The devourer of darkness

The grade six

Hitoro dropped his phone and looked at Emiko, who was visibly worried.

"What did they say, papa?" She asked curiously. Hitoro heaved.

"They promised to find him" he replied. Emiko groaned, throwing a tantrum. Hitoro sighed.

"They said that before" she lamented, frowning.

"Yes, but we have to wait. Ichiro is an adult, and he's not even been gone a whole day. What did he say before he left for work?" Hitoro asked. Emiko stood and began pushing the wheelchair to Hitoro's room. She clearly didn't want Hina eavesdropping on their conversation, and Hitoro noticed.

"Is there something you don't want your mother to know?" He asked, turning his head to look up at her. She rolled her eyes, not giving a reply.

Immediately they entered the room, she shut the door and walked to the bed where she took her seat, pinching the nylon satin bedsheet.

"He didn't say much, but he gave me a mana crystal before I left for school" she muttered, her head lowered.

"Okay..."

"A red mana crystal" she added. Hitoro furrowed his brows. "Red? I thought he gave you a red crystal last week?" He asked. She nodded vigorously.

"Yes...no, he gave me two last week" she corrected in a whisper. Hitoro gasped. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, trying to keep cool.

"Nothing, Papa. I didn't want you to tell mama... and it was compensation for his injury..."

"What else?" Hitoro asked, breathing deeply. Emiko plaited her fingers now.

"The day I picked him up from the hospital, he had an armour..."

Hitoro's gasp startled her. She shrieked while he self-propelled himself to the door. He struggled with the door, refusing Emiko's help.

"Where are you going, papa? Let me help y..." The words died in her mouth as Hitoro had already found his way out.

"Hello?" Hitoro greeted. "Good day. Please I wish to inquire about a hunter in your agency...yes, a Teta Ichiro. Aged twenty two, house address; Tokito estate, Irohakai Shōtengai shopping street, Sanya. I can wait...no result found? Okay, try Ichiro Teta," Hitoro requested, tapping the table impatiently. "No result? Oh... thank you," he muttered as he put the phone down. Emiko immediately appeared from the corner where she had been standing.

"They could not find him?" She asked quietly. Hitoro's answer came with a hint of relief.

"No."

"How did you know the Silver lining call line, papa?" She asked, walking up to him.

"Ichiro taught me when he lost his phone; just in case something happened. You know he had no friends..." Emiko forced a smile.

"Okay," she said. She continued, "We should wait for the police. It's not even twenty four hours yet."

****

"Move! Move!" Erika ordered the drowsy hunters who moved in a queue. Ichiro was one of them; except he was wide awake. He could not sleep no matter how much he tried to... and to be honest, he had not. Sleeping in an unsafe hall was like walking into a trap.

'They must be used to this, because how do you explain this?!' Sleeping in an unsafe hall was just too much of an abomination to Ichiro.

"Ichiro-kun, how was your sleep?"

"Ryo-senpai..." Ichiro bowed in respect. "My sleep was fine" he lied.

"Good. We are moving almost immediately," Ryo informed. Ichiro wore a smile that came out as a thin line.

"Of course."

Ryo leaned closer. "You should be able to use your weapon now. It is an R-rank weapon, so I propose you do not rely too much on it. Use your wits and strength more than you use the blade; you could drain it, or it could drain you," he said, handing Ichiro the voulge that materialised in his hands, and every time in a way Ichiro hated -- it reminded him of Nanami.

'I never asked him to die for me.'

Ichiro collected it reluctantly and began to wonder why Jinshi got him a weapon that resulted in his death.

"Move!" Erika ordered.

"Erika-san, be quiet" Ryo said, irritated.

"Tell your minion to stop clogging the line" Erika said.

[Unknown Komon -- gaining access, twenty minutes more] the captain's gauntlet informed.

"I wonder what waits for us on the other side" Geto whispered behind Ichiro. Ichiro turned his head, satisfying him with a face that showed extreme worry, but it faded away almost immediately.

"Beasts?" He went to Geto's disgust. Geto rolled his eyes and cast his gaze away.

"Quiet" a hunter who according to his badge was Ren, a Ranger, hissed.

Ichiro chuckled quietly. It felt good replying to Geto like that. After all, wasn't it just beasts on the other side?

[Unknown Komon -- gaining access, five minutes more]

[Komon -- access allowed]

The gate cracked open, and Kenta walked in first as usual. He held a fist up and the troop stopped. Ichiro was getting a hang of it, and he stopped in unison with them.

"Mission three hundred and eighty nine resumes. Captain Yoshiro Kenta, troop 408SL-karma" he opened his fist and waved. "We move in three..."

"The countdown is in your head" Ren said, nodding. Ichiro nodded slowly in realisation. It was why he missed it the other time. He wanted to shoot a glare at Geto, but Geto was behind him.

'Keep up,' Ichiro thought, glancing at Ren again. He was no different from the Ren at the estate gate.

'They never pick a side' he thought. As if Ren knew what went on in the captain's head, the captain informed.

"We move in three."

'Three, two, one.'

The march continued and Ichiro smiled to himself, glad he was keeping up. The voulge was not as heavy as the previous day, and although Ichiro was a very inexperienced hunter, he had watched a lot of movies where the major weapon used was the voulge. In essence, hunting with a voulge was impressive, and now it had become a trend. Almost every hunter used a voulge or a sword... except for the hunter directly behind Ichiro. He had a bow at anchor.

'Clearly not a man of the trend.'

The entrance of the gate was clear of any beasts and the march continued smoothly until snarling could be heard from behind.

Geto grunted, stabbing his sword into the beast's core. It let out a shrill cry, and when he pulled out his sword, it fell dead. He scoffed. "Kill number one hundred and sixty seven" he muttered. Yuto shot him a glare.

"Are you gloating?" He hissed harshly. Geto scoffed again, bowing his head slightly. It was almost mocking.

"Certainly not, Yuto-senpai. Did I sound like it?" He asked, raising a brow, although he did not face Yuto. The hunter between them sighed deeply, his expression somber. He needed to focus, and their whispering and mutterings were not helping him.

"Well, you are impressive" Yuto whispered. Geto smiled broadly. If Yuto found him impressive, it meant he was indeed. Also, being on good terms with your superior was a breakthrough.

"Grateful for the compli..."

Ichiro was amused at how quick-witted and strong Geto was. Now he really could not blame him for being such an arse. One could not afford kindness while wielding such strength.

"You are amazing, Geto-san" Ichiro commended.

"Oh shut up, Rookie" Geto clearly did not want compliments from Ichiro. Yuto chuckled quietly.

"I heard you took down a grade three infectious beast yesterday" he said. It was directed at Ichiro, even if he didn't look at him once. Ichiro turned his head slightly but returned his gaze ahead immediately. Yuto had his voulge out and his pose was fierce. He looked really dangerous, and it made Ichiro's stomach churn.

"I didn't. Ryo-senpai did. He only let me land the finishing blow" Ichiro muttered. Yuto scoffed bitterly. He hated being in the same condition as Ichiro and would do anything to change that.

"There are twenty hunters in total; five in front, we five behind, and ten in the middle. Yet you two have collaborated with a less important person to deviate from the assignment given to us by Kenta-sama...how despicable" the hunter in between Geto and Yuto spat. He was Takumi, a special ranger like Yuto. Ichiro tried to turn his head and catch a glance of the person who had the guts to berate Yuto, instead he caught Geto's glare.

"Focus" Geto hissed. He turned to Takumi. "Takumi-san, how are we despicable?" He asked. Takumi lowered his bow.

"You disturb the quiet, and will attract beasts to..."

"Isn't that a good thing, as we are here to hunt beasts?" Geto cut Takumi off.

"You are unreasonable..."

Kenta raised his fist, and the hunters stopped immediately, including the quarreling ones. Kenta was receiving information from the headquarters via his earbuds, and he did not want the sound of metal sabatons distracting him.

"We've detected grade six beasts within thirty metres..." The informant informed. It was Kairo, their battalion's supervisor. Using detectors and cameras already set in place, she could see their movements and forecast the area. Kenta frowned slightly.

"We shall take down the Grade six beasts in twenty minutes. Move" she ordered. Kenta tapped his earbud.

"What species are we expecting?" He asked quietly, keeping his composure.

"Our detectors have picked familiar characteristics of infectious beasts. You should expect discharge of miasma" Kairo ended.

"Kairo?" Kenta called quietly. "Kai..." Kairo was out of line, probably attending to another troop in need of her. She had over a hundred troops in her battalion, and only she monitored their operations. It was a huge burden, and she couldn't attend to everyone at once. He heaved, knowing how many times he had pleaded with Uzui to share Kairo's responsibilities or reduce the amount of troops working at once. All to no avail; it made the job risky.

Ryo bowed slightly. "Kenta-sama, what did Kairo-sama say?" He asked. Kenta did not reply. Rather, he turned to the hunters.

"Does everyone here have a miasma mask? We are going to encounter high-grade infectious beasts" he said in a voice anyone within ten metres could hear. He had no intentions of telling them what grade precisely, for fear of them losing spirit.

"What grade exactly?" Erika asked curiously. Kenta wrung his fist.

"Tell us, Kenta-sama" Ayumi said calmly.

"Grade four..."

"Grade four beasts don't release miasma, Kenta-sama" Boru said, shutting his eyes and rubbing his chin as if being thoughtful -- Boru was notoriously thoughtless.

"We need to know what we're fighting, Kenta-sama" Ryo said quietly.

"Grade six" Kenta whispered.

"Grade six?!" Boru was louder than Kenta ever wanted.

The rest of the hunters went chill, and a few exchanged glances, while some shook their head vigorously.

"I can't fight grade six beasts. I'm only a mid-rank hunter."

"Me too."

"I don't even have a mask."

"I don't have a mask."

"Is miasma poisonous?"

"How deadly?"

"I'm dead."

"I want to go home."

"I'm the only son."

Ichiro glanced around, and seeing how hunters were panicking, a civilian like himself became lost. He could not murmur like everyone else, but he wanted out -- as soon as possible. The murmurings grew louder and louder, swallowing him up until Ryo's voice cut through the chaos.

"Silence!" Ryo grimaced, to everyone's surprise, especially Ichiro, who was used to him being tender. Ryo turned to the lower ranks fully. "How dare you murmur?" He asked. Erika wore a smug expression. She always saw Ryo as a busybody. Boru, on the other hand, was in his own world, rubbing his chin like he was drunk.

"We are hunters, and rank or no rank, we hunt beasts for the safety of the secular realm. If on every mission we grumble and focus on our lacks, the beasts of this world would have destroyed us all. Besides, we are operating in the darklands...how come you did not find need of a miasma mask?" He asked, staring at each of the hunters in front of him. They looked horrified. Ryo's outburst had combined with their wariness. Ichiro, on the other hand, watched intrigued.

'You can never know anyone enough.'

"Not a single one of us is allowed to quit, except for Teta Ichiro" Ryo said.

Ichiro was taken aback, and now he had to force a smile for the hunters turning to look at him. Ryo continued, "and even Ichiro has lost his grace." He ended. Boru nodded.

"Yes-yes-yes... Ryo-kun is right" he said, turning to the troop. "Besides, Grade six beasts... what are they good for except climbing ranks?" He asked rhetorically. Erika rolled her eyes now.

"You talk like you've ever experienced one" she muttered.

"For every hunter there is a first time, and this is ours..." He unsheathed his sword dramatically. "And God knows how well I plan to crush them. What about you?" He asked, pointing his blade at any hunter who was lucky or unlucky. The hunter moved back, chuckling dryly. "I've long been bored" he said, scoffing and returning his blade back to its sheath. He turned to Ryo and shut his eyes with his hands behind his back. "I don't have a miasma mask" he said blatantly. Ryo was used to tolerating Boru. He was not surprised.

'How did a jerk like himself become Supreme?'

Ichiro thought, staring at Boru's badge jealously.

"I have three. One is mine, one is Ichiro's, and one is for..." He pointed at the hunter Boru had given a scare earlier. He was lucky after all. He grinned sheepishly. "You."

"Thank you, Ryo-senpai." the hunter appreciated. Ryo handed him the mask and walked through the crowd of peering hunters. He handed Ichiro a mask as well, smiling with his eyes.

"Thank you" Ichiro bowed. Ryo waved, returning to his latter position.

"If you have an extra mask, give it to the hunter or hunters next to you." he ordered. The hunters did as told.

"Thank you" Kenta appreciated. "No problem. Because you are the captain doesn't mean the burden is yours alone to bear." Ryo said sincerely. Kenta forced a smile, nodding.

When everyone got a mask, Kenta spoke to the troop.

"Miasma is a poisonous gas produced by infectious beasts of grade five and above. If inhaled, it is enough to destroy some organs in the system of a hunter, enough to paralyse them. But for a non-hunter, it is enough to kill..."

Ichiro gasped, and Yuto chuckled behind him. "Someone's missing home" he whispered.

"Shhh" Yuki hissed.

"These masks we wear may protect us, but only for an hour. Anything other than that, and we all inhale pure miasma. It is why we must work together regardless of our rank or status to complete our mission and return safely. As for Ichiro Teta, I should inform you that a single scratch from an infectious beast is enough to infect you. If it were possible to return you to the gate, we would, but time has been far too spent. We shall use the one-two line formation. And we shall only wear our masks immediately before combat, as it will start functioning before we even encounter the beasts, taking a cut of our time" said Kenta, nodding.

"The air in the beast realm is unsafe. That is why" Ayumi answered the question on almost everyone's mind.

"Assemble."

Kairo came back on the line. She sounded worried. "Kenta, have you moved?" She asked.

"No" Kenta replied, moving away from the troop. Erika immediately took over.

"Masaru and Jumunji, Boru, you have their back..."

"To the East, there are caves there...hundred metres away from you" Kairo said. Kenta glanced East. "Yes?"

"Your mission is inside the cave. If you have noticed, there are no beasts in this area because it is a claimed territory. You can only find beasts in the caves...no strays, kingdom system."

Kenta nodded slowly. "So, what are we to do?" He asked.

"Clear everything out. So it's safe for harvesting" she said.

"Why don't we leave half of the task to Captain Ryusei? His troop is full of supreme hunters" Kenta said.

"No-no, this is your assignment, Kenta. Uzui wants you to clear everything out. No Captain Ryusei included. I'll send you the map strip" she ended.

"Is that why he sent us to a territory that has never been explo..." Kenta heaved. Kairo was out of line again.