The Preying City

Sunday

8 p.m.

North gate of Blackwood salt mine,

This place would usually be bereft of people except for the guard stationed there but quite a number of people were present tonight. As for the guard, he was sound asleep. He wouldn't be waking up anytime soon no matter what happened.

The people present wore hooded robes to hide their identity. Everyone was waiting patiently for Mr. Collector to make his appearance. Except for Miss Mystique who kept on glancing around restlessly, no one showed any signs of nervousness. Big Joe stood beside her and made a mental note to teach the girl basics for appearing calm and collected so as not to be seen as easy prey.

Vincent looked at everyone. Besides him, Miss Mystique and Big Joe, six others were present. He knew for a fact that Mr. Grey was strong. Big Joe had an ability that allowed him to nullify shock, an unusual power. Vincent was quite interested about what supernatural the big man was. Mr. Eagle had an impressive speed and strength but hadn't used his other powers in the previous clash. These were everything he knew about the people present.

'I wonder what abilities Miss Mystique gained. She noticed me by herself today so I am sure that she is already a supernatural. The potion was expensive but she seemed very satisfied. Must be a potion with a very attractive power.'

Vincent's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps. He looked over and saw Mr. Collector's two subordinates carrying a heavy c.h.e.s.t. The master however was nowhere to be found.

Mr. Grey waited for the duo to put down the c.h.e.s.t and asked, "Where's Mr. Collector?"

"Master will be here soon." The short subordinate who always used the key to pick everyone up replied as he massaged his forearm.

The other subordinate unlocked the c.h.e.s.t and opened it. The contents were hidden by a black cloth. Vincent was wondering what was below the cloth when Mr. Collector made his appearance.

"Looks like everyone is here. I hope everyone completed their preparations." He walked to the c.h.e.s.t and removed the cloth. Tools used for butchering were arranged neatly inside. The metal edges gleamed underneath the moonlight as if to show off their sharpness. "Let's get right to the task. We have to be done with the trolls and extract their core blood before half an hour. Anymore, and I am afraid the specialized police will be here."

Vincent wasn't surprised. If Mr. Collector could find out about this troll's nest, then so could the authorities. The monsters were usually eliminated by the specialized police department which was made up of supernaturals who worked for the kingdom. Cases such as this where unaffiliated supernaturals had the first move was rare. Monsters were full of valuable resources and the kingdom did its best to secure that the majority of it landed on their hands.

There were also cases where the specialized police used information regarding monsters as trap to lure and catch unaffiliated supernaturals. Vincent was more interested in knowing what the host had done to buy half an hour. From the little impression that he had of the man, he knew that Mr. Collector was meticulous.

The group made their way to the inside of the woods in a moderate pace. Mr. Collector led the way and the rest followed behind him carrying a tool or two that was originally inside the c.h.e.s.t. Even Miss Mystique was carrying a large cleaver. The contrast between her appearance and the weapon made for a comical sight.

Big Joe followed right beside her carrying a giant meat saw. He observed the people in front of him. This was his first time hunting a monster and he wanted to take in what everyone was doing. His focus was mainly on Mr. Collector and Mr. Grey. The former looked relaxed and had nothing different about him while the latter was giving off a sharp feeling. He stood out from the rest of the members and gave off a feeling of confidence and experience.

As for the last member who was supposed to be strong, Mr. Secret, still couldn't be read. He carried no tool from the c.h.e.s.t and walked behind everyone in a leisurely fashion. The mask hid his entire face and it proved difficult to read him even on a superficial level.

Big Joe did feel a little uneasy because he couldn't make heads or tails out of this masked man but it also gave him a sense of security. Having a strong person with you was almost always a good thing. If things ever got rocky, the presence of a strong individual definitely helped a lot.

This was his first time participating on such a hunt and the presence of two high grade supernaturals put him at ease. Mr. Collector had brought along two of his subordinates who were probably grade three and the master had bunch of artifacts. His strength should be in the upper tier even for grade 4 supernaturals. The masked Mr. Secret on the other hand was still as inscrutable as ever. His powers were a mystery, so was his grade.

Joe wasn't even sure if the masked man was strong at all. He had the urge to test it but quickly chased the thought away. Though he was no expert in such things, he had seen enough of the dark world to know not to mess with things you can't see through.

Soon, the group were standing in front of a small rock formation. The structure seemed like a cave made from stones artificially. If not for the giant stones that weighed dozens of tons each, anyone observing it would say that it was made by humans.

"Is this really made naturally? Why does it look as if it's arranged symmetrically?" Miss Mystique as usual, couldn't suppress her curiosity and voiced out her thoughts. She was right. The structure did indeed look like a roughly made house.

"That, my dear Miss Mystique, is because it was made by a titan's child when he was playing around." Mr. Collector answered the young lady's question calmly. His words attracted everyone's attention. Such a sentence left everyone slightly shocked and unsure of whether the man was joking or telling the truth.

"But that can't be true. Aren't titans just a myth?" The curious Miss Mystique followed up with another question. Titans appeared on nothing but mythical stories from ages ago. Unlike other monsters whose stories still circulated around and words of their sighting occasionally turning up, titans were but the characters in epic sagas or tales.

Mr. Collector smiled sadly and answered, "If you ask the people in kindlewich about ghosts and vampires among other supernaturals, they would probably think of you as a young lady lost in the splendors of fantasy tales. But you and I both know that they are real and very much present among us. Why is it that Titans cannot be real just like any of us? Just because they aren't around right now doesn't mean that they didn't exist."

"Are you telling me that the tales of how they were born from the earth with each possessing magical powers is true?"

"Indeed. They were the very first life forms on earth and they populated this world. Their children all had magical abilities who in turn had their own offspring. This cycle continued with each generation being significantly weaker than the previous ones. The world was slowly stripped off of its magical properties until it became the one which you now know."

The young lady was fascinated by the tale. In the version she knew, Titans were but giants who lived before any humans roamed the earth and wielded unimaginable powers. They were portrayed as gods in many tales. Mr. Collector however told them as the creatures born from the earth itself, each possessing incredible abilities. But his words also bought a lot of questions into her mind.

"Did we also come from a long line of their offspring?"

"That is what I believe. Monsters are just the creatures who still retain their supernatural abilities. You could say that they are the original supernaturals and we are just fakes who got our powers through potions."

There was so much more she wanted to ask but now wasn't the time for such topics. They had limited time to get their work done and she didn't want to pull everyone down. As much as she wanted to know more about monsters and titans, she was looking forward to a supernatural battle even more.

The people present tensed up visibly as they made their final preparations, not even the experienced Mr. Grey was any different this time. Perhaps, it was because he understood just how dangerous the upcoming fight would be.

Mr. Collector took off his golden robe and in its place, donned a shabby piece of cloth. The article had blood red spots all over it and torn in many places. It looked like something taken off the corpse of a homeless man. The ends had loose pieces of fabric which danced like tentacles in the dark in an eerie fashion.