William stood in front of the front gates of his old home city, which was currently being rebuilt to become one of the first capitals within the region.
But, he couldn't help but be truly amazed and stunned at how they had already managed to build the city's walls and the city gates and already had two city guards placed in front. People were already lining up to pay to enter the city as if these were medieval times or something.
"…I wasn't sure if the Generals would recognize me, so I covered most of my face with rags, but wouldn't it look super suspicious to the guards?"
"…Do I need to sneak around to get in? This is going to be quite hard, but since it's already close to midnight now and I don't want to sleep in the forests…" William said, as he slowly began to step onto the road leading to the city gates.
"…I think I'll try and talk to the guards first, to see if I can make it through without anything unnecessary," William said, "…I might end up dead in the morning if I sleep outside the safety of the city… this is making me nervous…"
William began to walk towards the gates, avoiding the stares of other people who were also planning on staying the night or longer. He didn't yet realise that he had no money, meaning he wouldn't be let in even if the guards didn't mind his face-covering, which was unlikely.
However, this wouldn't be a problem by the time William made it halfway to the gates, as a random nearby hole leading underground that could pass as a pothole had a hand emerge from it, followed by a whole human person.
A few more people followed out from there, and eventually, the ugly scent in the air following their sudden emergence caught William's notice.
"Eugh… What is that horrible smell? It's disgusting but oddly familiar…" William muttered, just before he glanced behind him.
His eyes widened once he caught sight of someone, or rather, two people that he thought he wasn't going to be lucky enough to find on his own until he went out and searched for them.
It was Sarah and Shard, alongside a few more people, like Lady Celine for example.
William paused his walking, and his eyes widened as he realised they had undoubtedly appeared behind him out of nowhere.
"Wha… wait, WHAT?!?"
The exclamation brought the eyes and attention of just everybody heading into the city, and it was then that they recognised the Golden Gatekeeper of the Skies, Sir Arthur, with five of his knights, who had also arrived out of the sewers with Sarah, Shard and Lady Celine.
"Hm… this will be quite bothersome…" Sir Arthur said, wiping the dirt off of his armour's brilliant sheen, "Let's head into the city quickly—"
He glanced at Sarah and saw the eyes that spoke of a delight the likes of which he had rarely ever seen before. And then, he looked at what entranced her and saw William, who revealed his face and was standing there with new clothes and a sword of surprisingly good quality, one that even exceeded his current swordsmanship level.
"Oh… even I didn't expect this… hahaha! What an sudden encounter! This is certainly not the place I would've expected him to show up out of nowhere…" Sir Arthur said, grinning.
"WILLIAMMMMM!" Sarah wailed, pouncing onto him like he hadn't been seen in years.
However, William accepted this emotional embrace with an equal amount of happiness, and despite her just having been through the sewers, he didn't care at all. All he cared about was this single embrace.
"Heh… I knew he'd survive…" Shard murmured, chuckling to himself.
"But, I guess this means he either got extremely lucky and found someone who could help him, or got way stronger in the few days that we didn't see him, or maybe even both…"
"But still, we're just glad to be able to see you again."
…
Meanwhile, deep beneath the ground, Sir Neewhol, followed by two knights belonging to the factions of the Lesser Kings, swiftly walked through the old cellar dungeon, looking for someone.
"Where could he be now?! I told him to stay put, yet the stupid bastard couldn't even do that!" Sir Neewhol muttered angrily.
"If he goes missing, the plan will have to be changed in accordance, and by the time it's executed, we won't be able to knock this city down!"
Sir Neewhol took a glimpse into one of the cellars, and noticed a small hole in the wall, leading somewhere far deeper.
"That fool!"
Without a moment's waste, he and his two knights entered the hole and crawled into a secret passage, leading downwards. And, the first thing they saw was an innumerable amount of shrivelled corpses, alongside a trail of thick blood that seemed almost like a red carpet, leading further into this strange place.
"Knights, stay on guard. We're heading in deeper."
The more they walked deeper, the more shrivelled corpses they could see, scattered everywhere like they were animal carcasses.
"What even is this place…?"
Sir Neewhol halted, as he saw the entrance to a larger cavern straight ahead, and he could see that it had torches within that illuminated the inside.
Guarded by the knights, he stepped forward while also exercising caution, and within the larger cavern, he first saw the horrifying sight of corpses dangling above him, with no blood left to drip.
And then, in front of Sir Neewhol, there was a large metal basin that could fit about 15 adult men, and it was filled with a purplish goop that was identical to the miasma in the Cauldron Master's cauldrons.
"Don't tell me…!"
"Yes… it's exactly what you're thinking. But don't worry, I did all this for a reason." A voice bubbled from underneath the liquid.
"The blood of your knights combined with the miasma quite nicely, and because of that, I was able to "return" much more quickly than I first thought."
"And now, I believe the plan can be completed. Don't you think so too, Neewhol?"
The Cauldron Master lifted both his head and body from the basin and approached the two knights alongside Sir Neewhol, with every step of his making the ground quake.
He had become humongous, and his suddenly long, dark hair, alongside his now-tremendous body and maniacal, star-spangled eyes, made him look like some savage tyrant.
"Who… who are you?! With one single glance around this place, anyone could tell that the information I received about a "once-innocent" Cauldron Master must surely be wrong!"
"Don't worry, I'm still the Cauldron Master. For now, at least. I'll reveal my true identity when the climax of the plan is about to unfold. But for now, keep this quiet, and leave the rest to me." He said, before wearing a bloody, tattered cape over his naked body.
"Also, commence the plan, starting today."
"The plan?! But, the Lesser Kings aren't finished with their talks—"
The Cauldron Master put a finger to his lips.
"The most important pieces of the plan are the descendants of the Bloodclaw dynasty, and me. Understand?"
Sir Neewhol had no choice but to nod.
"Good."
"Now, unleash the "contaminants". By midnight, the power of miasma shall be revealed to everyone in the city by my own hands, and we all shall finally get what we want."