Chapter 1: Prologue: Where It All Began
In one of the dense forest of the Land of Dawn, there are always hunters that are scattered. They are tasked to protect the land from unholy beings such as the demons that are under Alices' rule or the otherwordly beings that may attack the earth. Hunters are tasked to always complete a mission, within a deadline no matter how dangerous it can be.
But they are hunters that are only wanted one thing...
Vengeance
Revenge for what happened from their families that they lost from the demons or wolves. These types of hunters have a resolve to kill the main person that was behind of the operation despite on how difficult or how long it can take.
Grudges can be held for a long time after all.
(Space)
Ruby yawned as she was walking across the forest path, her scythe was behind her back as she was travelling across the land. She recently finished a mission to kill a couple of rouge monsters that had been ravaging a settlement and now was returning to the said mission.
"That was a lot simpler than I thought..." The blonde teen muttered as she kept walking on the path, humming a small tune as she was venturing in the forest.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of blades clashing nearby, which made her alert on what was happening. Her hand subconciously grabbed the handle of her scythe just in case anyone was passing by to attack her. She walked slowly to the direction where the fight was happening till she managed to see what was happening.
She saw a blonde teenage male fighting the beserking Blood Orc, Balmond. The two kept clashing blades as blonde male kept slashing right after the other, each slash becoming more intense and faster than the last one.
Balmond snarled as he span around with his long blade, making the blonde male jump back to create some distance. Ruby analyzed that the blonde's blade was glowing red and he had a smirk on his face.
"You are adapting well to my battle style huh?" The teen exclaimed as he adjusted his blade. The blood orc snarled as it stopped spinning to charge at the male.
The teen sidestepped as he quickly delivered a quick slash as the blood orc passed by. Balmond snarled in pain as it kneeled and clutched it's chest, feeling the pain of the slash. The teen smirked as he let his sword stabbed the blood orc on the head, killing Balmond quickly.
"Well, that was a well fought battle...but better luck next time whenever you regenerate." He exclaimed loudly as he quickly sheathed his sword.
Ruby noticed that the male was really arrogant yet really strong. His powers was oddly similar to hers as it had a strange yet familiar on his blade.
"Is he a wolf hunter too?" She wondered as she was watching the blonde male taking deep breaths. "Should I ask him?"
While the wolf huntress was in thought, the blonde male noticed her staring in the bushes. The male blinked before smirking.
"Hey you over there watching over the bushes." He called her out, making the blonde wolf huntress eyes widened. "It isn't kind watching people from there so come out or prepare to be dead on that spot you're in."
Ruby sighed as she stood up from her spot, making her visible to the blonde male. His eyes widened as he recognized the person.
"Well...well.." The blonde male started with his eyes having a wide smirk. "If it isn't the Wolves' Bane herself, the killer of the Great Wolf King at a young age. " He exclaimed as if he was stating a great fact. Ruby's eyes rolled as if she heard enough of that already.
"Yeah...yeah.. how about you?" She asked with genuine interest. "Are you a wolf hunter?"
The blonde male shook his head. "Nope. I am a demon hunter, The name's Alucard." He replied as he showed his belt buckle, which had a skull head on it. "I actually just transfered to this land after I had many years of service in the Hunter's Guild. I basically am on my own now."
Ruby slowly nodded in understanding. It was quite rare to see a demon hunter around this parts but due to the recent swarms of demons that the land was facing, it was probably the best decision that the hunter's guild did.
But she was still immensely curious on how similar her and his powers are. With that in mind, she asked. "What about your powers over there? Is it some sort of blade enchancing magic?"
Alucard raised an eyebrow. "Quite nosy aren't cha?" The demon hunter asked before smiling. "Well, you can figure it out by fighting me one on one."
Ruby rolled her eyes and sighed. "Of'course you males always wanted a fight rather having a civilized conversation..." She muttered out loud. "I don't have time for this.."
Alucard pouted as he was quite excited on fighting someone different. "Awww, c'mon! Aren't you curious on how my powers work?" He asked before smiling wickedly. "Or are you scared on fighting the best demon hunter of all the land?"
Ruby snorted as she grabbed the handle of her scythe. "As if. You are just not worth my time. I might bruise your ego for beating you so hard." She mocked, making the demon hunter's smile wider.
"Well then, show me what you can do." He exclaimed as he unsheathed his sword. "Or is the things about you a hoax? By the looks of it, you are just a small girl that came from a cosplay convention."
The wolf huntress fiercely glared at him as she prepared her scythe from her back. "That does it...I'm offended!" She exclaimed as she quickly swung her scythe in a quick manner, suprising the demon hunter as he narrowly avoided being cleaved in two by the scythe.
"That's more like it!" Alucard exclaimed as he went in a battle stance, his sword glowing red. "Let's dance!" He charged as with a downward slash onto the wolf huntress.
Ruby dodged as she swung her scythe wildly, grabbing the opening that was presented but it was blocked by his blade. The demon hunter twisted his body, spinning around with his blade as he almost hit the wolf huntress with his sword.
She jumped back before slashing in front of her, sending a red attack wave at Alucard. The demon hunter slashed the wave, dispersing it completely before jumping for a downward smash at the wolf huntress.
She swung her scythe upward, blocking the slash as she hooked his blade on to his. Alucard's eyes widened as she span around, getting himself thrown out from the rotation without his sword in hand. He was thrown to the ground in a thump, making him groan in pain as he rubbed his backside.
Ruby smirked as she grabbed his blade. "Well, aren't you all talk?" She mocked as she fiddle with his blade. It felt really weird on her hands as if there was power dormant within the said sword. Alucard glared as he extended his hand, making the sword glow even redder.
Ruby's eyes widened as she let go of the blade, fearing what it would do as the sword flew into the demon hunter's hands. Alucard smirked as he changed his battle style, his pupils changed from blue to red.
"Well girl, you will have a first hand experience on how my powers work!" He exclaimed as he swung his sword in front of him, creating a huge red attack wave that is flying at her. The wolf huntress eyes widened as she jumped out of the way on time for not to be hit by the wave. The said wave went through a couple of trees, shattering the trunks in half before dispersing completely.
Ruby blinked at the immense power that the attack had. "That was too powerful for me to even think to block that." She thought as she quickly jumped forward, swinging her scythe to launch an attack wave.
Alucard broke the attack wave as he swung his sword. Ruby blocked the swing ad she gritted her teeth on how strong the swing was. She dislodged her weapon as she dashed back, preventing any follow ups from the demon hunter.
But Alucard expected that as he jumped at her, his sword in mid swing. The wolf huntress yelped in pain as her arm got scrapped by the blade. Her eyes glanced at the wound before glaring at the demon hunter, her eyes changing from blue to light violet.
"That does it!" She exclaimed as her scythe was covered in a red aura. The demon hunter blinked before smiling widely as he adjusted his stance.
"Well, looks like we are taking this on the next level." Alucard exclaimed as he charged at her. The wolf huntress span around, deflected the sword swing before jumping forward with a quick swing on her scythe. The demon hunter twisted his body to swing his sword downward to block the swing before jumping behind her.
Ruby noticed this as she ducked to dodge a swipe at her head and rolling forwards before sending an empowered attack wave at the demon hunter. He dodged as he charged at her again with his sword glowing even brighter.
The wolf huntress swung her scythe to block the blow before spinning around to do a spin slash. Alucard knew this as he distanced himself before launching an attack wave at her while she was spinning.
Ruby's eyes widened as she swung her scythe forward in hopes of blocking the wave. She did but she went flying across the grotto, hitting a tree with a hard thump. She groaned in pain as she stood up, slightly limping from the impact.
Alucard smirked. "Is that all you really got? I'm disappointed." He mocked her. The wolf huntress glared as she panted, recovering from the blow that she recieved earlier.
"You...will pay for that!" She exclaimed angrily as she swung her scythe in a blinding speed. "I'M OFFENDED!"
The demon hunter jumped out of the way as he avoided yet again to be hooked on the wolf huntress' scythe. He saw the blonde girl charging at him, lauching an attack wave that he blocked.
Ruby danced around as she swung her scythe, trying to find an opening as Alucard kept dodging her strikes. The wolf huntress panted as she kept the tempo up, trying to damage the demon hunter who was suprisingly agile.
He smirked as he swung his blade upward, making Ruby dodge it before swinging his blade downward hard. She noticed this and swung her scythe to block the blade.
Blade and sycthe clashed once more as the two fiercely clashed with each other, each trying to overpower each other. Ruby gritted her teeth as she pushed more power onto her weapon, making Alucard grin as he did the same thing.
After a power struggle, Ruby gasped as she jumped back, feeling her arms numb from the pain. Her eyes changed back to the normal blue color as she panted heavily, feeling the loss of her powers.
"Well, looks like you reached your limit." Alucard exclaimed as he sheathed his sword. Ruby glared weakly at him as she tried to move but she felt her legs weakened as she just sat down on the ground in a tired heap.
"Ah...ah... you will pay for this.." She exclaimed tiredly as she tried to stand up using her scythe but she was too drained to do so. Alucard smiled gently as he walked close to her.
Without warning, he helped her up, making her suprised at the action. Her face felt hot as he slung on of her arm over his shoulders. "W-what are you doing?" She asked in a suprised manner.
Alucard rolled his eyes. "Helping you out of here. You are clearly drained from the fight so might as well help you out of here." He explained, making her blink before nodding slowly.
The demon hunter looked around before sighing. "Well, the question is.. where are you going anyways?" He asked the wolf huntress. Ruby sighed before pointing west weakly with her left arm.
"To mainland." She answered simply. The demon hunter nodded as he helped her walk as they exited the grotto.
(Space)
Back at the city, the two hunters decided to rest a local restaurant. The two are currently eating some food that they love, salad and some chicken for Ruby while Alucard had a steak with gravy with some vegetables within.
The wolf huntress looked at the demon hunter, who was eating like a true gentleman. Even after the fight, she couldn't figure out his powers. It felt like the same as hers but more demonic in a way.
She sighed as she took a bite of her chicken. "Still doesn't excuse the fact that I lost..." She thought while she was eating. The demon hunter noticed her down look before smiling gently.
"Look, don't let the loss eat you up." Alucard exclaimed, making the wolf huntress look at him in shock.
"I-I wasn't..." She tried to deny it but she sighed. "Yeah..yeah.. it is just.. I couldn't believe that match. I felt so outclassed.."
The demon hunter patted her back. "Well, how long had you been training?" He asked. The wolf huntress averted her gaze from Alucard.
"...probably four years and that was before I became a solo hunter myself." The wolf huntress answered embarrassingly, making the demon hunter blink.
"Well.. I was training for like.. fourteen years." He answered back, making the wolf huntress' eyes widened.
"Wait.. how old are you now?" She asked in disbelief. He smirked as he took a bite of steak with the use of his fork.
"Eighteen. I had been training ever since I was four." The demon hunter answered. "I needed to honestly. It was survival of the fittest of all the demon hunters back then as the demons were terrifying powerful."
His fists clenched as he remembered something, like a sour memory. "And then.. my family was killed by the Demon Queen.. Alice... she cursed me to have the powers of a demon." He said with distaste. "But jokes on her, I made the curse a blessing as I can kill demons a lot faster than any demon hunter because of it."
Ruby nodded slowly before sighing. "I know how it feels like losing a family... I lost mine from the Great Wolf King. I got my powers from eating his heart, which granted me Wolf Pact Powers... but I get drained easily when I use it for a long time."
Alucard nodded. "Yeah. I noticed that..so you better train." He said as he grabbed a glass of water and took a sip from it. "In fact.. would you want me to train you?"
The wolf huntress blinked. "What?" She exclaimed. The demon hunter smiled as he placed the glass down.
"Well, we have similar powers and we have similar fighting styles despite the difference of weaponry." Alucard started. "Would it be logical that we trained together so we can help each other out?"
Ruby nodded. "I know that...but why the sudden interest?" She asked, which made the demon hunter smile.
"Well, it was been a long time since I found someone who has a similar power as me." He stated. "Plus, you are a solo hunter as well. It would be good for us to train up just in case that we face stronger monsters along the way."
Ruby listened through and thought about it. She knew that it would be optimal for her to train again but she didn't know where to begin at. The wolf huntress knew that having some sort of mentor would benefit her greatly as she would know what to improve on.
She sighed before nodding. "Fine... I take your offer." She answered after having much thought about it. "But no funny business!" She added hastily.
Alucard snorted. "Wouldn't dream of it. You are like.. the shortest woman I ever seen." He replied, making the woman glare at him as she took a bite of her chicken.
A start of a rather weird partnership that would lead to a series of up and downs with a lots of bantering, jeering and training. Who knows? Maybe somewhere between those hateful words, may friendship blossom as they stick with each other through thick and thin.
