Arc 3 Chapter 7 : Cold Night

[Raul PoV]

We returned to the village in the evening after rescuing the villagers abducted by the slave traders.

Of the 17 victims, only two were actually from this village. The rest came from the Duchy of Grenaut and the Duchy of Hernant.

Still, even though there were undoubtedly more missing villagers out there, we couldn't push the operation further, since everyone else was exhausted, and it would be far too risky to continue at night, given the looming threat of the demon group in this region.

After resting briefly in the village, we made our way back to Cataluna Fortress City to report our activities.

I glanced at everyone who'd joined this patrol — they all looked exhausted, quietly saying nothing during the trip back.

Several of them had just experienced killing someone for the first time. Even Tianna's earlier hesitation had gotten Vista injured, nearly costing him his life.

They needed to get more accustomed to being soldiers, because going forward, we'd surely face situations far harder than today's fight.

As for Ariel... I figured this was a good start for her. I needed to keep forging her further, so she'd be ready when the time came.

We finally arrived back at Cataluna Fortress City as evening set in. The other members headed straight for the barracks to clean up and rest, while I needed to meet with Emilia to deliver our activity report.

Arriving at the Cataluna family castle, I asked the castle guard if I could see Emilia. He told me to wait a moment while he informed her of my arrival.

Before long, the guard returned and told me Emilia was waiting for me in her office.

I then walked into the castle, escorted by the guard.

"Did you just finish a patrol?" the guard asked.

"That's right," I answered him. "This was our first mission, so the rest of my group's a bit tense and nervous."

"You're lucky to have made it back — the patrol team sent to another village still hasn't returned," the guard said, his expression grim. "I hope they're just delayed over something minor, and not because they were ambushed by a group of bandits or monsters."

Hearing the guard's words, I couldn't help but think this disaster had already begun. I needed to discuss this with Emilia right away, so she could relay it directly to Marquis Fran and prepare for the chaos about to unfold.

Before long, we arrived outside Emilia's office, and the guard knocked on the door.

"Come in."

A woman's voice answered from inside, and the guard nodded at me, signaling I should go in.

I opened the door and saw a brown-haired woman with shoulder-length hair, about to take her seat at her desk.

"Senior Emilia, I'd like to report the results of our patrol," I said, standing at perfect attention.

"Sit down first."

I complied and took a seat across from Emilia's desk.

Plenty of documents covered her desk — it seemed she'd spent the entire day buried in administrative work.

"So, how did your patrol go?" Emilia asked, crossing her arms.

I told her about the missing residents from Virahon Village, the capture of the slave traders, and the villagers still unaccounted for.

I then handed her a letter stamped with the village head's seal, serving as proof of our written report from carrying out this activity.

"Good work on your first mission," Senior Emilia said, after reading our written report. "You can head back to the barracks and rest now."

Still, I didn't rise from my seat after hearing Emilia's dismissal. She looked at me and furrowed her brow, seeing I remained in her office.

"What is it? Is there something else you need to report?" Senior Emilia asked.

"What's your view on the current state of the Margraviate of Cataluna, Senior?" I asked her, wanting to gauge her opinion on the current situation.

"It's true this is the worst it's been in the last five years," Emilia answered, letting out a sigh. "Still, every soldier and citizen of Cataluna has always been strong, and I'm certain we'll pull through this security crisis."

"What would you say if demons were the cause of this recent security crisis?" I asked her again.

"On what basis are you asking me that? Have you found evidence of their presence here?" Emilia asked back, her expression turning serious.

I couldn't tell her I knew this region's future was about to descend into chaos because of certain demons. That would only land me in far bigger trouble later.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from NovelPhoenix. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Besides, my knowledge of this world's future storyline had already grown fairly muddled, given how much I'd changed the course of events through my own actions in the past.

"Villagers vanishing without leaving any trace at all," I answered, trying to persuade her. "I don't believe this is the work of humans or monsters, based on the investigation at the scene."

"Your argument isn't very convincing," Emilia said, responding to my explanation. "Without concrete evidence, I can't relay this to Father to prompt action."

I already knew my argument was weak... but hey, at least I'd tried to convince her of this.

"But it'll be far too late if we have to wait for proof, won't it? We need to evacuate the villagers to this Fortress City as soon as possible, before more casualties occur."

"We need to be careful about this. Carrying out an evacuation will cause panic and disrupt daily life across this region," Emilia countered my argument. "We don't want the villagers living in fear and terror. That's why we intend to resolve this matter quickly, without involving the villagers at all."

Hearing this, it was now my turn to furrow my brow.

"Are you confident the raid on that monster nest you've found will actually put a stop to these recent disappearances?" I asked her. "I've already told you, this isn't the work of a monster."

"This decision has already been made by Father and several of his advisors. They've concluded that the security issues occurring here are the result of a monster establishing a nest in this territory."

Just as I'd suspected — no matter how I tried to convince her, Emilia wouldn't listen to me without solid evidence.

I needed to bring back an eyewitness and hunt down these demons myself, to convince them these demons truly existed.

[??? PoV]

The night wind blew harder and harder, making my body, dressed only in thin clothing, shiver from the cold.

Right now, I and three other villagers were patrolling the outskirts of the village, given the recent cases of missing residents.

The trained soldiers from headquarters only came here during daylight hours, saying they couldn't yet spare troops to guard this village, since they'd be raiding a monster nest the next day.

"Did you hear what happened at Jeff's house this morning?" my companion, Tino, asked.

"I only heard that he and his family were killed, that's it," I answered him. "Do you have more details?"

"My younger brother was part of the first patrol team that discovered that horrifying scene," Tino answered, his expression fearful. "He said there were blood splatters everywhere in the house, but they couldn't find Jeff's or his family's bodies at all."

"So, does that mean a monster really was behind our villagers disappearing?" I asked him.

"I don't know — there weren't any monster tracks around Jeff's home at all," Tino answered, dismissing my question. "But there was a human footprint there."

Huh, human? Could a robber have killed them? But Jeff and his family were known to be extremely poor in our village. There's no way a robber would target his house.

I'd also heard these disappearances weren't just happening in our village, but in others too. There'd been recent word that a patrol team caught a group of slave traders near Virahon Village.

Could all of this be their doing?

After patrolling for a while longer, we came across a villager's house with no lantern lit at all, leaving it completely dark, as though no one currently lived there.

"Hey, want to check that house?" I asked the others.

"Do you know who lives there?" a man named Devon asked, sounding hesitant.

"Ughhh... if I remember right, that's Giorno the carpenter and his daughter, Heidi, isn't it?" I answered, recalling the middle-aged man and his small daughter.

"Let's check the house, make sure nothing's happened to the carpenter," Devon said, stepping ahead toward the dark house.

The three of us then followed behind him.

Arriving there, we called out for Giorno from outside the house. Tino was peering through the window into the house.

"He's not answering. I think he's not home," I told the other three.

But Devon ignored my words and opened the door to Giorno the carpenter's house.

"Hey, Revin. Come inside with me," Devon said. "Tino and Bastian, stay outside and keep watch."

I complied, following Devon into the house, carrying a lantern to see through the darkness.

—Ciiitt... ciittt... ciittt...

The unsettling creak of wood echoed as my feet stepped across the floor.

We checked the living room, the kitchen, and the middle room. But we found nothing at all here. Only one room remained, apparently locked.

"Revin, let's break down this door," Devon said, his expression serious.

"Huh? Do we really need to go that far? If Giorno and his daughter really are just out of the village, they'll be furious with us!" I said, trying to talk him out of doing something so reckless.

But he ignored my words again and started kicking the door hard.

"Hey, help me out here," Devon said.

I sighed, resigned to Devon's stubborn insistence.

We both began ramming the door together. Before long, it burst open, revealing a dark, empty room with no sign of life at all.

"Told you so, didn't I? They're probably out of the village, aren't they? Now who's going to take responsibility for this damage?" I said, irritated at my stubborn companion.

Devon simply stayed silent, ignoring me as usual.

We then decided to head back outside to rejoin Tino and Bastian. But suddenly, my foot caught on something, sending me sprawling onto the wooden floor.

"Hey, you alright? Watch your step better," Devon said, helping me up.

"I think my foot hit something," I muttered, shining my lantern onto the wooden floor.

There was a door handle set into the floor. It seemed to lead down to this house's basement.

Devon and I exchanged a look, then nodded. We pulled the handle together and opened it.

A staircase led down below. We descended and found a fairly large room down there.

"...!"

"...!"

We were both shocked at what our eyes saw in this place.

There lay one man's and one woman's corpse, completely desiccated, leaving nothing but bones and skin.

We stepped closer to examine them.

"There's no mistaking it — these are the bodies of Giorno and his daughter, Heidi," I muttered.

"What could kill someone and leave them this dried out?" Devon asked.

I had no idea...

"Aaaghhhh!"

"Wh-what is that! Nooo! Help!"

Suddenly, we heard Tino's and Bastian's screams from outside. But their prolonged screams gradually grew fainter, as though moving further away from here.

My heart pounded harder and harder in this situation. Devon's face was covered in sweat — he seemed just as unsettled as I was.

—Tap... tap... tap...

We heard footsteps entering the house.

Devon and I readied ourselves and slowly drew our swords.

I held my breath...

My body trembled slightly, a sudden cold piercing through my entire body.

But the footsteps suddenly retreated, growing distant, then vanishing.

After waiting several minutes, Devon and I exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.

We climbed back up the stairs and left the house.

Devon and I sprinted with everything we had toward the village center to report this incident. But after running for a while, I no longer heard Devon's footsteps behind me at all.

I turned and spun around, but found no trace of him anywhere.

"Where is he...? Why did he suddenly disappear?"

—Tap... tap... tap...

I heard footsteps from behind.

Turning around, I saw a pale-skinned woman smiling widely at me. Her mouth was covered in blood, her teeth sharp, and her eyes glowed bright red.

"Va-vamp—"

Before I could finish my words, my vision suddenly began spinning through the air. Before long, I could see my own body lying on the ground, headless, drenched in blood.