Chapter 39

Tracking the human mage wasn't at all an issue, as he was living the high life in Tokyo abusing his supposed talent with hypnosis to interject himself into family's homes and live a life of depravity by going after young and married women.

"His magical signature is everywhere," Mami said with her nose crinkling as the oppressive almost rank feeling of the mage's magic was all over this neighborhood. 'Was he trying to impregnate the entire neighborhood or something.' I couldn't help but think as I could see with my Mystic Eyes his magical signature over each and every building.

"Yes. But it leads straight to him." I said coldly as we walked into the neighborhood and it only took us a good twenty minutes of flying around with some camouflaging spells to pick up the house with the freshest contamination.

Once we reached the house... I knew it was the right house for a fact as moans were ringing out through the windows of the house as we approached and Mami spoke softly. "Can't throw him in prison, can we?" 

I shook my head and said plainly. "No... When it comes to magical or supernatural beings, unless they have extremely important information only they know and warrant being thrown in the Colcytus River, all people on the bounties are killed on sight unless they have something the bounty giver wants and thus need them alive." I said reciting the information that Tsubaki and Momo gave me.

Mami grimaced but took a breath and nodded, she was mentally strong under most circumstances... And being honest. This guy was complete scum, or a rabid animal you couldn't really feel bad for dealing with.

With Mami's hangups about killing him dealt with, I used my Sitri magic to snake a water construct under the door and up to unlock the door and with the door open the sounds of debauchery rang out ever so clearer.

But with my face being stone I walked into the house towards the sounds with Mami following behind me and as we entered the rather well-decorated living room, I saw our target laying on a couch with a dull-eyed mother sitting on his face and what looked like the daughter bouncing on his lap. 

I looked around the room to make sure the Manananggal wasn't also in the area as the bounties made no mention of the precise connection they shared. But regardless I looked around, and as I did so, I frowned seeing the probable father of the household was sitting hunched backward with his head facing the ceiling completely still.

So with no hostiles besides the target, I formed a dagger of ice in one hand and as the man hearing my heavy footfalls tried to move the woman sitting on his face I just pushed her off him and as his terrified eyes met mine I just slammed the hardened ice dagger directly into his eye and into his brain making his fat body flop around as I used now freed hand to hold him down by the throat as I rammed the dagger into his brain at different angles to make sure he was completely done for.

"Mami, check the father," I spoke as I met the man's eye as he died like the rat he was.

"He is dead," Mami said in but a moment and I sighed and with a grunt, I wrenched out the dagger before grabbing the corpse by its greasy hair. 

"Just... Wait for me to dispose of this." I said as I dropped the magician's blood signature into the bounty page and a couple of moments later I got our payment and then I completely froze his body and with a snap of my fingers, his body shattered in dust that was finished off with some controlled flame spells.

I then went to check on the husband and after confirming his death via the sight of impacts via blunt instruments to the back of the head, I sent Sona a message to have the local police find the father's body in the garage after a beam fell onto his head from the roof which would net the family a good life insurance policy to support themselves. 

Which was all I could do for them. It's not like I would ever see them again almost certainly, as we had left Kuoh and had entered the next city over.

"Now where is the Manananggal?" I muttered with my mood recovering after dealing with paperwork which made my murder of the magician almost boring. But at my question Mami spoke with a grimace. 

"Jake, if the Manananggal is going after children and pregnant women... Maybe it will be at a hospital?" She spoke and my face went utterly flat and disgusted as it was a good idea. 

"Alright let's go check the local hospital then." I agreed as the magical signature for the Manananggal was still linked to being in this city and more specifically due to it being here in the city with a number of monitoring wards, her bounty page had her pegged at being within fifteen miles of our location.

-

It took a couple of hours, but after checking the local hospitals and then going around to other locations to hunt for the Manananggal. We found its form flying around the most obvious place.

A small OBGYN-focused hospital... When we found it, Mami seeing its disgusting rotting charcoal rugged skin with organs hanging out of its bottomless flying form, she didn't hesitate a moment in summoning one of her rifles, and with a sudden long banging noise, a fist-sized hole was blown through the vampiric monsters head making the monster fall out of its nest that it had made in the venting system atop the hospital.

'There is an amazing merit for American hospitals that are almost all named after saints and are on holy ground.' I thought with a grimace as in the nest was a trio of smaller Manananggal that we also disposed of quickly and I also got the Manananggal's bounty. "Alright let's go home," I said with a sigh at the day's events.

"This isn't an easy job," Mami added and I nodded but she continued. "It's not that much different from being a magical girl and killing Witches honestly. But that magician... That cruelty he had was just... Wrong." finished.

I didn't respond for a moment as I leaned against the roof of the hospital fencing and looked out into the city. But eventually, I spoke. "These bounties make normal humans safer though, just like killing witches keeps the world itself safe. I am glad to have our help though." I said with a smile and my blond magical girl held my arm in her own arms pinning it against her chest.

"Wanna purge a vampire family that got uppity and is expanding to make a clan?" I asked and Mami got on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek and I raised an eyebrow as she chuckled and danced backwards before jumping into the air to fly using her magic. 

"Alright let's get going, Jake! And remember, I want some ice cream after all this work!" She said cheerfully as she flew towards our next target.

'If she wanted a date, all she had to do was ask!' I thought with a gentle smile as I caught up with Mami in the air where we both hand in hand flew towards the edge of the city's industrial area where the vampire family had been noted to have taken roots there.