H19 Pursuit of the Daemon Hunters

**Pursuit of the Daemon Hunters**, the 19th book of The Golden Age of Adventures series, was published in March 2018. It is the English language edition of the original Chinese comic, **幻兽猎人**, which was published in September 2017.

## Synopsis

AIMING FOR THE TOP! TRAILING DAEMON HUNTERS!

Since the advent of the Age of Adventures, many adventurers have established relations with mysterious eudaemons. But now, these creatures are being targeted by a group of skilled hunters. Following their trail, Alex and Jones' students stumble upon tiny little torches and a very small door. Will they find out the sinister intentions of the hunters?

## Cast

* Alex
* Lulu
* The Ferocious Four
* Bobby
* Jackal
* "Giant Stink" Jabba
* Delmar
* Jones

## Plot

***Spoiler warning!** Plot and/or ending details follow.*

### Chapter 1: Steel Fang's Past

Because he was banned from adventuring and Marie Wright will find him if he stays home, Alex and Lulu goes to Jones' island. Jackal does not like this. Jabba falls on him and Alex. Jones pops out of the water with fishes. Alex tells everyone the beanstalk situation while they eat. Jones asks Alex if he has thought of having other jobs. Octopus is tyre manufacturer, Sally is mechanical engineer and Baljit Singh is a lorry driver. Alex will think about it another time.

He meets Jones' new students: Jabba (No. 93) and Delmar, an ex-Global Alliance for Humanity squad leader. Alex asks Delmar if knows Commander Steel Fang. Delmar has met him, but never spoken. Since Steel Fang was at his trial, Alex wants to know why he hates adventurers. Jones says he was once a famous adventurer, surprising all of them.

"Wind Slicer" Steel Fang was powerful and accomplished, but his partner, Adolf Hitler, was a selfish man. Many years ago, they discovered an ancient site in India. Light shone on Adolf, turning him vile. He soon got involved in politics and enlisted in the army in the Great War (WWI). Steel Fang demanded an explanation. The light gave Adolf a prophecy of world domination. Steel Fang went back to the site, but found nothing. When WWI ended in 1918, Adolf returned to his country, Germany, to establish the Nazi party.

In 1939, World War II broke out. Steel Fang joined the Global Alliance as he felt responsible for this. In 1945, the Nazis were defeated and WWII ended. Adolf committed suicide. Steel Fang cremated his body. He concluded many people, including Adolf, became evil due to the site. And the ancients sealed dangerous things away, but their descendants cause havoc by uncovering them. Steel Fang began to oppress adventurers as he became commander. Robert ordered all adventurers to stay away from politics, allowing them to enter any country freely.

Now that the story is over, everyone cleans up. No.1 returns with goods. Jackal gives Jones a bottle with a message. The message has a task for the adventurers.

### Chapter 2: On the Trail

The message was about illegal hunters. They specialise poaching endangered animals. Not even trunk strike elephants can escape them. Jones and Masinga have been hunting them down for years. Now, the hunters are after mythical creatures. Jones shows a photo of a kappa captured by their men. Their base is currently in Indonesia somewhere near point A and B. Jones will take A while Jackal leads the rest in B.

Two days later in Jakarta, the hunters' men drive to Cukang Taneuh from noon to night. Alex sees the vehicles and reports to his team. Jackal orders everyone to gather at Alex's position. The men are putting a tube into a lake. Alex will go take a closer look, and Delmar follows. They can use Lulu's night vision to not get caught. Lulu detects no intelligent life.

She sees a tiny shine of light. Using his magnifying glass, Alex sees a torch with what looks like a sun stone. Lulu sees more. The torches lead to a hole at the foot of a tree bark. Inside is door.

### Chapter 3: Little People

Delmar finds a tiny diamond shaped keyhole. Alex uses his tension wrench, revealing a puzzle. There are buttons with numbers 25, 17, 40, 32 and 13. The puzzle to tap five times to get 100. A button can be tapped more than once. The answer is 17 four times and 32 one time. The little door opens. Lulu transforms into her cat form and enters.

Through the door is a city of little people. A light blue cat threatens Lulu to leave, but it is entranced by how pretty she is. The men take out another tube. The ceiling of the wee folk's city has a tube poking out. It releases water, causing a flood. The only exit is a puzzle: matching the drawing with a mechanism. The wee folk argue. The ceiling is destroyed and a net captures all of them, including the light blue cat and Lulu.

### Chapter 4: Secret Base

Alex and Delmar return to Jackal and Jabba. Alex sees Lulu in one of the nets. Lulu tears one of the men's uniform at the arm, revealing a diamond symbol with four expressions. Alex and Delmar see the tattoo through their binoculars. As the men leave, Alex and Jackal tail them while Jabba and Delmar contact Jones.

At the secret base, a man displays his tattoo to the furious masked guard, who lets them in. Lulu sees Bobby talking to the Neo-Nazi colonel. The masked guy spots Jackal's team and alerts everybody. Jackal will handle him. There are two trains: the one on the left and right. Alex takes left and Jabba and Delmar take right. In the left tunnel, a gleeful masked person throws his bomb at Alex. Alex jumps out of his motorcycle and throws a piece of cloth at the cargo.

### Chapter 5: The Ferocious Four

Jones reads the telegram message left behind by Jackal's team. Jones considers the diamond symbol to be grave news. Lulu transforms into her adult form while wearing the cloth. The gleeful masked takes her out of the cargo and fights her himself.

Alex walks up a staircase. A section of the ceiling falls, followed by the next ones. Alex dashes towards the end, and there is a puzzle of all places. It shows number 104 divided into two lines. One divides into two and the other divides into three, one being the same as the other branch and the other two are smaller. The top numbers are 26 and the lower ones are 13 (26 + 26 + 26 + 13 + 13 = 104). Alex quickly goes through the exit as the last section of the ceiling was about to fall on him. Alex has entered a room of specimens. A kappa is kept in a tube and a fairy is pinned to a bulletin board. An emotionless masked person enters the room.

A woeful masked person steps in Jabba and Delmar's way. These masked people - Fury, Glee, Woe and the Void - are powerful shadow mercenaries known as the Ferocious Four.

### Chapter 6: Unequal Fight

Alex throws his electrocuting ropes, but the Void evaded them. The Void releases his bird bombs. Alex destroys some of them with his steel wires. He then placed them around the room. The Void throws his rats, cutting the wires with strong acid. He takes out a bee hive. Alex uses bug repellent. Snakes bite his legs, paralysing him.

Lulu uses a stone pillar to smash Glee, but he jumps and walks on it to headbutt Lulu. Lulu punches, but Glee pushes it away and headbutts her nose. Lulu kicks, but Glee blocks it and punches her to a wall. Meanwhile, the Void takes out his syringe.

### Chapter 7: King of the Sky

Woe thrusts Jabba to a wall with his hammer. Delmar shoots him, but Woe's armour is impenetrable, but even the Alliance has one such as this. Woe throws the bullets to Delmar.

Jackal is chased by Fury above the forest. He throws his spinning blade, but it gets shot by Fury. He flies into the forests, and Fury follows. He throws his small spinning blades to the surrounding trees. As Fury prepares to shoot him with his shock missile, Jackal detonates his blades, making the trees fall on top of him. Fury bursts out of them and destroys Jackal's jet pack. He holds Jackal by his neck. He sees Jones coming.

### Chapter 8: Lar's Metal

Fury calls the other members that Jones has entered the fray. The Void orders to not engage him, then leaves. Glee and Woe leave their spots too. Fury throws Jackal to Jones, and flies away.

Jackal and his team tend to their wounds. The Ferocious Four fight, assassinate and protect the right price. Now, they have added hunting to their CV, along with working for the Neo-Nazis. What surprises Alex is Bobby is in cahoots with them. The only thing that can be done now is sending the dead kappa and fairy to the World Adventure Union. They'll send them back to their homelands.

The submarine Dr. Ming experiments in enters the Neo-Nazi secret base. The Ferocious Four's men give cages of the wee folk to Ming. Ming gives the Void his payment, several gold bars. As the Four leave, he asks the Void if he and the others would like to join. The Void continues walking away.

Ming shows the colonel Lar's metal. It can extract, store or release souls. Iron Heart used them to create the Soul Transfer Machine. Adolf used one to fake his demise, it is in Ming's hand right now. His followers have kept his soul safe for many years. Ming needs a bigger piece, but the metal can't be created by humans. Only the wee folk can according to Iron Heart's records. Once they have created enough, Adolf Hitler the Holy Leader will be ressurrected in the female IBYon body Ming prepared. Its cells match to Akhator by 95.6%.

## X-Venture continuity

### In the series

* Delmar was dismissed from the Alliance for defying Steel Fang's orders to kill adventurers during the Akhator War. In one of the last pages of H12 Defenders of the Earth, he can be seen giving Jackal a cold towel.
* The light blue cat has the same fur colour as the cat sitting on Akhazane's lap in H10 Trial of the Sacred Tribe page 129. They both could be the same cat.