#relic hunter!reader

[the-enchanted-archivist]

Not sure what it is about Dark Tides, but it's kinda hilariously giving Grim Destiny vibes...

if Beloved was wise to Philip's villainous nature.

btw, in AGD, not sure if it's a spoiler question but; DOES Beloved ever learn Philip is a witch hunter?

A Grim Destiny doesn't have Beloved in it XD That's Reincarnted!Reader/1600s Gravesfield 8U

AGD has Angel who is solely a powerless witch without a bile sac. It can tie in with the reincarnated reader stuff if we want it to, but it's stand-alone otherwise. Reincarnated Reader stuff can be anyone from Beloved to Angel to Trinket (Witch Relic Hunter!Reader), pretty much any past life brought to the current day.

No, ANGEL (AGD) will never know that Philip is a witch hunter. BELOVED is human and knows he's a witch hunter because they grew up in the same place and time. They are the only one out of all the readers who don't see Philip's actions as "villainous" due to the climate of the time.

Dark Tides is pretty much Human!Reader and can have the potential of being Reincarnated!Reader.

[the-enchanted-archivist]

I just realized something.

Is relic hunters, Philip buried Trinket in the center of the dried up eclipse lake, right?

Imagine Amity and Hunter finding Trinket's corpse/skeleton after Hunter finished digging his own grave.

Worst, when Hunter lays down, he feels something hard under him and has to come to the realization that he's LAYING ON A CORPSE >XD

But yeah, that's pretty messed up either way B< XD

[the-enchanted-archivist]

Relic!Reader to V!Philip: You're not you when you're hungry. XD

You're just... unfazed by it. Like, you knew he was stalking you like a predator yet you just grabbed a blood packet, shoved it in his mouth, and waited for him to sate his hunger before inviting him to join your crew since the vampirism could come in handy in dark places.

Your crew is not happy and wants him gone >XD

It's the closest we'll get to seeing him drinking a Capri Sun while looking halfway innocent >XD Plus, that internal struggle of him wanting to kill you, having the means to do it without any weapons, yet... he can't do it. Maybe you enjoy the rush that's him close to your throat knowing he can't bring himself to bite you after the two of you get close.

He'd still kill you in a "human" way at Eclipse Lake.

[the-enchanted-archivist]

When you introduced Philip to the rest of your Relic-Hunting team, the reception was... lukewarm to say the least.

"He looks weak," one of the demons grunted. "He won't last long."

You scoffed with a smirk, though Philip looked quite offended.

"You said the same thing about half of the crew, Geger."

"This time I mean it."

"I'm siding with Geger on this one. He looks like he'll just be underfoot," a witch leaning against the demon with her arms crossed scoffed. "He has no business here with us."

"I'm sure he'll do just fine, Eser. And yes, he does. We've worked out a deal. We help him look for some ingredients he needs to return to the human realm and he helps us with recovering relics from yesteryear. I suggest everyone get acquainted before we head out."

------

That was two days ago. You sat on the edge of your cot, hugging yourself as you stared across the tent. You could hear their voices clearly in your head, protesting Philip's presence. The soft clatter of a cup and saucer made you look up to see the human handing you a cup of tea. His head was bandaged and a black bruise had formed under his left eye.

"Here. To calm the nerves," Philip murmured. You carefully took it and looked down at the light pink liquid. He picked up a second cup and sat on the cot across from you.

"I... can't believe that happened... We were always so careful... I'm sorry..."

"It was an accident. Nothing more. You can't predict every cave-in, my dear."

"That was Eser's job... and both she and Geger are now..."

You couldn't finish that sentence. It was still too new to actually believe that two of your crew members had died in a cave-in while looking for Galderstones. Eser was your Oracle while Geger was the muscle focused on construction. Both made sure the area was secure before anyone entered the area.

"... They were going to get married next month..." you murmured, tears swelling in your eyes.

"I see... I'm sorry, Y/N. I shouldn't have chosen this area."

"If you're sitting here telling me it was an accident, what are you apologizing for?" you smiled sadly back at him. Philip sighed.

"I know. Unfortunately, nothing can be done at this point beyond notifying the families and having the bodies retrieved."

"It might be best just to seal off the cave. Retrieving their bodies may cause a bigger cave-in and take more lives. The area would be treated like a tomb... It... wouldn't be the first time that something like that has happened."

"Ah... if you believe that is the right course of action, then so be it..."

Philip watched you a moment before sipping his tea. Thankfully, neither Geger nor Eser was able to get to you about the confrontation they had with him. Geger had gotten wind from a contact of his of previous tasks Philip had done where his companions had been killed yet he was the only one to come out alive and had confronted him on it with Eser. Philip was grateful for the fact you had been off to a nearby town with the others to gather supplies while Geger and Eser went ahead with securing the cave for the expedition with the intention of telling you what they uncovered.

He couldn't have that.

From your point of view, you had arrived while Eser, Philip, and Geger were a few yards into the cave. Before you could enter, you could hear Philip yelling something followed by the ground shaking and a massive cave-in. You didn't hear anyone else. Philip emerged from the cave, holding his head as blood poured down his face which caused your medic to rush forward to heal his open wound without a second glance.

When asked what happened, he looked at you and then sadly glanced away before telling you Eser and Geger were in there. Upon inspection, your crew came to the conclusion that neither had a chance to escape as the cave-in caught both of them under tons of rock. While the cave-in was real, the witch and the demon were already dead and the cave-in itself was caused by explosion glyphs he had discovered placed in key places along the walls. Upon realizing your return, he set them off to let you witness the destruction. His injuries, however, were from a miscalculation that only added to the authenticity of the "accident". He didn't intend to be struck in the head by a falling rock.

Hearing that you wanted to seal the cave made him feel more confident that he wouldn't be caught.

[the-enchanted-archivist]

"Forgive me for saying this, Guild Master," Philip leaned against the railing of the deck of the ship that was heading toward an island for your next expedition. It had been a month or so since the cave-in. "But I often forget you are not human."

Your head perked up, his voice pulling you out of whatever you were thinking about as you stared at the water.

"Why is that?"

"Well, for one, you keep your ears covered," he chuckled. "And two, you do not use your magic like the others do."

You stared at him a moment before rolling your eyes up with a smirk.

"Since writing and researching have no need for magic, I see no need to shoehorn it in. If it's not broken, don't fix it, right? And I guess it helps too when you're raised by doomsday-prepping parents who believe one day we won't have magic to rely on and encourage you to use it sparingly. I'm used to doing everything by hand."

Philip's brows flashed.

"Won't have magic to rely on? What do they believe will happen for that to transpire?"

"Who knows? They're nutjobs in their own right. Lovely people, I assure you, just a bit off of their rockers," you sighed. "As for my ears, they're extremely sensitive to cold as I don't get proper circulation and will start aching at the slightest temperature change so it's just easier to keep them hidden and warm. Considering I don't have any extra extremities like other witches, yeah, I could see how I could come off as human. Minus the tail..."

The human opened his mouth to say something before furrowing his brow and leaning back to look at your backside which made you snicker.

"Made you look! There's no tail. I'm just messing with you."

Philip shook his head with a chuckle.

"Yes, yes, you got me. But it is... uncanny... You don't act like a witch."

"Well, how are witches supposed to act?"

"Ah... well... Not like you, I can at least say that much."

You blinked at his hesitation.

"Oh, wow, if you haven't met someone like me in your travels, I'm afraid to find out what you believe "normal" is for witch-kind. Though, I will admit, you might be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't use magic as often. Not unless they CAN'T do it-"

Before Philip could answer, the ship suddenly rocked hard as if it had struck something, causing you to lose your balance and fall into Philip. When the ship finally fell still, you were against Philip's chest with one of his arms around you tightly and the other latched onto the railing. The two of you stared at one another for a moment, both faces red before you pulled away, clearing your throats and fixing yourselves.

"W-We should go see what happened..." you murmured, looking away. Philip did the same, fixing his beard, coat, and ascot.

"R-Right... T-That would be best..."

"Guild Master! The ship ran ashore!" A voice called out from above to you. "The ship's captain says it may be a wandering coral patch! They're surveying the damage now but he said it might be best for us to use a dinghy to get to the island to stay on schedule as repairs might take too long!"

"Thank you Kikimora*! Gather the others and the supplies and we'll do just that!" you called back up to a small red demon. Turning back to Philip, you found yourself flustered once more and you sheepishly passed him. "I-I guess I should go make preparations..."

"Of course, yes, go on. I-I'll gather our things and see you in a few minutes..." Philip nodded. After a short, awkward moment, he watched you disappear around a corner. His eyes relaxed and he gave a soft sigh only to pause at his own reaction. "... ... ... I'm sure this is nothing..."

*one of Kikimora's ancestors. Philip/Belos does recognize the current Kikimora as a descendent, remember how yours was extremely loyal. He's also lying to himself that it's not a way to remember you. The name is handed down through generations.

[the-enchanted-archivist]

Does Amity ever tells anyone what she saw in the eclipse lake?

Does Belos ever finds out Hunter found Trinket's corpse?

She probably does and Luz remembers the Echo Mouse saying something specific about Philip losing someone there and she makes the connection that it's that person. His "dearest friend".

He'll find out in Hollow Mind because Luz would confront him about the body Hunter found. When asked about Trinket, Belos sighs and reminisces about his time with their group and how he loathed the fact that they were not the human they were holding themselves as. (in his eyes, anyway. They didn't really know how to "act human" because it was normal for them) He will glance over at a portrait of Trinket and to Luz's horror, they look like you and she realizes how much danger you are in considering you're still at the castle under treatment for your heart condition.

[the-enchanted-archivist]

You think philip left like a plaque there

Saying “here lies” or “I’m sorry”

Or something like that

He could have left something like that. Probably not your name or it would have given away that he may have had something to do with it since he "narrowly escaped" the cave-in. The last thing he needed was someone finding it sooner rather than later and they came hunting for him.

[the-enchanted-archivist]

Imagine the difference when Vampire!Philip meets Relic Hunter!Reader for the first time. XD He probably tried to attack them for blood before they shoved a blood packet from the first aid kit in his mouth instead. He goes from feral to ???? when that happens XD

He scares the living shit out of the rest of the crew, but Trinket seems unfazed by him for some reason. They also seem one step ahead of him when it comes to his cravings.