Chapter Sixteen - The Trail

Two Months Later

Roxy and Tyler stood at the foot of the High Council, awaiting for the members to arrive;

"You've come so far in your training Tyler! I'm proud of your progress these last couple of months. You barely rely on the Poppy Root's influence anymore! A true Master Hunter!" Roxy exclaimed, pride filling her voice.

"I couldn't have managed without you in my corner. Honestly, Rox, you've changed my life." Roxy looked shaken as the words reached her.

The High Council arrived one by one, sitting in their arranged seats before their voices bellowed through the empty halls; "Mr Brown and Miss Smith. We have heard great news regarding your training! We think you are the perfect choice for this task." One of the High Council members told.

"What task would that be?" Tyler asked;

"Miss Smith, do you recall the day you brought Mr Brown? You told us about a scratch on a wall. We sent some Prowlers to survey the area, and they returned with some results. This task will not be easy, Masters, but seeing your recent training results, we feel you are ready. The scratches were tested in our labs, and we found that they were from a creature known as an Oni. I'm guessing you've read about them during your studies?"

"Yes, sir. Oni's are, well, once were, humans who were raw evil, that they were transformed into demons after their death in Hell. How could one be here?" Roxy asked calmly.

"Well, sometimes, they are unlucky enough to be transformed during their lifetime, which we have the result of now. The Oni was difficult to spot, but thankfully, they've left a trail."

"A trail? You don't mean what I think you do." Tyler questioned, his face reflecting the dread he felt inside.

"Yes, Mr Brown," The Grand Master began, "a trail of bodies. The Oni has been hunting people for some time and left a large trail of bodies for us to follow right to him."

"If this Oni has been killing innocents, why didn't you send out people to take him out as soon as you found out?" Roxy exclaimed, "We are supposed to be protecting humanity from monsters! Not letting them hunt while we sit here doing nothing!"

"We were waiting for the right time. You are tasked with taking out the Oni before any more harm is done to precious humanity." A High Council member said sarcastically. "You are dismissed. Please return to your dormitory and prepare for the hunt ahead. The file has been left on your desk."

Roxy and Tyler left the hall and began walking to their dorm, "I can't believe that the High Council were waiting for us to take on this creature. Innocent people have died because they were waiting for us to get somewhat through our training!" Tyler exclaimed.

"It's disgusting, but I'm sure they had a reason. We need to strike as soon as we can. We better start reading up and prepare for this fight." The two agreed and ran back to their dorm, opening the brown file on their desk. It read:

Name: Yamanishi Ryuzaburo

Alias: Unknown

Age: 47

Employment: Dark Horse Brewers (Manager)

A picture was hung in the corner of a tall slim Japanese man, wearing a dark suit, standing against the building named 'Dark Horse Brewers'.

"So this is our target?" Tyler asked, "He doesn't seem like a demon."

"They can change in and out of form at will? Or maybe it's an old photo. Now how do we take down an Oni? That's the real question." Roxy pulled out the book they had been studying and turned to page 137. The page read;

Oni's are deadly creatures, set on defeating any enemy that dares to fight them. The only way I have discovered to destroy them is to hit them in their third eye whilst they are not wielding their Kanabo. However, it is challenging to remove the Kanabo from the Oni. Therefore the best tactic is to team up and distract it before removing the Kanabo from the Oni's hand, penetrating the third eye. Unfortunately, this has held mixed results, so due caution is required.

"Right, well, this is going to be difficult." Tyler complained, "We could do with some backup."

"The High Council won't allow it, plus the old team is not nearly ready to take on a human target, let alone an Oni."

Roxy and Tyler pondered over a plan before settling on one. "I'll distract the Oni by trying to shoot it using a bow, and when his back is turned, you use the grapple hook to catch the Kanabo and drag it from his hands whilst I line up one shot to the eye," Tyler explained. Roxy agreed, and both began to set off in the darkness to Dark Horse Brewery.

The two made their way to a viewpoint, overlooking the brewery perfectly and perched upon the rooftop scoping out the guards and infiltration points.

"Two men up front, main entrance. Is there an alternative route?" Tyler asked, scanning the area once again.

"Yeah, there is. Direct access to the manager's office, follow the back tower, and a window washer lift. Take it up, and you have direct access to Mr Ryuzaburo." A voice called from the back. Tyler and Roxy extended their blades and prepared for a fight; however, when they turned around, they were greeted by a tall figure wearing all black, a hood and mask covering their face. "Is that any way to greet an old friend? Especially after I saved your lives on that rooftop. I've been waiting for you both to show up. I tracked Mr Ryuzaburo here myself. I'm not sure exactly what he is, but he has a string of murders behind him. He deserves to be put down."

"Who are you?" Tyler asked, still prepared to take on the figure.

"That's the Vigilante." Roxy replied, "We met briefly when we were trapped by the R.E.A.P.E.R.S on the rooftop all that time. Trust me, mate, you aren't prepared for what you'll be against here. Just leave it to us."

"You mean an Oni? This isn't the first monster I've encountered, Hunter."

Roxy and Tyler looked at each other before retracting their wrist blades. "You've hunted monsters before? Are you ex-Hunter or something like that?"

"Not exactly. I'm just not as pathetic as you think. We have a ten-minute window. We need to move now."

"Listen here, we don't know you, so we don't trust you. Leave this to the Hunters. It's our job."

"If it's your job to hunt monsters, why didn't you do something before he killed nine innocent people. Nine people were killed under your watch. I tried to stop it every time, but for some reason, my arrows keep bouncing off it."

"That would be the invulnerability. It cannot be hurt without removing the Kabano from its hand, then it's a clear shot to the eye. Do you want to help? Maybe we could use an extra pair of hands." Roxy looked at Tyler as he said this, confusion on her face. "We can distract it, then the Vigilante can attack, with us by his side. This will be a tough fight, so maybe we could do with some help." Roxy nodded and signalled to follow.

The team made their way to the window washer lift and proceeded to rise to the top floor;

"So, do you have a name, or is it just Vigilante?" Tyler asked.

"Call me Prometheus."

"Right, Prometheus, what monsters have you fought, as I'm sure it won't be anything compared to this."

"I've taken on Werewolves, a Langusar and a Goblin. All whilst your Creed, the Hunters, stood back and let carnage happen. Maybe you should reconsider the team you work for."

Roxy and Tyler stayed silent, knowing it wasn't their fault, but Prometheus was right. The Hunters stood by whilst carnage ensued for so long.

"We're here," Prometheus said, opening the window and climbing inside.

Yamanishi Ryuzaburo stood in his suit, looking out the window at the business he built from the ground up.

Prometheus drew his bow, whilst Roxy and Tyler drew their wrist blades.

"Yamanishi Ryuzaburo. You are sentenced to death by order of the Hunters for the death of countless innocent people." Roxy called.

Yamanishi didn't budge. He stood at his window, still staring out;

"The Hunters. I was waiting for you to come. Drawing you out was the fun part. I heard about you from my time in Hell. Taking you down will be the fun part."

Roxy and Tyler looked at each other, fear starting to creep into their body.

Yamanishi started to contort inhumanly, his body and bones cracking in all sorts of places. Armour started to form around his body whilst sharp worn horns began to protrude through his forehead. Finally, the Oni roared a loud and menacing cry, shaking the room and smashing the windows, sending shattered glass everywhere.

"It's now or never!" Roxy called before charging towards the Oni, followed by Tyler and Prometheus. Roxy and Tyler began jumping towards the Oni, which was beaten by a swing of its now ginormous hand, sending the two crashing to the ground. Prometheus began launching a barrage of arrows toward the Oni, but to no avail.

"Aim for his Kabano! Take it from him!" Tyler called!

Prometheus took out a grapple-headed arrow and shot at the Kabano! A direct hit! He pulled it from the creature's hand, leaving it wide open to an attack. Roxy stood up and launched herself at the Oni, striking it at the third eye that sat atop its forehead. The creature crashed heavily to the floor before combusting and leaving a pile of ash where it once stood. Roxy turned to Tyler with pride on her face, only to be greeted with panic and fear upon his. She turned to Prometheus, who, under their facemask, was showing the same expression. His bow still raised as if it had been fired.

She looked down upon her body and collapsed to the ground, leaving an arrow poking through her torso. Tyler got up and rushed to help her;

"Hey! Don't fall asleep, Rox! Stay with me!" He cried, his eyes filled with tears. The life started to slowly fade in her eyes as she closed them more and more. Prometheus rushed to help Tyler;

"She needs a transfusion! She's losing a lot of blood! Here!" Prometheus brought out a makeshift IV from his quiver compartment and stuck one needle into Roxy and the other into Tyler's arm. "Are the Hunters going to help you out here?" Prometheus questioned, distrust seeping through the mask.

"I'll call for backup. Mayday, mayday, Hunter down! Need urgent medical attention to my location now!" No answer. He tried again but to no avail.

"Anything?" Prometheus asked, to which Tyler shook his tearful head. "We need to get to my base now. I can help her there!"

"Help her? You shot her!"

"It was an accident! I aimed for the eye! I didn't know that she would jump up and take it down!"

"It doesn't matter. Roxy was right. We don't know you. So we shouldn't have trusted you."

"Tyler, you can trust me. You've always trusted me, so for once, please, I beg you, for her sake, trust me now." With this, Prometheus removed his hood and mask from his face, revealing a boy the same age as Tyler with black hair.

"Thomas?!" Tyler cried! "You're the Vigilante! What?! How!"

"I'll explain it all after we get Roxy to my base! She needs medical attention now!"

Tyler nodded and created a tourniquet using an old piece of cloth that led on the floor before carrying her, still connected by the IV drip, and followed Thomas back to the Vigilante's base.