Chapter 19

They began cleaning the grounds after completing their training. They placed the shattered wooden swords in a dump chamber where broken wooden swords are disposed of.

When the two squadrons are about to part ways, Nash takes Marais' hand in her and apologizes once more.

"I told you everything was fine. I was just stunned, and I wasn't even wounded. I can confirm that you are skilled at throwing daggers."

"If you have free time, send me a letter. Let's go on a date, my treat."

"A date!? But I've never been on one." Marais reddened, embarrassed.

"And so am I,"

They both chuckled.

"Bye! I'll look forward to our date!" Nash and Marais both waved their hands.

Her expression became solemn once she turned away.

That red light's frightening smile expression creeps me out. It's not a red light, but rather a creature.

"Nash!" Aidan called. He told her to come to him, which she did.

"Why?"

"I have something to show you,"

Nash looked at him suspiciously, "What is it?"

When Aidan opened his hand in front of Nash, she saw a dead moth.

"A moth?"

"I got one since there were a lot of them dead on the trees you went on."

Dead moths? Could it be a Moth eating creature? Is there even such a thing?

"Nash! Aidan!" Yjhan yelled. They're already quite a distance away from the two who were enthralled by the dead moth.

Nash and Aidan moved quickly to keep up with the others.

"Can I have it?" Nash asked,

"Sure," Aidan says as he hands Nash the dead moth, "For what purpose?"

Nash shrugged, "Nothing, it just looks cool."

"A dead moth looks cool?"

Nash nodded, "Is it not?"

"You're strange,"

...

The assigned Imperial knights have been gone from the Imperial City for four days. It will take nearly a month to reach the Abandoned Place in the Kingdom of Elisora, but because this is an important raid, the Imperial leaders agreed to use a mana stone with teleportation magic in it. When they arrived at the Grey Town's border, the knight utilized the Teleportation Mana.

"Are there any suspicious things on the ground? Blood, perhaps?" Thed asked, the unit leader of the Knights.

"There were none, sir," A knight answered.

"Sir Thed! A villager said there was a victim from a creature attack!"

Thed was confused, "There was no sign of a creature being present."

'There are no foot marks and scratches...'

"Perhaps it was just a regular animal that attacked the villager?" Ken asked, the right hand of Thed.

...

As soon as they arrived at a village near the

abandoned place, they asked the village folks if what they saw was truly an Orc.

"One of us noticed a swarm of large, unidentifiable creatures. He only saw a silhouette of it because it was late at night."

"Could we meet him?" Thed asked,

The old man shook his head, "After that day, he was no longer here. We don't know whether he left the village or not because his belongings were still at his house."

"How did he tell you what he witnessed that night?"

"He was one of our village's farmers; he was a responsible man who was always the first to visit the fields, but he was not to be found after three days. We went to his house to check on him, but he was gone. We forced our way into his house to see if there was anything amiss inside, and all we found was a piece of paper."

"What did it say?"

"It says he saw a group of large creatures and identified them as Orcs, that he will be gone, and that he told us not to look for him."

//

At midnight on September X, I saw a swarm of Orcs. I noticed their silhouette traveling through the deserted area. Everyone... Be cautious and avoid going to the abandoned place! I may be gone, so don't come find me. Don't worry about me.

//

...

"Sir! A villager came by!" A knight yelled from a distance that Thed could still hear. They went through the knight and came upon the villager.

"How was your search, sir knight?" An old villager asked. He had his hands on his back.

"There were no evidence we could find. We had already explored the entire area, but there were no evidence of any creatures being present." Thed asked the old villager, "How many victims have been attacked by the creatures again?"

"There was only one, his name is Alfred. His right limb was amputated due to the infection made by the creature."

"But sir, how could the creatures be here? At first, there were no creatures lurking around this place. That is also why there are many villagers here, it's because this place is the only safe place away from creatures," a knight stated.

"There's a victim already," Thed whispered. "Search for a magic energy, there might be a host who controlled this creatures by teleporting it here."

"A host?"

"Yes. You are aware that the Forest of Asra is protected by a formidable barrier that nearly no one can breach. Who could have let the creature out? That can only be done by someone powerful."

"And who was that someone?"

"Who knows?"

...

There was no evidence of magic execution, therefore the hunt for a magical energy yielded nothing.

...

"It has been four days, sir. We searched the entire area and found no signs of any creatures." A knight said.

"Let us pay a visit to the victim."

They proceeded to the hospital, where the victim had been admitted. When they saw the victim, they were astounded at how horrible it appeared.

Half of the victim's body was injured, and his right arm was severed.

"Could you briefly describe what you noticed at the abandoned location, Sir Alfred?"

The victim shivered after Ken asked that question.

"Please show respect to the victim! The creature who attacked him severely injured him!" The victim's family yelled.

"We apologize for the inconvenience, but we require additional information regarding the entity seen by the victim. To be honest, there were no indicators of creatures active at the abandoned location, only traces of your blood."

"So you're saying I'm insane?" Alfred continued to shiver and break out in cold sweats.

"No. What I mean is that it could be a wild animal rather than a creature."

"No! I told you it was a creature! It was tall and with horns. It smells bad."

"It must be an Orc," Thed speculated.

"It's not one. I'm sure of it. It's a slim creature, not a fat one. It had razor-sharp teeth."

"Could you elaborate? There are many creatures like that," Ken inquired. He began taking notes on the information he had obtained from the victim.

"It was extremely dark in there, and the only light I had was from the moon. It was a full moon at the time, but the moonlight couldn't reach the land because of the tall trees."

"Why were you there in the first place?"

"I heard there were medicinal herbs growing there, so I went to acquire one for my son, who has a skin infection."

Thed brows furrowed. "Someone? Do you know that someone?"

"No. I just heard it when I was passing by at Siam Town."

"Do you know his face or anything that might help you identify him?"

"She's a lady. That's all I know because she's dressed in a robe and her head is hidden." Thed gave a nod. "That's all I could remember."

"Thank you for your participation,"

"Wait!" The knights turned back to face Alfred once more.

"I forgot to mention that the creature absorbed my mana," Alfred shivered.

"What do you mean?" Thed asked. "What is your magic ability?"

"I'm a dark illusionist,"

"I see. Thank you. If you recall anything else, write it down and send it directly to the Imperial Palace."

The knight walks out of Alfred's home. "We should return to the Imperial City and report on what occurred."

"Is it a fail then?" Thed shook his head.

"No, it isn't. We gathered information from the victim, and in the four days we were here, there was no evidence of creatures or even wild animals in the abandoned location."

"It has to be a forewarning." Ken muttered. "Let us return and report to the emperor."

They gather in a circle and break the mana stone. They teleported to the border of Greytown and hurriedly returned to the Imperial Palace.

'A dark illusionist?'

Thed kept gluing the information he had obtained,

'Dark Illusionist, creature, his mana was taken, tall creature with horns and sharp teeth...'

'Could it possibly be... no way!'

"Let's hurry!"

They rushed through the Imperial Palace to report what he thought was the answer.