It was night time when Vincent returned to his mansion from the main headquarters. There were several vehicles on the pathway of his mansion. It seemed the team had already arrived.
When he entered the mansion and walked along the corridor, he came across with one of the maids.
The maid seemed to have noticed him so she stopped in her tracks to face and greet Vincent.
"Good evening, monsieur."
The maid said in a very sweet voice with a bright tender smile on her face.
"Good evening, Hazel."
The maid, Hazel Leblanc, possessed long golden blonde hair, white skin, and beautiful deep green eyes. For a maid, she has a beauty comparable to young wealthy women. Sometimes, Vincent can't help but mesmerized by her beauty.
In addition, she was the maid who possessed the gift of healing magic. Needless to say, she was the one who healed Vincent in his dying state.
"It seems that uncle Frederick and the others had arrived, where are they?"
"They are waiting for you in the living room, monsieur."
"I see. And here I thought they would be walking around the mansion. I'll be going there then."
Vincent began to move towards the living room. But after a couple of steps, he remembered something, something he had to say to Hazel.
"Hazel wait!"
Hazel turned to face Vincent again as he called her name.
"Monsieur?"
"I didn't get to say this days ago, but. Thank you, Hazel. You know, for saving my life, you must had a hard time."
"Ah, n-not at all. It was all I can do in that situation anyway."
"But still, thank you. I'm very grateful to you for saving my life."
"A-ah, t-then, you're w-welcome, monsieur."
For a moment they stared and smiled at each other before they turned around again and proceeded to where they were going.
As Hazel walked, there were no other people in the way, so no one could see her broad smile and blushing face.
After several seconds, Vincent had reached the living room, and there were five people sitting and eating some snacks.
There was also another maid standing by, it appeared she was tending to the visitors. Her straight black hair reached her back and in her frowning face still revealed her somewhat sky-blue eyes. Judging from her frowned facial expressions, it seemed the visitors gave her some troubles.
Vincent slightly smiled in amusement. He understood why she was like that, old people just get annoying sometimes, no, it was not specifically the old timers, but specifically his uncle.
Vincent approached closer and in an instant, everyone saw him as he approached. Then his uncle greeted him.
"Vincent! Finally, you're here!"
"Yes, I'm here uncle Frederick. So, what is going on?"
Frederick's eyebrows twitched for a second, then he nervously smiled and also giving a joyful face while placing his hand behind his head.
"Uh, yeah. Actually, when we were waiting… we asked to get some wine. Well, because you know, after all, we can ask any refreshments, right?"
"That's right. I did tell my servants you can have any."
Vincent said while giving a suspicious look.
"So, we… I asked to have some wine. But your maid here wouldn't give us a bottle."
"Excuse me."
The maid said after taking a step forward, then she continued.
"If I recall correctly, you will be going on a mission. So, with all due respect, drinking liquor before the mission is unwise to do so. That could complicate things."
"B-But it won't hinder our performance, we'll just drink a little."
"She is right uncle."
"Eh?"
"First of all, a liquor couldn't even be called a refreshment! Second, I doubt you and the others are going to drink just a little. Thirdly, we are about to go on a mission, so getting drunk on a job could lead to a failure."
"—noooo…"
Frederick had his eyes widened and his mouth open as if he was struck so hard by a horrible truth. Not only that, his eyes looked so pitiful like he wanted to the person he was talking to pity him. But Vincent still gave a cold gaze like he doesn't care at all, therefore Frederick decided to give up.
"—Fine. I thought I could drink your delicious wines here again."
Frederick turned to face his friends.
"You heard him, no drinks tonight."
The others let out loud sighs of disappointment.
"Good work on restraining them from drinking, April. You may now leave us."
"Understood."
The maid, April, left at the same time Edward had arrived. He parked the car in the garage so he was late in his arrival.
"Now then, let us begin the briefing."
Everyone sat down on the couches but Edward alone stood behind Vincent.
Vincent had yet to tell them about where they exactly discovered nor what it was, he merely told Frederick that they had discovered something and had him call and assemble the others.
The others were Frederick's friends and were teammates in the past. That was why all of them are old men, even so, they were considered veterans due to their old age and experiences.
Vincent told them first that they discovered a mansion in the middle of nowhere and told them where its location. Then he told every suspicious fact about it like how the house was in the middle of nowhere and isolated from human societies, how the mansion looked to maintained and so on.
"—That is strange. So, we're going to this place, but there's no certainty it's the place where they're hiding?"
The one who asked was a man almost the same age as Frederick with his hair almost turned white as well as his short beard. He had dark brown eyes and a good body build, despite his age, it appeared like he was still working out. The man's name was Noah Rakesol.
"That's right. Fortunately, we discovered something that increased the chance drastically."
Everyone leaned slightly forward as what Vincent said caught their interest more and wanted to hear him.
"As I was about to leave, we saw someone came out of the mansion."
"Really now? So, how of a monster looking is it?"
The one who asked was a man with black long hair, short beard, and black eyes. Like the others, he appeared to be almost at the same age as Frederick. His name was Mars Eralias.
"No, it doesn't look like a monster. On the contrary, she looked like a human. From above, we could see her hair color was close to platinum, or perhaps silver. And she seemed to be wearing clothing with the scheme color of black and white, quite a similar look to that of a traditional maid outfit."
Everyone seemed to be somewhat confused after they heard Vincent. They probably heard something they never expected. No, they definitely did hear something they never expected.
"W-Wait, you discovered a mansion and it turned out a human being came out. Doesn't that mean the place is indeed not the lair of those monsters which you faced?"
Frederick asked.
"Ah, I never told you about the monsters I faced. Then, I'll tell you now."
Vincent had yet to tell Frederick about the appearance and description of the powerful beings he faced, he merely told him about what happened but didn't get to the point on fully telling him about the monsters. After all, they were just talking on the phone and Vincent was in a hurry, so he didn't get a chance to tell him.
Besides, now that the team had assembled, telling them all at once would be the best option in order to save time. Therefore, Vincent described to them how the beings they faced looked like. From the fact that those beings looked similar or close to humans and there were some from mythology and so on.
Everyone was so surprised and they looked like they were unable to believe it for a moment. But they believed it after a short while, besides, there was no reason to doubt the words of Vincent. They probably didn't believe at first because they never expected their appearance to be like that, also probably because that's not what they imagined
"—So that's why when you saw a human appeared outside the mansion you said it increased the chance of that place being their lair." Mars said.
"And here I thought they would be horrifying monsters…" Frederick said.
"That's why I should tell you to not be deceived by their looks and beauty, because they'll only going to kill you, and I'm sure of that."
"—Yeah Yeah…" Frederick said.
Vincent turned to look at Edward which was behind him.
"Edward, is the plane ready to move out?"
"I contacted the pilot and he said he is ready to move out at any time."
"Good."
"Wait, plane?" Frederick asked.
"Yes, uncle. If we go on land, it will only take a lot of time, probably will take a couple of days. Plus, where we are going to is surrounded by forests, so driving will only prove difficult, also, it might increase the risks of us being discovered. So, we'll be sky diving."
Sky diving would lessen the chance of being discovered and also, they can get closer to the mansion easily. Furthermore, flying is faster and will save time, one could say it's a shortcut.
"Sky diving, huh. Interesting." Frederick.
"W-Wait, so we're jumping from the sky? Damn, I hate heights."
The man who spoke was Benjamin Almend. He had black hair and black eyes, and it appeared he shaved his beard. Even though all of them were middle-aged men, he was the youngest among them.
"What was that Ben?! Despite your age, you're still afraid of heights? I'm disappointed you still have that!"
"Shut up Frederick! Everyone has their own fear!"
"Oh, really now? Haha!"
"Hmph, but during the mission, the heights won't be a big problem so don't worry."
"That's good to hear."
Vincent said, then he continued.
"We'll move out to the airport as soon as possible, then we'll engage tomorrow night. Do you understand?"
Everyone responded in affirmative.
"Say, Vincent, we're a small group, and with your sky diving plan. I suppose this is going to be a stealth mission?"
"Yes, it is uncle."
"Then, you're going to use the artifact?"
"Yes, I intend to you use it without the need to fight."
"I see."
"Then I'll be going now to get it."
Frederick nodded at Vincent then Vincent stood up and began to walk out with Edward following him.
"—Haaaah. And it's supposed to be Christmas eve tomorrow. Looks like I won't get to bond with my family until the mission is over."
The man who spoke was Matthew Penson. He had a good body build as if he was working out despite his age. His hair was almost dyed in white, but there were still some black colored ones. He had blue eyes and a short beard.
"Well, if we don't do this now, there might be no future for you and our children and grandchildren." Noah said.
"Yeah, I know." Matthew said.
"Don't worry, after we finish the job, we can hang out with our own family as long as we want." Mars said,
"If we can survive that is." Benjamin said.
"Oh, come on Ben. Vincent's going to use the artifact so there a good chance we'll win. Plus, we won't be fighting them so that's great." Frederick said.
"I just hope everything goes well tomorrow." Benjamin said.
"Then let's all pray and hope that everything tomorrow will be a success!"
Frederick said in a loud manner in hopes to boost his optimism. He may be acting joyful and all, but in deep within him, he was quite scared for tomorrow.
***
Vincent and Edward went somewhere behind the mansion. The room they were in was quite messy and almost looked like a room where junks were kept in. However, this was on purpose.
The room was messy so that intruders might think this room was nothing special at all and was just a place where junks were kept. In other words, where trash objects were kept. But this was the place where to gain access the way to get the most valuable item in the mansion.
There were a lot of paintings hanging on the walls. But Vincent focused on a specific painting. The painting was large, perhaps had the height of almost a meter. It was a painting with a tree and behind it, the sun setting down turning the sky red.
Vincent held the frame on the corner.
"Hm, if I remember correctly…"
Vincent rotated the frame to the left into a landscape orientation, then he turned it back. After that, he rotated the frame to the right into a landscape orientation, then he reached to the left part of the frame to rotate it again to the right. Now the painting was upside down, he rotated the painting to the left again it turned into a landscape orientation but he again rotated it to return it to its original position. Then he rotated it again to the right and after that, the painting was back to its original position and orientation.
Then a triggering sound rang out from behind the painting.
Then a part of the same wall moved, and it opened. Then a staircase leading down was revealed.
The way Vincent rotated the painting could be said some sort of pattern to unlock and open the secret passage. Just for the record, if someone does intend to take the painting, it won't be a problem for the mechanism behind it was hidden behind the wall and the thing where it was hanging was just something to be used as to move the mechanisms behind it. Thus, any frame can be used to control the mechanism.
In addition, Edward knew what the pattern was, so Vincent didn't need to worry if he forgot what the pattern was.
Vincent and Edward went down the stairs, and at the end was a vault door.
Vincent reached for the combination lock. There was just not one lock but three, it was a customized vault, so it was expected not a lot of people would be able to unlock it. Fortunately, Vincent and Edward memorized the codes of each lock.
After several seconds of operating the locks, the last click rang out, and with that, the vault door was unlocked.
"The sword, Edward."
Edward presented the sheathed sword he was holding to Vincent. The sword had gold and platinum hilt and its scabbard was also in the same color scheme.
It was the Sword of Salvation. The same sword he brought when he went to Yusorga. The sword had existed since the far distant past. The original name had been lost in the past, but because this sword was used by his ancestors in the past and because of its unknown contribution, it was given the name with the word salvation in it.
In addition, Vincent was quite surprised that the sword was still at perfect condition despite this was made in an unknown time in the past. It was as if the sword was just newly made, perhaps because the sword was maintained properly by his ancestors or because the swords in the past were just so well made, or perhaps of the magic imbued within the sword.
Vincent took the sword and hung it on his waist.
Both of them opened the heavy door. After that, Vincent proceeded inside. Edward, on the other hand, stayed behind outside.
There were some rocks with the color of brown on both sides of the pathway forward. There were two boulders on each side.
As Vincent walked forward, the boulders twitched, or to be specific, at the top of each boulder, what looked like a head moved and followed Vincent as he walked as if they were keeping a close watch on him.
Those were Earth Golems which guarded the vault. They were all level 50.
Normally, they would immediately attack anyone who entered the vault. But Vincent had the item which made the golems see him as something non-hostile.
It was the sword he possessed. Anyone who wielded the sword would not be considered as hostile of the golems, that was why only one person could enter the vault. That was also the reason why Edward stayed outside the vault.
But what if a hostile got possession of the sword? Vincent's family has a countermeasure for this. If they somehow failed to protect the protect the vault, all they have to do is to destroy the tiny gemstone just above the grip. With that destroyed, even a person wielding the sword won't have any protection which considers them as non-hostile.
At the edge was another secured door which had another combination lock. But Vincent knows what the combination was, so it only took him a few seconds to unlock. When the door was unlocked, he immediately opened it.
What revealed was an item with the color of silver and a few colors of gold. The item was lying above a pedestal.
The item looked like a metallic sphere – no, it was a metallic sphere. The sphere had the color of silver with shades of gold on it. Then, the sphere was covered by golden objects, it was as though it was the sphere's shell but the sphere was not fully covered, for its shell had many gaps on it to reveal the sphere.
The shell almost looked like leaves with some gap inside it. The shell looked like it was holding the sphere tightly, it was as though it was its protection.
The artifact was lying on something like a pillow and it showed just how special it was.
"—Fugatrix."
Vincent extended his hand to reach for the artifact.
Fugatrix, the artifact which existed and made countless centuries ago. The weapon that was used numerous times to save the world. An artifact which possessed tremendous power, power which was beyond to be measured by any technology existed until this day. It was said this artifact was made by many, which was why it was so powerful. However, no one ever knew what the exact number of people created, nor how it was made.
Vincent knew the artifact in the name of "Fugatrix", from the Latin word which means "banisher." Its real name was lost and forgotten in the flow of time, which was why a word from the Latin language was given to be its name.
Granted, this artifact was used on the monsters which threatened the world. However, it was not used on every monster. There were some times that the order had a chance against a monster and was able to destroy it when they happened to cross one and when they didn't have the artifact in hand. Thus, they didn't need to use the artifact. That was also why Vincent believed he and his team can have a chance to fight the monsters they faced, but it was a mistake to believe of the sort.
However, now that Vincent knew they stood no chance against those beings. The only option now was to use this important and sacred artifact.
As Vincent extended his hand, he was trembling slightly. In fact, he was quite scared and nervous to hold it, he was even a little scared and nervous just by looking at it even though it was the second time he saw it. The first time he saw it was when his father showed it to him.
He was anxious because the artifact was so important, more important than his own life. This artifact existed long ago and saved the world countless times. It was as if this artifact itself had become a very important part of this world and if gone the world would end. However, even though he felt like that, he reached for it and finally held it in his hand.
He felt relieved. The artifact was just at the size enough for his hand to hold it. He could feel the cold sensation from the physical contact with the artifact. But as he held it, he could feel power from it.
He intently looked at it and held it tightly.
"The hunt is on."