[Early in the Morning]
Kae left the forest and is heading into town.
(Bastion)
Are we letting that brat go away?
Ash answered…
It's not like he's done something wrong.
He's not important right now. (Thonir answered.)
From seeing the physique of that boy, he's a noble. Those red eyes!
Ack... Ahhh, my body...
Ahahahaha.... Having a body pain, I see.
Shut up, you redhead!!
[In the distance, the village folks are slowly descending from the mountain. The village chief is leading them across the forest. ]
(The village chief)
Everyone, beware of your surroundings!!!!
That strange man wearing a cloak saves us.
We must show our sincere gratitude to them.
(Concerned citizen)
Village chief, we must ask them about those strange beasts that appear on the seashore.
Of course I will; they probably know what those things crawling like pests are.
The sun has already risen, and the shore is so peaceful. Strangely enough, a door opened last night. (The village chief thought)
Look, the three of them are there!! (The child said and waved at them.)
Hmmm... Looks like the villagers are here.
[The village extends its greetings and sincere apology to the three of them about what happened last night. The village men are not much help in defeating those beasts and instead become a hindrance to them. He kneeled in front of them, and the villagers also did. ]
Bastion said,
You may rise; you have done nothing wrong, and you have tried to defend yourself. Your bravery deserves a respectable recognition.
[The people have begun rising and have gone back into their own houses.] The village chief offered the three of them a feast for their commendable efforts in protecting the people. ]
Pardon us for our incompetence, but we would like to know your names and about those beasts.
(The three of them look at each other with serious faces.)
Ash answered,
It is not worth knowing our name, but we don't know either about what happened last night.
We can only tell you hypothetically about what those beasts are. The phenomenon that happened last night is new. But can we discuss it later? I'm so hungry. (Bastion said, throwing a tantrum at Ash.)
Ahh… Of course we will.
serve you the best that we can offer.
This way, please.
[On the other hand, Kae is heading to town. ]
What happened last night is extraordinary.
Are those beasts the same that appear on the east coast?
The orca knightage was personally handling it right now.
Did Father know about the further details about the scattered opening of the door?
Strange there hasn't been any single gate opening for the past decade.
The tides are stronger than the imperial family had expected.
I told William I will be arriving at the castle this evening.
I must be on my way; I cannot delay my departure further.
[A child running around town.]
Shouting, "EXTRA, EXTRA, you can read the EXTRA."
[The child bumps into him. ]
Aww. Ha. Ahh. (He looks above him, and he stands again with his feet.)
Mister, would you like to buy extra? It is exclusive news for the town folks!!
Would you like to have one?
(He's looking at the child, thinking)
Give me one.
Here you go, mister. Thank you for buying. (The child then continued roaming into town.)
An extra ?? (Upon reading, his eyes light up.)
The imperial challenge?
What does the emperor planning know ?
This is a mess; sooner or later I will see that bastard.
I really hate his annoying look. I bet this news already reached the nose of the crown prince, that annoying man.
(He boarded at the ship and went back to the Moenglyrn castle of the east.)
[On the village]
So, what do you want to know, village chief?
I would like to know what you think about what happened last night. I know that it is already spreading in the empire. The sudden opening of the doors. The beast and the monster coming out the door carry contamination. It never happened before. Everyone knows that the monster, beast, and contamination are different. They don't align with each other.
Well, you're basically right, since the beast comes out together with its door. With an entire army with them. Monsters, on the other hand, live in the dungeon, particularly a ruined one. While contamination infects living beings. Humans, animals, and lands. Contamination appears on the isolated part or forms in an abandoned land or corpses.
Is it a gate? The village chief questioned
She flinches, and the other two look like they're ready to slaughter anyone. ]
Is there something wrong about what I said?
Who are you?
Put your blades down, Ash.
[The tension in the room is suffocating. The aura of the three of them nearly suffocates the chief. ]
Thonir said,
That's enough, control yourselves...
[The village chief was gasping for air and trying his best to breathe in the situation.] The table nearly broke because of his grips. ]
He answered,
I was one of the knights who survived the fall of the great ruin.
Now I'm certain it is you. The three of you are one of them. The "twelve stars of the dark ruined."
So, you are a retired knight.
Yes, I am.
How did you know about the gate?
I have visited the imperial library once. It was written on a book. It was written in a way that someone will believe that it is just a legend. On my last month of the service as a night. A requested to be able to access the imperial library.
Why?
My late wife died protecting me on the great ruin. (He stopped for a moment and was sentimental.)
During the conquest of the ruined. The changes of the night back then are visible to me even in the dark. It gives us hallucinations. Every desire and deception. We fought until the end. In particular, I noticed the changes in my wife.
She always keeps her diary with her. She draws strange things. Every detail of the unknown creature in the dark. She drew them all. I have asked her once in the ruin. She only answered one thing. "A circle," she begs me to live.
And you kept it to yourself?
Of course, who would believe me?
I have looked at every creatology in this land. Every book, there is no record about them. Those circles are nowhereto be found. So, I have abandoned those ideas that they do exist in the deepest part of this empire.
What makes you confident now?
In the imperial library, I found five books about the gate. It is just a story, but last night those things were the same. The information in that library is not accurate, but it gives a clue about what will happen.
Bastion said,
Can I see your wife's diary?
Of course I am not forcing you. Sooner or later we will find out anyway.
Are you planning to be part of the expedition?
I was long gone to the service. I heard the elites are being summoned by the current emperor.
Yes, he does.
Sigh... This will be hard.
Also, I have something to tell you.
What are you up to now?
We're not carrying any favors, you know.
It is not... (His hands are trembling in nervousness.)
What know ?
[The tension of the room is getting stronger, and the wind is getting colder. ]
Have you found him? (He asked.)
[The air feels like burning; his skin feels their stares at him. It pierces like a dagger; he feels like a hole that cuts to his body. The silence is killing him. ]
Ash's breath is smoking, and he said,
Who are you talking to?
(The chief clasps his hand tightly. His hands are sweating wildly and shaking nonstop.)
He answered,
He left a message for me. I don't know the reason why. I also told him about the reason for a lift in the night. More like he's actually looking for me. He deliberately came for me in this village. He knows about what happened in the great ruin.
What did he tell you?
He said if he doesn't come back for the next two months. I should find you and hand over his message. He was in here three months ago. I started looking for you last month, but I couldn't reach you.
Ha.... So you are the pest that is trying to reach us. I thought he was some kind of obsessive maniac.
Give us the message he left.
[He then handed the letter to Bastion.] ]
What are you going to do next?
Of course, be at the palace to face those nobles in the court.
(Ash stood up and smacked the chief back and said,)
Lighten your mood, old man.
Are you still curious about what those were last night?
Bastion can explain it to you.
[Thonir and Ash crossed their arms and nodded. Then turn and look at Bastion. ]
The two of you are all brawn.
Do you even have brains?
[The two just ignored her and just kept eating like some barbaric animals in the wild.]
Sigh... Fine, I will tell you on my own. These two are useless in times like these.
A month ago we did encounter the same thing while traveling. It is quite the same as what we fought last night but different at the same time. I don't have any particular identification yet. Since, I noticed that it keeps evolving.
The thing that we encountered last time does not have an army like last night.
Also, the black fog that carries contamination is getting thicker. The door last night had a slight formation of a circle around it. For now, what we know is that it does not have any core. That is why it is harder to eliminate them. The core is essential for us humans to identify the severity of such a beast. But the evolution of contamination, the beast, and the monster are getting dangerous by the day. The slow formation of what we call a gate is developing.
For now we identify those things as "Gravemarionette." It is different from the creature on the great ruin. The master of the great ruin that has been conquered was "Tessellarch." That monster was not easy to defeat. It was a monster that controlled the entire ruin. It controls floor tiles, geometric shapes, and shifting angles; it looks different from each direction.
To compare the new type to the old one. We can compare the strength of Gravemarionette from the monster of the seventieth floor of the dark ruin.
(His reactions are clear, and he's gone pale for a moment.)
Please don't mind me and continue.
The appearance of Gravemarionette can be compared to the rotting flesh of a corpse. The bones are harder than what they look like. Probably because of the contamination. Its skin is hard to pierce through. It transforms into a sticky mud with a rotting smell. The combination of the three types makes it more difficult. It has the ability of the beast that can lead an army.
It protects its general, not in the center like what we know. In this case any of them can be the general that leads. The reason is the same: "It does not have any core."
One of the problems is that once the door opens, it closes afterwards. We do not know yet what is inside that developing door. Those things then keep multiplying outside its door. It does not depend on the door. It harnesses strength outside. The danger it brings is that it keeps getting stronger. For now, we do not know what will happen if they develop a core and are left behind.
As for how strange this phenomenon is, it already reaches to the ear of the emperor. That is all I have seen so far. There are a lot of gaps in the information.
It feels like those things are just testing us. Like a hawk watching its prey drop its guard.
I see. Thank you so much for the information you have given us.
But how long would you like to stay in the village?
We will stay for a while; you also have noticed it.
You don't have to ask us; that is the sole reason we are here.