Catastrophe

November 20th, X784 Twinspur Town

Twinspur Town is a small rural town one hundred kilometers south of Mount Hakobe. The town consisted of small stone and wood buildings, dirt trails, and wide, open grassy fields. In the center of the town, was a larger building, the town hall. It towered above the rest of the one story buildings and was a cylindrical dome shape, with three windows on the face of the first floor and four large windows above it on the second story.

A loud rumbling noise echoed through the town as the windows of the town hall shattered. The rumbling continued, with the town hall collapsing to the ground as it created a large cloud of dust. From the cloud of dust, a lone man walked out, behind him being the rubble of the hall.

Several citizens rushed towards the town hall and approached the man. The man was a towering, well built figure, over two meters tall. He had wild spiky dark blond hair that jutted upwards and fair skin. On his squared face, was a large column of stitches that extended from his lower jaw up to his hairline through the right side of his face. He wore a black V neck shirt with the sleeves cut off, revealing his muscular arms, loose plain black pants, and black combat boots. On his left shoulder, was the mark of a black pumpkin insignia.

"W-who are you?!" One of the citizens questioned. "Why are you doing this?!"

The other citizens nervously observed the strange, large man. The large man returned a menacing grin to them.

"Since you're all going to die here, I might as well tell you. I am Franken Billy. Remember this name as the last thing you etch into your skulls." Franken Billy replied as he walked closer to the group of citizens. His already hulking body began to grow larger and larger. By the time he stood in front of the people, his size had increased nearly four fold as he towered over them. He raised his right arm up in the air as the citizens watched in complete silence and shock, unable to move their shaking legs.

Billy's right arm color began to change, turning into a darker hue until it was pitch black with a metallic appearance. A smirk appeared on his face as he swung his fist straight down. A large pillar of dirt and debris kicked up as the shockwave from the punch blew away several nearby buildings.

---

South of the Capital Crocus, at the Magic Council Headquarters, a tall man with long brown hair reaching his shoulders wearing the white robes of the council walked through a long, spacious corridor.

"Captain Frestes!" A voice called out from behind him. He turned around and saw a young councilman approaching him.

"Yes?" Frestes asked. The young councilman bowed his head before continuing to speak.

"Sir, there is a report that came in from a recent patrol. Twinspur Town has been completely destroyed."

Frestes eyes widened at the statement. He regained his composure and cleared his throat before continuing.

"Are there any survivors?" Frestes asked.

"None sir." The young councilman replied. Frestes clenched his fists and turned back around quickly.

"Inform the other custody units! It looks like we need to have another meeting!" Frestes yelled as he hurried back down the corridor.

"Yes sir!" The young councilman said as he ran the other way down the corridor.

---

In less than fifteen minutes, Frestes and Lahar met in the custody enforcement meeting room. The other enforcement Captains did not show up as they were busy with work elsewhere in the country.

"So this is all the manpower we can allocate?" Frestes commented.

"It appears it will just be us." Lahar said. He adjusted his glasses and looked over to the young councilman who was sitting across the table from them that had reported the incident.

"And I believe you were the one who filed that report to Captain Frestes correct?" Lahar asked.

"Yes, Head Captain Lahar. Third Custody Enforcement platoon sergeant Hourd Arvoss reports as ordered!" The councilman said as he stood straight up from his seat, in the position of attention. Lahar gestured for him to sit down before continuing. Hourd sat down as he shuffled through the papers in front of him.

"One of our patrols encountered a heavily wounded young mage. Unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries but he was able to tell us key information about the destruction of Twinspur Town. The town was destroyed by a lone man, who was several times larger than a regular man. He went by the name "Franken Billy." As of now, we currently don't know Franken Billy's reasoning for destroying the town, nor do we know if he is associated with anyone else." Hourd said as he read through the report. He handed over the report to Lahar. Lahar read over it in silence for several moments with a serious look on his face.

"Captain Frestes." Lahar said, breaking the silence.

"Yes Head Captain." Frestes replied.

"Assemble whoever is available in your team to investigate the remains of that town. If needed, I will send those in my squad to assist you if you need more manpower. We need to track down this mage at all costs." Lahar continued.

"Yes sir!" Frestes said as he stood up. He looked at Hourd who also stood up from his seat as the two immediately stormed out of the meeting room. Lahar continued looking at the report, clenching the papers tightly in his hands.

----

Doryu sat on his throne as the doors to his room swung open. Franken Billy walked in, holding a large purple orb in hand, with Aifread right behind him. Upon seeing the orb, a smile formed on Doryu's face.

"Master Doryu, I got the orb." Franken Billy said as he and Aifread walked up to Doryu. Aifread immediately took a knee to the ground as they got close while Franken Billy handed Doryu the orb. Doryu marveled at the orb in his hands as it glowed a faint purple color.

"Excellent. You are dismissed Billy." Doryu said. Franken Billy nodded and turned around, walking out of the room and closing the large doors behind him, leaving only Aifread and Doryu in the room.

"Aifread, report." Doryu said, still looking at the orb.

"Franken Billy may have successfully gained the third orb, however he did so in a reckless manner. His actions have caused the council to start investigating further into us." Aifread said.

"Is that so? Then let them. I will personally retrieve the fourth orb myself and there won't be a single member of the council who can stop me. Once I get that orb, not even those fools that make up the Ten Wizard Saints will stand a chance, nor the other two branches of the Balam Alliance!" Doryu shouted.

---

Frestes and his group of over a dozen councilmen scoured through the debris of what remained of Twinspur Town, looking for clues. Frestes wiped the sweat from his head as he finished lifting a giant piece of stone where the town hall once stood. To his surprise, he found a strange pedestal underneath, lying on the ground. The pedestal was cracked but still in good shape. There was a noticeable groove at the top where it looked like something was being held.

"What is this…" Frestes commented as he examined it closer. He picked the pedestal off the ground. It was about a meter tall and was surprisingly heavy. It was gold colored, yet not made of gold, made out of some strange sturdy alloy instead. Carved into it, were intricate designs, reminiscent of demonic faces. 'This kind of thing...doesn't belong here…'

Frestes dragged the pedestal back to one of the large white tents the councilmen had set up. He placed the pedestal down on the ground next to the large table in the middle of the tent.

Channeling his magic, Frestes placed both hands in front of him. A bright blue square interface showed up. Frestes began tapping through the various screens for half an hour as he skimmed through various reports. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he saw a similar pedestal that was recovered during an incident with a man named "Ogre" several months back.

'Are these guys...related?' Frestes thought to himself. 'I need to inform Lahar about this.'