A few days passed from the incident that occurred, but the people's hatred towards their savior never did change. For provisions, the towns' people relied on native traders. Most household heads worked as subsistence farmers, and it was required for most men of the area to be handy in more than one craft, making most male adults well-versed in repairs and farming, whilst the women were good at sewing and brewing. Vampire attacks were a common thing, hence the need for a protector. Villages under the protection of beasts were usually avoided, so the incident got the attention of The Faith as the master reported what occurred. A curfew was put in place as a response to the attack, and even more of the surrounding greenery was cleared. All these changes were made effective within the span of two weeks.
In a club far away from the small town, when the sun lay asleep, the locals were enjoying their expensive liquors and partying away.
"You know eleven isn't something you could easily replace?" said a very tall, muscular white woman with grey eyes and black hair, clad in a suit. She stood beside the man who owned the club; he was on a sofa, relaxed and seeming unfazed by the news. They were in the office section of his club, which looked more like a normal home.
Heading towards the kitchen island, he asked, "How strong do you think he is?" He then poured himself a glass of cool wine owing to the low temperature of the land.
"Word is no vampire returns from that village, so it might be something worth looking into. Only problem is—"
"The area is being overshadowed by a former master of the Faith," he interjected with a perplexed expression. Realizing how complex the situation at hand was, Axon, head of the club, then said, "Let's send Gloria to the village."
"We've lost eleven men, meaning business will be slower, and you decide to get a bounty hunter? The most expensive one at that. I should be given a raise for each bad idea you come up with, but instead I add more time to my therapy," said Shard, his assistant. With a sigh she continued, "As far as her madness goes, she gets the job done, but you're not taking her reward out of my paycheck."
Grinning, he said, "I already did." He then got out of his couch and started to head for the room leading to the party he was hosting.
"You already did what? Boss?... Boss?"
Back in the little town, Yori had recovered from his wounds but stayed in the underground compartment fully healed—nevertheless in chains. Despite having defeated them, Dell knew just what he had been entangled in. Preparations were being made and information was being gathered by both sides, as the coming full moon was but a few days away.
The residents of the village were returning to their less-than-normal lives after the attack that occurred a while back. The children played whilst a handful of adults were attending a village meeting with Dell.
"This land is our heritage, and as far back as we remember, the wolves were our guards. The Faith was strict back then about how they handled their affairs; accusations of changing doctrines at this time just show that it's weakening," said an old fisherman of the village in clear disdain.
"We are under the Faith's protection, and none have died an unnatural death in two decades. Such peace was a blessing that we cherished. To expect perfection is beyond naïve—to think such a beautiful thing could last," Priest Dell coldly said to all in attendance. Before they could begin an uproar of responses, he continued, "For those who are slow, what I just said is what you already know but have forced yourselves into thinking. This world is changing; our arrogance, age, and core values are to be tested. Those who have not the conviction to follow through will be cast aside," he finished.
A woman, clearly put off by his words, courageously asked, "Is what I think you're insinuating true? That beast is here to give its life to protect us, its purpose to kill creatures that we on our own could not. The rumor that they are being set free on a whim of kindness and empathy should not, with all logic, be the proper reasoning to go about it at all. Those beasts will hunt, kill, and die—or do you disagree with me?" The other meeting attendees stayed silent, awaiting a response from the priest.
Dell responded, "I am in total agreement with you when you spoke of what guards this village. We are simply wishing to use as much as we can to keep our hands clean. They, as different and as bloodthirsty as they are, have values. The Faith wishes to be on the good side of what will soon be independent-thinking werewolves. The fact is, if there ever was a clash of values, the odds are against us because we're not built for battle, and those of us who are, are simply not enough to win. We could go on discussing this for hours, so let's get to the most pressing issue right now. I suggest the children be taken to another village far from here. The vampires that were killed the other night wandered from the city—"
"Meaning?" an impatient carpenter interjected.
"You must be the slow one. City vamps are under trafficking gangs. Meaning…" he mockingly emphasized, "they are ruled over by more powerful vampires."
"This coming full moon is going to be a battle against the one who sent the vamps, or his forces at least. So how are we going to be relocated when the Faith's territory here isn't connected to any other village?" questioned the slow one.
"An underground passage was built that leads to one of the churches closest to here. You'll use that," the priest sharply responded.
"If you care, the plan is to bait them with your presence as adults whilst the children are moved out of here. The wolf and I can hold them off long enough for the rest of the village to escape. There will probably be backup, but don't count on it."
As fated, the full moon's presence was made known that night; the villagers steadily made their way out using the underground escape route. Kopumula's populace was now but Dell and the beast. Then, just beyond the clearing, the audible sound of the wheels of a cart echoed through the dead town's houses. Leaving the darkness of the forest that surrounded the clearing near the old village, a human-powered cart reached the sun's night-light, instantaneously transforming the two people pulling the cart into werewolves. They hurriedly moved in sync with what seemed to be a tall, dark woman clad in gold and silver with short shiny black hair standing at the back of the cart, weaponized with two pistols in her hands fixated on the sniper aimed at her from the top of the silver tower. Dell then shot without a moment's hesitation, but with unbelievable precision she shot both pistols, one before the other, in such a fashion that one propelled the other so much so that it deflected the oncoming bullet from Dell's sniper.
"Be careful, Yori! Judging from the attire and weapons, she's exactly who she thinks she is—'Gloria the Lycan hunter'," Dell warned Yori. "Only fight the werewolves; don't you dare go near her!"
Yori, still in his human form in one of the abandoned homes watching closely, said, "You should be careful too. Seeing her right now, the odds are not in our favor at all." Storing her guns away right before the cart reached the houses, Gloria then unchained the werewolves from the cart and proceeded to tip the cart over to use it as a shield against Dell. Two more shots were fired at her; they were unable to meet their mark whilst the wolves instinctively headed for Yori. Dell then began to quickly make his way down in pursuit of Gloria; she countered with shots of her own, but Dell lunged himself by pressing his feet against the tower's side and launching himself perpendicular to the tower into the barn close-by. Meanwhile, one of the Lycans lunged at Yori in the house he kept watch in, but he leaped backwards to avoid it; then the second werewolf pierced through the roof hoping to hammer-fist him, but he replied by rolling sideways and was then met with a large rock hurled at him by the first Lycan in anticipation of his movements, which sent him flying out of the house. To the Lycans' surprise, Yori was standing with bruised arms, meaning that he barely was able to guard. With the sound of gunshots in the background, Yori and the two Lycans against him began to realize just how strong the other was.
"It's my first time meeting Lycan folk. I thought we'd take a whiff of each other or howl at the moon, but you guys outright chucked a rock at me," Yori said angrily, curious. "I've seen a lot of weird stuff, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't qualify as a greeting at all," he continued.
A few hours prior: "Whatever you do, don't turn during your fights this night if you can help it. There's a possibility that we won't be able to kill every foe that comes our way, and they end up escaping, meaning that they'll spread word of our village and the shadowy beast that protects it. So, I ask you, Yori, that you try your very best to conceal your form unless the situation calls for it," pleaded Dell. Whilst the Lycans were about to engage in battle, Dell was aptly taking refuge in the barn, giving Gloria time to hurriedly leave her refuge of the cart as she made her way towards the barn. Dell then began to fire shots by one of the barn windows with his handgun at her, but she weaved past them and delved into the very barn Dell was in.