her words trailed off, and he knew she was referring to the vampire that had been exposed to the sunlight. Perhaps for her, it may have been similar to looking at a corpse, so he quickly composed himself and held the whole group to attention.

“Leona, Claire, Hibiki and I will inspect this shack. Time is of the essence, but we can’t risk missing anything important, so we need to stay vigilant.”
“...Understood.”
“Very well.”
“Y-Yes!”
“Alpha team, you take the other building. Bravo, keep watch on the lodge and be ready to assist the vampire hunters if anything goes wrong. If Elis returns, keep her with you.”

He reformed the previous squads as roles were assigned. It was far easier to keep people who had experience with each other together, and as there would be no use trying to cram all 12 of them inside the small buildings, he quickly made the call to re-use the groups that had already hunted vampires together.

“Minamoto no Yorimitsu. Doujigiri!”

Within the cramped space, his spear would be far more restricted than his sword. He called out his trusty blade, and as he edged closer to the battered door, he placed his hand on the handle.

*Creeeeaaaak*

The door trembled as it swung open slowly, and his eyes rapidly darted to and fro. The place was a mess - certainly not helped by the violent removal of the roof as the open sky hung above them, but there were signs that it had been ransacked even before that too.

If there was a place for a vampire to have remained hidden in shadow, it was gone now. Not far from the doorway was a conspicuous pile of ash that told them all they needed to know, and he breathed a quick sigh of relief.

The messy wooden room was a dormitory of sorts, with a scrappy kitchenette and multiple beds along the walls. What drew their attention as they stepped through the rubble though, was a large wooden board covering the floor in the back corner of the room, clearly out of place with the surroundings. 

Under the watchful eye of his companions, Yuuji edged towards the board and yanked it up with a heavy tug.

“...Damn it.”

As it swung open, the floor below it was missing, and even at a glance the purpose was obvious.

It was a trapdoor leading underground.

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