The morning sun illuminated the empty common area of the tavern as the owner, Vizor, stood respectfully in front of Xander as his daughter served breakfast to the Hallowed.


    “Sit Vizor, break bread with me, and tell me what it is that you went so far as to send your virgin daughter to pleasure me for the night. You are aware that I will not be taking her with me, right?”


    The Hallowed’s sharp tone sent a shiver down the tavern owner’s spine. “N-not at all, Ser. I merely wanted Ser to be in a pleasant mood when you awoke.”


    “Sit,” Xander said, his piercing blue eyes compelling the small tavern owner to sit with a thump on the closest stool. Adjacent to the man, the Hallowed’s eyes moved down to his plate. “Now speak.”


    “Please save my daughter—“ Xander shook his head before the man even finished his sentence.


    “Save it. I just said that I am not planning to repay your daughter’s virginity by taking her as some sort of concubine. I made it clear to her last night, and I’m making it clear to you now.”


    The man’s resignation to the Hallowed’s words was limited, going by his facial expression. “I understand that, but please … just take her away from here.”


    “And dump her in another town? Are you sure?”


    “Please …”


    “If you don’t have an actual request, I’ll be off.” Xander stood up, pushing his chair back as it dragged on the wooden floor under him.


    “Aren’t you curious why?”


    “I do not care whether she has an undesirable suitor or is supposed to be a virgin sacrifice for a priestess of Libitina,” Xander said. “I’ve seen this story play out more times than I care to count.”


    “It’s not that …” The man shook his head. “Tonight … they will take another … Three years, this has gone on. Three whole years where four virgins are taken every moon. The last was taken seven days ago, on the Third Quarter of this moon. Tonight is the second New Moon, which means another will be taken,” the man broke down, uncaring of the presence of his daughter as he fell to Xander’s feet. “There are only so many virgins of age in this town, Ser Hallowed. There have been signs … signs that my daughter was going to be next. Your arrival is like a boon sent from the heavens to us. Please … please let her not die to whatever monster is plaguing this town.”


    “Three years …” Xander didn’t seem moved in the slightest by the man’s pleas and analyzed his words objectively. “How has no one from the guilds taken action?”


    “They have, Ser … They have. But it''s useless. No one ever returns. And every passing day, I sleep in fear that my daughter will be the next to be taken.”


    “You don’t have to worry about that now, however, do you?”


    “It’s no use. I am not the only one with such an idea. Every time, without question, the targetted individual has been taken, regardless of whether she lost her virginity after the appearance of the signs.”


    Stolen story; please report.


    Xander grunted at the groveling man at his feet. “Stand. Clean up after yourself. Your Castellan has already requested that I deal with this particular issue. There will be no abduction tonight. You can rest assured of that. Same with you.” He turned to the red-eyed woman at the side with whom he’d spent the night. She was suppressing her sobs, but it was clear that she was just as overwhelmed by fear as the owner. His expression softened as he looked at her. “Don’t worry. You will be fine. I am going after the source of these disappearances.”


    “My name is Susan …” The woman suddenly spoke. “You never asked for my name, Ser Xander.”


    “So it seems,” the Hallowed grinned. “I’m leaving. Take care of yourself and your father, Susan.”


    …


    Soon, the Hallowed found himself in the same study as the previous day, with the Castellan sitting opposite him. The hearth was filled with embers of wood and coal and radiated its heat through the room, warming it up as the two men conversed.


    “So, where is the source of these disappearances that you have started encountering?” Xander asked. “And what is the basis of your assumption of a fallen mage? As opposed to any old monster.”


    “It cannot be a monster… It–it is conscious, has a system of abduction, and limits itself to virgin women.” Louis, the castellan, spoke with a tremble.


    “What you describe is closer to a monster, however. Any monster worth its salt works on a pattern.”


    “Please trust me, Ser Hallowed.” Louis was noticeably more formal today than the previous day. “I am not lying to you.”


    ”Maybe so,” Xander said. “But I cannot act upon your word alone. Do you have witnesses? A location? Families of the victims? I want to see everything and make an informed decision for myself. Do you understand?”


    “I will call in the victim families immediately,” the man said. “As for the witnesses, there have never been any wittnesses left alive. The fallen … it takes only the targetted women and leaves any guards and witnesses dead. No one has ever seen it.”


    “Any specific location that you suspect it comes from?”


    “No,” The Castellan refused.


    “What do you know?” Xander paused and looked at the man in charge with a piercing look. “You claim with such confidence that it is a fallen mage who takes those virgins, yet you fail to give me any concrete leads.”


    “I–I…” The man stuttered, unable to come up with a satisfactory answer as the Hallowed’s piercing gaze dug into his soul.


    “You are hiding something from me, Castellan,” the Hallowed spoke coldly.


    “F-fine.” The man nodded. “Yes, I was not completely truthful. But only because I am oathbound to not reveal anything about its identity. What I have already told you already borders on breaking my oath, and I cannot risk telling you anything beyond.”


    “Oaths without a contractor are useless…” His eyes widened in realization of the severity of the oath mentioned by the Castellan. “This involves the Ducal family, doesn’t it?”


    The man’s silence was enough of an answer for Xander.


    “I will start with this castle,” Xander said. “Tell your men to not bar my entry anywhere. I do not like it when my investigations are obstructed.”


    “Naturally, Ser Xander,” the man nodded. “They are at your disposal if you require anything.”


    Xander didn’t respond and closed his eyes as if focusing on something.


    When he opened them back up, his blue eyes had gone gold as the irides became indistinguishable from the sclera. The view in front of him turned darker and slightly colorless as the Castellan himself looked like a gray silhouette with no distinguishable features other than his body shape.


    “Let us see,” Xander said as he turned to move out of the study and approached the lower rungs of the castle.


    “Where are we going, Ser?”


    “Basement… Dungeons, whatever you have in there. Those places are rife for corruption.”


    “While I completely support your process, Ser Xander,” the Castellan struggled to keep up with the pace of the Hallowed, “looking for a monster is a waste of time. I can guarantee you that the being abducting the virgins here is no monster.”


    “Still dealing with corruption, Castellan,” Xander said. “Which way?”


    The Castellan ended up serving as the guide for the Hallowed, who slowly scoured the entire castle for any traces of corruption.