《Nature of Soul》
Prolouge - The King Takes Action
"Every adventurer of the kingdom of Svardkust, these words are for you!
More than a century has passed since the Demon King World War, and the five great kingdoms have been at peace. But still, the issue of 4 Demon generals is still at hand. Under this century, our kingdom has been plagued by the several attacks of the Demon generals and their monster forces. We have under the years attempted to use the Svardkustian army to combat these attacks, but they have been largely unsuccessful. The Demon generals have even threatened to attack cities if we engage in further military endeavors. Therefore, I have decided to start the Assisted Adventurers program. Groups of adventurers will be assisted by knight candidates to learn Svardkustian work mentality and increase the chance of survival when they go on dangerous missions. These assisted parties will gain experience and independently from the government be able to fight back against the Demon King''s forces. With the final goal of every party being slaying a Demon general, something that has not been achieved since the end of the Demon King war. However, your bravery will also be well rewarded. I have chosen to pass down the throne to whoever manages to destroy one of the Demon generals and the royal duty of marrying one of my daughters.
Adventurers, I the king, Karl XII believe in you. This speech shall be spread around the whole kingdom. Every citizen, strong and weak, is welcome. Those intrigued gather in the town of Fandohlin May 1st!"
The king was standing on a pre-built stage stationed in front of the royal palace. As the king was finishing his speech, the crowds filling the castle grounds applauded as an order went out to select knights in training. Only the top performing squires were notified of this order, and Audrey was one of them. She was watching in class through a portal based broadcast in the Royal Academy of swordsmanship and magic.
The general of Svardkust, Hirosus, had been selected by the king to call out and inform the students that had been chosen for the Assisted Adventurers program. Audrey and a few of her other classmates were called out of class and on to the academy''s yard.
"You all were selected for your outstanding performance this year, and I am here to give you this document filled with all the necessary information. I will now take time to personally give you a farewell and a blessing."
General Hirosus proceeded with a roll call, and slowly 1 by 1, all of the other students were sent home to prepare and say goodbye to their families.
"Audrey Garudorf!"
"Present!" She shouted and immediately went to Hirosus, who looked like he was checking all of them on a checklist.
"Impressive Audrey, it seems you were a real star this year according to your instructors records. However, do not let your confidence be an obstacle. You still have a lot to learn, and I see you still have room to improve your sword technique. Also, before I forget to tell you, the horse carriages leaving Aldervinter to Fandohlin depart the 28th of April 09.00 in the morning." Hirosus said while checking her name on the checklist and handing out a sealed envelope with further information.
"Understood general Hirosus! Well, I''ll be going." She said while quickly bowing and then taking a light jog home.
Audrey was wearing light armor partly exposing her arms, and her brown ponytail bounced on her back. Her brown eyes were filled with ecstatic emotions, and the sun warmed her defined arms and fair skin.
While jogging home, the thoughts couldn''t get out of her head. This is going to be the first time I will be leaving the capital. I have never gone much further than the city borders. It''s very exciting but also kind of daunting, she thought.
This program will also be the perfect opportunity to get closer to the white dragon and avenge my mother. But let''s not get ahead of yourself. There are still 3 days left until the Assisted Adventurers program starts, Audrey thought.
When she finally arrived at her doorstep, Audrey opened the door and rushed into her room through the hallway to take all the necessary luggage and pack it into a backpack. Then Audrey went to look for her father to tell him that she got selected.
"Welcome back, Master Audrey! Are you going on a trip?" The 2 maids of the Garudorf household shouted across the house.
They were very short identical twins and had golden blonde hair. The only visible difference between them were their hairstyles. Even the black and white maid outfits they wore were the same. Shi, the older sister, had twin tails, and Su, the younger sister, had a ponytail.
"Oh, Shi, Su, you''re right. I''m going to travel to Fandohlin in a few days." Audrey said while seeing the maids outside her room.
"By the way, where''s dad? I didn''t see his armor in the hallway? Didn''t dad say that he would be back by today?"
"Master Garudorf was offered to assist in the upcoming knight graduation exams by headmaster Loekee. The exam will be held outside of town, and master won''t return in 2 months time." The twins said all of that in a monotone voice in unison.
"Alright, guys, if you need help with something heavy, be sure to ask! I''ll be training."
"Understood master Audrey!" The older ponytailed sister Su said while dragging the slow and daydreaming Shi down the stairs.
Audrey proceeded by going to the back garden. It was surrounded by flowery bushes and a small empty sparring ground. There were also a few wooden dummies, some broken.
She then drew her sword and breathed steadily. To harness that power father uses, I need to strengthen my body and take control of my soul''s battle spirit or something like that. Audrey thought to herself as she practiced on a wooden dummy.
Audrey mustered up all her strength and slashed the dummy in half. But to no avail, whatever she attempted the power did not manifest. Was she really not strong enough.
She guessed that, since only knights were thought that power and it was confidential information for the rest of the public. Her father wouldn''t teach it to Audrey as he always told her that it was for her to discover. After 1 hour of training her entire body and technique, the tired Audrey layed down on the grass and fell asleep.
"Oh, while I took a nap, it has already turned late. Ah! All my sweaty clothes are going to make my armor stinky!" Audrey thought panicking as she was woken up by birds chirping while the sun set.
She was then busy showering and making sure the maids took care of the mess she made. Which Audrey apologized for during dinner. Su laughed at her worry, and Shi smilingly said it was no big deal.
Audrey then went to her bedroom with a king-sized blue bed, a small drawer, and some books on shelves. On the way to her room, she looked at her father''s and mother''s medals of great feats hanging in between multiple other medals.
Defeating an officer of the Demon King''s army, the monstrous troll who had stolen the legendary Grava hammer from a dwarfish king of the past. Her mother, in contrast, was given a medal for saving people. Over 1000 soldiers signed the proof. Destroying evil, helping people, they became great.
Audrey was starting to get sleepy after thinking about if she could ever be great like her parents. However, before going to bed, she started to think about what she''ll be doing tomorrow since she doesn''t have to attend the academy anymore. Audrey decided that she should tell her instructors goodbye, at least the good one Johan. What about the classmates, though I don''t really hang out with them. Hmm, maybe I''ll do it out of respect she thought.
Is there anything else I have to do before I go on this journey. As moonlight hit her in the eyes, she looked away at the bookshelf. Right, the legend of the 3 heroes I borrowed from Pastor Frudou. I haven''t even found time to read it yet, but I should give it back so he could lend it to someone who needs it more. That''s the plan for tomorrow.
The night was pleasant as the mildly cold breeze covered the room. Even though it was hard to fall asleep with so much for her to look forward to, she was finally able to force herself to rid her head of the exciting thoughts and finally fall asleep.
- - -
The next morning, Audrey hears Su call for her, which wakes her up. But since she is a morning sleeper, she is in a sleepy mood.
"Master Audrey, please wake up! We have prepared your breakfast!"
They usually only make father''s breakfast cause I eat mine in the academy, but I guess since he''s gone, they made an exception. Audrey thought as she shouted.
"I''m coming down, just going to put on my clothes, okay!"
Audrey reached out to her wordrobe and pulled out a new set of clothes to put on. A blue shirt, grey pants, white panties, and socks. After that she takes her belongings, including the borrowed book running through the room. Then, running past the door and down the stairs to eat a nostalgic smelling breakfast.
"Su, what''s for breakfast?" Audrey asked as she arrived at the kitchen door.
"Master Audrey, I made some meat and potato stew while Shi is taking care of the garden." Su replied as she put some brooth with extra meat into a bowl.
"Thanks!" Audrey said, sitting down and eagerly grabbing the spoon on the table.
I''m pretty sure that''s dad¡¯s favorite dish. Mom even used to make it for us... Don''t worry, dad. One day, I''ll avenge mom by killing the white dragon. Audrey thought as time quickly passed and the bowl emptied.
"Done!" Audrey shouted, leaving the bowl beside the other dishes.
"Su, I''ll visit the academy and return a book I borrowed from pastor Frudou, okay?"
"Alright, be careful!" Su said as she waved her hand.
Audrey then walks out of the kitchen and to the front door. She opens it and sees the bright light of the sun reflecting on the white tile road into her face. Shi was cutting down the bushes and grass on the lawn.
"Oh, Master Audrey, are you going out somewhere?" Shi said while turning her head towards Audrey.
"Yes, I am going to the academy!"
"Well... what about your equipment?"
Audrey looks around for a second before realizing that she forgot her sword. It''s usually obvious school equipment, but since she won''t be attending anymore, she left it beside her other baggage.
"Thanks, Shi!" Audrey shouted as she ran through the house and picked up her sword.
Even though she doesn''t have to bring it, she might spar a little, and having a weapon never hurts.
"See ya, Su and Shi!" Audrey shouted as she jogged over the white road and through the other side of the highlight district.
As she approached the academy, a giant palace comprised of three central buildings with smaller structures around them, Audrey slowed down to walk by the students around the school grounds.
This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Audrey walked to the right building, which is called the school of swordsmanship. The academy is full of students, all of them wearing one of three main uniforms. The classic green uniform are worn by general studies students and the traditional Svardkustian robes, which are blue and red are worn by students studiying magic. Mostly girls were attending the school of magic. The squires majority of which were boys wore dark blue light armor fit for sparring.
In these halls, the strongest magic and regular knights of Svardkust graduated. My parents and many other great knights passed the exam and became great. I hope that the time I spend during the assisted adventurers program will give me the push I need to pass the knight graduation exam as I''ll probably miss the third year, Audrey thought.
By the time Audrey reaches her class, they''re having duals in the garden arenas. These battlefields are supposed to simulate different environments so that knight students can adapt their swordsmanship and movement to different surroundings.
"Oh hey Audrey! What a surprise! I thought you were going to be partying with the rest of the students who got selected for the assisted adventurers program. Are you not going?" Audrwy hears a shaky voice from behind.
"Instructor Johan, good morning! Well, I''m still going to Fandohlin, but no one told me about a party. I was planning on giving you all a farewell, but it seems that the others are busy."
"Well Audrey, I don''t have to take your attendance so as long as you don''t interrupt the duals trying to bring out the second heartrate, you''re free to ask me or the other students whatever you want. By the way, I heard from Iliad and Odeodor that the party is going to be held at the Olovskvast household." Johan said, winking as if he hadn''t said a thing.
Grateful to the instructor, Audrey thought about what to do next. I guess I''ll visit the party and thank Odeodor for being a such a help. His house should be near the great bazaar. Perfect as pastor Frudou''s small church is on the way.
Audrey arrived at the bazaar in the early evening. Walking into the wooden church, she was distracted by the many art pieces laying on long wooden seats in rows. As Frudou seemed to be in his room, judging by the still glowing candles, Audrey decided to wait for him to come out.
Time passed, and the enamored Audrey was trapped in an endless loop of getting distracted by art that was put for sale. Paintings, statues, and jewelry filled the room. It was primarily following a religious theme depicting saints and the Savior, the mortal reincarnation of the Creator, God of gods.
As the sun started to set, Audrey finally noticed the passage of time and decided to knock on Frudou''s door. Through the door, Audrey could hear that some pens fell to the ground, but the still door opened not long after. Clause Frudou a middle aged priest approached Audrey and immediately started talking.
"Hello, young lady, are you looking for something in particular? Wait... Audrey, what are you doing here?" Frudou asked her with distraction, turning into slight worry.
"I am returning you this book since I am going to be a part of the new assisted adventurers program. I thought it would be better if someone else could read it." Audrey said while handing the book into Frudou''s hands.
"Audrey, you are so sweet. You can keep the book as a gift. In fact, I apologize that I did not tell you sooner. But the reason I want you to keep it is that I will retire soon and you haven''t been visiting as often anymore. " The pastor reasoned meekly.
"Aw, I remember how you were trying to teach me how to use magic. Many of my preschool friends were going to become magic knighs yet I never even learned how to cast a single spell. Still, I am thankful you took care of me a lot years ago." Audrey expressed.
"No... do not thank me. All I have been doing is following the words of the Savior. Guiding children is the duty of adults as the Savior told his compatriots. Everything is being sold, and the revenue donated directly to the godwilling cardinals spreading the word of the Savior. "
Audrey knew of the cardinals as the highest authority in the church, the Salvian kingdoms and the holy land. However, many nobles, including her father, have critiqued the increased influence they have on the Svardkustian royal family.
"Oh, I apologize! I always go on quite the long spiels, don''t I? " Frudou exclaimed.
"Well, happy retirement, Pastor Frudou!" Audrey said and hugged him.
Then she said goodbye while exiting the church. When she was just about to go out into the evening bazaar, a man carrying hard liquor with a golden bird logo bumped into her.
"Out of my way, brat, I almost dropped these beverages!" The man clothed in priest robes exclaimed as he rushed into the church straight to Frodou.
"The good Frudou you have immediate orders." The priest said as he dragged Frudou into the vestry.
Audrey thought about eavesdropping on their conversation but decided that would be a little rude. So she left the church and went home.
The sun was setting, and Audrey had come home safely. Su and Shi were done with all the chores and were playing chess. Audrey, on the other hand, started to train, not unlike she did the other day. However, this time, she didn''t end up falling asleep and wasting much time.
It''s getting late, so I should eat something and then sleep Audrey thought. As she put the book with her other luggage and went down the stairs.
When Audrey came down to the kitchen, she noticed there was some soup left from the morning. Eating alone beside the kitchen table, she thought about how this was the last night she was gonna be home. Dad isn''t even home... but maybe that''s a good thing. I could probably relax with some of dad''s fine wine.
At the moment, when Audrey was going to open the basement housing the vine door, she remembered the party at Olovskvast''s. It had gotten late, but she doubted that they were going to end the party before midnight so it wouldn''t hurt to check.
"Su, Shi, I''m going out for a while!" Audrey said as she closed the door and left.
Walking on a road lit up by moonlight and fire lanterns, Audrey was on her way. Having trained for much of her life, she wasn''t really afraid to walk around at night. The power of even squires, much less knights, far surpassed the strength of the common folk. With a royal blade that has the Svardkust emblem, which signifies knight authority, no criminal should attack her.
Arriving after 20 minutes of strolling through the streets to the party. It was going full force with loud music, lights, and many voices she could hear screaming from the backyard. Audrey then knocked at the door, and surprisingly, it was opened in the blick of an eye.
"Hahaha, it''s Audrey... what are you doing here, you weren''t invited? Although if you are here, join the fun! We certainly lack some female charm..." It was Iliad who had opened the door and greeted Audrey with a drunken sight.
"Thanks, Iliad... but I think I''ll pass!" Audrey said, trying to put on a happy appearance even though it was difficult.
Iliad Holodorf was a man with a big ego due to his famous father, the knight called the unstoppable slicer. He also liked to get on Audrey''s nerves by teasing her.
What was I thinking going to this party? It was just a big waste of time. These idiots can party as much as they want without me. I have a goal, so doing something important instead of messing around should be better, Audrey thought. She was going to go home and rest before the journey ahead of her.
"Bye and tell the others I said hi!" Audrey told Iliad as she pushed his approaching hand away.
But as Iliad''s hand was pushed back, he fell on the carpet in front of the door. Was he wasted, or did she accidentally push him to hard Audrey thought. Even though she never considered Iliad, her friend Audrey felt pity toward him and decided to carry him to the nearest sofa after checking that he passed out.
Entering the mansion, she saw some of her classmates and students from other classes. Audrey threw Iliad on the sofa, but then she noticed that some people were collapsing. The others were seemingly drunk, but weirdly, they didn''t react at all. Slowly, more people passed out. She thought that maybe it was some kind of joke or event and therefore decided to leave.
Audrey thought it was weird but didn''t think deeper about it. She left and tried to close the door but it got stuck. There was a glass bottle on the floor with a golden bird logo. She kicked the bottle and finally left.
However, someone opened the door behind her. It was Odeodor, the sole heir of the Olovskvast family. A social class leader type, although he wasn''t a friend, he sometimes stopped school ruckus with some clever speech.
"Hey Audrey, wait up!" Odeodor yelled, sweaty catching up to Audrey that had already walked off the property.
"What''s going on, Odeodor? Everyone at your place was acting kind of weird."
"Huh ha... that''s what I wanted to ask you. It seems there was something wrong with the drinks. Luckily, since I can''t drink, I didn''t fall asleep. That definitely wasn''t normal. We have only been partying for real with drinks for maybe about 2 hours."
"Should we call..." Audrey said, turning around after seeing Odeodor''s concerned face.
As the young squires stood on the shining road, they saw the shadow of a cloaked man approaching.
"Young people, what are you doing here at night... Well, your answer matters not." The man said with a dark and pronounced voice as he stopped in front of them.
Audrey drew her sword with both of her hands reflexively and jumped back two meters. Odeodor, not armed, brought up his knuckles to his face.
"Who are you?" Audrey said with a worried voice.
"Me, well, I''m a humble follower of the church of the new god. Hahaha, I didn''t think I would have to do this! However, you will be spared if the girl becomes a follower and my bride." The man said enthusiastically.
Church of the new God, is that some kind of cult and becoming his bride, what is he talking about Audrey thought.
"Hey, old man, I don''t know who you think you are, but that girl is my classmate, and you''ll have to get through me first!" Odeodor exclaimed, moving in front of Audrey.
"You''re insane if you think I''d marry a man I just met, whatever it is you''re trying to do I''ll stop it! Audrey exclaimed!
"What a terrible shame that is, you stand in the way of salvation with that stupid boy instead of being by my side. Although we may be more familiar than you think!" The man claimed in front of the half crescent moon''s light.
He quickly raised his right hand and screamed.
"Encantation, Evangelion arrow!" His open palm was shining and out of it leaked magic that formed into a golden glowing arrow.
The arrow radiated pressure that even Audrey could feel. Odeodor rushed at the magic user, attempting to strike him before he attacked.
"Fire!" The man shouted, and the arrow flew forward faster than a man could punch. Odeodor only had a split second to react.
Managing to graze the man''s cloak with a hook, he was sent backwards pierced through the chest. The arrow continued its trajectory after passing through Odeodor, only barely slowing down, horrified Audrey ducked as fast she could. The momentum gained from the quick duck followed into a dash under the arrow.
She was just accomplishing to get her head away from the spell, which flew past some centimeters above her skull. It was so close that her ponytail was pierced and then lastly a city lantern''s metal pipe was cracked by the arrow, making it fall over.
Audrey could feel the power of the arrow through the force it exerted on her hair. Dashing from a crouching position, she accelerated to a speed surpassing a hunted hare by jumping off the ground with all her might.
That man is a magic user, so I should focus on disarming him by cutting off his hands. Removing the point from which he can concentrate and cast magic, Audrey reasoned in the blink of an eye. The cloaked man was barely able to react gasping.
Audrey used her full body and her two hands to swing her blade. Swinging the sword, it slashed through the waist like it was air. But there wasn''t any blood, the cloak was hollow.
The man that was cut in half slowly faded into nothingness. Audrey was confused and scared. Was it an illusion, but illusions can''t interact with reality or cast spells. He must be somewhere close.
Audrey looked around for just a second but saw no one. Odeodor was bleeding powerless on the ground, barely managing to make a noise. Looking for a clue, Audrey then saw it, a shadow. She looked upwards nimbly, but it was too late.
"Encantation, Radiant nail!" A giant glowing nail the size of a fist pierced Audreys hand from the sky with incredible speed.
The momentum the spell carried pushed her hand down to the brick path. Her hand was stuck to the ground and crushed.
"Audrey, I will give you another chance to be mine." The man said, slowly landing on the ground.
Ignoring the proposal, Audrey continued to resist. However, without cutting her hand off, she didn''t have the raw strength to pull the nail out.
"That nail is capable of pinning down a full grown brown bear... Please understand I am so much more than the common vulgar, weak, and parasitic man. I am devoted to your beauty. Even your determined personality awakens a fire in me."
Damn it, what do I do? If I try to cut off my arm, he''ll use magic, and if I throw my sword even if it manages to hit, it won''t be enough to defeat him. Audrey thought hopelessly as she listened to the man.
Audrey''s day started flashing, and her vision was getting blurry. She remembered the lesson instructor Johan was teaching her classmates earlier that day. The second heart rate, if only she could tap into it. A state that was seemingly a precursor to the power knights use. But she believed that never even during all her training, she was able to use it.
"It seems that you will continue to not answer me. If so, I will be forced to erase you from this mortal realm so no man can take your unripen fruits away from me. I guess there is one last thing I can do to change your mind." The man said as he approached her and removed his hood.
"I think you deserve to know the identity of yours..." Before the man was able to mutter who he was, Audrey saw it clear.
Pastor Clause Frudou, it was him... Audrey lost all sense of thought as the realization hit her. The betreyal cut deep and blew back her consciousness.
Her heart pumped faster than it ever had before.
Audrey broke her hand in a moment of heartbreak as she launched at the dark priest with her blade in her left arm. Frudou stopped his speech, immediately reacting with a spell.
"Oh, what a burning last stand! As expected of my beloved and if you want heat I''ll give you just that. Encantation, Hell Fire!" Frudou screamed with a hint of sorrow.
A blast of fire originating from Frudou''s hands engulfed Audrey. The heat emitted surpassed 1000 C¡ã having the potential to instantly burn a human body into a piece of charcoal. Not making a sound, Audrey flew through the blast of flames.
In a second, her clothes burst into flames, and her body was covered with burns. The large hellish wall of flames covered the road burning the already mortally wounded Odeodor. In the moment, she was subjected to intense fire, which made Audrey lose her thoughts. With merely her instincts and the adrenaline that numbed her pain, she continued carrying on through the blaze.
"Impossible, how could she jump through the force of this blaze." Frudou exclaimed concerned, but believing that there was nothing a burnt girl clinging to life could do.
With that burnt left hand, she might not even be able to swing the blade at all. Frudou thought until he saw into her eyes.
Audrey''s eyes were filled with a fire that spread around her body as an aura of life and strength. As she swung her sword as hard as she could, the aura channeled through the blade with the glow of determination.
It slashed diagonally upwards through the waist, then the chest and out of the left shoulder. It was a horribly executed slash, but the power behind it was overwhelming.
Both the young girl and middle-aged man fell to the ground. Audrey''s consciousness returned to her with pain like she had never felt before. A broken hand and burned skin.
"Father Frudou... I didn''t want to kill you... I''m sorry..." Audrey muttered as her thoughts ran her by.
Clause Frudou raised his voice for the last time with his final breaths.
"No! Do not apologize, my love! A face broken by despair does not fit a perky young girl." Frudou commanded.
"Stand up, you can not die here! This is all my fault. I apologize Audrey, my stupid desires almost killed you!" He barely added, being almost unable to make out the words coming out of his mouth.
Audrey crawled and took the fallen blade to help her stand up.
"Father Frudou, it''s not too late! If I run, I could find a cleric that could heal you!" She muttered.
"Ah, I feel the gates of hell opening. Dear, if it''s not to be, then I''d rather burn away in hell. I was a sinful priest, wasn''t I, and succumbing to my lust. I was scared of hell, that it would stand in the way of my eternal happiness. However, our lord, the new God, proved that our creator is no longer with us. You need to stay away from them... the capital church, they see the new generation of knights as threats. Promise me, I want to see you when C..." After his long speech, Clause Frudou got struck by deaths embrace.
Even after all he had done to hurt Audrey, she still felt conflicted about him. Those words felt genuine, that warning important but the sight of Olovskvast''s burnt corpse was sickening. Barely keeping herself from falling unconscious, Audrey desperately inched her way back home.
"Master Audrey, how was the... Are you okay? Your clothes, your hand what happened?" Su asked, shocked having been cleaning the halls.
"Heh, it''s noth..." Audrey collapsed before Su.
Su screamed for Shi to come and help her at once to treat Audrey. They carried her onto her bed and used a healing potion, which they applied to all parts of her body.
- - -
Audrey woke up early in the morning with her body fully treated. As she opened her eyes, she saw Su and Shi lean on the shelf half asleep. They must have tired themselves out by taking care of me Audrey thought.
"Good morning, Su and Shi!" Audrey shouted as she shook the maids out of their slumber.
"Master Audrey... Yawn, are you okay? Shi said first while stretching a little, and Su just stayed silent with a concered expression.
"I don''t know what you did, but I feel great even greater than usual, actually." Audrey said as she got herself ready by getting in her clothes.
Seeing the book, she decided to keep it as it made her remember that while the fight was over, Odeodor was still dead. But if she lets that get to her, she won''t be able to be a great knight. The maids breathed a sigh of relief as Audrey took the documents detailing everything about the assisted adventurers program. Then they went down with Audrey to make her some great departure breakfast.
"Master Audrey, we sadly didn''t prepare any fancy breakfast, but we''ll try to make something great!" Su said while rushing forward before Audrey and pulling Shi with her.
Audrey sat down at the kitchen table and started reading the documents she got from General Hirosus.
"Master Audrey, I am curious about what happened yesterday. Your wounds looked quite severe." Su asked, worried for Audrey.
"It was some crazy cultist, but everything is fine. Thank you for worrying." Audrey said after thinking a little while trying to maintain a normal tone.
That fight was quite scary even if, in retrospect, she knows it was Clause Frudou. She didn''t want to worry the maids and her father. If dad got to know about this, he would probably start a hunt to eradicate that cult. Audrey doesn''t want her father to fight anymore.
While Su and Shi were frying dough, Audrey got to the last page and noticed something ghastly. After checking on the old clock in the kitchen, she stood up.
"Oh no, Su and Shi, I''m sorry I''ll have to run! The gathering for the Assisted Adventurers Program starts at 09.00 the 30th of April, and I have only 20 minutes to run across half the city!" Audrey exclaimed as she ran out of the room to take her backpack, armor, and sword.
Everything necessary was in that backpack as she packed everything yesterday. She then opened the door only to be stopped by Su.
"Master Audrey here, it would be a shame to let this go to waste. Also this letter was delivered in the morning from Master Garudorf." Su said as she put the desert and the letter in the backpack.
"Good luck, Audrey, and return safely!" Shi exclaimed as Audrey ran off.
- - -
"General Hirosus, it looks like an entire class is missing. Should I tell the coachmen to wait?" A soldier informed.
"Sir, have you not heard of the incident this morning of a busted class party where the students were found paralyzed and one has disappeared. We shall not stall the departure of the other squires!" Hirosus replied.
"Understood General, I shall open the city gates!" The soldier said before he ran off.
"Huff, puff hello... General Hirosus! I''m present!" Audrey said while breathing heavily.
"Good, Audrey. I started to think you chickened out, haha. Run to carriage number 3 if you want to get there in time, and it''s looking like you''re getting the entire carriage for yourself!" Hirosus said, standing in front of the 9 carriages that are just about to depart.
Audrey got to the carriage and greeted the coachman as she entered. It was large, almost like a small building of royal glamour pulled by four horses. Inside were sofas and a table to hause around 10-15 people.
The carriage soon departed, and Audrey looked hopefully out the window, seeing the plains stretching out to the horizon.
Ch 1 - The 3 Heroes!
It was prophesied by many elders that one day, 3 heroes will kill the Demon King and save the world. So do not worry, friends, and keep on praying until that day arrives.
Audrey was unimpressed with the idea the back side of the book presented. The chosen one is a fictional concept that Audrey liked but saw as unrealistic. However, the thought that Pastor Frudou maybe wanted to give her some kind of message through the book peeked her curiosity.
"Young lady, it looks like we''re approaching Fandohlin, so get your stuff ready!" The coachman shouted so Audrey could hear clearly.
Fandohlin is a town Audrey never had heard of before being selected to be a part of the assisted adventurers program. When the carriage finally arrived at the town entrance, she and the other students met up with the local guard. They informed each one of them of where they were going to meet the adventurers, the Fandohlin guild.
After that the Audrey followed the guards that showed her and the others around town. It was small, no more than 2000 people and all of the houses were wooden. Much unlike Aldervinter''s boastful architecture that Audrey was familiar with. But seeing the difference really hit her when she saw it in person.
There was a town inn, an all-purpose store, stable but surprisingly no church. Audrey saw some old people praying in front of a large rock with the insignia of the savior.
Finally, she reached the local guild and got greeted by the guild''s staff. They divided the group of squires into one table each.
"Wait, here at this table, the adventurers were told to gather in the town hall. They''re going to be coming in one by one and choose their knight assistant. Which in this case is you." One of the staff members told Audrey.
Hmm... I wonder what kind of people will choose me? I hope they''re good people, Audrey thought.
Later adventurers started to come in the guild and choosing which knight student to sit beside. There was a great variety: men, women, humans, elfes, dwarfes, young, old and of all sizes. However, none of them chose Audrey.
Audrey was getting concerned was it they way she looked? Did she look weak and unreliable? As she saw the other knight candidates exit the guild with full parties, Audrey grew a little bit envious.
As time passed by Audrey was the only one left, and then a 2 meter tall man came in. He was young but huge and built with broad shoulders. He was wearing plate armor with white Salvian robes underneath.
He approached Audrey with a slow but steady beat and then sat down on the wooden chair, making it look like a children''s toy. Audrey felt as though he looked into her very soul with his sea blue eyes and short brown hair.
"Hello, surely you must be my knight captain? I hope God will bless our future together."
Audrey was overwhelmed by well Konstantin''s entire persona, blushed a little. But she tried her best to remain unaroused to establish a good leader like relationship.
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"Yes, I... think it would be a good idea to save introductions for later when everyone arrives." She said barely.
The man nodded and then put his hands together and started huming the Salvian prayer of good fortune. Audrey recognized him as a war priest, which is a rare type of priest that largely abandons healing.
Next up was a girl around the same height as Audrey. However, she had longer black hair and a more feminine figure. Including narrower shoulders, less defined arms, larger chest and hips.
Audrey was a little intimidated by her appearance that she could see through her crimson robes, beige shirt, and skirt. Could this girl be a rival? Audrey thought, analyzing the situation in her own way.
She sat down beside Audrey and didn''t even say a word as she looked into the quest board. The man did not react to this as he was still busy with his prayer.
"Hey, so I am your knight captain, and we decided to wait until our party is full before we introduce ourselves to each other." Audrey said, directing her speech to the girl.
"I understand. However, it seems like we won''t be having a full party. There was only one more adventurer left in the town hall." She said nonchalantly while continuing to read the only quest left on the quest board.
Lastly, a short boy no more than 1.2 meters tall entered the guild. He had curly brown hair and brown eyes. The boy was wearing a brown skin jacket and pants. When the boy sat at the table, Audrey stood up and raised her voice.
"My name is Audrey Garudorf and I will be your knight captain! I am 18 years old and a dualhanded swordsman from Aldervinter. Happy to meet you! I guess... your first order will be to introduce yourself and tell each other why we decided to become adventurers." Audrey said with a tiny bit of awkwardness.
As she sat down, the tall man stood up.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance! I am called Konstantinos Dragases Palaiologos and I am 18 years of age. You may call me Konstantin and I hail from the village of St. Michael. I hope that my God given magic and hammer will assist us in our work. I walked down the road of becoming an adventurer to protect those who lack the strength to protect themselves. I decided this because to be born with a body made for combat, God has practically told me my duty. Abandoned by my family I was saved by my holy mother who helped innocent children in need through her motherly strength. Once whoever she lacked the power to protect and I was almost killed by monsters. God saved me that day so I could be here and rid this world of that evil."
After listening to Konstantin''s story the two other adventures welcomed Konstantin while he was sitting down. Audrey thought about his old fashioned speech and how it was kind of cool. It was totally unlike the formal speech she heard the nobles using, she also felt some resonance towards his story.
The female adventurer had come to the same conclusion as Audrey''s about Konstantin being a war priest. Based on his warhammer and plate armor. On the other hand the little boy didn''t think much of it except the part of the speech about the death which reminded him of his own trauma. He then thought about how he was going to talk about it. Then the boy briskly stood up.
"My name is Fallace Fanqvist and I''m 17 years old. Before I became an adventurer, I was an entertainer making scraps through fire dancing in Leionholm. I ended up in the slums of the city 5 years ago when my village was attacked. However, it wasn''t a normal demon attack. She... the giant vampire was a Demon general. The attack was a mass enslavement of my people the Chiflings. That monster personally killed my parents and everyone who stood in her way. The village was burned to the ground. I managed to escape with some other kids, thanks to my parents who faced an evil they couldn''t match. What hurts even more was that my village wasn''t the only one, and our kingdom gives the atrocities of those attacks the blind eye. Including the illegal trade of slaves from the demons to continue "the peace" we have. When I found out the truth, I decided that I couldn''t be looked down upon anymore. I can also play the ukelele and use some magic."
What a quick change of tone, Audrey was surprised at his ability to stay vistful.
Konstantin put his arm on his shoulder and said: "Do not worry my friend, your parent''s sacrifice was not in vain. Let''s pray for them together."
Fallace looked a little bit annoyed but deep down appreciative. The girl that had yet to introduce herself had never seen a Chifling before but had read about them. They were similar to humans but about half the height and double the life span. They did not have kingdoms and lived in small villages. A race that was easily colonized and conquered. She always pitied them.
"I am sorry, Fallace. Well, my name is Melian and I am a high elf of noble origin from Aldervinter. I am 120 years old, and during these years, I spent my time studying alchemy, magic, and biology. Mostly, I engaged in learning about monsterology after I completed my education in the Royal Academy of Swordsmanship and Magic (RASM). You may wonder why I choose to become an adventurer and the reason is a horrible mistake I have regretted for the past 20 years. The cause of all my misfortune is the Soul Sorcerer and I want revenge... Well, and before coming here, I spent my life hopelessly selling potions in Leionholm and scraping by in inns. When I heard of the King''s assisted adventurers program, it woke hope in me that I''ll be able to take back what is mine and find that monster.
Everyone in the party''s souls were glowing as one. Audrey stood up, and everyone followed.
Ch 1 - The 3 Heroes! Part 2
"Honestly, I think every one of us was in some way scarred by the Demon King''s army. My mother was killed by the Demon General the White Dragon. I hope that our pain will lead to a determination that will put humanity one step closer to ending this evil. Come on, everyone, let''s take that quest on the wall and go on our way!"
Audrey exclaimed as she summoned up all her enthusiasm for that speech. The others seemed impressed enough and followed Audrey as she took the last quest of the board. The party then went up to the Guild girl and Audrey told her that they were choosing this quest as she smashed the paper on the table.
"That''s great, and while I approve the start of this quest, I want you to put in your personal info into these forms so I can create your adventurer cards."
The party wrote down everything necessary and had officially started the quest becoming official adventurers at the same time.
"Wait a minute, what is the quest even about, what are we supposed to do?" Fallace said as he looked towards Audrey.
"Ehm I mean..." Audrey stuttered in thought as she realized that she had been oblivious.
"Audrey, you''re supposed to be our leader, and you didn''t even read the description?" Melian said as she sighed in disappointment.
"It''s okay guys let me just pull it out of my bag."
"There is no need, Audrey. I and Melian read the quest while it was still on the board."
Woah, Konstantin is so perceptive, Audrey thought excitingly.
"I didn''t notice you reading Konstantin, but you''re correct. I did read it. It is apparently a "village grade" quest." Melian said, and the curious Audrey asked what that meant.
Then she got her wonder explained by the guild girl who came up hearing the slightest question.
"It''s really simple, you know! The settlement grading system has been used by adventurers for centuries. Every quest, spell and adventurer has a rank that describes their power or challenge level. You guys start at "house grade" the lowest rank. In total, there are:
House grade: Your average civilian or domestic animal. As a result a quest at this level could be capturing a drunkard for example. In other words, it is a threat for the average household.
Village grade: Includes low-level monsters, combatants, and magicians commanding power ranging from wall to small building level destructive power. Most adventurers fall into this category.
Town grade: Includes stronger monsters that effortlessly destroy buildings up to castle size. Knights are considered the baseline of this category.
City grade: The highest threat level this guild deals with. They usually require the cooperation of several town grade adventurers. Includes beings with the might to blow away entire village blocks and pose a threat to the average city.
Nation grade: Monsters of this caliber include the Demon generals that have the capability to conquer several cities by themselves. The military is left to deal with those kinds of threats.
There is also an unofficial sixth grade called World grade. People like to say that the ones that manage to slay the Demon King accomplish a World grade feat."
Audrey''s crew understood this system without any problems, but Melian had a question about how the quest''s challenge level was decided.
"Well, simply, our staff will give the quest an approxmative rating based on the type of problem involved. We also use the power rating system. The average human has a power rating of 5. Which is determined by adding their attack power and durability power. On average, humanity has 1 AP and 4 DP. We measure these stats through trial or a scanner pedestal that analyzes a being or a thing and tells us its power rating." The guild girl spat out then, taking a quick breather before continuing.
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"Though a quite accurate system, it does not take the speed, intelligence, fighting skill or style into account. Please don''t be overwhelmed. You shouldn''t have any trouble completing this quest, even with low power ratings."
As the guild girl was finishing her speech to the party, she had already completed their adventurer cards. She then gave the cards to them before saying goodbye and oblivious to the fact that she forgot to scan their power ratings to give them an accurate grade.
Fallace wondered what his power rating was, and Melian was already somewhat familiar with the power rating system from before because it is used on animals and monsters.
"Audrey, I never got to know what the quest was about. Could you read it out loud?" Fallace said as he realized he didn''t know.
"No problem, it''s written here that we are tasked with investigating delayed research of some kind of project called monster zero that is being worked by the mountain gnomes and making sure that it''s completed. We are then supposed to deliver it to Fandohlin and get a 50 gold krist payment."
"This is going to be our first quest, so we need to prepare accordingly. This all our your first day in Fandohlin, right everyone?" Audrey asked.
Everyone responded with a yes, and the group headed to the local inn. They reached it within a few minutes of walking and were met with the sign "Lionheart inn." They entered the establishment and saw an old man just having helped a frail woman who had dropped a fork on the floor. It must have been while she was eating in the dinner area on the right side of the inn, Audrey thought.
The old man ran up to them in his roughed shirt and quite impressive physique.
"Hello there, young folk, you must be some more of the new adventurers in town. Welcome, how can I be of use?"
"Well, we need 4 rooms to stay the night and some of your best food, please. How much does that cost?" Audrey asked.
"Cost, hohoho! The kingdom paid me more than enough to house over 100 adventurers. Everything today is on the house, and we have a special room for the knight captain, which I guess is you." The old man said while leading the group up the stairs and presenting their rooms.
"Since you''re gonna live here as adventurers, you might as well get to know my name. It''s Rum." Old man Rom said and left the adventurers to their business."
Audrey was shown that her room was on the third floor where all the other knight captain rooms were. It was filled with resources like armor, basic iron weapons, and a map of Svardkust. Everyone proceeded to take out their luggage into their new temporary homes.
Audrey then thought about how she didn''t leave any instructions and called everyone outside. She told everyone that they needed to buy a carriage, an animal to draw it, some food and equipment. Since they were new to town, they were going to wander around until they find what they''re looking for.
The sounds and smells of mooing coupled with feases took the attention of our adventurers, which led them to the ranch. As they entered, they saw all sorts of different farm animals and then they were greeted by the owner.
"Follow me adventurers. I have the draft animals prepared. I am sure they will be happy to see you." The owner said enthusiastically with a heavy smile as he led the way.
"These are our most prestigious horses. However, they are quite expensive animals and I don''t recommend them to new adventurers. Many horses end up dying to malnutrition and being a big threatening target. I will instead insist that you should rather buy a donkey. They are compact creatures full of stamina, affordable, and easy to take care of.
There was only one donkey left, and Melian identified her as an quite aged female. Konstantin and Fallace approached slowly to the donkey that let them pet her. As the donkey was enjoying it, Konstantin asked the owner of her name.
"That''s old Betty. She may not look like much, but she''s a champ."
"Great, then we take her." Konstantin said as he had already gained Betty''s trust.
"What! Konstantin, are you out of your mind he is obviously just trying to sell us his leftovers. Are you really falling for that? Audrey, you must agree, right?" Melian said as she had approached Konstantin and Fallace with Audrey.
"Melian, don''t let yourself get too bothered by that, and I am sure that Konstantin will take full responsibility." Audrey said eagerly, defending Konstantin''s decision."
"Forgive me, Melian. I acted hastily without discussing the answer with all of you. We are a group, and I am still not used to such endeavors, may God forgive my ignorance." Konstantin said with a genuine apolegtic facial expression.
Even Melian couldn''t resist forgiving Konstantin with his passive charm.
"Sure, buy this donkey, but if it dies of old age, it''s not my fault we''ll be stranded." Melian sighed.
"Oh my dear customers, while you were arguing, a party just returned a donkey and didn''t even ask for the money back. If you want him, you can get him for the price of just little old Betty. How does that sound?"
The group bought the 2 donkeys for 80 silver krists without a second thought and left them at the ranch. Before proceeding next Audrey asked the owner if there were any horse carriages to buy in town. The owner told them that all carriages in Fandohlin are bought in the capital because no one sells them here. However, he has a few spare wagons that he could sell.
The group left after buying a wagon for 40 silver krists and continued to stroll around town. Melian suggested that they should buy some useful magic items when she saw a sign spelling "The Fandohlin general store, psst we also sell magic items". The rest agreed with her sentiment and entered the store.
When they entered, they saw a humble room with a hallway leading to the counter and rows of magic items, various dried foods and tools on the sides. There was a young woman with messy brown hair going down to her waist. She had long wizard robes to hide her impressive feminine features.
The woman turned around, and her face turned into an excited smile.
"Hello and welcome to The Fandohlin general store, my name is Demouna. Take a look and if you''re looking for something in particular don''t be afraid to ask!" Demouna said as she walked up to them.
Melian recognized that name, but she couldn''t remember where she had heard it.
"You guys must be adventurers, right? You all look amazing. It reminds me of my life''s as an adventurer very long ago. You guys are making me so nostalgic." Demouna held back her tears as she reminecied about her past.
"Melian, you are an alchemist, so I give you the responsibility of buying the right stuff." Audrey said while Demouna quickly ran off after almost stumbling into Konstantin.
Melian complied and went up to the shelves and picked up some healing potions, food reserves, and enchanted boots. The others sat down beside a table in the corner.
"Demouna, what kind of enchantment do these boots have?" Melian said as she stood by the counter.
"They double your leaping distance and slow down your fall with some wind magic." Demouna replied as she took care of products.
"That''s what I thought, and by the way, Demouna, are you perhaps an elf?" Melian said casually while paying for the items.
"Uhm... Ehm... Melian, I am just a human look at my ears, silly!" Demouna said while pointing at her ears panickingly.
Melian was thinking that Demouna seemed kind of weird visually. She looked no more than 20 human years old, but she was speaking of adventuring a long time ago. Was she just overthinking it. Either way, she could just be using high-level transmutation magic or the like to appear younger.
However, Melian chose to keep her suspicions to herself as she was still getting used to her comrades. She then joined up with Audrey and Konstantin. Fallace was sent to find some fresh food and equipment to prepare it.
Ch 1 - The 3 Heroes! Part 3
Audrey was telling Konstantin that she was ready to share rooms with him, but he respectfully declined. Melian was confused as to why she would even suggest that and even more so as to why Audrey looked disappointed.
They then met up with Fallace, who told them that he bought bread, beer, and fresh meat. Audrey asked why he bought beer and learned that clean water was more expensive than beer in smaller towns away from the coast and rivers.
"I think we''re pretty much done for today. We have prepared for the journey ahead of us, and now I want to show you guys the route we will take. Follow me!" Audrey said, and the rest followed.
They arrived at Audrey''s room as the sun started to set, and she sat down before the table. She started by showing everyone the map.
"Our destination is the mountain village of Stendvor. It is located to the south of Fandohlin. I think that we should travel through the high road and take a quick stop in Leionholm and then continue southeast into the Starir peaks where Stendvor is located. Any objections?"
The others agreed and went to their rooms after a quick goodbye. Before leaving, they came to the decision to meet up outside of the inn at 06.00.
Fallace went to sleep, excited for the adventure before him. Audrey was disappointed she didn''t get Konstantin''s attention. She also wasn''t able to stop thinking about her first day outside of town in her sleep. Konstantin went to sleep after doing a sign of the cross. He was taking a liking to the group, and it reminded him of his family at home.
Melian, however, did not sleep as elves don''t need to. Instead, they rest half of the brain in a trance like state and then the other half. For no more than 4 hours total. Melian had never had a huge liking of team efforts, and this was no different. She disliked the incompetent and group dynamics as it annoyed her.
After 5 hours, it was pitch dark, and as Melian read a book, she heard knocking on the door. Melian grew anxious and thought that she would ignore it and deal with it tomorrow, but the lock opened.
Melian grabbed her staff and jumped, facing the woman in front of her. It was Demouna. However, she had a serious look that contrasted heavily with her happy demeanor from earlier.
Melian knew that something was wrong, was she here to kill her or maybe silence her. Did she think that Melian had figured out some kind of secret of hers.
"Elf girl, your name is Melian, right? I apologize for the intrusion, but I need to get a problem settled." Demouna''s face was barely visible in the dark as she spoke.
"I can see right through you, Melian. You have realized my true identity, haven''t you?"
"Demouna, you are an undead! You monster, what are you doing here? Feasting on the locals! Melian exclaimed."
"Melian please, I do not have malicious intentions, but I will eliminate you if you reveal the truth about me." Demouna spoke with serious voice ringing in Melians head.
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Melian directed her staff against Demouna.
"Don''t underestimate me, witch! Encantation Explosion!" Melian silently exclaimed with a desperate power.
Her staff was filled with immense hellish magic. A white glowing orb was formed at the tip of the staff and slowly flew at Demouna.
"Melian, I thought you were just a clever girl, but it seems that you were a part of his explosion core." Demouna said and unleashed her magic aura.
The pressure overwhelmed Melian, like feeling the weight of the entire ocean weighing on her. Demouna waved away the orb with a simple hand movement as she used a counter spell.
"Melian, you must have had it tough, being one of his puppets. The Soul Sorcerer is a horrible being, but believe me, I left that path. I am no longer a Demon general like him."
"You are a..."
"I was once one of the 5 demon generals. However, long ago, I decided to leave that position behind me. I am an immortal lich, but I don''t feed on humans."
"Prove it, you''re bluffing, you can''t be one, it''s impossible." Melian was overwhelmed but couldn''t believe she was in the full presence of a Demon general.
The Soul Sorcerer never showed himself, and what Melian was feeling was unlike anything she had ever sensed before. Demouna approached Melian and bowed so her hair got out the way. That revealed the insignia of the Demon King on her neck. Three horns on the skull of the Demon king representing the rank of Demon general.
"Melian, you have an insignia like that, don''t you? Let''s promise each other to keep our identities a secret." Demouna said as she reached out, moving aside Melian''s hair, seeing the hornless insignia.
Melian collapsed to the side of her bed, breathing heavily. Demouna once again apologized and started leaving as she was interrupted.
"Demouna, is the Soul Sorcerer more powerful than you?" Melian asked desperate for a truth she was sure was undesirable.
Demouna answered without hesitasion.
"Yes, Essoru far surpasses all of the Demon King''s army and is only less dangerous than the Demon King himself... Melian, those cursed chains on your soul... you must have lost the ownership over it to his charms."
"One horrible day, I was coerced into dabbling with the dark arts and got tricked to swear away the ownership of my soul. It was a sinister being with an unbelievably horrifying aura, I am sure you''re aware of. I was able to escape his clutches but at the cost of other miserable people who had traded away their souls for power. Once I had escaped, I remembered a plan the Soul Sorcerer mentioned. I never got to know more than that. When that plan is completed, I will die as my soul will be dragged out of my body and cross any distance to come into the possession of the Soul Sorcerer. Please Demouna, tell me there is something I can do..."
"I, too, was aware of his plans related to collecting souls. However, he never spoke about them to anyone except the Demon King. Even we the other Demon generals never got to hear a thing. Sadly, the only way I know of dealing with the curses of the Soul Sorcerer is ensuring his demise. However, how impossible it may be, I see something truly special in your party. I wasn''t lying about that. Maybe you will succeed in doing what I failed to even attempt. Your friend Konstantin, his soul is also very, very interesting. I am sorry, Melian, even as a powerful wizard, I and the other monsters in this town risk losing everything if I tell too much."
"Demouna, I promise that I will keep this a secret, I swear!" Did Melian agree due to fear, or was she somehow convinced of her innocence.
Not even she knew herself, as she begged on the ground. Right now, she acted out of hope and feeling rather than her usual calculated actions.
"Don''t be afraid, Melian, I needed to be serious so that you won''t make a terrible decision. Bye for now, I''ll give you a discount next time for the trouble." Demouna said as she walked out and closed the door shut slowly."
Was this really okay? Melian thought as her mind filled with the burden of holding such a secret. But Demouna seemed serious about treasuring this town. Why would a monster like her care so much about a random little town. Also, there are more monsters here. Why?
Melian spent the whole night thinking thoughts akin to those. When morning finally came, she looked sleep-deprived for the first time in her life. Melian was the last to exit the inn with her equipment.
The others stood and waited for her happily. Audrey looked at Konstantin with heartfilled eyes while the guys were having a chat. They then got on the wagon, and the 2 donkeys pulled them out of Fandohlin.
Melian saw everyone getting closer, which reminded her of Nawi. The clingy girl that helped her escape the clutches of the Soul Sorcerer. She didn''t want to lose a friend like her again.
But subconsciously, Melian''s very soul decided to protect the happiness of this group no matter what. All of us are going to achieve justice for what the monsters did to us.
2 days had passed, and it was decided that Melian was the perfect fit for the coachman. Due to her ability to scout day and night without sleep. Though, the group was still having trouble communicating with each other regarding deeper topics. What was discussed was mostly nothing more than shallow comments about the weather, for example.
That''s about it for their adventure so far on the high road. A road spaning the entire super continent.
"Everyone, you need to see this!" Melian screamed out disturbed.
What she just witnessed were fresh remains of 3 human bodies. Two of them had crushed and decapitated skulls with the brain matter spilling out. The other one had a crushed chest with a few broken ribs being visible through the carnage.
Ch 2 - The Monster Dick
Audrey was horrified by what she saw. She had never seen gore like this before and it was causing her to nauseate. Fallace was next to see the tragic site. He had only seen that kind of human dismemberment once before. Having no words describing his anger he stood motionless.
"That hellish slaughter is the work of a monster. Killing of that sort, carried out of no rhyme or reason could not be human. I didn''t think I''d have to see it so soon, but alas it was only a matter of time." Konstantin said as he immediately rushed out to the victims.
"Konstantin, where are you going?" Audrey screamed out worried.
"Audrey, I am a cleric. However, I have had no real talent in using healing magic. But I do know that as long as their souls inhabit their bodies they can be healed. Take care of that Audrey. May God bless my execution of the demonic!" Konstantin exclaimed as he rushed forward following the blood trail.
Audrey was impressed with Konstantin''s conviction and slowly picked up the bodies. Meanwhile, Fallace rushed after Konstantin as his conviction inspired him to fight against this monster.
"Audrey, I will assist in Konstantin''s and Fallace''s attempt at justice. While it''s probably too late, take care of the bodies. I won''t let those 2 die." Melian said to Audrey and followed Fallace.
Leaving Audrey to attend to the victims'' bodies. Konstantin ran holding his steel warhammer in his hands and in time he saw a green giant holding a girl by her hair. The monster was dragging the girl on the ground and she had a hopeless look on her face.
"Foul beast, leave that girl alone! Encantation, Evangelion arrow!" Konstantin shouted as holy magic surged through his body and formed into a glowing arrow.
The arrow launched out of Konstantin''s hand and flew towards the monster. The monster noticed the glowing arrow and dodged by jumping to the side. He then threw the girl on the ground and ran towards Konstantin like a bull. The girl layed weak on the ground as all her bones were broken along with her spirit. As she had seen the slaughter of her friends unfold.
Konstantin stood bravely on guard with his hammer up. The monster covered a 50 meter distance in a few seconds preparing to swing his arms for a punch. Having a few seconds to react Konstantin was barely able to block the swing coming from the towering monster. Konstantin was moved back by the impact from above on the hammer and his hands were shaking. Konstantin''s spirit remained determined however he did recognize the threat this monster possessed. It was no mere goblin or orc.
"Good, really good. You''re the first person today to survive a hit from Dick. But person has also made Dick very mad. Dick was going to have fun with the human girls delicious body. You stop Dick, you die!" Dick said while licking his lips.
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Konstantin, disgusted, reflexively hit back but Dick was able to react and block with his arm. Dick didn''t take any serious damage although he was pushed back. Along with some bruises and cuts he had collectively suffered from the fight with the adventurers he killed. A bit of visible damage and exhaustion started to show.
Fallace finally joined the battle with a saber in hand.
"Fallace be careful that monster could do some serious damage if he manages to hit you." Konstantin shouted.
"Don''t underestimate me, Konstantin I may be small but there is no way he can keep up with my speed!" Fallace exclaimed as he rushed at the monster despite Konstantin''s warning.
Running at Dick and jumping over his swings he landed behind Dick by bouncing on his head. The monster used both of his arms to smash Fallace but he effortlessly slided under Dick''s legs.
"Ah! You little rat, are you mocking Dick? Come and face Dick!"
"Rick, I''m right in front of you stupid!" Fallace said while almost giggling.
Dick started to get really angry at Fallace''s unreal speed. Konstantin was concerned for Fallace even though he would have trouble keeping up with that explosive speed.
Fallace signaled to Konstantin and moved out of the way as Melian used a spell several meters away. It was a beam of cold ice magic. Although it came up short in hitting Dick it hit the ground instead. Freezing it and forming a thin sheet of ice.
Dick laughed as the spell was seemingly useless but Konstantin realized what Melian was planning. Konstantin striked Dick with all he had in the leg. Dick immediately lost balance on the slippery frozen ground.
Fallace took advantage of this sliding through under Dick and slashing his crotch through the cloth covering it. Dick screamed wildly like a furious animal. The scream was high pitched and pierced the ears of everyone in a kilometer radius.
"Looks like I have a trophy to take home Konstantin, hahaha!" Fallace exclaimed proud as he held Dick''s dick.
Dick slowly stood up while Fallace laughed, holding his bleeding shaft. Blood flushed out of the crotch and Dick desperately jumped to the forest border beside the road to cover the wound with grass and leaves.
Fallace stopped laughing and readied his blade. Meanwhile, Melian finally arrived beside Konstantin, all sweaty. She told Konstantin that they were dealing with an Ogre, the weakest of all the giants. Ogres are what goblins are to humans.
"Dick thought this was fun, but now I will kill all and devour all of you, especially you little guy!"
Dick swung his hand at a nearby chopping it off cleanly leaving only a disgruntled tree stump. Fallace changed into a defensive position as he witnessed the monstrous feat of strength.
In just a moment Dick rushed at Fallace at full speed creating cracks in the ground. Konstantin saw danger and rushed to help Fallace fight Dick in terms of melee combat. However Dick''s larger and stronger legs gave him the advantage to almost catch Fallace of guard.
Fallace was able to react as he was planning on jumping over the potential tree attack he predicted and slicing his head off. As he saw Dick''s arm muscles twitch he decided to act.
But at the last second he turned his sight at Dick''s face. It was filled with a horrifying brutality and rage. He hesitated for just a second, Fallace froze in fear.
Dick got a perfect crushing attack with the tree connecting at Fallaces right shoulder and momentarily crushing him diagonally. Mostly his right ribs to his left leg almost splitting Fallace in half. The lethally wounded Fallace''s body was left on the ground after the insued carnage. A bloody pulp of mashed bone and flesh were separating the body.
It was instant, the pain threshold was broken and Fallace didn''t even react. His head was intact due to a desperate last ditch attempt at dodging but he was dead, for all Konstantin could see. Konstantin was a cleric, but he had abandoned ever pursuing healing magic because of its incompatibility with his soul.
It deeply enraged Konstantin that there was nothing he could do besides avenging his partner to fulfill divine retribution. He didn''t even have the chance to really get to know Fallace. Once again the monsters took something from Konstantin and he snapped into an unforgiving rage.
Konstantin was already rushing to help Fallace and his rage propelled him to his limits. He smashed the satisfied ogre in the face with all his might. The hammer delivered a devastating impact to his chin.
Dick had tried to block it. However, he failed to react to Konstantin''s sporadic movements. But Dick retaliated with a swing to the liver. The strength of the attack wedged the log into Konstantin sending him flying to Melian direction.
Melian was horrified at the beat down before her. Konstantin was still alive but he was on the ground before her struggling to breathe. What was she going to do? Even her strongest spell couldn''t defeat an ogre in one hit.
"Now for the pointy ear girl and Dick''s beating will be complete!" Dick exclaimed as faced Melian with a creepy smile.
"You... leave her alone!" Konstantin said while crawling on the ground.
"What! A dumb human has never survived Dick''s attacks before. Dick will fix that!" Dick exclaimed as he was about to charge at Konstantin with another crushing swing.
Ch 2 - The Monster Dick Part 2
Suddenly, Audrey came to the rescue swinging her sword in an air assault. Just barely missing to slash Dick''s face.
"No! Keep your hands away from him, beast. I am sorry I''m late, Konstantin... Those adventurers you killed aren''t surviving! Their souls have passed on, and I won''t let you take the life of another human, monster.¡± Audrey said, facing Dick in front of Melian and Konstantin.
"Audrey, Konstantin, Ogres may be the weakest of all giants, but they are considered to be on the low end of town grade. The average Ogre possesses a power rating 65. None of us have the power to match him!" Melian said as a warning.
Konstantin barely stood up with his legs trembling and his hammer in hand.
"I don''t care about power ratings... the only thing I care about is putting this hellish evil back where it belongs. As long as I breathe, that monster isn''t going to have it easy!" Konstantin exclaimed before violently attacking Dick even surprising the ogre at his ferociousness.
"Audrey, I have a plan." Melian said, inspired by Konstantin''s determination. Audrey listened to what Melian said while Konstantin was wailing at Dick with his last strength.
"Konstantin move! Encantation Corrosive acid!" Melian shouted as a sphere of purple liquid formed out of the magic in front of her 2 forward facing hands.
The acid scattered and Konstantin jumped under the attack, getting away safely while it was about to hit Dick. It splattered all over him and he screamed as it seeped into his wounds.
Audrey rushed at Dick jumping 3 meters in the air with her sword in hand. Dick reacted and was about to dodge, but Audrey missed her swing barely and was unable to strike him.
"Dick is tired with these trick, take this, miss girl!" Dick swung the log with all his might to crush Audrey just like Fallace.
However, she blocked it with her 2 hands being able to withstand the attack without falling back. Dick was stunned, but then he saw it. That emblem on her blade, she was a knight. Dick never fought knights as he knew to stay away from them. Audrey was currently tightly holding Dick''s log in place, not giving him the chance to move.
"Let go!" Dick screamed.
Normally, he would have the physical strength to overpower Audrey, but as the fight went on, he was weakening.
"Audrey, do it now! Encantation Explosion!" Melian screamed, and Audrey followed.
She let the log go and tackled Dick with her shoulder. Then bounced off him with a two-legged kick. Dick wasn''t really hurt by those attacks but got shown away from Audrey and Fallace''s body. Audrey ran to protect Fallaces body while Dick was stunned.
Dick turned around and saw a white glowing orb slowly approaching him. A bright burst of light originated from the orb and, in a split second, became a 3 meter radius fire explosion emitting a large amount of heat. Everyone on the battlefield could feel the hot wave it caused. Trying to block the spell with his arms, it overpowered Dick''s defenses and vaporised his arms. Dick was sent flying by the shockwave, throwing Audrey that was further away off balance.
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Audrey and Konstantin were shocked at Melian''s capability to cast such a powerful spell. Dick was still alive, trembling on the ground. Audrey carried their fallen comrade on her back, and they met up in front of Dick.
"Dick begs you, mercy! Dick will never pray on humans ever again. Dick promises, Dick could be useful to you! Please..."
"You''re a pathetic creature demanding our mercy when you mercilessly slaughtered the weak. Those weren''t knights hunting you but just some adventurers." Audrey said to the ogre on the ground.
"Your body parts will be far more useful than any rotten assistance you could give us." Melian replied.
"Demons that prey on the weak shall be served divine justice carried out by God''s will. You took the life of one of my friends, and I shall behead you for your sins!" Konstantin exclaimed.
Konstantin bashed in his hammer into Dick''s neck, crushing his head''s connection to his body.
Audrey had killed someone before, but this was the first time she assisted in the extermination of a monster. It felt good. Like their spirits were elevated. They also consequently saved people in the future. Audrey thought while still holding Fallace''s body. Melian was, on the other hand, cutting Dick''s fingers off and other small appendages.
"With these body parts, we could surely brew some potions." Melian said, attempting to brighten up the mood as she preserved the parts in glass jars.
"Melian Audrey, Fallace will live if we hurry. I can still feel his magical energy. Thank God, his soul has not yet left his body. We need to hurry to the nearest town with a church. Audrey, I will take care of Fallace, and you take care of the girl over there." Konstantin said while pointing over to the girl and then carrying Fallace''s body to the wagon.
"Everything is going to be alright! That monster is dead." Audrey told the battered girl on the ground after checking her pulse and carrying her to the wagon.
The girl had an empty looking face and broken jaw, but she was still conscious.
Audrey put her down and treated her wounds with some healing liquid. Melian sat quietly, looking at the disturbed donkeys as she was about to get moving.
"Konstantin, how could you sense that Fallace''s soul is still with us? You aren''t just saying that to give us hope?" Audrey said desperately while looking at Fallace, feeling responsible for his state.
"Audrey, don''t worry, you aren''t a magic user, and that''s why you can''t sense it. I, Melian, and Fallace possess the ability to cast magic and to accomplish that one needs to be able to sense magic energy even in its less concentrated forms. Magic is not limitless, but it still gives us a clue about if someone is alive. When we cast spells, we transform pure magical energy through our souls. The soul can not be sensed by anyone, but when someone just recently has used a spell, their souls leak out a magic footprint. When a soul fills with magic, the leakage increases and is known as a magic aura." Konstantin told Audrey while closing all of Fallaces body''s gaping wounds to preserve it.
Audrey knew some of these phenomena but never thought deeper about their causes.
"So you can figure out if someone''s alive by their magic energy leakage?" Audrey asked.
"Absolutely Audrey, a soul produces lifeforce to inhabit a body. If that lifeforce is drained to zero, the soul passes on, and the magical energy immediately disperses into the dimension of magic." Melian added to the conversation.
"I see." Audrey replied.
She also wished many times during her childhood to be able to use the miracle of magic. However, she was never even able to learn the basics. Her father told her that he was also never able to learn it, but the reason was not because it was impossible.
Just like any other talent, people are born with different levels of magic affinity. Every soul is dissimilar and has different affinities for magic. It''s theoretically possible for Audrey to learn it, but it would take around 10 years, which is 5 times more than the average time.
Morning and noon had passed, and the group was peacefully chatting about their day to day lives before the Assisted Adventurers program. Audrey told them on a surface level about the incident with Clause Frodou. Konstantin was disappointed that a father of the church could be so foolish and heretical.
Konstantin was mostly helping out with the church and the orphanage back in St. Michael. Although his favorite pastime was studying holy scriptures and dwarfish history. Melian stayed quiet on the topic of her life. Replying with nothing more than rudimentary answers to keep the conversation going without saying anything of meaning at all.
The adventurers had not noticed the passage of time and noon had quickly transitioned into night time. The moon was almost full, and its shining light gave hope to the scarred adventurers. However, even the moon''s heavenly light couldn''t give the broken girl a smile.
Ch 2 - The Monster Dick Part 3
Konstantin and the girl had fallen asleep but Audrey was still thinking about not being enough to protect Fallace.
"You know Audrey, you should rest, humans need that to stay active." Melian said while facing forward towards the road.
"It''s just so much Melian, I know this may sound silly. But so much has never happened in my life before so it''s just hard to fall asleep. You guys have all faced your monsters. But I have never even seen the white dragon." Audrey replied, looking at the starry sky.
"Audrey you''re lucky, you haven''t seen such horrors. When I was alone selling potions I didn''t think anything would ever change and I liked it that way. But I had nothing to live for except myself. However, you all have become motivation for me to continue my fight. Wait Audrey... Why are you on Konstantin?" Melian said as she looked back at Audrey.
"Ah! I''m sorry Melian you were telling me important things, I don''t want to disrespect you. It''s just that I was... uhm observing him. You know all your talk about us being important for you made me a little melancholic."
"I take it back, you''re all just idiots." Melian said disappointed.
"Melian, don''t say that, I''m sorry, truly! Melian but you must understand me, we''re both girls and Konstantin has a very intriguing body."
"Ah, what''s so very interesting about him anyway? Don''t put me in the same boat as you. I am not a nun, but I am not driven by lust. Only a man matching my prowess is worthy!"
"Wow you have such high standards Melian..." Audrey says and the conversation comes to silence.
"Melian, why can''t you or Konstantin use healing magic? I am not putting you on the spot. I''m just interested."
"Well, just like everyone one has talents every soul is unique and transforms magical energy differently. Through trial and error, humanity discovered that there are spells that theoretically everyone can learn. They are called accessible magic spells and on the contrary there are spells unique to a soul type, called special magic spells. Even accessible magic vastly varies in the difficulty depending on soul type when it comes to learning it. I and Konstantin could learn healing magic but it would be extremely challenging, especially for me. Healing magic is also easier to cast using holy magical energy. I use regular magical energy, and my soul is adept to destructive magic. It''s theoretically possible but it would be difficult to use and weak without an enormous effort."
"Right, but what''s different about holy and normal magical energy? I have never heard of the distinction." Audrey said ponderingly.
"Sigh... Of course, Audrey, you haven''t studied magic at all have you?" Melian said with a ridiculous expression.
"Hey! I''m not completely clueless! I think..."
"Quiet Audrey, they''re sleeping. Nonetheless, the difference is the source. I and Fallace are magic users that draw magical energy from an outside source like the majority of magicians. The dimension of magic surrounds all realms and its astronomical amounts of magic can be harnessed by using one''s soul. Clerics and religious magicians like Konstantin instead draw magical energy from Gods, patrons or other magical innately magical beings. These divine sources provide their own unique magical energy to others in return for prayers or sacrifice. Which leads us to the most dangerous magicians, sorcerers. They get their name from being the source to their own magic. Additionally they are usually incredibly talented with magic as they can use it from birth. Although they are very rare. Of all elf magicians, only 10% are sorcerers and of humans less than 1%."
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"Wow, I never thought about the difference between regular magicians and sorcerers." Audrey said and then accidentally touched Fallace''s body that she could see the outline under the sheets.
A wave of sadness filled Audrey, it was a disgraceful sight seeing someone so full with fun and hope having an expressionless face. Audrey layed down and wanted to fall asleep so that she could escape her guilt.
"Audrey, you shouldn''t blame yourself for not being able to protect him. I was there when he got crushed. At that point I felt hopeless. But seeing Konstantin fighting that monster with all he had gave me strength. I also wanted to protect all of you. Eventually I realized, we all are here of our own volition and we should care for eachother. But we knowingly put ourselves on this path. Even if you succeed in always protecting, that will only leave Fallace too weak to face his demons."
"Thanks Melian, that really helped me. Good night!" Audrey said not completely dealing with the guilt but she was at least able to temporarily beat it.
"Good night!"
- - -
The sun was rising and Audrey woke up smelling peculiar smoke. Konstantin was smoking a paper roll with some green powder he presumably grinded up. Sitting beside Melian, Konstantin noticed the recently awakened Audrey.
"Oh God bless this beautiful morning Audrey, you woke up at the perfect time. We can already see Leionholm in the distance." Konstantin said.
"Good morning Konstantin... What are you smoking?" Audrey said begrudgingly.
"It''s holy cush, want some?" Konstantin said with a smile.
"No thanks!" Audrey said, smiling back.
"Audrey, this is my first time with holy cush and it''s a doozy. Don''t tell us we didn''t recommend it." Melian said in an unbalanced manner contrasting with her usual self.
It''s been hard for the two of them. I know smoking is bad for the lungs and the spirit. But I have heard it helps, in the moment, Audrey thought. Then she looked at the broken girl that was still asleep and Fallace''s body.
In a few minutes they arrived just before the town gates protected by a dozen guardsmen. Leionholm was surrounded by a stone wall about half the height of the 25 meter wall of Aldervinter.
"Hello there, you need to show identification and inform us of the reason you are visiting Leionholm." The guard said not wearing a helmet and having the Svardkustian emblem of the sword of justice.
"Here you have our adventurer cards and our quest. We have an urgent need of the most skilled clerics to treat this girl and our friend." Audrey said to the guard.
"Wait a minute... you''re his daughter, general Thorway Garudorf''s!" The guard captain screamed out and bowed down to show respect.
"I will personally escort you to the infirmary at once!" The captain said and jumped on a horse and ordered his subordinates to open the gate.
He then instructed the adventurers to follow him. As the party entered Leionholm through the northern entrance they were met with people on the side of the road begging for money, broken down wooden buildings and vandalism on the walls. It was the definition of a slum. Audrey had never seen a society in that kind of state before. She felt repulsed and sorry for the folk living here. So this is where Fallace had to survive during his late childhood, Audrey thought.
"Don''t worry my friends, all of the scum in the city is only in the north. Our mayor decided that integrating the poor with the rich only dragged down the prosperity of our city. So they are all shown here like the weeds they are to rot away while the rich prosper in the clean soil."
Konstantin saw some men in suits pressuring a small vegetable shop''s owner to pay up their "protection fee" with knifes. Although Konstantin didn''t come from a prestigious city like Melian and Audrey, he was unused to seeing criminals treating an old man like that. It infuriated him and if they weren''t hurrying to heal Fallace he would have intervened.
Progressively the architecture on the side of the road morphed into structures with marble pillars as they crossed the central river dividing the city into 2. The buildings stood proud, large and the roads were cleaner. The south made the adventurers feel like it was a completely different city.
It took 3 hours to get to the majestic palace looking church. Churches are places where the Salvian religion is practiced and the St. Vitaly cathedral was the second largest church Audrey had ever seen. The guard captain quickly escorted the party into the enormous building. It could house over 20000 people and luckily, it was later on a Thursday noon and most people had already done their weekly visit.
"This way!" The Captain said as they ran through what felt like never ending maze-like corridors.
The walls depicted the savior chained and his appendages nailed to a cross. The unjustful king of Amethysia loomed over the savior. As they turned to the final hallway, Audrey saw the savior rising to heaven and the king drowning in a sea of blood. Engulfing his castle and then his whole kingdom. Only the innocent were exempt from the wrath of the Savior once again the Creator.
Melian was still in a hazy state and Konstantin was well familiar with the legend of the Savior. Overcoming his execution the Creator proved his miracle by punishing the tyrannical monarch by the blood the king had spilled in his conquest. Audrey thought that if the Creator was with them he would spare the life of the innocent Fallace.
"Bishop Contrario, we are in sharp need of your assistance as soon as possible!" The captain exclaimed as they barged into a room.
"Do not worry, captain Adriano. I always have time to help the believers of our faith. What is the problem?" Said the bishop of Leionholm.
The captain then approached Contrario to whisper something quickly and then stepped aside. Audrey was a little suspicious, but as long as he helped them she wasn''t going to do anything.
"Well I agree with Captain Adriano. Alright my children put the bodies of your fallen comrades on the mattress." Bishop Contrario said while flexing his arms.
"That Chifling, he needs treatment first and I am going to be frank about this. Unless his soul is in the process of passing on he is already dead."
Audrey got filled up with dread that broke through her serious facial expression as sadness. Konstantin looked up, hiding his face from the others and even Melian looked down.
"I will do what I can, but at this point, his fate is in God''s hands and not mine."
Ch 3 - Scuffle in Leionholm
"For a moment, everything went black. I didn''t even understand what happened. Then, I saw a bright light on the end of an eternally dark tunnel. It was as if hands of darkness were dragging me forward. I resisted them all I could, and when I was starting to let go, I heard familiar voices encouraging me. Even with all that, tired, I finally lost my step and flew upwards through the dark tunnel. Although it felt more like I was falling upwards than me being dragged. Though I still felt the hands creeping. When I was approaching the light, my eyes closed, and when they opened, I woke up here. Is that normal?"
"Heh, you''re a lucky little midget aren''t you. I have only seen that kind of God given luck once in my long life." The man clothed in golden robes said in front of the just awakened halfling.
"Ahh! Fallace, you''re alive! I am so happy!" Audrey screamed, shedding tears.
"God bless you, Fallace. I am grateful you did not leave us just yet!" Konstantin said, still looking up, dropping a tear!
"Fallace... you better don''t worry us, uh... like that again, or I''ll kill you!" Melian said, not minding her language due to her hazy state.
"Everyone, I am so sorry I made you worried! There is no way a monster like that stupid Dick could get rid of me, hahaha!" Fallace said proud, hiding away his deep embarrassment.
"I will now heal your wounds, poor girl. However, everyone is equal before God, and without his blessings, you would have been gone. Accept the Savior in your heart because God has a place in heaven for even midgets like you." Contrario told Fallace.
"What did you say!" The angered Fallace uttered, wanting to jump at the bishop, but Konstantin was able to calm him down in time.
"Well, no matter. Encantation anatomical restoration!" The bishop exclaimed and started healing the victims of the ogre attack.
The rescued girl''s body was first covered by green magical energy that even Audrey could witness. The huge concentration of healing magic had a similar intensity to Melian''s explosion spell. The girls'' broken bones were restored and put back into place. The healing magic then spread to her flesh, restoring all her damaged inner organs and skin too.
The girl was lying on the mattress and healed to a perfectly healthy physical condition. However, the look of hopelessness did not leave her face.
"Contrario, what is going on? Why aren''t you healing her!" Audrey exclaimed as she was oblivious to the restoration of the girl''s body.
"Young girls these days... The spell anotomical restoration only restores the physical state of the target. It seems this girl is psychologically broken. I can not heal her. Young war priest!" Father Contrario exclaimed, turning his attention to Konstantin.
"Don''t worry too much about that girl. She lacks acceptance of the Savior in her heart. Her mind can be restored if she follows the Saviors'' teachings and accepts them into her heart." Contrario said, having noticed that the girl originated from the north of Leionholm.
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Those clothes she''s wearing... are only provided by that scum, Justizia, Contrario thought.
"I... won''t ever accept the savior. How could I... worship a Savior that allowed... that to happen." The healed girl said measly.
"Heresy! Get this obtuse wench out of here, this instance! Don''t you dare to deny the Savior or ever come back here, you ungrateful meager, girl!" The bishop screamed as he raised his voice, pushing the girl back to the adventurers.
Konstantin sensed grave danger escalating if they didn''t get out of here. Fallace and Audrey looked like they were about to explode into bickering with the old bishop.
The captain tried to calm down the Contrario, and Konstantin dragged Audrey and Fallace with him with the girls running close behind. They ran straight out of the church, looking like maniacs.
"Well, that wasn''t a good impression of a holy man! I am sorry on his behalf, and I understand your difficulty in believing in faith. Besides that, what is your name?" Konstantin asked the girl.
"Ehm... it''s Soshi Lechein. I am sorry I embarrassed you all. You saved me from certain death, and I am... I am. Sorry, I appreciate you saving me, but I need to rest... to forget... everything I saw." Soshi said to the adventurers.
"Don''t apologize for that, Soshi, that Contrario deserves a good smacking for screaming in that way. You were shocked and should have been treated with respect regardless of what you believe." Audrey replied.
"Everyone, it''s turning night time. How about we find an inn to settle for the night?" Melian said as the run she just had managed to blow away her haziness.
Everyone agreed on finding an inn, and before they began to look for it, Fallace spoke up.
"I know the south of Leionholm like the palm of my hand, and I will find us an inn in no time. First, there should be a few ones near the St.Vitaly cathedral. Second, Soshi, do you need to be walked home?" Fallace said.
"I have never been so far away from the north, so I would appreciate that!" Soshi replied.
"Then let''s go, everyone to the inn!" Fallace said as he started walking, and the group followed.
On their way, Fallace asked the group about what he had missed. Audrey shrugged off the question, claiming nothing had happened nervously. Konstantin was confused, and Melian sighed, figuring out that Audrey was probably thinking of the indecent thing she did with Konstantin in his sleep.
When they finally arrived, they booked three rooms and went to eat something, giving Soshi a free meal of choice. She only picked what was in Leionholm considered to be the poor man''s food, which was a molten cheese and dough mix. She was also eating more than expected of a pretty fit girl.
"So after we''re done with the eating, I''d like us all to do something while Fallace follows Soshi home." Audrey suggested.
"Well, I think since it''s a Thursday and I haven''t done my weekly visit, I will head back to the church and retrieve our wagon. We were in such a hurry that we forgot the donkeys." Konstantin said and was quickly followed up by Audrey.
"I''ll also go! Because... uhm... to split the burden of apologizing with Konstantin to the captain for embarrassing him in front of the bishop."
"Weren''t you mad at him, Audrey?" Fallace replied.
"I was just angry, that''s all. You know how girls are, ahahaha..." Audrey said as she quickly wanted to seamlessly change the conversation topic.
Eventually, everyone was done eating except for Soshi, and Fallace waited for her to finish
Fallace wasn''t convinced with Audrey''s reasons, figuring out that Audrey was just hopelessly trying to find an opportunity to flirt with Konstantin. But he was okay with it because...
He then asked Soshi to follow him so he could take her home. Previously, during their escape from the cathedral, Fallace got an epiphany while looking at Soshi. She was hot, just how Fallace liked girls. A striking slender physique that exaggerated her fruits that were especially visible in her torn clothes. As Fallace and Soshi walked out, he had a plan to try spark a romance.
"Oh, Melian, we completely forgot about you! Are you okay?" Audrey exclaimed.
Melian had her head straight down on the table just beside her plate.
"Ugh... I obviously don''t feel so good. Konstantin,I think it''ll take more than once for me not to get headaches after smoking. I think I''ll sit this one out and rest."
"Melian, maybe don''t smoke next time! Let''s go, Konstantin!" Audrey said and tried to run out with Konstantin.
However, he was concerned for Melian. But she shrugged that concern off him, telling him she wasn''t dying.
"Well then, God bless you Melian, see you soon!" Konstantin said, and they were off.
Soshi was walking on the sidewalk with Fallace going in front of her. They got many weird looks and whispers from the nobles in the area. Fallace was already used to the ridicule gotten from the human noble class. But what angered Fallace was what he heard them whisper about Soshi.
"That girl is so easy!"
"Look at her. She is so desperate, following that midget!"
"That free midget probably paid her. Such promiscuity."
They had no knowledge of who he or Soshi were. Soshi was traumatized and lost many of her friends and had to endure this ridicule. It was not fair.
"Hey Soshi, let''s go buy some clothes! It''s my treat!" Fallace said while thinking about how to get Soshi to be more comfortable with him due to the indirect trouble he was causing her.
"Oh, okay." Soshi said emotionlessly as she was dragged by Fallace''s hand.
He was concerned with her reaction, but her hand didn''t reject his. Therefore, he saw no reason to be disappointed, knowing what Soshi was going through, having once experienced those feelings.
Ch 3 - Scuffle in Leionholm Part 2
"This is the best clothing store in all of Leionholm! I have bought clothes here in the past and I have seen the female section many times. It''s awesome, I''m sure you will love it." Fallace said to Soshi while they were walking to the female section.
Soshi pondered if Fallace was telling the truth because everything was vastly larger than his size. But then she saw the children''s section and she smiled.
"Fallace, thank you for showing me. I guess I''ll choose these athletic pants and a shirt." Soshi said calmly.
"Are you sure? Maybe you want something more feminine? Something that brings out your beauty!" Fallace said confidently, striking Soshi''s heart.
"Uhm... Ah, I... shouldn''t. My heart won''t rest, and I need clothes that will help in my fight." Soshi muttered as her cheeks turned a little rosy, but then the sadness took over.
"I understand, Soshi. Oh, look over there, I think those would look great on you!" Fallace said.
Soshi tried them out, and then Fallace recommended something else, and they did that for a couple of hours. Soshi was exhausted, and Fallace was talking with her about how she looked great in everything.
"Huff... puff... Fallace, I am at my limit here. What do you think about this?" Soshi told Fallace in the changing room in a tired yet entertained voice.
"I think we just went full circle and came back to where we started. This is the exact same, but for some reason, it looks better on you. Hmm, and I don''t know why?"
"Ah! You dummy, did we waste all this time for you to just say what I originally chose was better!"
"Now I get it!"
"What did you get!"
"It is your smile, Soshi. Through our little fashion performance, your mood improved so much! That makes you look even better with the same outfit."
"Eh! I..." Soshi stepped back, embarrassed.
"It''s okay, Soshi. I know there is something more important weighing on your heart right now. Let''s get you home."
"T... thanks..." Soshi muttered as she followed Fallace to the check out in the store.
She didn''t even change out of them. Soshi was very impressed with Fallace. She had never had an especially high opinion of Chiflings due to their societal inferiority. He was making her have fun, and she appreciated that.
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By the time they were done in the clothes store, the sun had set, and they still had some way to go until they reached the north. Fallace, in the meantime, asked Soshi where she lived. She resided in the far north of Leionholm near the northern gate.
Fallace was less familiar with that part of the city because he lived in the middle where the two halfs converged. There, he worked as an entertainer, mostly in the south of the center where the money was.
Fallace had planned to show her something surprising that would make their long way across the city more fun.
"Soshi, look here, encantation Glow glow fairies!" Fallace exclaimed as three light sources taking the shape of small fairies took form in the palm of his right hand.
They flew like they were dancing on a rising stage and made the signs easier to see by enlightening them. Soshi was surprised that Fallace knew magic.
He tried to remain composed by telling her he learned it by studying the magic tricks his competitors used. Consequently, he only knew magic that had entertainment potential.
Soshi''s surprised look slowly turned sadder and sadder. She didn''t want to bother Fallace as he was doing his best to support her mood even though she constantly brought it down. But her friends... they spent their whole lives learning magic, and it was meaningless. It didn''t save them, and seeing magic reminded her of that.
Fallace was able to put 2 and 2 together and realized that Soshi''s mood change was due to his spell. That made him feel bad, and he quickly remembered a trick he often used to brighten up the small crowds watching him. A surprisingly athletic 1 armed old man showed him hidden alleyways in the city where he could set up tents. He also taught Fallace basic manners, how to access magic and this very spell.
Fallace acted without a second thought and charged his magic aura to cast a silent encantation. He read Soshi''s facial expression, which remained unchanged and casted the low level charm Joyous present.
Soshi''s state of mind was slightly altered as magic instantly entered her brain and lingered in it. As Soshi had a weak state of mind and couldn''t anticipate the charm, she wasn''t even able to have a chance to resist the spell. With its ability to magically slowly change the chemical level of joy inducing hormones.
Soshi had a real mood swing as Fallace used more magic energy than usual into the spell. Usually, he uses it on crowds, and the magic disperses, lowering the concentration of magic energy and its potency. She was jolly, and her facial expression changed completely. Even starting to talk about places she visited in the past and which restaurants were the best.
After some time, they had reached the north, and Soshi was telling Fallace the directions home. It was late, and they saw men lighting the worn down lanterns and the plentiful streets filled with people lessened. Soon, only a couple of people per street remained. Soshi said that they were still around an hour away. As she was familiar with these streets because of her friends that lived here.
The weight of telling their families of what became of them was something Soshi wanted to ignore. At least for now, as her brain was unconsciously blocking the bad thoughts out.
Two men in suits quickly approached Soshi and Fallace. Both of them recognized the emblem of a golden "J" that was on a red heart on their ties. One was tall and bald smoking a cigar. The other one was a bearded man with fine blonde combed hair parted in the middle, a head shorter than the bald man.
It was the criminal organization that everyone in Leionholm knew of, Justizia. Fallace had a terrible relationship with the mafia as they many times mistook him for a runaway slave.
"Hey sweetie, you shouldn''t walk around with your servant this late! There''s a foul malefactor running around town kidnapping young girls! I should know since my own little sister has disappeared without a trace. Aw, my sweet, adorable Carla!" The bald man exclaimed, waving his hands around for emphasis and fixing his cigar.
"I... am actually heading home, mister, and Fallace is not my servant! He''s my... my... friend." Soshi said, trying to stand back against the intimidating nature of the gangsters and grabbing Fallace''s hand.
"Thanks, Soshi! I have personally beaten fools like you that talk down on me many times! So you can go and scram!" Fallace exclaimed, directing his attention to the men.
The shorter gangster looked down on Fallace and started laughing. The other man pulled out his cigar and started laughing, too.
"Talking down is an absolute with midgets like you, hahaha! I''ll let that jab slide since you''re accompanying such a cute young lady." The bearded gangster exclaimed.
"Let''s go, Delues! We still have to continue the patrol. Let these youngsters go free from your speeches. Be safe, alright." The bald gangster said, putting his arms on Soshi''s shoulder much to Fallace''s dismay.
The Gangsters walked past the pair, and they continued their walk to Soshi''s home. Fallace''s pulse was heightened as he confronted those men but had finally calmed down a short time after. He was sure he could defeat them, but they sure were intimidating.
Just when Fallace was about to turn around and talk to Soshi about the incident, he saw a shadow quickly approaching from behind. In a split second, Fallace turned around, and the bearded man Delues had caught Soshi in a double underhook hold.
"Ey! Roberto, this girl is a tough cookie! Are you sure I shouldn''t try to break the charm?! Delues shouted to his bald companion while Soshi was resisting his hold with the strength of a ferocious hound.
Roberto swung his knife at Fallace with intense strength mirroring Konstantin ferocious swings before replying.
"Delues, I told you that we can''t hurt the innocent! I will just beat the kidnapper into submission until he releases the spell!" Roberto yelled after Fallace barely dodged his assault.
"Hey, what''s the big idea!? Soshi isn''t charmed, and I am no kidnapper!" Fallace said while drawing his saber.
"Hah! I thought it was weird that a free chifling was walking around with a young girl, but my suspicions were confirmed when I touched her. I felt it. A magic charm lingering in her mind that influences her subconscious." Roberto told Fallace as he lit another cigar.
Fallace was in horror when he realized that the bald man mistook Joyous present for a malicious charm.
Soshi cried out, screaming that Fallace was innocent and that it was a misunderstanding. However, who would believe a girl influenced by magic.
Ch 3 - Scuffle in Leionholm Part 3
"I am... you''re wrong. Beat me up all you want, but leave her alone! Soshi, I am sorry I brought you into this mess, and I will take the blows needed to make it up for you!" Fallace exclaimed as he dispelled joyous present as a last ditch effort to avoid confrontation.
Delues was seemingly not noticing the dispelling, but Soshi was still struggling. As her mind cleared, she awoke from the effects of the spell. Fallace tried to reason with Roberto, claiming that the spell, joyous present was only for her sake. But it didn''t seem to budge Roberto''s accusation.
"End your blabbering! Using emotional manipulation is even worse than a beat up! It may work on young girls. But I break criminals like you!" Roberto exclaimed as he closed in on Fallace, attempting to slash him.
Fallace was able to draw his blade to block the slash, which Roberto followed up with repeated slashes. Fallace was able to react to all of them, but he was being pushed back.
This foe was unlike the brutish strength of the ogre that almost took his life. Roberto was skilled with his military dagger being able to properly block Fallace''s defensive strikes. He was fast and physically stronger than Fallace.
Fallace was only able to block his attacks with his explosive speed, although it wasn''t fast enough to make a substantial difference. If it went on like this, Fallace knew he would lose. Additionally, his party members were on the other side of the city, so they weren''t an option either.
Fallace was able to use magic, but unlike Konstantin and Melian, he wasn''t able to use any destructive magic. He had a few tricks, but they were very situational. Fallace wouldn''t be able to outrun Roberto when he was this close. So the plan Fallace came up with was moving to a more advantageous battlefield.
Roberto started switching up his slashes with stab attacks, which gave Fallace the opportunity he was waiting for to change the tide of battle. He was finally able to dodge to the side, away from the street and into an alleyway between 2 buildings.
There were apartments that had metallic stairs leading all the way to the roof and clotheslines out of giant spider silk. Fallace took his chance to jump up the stairs. He now had the height advantage over his opponent, which Roberto didn''t seem to notice as he chased Fallace up the stairs.
Fallace was now able to hold his ground and even occasionally slightly push back Roberto. With this newfound advantage, Fallace used his explosive leg movement to quickly approach Roberto and use a faint, anticipating a reactionary block.
Fallace was able to follow up with his plan slashing deep into Roberto''s thigh. Roberto did not scream and remained calm, countering momentarily with a stab. Fallace''s sword was wedged in Roberto''s thigh, forcing Fallace to block with his elbow. Luckily for Fallace, he was able to avoid any serious damage as the knife slided off, creating a minor but large cut. Fallace jumped back in response to the stab and ripped off a piece of his cut sleeve to stop the bleeding. Impressed, Roberto fell back a step and smiled.
"I didn''t expect anything less from a heinous abductor that has managed to escape the clutches of the organization!
You may have wounded me, but this fight has just started."
"Then you''ll have to get closer if you want to beat me up, as you said!" Fallace said while pointing his blade towards his opponent.
Meanwhile, Fallace and Roberto were fighting, Delues was using all his might to restrain the raging Soshi. She suddenly stopped, and Delues finally took a breath after exclaiming: how is it even possible for a girl to almost tough him out.
Soshi turned silent and kicked Delues straight into the crotch. Delues was a trained man and was somewhat able to resist the urge to scream in agony. His hold was still firm, but Soshi was finally given an opportunity to free herself with all the might she had left. As she freed herself sliding out of his arms, Delues desperately grabbed her legs. Attempting to hit her to break her out of charm he thought she was under. She was able to block the attacks by kicking, and in just some minutes of struggle, she was finally freed from his clutches.
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Soshi then ran towards the way Fallace and Roberto went. She knew that Fallace had used a spell on her. But in her opinion, she saw that Fallace had good intentions and didn''t abuse his power over her. Delues was left on the road in pain, contemplating what to do.
Delues eventually got up and decided that it would be best to inform the captain of what happened. He trusts Roberto''s strength, but a confrontation with that midget kidnapper with the help of a charmed ally could be dangerous for him. They could even try to escape again. Delues ran off to find his captain.
While Soshi had freed herself, Roberto finally made his move rushing towards Fallace. He then took out his other knife and started wailing on Fallace with the same power and speed as before but with devastating technique. Every attack was sharper, and Fallace was once again backed into a corner.
Roberto was able to block attacks while countering, making even Fallace not capable of keeping up. He was inflicting small slashes on Fallace''s wrists. If Fallace slipped even once, he could lose an arm.
Fallace then jumped to the clothesline, crossing a 3 meter gap, and then swung up to the roof. Fallace had developed a plan to defeat his opponent. Roberto then followed suit by jumping to the stairs on the building beside the one they were previously fighting on. He then ran up the stairs and threw his knife at Fallace.
Fallace was surprised, but he still managed to deflect the dagger. It flew right at Roberto, but he dashed right under it. He then yelled at Fallace as the chifling was ready to strike him down.
"Encantation, Arcane construct!" A tiny aura surrounded Roberto as he casted the spell.
The magic aura was barely visible for Fallace. In comparison to himself, Roberto had basically the aura of people that had never used magic before. Fallace was a far less potent magical user compared to Melian and Konstantin, but even his aura surpassed Roberto''s.
Roberto''s magic energy was collected in his hand and started taking form. It transformed into a flail. While Fallace was yet to learn this spell, he had heard that special knights called paladins were expected to know this spell.
"You must be surprised, don''t you! I have trained every day since my precious sister was kidnapped. It took me about 2 years to learn magic. But I must thank you as I made most of my progress during the last 3 months. I swear if my sister even has the slightest wound, I will make sure that you will beg for death!"
Roberto carefully but quickly approached Fallace swinging with his flail. It was large about half of Fallace''s height and nearly weightless. He was able to swing it with speeds faster than before. Fallace, even with knowledge of magic weapons, was knocked out of his stance with Roberto''s first swing.
Fallace had only one shot. He was contemplating whether his idea would even work. It was a gamble. But Fallace wasn''t going to hesitate anymore. When Robert wound up for his second swing, Fallace cast a spell using a silent encantation.
Roberto''s swing knocked away Fallace''s blade, sending it several meters away on the roof. The disarmed Fallace was pushed back to the edge of the roof seemingly in shock, and Roberto winded up for his third and finishing swing.
With his hands up high, Roberto exclaimed: "I will first break your neck and then every single bone until you crack! I will avenge my sister!"
Fallace faced Roberto''s vengeance, and his shocked face slowly turned into a smile.
"Sorry for this, but I was really trying to convince you!" Fallace exclaimed as he clenched his grip and swung his arms in front of Roberto''s crotch.
In one horrifying moment, Roberto noticed Fallace''s hand. It looked like it was holding something, and just as he noticed that, Fallace''s swinging hand caused a sound Roberto could hear.
It was the sound of a swinging blade, and in an instance, Roberto''s private part disconnected from his body. The blood spread all around his crotch and Roberto screamed as he fell down on his knees. Losing his magic flail that evaporated into magic, which dispersed in the air. It was a scream of suffering that turned into one of pure rage.
Fallace was happy his minor mirage had worked on the gangster. The more emotionally unstable a person is, the less aware they are of the magic around them. Fallace had exploited Roberto''s anger.
With his face almost turning purple, Roberto jumped at the chifling. Fallace short stature came in handy when it came to ducking under Roberto''s desperate dive attack.
Roberto had dug his own grave as his miss would mean that he would fall 12 meters down facefirst. Fallace thought that even though he threatened to torture him, it was out of love for his sister, which he could respect.
"Encantation Mighty limb!" Fallace shouted, and Fallace''s magic aura formed into an arm created out of magic power.
This spell was a freely controllable limb able to use the maximal body strength of its user. Fallace''s mighty limb flew at the speed of his run and grabbed Roberto''s tie. Roberto was choking as he was hanging in the air and had lost the conviction to fight.
Fallace had saved him from what would have been a stupid death. A guy like that couldn''t be a kidnapping bastard, Roberto thought as his mind faded.
When Roberto fell unconscious, Fallace''s magic arm put him on the ground. Fallace was able to avoid serious damage, and he was content with that. He won, and now he just had to beat that second gangster to save Soshi.
Fallace looked down on Roberto and thought about how this was the second time he slashed his opponent''s crotch. He didn''t do it intentionally. It was just that his height was perfect for such maneuvers.
He decided to name this technique. "Blade performance castrating slash." Fallace thought and giggled. In under a minute, the adrenaline started setting in. Fallace felt spiritual and physical exhaustion. His muscles were aching, and his mind was tired.
He was then finally about to turn around as he saw a shadowy figure jumping, which looked to be instantaneous from roof to roof closing in. Fallace wasn''t even able to comprehend what happened as he felt a strong wind blowing towards him as something passed him by.
"If Roberto, my strongest soldier, wasn''t able to take you down. It seems that I will have to go all out ey!
Fallace turned around to see a mafioso in a suit sporting the same golden tie and a pair of sunglasses. The clouds had slowly been dispersing during Fallace''s fight with Roberto, and now the shining light of the full moon illuminated the captain standing before Fallace from behind.
"If you manage to survive one minute against me, I will tell you my name, scum! Encantation, Moonlight fracture!"
Ch 4 - Taste the Auction
Moonlight fracture was a spell Fallace had never heard of. Reacting quickly he went for a desperate leap for his fallen saber. The full moon was shining bright, and the mafia captain was on the other side of the roof.
Fallace kept eye contact with the captain to prepare a counter for that spell. However, that eye contact was what left him clueless when a beam of concentrated bright shining light blew off the top of his left shoulder. At the speed of light, Fallace wasn''t even able to see the beam until it was too late. What he saw looked like it was as if the beam came from the moon above.
Fallace managed to get a hold of his sword, but his confidence only dwindled. His left shoulder was burned, and the magic aura of his opponent was unlike one he had ever felt before. When he was little, he did survive a monster invasion, but he at that time, he couldn''t sense magic.
The immense aura surpassed that of Konstantin''s several times over. Fallace had to breathe and collect himself. No matter how strong this opponent was, he was not immortal. Fallace still had one trick up his sleeve he didn''t want to use.
As for Minor Mirage, it was a high house grade level spell, meaning Fallace only had room in his soul for using spells of that caliber or above only once. The same goes for all spells above low, low village grade.
Fallace tried to analyze the situation. That beam of light was instantaneous and looked like it came straight from the moon. After hitting him, it disappeared, so he had to either recharge the spell or he chose to end it. Dodging was out of the question. Could he somehow predict where the spell would strike next time he used it?
"I see that you have the appropriate analytical response, ey. However, even if you manage to understand my spells'' true nature, you won''t defeat me!"
The mafia captain''s olympian body created a shadow looming over Fallace. Fallace was thinking intensely in the face of an insurmountable obstacle. Could he really manipulate the moon itself? There didn''t seem to be anything out of the ordinary with the moon except that it was full. The ability to shoot lasers from it was not a power he had heard of, even in legend.
This person seems like a skilled magician, but there has to be a catch. Fallace couldn''t realize its true nature, so he decided to buy time through defense.
"Don''t underestimate me, brute!" Fallace exclaimed and started running around frantically, taking advantage of his speed.
He would pay close attention to all his opponents'' movements and the moon.
"It doesn''t matter how fast your spell is if you can''t aim!" Fallace added and was determined to strike his opponent even if he got hit.
This was the only way he saw himself winning.
"Impressive, you''ve got quite the speed ey! Don''t disappoint now!"
The captain threw away his suit, revealing a white short sleeved buttoned shirt. The bulging arms made of pure muscle twitched, and momentarily, the captain was behind Fallace. He was easily keeping pace with Fallace''s desperate and frantic movements.
"Moonlight mirror!" John the captain exclaimed, and another beam of light appeared. Fallace was able to see it pass just above his shoulder, and then he turned his attention to the moon.
Similarly to how a glass lense monks and priests use fractures light to make it more concentrated or diluted. This fracture can be noticed by the human eye, for example, making something appear larger or smaller than it actually is. Fallace saw a distorted moon.
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What Fallace had noticed was that there was a flying lense up in the sky, fracturing the light from the moon using magic to enhance it into blasts. Fallace had finally deduced how the captain''s spell worked. Now, he could see the small changes in the giant full moon''s shape to figure out where the laser was turning.
"Staring blankly at the moon like that as we move ey! It''s irrelevant if you managed to figure out that my moonlight fracture is an imperfect spell or not! I have some powerful people I look up to, so making some supplementing spells to be on their level is only natural ey!"
As Fallace heard the last of those words being exclaimed, a beam of moonlight blasted a hole through his lower leg. He landed on his wounded leg and fell at a high speed rolling on the ground towards the roof side.
When he fell, he saw that the beam had slowly been moving toward an invisible floating mirror aimed at him. He could only see his pitiful reflection taunting him of his failure. Fallace had figured out that moonlight mirror was one of these supplementing spells, but it was too late.
However, Fallace didn''t give up hope of victory even with a hollow leg. On this very roof, he had now come up with a strategy to defeat his opponent. The only problem was fighting with the unbelievable pain. Compared with being almost crushed to death, one would think that Fallace was prepared for the pain. However, that attack was instant, and the pain threshold was breached. This was slow and painful.
Fallace wanted to scream at the top of his inflamed lungs but was calming himself with the hope he had conceived. This was nothing compared to when the monsters attacked his village.
Fallace lifted his right leg, and he stood up, trembling facing his opponent.
"Truly impressive, you have grit like a man fighting for his family ey. You have hope filled eyes, and you even managed to last a minute with me. As promised, my name is John Jester, although you might know that already. I heard that you have successfully escaped several of our captains... what reason made you reveal yourself to Roberto ey."
"I... am innocent... and I fight for the girl I wronged, Soshi! I won''t let you kill me!"
"If you just had told us where you were hiding them, maybe you would have been spared. It''s a waste that a criminal like you, although lacking strength, possesses the skill of a true knight. Having such talent in Justizia could improve the city ey... Let''s finish this!"
The lens in the sky changed into a convex shape, and a beam of light flew towards Fallace. Barely standing Fallace had already observed that John had used a silent encantation to cast another moonlight mirror.
By noticing the angle the mirrors were facing, Fallace could predict where the beam of light would appear. Fallace drew his blade, and the beam reflected off his sword directly at the captain.
Having finally successfully blocked the spell, he found more reason to hold on through the pain. Although the severe stinging sensations in his nerves forced him to attempt to finish this with a quick decisive strike.
However, Fallace had failed to understand that the magical lenses could change their shape. In this way, John could turn off the beam of light by using a regular flat lense instead of dispelling the magic. This allows the mafioso to have the option to control the intensity of the beam by using a more convexial shape. The magical footprint of the magic mirrors were almost nonexistent, where Fallace couldn''t sense them.
John Jester altered the shape of the convex magic lens he had cast silently right in front of himself. To an inverted spherical lens that instead dispersed the light. He closed his eyes, and when Fallace saw that, he gasped for air as the stress came crashing down on him.
The beam that was reflected off Fallace''s blade was dispersed into a blinding flash of light obscuring John. Fallace was left horrified as when the light faded, the captain was nowhere to be seen.
He had perfectly concealed his magical aura, and the beam disappeared. A stepping sound was all Fallace managed to hear before John snuck up behind him, grabbing his right arm with a constricting grip. An immense pale aura radiated from John''s hand as he thunderously chopped off Fallace''s right arm.
The agony filled Fallace''s very soul. Spreading throughout his nerves, the pain was overwhelming. Finally breaking Fallace, he started losing his mind and tweaking the ground. When John Jester''s hand made contact, it felt like an energy spread throughout Fallace''s body like a lightning ripple.
"You have now only experienced a tiny part of the collective suffering the families of the girls you kidnapped have endured... Fathers and mothers coming home to an empty house, it hurts their spirit, breaks their will to live. Such people have personally begged me to save them. However, I couldn''t, since you always escaped. I am done toying with you."
"Kidnapped! I am so done with this shit! I don''t care if you''re righteous, I will kill you!" The pain felt, was snapping Fallace''s psyche.
He was thinking of how terribly his people were treated, how terrible he was treated, all that wrath culminated in a desperate attack.
As he ran, he saw his parents appear before him. Was it because of the intense heart piercing pain? He recalled what they told him before their demise. That every group is filled with different people and that these people are independent. Some of them will come to accept you and others not. Some will even befriend you when they get to know you better. The party, if not for them he would have been dead. If not for the one armed old man supporting him through his young years, he would have been dead. Lastly, Soshi, she gave him happy feelings no girl had given to him before.
Jester looked, pitying the broken down chifling attacking with a predictable desperate attack. As he was about to unleash yet another moonlight fracture, Fallace shouted.
"Encantation partial invisibility!" Fallace''s arm and blade became invisible.
However, Jester was trained in perceiving spiritual residue unleashed by living organisms during intense physical activity. Setting up for a block, it looked hopeless. However, out of nowhere, a girl came in flying, kicking John Jester in the back of his head, knocking him forward, making Fallace slash land.