Kazakhstan, an area bordering Lake Tengiz

  A Cyclops towering at a respectable six foot ten inches collapsed to the ground, its skull now crushed and spilling blood in the manner an egg would its yolk.

  Its attacker was decidedly less intimidating at a glance, yet if one knew the truth, they’d be aware she was far more dangerous than any one-eyed creature. Perhaps more than anything, this was indicated by the fury still visible in her hands, the veins popping from how tightly they clutched at the bo staff contained within them.

  “Sloppier and less elegant than usual, not exactly a performance to be expected of one of Asia’s Three Rising Suns.”

  The critical voice washed over Mei Li, and it may well have been the last thing she wanted to hear.

  “Why don’t you try being upstaged by some rookie and humiliated in front of Lady Yoko?! Ben was bad enough, but he’s tolerable compared to that uppity Masterson brat!”

  Mei Li’s er…‘enthusiasm’ caused a slight spray of mist like spit to collide with the face of her stoic partner.

  Yuka used the sleeve of her kimono to wipe herself off. The grey fabric, which featured floral patterns running across the fancy, elegant piece of clothing, did a good job of hiding any potential stains. Her face was still as stone, her dark brown eyes betraying no disgust, annoyance or any other potent emotion.

  Mei Li and Yuka were members of a triad known as the Shining Suns, a group dynamic forged in a system which operated long before they were born. It was traditional that an apprentice would be chosen from each of Japan, China and Korea to train together under one master, ‘The Supernova’ or in other words, the strongest warrior the east had to offer.

  The Supernova would eventually choose a successor from among the suns, who would become the next Supernova, and the process would repeat itself.

  While this was once something totally distinct and uninvolved with the Holy Templar Order, it had become integrated over time. Nowadays, the Supernova always served as one of the vaunted Seven Inquisitors and was historically at the top of the hierarchy of power among them, rivalled only by the occasional once-in-a-generation prodigy or members of that family.

  This technically made Mei Li and Yuka rivals, although the Chinese woman was more focused on the short-term targets in her own way.

  As for the Japanese lady, it was hard to read her feelings toward her fellow apprentices, a constant poker face being her trademark.

  “If I recall correctly…” Yuka restarted the conversation after a brief pause.

  “You only have yourself to blame for what occurred. You know that the only time Astral Techniques are permitted to be used in matches between order members is in the 25U Tournament.”

  “Tch…Yeah, I know. I fucked up a bit.” Mei Li’s response was bitter, though her bulldog-like frothing was quelled for the moment. It seemed she was at least willing to take some level of accountability for losing herself in the heat of the moment.

  “There's the punishment that Lady Yoko gave me for that mess as well to top things off. She wants me to go to the library and study poetry all day! By the time I'm done, I might be as weird about that stuff as you are.”

  “Woe is her fortune

  The prodigy ascended far

  Yet has much to learn.”

  Yuka turned around after her flowery statement to resume her operations elsewhere.

  “Ugh, and there she goes on cue with another of her haiku. Does she make this crap up on the spot?” Mei Li contemplated to herself.

  “Another thing makes it obvious you aren't focused; typically, such fodder would not endure your blows.”

  Yuka briefly stopped to crane her neck and look backwards.

  Mei Li scowled before thrusting her bo staff behind her!

  It punctured clean through the eye of the Cyclops, who had managed to get to a knee to make a futile attempt to attack her! Its arm, which was reaching towards her back, twitched uselessly.

  Golden aura trailed down the end of the staff, and once it made contact with the monster, its head immediately imploded. The corpse crumbled backwards as Mei Li, still not facing her victim, twirled the blood off her weapon.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Yuka blinked twice and then continued on her way, nothing terribly interesting for her to see here anymore.

  ————————

  Argentina, Iguazú Falls

  Ben sat on the edge of a cliff, looking toward the flowing rapids, his glasses lower on his face so his eyes gazed above them. His scarf billowed up and down occasionally with the cool night breeze.

  A flash of light behind him finally caused the man to stand up and turn around, a quizzical look on his face.

  “You’re late.”

  “Sorry about that! The food I had earlier really made the toilet my home for a bit! Hahahaha!”

  Inquisitor Biggs’ guffawing would sound perfectly natural to anyone who didn't know better; indeed, it would to almost anyone.

  “I'm going to guess you were over where Sven died.” Ben’s response immediately caused Buster to stop laughing.

  “He's as sharp as ever.” The large Inquisitor thought before putting his hands up in mock surrender.

  “Alright, you got me. I briefly dropped by where he died to pay my respects.”

  “For an Inquisitor, half an hour is not what I’d call brief. I'd be shocked if the stats division doesn’t catch this and tattle to the High Priest.” Ben pushed up his glasses reflexively while talking.

  “I know he was one of yours, but you can’t let this eat away at you so much. Hunters can die at any time; it’s the reality we all accept when we sign up for this. I’m sure Sven wouldn’t want you to risk your position to avenge him.”

  “Putting words into the mouth of a dead man? One you've never met in person? That’s unusually low coming from you, man…”

  Buster's voice was lower than usual and more filled with hurt.

  “Sorry, I suppose I…assumed too much, thinking all your recruits are alike in how they feel.”

  “…”

  “If I die on duty, I'll preface this now by saying I don't want you to obsess about it. Whatever the future has in store for me, I accept it. Life or death, happiness or despair.”

  There was silence after Ben finished talking; the only sound in the area was the crashing of the waterfall nearby.

  “Wow, you sound way different from the Ben I met five years ago. But, let's also not get too ahead of ourselves here; we can't let you go down until after you get the girl! Gotta be some real dramatic romance movie stuff.”

  Buster was back to his rather chipper self now, a change so rapid it would give whiplash.

  “What romance movies are you watching where the lead bleeds out from a monster attack at the end?”

  It was the sign of a strong bond between them for sure, to go from such tension and morbidity to rather casual conversation on a dime with no problem.

  “So how'd that work out for you? Did all that notebook scribbling pay off?” Biggs prodded teasingly.

  “It was a disaster.”

  “How bad are we talking here?”

  “I gave the gift to Claudia instead of her by accident.” Ben looked down and sighed heavily, his shoulders drooping.

  “Well, that's not a disaster, that's a calamity of biblical proportions! Going to make a move on Yoko next ‘Inquisitor Charmer’?”

  The large man was stifling his laughter now, the situation of his compatriot a humorous one.

  “I think I've got an idea, I know of a place in the base that might just have exactly what you need to succeed in your quest for love.” He continued, which caused Ben to raise an eyebrow.

  Inquisitor Buster Biggs whispered to Ben, not caring that there was no one else around or that they were falling even more behind schedule.

  ————————

  Australia, Central Outback

  “God, I can't stand sitting still like this.”

  Miranda voiced her complaint openly, uncaring that her direct superior was standing next to her.

  “Patience, my dear, our little chicks must shoulder the burden of tonight's workload. Besides, Mr. Vindill looks out of it; I doubt he’ll be capable of much.”

  Inquisitor Juan turned his eyes towards the wind mage, who was looking rather sluggish, a few dozen feet away from them, out of earshot.

  “After all, it defeats the purpose if any of us steps in to save one of them. For first-time proctors such as yourselves, well, that mistake can be forgiven once, but no more.”

  Juan’s voice was sharper, but still contained traces of that infuriating, charming tone.

  “That was a Hydra! For fucks sake, those things are so dangerous that even with the two of us there, we could have all still died! She was also the one who came up with how to stop it without escalating further!”

  Miranda didn't have time for this; the Spanish Inquisitor was already the member of the seven she cared for least, and that he had a stick up his ass about what occurred when he wasn't even the supervising Inquisitor was just more fuel for the fire.

  “Honestly, despite her tough girl act, it's pretty clear Rebecca doesn't have it in her to fail any of the rookies. Unless the Masterson girl can really excel and lead her team to twelve slain monsters, I'll have to give her the thumbs down to make up for it.”

  It was like he didn't hear a thing she just said, or didn't care to.

  Miranda’s blood was boiling, the vein in her forehead becoming more pronounced as she clenched her hand into a fist.

  “You petty douchebag! This is just because Archibald made you look like a joke when you became an Inquisitor and challenged him to a duel, isn't it? He sure slammed your hyper-inflated ego into the ground, didn't he?”

  She could only seethe within her thoughts, Juan’s title making him untouchable in many ways.

  “Good luck, muscles, you've got one hell of an uphill battle ahead of you.”

  ————————

  Private Island, Location Unknown

  Dr. Norton looked over towards his blueprints. Countless now illegible notes and circles were made with a red pen. He adjusted his monocle slightly, poring over the plans with fervour.

  “Igor!” he yelled, prompting a man with an awkward gait and hunched posture to enter the laboratory.

  “Is our guest being given the best treatment we can offer?” Dr. Norton inquired.

  “Yes, my lord, all of the nicest food, tea and toys they could ever want.”

  Igor’s voice was a scratchy sort, the type you'd expect from one dealing illicit goods in a shady alleyway.

  “And what of the samples I requested?”

  “We have procured a number of them further to the south, one in particular is of great interest, one we haven’t had yet.”

  “Oh?” Norton mused.

  “A Werewolf.”

  The rotund man turned to a large vat of liquid in the centre of the room. Within was a shadowy figure, floating lifelessly.

  “Kek kek kek! You hear that, my ultimate creation? Soon you’ll be complete!”

  Norton’s laughter continued to echo through the air, a chilling omen of things to come.