The Regression Of A Grand Mercenary

Out at thye near end of the slums…it was here that signs of demonic energy has become more frequent.

Only three men were in the area…three who were still alive. Elgor the half giant, the Apostle of the church and Orion a member of the Guard Hounds.

Through their search for the monster responsible for taking the lives of the dozens of dead slum dwellers, their investigation lead them to one place and one place alone.

“…A well?” asked Orion.

“It should be here. Look, signs of claw marks put at the sides of the well.”

“Hmm, weirdly enough…the well is barely being used. It filled with overgrown weeds.” said the apostle.

“Well, since it’s the slum, the well might be contaminated.” said Orion.

“Or…it’s dry and perfect for the monster to make use as a hideout.” said Elgor as he peeks deeper into the well.

The well itself was dark and deep…

So to tell if it had water in it, Elgor picked up a stone and dropped it into the well.

“Here we go.”

As he dropped the stone, it took about two seconds before it made a sound. A sound that didn’t seem like water.

“…It’s weird, it didn’t made a splashing noise…or thud that would show it was dry. Instead, it sounds like it hit something soft…” said the Apostle.

“Maybe it’s mud.” said Orion

“…Since all trails of the attack lead to here, I’ll go check.” without hesitation, Elgor climb over the well and jump down. Despite his large size, the hole was big enough to accommodate him.

Since the stone fell for around two seconds, the well itself would have been 20 meters deep, but for someone like Elgor who was a half giant, it was no problem.

As he fell, all of a sudden his instincts screamed at him that danger was suddenly approaching. But the tightness of the well made it impossible for him to move. Even with just two seconds of falling, it was enough for danger to lurk and take hold of the situation.

Before Elgor could land, all of a sudden, a large vein of muscle with a suspicious looking mouth at its end came from the dark deep ends of the well and struck him near his heart. But wearing his full-plated gold armor, the vein could not pierce through. It only bounced off…but that alone caused Elgor’s fall to be disrupted. Instead of falling straight down, he hit the sides of the well one after the other.

Before long, he landed down in a rather messy way. But despite it, he stood back up unbothered by what just happened.

As for the large vein of muscle that came from the shadows, it was now gone.

“Hmm?” when he crashed down, he noticed that the texture of the ground was oddly off. And without a light, he couldn’t see anything.

“Hey, are you okay?” asked the Apostle as they hear his crash.

“…Its too dark in here. Can someone drop down a torch?” he asked as he had his guard up. Who knows when the vein would attack again.

“No need, we’re both coming down there.” said Orion.

Not before long, they followed behind but this time they were not attacked by the same enemy. So they landed safely.

And using the Apostle’s magic, he conjured a ball of light from his finger. The moment he did, the truth was revealed to them.

“!?”

“What the…” Orion and the Apostle were both surprised, but the only one who remained calm was Elgor.

“As I thought…it had to be it.” he said calmly as he pointed his spear to one direction.

Deep inside the well…was a cave. But instead of it being rock or mud, what they were stepping on currently was…a horrific sight of stretched out flesh.

Flesh stretched out from all the corners of the cave of this well…it didn’t seem natural. And surprisingly, not an ounce of demonic energy was felt.

“I’ve never seen this before. Not even to the works of Demons.” said the Apostle.

“No…it’s worse.” said Elgor as he started walking up front.

“What do you mean?” asked Orion as he followed behind.

“It’s man’s work.” he said.

Without hesitation, he went deeper into the cave. With each step he made, the sound of flesh could be heard in every step he made.

“Why are you so sure that this was done by man?” asked Orion.

“And how could a person create such a thing?” asked the Apostle while providing light along the way.

“I’ve faced a similar incident a few months back.” he said as he kept watching every crevice of the flesh cave.

“Really? What sort of incident?” asked Orion as he wanted to know more. Being a guard hound, he wanted to understand the problem so that he could report it to his superiors.

“An incident that will most likely damage half this kingdom if it isn’t resolved correctly.”

“You have to be more precise. What do you mean by that? Will half the kingdom be affected by this?” asked the Apostle.

“…Follow me, I think I caught the scent of the core of this cave.” said Elgor as he suddenly paces himself forward.

“If this means what you say it means…then its possible that an enemy has infiltrated the kingdom. This is a clear attack…do you know where this kind of ‘thing’ came from? Since you yourself experienced such an event.” asked Orion.

“I only went inside a cave that was similar to this…I didn’t figure out who started it. But…if we act fast, we might have a chance of bringing light to the mystery of this cave.” said Elgor.

“Right….”

***

In her rush to get to the Red Rose Resto, we made it just in time.

When we walked in to the restaurant, the whole place was full of people. It garnered all sorts of characters. From nobles, to warriors, mercenaries….and even common folks who came to eat with their families.

As for Evelyn’s family, they were seated at the second floor of the building, just by the balcony where the view towards the street was amazing.

“I’m sorry we were late. We got distracted by a few things on the way.” said Evelyn.

“Oh, its fine. Your sister and her husband are still on their way. Now come, sit and pick what you like on the menu.” said her mother as she handed us a copy of the menu.

As I sat beside Evelyn, her father began to turn to me with an eager look.

“So, how did you two enjoy the fair?” he asked.

“Oh, we enjoyed ourselves. There were a lot of new items I discovered that were from outside of the country. One of the items was a kind of mask used to cover one’s face to shield themselves from strong blows of dust and the sun. Not only was it light, but it was quite well-made.”

“Did you have any ideas of how that item could possibly be used on our family’s business?”

“Not really. Other than the fact that the mask could be used by the farmers in the village to block off the sun, I couldn’t really find anything else. Most of the items we passed by were already similar to the items used in this country. Although they looked different, they had the same function.”

“I see…very well. What about you Thill, did you find anything that caught your eye?” asked Reginald.

“Oh, not really. I was a little busy watching the surroundings for Evelyn’s safety.”

“Really? Nothing was interesting in the market today? Today is the only day where its possible for you to find something worth more than gold.” said Reginald.

“Dear, instead of looking for something that caught your eye, how about asking yourself what you need? Isn’t that a more effective way of looking for something.” said Emilia.

“Hmm…” on the top of my head, nothing was really necessary…all except for one item that was yet to be made. One of the many that will advance the civilization of this nation.

“Is there something you want Thill?” Asked Reginald.

“Well…Communication has been a bit of a hassle lately in my life. I barely get any news from my brothers at the city, so not a day goes by that I don’t go worry for them. So if possible, I want to find an item that lets me communicate immediately to my brothers without the hassle of waiting.” I said nonchalantly. I knew for a fact what this item was…because in truth, this item will be created and shown to the entire country years from now. During the time of war against the rising threats of the demons.

“…If a communication device like that existed, it would be quite a revolutionary marvel. It would change everything.” said Evelyn as she quickly found the value of such an invention.

“Indeed, we wouldn’t have to worry about waiting for replies from certain clients through the delivery services. It would be quite grand to have such an item.” said Emilia.

“…” but to their reactions, Reginald himself seemed oddly quiet…his expression showed a bit of shock.

As if I said something that made him uneasy.

“…Father?” When Evelyn noticed her father’s face, she called out to him.

“Dear?” And so did Emilia.

“Ah…sorry, I was just taken aback by your thoughts. Truly, such an item would be quite convenient.” he said as he fixed himself.

Just as he spoke, at the same time, Eliana and Escanor came to the restaurant. All of our attention was quickly diverted. But Reginald’s reaction stayed in my mind…

Why did he react as such when the one who made such an item was a mage from a noble family that had no connection to the Ambers at all? It felt like he was hiding something…But thinking deeply about this might only bring trouble, so I subsided such thoughts then and only focused on what was in front me currently.

“Father, Mother…It’s good to see you.” said Eliana as she was still wearing her knightly armor. It showed that she just came from her work in monitoring the city streets in this busy day.

“Thill, Evelyn, it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. How are you two?” Asked Escanor as he walked in wearing nothing but a suit instead of armor. It made me curious where he just came from to look so formal.

With Escanor and Eliana’s visit on their free time. We talked a lot…and mostly the conversation went around our experiences on the parade and the banquet that occurred yesterday.

We also talked about the trouble that came last night with Oswal and the Thief known as Dyna.

It didn’t seem like Escanor and Eliana’s visit would last long, but through the laughs and worries…it felt like it lasted more than it should. But every minute felt great. I feel like I was really a part of the family’s conversation.

After a while, things went loud as for some reason, Reginald and Escanor kept ordering beer for their drinks.

“Ay ay ay! What do you think you’re doing to my daughter?!” said Reginald as he held a cup filled with beer while pointing his other hand to Escanor who was trying to kiss Eliana in front of her parents. It was clear from his red face and large grin that he was as drunk as Reginald. The two didn’t seemed themselves.

“Shut it old man!!! I’m just kissing this lady…this blurry…wobbly looking lady.” he said as from his squinting eyes, he couldn’t make clear of what Eliana looked like.

“Ugh…get off herrrr!!!” he said as he grabs a table knife and points it near Escanor’s red drunk face.

“Fudge off old man…come here lady…mhhhm…you look very much like my wife.” he said as he puckers his lips towards Eliana.

“Get off me you drunk?” she said as she pushes her hand against his chin. She struggled, but not long after, she was able to push him away completely.

“Ow!” said Escanor as he hits his head on the floor.

“Atta girl!” said Reginald as he cheered at the sight.

As the chaos was continuously brewing, I turned to Evelyn who was just watching this scene with a furrowed brow.

“Does this always happen?” I asked.

“Not really…my husband only drinks when he’s trying to ease the headache from working too much. And it only gets worse when father gets involve in the drinking.” said Eliana as she looked very troubled by what was happening.

“Hmm, then we should have expected this to happen?” I asked.

“It’s my fault. I thought he would ease up on the drinking since it didn’t seem like a rough day today. But judging by how much he drank…the meeting must have been very chaotic.” said Eliana.

“Meeting?” asked her Mother.

“Yes…Escanor just came from an important meeting with a guest that was prioritized by the king. Although the details are unknown in what happened inside the meeting, from the looks of my husbands face, its clear that…it was very stressful.” said Eliana.

“Who was this guest?” asked Evelyn.

“Hmmm before that, I have to ask you something. I’m sure you’ve heard of the incident with the Partrus Church yes?” asked Eliana.

“.…The Partrus Church? What happened there?” asked Evelyn as she was clueless of the information…

“I see…word didn’t spread that far. Even to your village.” she said.

“What happened?” I asked as I was more curious of it because of how the Partrus church was gravely involved with a certain incident at the village. If this news is what I think it is…then it is dangerous for me to do nothing.

“…Keep this a secret, but it seems that one of the Apostles of that church was killed…he has been missing for months and no one could find clues as to where his corpse lies.”

“Really? An Apostle was killed from a church? That is big news!” said Evelyn.

Apostles of the Church have a large standing…they are followers of the Divine beings they worship…in other words, they speak directly to those that are far above man’s reach. And not just anyone can be chosen to be an apostle…the title isn’t earned. Instead, it is given by those chosen by the divine beings themselves. And the only reason why anyone would be chosen by them is to spread their influence out to the world.

It’s the same with the Alticrast Church and every other church that was built in this world.

“…Do you know the name of the apostle who was killed?” I asked.

“…Victor Vandell.” said Eliana.

…I was right…

But it has been months since that incident passed, if my assumptions are right, then its possible that they are planning something already. Although they have yet to take action against the village, there is someone else I can lean on to find an answer.

Amelia Daklis.

Its possible that because of her arrival at the village months ago, the village was suddenly attacked by the Partrus Church…but with my intervention, I was able to stop them….I was able to kill Victor Vandell…

And the only two people who knew of that incident is Amelia and Jenny the capstone mage. They are both connected to a certain group that I have yet to identify.

With this problem put in front of me, its possible that the village might be attacked. But to truly understand, I have to visit Amelia.

Luckily, I gained something from her that would help me locate her. Her letter which she gave me last night.

“Victor Vandell? Hmm, its sad to say that I’m not really involve in their religion. They seem to be quite a very private religion…was there a reason for his murder?” asked their mother.

“…No one knows. Sad to say this case has not been solved yet. The intentions, the murderer, or even the place of his disappearance…not a single clue. Even the partrus church themselves have denied helping in solving the issue. They kept to themselves too much for us to even find a single clue.”

“So why are you interested in this if the church doesn’t want you meddling in their affairs?” I asked.

“It’s because of the man…the man who came to meet my husband earlier.”

“The guest?” said Evelyn.

“Yes…and hear this. The guest himself is as much of a mystery as the case of Victor’s death.”

“Who is he?” I asked.

“Sorry, but only Escanor knows the details of this man…although his situation is given to us, we are not given anything about the man. Well, I’m not even sure if this guest is a man in the first place.”

“You said something about his situation, what kind of situation?” asked Evelyn.

“…It’s simple really, he wants us to find the corpse of Victor Vandell. And we can’t deny this request no matter how impossible it is because it was given priority by the king. That’s why my husband has been quite agitated lately, we haven’t made any progress to this request.” she said as she too showed signs of agitation.

His corpse? Why would this man need the corpse of a…..wait a minute. This strange request…it can’t be.

It can’t be a coincidence…it just can’t be.

Only one man has motives with this kind of request…and for him to be close with the king…

So many coincidences…