"Then, I'll take my leave."
"W-wait a minute!"
Villia walks toward the exit, ready to leave and complete her quest. But before she can reach the exit, Galvrance started to frantically ask her to stop which in turn make her stop and look at him again.
"I'm sorry, but I need to leave as soon as I can to kill the mastermind before he escaped. If it's about your freedom, you don't need to worry as I'll talk with the warden before I leave."
"No…it's not that but…Miss…you haven't told me your name yet."
Villia pause for a moment after she heard his question. Realization soon comes to her that she hasn't told him her name even though she has said to mention her name to her when she's a nun!
It can't be helped. Many matters preoccupy Villia line of thoughts, that's why she forget something like mentioning her names, mainly because it's useless, as she would accept him in her nun form if he chooses the first choice.
That's all under the presumption that he chooses the first choice. But... if he didn't select the first choice, then…
Cold glints appear on Villia eyes for a brief moment and disappear as if it never exist in the first place. Luckily, Galvrance didn't notice the cold gaze that's able to easily decide his fate if he chooses the wrong choices.
"Enmi."
Villia left immediately after telling him her alias. Staying here any further would be bad as it would influence Galvrance choice. Galvrance fate can be said sealed in stone the moment Villia notice his skill. That's why, even if Galvrance chooses the second choice, that choice will only make her spend some more effort to recruit him.
Not long after Villia leaves that place, a group of guards with the warden in front promptly stop after seeing Villia. The warden sigh in relief after seeing nothing major has happened and immediately greet Villia.
"I'm sorry for the late arrival Miss Enmi, we fear for the worst after hearing that shriek, but it seems that our fear is unfounded. Can you briefly tell us what had happened?"
The warden profusely apologizes to Villia. Hearing that shriek, the warden immediately ask the other guards to tell the other guards who are idle right now to gather, as if the worst scenario where Villia got defeated by someone, then they the guards who are noticeably weaker than her can only group up to fight it.
It's good that the worst scenario didn't happen… the warden took his handkerchief and swept his sweat again while getting the information from Enmi.
The warden who is sweating before, turn serious for a while, but in the end, sweats flow like a waterfall and turned his once dry handkerchief wet again after he heard her full reports.
All members of Shadow Fishes has turned into a zombie at some points except for Galvrance!? And all of them have Soulless Parasitic Worms inside them?
The warden didn't know what sort of worm it is at first, Even so, his expression turned grave as soon as he heard her explanations.
A parasitic worm that can control someone body if a soul inserted on them or their queen orders them to do so!? Putting souls into the queen and command those without souls, Worse is that, there may be some guards who have turned into a home for these worms!
The warden sweats flow like a waterfall. He didn't want to believe this information, but some pondering gives the warden the answer.
Why is Galvrance the only one with sanity? It's because they need a sane person to control the other! That's also why, inside Galvrance body, exists the Queen of Soulless Parasitic Worm that can command all of the other Soulless Parasitic Worms.
Why did Shadow Fishes that are known to be uncatchable easily captured this times around? Is it because the guards have seriously patrolled the city and found their steps? Is it because the adventurers who caught them are both strong and smart? No!
It's because they want to get caught!
In this dark prison, with only torches as the sources of light, the Soulless Parasitic Worms can easily move without getting noticed, and before long…getting inside of the prison guards and the prisoner's body and the end result is where everyone in Plague Prison got controlled by them!
After they finished talking, Villia throws needles to some of the guards, and soon, black worms got extracted from the other guards that even made the warden fearful as there's already a victim amongst them!
If one were to say that the warden has only partly believed Villia words before. Seeing these worms make him believes her as even he wouldn't be able to see those worms in this dark prison if he didn't know its location.
Villia finished her business at the prison as fast as she can and even got the warden promise that they will release Galvrance and also let him return home with horses after hearing her request.
All the prison guards learned from Villia that Galvrance is just an innocent victim. Villia can't bear to have him stay on the prison and get executed just because his body got controlled. That's also why she offered them gold to bail out Galvrance.
They might accept the money if it's someone else, but accepting money from their benefactors would be frowned at by their God! That's also why the warden refuses her money and promise that Galvrance will return safe and sound.
'My business here's done…'
Villia looks at the sun that's about to rise to her heads after she got out of Plague Prison. It's going to become afternoon soon. If her prediction is right, the one who controls the Queen worms isn't the real masterminds, but someone else...and if she's right then, that mastermind will try to run as soon as he can after he notices the worm controller condition.
「Telepathy」 Villia softly chants Telepathy. Utility magic that's used to contact someone.
[Guild Leader?]
[Enmi~, do you get the information?]
[It's Duke Rothenmas. Block off all of his retreat paths while I infiltrate his mansion.]
[Are you sure you're going to do that in this broad daylight? How about waiting until the night falls]
[Guild Leader, I've told you before but… Real Assassin isn't an assassin who can only assassinate from the dark, but it's an assassin who can kill their target no matter what the condition is.]
"B-"
Villia cut off the communication before Fiore replied to her. Communicating her is only part of the regulation. She didn't care whether her backup is there or not when she arrived, she didn't care whether its day or night, all she knows now is to complete her quest and get the reward from the guild as soon as she can!
***
East of Variesz city, Duke Rothenmas noble estate.
"Damn!"
On top of the bed, a middle-aged man can be seen abusing and venting his frustration on a woman who has turned bloodied without compare. Every punch he gives raise ecstasy in him, but every time there's no response from the woman under him, irritation would appear again as he hit her harder than before.
The woman face and body are swollen beyond compare, her once beautiful skin is gone, replaced by red and black mass due to internal injuries. Every part of her body is injured, and no light exists inside her eyes which makes it unclear whether she's dead or alive.
There's a lot of woman in this room, yet all of them has the same condition as her. Most of her can only lie in there, while the rest is crying on the corner because of the cruel fate they face. All of them are naked, including the middle-aged man who also known as Duke Laruge Rothenmas.
Duke Rothenmas is angry right now, no, how can he not be angry!?
His Eldest son, the one he put his wishes on has turned into an idiot this morning! and what did his collaborator say?
Some accidents happen, and half of his souls got dissipated? My ass!
They never say that there's such a risk, and now? They didn't even apologize to him properly! But leave immediately after his son failed!
"This is an even collaboration my ass! My son! My son! All of you are also at fault! Take that! Take that! Hahahaha! Receive the pain my son suffer and become an idiot like him!" The duke laughs creepily while throwing punches at the woman. They're the women his son get which means they're also at fault! It's because of them that his son turned into an idiot!
"It's also that King fault! If he didn't bow to that damned Pope, all of my fief, riches, and women would still exist. Now, what!? I'm only a noble-in-name who didn't have any influence at all! It's not my fault that all of you suffer! It's the King and Pope who's at fault! I'll kill them! I'll kill both of them! No…I'll killed everyone in this damned Theocracy and turned it back into Kingdom!"
"Having fun?"
"Huh?"
Duke Rothenmas stopped his action and turned around when he heard an unfamiliar voice behind him.
There he saw a black-clothed girl look at him with cold eyes, exuding her bloodlust. Even so, Duke Rothenmas who have never been through life or death battle before can only feel a chill, which he perceived as the cold wind that hit against his naked body.
Not knowing his death is near. Duke Rothenmas start to observe the girl in front of him, and sexual desires begin to grow again when he saw the beautiful face under that hood. He wants that girl! He wants to violate her! He wants to beat her up like all of the other girls! He wants to make her his slaves!
"Who are you girl? A new woman?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to kill you."
"Kill me? Ha…you're an assassin huh? Guards! Where are you when I need you! Come here an arrest her!"
Duke Rothenmas shout loudly to call the guards, his plan is, of course, to get the girl distracted with the guards, and then his hidden assassins will beat that girl up and offer her to his lap.
Yet, not a single footsteps can be heard coming from the outside. There's no sign of guards at all! All exist now is silence, an eerie silence with an occasional wail from the women who are still crying.
"Eight Shadow! Where are you? Kill her!! Do you need me to tell you to do your job!?"
Fears start to creep into Duke Rothenmas and make him call the assassin squad he trained. Yet like before, only nothingness and the wail of the girls exist in this room.
"Where…where's the guards!? Eight Shadow… Where are you!?"
"Eight Shadow? You mean one of this?"
The girl throws a bundle of black clothes into the bed, which opened by duke Rothenmas and revealed a severed head. It's a head he recognizes, as it's the head of Eight Shadow leaders, Shadow One. If he didn't realize that everyone has died by now, then he can only call himself a stupid fool.
Duke Rothenmas feels fear now. He knows that he'll die if he didn't do anything soon! He looks around to search for a path of life and soon turned to look at the woman beside him, which sprout an idea inside his head which makes him grab the woman hair and lift her face.
"D-don't come! I will kill her if you come!"
"Taking hostage are we…What foolishness, forgetting the fact that I'm an assassin. I'm planning to kill you painlessly but…Congratulation, you gain a few more hours to live."
The girl throws a blood red dagger to the floor. She also removes a ring from her fingers,and carefully keep it in her pocket.
"You wouldn't give any experience even if I kill you anyway…I guess beating you up with my true strength would be better isn't it?"
Duke Rothenmas thought he has scared her off when he heard and saw the girl throw her daggers, yet the girl who's far from him before, reach him in an instant and punch him on the face.
Duke Rothenmas body fly and hit the walls after he got punched. Duke Rothenmas body falls, leaving a spider web-like cracks on the walls.
"It's been long since someone makes me angry and makes me want to beat them up…I'm sure you're ready to go to the same hell you create for all of the women here right?"
"Wa-wait…I'm a noble! You can't kill me…! I have a lot of money too! I'll give all of them to you…please don't kill me! Forgive me!"
"It's easy for me to get your money after I killed you, and...how can I forgive someone who did no wrong to me? Say that to the women you have tortured to death before in the afterlives!"
With that, sounds of pig squealing start to reverberate in Duke Rothenmas rooms. It's only the black-clothed girl who hit him at the start, but soon, all of those other women he abused raise from their position after they saw that someone has comes to help them! Start to beat him up with all of their strength until Duke Rothenmas meets his ends.