Synopsis: During their planning, Velou thinks back on a game he and other kids used to play in the hamlet, he explains it's similarities and differences from Cops and Robbers to everyone else: one person would dress up like a werewolf and put on a tail, and the other kids would try to steal the tail. He says that's what they need to play rather than Cops and Robbers – so as not to allow themselves to be treated as prey, they need to go after the tail, or in this case, the handcuffs. Velou shouts out to everyone that Debonair has four pairs while Grimm has five, and Debonair figures out that it's the cuffs they're going after. She praises them for a good plan, but wonders how they plan to achieve it as she turns to attack Porschen. Flashing back again to the planning stages, Velou rationalizes that there's no way the two Hunters can carry enough cuffs for all thirty people. He figures they'll only have a handful each at a time, and it's the staff who puts them in jail that give them new cuffs to replace the ones they've used in exchange for the captured applicants. Porschen agrees that that makes a lot of sense, and Merrio thinks there'll be a limit to how many people one 'cop' can arrest at one time, so they should take advantage of that fact. Velou thinks they have two plans to make the cops lose their ability to arrest people and everyone pass: they can either cut off their supply route, or they can get more allies to swarm the cops (though he suspects they've planned for the latter). Bonkers thinks that might not work, and Porschen says the biggest problem is time. Migael reminds them that the time limit is two hours, and Bonkers thinks it'll be really hard to block their supply route for that long. Velou has something to say about that however.... As Debonair tries to attack Porschen, Porschen manages to dodge out of the way with acrobatic movements. As Debonair praises her however, she then notices something odd – her belt appears to be eroding away. Merrio says the time is now, and Porschen uses her wires to steal Debonair's handcuffs. As Velou heads for Grimm who is still dealing with Bonkers, she realizes what they're up to. With her hands still tied up in one of Porschen's wires, she backflips and kicks Bonkers in the face, pulling Porschen towards her in the process. Porschen passes the cuffs off to Nulo Xao, but Velou and Porschen end up crashing into each other, with Grimm knocking Bonkers on top of them. 'Three down' she thinks and turns her attention to the others, but Migael blocks them from getting to her, Merrio, and Nulo by casting a barrier, the Tower of Divine Favor. Debonair says it reeks of magic and says it's a hex, but Migael says it's God's blessing. Merrio tells the other two to pull back with him, leaving Velou, Porschen, and Bonkers to be arrested and put into the brig fifteen minutes into the test. Velou watches as one of the Ironworks staff hands Grimm more handcuffs, confirming his suspicion about them. Grimm asks Debonair if she can break the barrier, but Debonair says Migael upped it's durability at the expense of how long it lasts. That said, she doesn't intend to wait around for it to fade away either, and she melts an alternate route for them into the floor. As the captured three watch the Hunters leave, Laurell (the guard that supplied Grimm with more handcuffs) compliments them on their plan even if it didn't work out. He asks them if they're going to be okay now that their friends abandoned them, but Velou insists that everything is still going according to plan. Back in the planning circle, Velou told the others that he didn't think getting captured was a big deal actually. Bonkers doesn't get it but the others agree – the two hour limit is only to make the test seem like it's a long time, but their pass-fail status is only determined at the very end of it. So long as they're not in jail at the end of that time, they pass. Bonkers reasons that that means all they have to do is steal the cuffs and block their supply at the very end then, but Nulo points out that they don't know for a fact that any of Velou's theories are correct yet. Velou agrees and says the only way they can find out for sure is to get arrested and see for themselves. He says nobody has to agree with his plan, but he wants to try and help as many people pass as possible, as he thinks the more forces they have to fight the werewolves, the better. Porschen says she doesn't really care about Velou's dream, but she does think his plan makes sense, so she agrees. Migael agrees as well, as if they can keep taking handcuffs and escaping, it'll make the risk to each of them go down dramatically. While Bonkers doesn't seem very enthusiastic, he too agrees in the end. Porschen then suggests they split into teams, with Nulo suggesting they make it two teams of three – while one squad lets themselves get arrested, the other three will run. This will allow the arrested team to rest and think of a more concrete plan, while the rescue squad can scout allies from everyone that left before, and come back to free the captured three when the time is right. Velou thinks this is the best plan of action, as they can switch back and forth between going for the cuffs and then leaving and coming back to free the prisoners later. Velou explains this plan to Laurell who thinks it's a good one, but wonders if they can really pull it off as he doubts everyone will be into the idea of cooperation. Proving his point, Tylty refuses to go along with it when Migael finds him and his sister hiding in the coal storage room. She is taken aback since she thought he was Velou's friend, but Tylty denies that. Merrio says that Tylty's plan of hiding near coal that Debonair won't be able to use her power near is an interesting one, but then asks him what happened in the last test that he failed. Tylty says they were betrayed, though none of them were blameless as everyone was constantly deceiving each other, and in the end they all drug each other down. Tylty says it's too risky to make teams and that good hunters tend to also be good liars. He asks them for proof that Velou won't betray them in the end or them betray him, and says that there's no more fragile bond then one built on trust. Merrio listens to him but says that in the short time he lived with Tylty, he began to build a little trust in him, as he was always kick to remove the leftovers that frightened him. He says that Tylty has a point that trusting others is difficult however, and he, Migael, and Nulo leave Tylty with his thoughts to find someone else to team up with them. Back at the brig, Laurell notices mold suddenly growing out of the cell and down across the floor, not seeing that Velou is holding on to something. As Merrio and the others leave Tylty, they spot some mold growing into a window in front of them. Nulo asks if it's a message from Velou, and Merrio says it is, saying that it being green means that the two Hunters do get replacement cuffs from the staff just as they thought. This means they'll go for Plan A: cut off the supply route! Review: This was certainly a wordy, convoluted chapter, and while it makes for a hell of a hard time trying to describe it all, it was definitely really fun to read and gets me hyped for the kinds of things the author might have planned for the future. Unfortunately, whether or not we'll get to see that future is really still up in the air, and I'd be lying if I said this level of detail – as well as their continued reliance on flashbacks – didn't worry me greatly. As shown at the end of last chapter, it seems like Velou and the other's plan to go after the cuffs rather than trying to run and hide really is the biggest part of their plan, though exactly how they plan to go about it is something even they hadn't fully determined in the amount of time they had to talk. It's pretty brilliant of them to use the fact that getting arrested doesn't mean a thing so long as you're out at the very end of the test to their advantage, and not in the way you might expect. They purposefully allowed some of their number to get captured for intel purposes, something that as far as we can tell, the Hunters don't seem to have picked up on yet. I'd be surprised if Grimm at least doesn't think there's more going on here than what it seems though, as she knows that Velou is a schemer. Everyone's distrust of each other, even as they work together, is palpable as well. While they've all been in this together, the way introductions are handled shows that they haven't always had time to get to know each other outside of direct roommates, so there's not a lot of things tying them together outside of liking Velou's plan. All six of them were on the same page of not thinking running and hiding was the right answer, and while that's a flimsy premise to build a team on, it's a start at least. Tylty doesn't seem to think so though, and while I don't think he can really be blamed given what apparently went down during his last test, I still can't help but feel this is going to come back to bite him in the butt. Either they're going to fail again, or he's just going to feel like a jackass when the only reason everyone passes is because of Velou convincing the others to team up. I mean, his plan of hiding near the coal is great for keeping Debonair at bay, but it's not going to do a thing to stop Grimm from catching him. As smart as Velou is however, I'm not sure it's really such a bright idea to tell the guard Laurell all about their plan, as the only thing he doesn't seem to have told him so far is about the mold (more on that in a bit). The guards are technically on the Hunters side, not theirs, so what the hell man? Nothing was ever said that the guards wouldn't interfere, and I assumed that even if the other applicants show up to free the prisoners they'd probably have to deal with the guards first, so...this just seems like an idiot ball moment if I've ever heard of one. We're also treated to a display of Migael's powers at last, and if I'm not mistaken Merrio's as well. My prediction that Migael was going to be a magic user seems to have been dead on, though it's curious that Debonair describes it as a hex while Migael insists it's a blessing instead. Is there actually a real distinction between the two? Or is Migael actually privy to magic in the same way that witches are somehow? I'm really curious to find out at some point in the future hopefully. In the case of Merrio, I'm not entirely sure but I think the mold might have something to do with him. It's possible that the mold is some sort of item that Velou and them have gotten hold of previously and are now using, or even another elixir from Nulo, but I think this might be Merrio's power somehow or another. In addition to the mold used to send him a message, there's also the moment where Debonair notices her belt eroding away from the stuff. It's right when the belt snaps off that Merrio tells Porschen to strike and take the handcuffs, seemingly indicating he had prior knowledge that it was about to happen. While that could easily be true with it being an elixir, that makes twice that the mold has popped up with him specifically. That can't be a coincidence, rather I think it's the author's not-so-subtle way to start showing off his powers before finally explaining them to us, much in the same way they teased Debonair's abilities when she shook Velou's hand. I'd also be willing to bet we'll find out in the next chapter one way or the other. Until next time! Favorite Panel: Next Time: Chapter 11
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About the AuthorAspiring author and big anime/manga fan, just trying to do my best in the world. For more details, go to About Me. Archives
September 2022
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