The one who called himself Angus kept laughing while swinging his huge axe at a few others who were intending to approach. Edward stood looking at Angus without daring to act because he couldn't yet tell whether he was a friend or foe. A moment later, when the crowd frightened by Father Angus left, Edward asked:

"Do you think this is a bit... barbaric?"

Angus turned to Edward and said:

"Barbaric? These things are normal here every night, young hunter. Take your time, you'll get used to killing soon enough, gha ha ha."

"You just joined the hunt, right? Then perhaps I can teach you a few things if you go hunting with me tonight, what do you think, young man?"

Edward rested his chin on his hand, thinking for a moment, then nodded. Angus burst out laughing and moved forward, with Edward walking beside him. They walked briskly down the street together, Angus introduced himself, he was a hunter of the Grand Church, an organization founded by Leurian. Angus is a wanderer with his family, searching for a new life until they set foot in Lisbeth, where they begin a new life with a bright future ahead. Until the pandemic began to spread, Angus joined the Grand Church and started working as a hunter. Angus's weapon when hunting is the Hunter's Axe, an axe with the ability to extend its handle to surprise the prey, along with a handheld shotgun.

"Hey young hunter, tell me why you became a hunter?"Angus curiously asked Edward.

"I also...don't know...I only do what I think I should do". Edward replied.

Angus burst out laughing at the young man's answer.

"Create a reason for yourself to become a hunter, young man. A reason for you to fight, it may seem insignificant to others, but it will be what keeps you from going insane in every hunt. For me, they are my wife and daughter."

After speaking, Angus took out a family photo of him with his wife and their eight-year-old daughter. Everyone smiled happily.

"You has a truly happy family, deserving of others's envy." Edward said, behind the raven beak mask is his somewhat dull face.

"Gha ha ha, how do you think, young man? They are the ones I love the most, without them, I would probably have gone insane a long time ago. So find a reason for yourself before it's too late. Because the bloodlust will come at any moment."

The sound of the clock chiming caught the attention of the two hunters. It's like an omen for something. Angus immediately changed his expression when he heard the bell.

"Sorry, we can only walk together for a little longer, young man. Be careful and don't go crazy during tonight's hunt."

Both continued along the stone bridge leading to a large cemetery, a place filled with the scent of death, where even a gust of wind could send chills down anyone's spine. Inside, the sound of shovels and picks striking the cold ground of the graveyard full of corpses can still be heard at midnight. Angus turned to look at the iron gate of the cemetery; perhaps he had found the right place.

"That's enough, young hunter. I have personal matters to attend to. Remember well the words I say, young man. If it's meant to be, we'll meet again."

He waved at the young hunter he had just met, with a smile on his lips, the lips stained by the passage of time of an old man in the twilight of his years, then quietly walked into the cemetery. Edward stood watching the hunter's back disappear from sight, then continued walking across the bridge, each gust of wind whistling past his ears as if whispering malicious words into them. Now he doesn't know where to go, what to do. Edward's mind was completely buried by the questions he was asking himself at that moment. One goal? A reason not to go crazy? The more he tried to find a way to explain, the more Edward became lost in his own mind. The distant roars of the beast pulled Edward back to reality, where he heard someone's agonizing screams mixed with the frenzied roars. As if compelled, his feet ran to the place where the scream came from.

It was a long row of houses, the iron gate leading in had been destroyed and blocked by a horse-drawn carriage, perhaps the carriage had crashed into and destroyed the gate. But something else completely captured Edward's attention. A lantern, placed in the middle of the road, is emitting a greenish light.

"Which crazy person put a lantern in the middle of the road like this?!"

A significant confusion was evident on Edward's face behind the mask. Edward approached, squatted down, and examined the lantern. It is an exquisite hexagonal lantern intricately carved with patterns resembling flowers with long petals and six petals.

"I've never seen this type of flower before, is it a native flower here?"

When Edward touched the lantern, a strange light pulled him in, the strong force causing him to fall forward.

"Yo what the..."

Edward's curse was cut short as he was completely drawn into the light source and vanished. Only the silence around remains. 

Somewhere in the city,...

A Wanderer, those who kidnap civilians at night, are trying to escape from a Hunter. The poor prey ran through the alleys to shake off the relentless Hunter, and just when he thought he could escape, he was suddenly shot in the right leg after a gunshot. After a scream, he collapsed on the ground.

"Damn it, who is it?"

Just as he finished speaking, he was shot, but it was in the left arm. He looked in the direction of the silver bullet flying towards him, and saw, a few rows of houses away, a glimmering light on a tower. Upon closer inspection, it resembled binoculars, with a long steel tube below. A hunter was holding it with two handles on either side and a front support. He immediately realized it was a gun because of the smoke coming from the barrel. The hunter has brown ruggedly hair, with a small scar on his right eye and wearing a mask..

"Just move a little more and you'll get shot immediately...Come on, move along..."

The hunter said while still watching the Wanderer. Wanderer got up, intending to run again, but was hit by another bullet in the other leg and could no longer move at all.

"DAMN IT!!! What is that cursed gun, how can it hit from such a long distance!!??"

A gentle figure appeared behind the Wanderer, a Huntress, with an alluring figure, creamy hair, striking green eyes, holding a sword and wearing a noble's hat decorated by a pegion feather. She stepped in front of the Wanderer, each step exuding elegance and charm. She bent down, her lips beginning to speak in a voice that, though not sweet but was irresistibly captivating.

"I just want to ask you a question, where are the people you have kidnapped..."

That guy still keeps his mouth shut and won't spill the beans.

"You won't get anything from me, you bitch!!!"

"Hmm...it seems you don't want to cooperate, do you? If that's the case, I have to take strong measures."

**Bang**

A bullet pierced straight into the head of the Wanderer, and he lay motionless on the ground. The hunter approached the unfortunate man's corpse and said:

"I thought this guy would give us some useful information, but he's too tight-lipped, so I have to give up... besides..."

The hunter took out a finely crafted pistol, but it had a more modern touch than the other guns. He looked at it for a moment and then said:

"The new weapons that the Association sent is indeed great, no doubt about it..heh."

The Huntress spoke:

"Perhaps we should find someone even more cowardly than this guy to extract information about where they are holding people. And you too, Dyle, I could have extracted more if you hadn't shot him in the head...

She said, her tone a bit annoyed with the Hunter named Dyle. He smiled and replied:

"Sorry, it's probably because this new gun made my hand tremble with excitement, so I accidentally fired it."

The Huntress sighed at the somewhat mocking response from the Hunter beside her. Then both of them left the body and continued searching for another target. Elsewhere, Edward had now woken up and realized he was lying on a gravel surface. Slowly getting up and looking around, Edward noticed he was in a garden surrounded by mist, with a large black iron gate locked tightly by chains behind him.

"This place...it feels like...in my dream..."

Edward looked around and began to walk, everything was just like in his dream—the path, the flowering bushes, the grand mansion, and the giant tree with its wide canopy were all here, as if his dream had come true. At the fork in the road, instead of choosing to go down as in the dream, Edward chose to go straight towards the mansion, the gravel path extending until it stopped right in front of the mansion. The mansion is painted brown, with intricate golden carvings that give the grand estate an air of nobility. In front of the mansion is a fountain made of white stone, featuring the figure of a woman. And someone is sitting in front of the main door of the mansion. As Edward approached, he discovered that it was a girl with blue hair, wearing an outfit that, although not luxurious, still exuded an air of elegance and grace. She is wearing glasses and looks like she is sleeping, her head resting on a rock. Edward started to approach and examine.

"Hmmm...a girl...with blue hair and...ugh...this must be a good person..."

Edward looked down the more Edward looked, the more something inside him urged him to touch the girl. Edward's hand instinctively moved closer and closer but when his hand almost touch the girl, the other hand quickly pulled it back.

"Phew...Bad hand, almost caused a problem...Maybe I should let her sleep some more."

Edward walked past the girl and was about to enter the mansion to investigate when he heard a noise behind him that made him turn around. The girl had woken up, and Edward was surprised to see her standing upright, much taller than him, even though he was considered to have an average height. This girl was a head taller than Edward.

"Why she...so tall..."

Edward whispered to himself. The girl looked at Edward with her blue eyes, bowed to him politely, and began to speak:

"Welcome back, Good Hunter..."

She paused, tilted her head to look at Edward, and then continued:

"Oh, you must be a newcomer...Welcome to the Workshop, Hunter. I am Sophia, the one who will assist you from now on. Mr. Philip is waiting inside, perhaps you would like to meet him."