Devourer Card Ate for The Second Time

In the northeast of Burham, there was a village that only a few people knew. A place where criminals and cruel people gathered was not a safe place to visit. There was nothing pleasant there, except for the slums that were neglected and had suffocating air.

Darkwatch, that was how the people there answered the name of the place when asked. In a house at the very edge of the village, there was a small meeting between two people.

A girl who wore an all-black suit, her face covered, only showing a pair of green eyes that looked beautiful. She sat across from a young man with luxurious clothes, who was rarely seen in a slum like that, let alone having a noble emblem on his chest.

"I heard, you have a special ability that is very suitable for assassination. Am I right?"

The girl did not answer, only stared sharply full of hatred at the young man in front of her, whom she suspected as one of the members of Lord Hamond's family, the Landlord of Burham.

The young man smiled slightly. "You don't deny it. That means, the news is true. I have an interesting offer for you, Miss Hilda."

An envelope containing a letter was placed on the table. The envelope looked simple. However, the envelope seemed to tell the girl named Hilda that something bad would or had even happened as soon as she knew its contents.

The paper that contained the message was a rough ivory-colored paper with a dark red border. The neat handwriting indicated that the writer came from a noble family.

"I want you to do something for me. Of course, besides their freedom, I will also give you a fair reward."

The message in the letter did not use many words, but Hilda could not help but tremble with anger at every word written. She knew her job was very risky, especially being in a place like this, but she did not expect the day when all her deeds would come today. Moreover, not only herself who was given a reply.

The reply to her actions involved her family who could disappear at any time if she made the wrong decision.

"Just take the life of someone who is useless in this file," the young man put a few sheets of paper on the table. "You will get a lot of benefits when you succeed. But, if you fail or betray, you will know the consequences."

Perhaps the young man standing before her was merely using words as threats, but the facts written in the letter about her family were something to be reckoned with.

"Give me time-" she began, only to be cut off.

"There is no more time. You must complete it by tomorrow night. Any longer, and all offers will be cancelled along with the task, but you know what will happen to them."

Hilda, her head bowed as she stared at the letter in one hand, her other hand trembling as it clenched tightly on her thigh near her knee, could barely contain her anger. She had suspected that the young man was a member of Lord Hamond's family, specifically Rainautz, his stepson from his current wife. The task given to her seemed easy enough, especially for someone with her extraordinary abilities.

According to the data handed over by Rainautz, Hilda also knew some rumors about a young man named Bertio, who was Lord Hamond's biological son from his late first wife. "You can expect good news from me," she assured him.

However, no task was easy, especially when dealing with nobility. The reason Rainautz had come to her, offering a task without the possibility of refusal, was undoubtedly because the target that needed to be eliminated was difficult for an ordinary person to reach. The target was said to be a useless person, but in a place full of guards, it would still be difficult to eliminate him.

Regrettably, for this task, she could only accept it.

When she returned home a few days ago, there was only a letter guiding her here at a predetermined time. The person who had kidnapped her family was undoubtedly Rainautz, who used her family as a threat to ensure his offer could not be refused.

Hilda was angry, but she could do nothing but accept the situation.

***

Sooner or later, Bertio knew that his quiet sanctuary would inevitably be discovered again by his stepbrother. Thus, he was not surprised when the young man, a year older than him, arrived unannounced, always lifting his chin to look down on him.

"Father? He called for me?"

His father, who was Lord Burham, had married a woman from a noble family of knightly rank who had one child. His stepbrother, named Rainautz, had no blood relation to Bertio whatsoever.

The news brought by Rainautz was more shocking, as it was unusual for a father who never glanced at Bertio to call him late at night. He could not guess why Lord Burham, who never acknowledged his own biological son, called him so suddenly as if something urgent was happening.

Although Bertio wanted to learn something new about the transformation of the Devourer Card into an old book, which was a progress since his innate ability was awakened, he was more curious about the call from his father.

Burham, the domain of a baron named Hamond, was the barony that contributed the most wheat to the kingdom. Its location was in the Southeast of the Empire of Thethamian, which was part of the Hatbury County. Lord Hamond, of course, swore allegiance to Countess Avelina who led this county region.

Upon arriving at the castle, Bertio hurried to the highest floor. Just as he closed the door, the corridor connected to the entrance to Lord Hamond's workspace felt much longer than usual.

"Come in."

A man's voice sounded from behind the door after Bertio knocked softly. He recognized the voice, though he rarely heard it. His hand touched the surface of the door. He strengthened his heart as his hand pushed forward more firmly.

"How are you, Bertio?"

Bertio's steps halted at the unexpected question from Lord Hamond. It was because Lord Hamond was not used to asking about his biological son's well-being, even though he asked without looking at him at all.

This was the first time Bertio heard the question directly, as he usually only heard it from Jordan, Lord Hamond's aide. Bertio himself was not sure whether Jordan really conveyed Lord Hamond's question asking about his condition, or it was just his concern for Bertio. "I'm fine. And, how about Father himself?"

Lord Hamond invited Bertio to sit in the chair in front of his desk.

"Prepare yourself for tomorrow."

"Yes?" Bertio spontaneously responded to Lord Hamond's brief words, which gave orders without explaining his purpose. Just arrived, Bertio was immediately given orders with brief words, moreover, Lord Hamond did not care at all about Bertio's counter-question.

"You will be engaged."

Hearing that, Bertio, who was still calming himself because he was ordered to face Lord Hamond directly, was thrown into chaos again. His words were always brief and straight to the point. As his biological son, Bertio was really not used to Lord Hamond's way of speaking. The father-son relationship was so strained, even like water and oil in the same glass, which could separate as soon as they came out of the container.

"So, try to maintain your physical and mental condition and show your best appearance," Lord Hamond said while observing the clothes worn by Bertio.

"A-aah," Bertio, feeling his tongue dry, while rubbing his neck, spoke with a slight stutter. "Alright."

"That's all. You may go."

As if hypnotized by Lord Hamond's words, Bertio, who had just entered the room, left again after giving his respectful salute.

The castle of a baron could be considered vast. Even Bertio, who had lived here since birth, rarely met with Lord Hamond. The castle was surrounded by a fortress, within which were many buildings, one of them being Bertio's residence located at the far-left end of the castle near the stable.

"This is sudden but bring some suitable clothes for the engagement ceremony to my room," Bertio instructed the servant in his residence.

"I will prepare them immediately, Young Master," the servant replied.

Despite feeling a bit tired, Bertio did not immediately throw himself onto the bed, but merely sat on the edge. While waiting, he took out the Devourer Card in one hand. Usually, the Devourer Card had a random abstract pattern on its frame with a blank background in the middle, but this time the card retained the illustration of an old book as before.

Imagining an old book, light began to envelop the Devourer Card floating above his palm. The card had transformed into an old book identical to the illustration once the light enveloping it disappeared.

"This," Bertio said as he continued to open new pages in the book. "Could it be a notebook? But how? I don't remember ever making a diary or anything like that. Moreover, this notebook is a form of transformation from the Devourer Card. Or could it be…"

Recalling the meteorite that fell towards him when he was in his usual secluded spot, he didn't get hurt at all. The meteorite disappeared when it collided with the Devourer Card. For a rough conclusion, Bertio suspected that the meteorite was an old notebook, and his innate ability had devoured the book. Although his conclusion was illogical, it was the only thing that could be his guess.

To strengthen his guess, Bertio knew what he had to do, his attention immediately turned to a sword leaning in the corner of the room. Bertio walked towards the sword while taking out a different Devourer Card. As he did last time, he threw the card at the sword.

A not-so-loud metallic clang was heard. The card he had just thrown bounced back after colliding with the sword's blade. Bertio felt a little disappointed, but he didn't stop there.

The first attempt failed, nothing special happened.

"Again."

For several attempts afterwards, Bertio still failed to do what he expected. What was wrong? Bertio thought while not stopping to throw the Devourer Card in various styles.

His determination to absorb the sword using the Devourer Card grew stronger. Unconsciously, his determination was channeled into the Devourer Card about to be thrown. As soon as the Devourer Card was thrown, the card knew its target, and light began to radiate from the card and the sword.

The sword disappeared along with the light, leaving a card with an illustration of a sword in the middle.

Bertio, who watched closely how the Devourer Card truly absorbed an object as he suspected, couldn't say anything, other than staring at the card in awe.

The Devourer Card, which had just absorbed a sword, took on all the physical characteristics of the absorbed object. Bertio transformed the card into a sword, then swung it horizontally at the door, causing the door to almost be cut. This proved that both the weight and sharpness were indeed real.

***

At midnight, several large bats soared high in the sky. According to the elders, children were warned not to leave the house when the sun had set, for fear of being taken by the Lady of The Lost Celaser. Even many adults chose not to venture out at night, perhaps the words of their parents had become so ingrained that it instilled a deep fear.

A figure appeared on the rooftop, standing and gazing at the cloudless sky that showcased a crescent moon. "Forgive me," she whispered. Darkness slowly enveloped her body. The figure vanished without a trace. There, she had teleported using her innate ability, which could even penetrate barriers. She could easily infiltrate the castle's fortress. It was for this reason that her family was in danger.

In a room where a targeted individual slept, she materialized in the middle of the room. Bertio was sitting cross-legged on the bed. The figure bore no grudge against him. However, she was forced to do this, or her family would be doomed.

'He's asleep, right?'

After taking a deep breath, the figure gripped the dagger in her hand tighter. She did not intend to linger here. After all, someone had ordered her to do this discreetly. Standing in front of Bertio, the figure swiftly swung her dagger horizontally. At least, Bertio's neck veins would be severed. Of course, besides Bertio not being able to utter a sound from the pain in his neck, his life would also be swiftly taken.

However, a metallic clang was heard. The figure couldn't help but widen her eyes at the unexpected event.