Chapter 183: Destruction of the Fortress I

Outside the party’s room...

Three hooded figures approached the door with light footsteps.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, the leader told me that we should abduct Larkson’s niece as he pays him a visit."

"I don’t know... I have a bad feeling about this."

"They’re just kids. What could happen?"

"You’re right, they must’ve hired some adventurers to reach the fortress."

...

The hooded figures conversed amongst themselves.

"Anyway, won’t it be better if we’re able to abduct that cursed child?"

"Yes, we can even gain contribution points from the cult."

SHUIKKK—!!!

At this moment, a long steel sword suddenly pierced through the wooden door, stabbing the hooded figure who had his back against it.

Blood splattered, much to the shock of the other hooded figures.

Creak—!!

The door opened as a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes exited the room.

"I’m sorry, ya’ll were taking too much time chit-chatting, so I got a little bit impatient and..."

Killian’s voice echoed in the hallway as he took his longsword back.

"You brat!"

One of the hooded figures suddenly dashed while brandishing his shortsword, while the other threw daggers from the rear.

Two Red Stars that were corrupted with demonic power shone on his ches,t while the other hooded figure only had a single six-pointed tainted red star.

"So lively, I like it." Killian smiled as sparks of electricity surrounded him.

Seeing the sword that was coming for his neck, he slightly tilted his body, letting it brush past him.

Then, in one smooth motion, he used his free hand in order to redirect that hand of his opponent and struck the side of his body with his knee.

Whoosh— Whoosh— Whoosh—

Three daggers that had a peculiar sheen flew towards his head.

Killian tilted his head twice to avoid the first two daggers while brandishing his sword, thereby redirecting the last dagger towards the neck of his kneeling opponent.

"Fuck!"

The last hooded figure threw a poisonous smoke bomb that instantly filled the hallway.

[Shadow Veil]

As a chant left the hooded figure’s lips, a shadow covered his body, which allowed him to become translucent and hide in the shadows.

"You fucking brat! Just you wait, I’ll get reinforceme—"

"As if I’ll let you do that." Killian’s piercing blue eyes emitted faint lightning as he thrust his sword to the ground with both his hands.

"This enclosed space is perfect for this aura-draining aura art..."

[Lightning Discharge]

BZZZZT—-!!!!!

***

Meanwhile, inside the room...

"Will Killian be fine?" Aurelia asked Pandora with a worried expression.

Pandora, who was looking out the window with her staff, nodded, "He’ll be fine. He’s not as weak as he looks."

At this moment, a loud sound permeated throughout the inn.

BZZZZZTTTTTT!!!!!!!!

This prompted the two young women to look at the door.

Yellow light spilled through the cracks of the door, flooding the once dim hallway with the illusion of a storm of lightning.

After a few seconds, the door opened.

Under the two’s gazes, Killian entered the room with a relatively calm expression.

He was dragging a hooded figure who was missing a leg and an arm behind him, "It’s just as we sensed. There were three of them, so I killed two and kept one alive for interrogation."

"You look tired." Pandora replied with a deadpan voice.

"I’m not." Killian did not bat an eye as he tossed the hooded figure on the ground, "Now, let’s see what this little bitch has in store for us."

"Heh, I won’t tell you anythi—"

THWACK!!!

The hooded figure could not finish his sentence as his jaw was struck by the sword’s handle.

"You’re rally pissing me off. You dare throw poison when there could have been many casualties."

THWACK!!! THWACK!!!

"You even forced me to waste my aura just to clear that poisonous smoke..."

THWACK— THWACK— THWACK—!!!

"You selfish piece of shit who only thinks about himself!!"

The sound of Killian’s weapon handle smashing against the jaw of the groaning hooded figure echoed through the room.

Aurelia hid behind Pandora, who was watching the scene with an expressionless face, "I thought he was going to interrogate him..."

"That man must have pissed Killian off to react like that..." Amusement could be seen in her ruby red eyes as she responded.

A few minutes passed before Killian began asking questions.

"Oh? He’s dead already." Killian spat on the hooded figure’s corpse as he walked towards Pandora and Aurelia.

"You two heard what he said, right?"

Pandora nodded while Aurelia bit her lips, ’I guess there are still sides of them that I don’t know...’

While Killian mercilessly interrogated the hooded figure, they were able to discover a few things.

First, almost everyone in the fortress had become a demonic human.

Second, they refer to Aurelia as the cursed child.

Third was that tonight was a special night.

"I didn’t expect a demonic human to be too tight-lipped until the end. He must’ve been under some curse of sorts..."

As Killian spoke, he noticed Aurelia’s uncomfortable expression and smiled, "Don’t worry about what that piece of shit called you. He’s just trying to confuse us."

"Mhm." Aurelia nodded, but still thought otherwise.

At this moment, mist seeped through the crevices of the door and window; instantly filling the room.

(Do you hear me?)

Regis’s voice sounded inside the three’s minds.

Killian concentrated, (Boss! We had just been attacked by three demonic humans.)

(Did you gain information from them?)

(Yes. We discovered that two things: demonic humans run rampant in the fortress and that this night is supposed to be special.)

(Is that all?)

(Ye—)

(Wait!)

Before Killian could respond, Aurelia’s voice interrupted him, (Regis, they also called me a cursed child. I don’t know what it means, but I think you should know.

(I told you that they must have said that to confuse us.) Killian looked at Aurelia with a wry smile.

However, Regis’s voice sounded once again, (Is that so... then everything makes sense now.)

Pandora, Killian, and Aurelia glanced at each other at his words.

But before they could speak, Regis’s voice rang again, (Listen, something happened. I need you all to make your way to the Command Hall and meet with Commander Larkson. I can’t keep up this magic spell for long because of our distance, so please contact me once you meet with the commander, Pandora.)

(I understand, Brother.)

The mist soon dissipated.

Without asking why, the three of them immediately ran out the room.

The hallway was empty, but as they descended the stairs to the lobby, they saw guards blocking the door while speaking with the old innkeeper.

Noticing them, one of the guards shouted, "Hey, kids! Are you planning to play outside? I’m sorry but it’s dangerous because of the monsters roaming the fortress."

One of the guards whispered to his colleague, "I think they’re the ones that the leader told us about."

"Is that so? Then we should keep them here just in case..."

However, before the guards could call out to the three children, the old innkeeper glanced at them and said with a joyful voice, "Oh, Killian! Do you want me to teach you the recipe of my special burgers?"

"Old Bart, what are yo—"

"Didn’t you tell me earlier that you wanted to learn my secret recipe? Come, I’ll show you now."

The innkeeper, Old Bart, put his arm around Killian’s shoulder and waved farewell to the guards, "I must excuse myself, fellas. I gotta teach this little kid a thing or two. I’ll be back in a minute."

Killian had an unsure expression on his face, but chose to follow along.

Pandora and Aurelia also followed them.

He was confused since he had only shared a casual conversation earlier with the innkeeper.

Killian only praised his burgers and nothing more, aside from a few small talks, not once did he mention wanting to learn about anything.

However, as Old Bart led them towards the bar where the entrance to the kitchen was, they suddenly noticed something.

The burly customers who had been eating happily without a care in the world had now fallen silent.

Countless gazes were directed toward the group as one of the guards walked towards them, "Hey, Old Bart. Sorry, but your study session will have to wait. The commander told us to come pick up those kids."

"Commander my ass."

"What?"

At this moment, Killian heard Old Bart’s whisper, "There’s a backdoor in the kitchen."

"Hey, Old Bart. Are you really ignoring us right no—"

THUD— CLUNK!!!!

The guard’s metal helmet caved in as Old Bart punched with all his might, "You fucking demonic humans, this is our home! You can’t just step in here without our permission!!"

"Go!!!"

Hearing the innkeeper’s shout, Killian instantly dashed towards the kitchen, followed by Pandora, who was holding Aurelia’s wrist.

The burly customers suddenly stood up and ran towards the group.

"Should we kill them?" Pandora asked, her face without a hint of urgency.

Killian gritted his teeth, hesitation filling his face.

At this moment, Old Bart’s voice sounded once again, "Don’t waste your energy here! Go to the Commander!!"

Two six-pointed stars shone on his chest as his loose clothing was shredded by the guard’s weapons, revealing his large muscles.

The guards were all at the Two Star Realm on the path of aura.

However, a hint of black could be seen at the center of their stars.

"Go!"

Old Bart shouted again as he held one of the guards’ legs and slammed him towards the others.

Seeing the innkeeper doing his best to hold back the guards, who numbered more than a dozen, Killian no longer hesitated.

"Going to the Command Hall is our priority."