The hellhounds bounced on the walls.

Strato’s team were calm and composed.

Their weapons scope and sight followed the Hellhound that moved nimbly. Robert threw a lasso of binding light, pulling the monster down. With one hand holding the lasso, he pulled his double-barreled shotgun and shot the hellhound, stunning it.

It was not made of silver so the force only stunned. Smoke emptied a round on the eyeball of the hellhound, turning the hellhound’s brain matter into paste.

Sloth and Vermin were keeping the rest of the hellhounds at bay. Simone threw wind blades while Strato kept on scoring headshots on the hellhounds.

It was a concerning number.

A number that made Robert shiver for a moment.

But the monsters they faced in the bunker were much more intimidating. And he didn’t want to lose face in front of Strato’s team.

A hellhound jumped. Trying to bite Robert on the neck. He caught the best, wrapped his biceps around the best, and repeatedly stabbed it with the blade that Simone gave to him. It was violent and yet Simone could only sigh at the sight of it. He drew an arc in the air and finished the hellhounds with a wind blade. The group was moving forward when they caught sight of Yaga emptying a light machine gun at them. He was with five men and was tearing the cover.

Then the hellhounds came.

How many dogs from hell did they have?

“It’s only a mirror,” Simone said quickly. “We easily killed the others because they were only false copies. The real hellhound must be behind.”

Sloth came out of cover and shot one of Yaga’s men. The bullet bounced off them.

“Trinkets on them,” Sloth said.

Smoke took something from his waist and pulled the tube open. It was a portable one-shot anti-tank weapon. He loaded it and didn’t hold back on firing it on them.

The LAW hit the cover. Sloth and Vermin rushed while Strato watched their backs. The hellhound pounced on Strato. He avoided the damn thing, rolled, and then took out a kukri blade.

Robert paused to admire how good Strato was. The rest of his team were apex predators as well. And yet Robert knew that there was a reason why he was leading the pack.

He was a beast.

A master of combat.

He was keeping up with the hellhound without any enhancements. He was nimble. He had the reflexes to fight the beast. But this wasn’t a one on one fight and he was a soldier. He drew his iron and spit out silver bullets on the beast.

Robert slammed the beast with his shoulder. Then lassoed the beast on the neck. Simone put his hands together and drew a wind blade that left a cut on the hellhound.

“Don’t let it scream!”

Smoke loaded his LAW again with ammo and shot the beast on the stomach. Of course, they ran like hell seeing the madman blast it. The hellhound tumbled and yet one could see that it was barely affected.

“K! Seal it!” Simone said.

Robert drew a seal and planted his palm on the fur of the beast. Strato rushed on the beast and then emptied a magazine of silver bullets on the hellhound.

He flicked his magazine off. Switched to explosive rounds and kept on firing his weapon on the ear-area. Robert grabbed on the beast’s neck with his binding light. His arms trembling as Strato and Simone took care of the beast.

The rest of the team rushed to Yaga. Robert had no choice but to keep his mind on the hellhound. One swipe from the claws of this monster was enough to cleave them into two.

Even if the blow could be withstood by the trinkets they were wearing. The force would break a few bones. Nonetheless, it was instinctive for them to keep out of the claws of the monster.

Their common sense told them that.

Strato kept his composure while keeping the beast occupied. Simone was weaving one spell after another, cutting through the fur and flesh of the beast. Simone was about to draw another spell when one of the copies of the hellhound tried to bite his head clean.

Smoke shot the beast and then stabbed it on the forehead with his silver blade. Robert used his body as a lever and then brought the beast down on the ground. Strato climbed the monster with a new magazine and then started emptying his silver bullets on the skull of the beast. The hellhound was getting weaker. It tried to scream. Robert blocked the howl and then fired his gun on the beast as well.

“Incoming!”

Smoke gave a signal to Robert. The madman with the rocket launcher was taking position. Robert, with the use of his binding light, pried the hellhound’s mouth open and shot its insides.

The rocket entered the throat and exploded right around the throat of the beast. The hellhound fell and whimpered like a beaten dog. It was unable to take in air.

“Hard to believe that we’re killing demons now, Smoke.”

“Reminds me to listen to my wife about going to church on Sundays. Sure as hell going to pray to God  more after this.”

“Got that right,” he loaded his weapon again. “We aren’t getting paid enough to deal with this kind of bullshit.”

“Yeah. We need to ask for an increase in pay. I’m sure that with ‘demon hunters’ on our belt they’ll be cooperative.”

The hellhound raised its burnt eyelids on Strato. Strato gave the beast one hell of glare before cocking his rifle and then pointed his weapon at it.

“We got Yaga! I repeat we got Yaga!”

Sloth and Vermin’s voice rang out on their earpiece. Strato’s flaming met with the hellhound. It looked at Strato with intense hatred. Like it couldn’t believe that it was beaten like this.

The hellhound gave one last growl as Strato finished it off. Sloth and Vermin pointed the barrel of their rifles at Yaga. He didn’t even get time to open his mouth when Sloth slammed the butt of his rifle on Yaga’s head.

The noise attracted the mercs in the compound. Robert checked the area for more hellhounds. Didn’t notice one so Vermin fireman-carried Yaga while the rest stuck together while ready to punch through enemy forces.

Simone waves his hand and casts a spell of protection from projectiles. Through all-sense, Robert saw the enemies coming after them. He directed Strato and the team through the corridor, evading as many as they could while quietly disposing of any team that came after them.

Battles were not usually drawn out. Guns were quick and fast. Drowns the wielders in this immediate yet dilated sensation. Through the slowed perception of time Robert saw bullets passing by. Many of them bouncing and ricochetting against walls.

Strato’s team worked best against humans. They were the team who defeated the hellhounds and their best was when against humans.  Trained to be the best of the best. Forged in gunpowder and steel.

Their silenced weapons had melted. Despite the overwhelming numbers. Strato’s team continued plowing through the enemy, not missing a shot, systematically shooting through until they reached the exit point.

Smoke and Sloth planted explosives. Robert and Simone covered their backs while Yaga’s merc assaulted. Robert fought better. Simone was forming spells and cutting through them.

Wind blades that cleaved through their bodies. Fireballs that exploded upon contact and streams of water that cut through walls. Simone was chaining through spells and the way he did made Robert shiver at what people stronger than Simone could do.

Robert came to realize that he was dealing with apex predators. The top of the food chain and the ones who were monsters in their own right. Even the Lieutenant placed high regards on Simone and requested him to look out for him.

Robert could see why.

He had an idea when they visited Lesnik back then. But seeing him fight was something else. Robert took cover after they called them out. The exit point was blocked by rubble. The mercs weren’t stupid. They know the place and will catch up.

Strato didn’t waste time. Jogging through the complicated sewer system. They found the car waiting for them. Anna Ford made it clear that they were going to give them a distraction and that distraction came from a fast-mover that was flying stealthily. Others may not even be able to get a glimpse of it, but Robert, with his all-sense, caught sight of the B-2 that disappeared after dropping its load on Yaga’s compound.

Something else was going on. Spending this much resource was strange. What was happening that made Strato and team go this far? His gut told him that there was another factor and concluded that it’d be strange if they talk about their own goals.

It would take another eleven years before the Merchant of Death was caught.

So what else is there?? What are you guys up to?

But for now they were allies that Robert needed to work with. 

The car sped up and started leaving the perimeter of the compound. The car was taking the path on the coastline. Finally it arrived on a sailing boat that was floating calmly on the Mediterranean sea.

Vermin took Yaga below the deck. Anna Ford was on the sailing boat. A white scarf around her neck and a tiny smile as she greeted her men who came from the slaughter.

“How’s the fight?”

“As expected, they were hellhounds. Looks like the Henbane Witches were spot on.”

“You got help from them?”

“They offered help. And we needed the information.”

Robert crossed his arms. Anna’s face told Robert that she was ready to answer questions.

“Spent a lot.”

“It was beyond the usual budget. But it was needed. And this time we got the permission of Sinclair to go through it.”

“Guess this wasn’t a normal op either. Not that Strato’s team needed our help.”

“We did. We need to plan ahead. It’s best to think of all possible variables. I’m not going to slack on the safety of my men.”

They were valuable assets. Losing one of them would be quite a blow. And it was hard to find experienced soldiers like them. And to Anna Ford they were also people who had slain demons.

“I don’t think that this is just about the merchant.”

“You guess right, Enforcer. From the start, we have always been after something else. Think. What attracted me and my men to this city?”

“The solar temple…?”

“Party. Back in Spring ‘68 we got a case of a broken arrow. A ship sank and sank 400 good men in the water. Took a while to reach the waters because of the secrecy involved, but what we know is that someone got hold of one of our payloads. Someone in Azores Island sold it and from our investigations. We can roughly guess that it was someone from the Solar Temple that took it before we could retrieve it.”

“How?”

“A magician had said that it was through their methods. We would have found it if it wasn’t for certain risks taken to mask the trail.”

“Goddamn it.”

Anna Ford leaned on the railing of the sailing boat.

“I said the same after hearing this situation. Truth be told I expected less of a trouble than this. I don’t think I’d be able to sleep knowing that we have a hidden side of the world. Knowing that hell exists makes you wish that God would be forgiving enough for your sins. I hope God forgives us for what we do, but unfortunately someone has to do the job.”

Robert felt that there was something else missing. But it was understood why they were so eager to spend money on making sure that this was successful. And from the looks of it, Yaga wasn’t going to come out of this without saying anything worth the spending.