“It is true that you are a thorn in my eyes. But that is the very reason why I don’t leave a thorn unattended. I would pluck every thorn and every obstacle that lies in my way even thought it might cause my hands to bleed in crimson dye.“

Shizu was indeed not aware. But her existence had helped Klautz in many ways so far. She was the preservative that was keeping his bait for the ninjas fresh as new. It was because of her that Evelyn was still alive. But Klautz didn’t feel the need to repay for she had been equally troublesome as well.

What KLautz was doing was simply moving towards his own goals that happened to be aligned with the girl. If not he would have probably not bothered to watch her cry and whimper and would have moved out instead..

Klautz let go of the table as he casually leaned back on his chair not meeting the girl’s eyes as his chin trembled in thought. He closed his eyes embracing the darkness surrounding him due to no power supply as he continued…

“I have planned a few practice sessions for you to learn to lead your group. This would train you properly for the D day and also clear out your insecurities… well let’s hope it does. And it would also clear up the variables that exist in this plan. I hope that you will cooperate with me,” Klautz whispered in a monotonous voice.

He wasn’t here to convince his employer. Rather he was here to propose a deal. As long as she keeps her side of the bet both of them could benefit from it.

There was no refuting the fact that Shizu was the true leader of the group. Klautz was not in a place to order her around. All he could do was to negotiate. The power was hers and it was for her to decide.

“Okay, I will.” she spoke in a soft and feminine and yet stern voice.

Klautz took a glance at her from the corner of his half closed eyes as she nodded. A smile formed on his lips as he closed his eyes again.

***

The ‘Hunt’ had begun. Humanity had fallen back to their primal activities.

In the world of hell it was to hunt or to be hunted. Farming wasn’t really an alternative to avoid the beasts of prey anymore as humans could hardly defend themselves against them let alone push them completely back to the forest.

The weapons that the humans had always relied on. The tricks and techniques up their sleeve had all proven to be worthless against absolute force. Indeed, the beasts of hell were exponentially stronger than those back from earth to the point that they could drive humans to extinction.

All the teams had set out on their own directions. There were multiple hotspots that housed the dreadtaur beast and everyone himself were to choose whichever region they wanted based on the personal preference of the commander.

Of course they had to their own homework as well. No one wants to end up colliding with another group in the process of their hunt due to a slight stroke of bad luck.

The Dread Taur itself was a vicious beast that most of the newbies would try to avoid once being summoned to hell. It had two large and sharp horns that could punch holes into any human. 

It’s upper jaw was intact but its lower jaw was split into two equal halves that allowed it to open its mouth so wide that it could swallow prey thrice the size of what was considered normal for its height of six feet despite being a four legged beast. And of course humans were under its potential prey lists for its torso was four times the size of an average human..

And its tongue itself was at least 3 feet which oozed out of saliva every time it spotted a human.

‘But that is not the true threat for us.’ Klautz lamented.

For Klautz the beast was never a warning sign. His soldiers were trained specifically to kill these beasts. Considering their large numbers, unless they mess up too bad,  they won’t be facing too many casualties in hunating the beast alone.

‘The true threat is Benton.’

Benton had it all, whether it be in strength or in numbers. If they were to work everything out the usual way, it was clear as a day that they were going to lose as they lacked in both the departments if they were to be taken as a standard of comparison.

‘Losing here would definitely leave a bad taste. I better win.’

“Evelyn, come with me!” klautz howled causing every other newbie to shake in their legs. 

The fear had yet to dissipate.

But Klautz couldn’t bear to notice. Klautz called out to the girl who was following Shizu till now. She nodded and walked up to Klautz.

“Is it time?” she asked.

Klautz nodded.

“It is, let’s go.”

A small group of five men left the premises as they detached themselves from the original group branching off. As Shizu watched them go, she knew better than anyone else that it was now her turn to do the job.

“Scouts! Search for the next beast. We don’t have much time in hand,” the feminine voice ordered her men under the shade of the Yukiho flag.

The guards too were present as usual to ensure her safety but today their intervention was almost considered to be nil. They would only be appearing upon mortal dangers and suspicious activities as they watched the events being played out.

The different specialized groups worked all that at the same time. While the Collectors collected the horns, the supporters tended to the injured, All the while the hunters fought with the current beast in front of them.

***

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