Chapter 74: Hunt

~Third POV~

Odd music began to play in the background as Echidna, Law, Ruby, and Tatsumi were made fully aware of the situation of the song but to their confusion and shock, they managed to see a few kids running around the place.

Law sees this and glances over to the rules on the post board as he gets the idea of what the song meant from the speakers around the place, "I see… when the rules say music, monsters, and survive? I guess this place Goldy Pond takes quite literally?"

Ruby also took glances at the kids as she noticed something odd about them till, she realized what they are in clear shock, "These kids… doesn't that look like a number code but what… They are the cattle children right with those numbers?!"

Tatsumi glances around the area as he notices the kids are not much older but younger as he took a good guess of their ages, "Damn. Taking a look around the place these kids are about the age groups of 6 or 7 to 13 or 14 years old what the literal fuck."

Echidna noticed the kids around her as she decided to take her time to bring her gospel to learn more as she carefully looked around, "Seems to that they are frightened by something? Must be these monsters it spoke about earlier?"

As the members were observing the area one of the kids with a jacket took a glance at them but was surprised to see an adults in the area as she quickly sprinted to their location and looked at three of them being armed (Tatsumi, Ruby, Law).

The four of them noticed a kid coming towards their direction as she looked at them surprised at them being there, "Wait you four aren't from around here and these two adults why are they here?"

Clearly surprised by the information Tatsumi began to ask the kid for some information, "Say kid you happen to know what's going on here? And what's with the music going off?"

The kid with them was surprised but replied as soon as she can as while getting her own questions in the process, "Seriously! You're certainly not like the others even with the adults here, but I guess you don't know about the plantations."

All four of them tilted their heads at this clearly confused as the kid with them began to explain to the four of them, "This place is a secret hunting reserve."

Next to speak was Law getting the grasp of the situation as he asked the next question in a calm tone, "Plantations? Say kid is there perhaps others like this one around that follow these strange set of rules?"

The kid took a look at Law as she began to explain to the rest of the chat group members as Echidna was busy creating her gospel, "This isn't one of the farms or like the other plantations. It's a secret garden the private property of an aristocrat Lord Bayon."

This gets their attention immediately as this is probably the first piece of information they can get from this world and their situation as Tatsumi asked the next question, "Alright then young girl what exactly does this place Goldy Pond operate exactly?"

The kid began to respond to Tatsumi as she explained all she could know about Goldy Pond in a calm tone, "This place is used to hunt for kids and the only reason we're still alive is for them to hunt us. The farms don't know about this place. It's a hidden playground."

Ruby hearing this frown she asked the next question that was disturbing her, "All the kids here who exactly they are?"

The kid replies to Ruby's question as Ruby responded with her fist tightening hearing her answer as she looks angry, "They are just innocent newbies. Once a month they replace all who've been eaten."

Law getting eerily calm hearing the answer asked another with a hint of coldness scaring the girl in front of them, "Replace them? Who exactly is replacing them with once they 'eat' their food?"

The kid gulped her spit but answered Law regardless while the three members were slowly getting calm too calm in the situation, "F-Farm kids mostly. They have some special privilege and use it to ship living cattle."

Echidna asked the logical question that needed to be asked for assurance, "You are saying that the others here don't even know the reason they are hunted?"

The kid replies to Echidna's question with some reactions from the other three members after hearing the answer, "They don't know anything at all. They think they were fortunate to be born in a happy little orphanage that they were chosen to move into a good home…"

All the members noticed that the girl looks down as she tightens her fist indicating how angry and frustrated she was, "…And then some sort of monster kidnapped them and now keeps coming to terrorize them. That's basically how most of them see it… even me…"

Seeing this the members were left in a stunned state.

They never expected the situation to be this bad as Tatsumi began to go look around as he says to the group in a happy tone, "Guys I'll be off to search around the place and if I meet one of those monsters it will make a good hunt right?"

Ruby then brings out her new Crescent Rose out modified as she began to move towards another part of the area as she tells the others as her hood shadows her face, "Same I feel like some of these monsters need to be how to say hunted down? Yeah, let's go with that idea. I'll join Tatsumi and you guys later I need to vent out."

With that Ruby vanished leaving behind a trail of rose petals searching the area all over the place as the only ones left were Echidna, Law, and a shocked kid seeing them.

The kid seeing this was shocked as she was looking at where Ruby vanished and asked the other members if she was seeing things, "Did… did that girl just vanished!! What the hell is she demon or something!"

Echidna laughed at that as she picks up the child as she says to her, "No. It seems to me our resident hunters are hunting these so-called monsters from what I can tell. So, I think they are fine on their own? You are joining the hunting game newbie?"

Law only made a twitching response from Echidna calling him a newbie as he began to walk around searching for these monsters himself as he says to Echidna with an annoyed tone, "Tch. Sure thing. I'll be sure to be the one to bring in the bigger number of monsters after all I'm the Surgeon of Death I'm in need of some patients to test my abilities."

With that Law began to walk away bringing his sword with him at the ready as the kid looked at them shocked if they were crazy or insane.

As Echidna was alone she summoned up Beatrice next to her for assistance surprising the young kid as Echidna asked her another question, "Ok young lady can you tell me all that you can about this monster aristocrat Lord Bayon and what are these monsters?"

Meanwhile in a separate part of the forest was a demon by the name of Leuvis a demon and younger brother to the Queen of Demons Legravailma with his pet monkey demon Lavus.

Leuvis is a tall and slender demon with three fingers on each hand, and three toes on each foot. His entire body is clothed in black with a high collared cape draped over his shoulders.

He also wears a matching top hat decorated with rope-like looms. Like most demons, his face was covered with a golden mask with four holes on top of each other with the upper three allowing him to see. When he grins, the bottom hole in his mask reveals his sharp canines.

Currently, he was hunting a defenseless child crying in fear as he looks bored at him as he thinks to himself, 'Shame. Not this one as well. No spunk to kill in its eyes but fear truly boring site to behold.'

The child ran away from Lewis as he wanders around the Goldy Pond clearly not in the heart of the hunt as there were no humans to kill that have eyes of a killer.

Sighing away his boredom he looks around as he asked his monkey pet partner in annoyance and is depressed, "Sigh… these brats aren't that fun, and these hunts hold no value. I wish this were the time were both hunters place their life on the line. Truly this has become incredibly boring with a human with the eyes of a killer around…"

Leuvis was wandering around the place as he happens to catch the sight of another human unfamiliar to him as he holds, she holds a big red scythe with her hood shadowing her face with clear anger in her voice, "So? These guys are supposedly the monsters from the post board said about earlier. They aren't wrong about it being monstrously ugly."

Leuvis was rather interested in seeing a young girl appeared as he tilted his head in clear confusion but the eyes that Ruby holds excited him.

Eyes of a killer.

Grinning showing his feral teeth he lunged at him to attack.

Ruby glancing at this smirk at this readying her [Quirk: Blackwhip] all over around her body preparing to fight against the monster in front of her.

After all she was trained to hunt Grimm monsters of darkness.

So, hunting a real monster won't be that different for her in the slightest.