Some twenty minutes later, Jean went over the unusual phone call in his mind as he entered the cabin of a military-grade helicopter waiting for his group outside the Cellar. In the life of a hunter, it wasn't particularly unusual for outposts to receive strange calls. Some people who called were embarrassed to be dialing their numbers, asking for help regarding paranormal creatures "of all things", and others didn't know how to be precise as to why they called, at all. There were even some cases in which hunters acted more as first responders than an authority. The stories they could tell were vast.

But this call was unusual in a different way, and he wasn't the only one who thought so.

"So, we're not going to address the fact that a civilian knows what calibre of inhuman they're dealing with?" Gulliver asked from the helicopter's cockpit.

"Because what civilian knows about demonic parasites?" Robin agreed.

"None, or so it should be," Calvin responded, his arms crossed against his chest. "Perhaps she and her daughter have hunter friends?"

"Then she wouldn't have called us, you think?" said Musa, sitting across from Robin. "Also, we probably would have received a distress call from those hunters instead."

Jean nodded, looking off. "Not unless those hunters were taken out by the horde." He looked up at them. "But this means she must have come into contact with Tristan or Ulrich at least once. That, or someone else who came upon them gave her our number."

"We'll find out. Playing first-responder isn't all that bad," said Friedrich from beside him.

"But parasites," Robin groaned, "I fucking hate parasites. Remember Southaven?"

"Ugh, don't remind me." Grimacing, Calvin placed a hand over his stomach and shook his other towards him. "I couldn't eat right for days."

Slanting his eye with some humor, Jean chuckled, "I don't think any of us could, Cal."

Even Friedrich, who was also grimacing at the memory, nodded in agreement. "Let us hope this time it's not as ghastly."

They raised into the air the moment the helicopter door shut on their way to the southernmost region of the nearby area of Sewanhaka.

They arrived at their destination in less than twenty minutes. Because of the nature of the hunt, Ulrich and his team were not called to go ahead. The woman had called from a small town within Sewanhaka, keeping them isolated from any noteworthy media or authority outlets.

They landed in a small open area upon a hill overlooking a graveyard, scanning the location before deciding to depart from the helicopter. There was nothing unusual as far as the eye could see in the morning light, but it was quiet.

Too quiet. Much like when Hobboilen and Domien were encountered, not a single animal could be heard. Even the wind was still. From vague memories alone, a small shiver went down Jean's neck, but he remained calm.

"Friedrich, Calvin, Robin, stay with the helicopter," he ordered, waving at Gulliver and Musa. After they came to his sides, he nodded at them and they all donned paralung oxygen masks. "Radio silence if we can help it, men. You know how this works."

"Sent," all five men said in soft unison.

Instead of running into any given direction, Jean deduced the graveyard would be a good place to start. There was a small house-like building visible from within, and the woman could be hiding there. Over the phone, she made it clear she wouldn't be staying where she called from. With any luck, she was there or maybe some clues were left behind.

He signaled for Musa and Gulliver to follow him, and together, they jogged at a cautious pace towards the graveyard with their guns in hand. The wrought-iron gate wasn't a deterrent for them, as while they approached, Jean manifested the magical platforms for them to jump onto without breaking their strides.

Once they landed, they went on the alert. Graveyards could be dangerous depending on whatever they were up against. Lich, revenants, and other undead, including vampires, found graveyards as "breeding grounds", as hunters called it. Literally and figuratively.

The graveyard was just like any other, and they soon came upon the small house. From its simple but rustic appearance and signs, Jean figured it was a gravekeeper home. They examined its sides and windows, trying to get an idea of what was inside, if anything. Gulliver nodded at Jean, indicating something was inside.

Jean braced himself and readied to kick the door in, but it swung open before he could, startling them all.

In the next second, he was pointing Ringe at the forehead of a woman with wide, frightened eyes.

He knew better than to lower it just yet. "Who are you?"

"I-I called for help and heard the helicopter..." The woman trailed off, looking them over and warily eyeing the gun at her head. "I d-didn't mean to startle you, I'm just...so glad to see normal people again."

Without moving his gun, he reached into his coat and provided a large flask of holy water for her to drink. He held it to her. "Holy water. Got to make sure you're one of us, for caution's sake."

Her expression slightly wilted, but she gladly took the flask. Taking off the top, she didn't drink directly from it, holding it over her mouth to take in a good mouthful. That was fine; germs and all that. She swallowed, and they waited.

He took the flask back and lowered his gun after a few long seconds. "When was the last time you saw these creatures?" he asked, getting right to the point.

She held a hand to her mouth, as if horrified at the mere reminder. "I last saw one before I made it here. I made sure it didn't follow me, but they're scattered all over the town. I don't even know if any survivors managed to get away or hide. We're a small town; not many newcomers and not much traffic."

"And your daughter; when did you last see her?"

This time, she closed her eyes as she tried to hold back her emotions. Shakily, she responded, "My daughter...Gaelyn broke away from me to look ahead for them. She's faster than I am, in better shape. She meant it well, but then they came and she had to run into another direction, away from me!" A few tears welled in her eyes, but she stubbornly wiped them away, trying to stay strong.

He looked back at Musa and Gulliver, who were on the lookout. They nodded, silently agreeing that they should continue. Facing the woman again, Jean nodded. "We will find your daughter and eliminate these creatures."

She smiled a bit, but he saw the depth of sadness in her eyes.

He looked around. "I recommend you stay at the helicopter—"

"I refuse," she said immediately. "And my name is Leilani."

He glanced at her. It wasn't that she could be a major handicap; he could provide her with some magical protection if nothing else. He simply preferred it that she stayed back, but he didn't bother fighting against the wishes of a stubborn, worried parent.

"Very well." He raised two fingers from his free hand that glowed pink and made a circle in the air in front of her. A similarly pink, semi-transparent shell outlined her body, causing her to gasp. "It will protect you from eight attacks before disappearing," he assured.

"I've never seen this magic, before," she admitted, looking at herself in awe.

Jean caught sight of Gulliver and Musa glancing at him. It wasn't the time to inquire, but they would have to question her about how she even knew what magic was.

Being with Leilani gave Jean a feeling of validity to what they were up against. Albeit, ever since Celezar, he had the feeling holy water meant little to confirm the true nature of some inhumans. Hopefully, that was only in the case of supremely rare and powerful inhumans, nothing like a parasite.

They went back into a light jog, taking their time to survey their surroundings as they left the graveyard and onto a long dirt road leading to the town. There were signs indicating the town's name was Goshe along with other local handles.

He knew from experience there were only a few known cures for parasites. If they were the sentient class, there was no cure. If they were the microscopic class, there were a few cures. If they were the insectoid class, there were even fewer cures due to their symbiotic nature. Creator save them if they were dealing with microscopic or insectoid parasites, as they spread faster. Regardless of which class, they were all demons.

Just minutes on the road, his idle thoughts were interrupted upon spotting a shambling body walking towards them. It was a woman, her clothes unkempt and demeanor trancelike, with a large, swollen stomach that was too perfectly orb-shaped. Green veins were visible underneath her skin, with the largest running over her bare stomach, pulsing with life.

Upon seeing them, she turned into their direction, her mouth opening wide and ripping at the corners to show something moving down her throat, even at a distance. Without even bothering to wait until she came closer, Musa shot her in the dead center of her forehead, and her head exploded. Splatters of foreign green liquid as well as natural human bodily fluids hit the ground behind her. Her body staggered for a moment before falling over, unmoved and steaming.

After they found the girl, Jean thought with a scowl, they were going to have to purge the town. By the looks of it, this wasn't an insectoid or microscopic infestation. Sentient parasites had many forms, often blending into society by either melding into the body of their host or, as was most common, acting as a pregnancy. The woman was recently infested; the parasite hadn't fully settled into her.

"Avoid her body," Jean said to Leilani. They continued forward. "The parasite will die so long as no one approaches it before then."

The woman was visibly shocked by the gruesome death, but she wordlessly nodded in understanding.

Having confirmed parasitic activity, Jean felt it best to contact the rest of the men. "Friedrich, come in," he said as they walked across a bridge.

"Here."

"I need you to go back to the outpost and ready a purge. The infestation is real..."

They stared upon several more people shambling around, all with bloated stomachs or veiny pallors.

He grimaced, murmuring, "Very, very real..."

"Elaborate."

"We've found the mother of the missing girl, Leilani," he explained, watching as said woman reached to grab a fallen shovel beside some blood. He gave her a look but didn't say anything. Close-quarter combat was risky against parasites, let alone for someone who wasn't trained. "The parasites appear to be sentient of the maiesioic sub-classification. No sign of insectoid or noticeable demonic biology, but that doesn't mean much. We can assume they are Infernal."

"Sent."

The moment he stopped speaking, they opened fire. Methodically and efficiently, they began their sweep through the town, creating a path for them to use. Leilani didn't actually engage with any of the infested; her shovel seemed to be more of an emergency and reassurance tool. Jean completely understood.

While the town was small enough that they could probably get through it in an hour and a half, there were many buildings. The area they were running through was a more industrious location with small shops and alleyways ripe for an ambush. They couldn't avoid the alleys, as they were looking for a child. Fortunately, the infested were easy enough to kill.

Sounds of violence erupted some distance ahead in a grassy field. The four of them paused, and Gulliver moved forward to look. After only a moment, he wordlessly held up two fingers before entwining them. Two infested beings. Judging by the animalistic sounds, Jean figured the creatures were infested animals. Gulliver confirmed this when he held his hand in a fist with his thumb sticking out.

Before they could plan a course of action, there was a gurgling yelp. A creature began to run towards them from out the grass. It appeared to be a mutated dog of some kind, its body misshapen and pulsing with large veins.

His face twisting with disgust, Jean watched Gulliver shoot it immediately. It didn't make a sound as it exploded, spewing green and black onto the ground. He immediately rid the ground of the filth, incanting a purification spell.

They continued. There were no deer, birds, or other wild animals to be found as they continued, but there were plenty of domestic ones running about. They were likely left behind or had escaped from home during the chaos of the initial infestation.

A sudden sound of terror made them shift, pointing their guns to their upper right. Before their eyes, people who did not appear infested exited a building, running towards them with a small horde of infested chasing them.

"Help! Help us!" a man called while carrying a young child.

Jean and Gulliver moved forward, motioning for the people to get behind them. As most of them did so, Gulliver threw a holy water bomb that exploded on contact. The infested immediately moaned as their bodies dissolved, burbling and bubbling sickly before there was only steaming liquid. Jean quickly incanted at the remains. The blackish liquid began to rise into particles, dissipating into nothing.

"What the hell are those things?!" a woman cried behind him.

He turned to see Musa addressing wounds that people had and handing out water flasks. The group consisted of at least ten people, all unarmed and rightfully terrified. At first, Jean frowned upon seeing the wounds, but then realized they did not consist of cuts or anything that created slices into flesh. There were only scrapes, bruises, and the little things from running for dear life. Cuts could be indicative of things far more sinister than adult parasites.

None of the three hunters had the chance to answer the survivors' questions before Jean sensed something was wrong. As Gulliver and Musa noticed as well, they spun around to see even more infested nearing from all directions. They were some distance off, but it was clearly an attempt at an ambush.

Jean narrowed his eyes. To him, this was orchestrated by something controlling them, not by their own "will". The mother parasite had taken notice of them.

Moving backwards, holding a hand out so the people would corral behind him, he noticed the infested approaching them were all wearing police uniforms. They were even wielding guns.

The moment they were in range, the infested opened fire on them. Without even waiting, Jean raised a violet barrier around all of them, causing the bullets to rebound. Not every bullet gave a fatal shot, but it did enough to stop a small handful of them. While Musa and Gulliver returned fire, Jean unwound Valk, then lashed out to grab an infested and threw it to another. With his free hand, he threw a bomb at them, which exploded upon making contact.

He continued this for several of the others until they were all taken out. The sudden silence was uncanny after all the moans, gunshots, and explosions. For a few more seconds, they waited, but nothing else came. He looked up to make sure nothing was above them, then let the barrier down. A distant sound reached his ears.

"Do you hear that?" a man amongst them asked. "Sounds like...whimpering."

Jean, who was closest to the man, nodded. "An animal. A dog, most likely." He looked at the nearest alley, which was further ahead and seemed to be the source of the sound. He glanced at Musa and Gulliver while rewinding Valk. They nodded at him.

He moved past the people, raising Ringe while slowly entering the alley to investigate. The alley wasn't dark like the alleys of a city, with the bright light of the sun shining into it openly. Regardless, he was cautious, holding Ringe at the ready. Around a tall trash can, he caught sight of a dog.

He froze.

It wasn't just any dog, but a black, white, and dark tan Saluki with slightly longer hair than average. It was hiding, its tail tucked between its legs and the whites of its brown eyes visible from a distance. It was afraid.

Softly, he murmured, "Basker...?" But that couldn't be right. Could it?

While the animal continued to whimper, the brown eyes briefly flashed a familiar green.

It was Basker.

Suddenly, it clicked. That's what was meant when Jean was told there was another plan. It had to be some more realistic way to introduce the dog Basker to his men. Well, it was more realistic, but a little unnecessary, in Jean's mind. Regardless, he lowered his gun, giving the dog a look that was a mix of amusement and slight irritation. Basker looked so sad...What was the backstory, he wondered?

Naturally, Basker didn't appear to be infested, or even showing early signs of it. There were no green veins, no cuts nor was he drooling green liquid. He didn't move when Jean approached him, looking up plaintively.

"Hey," Jean said softly, going into a crouch. He noticed the dog wore a thick silver collar. As the dog didn't seem to mind his proximity, he gently pet him before moving closer to check what the collar said. "K9 Goshe Unit...Basker." Jean blinked. So, he was a police dog, likely a member of the squad that had been taken over by the parasites.

"Is it safe, Jean?" Gulliver asked over the radio.

"Yes." Jean rested an arm over his knee, shaking his head at the dog. "Shockingly."

The brown eyes glistened green one last time before returning to their normal color.

Gentle coercion eventually brought the dog out the alley, and Jean wasn't surprised when he was followed without much prompt. It actually felt good to have an animal nearby, and many of the survivors seemed to have the same thought, sighing or smiling upon seeing the dog. Superstitious or not, everyone knew animals could sense things far better than a human could.

"Help!"

The sudden loud call took everyone by surprise. It was a childish voice coming from their left, past the business area. Behind him, Jean heard people mutter and suck their teeth. It wasn't wise to go around calling that loudly in their situation; the infested were intelligent enough, despite their shambling nature. The dog growled loudly as something came into view.

The girl appeared fast, chased by an infested woman who was far faster than others. The woman bore the typical indicators, but there was something about her that was different from the previous victims.

"Help me! Somebody!"

Jean signaled Musa and Gulliver to back the people and dog into the alley he had exited, and they ushered them away with haste. All but Leilani, who was nearer to Jean.

"That's my daughter!" she cried, and she raised her shovel before running forward.

"No, wait!" Jean called, and then ran after her. Easily, he caught up to her and held her back.

"Momma!" the girl called, visible tears rolling down her face as she came closer.

"What do you mean, wait?!" Leilani demanded.

Jean continued looking forward, eyeing the woman further ahead. "That isn't an ordinary infested."

"How can you tell? She looks just like the others!"

Frowning, Jean pointed his gun forward. The woman was still a distance away, and he wasn't entirely sure of his aim. Despite that, he shot her. He hit her mouth instead of her forehead, and the blow forced the woman back, her head down on the ground as the bullet burst. She didn't move, her limbs twitching. Lowering his gun, he waited.

As he expected, she slowly moved again, limbs cracking and a loud, bubbling moan escaping her. "Hunter!" she gurgled, lifting herself back onto her feet. Her smoking head was mutilated beyond recognition from the gunshot and was not healing. While at least that much was to be expected, she was entirely unlike the other infested.

As the girl approached them, Jean's frown deepened. The girl, roughly seven years old, was covered in cuts and bruises, her clothes unkempt and dirty. Regardless, Jean allowed her and her mother to reunite. He had other problems.

"Gulliver, I need you over here," he said over the radio. "I think we found the progenitor."

"Sent, Boss."

"Leilani, go into the alley with Musa and the others," Jean ordered.

The crying, grateful woman didn't hesitate to scoop her daughter up and run for dear life.

As Gulliver came to Jean's side, the parasite mother felt what remained of her face. "My children were too hasty. If only they had listened!" she growled, gently caressing her stomach. She then glared up at them from an eyeless, maimed face as they lifted their guns.

Just before they opened fire, her throat bulged before a large, amber-colored projectile was spat at them. Eyes widening, they dodged, rolling to the sides. Gulliver stayed crouched on the ground with his rifle while Jean ran forward, unsheathing Hilde. Gunfire erupted behind him, but he didn't pay much mind, knowing he wouldn't be hit.

Parasites were naturally weak. Their threat came from how they essentially killed or maimed humans and animals. And their tenacity was daunting.

The parasite could only barely dodge the hail of bullets, taking several hits but intentionally protecting her stomach by allowing her stretching limbs to take the damage. But again, she wasn't regenerating. With a cry, she ran away, and Jean gave chase. Using inhuman agility and speed, she jumped atop roofs and weaved through buildings. Jean could only barely catch up even with his own abnormal speed, using his platforms to help pursue her.

He lost sight of her around a house. There was no sign of her going into it, but he crouched low, out of sight of the windows. Just as he came around to the front, he went flat on the grass, barely missing an elongated, pointed limb, and then sliced upwards to cut it in half. He let his coat take the green blood and rolled away in time to miss what looked like a pelting of stringy orbs the size of small bird eggs. Going back into a crouch, he shot them, only then realizing they were baby parasites.

Rapidly, he managed to destroy all nine of them, and then heard the gunshots from Gulliver's rifle.

"She's coming to your side, Jean!"

He took out a vial of holy water and stayed low against the house. The moment she came into view from above him, he threw it at her. It broke on impact, and she screamed as it hit her in her chest, just above her stomach.

"My babies!" she cried as she fell. She didn't seem to care about Jean for a moment, trying to wipe the water off her chest, only to continue screaming as it ate through her body. Murderously, she glared up at him, and from between her hanging remains of a mouth came another globule of the amber projectile.

Jean ducked, then manifested a bluish-white whip before lassoing it around the parasite mother's neck as she was about to run away again. It tugged, and he was pulled along over the grass, even though he was still on his feet. He tethered it to the ground with magic and heard the choke as the creature hit the ground.

"Move, Jean!"

Wasting no time, Jean took several bounds back and watched the bombs roll around the creature's body. He crouched, shielding himself with a violet barrier, and the bombs went off. The inhuman cries of the mother parasite rang out even after the last bomb exploded, echoing eerily through the town.

After the smoke and debris died down, Jean lowered the barrier and looked around. Where the parasite once was, a nasty green, foul-smelling splotch sat, and he grimaced. Softly, he incantated towards the corruption, but the green did not rise from the ground. He frowned. He wasn't strong enough for this particular taint, it seemed.

Gulliver came to his side. Visually inspecting one another, they nodded with reassurance. "Did you notice the girl, Boss?"

"Yeah..." Sighing, Jean waved Hilde before sheathing it and returned Ringe to its holster. "This isn't going to be pretty."

"You might want to get over here," said Musa over the radio.

The two men glanced at each other before running back to the alley.

When they arrived, there were more green splotches a ways from the alleyway indicating more infested had been killed, but that wasn't the problem. There was a sort of ruckus, the people shouting and raising makeshift weapons against Leilani, who shielded her crying daughter outside the alley.

"Please, she's only a child!" she said while looking at Musa who stood between her and the people.

He appeared to be sympathetic, a crease between black brows and his hands raised. "Yes, but we must check."

Knowing exactly what was going on, Jean heaved a deep exhale. This was the type of thing he hated about his job. Dealing with the people. That was Ulrich's thing, not his.

Leilani shook her head. "But...you'd kill her!"

"Only if she doesn't pass the test," Musa glanced over at Jean and Gulliver. "And she might pass."

The woman's eyes widened with horror. "But...!"

"The dog isn't bothered, so I doubt there's something amiss," Jean interjected, placing one hand on his side and the other to point at the dog that was being petted by the youngest of the survivors further into the alley.

Leilani looked torn. "Shouldn't that be enough of an indicator?"

"Afraid not. But I assure you, this is mostly for peace of mind."

"Yeah, Leilani! Just do it!" said one of the other women behind Musa.

"We must check!" echoed a man. "She has cuts!"

Musa took his flask and held it out towards Leilani. "Please."

As the seconds ticked by, Jean caught glimpses of the girl behind her mother. Leilani was doing her best to hide her, but he managed to catch it. Even with one eye. Perhaps it was his angle, at the farther side of Leilani and Gaelyn, but he noticed.

When Gaelyn was initially seen, she had cuts on her face. Perhaps from running and falling, or colliding with something, or even from what he hoped was not the reason and she had parasite eggs, which were malleable, running through her body. But the cuts were no longer there, with only drying blood as an indicator they were once there at all.

A baby parasite didn't do that.

His throat clenched. He knew exactly what this meant, but he just couldn't believe it. Internally, he quickly warred. He could do one of two things. He could do his job, which was to be expected in the eyes of his men or downplay it and arouse possible suspicion later.

But it was either he did this, or the girl drank the water and it was discovered anyway. That, and the possibility she might try to run away...

Steeling himself, he slowly reached for a vial of holy water higher up on the belt across his chest. Holy water vials were made of such material that shattered upon contact with an inhuman that could be affected by it. If he was lucky, his aim with his hands was still decent.

Without warning, he threw the vial to the girl's bare legs, and it shattered upon impact. Immediately, the girl produced a pained, inhuman shriek and she collapsed behind her mother.

Gasping as she spun around, Leilani cried out in horror, but it wasn't with the dread that the hunters expected to see upon the woman's face. It was the horror of fear. Fear for her daughter's life.

"Momma, it hurts!" the girl wailed, grasping at her sizzling, boiling legs. "It hurts so much!"

Watching, Jean's expression deepened into an almost—almost—sympathetic frown. That was the expected reaction. If the child had been just recently infested, it would not have been. This meant something else. Something worse, in the eyes of a hunter. At his side, Gulliver heaved his rifle over his shoulder before walking forward. Leilani's cries went ignored as he pulled her away from the crying girl with ease.

"Let me go!" Tears began to cascade down her face, and she leaned forward as Jean neared her daughter. "Please! She's only a child!"

"If she is your daughter, you mated with or was mated by an inhuman," he said. Gasps were heard from the other survivors. He unholstered his gun, pointing at the girl's head.

Her mother screamed. "No! Please!"

Fanged teeth and teary red eyes looked up at him.

Vampire. A daywalking Dhampir, at that. His expression hardened as he slowly pressed down on the trigger. The mother's cries went unheard.

Truth be told, he hated vampires.

The shot went off, scattering blood and brain matter on Gaelyn's opposite side along the road. Not a second later, the wailing cry of a parent in mourning echoed about them. The boiling of flesh and organs met his ears, and he stared at what was left of the girl's head as her body crumbled away. He turned to look at Leilani. The woman was beyond tears, unable to keep herself upright, limp like a puppet in Gulliver's grasp. Unintelligible sounds emitted from her.

Jean watched for a moment, then stood before her. In a mix of turmoil and seasoned aloofness, he wanted to pity her. In the moment, he couldn't will himself to wallow in his actions.

The life of a hunter.

He nodded at Gulliver, who let Leilani go. She crumpled to the ground, reaching over to what remained of her daughter. There was only charred blackness on the ground. He watched, and then reloaded his gun.

"Unfortunately, there is this thing us hunters do to people like you." He approached her and crouched to place the gun to her temple. "You can join your daughter in Inferno."

Splatters of body fluids and flesh hit the ground when the shot went off.

Leilani's body fell over to her side, her hand still in the charred remains.

Jean felt the eyes boring into him from the survivors. It was scathing. He holstered his gun and wordlessly turned to look at them. Musa had moved closer to them, his arms, which had been out to prevent anyone from moving closer, lowering at his sides.

"Well, then," Gulliver huffed while crossing his arms. He was also staring at the remains. "Been a while since we dealt with a tosser."

Jean glanced at him. Tosser. It was a derogatory word inhumans hunters called those who "tossed away" their humanity. They didn't necessarily have to become inhuman from it.

He looked back at the chars. That could be his fate—would be his fate—if he became inhuman.

I protect what's mine.

Celezar's words came back to him, causing him to tightly purse his lips.

The distant sound of a helicopter broke him out of his stasis.

About damn time.

Jean turned away from the survivors. "Robin, Friedrich, Calvin. You all alright?"

"Perfectly. Mission accomplished?" Calvin asked over the radio.

"Just a few minutes ago."

"Guess our timing was on point, then. Just tell us where you are, and we'll be there."

"We're in town. Go past the graveyard and approach..." Jean glanced around for a landmark. There was a small structure with a bright red roof beside a building with a blue one. It wasn't much of a landmark, but it would do. "Go further in from there, in a straight line, and you'll see these red and blue roofs side by side. You'll see us; we have survivors."

"Sent, Boss."

Lowering his head, Jean gazed back at the woman's body and the chars. Murmurs had emerged from the survivors, but none of them seemed worth worrying over. Let them talk, he thought.

Before long, the military-grade helicopter became visible in the distance. Jean watched it approach, then glanced down at Basker as he came to his side. Even then, he didn't look at the sad brown eyes.

He didn't even have to think about it.

If all he learned about Celezar recently meant anything, the likelihood he murdered two innocent people was high. He murdered them, as he did to so many other people like them in the past. The hunter in him didn't want to believe it, but his heart, it had begun to do as of late, slightly ached at the thought.

For the first time, he softly murmured a prayer for the mother and daughter, victims not of an inhuman's influence but his own bloodstained hands.