Missed One

     The Guild stood tall, its wooden exterior weathered by time. Lanterns on either side of the entrance illuminated the stone steps leading up to the Guild's double door. Above the entrance, an iron sign swung gently in the breeze, displaying the emblem of the Guild – a crossed sword and a bow.

Esvor paused and pulled his hood up to hide his identity.

"People might recognize me there. I'll stay back," he said. "You guys pick a quest for us."

"Of course, King," Ayame responded. "Come on, Soul."

The guild hall greeted them with soft lighting, revealing a spacious room with wooden beams. Tables and chairs were neatly arranged, giving a cozy atmosphere for adventurers. Despite the late hour, a few adventurers lingered, engaged in quiet conversation.

At the far end of the hall, a woman stood behind a counter with parchments and maps. Beside her, rows of boards displayed quests categorized from F to A, indicating their varying levels of difficulty for adventurers to select.

Ayame nodded as he walked up to the counter. "Evening."

"Evening," replied the woman behind the counter. "How may I assist you, students?"

"You knew we were students?" Ayame asked.

"Of course. Now, what kind of mission are you looking for?"

"A-rank," Ayame interjected.

"A-rank?" Soul glanced at her. "We shouldn't take anything above C."

Ayame ignored Soul's objection. "We'll take A. What do you have, ma'am?"

"Your friend is correct. I can't assign you an A-rank mission. It'd be too dangerous."

"You didn't recognize my 'friend' here?" Ayame's words stung him like a needle. "He's the one who fought against Marcy. He even won the Family Match!"

"Oh," the woman adjusted her glasses and appraised Soul. "You really are that silver-haired boy... okay. Let's go with a B-rank. How does that sound?"

"Great, ma'am. What do you have?" asked Ayame.

"This quest was posted by a man named Leon. Bandits have been plaguing Quarry, terrorizing its inhabitants for refusing to surrender Lindworm scales. Your task is to eliminate them, whether dead or alive. The reward is fifty gold coins."

"Quarry?" Ayame asked.

"The little settlement just outside Redhaven. Here, see it on the map." The woman cast an air spell, causing a map to hover above the counter. "This is where Quarry is. Through that exit, go east a bit and you'll see."

"I know the place," Soul affirmed. "I can take us there."

"Here's the paper," the woman said, plucking the parchment labeled 'Help Wanted: Bandits!' from the board and handing it to Ayame. As soon as Ayame took the paper, it burst into flames. The parchment disintegrated into ashes that formed into a pen, its form solid and real-looking as it fell onto the counter.

The woman handed a book labeled 'Records' to Ayame, who then took the pen and signed her name on an empty page.

"Good luck. When you're finished, return here. If you attempt to deceive us by faking the quest, you'll face a lifetime ban."

'Why did we even accept a B-level quest? We should've stuck to C and below…' Soul thought to himself as they exited the Guild building.

Esvor, casually tapping out a melody with the hilt of his sword, turned to them. "Got the quest?"

"Yes, King." Ayame answered. "We're going to stop some bandits harassing people. It was given by a man named Leon."

"Leon? Leon..." Esvor's gaze drifted downward, lost in thought for a moment. "I think I know the man. Is the quest in Quarry?"

"Yes, how did you guess?" Ayame wondered.

"I met him there. But why are these bandits targeting Quarry?" the Rebel-King questioned.

"Apparently, they didn't give the bandits the Lindworm scales and now they want revenge. Quite a typical bandit grudge, I suppose," Ayame explained.

As snow began to drift lazily from the sky, a group of homeless children gathered in a corner of the street. Their faces lit up with joy as they watched the white flakes fall to the ground. Laughter filled the street as they reached out to catch the snowflakes in their hands, their worries momentarily forgotten in the magic of the moment. 

"Ah, to be kids again." Esvor said with a sarcastic voice. "I feel old."

"Aren't you only two years older than us, King?" Ayame teased. "I'm sure you still have some years left."

Esvor chuckled in response. "Hah – I hope so."

'Why am I here? I should be with Ruby, not with these idiots…',

They began walking slowly to the northern exit. Ayame and Esvor walked side by side, engaged in conversation as they strolled along. Meanwhile, Soul trailed behind, hands buried in his coat pockets, his expression devoid of any emotion.

     "We're here." Esvor pointed toward the silent village ahead of them. "Everyone seems to be asleep, though."

"Are these – ships? They're using ships as their homes?"

"Yes. The waters in these parts withdrew so rapidly in the past that the ships in the seas were stranded here."

Soul's hand involuntarily went to his knife. Something was wrong, he could feel it. There was a sharp scent of blood in the air -- but he couldn't quite pinpoint where it was coming from.

"Let's not wake up the people," Esvor suggested, pointing to an empty ship house with its doors open. "We can spend the night there."

They entered the dark ship house, unable to see anything, and walked by feeling along the walls. Ayame used a small fire spell, casting a soft light just enough to illuminate their surroundings. After a minute of walking, they found a room with three beds.

Ayame ended her spell, slowly getting comfortable in one of the beds. Esvor leaned his sword against the wall and lay down too. But Soul stood still, sensing something was wrong.

"Ayame, we need light." Soul said with a boring voice. 

"Yeah – it smells weird. Like it smells…" Esvor sniffed the air. "Like blood?"

This time, Ayame used a larger fire spell on her palm, illuminating the entire room. The sight that greeted them was horrifying: the walls were painted dark red, human organs scattered everywhere. In the corner, three dead bodies lay, their blood drained completely. 

Ayame and Esvor gasped, eyes wide in shock. They quickly got to their feet, readying themselves for whatever danger might be lurking. Soul, with his half-open eyes, looked at the grim scene.

"Oi, Soul!" a man said outside. "You done yet, you whore?"

"Yes." replied a woman far away. "I'm done."

"Did ya kill that elf?"

"Y-ye –" The woman gritted her teeth as if lying to him was impossible. "No."

"You bitch…"

"What?" Ayame was confused. "Is she – wait, what's going on? Another Soul?"

"End the fire spell. They'll see us." Esvor whispered. "Be quiet."

Ayame did as Esvor instructed. Then, they both approached the window and peered through it. There, they saw a silver-haired woman with sad and dead-looking eyes, chains on her wrists and neck, using blood magic to drain one of the corpses.

"Shit, what –" Esvor's eyes widened in shock. "Fuck! That woman is a blood mage."

'Just as I thought…'

"We need to teleport," Ayame said in a panic. "Right now. Come closer, Soul."

"Okay."

"We should fight –" Esvor hesitated to continue his sentence. He knew he couldn't endanger the lives of two students. "No, you're right. Let's teleport away."

Ayame closed her eyes and began the teleportation spell. A perfect circle with runic writings appeared on the ground, and after a few seconds, a strong light shone from it. The two of them vanished, teleported to the destination Ayame chose. Soul, however, knowingly resisted the spell and stayed behind.

He used his own blood to create the same mask and full body armor he had worn when he faced The Topple. After he was ready, he exited the ship house.

In front of him, at least twenty people stood, all wearing the kingdom's armor. Their weapons were spears and shortswords, with some of them using square shields. Those weren't some ordinary bandits.

"What do we have here," a man said, walking toward him. "Looks like we missed one, boys!"

"Hmm." Soul stepped out of the darkness, revealing himself. "Looks like you did, boys."