Waiting for them in the room was the same man, the one who had given them the mission. This time, he didn’t seem tired or frantic, but his clothes still were a size or two too big. He adjusted his glasses as soon as the girls walked in.

  “I guess this one was easy, huh, right?”

  “Yeah, I mean, two hunters for one ghoul? You could’ve even sent a kid for that one.”

  The man laughed dryly before starting to cough.

  “Well, well. I’m glad you two found that one easy. But that was just a preparation, since I don’t know you very well.”

  “I thought it would be something like that. But tell us, what is the true mission?”

  The man adjusted the papers in front of him, his lips tightly curved; he seemed to be thinking about how to present the mission.

  “There has been some… unusual stuff at the city. I believe you’re familiar with the notion that the Agency keeps control of the monster population. Keeping the balance is a key aspect of the hunter’s job.” The man cleared his throat before continuing. “But something has been out of place.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s unclear yet. At first, we suspected that a new nest was being formed. A lot of ghouls are concentrating on the same area. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. There is another thing disturbing the monsters, and it’s making them act differently.”

  The man got up from the chair, a map in his hand. He put it in front of the girls. The map had marks all over it, notes written.

  “Here and here. These two places.”

  “What is it about them?”

  “Ordinary humans were able to spot monsters at these places. I know this sounds out of reach for two Base-Hunters. But if we consider that the Agency is a little outstretched dealing with the protest and riots around the city…”

  “Wait. You’re kidding, right? People without magic powers cannot see the creatures.”

  “You would be correct, but that’s the strange thing about it. As I said, it’s some sort of disturbance. Thankfully, the Agency was able to get in contact with these people before rumors started spreading around.”

  May knew fully well what probably had been done to these people. Some secrets needed incisive action. Karina moved on her seat, she looked closely at the map, before saying:

  “Is there something in common about these places?”

  The man's lips curved up just a little, almost imperceptible.

  “That’s a good question. Some hunters here have been trying to establish a connection. The only thing they found is that both are historical sites that have been abandoned.”

  “Like the one we found the ghoul in.”

  “That’s right. The old market actually is a place we strongly suspect is prone to monster activity.”

  May inspected the map. She had never been to any of those places, but she had a vague notion about them. To a witch, it was important to know where she was setting foot. If anything, she would be extra careful.

  The man kept explaining what the girls would need to do:

  “Your mission is to investigate and capture creatures at those buildings. Is that clear?”

  The girls nodded; it was pretty direct.

  “I believe you’ll need ammunition. This is the permission, please proceed to the recharging room.”

  ***

  Karina and May trotted through the Agency’s corridors and rooms. Just like the day prior, hundreds of people worked, similar to ants in an anthill.

  “Well, that doesn’t answer everything.” Karina pondered, her voice shaky.

  “Not at all. But I guess it makes sense, at least it goes according to what we were thinking…”

  “Do you believe they’re hiding something?” Karina whispered so low that May was barely able to hear.

  “Obviously, they hide stuff from us, we’re Base-Hunters. We probably don’t have the permission to access almost anything here. But if you mean hiding, like in something shady, yeah, I felt that too.”

  “Right? That first mission. I call it bullshit. They could’ve sent us to the nest formation in the first place. Why didn’t they do it? I don’t know.”

  “Me neither.” May looked at both sides. “But to my mind, we shouldn’t be discussing it right now, at least not right here.”

  “Can’t the flies talk about the spider when they’re threading through the web?”

  At the recharging room, they met a tall and slim man. He seemed young, but had dark circles around his eyes. Even though they were inside a room, the man had sunglasses in his hair. Unlike most of the workers in the Agency Tower who were mostly seen wearing suits, he wore a trench coat.

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  “Can I, ah, see your permissions, ID cards, and gun registration?” He said with slurred speech, every word lasting too long.

  Karina and May showed him their documents; they were already familiar with all the Agency’s protocol.

  “Hum, it seems you didn’t use ammunition in the last mission. Why? Sorry, none of my business. For this one, the mission assigner seems to recommend at least two boxes. Do you agree with that?”

  Since the girls didn’t have a reason to disagree, they nodded their heads in agreement. The man sighed.

  “Give me a minute. Raguel and Azrael, let me see.” The man said, and May noticed he had some sort of accent, although she couldn’t pinpoint from which region it was.

  The man went to the back of the room, behind shelves full of ammunition for all kinds of guns. Karina was on the tip of her toes trying to see everything. They heard boxes moving before the man returned. He gave the girls the boxes related to each of their guns.

  “Now I just need you to sign this, and that’s all. You can leave the permission here.”

  ***

  Going back home, the girls discussed the mission. Would they start it right now? May knew where some of the places were; they could at least have a look at that. In fact, the girl noticed that one of the places was not very far from the Agency. But they had to be careful; going without a plan could be very risky. You never knew what you would find where monsters lived, and May wasn’t one for taking unnecessary risks.

  The place in question had once been a thriving port, with ships constantly arriving. Now it showed signs of decay, contrasting with an ever-growing city. Both girls observed that the place was completely empty - no people or monsters, at least not now, or that they could feel. They searched around, trying to find traces of magic and spells, but to no avail.

  “Strange, I don’t feel anything here. Are you sure we’re in the right place, May?”

  “Yes, I’m sure. As I said, when he showed the map, I recognized this place immediately.”

  “Maybe they mistakenly marked this one.”

  “I don’t know. Didn’t he give the impression that a lot of studies have been made? I don’t think they would make a mistake like that.”

  “Unless…”

  “Unless what?”

  The energy at the place shifted and changed. Karina could almost taste blood on her tongue. There was something wrong. Every element at the place seemed off.

  “They didn’t make a mistake.” Karina trembled with a chill, her eyes going as wide as possible. Sh hissed: “May! We need to run. NOW.”

  May trusted her friend enough not to question and just run. She felt something strange, too, but couldn’t pinpoint what it was. There was something in the air, similar to invisible eyes watching from a distance. A creepy feeling that lingered. Sudden surges of dark magic were being manipulated. May didn’t like that feeling at all.

  And to Karina’s eyes, the place suddenly seemed darker. She couldn’t express how she didn’t feel any of that as soon as they entered there.

  The girls ran across the old port, but didn’t stop running until they were almost home. The eerie feeling was still in the air.

  “What did you feel, K?”

  Karina was catching her breath; her hands trembled a little as she looked down.

  “It was strange, because I was just thinking ‘what if the monsters are hiding their presence?’ But, wouldn’t it be a scary and powerful monster if it could hide its presence perfectly?”

  “Yes, it would be. It could be way above our league in that case.”

  “Right. So I was just thinking that when I felt it. It was so fast that I almost didn’t catch it. It was like a flick of power, like the thing that was hiding couldn’t contain it anymore.”

  “It was ready to attack us.”

  “Exactly. It was a trap. The monsters that are hiding there are dangerous. We should deal with them carefully.”

  “I’m grateful you were able to feel it before anything happened.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Sometimes those skills really come in handy, huh.”

  At home, the girls finally relaxed and planned what they would do about the mission. They needed to be careful.

  “Okay, look, we need to investigate here and here.” May pointed out on the map the same places the man had shown before. “They are all historical sites, and as we know, prone to monster activity.”

  “Do you think we should go together to each of them, or do we divide and go to two at the same time?”

  “I guess, at least the first one, we should go together. So we can see what kind of creatures we’re dealing with. Then, after that, so we can complete as fast as we can, we may divide.”

  “Right. And, besides that port we’ve been to today, do you know anything about the other places?”

  “Not really, I mean, I’ve heard about some of them, but I don’t know much.”

  The girls talked a lot about the places, Karina even researched the internet, but couldn’t find anything interesting. The only thing they all had in common, besides being historical sites, was that all of them had been in discussions about reformation or reuse.

  It was deep in the night when Karina and May decided that they had done enough research and needed to rest.

  ***

  By the morning, May was waiting for Karina to get ready. The girl adjusted the guns on her legs.

  “Isn’t it nice that people without magic can’t see our weapons?”

  “Yes, it comes in handy. Can you imagine the confusion we would get in?”

  Outside, the sun rose on the horizon. They heard all the noises of the city, people starting to work, and parents taking their children to school. The smell of breakfast filled the air.

  In their way, a small crowd caught the girls’ attention.

  “Hey, what is happening there? Let’s get a look.” Karina said, already moving in the direction of the crowd.

  They noticed it was in front of a small temple. People held posters, and as soon as the girls got close, they noticed it was related to the Preacher. The crowd shouted about the “true” religion and how the politicians have been manipulating people against it. They defended the Preacher and demanded something akin to a coup d’état.

  “It’s like I said, K. That kind of thing worries me. Look what it’s doing to the people.”

  “Yes, it’s getting dangerous. I ask myself whether the Agency will do anything about it or not. They always do something when people start getting emotional about religion and acting like a cult.”

  “I guess so, but they need to be careful too. The man has a lot of exposition, anything they do to him… I don’t know, it will cause discussions.”

  “You’re right, I’m thankful we won’t be the ones dealing with it.”

  At a glance, someone from the crowd noticed the girls. The woman started pointing at them, and soon other people looked at them too. Someone in the crowd screamed, although May couldn’t see who:

  “Look at them! Look at how young women are dressing nowadays! This society is rotten to the core!”

  A murmur of agreement started in the crowd, and Karina distinguished people saying how wrong it was. How the younger generation was lost, and changes were needed. As soon as people started moving in their direction, they decided to keep on their way to the historical building. They didn’t need a bunch of lunatics telling them about how to dress or anything like that. When they were far enough from the crowd, May looked at Karina and said:

  “I swear, for a second I was afraid they would keep us there.”

  “Right? I mean, I'd rather deal with any monster that is waiting for us here.”