February 21, 1976
The Kingdom of Soreh, Riad's Estate
(One Week Before Present Day)
(Riad's POV)
The outside of my estate was now a mess. The ground belonging to the beautiful patches of grass and other gardens were ripped to shreds as it got caught by Sylvain's shockwave.
The living room downstairs got blasted as rock formations unearthed the ground beneath. Via's special keepsakes from their three year journey had gotten brutally destroyed before being rapidly buried beneath the rubble.
Jagged spikes born from the crack line punturced through the wall like a grenade. A somewhat chill breeze entered the inside of the manor and lowered the temperature by a decibel or two.
Since Yamir, Via and me were the only ones who lived on the estate, there were no housekeepers or maids here to tidy up the mess that remained.
Ten minutes had passed since the sudden appearance of Sylvain and his men. Half of that period, I spent my time shouting my heart out towards the heavens above.
A little while later, after somewhat being satisfied, I walked back towards the kitchen to fetch a glass of water.
While Yamir remained outside for no particular reason, Via went back inside to check up on me.
Needless to say, mentally, I wasn't doing fine.
I barely had the strength nor the interest to restrain the wrathful essence inside of me.
I couldn't even tell what face I was making, but whatever it was, I'm sure it was the casual happy faced facade that I forced over the years.
With the miasma still exuding off my body, it was starting to become more and more obvious that my rationality was holding on only by a thread.
"So, what's our move now?" Via asked with a bit of a hesitation.
I didn't respond immediately however.
I was too afraid of the idea that my next words might actually hurt somebody.
"If Yamir isn't lying, then we still know where the enemy is right?"
"...Yes."
"But, if we leave right now, we might not be in good graces with the people here." She continued, stating the obvious facts.
"And if we don't?" I replied.
"I don't know."
It's simple.
"I'll tell you. If we do this stupid mission of hers, that fucking bastard would just slip through my fingers all over again. Then we would be back to square one."
As I spoke those damned words, I clenched my hands into fists, almost feeling the urge to break the kitchen sink.
Thankfully, my mind wasn't truly lost in the deep end.
Somehow, a minor sense of restraint still kept me sane. It was probably because Via was around me and I didn't want to scare her, let alone injure her.
If I had the choice, (which technically I do), I would've continued on with my initial plans and hunted down the enemy. No questions asked.
Unfortunately, this would obviously be considered as "insubordination to the highest degree", since I prioritizing my own desires over the wishes of that of the Pope herself.
In the highly unlikely best case scenario, the punishment for this crime would simply be a harsh demotion from rank and a docked pay.
Course, that's just speaking in terms of a miracle.
The more accurate punishment would be something far worse then just being kicked out altogether.
Make no mistake though. I'm not afraid of the Pope, nor do I care about her opinion or wishes on any matter. If anything, she's one of the people that I hate the most.
However, I wouldn't even think of working for her ever again, had it not been for the certain benefits it entailed.
In this world, The Holy Knights and The Northern Church, (which is here), hold alot of power and influence over political affairs.
While their physical prowess is clearly backed up by their personal training regimen, their true might and influence stems from their "justified" reputation they project on to others.
Since the world views them as the very mouthpieces of the gods themselves, they were able to somehow obtain near unquestioned authority around every corner of the planet.
Just bearing the title and insignia alone was enough to making "friends" and maneuver around the world a lot more easier then ever before.
Not to mention, it gave me alot more leeway in how I go about certain situations.
To put it simply, this "position" of mine was far too valuable to just up and leave behind without proper reasoning.
Such was my dilemma, I suppose.
"Let's say, hypothetically that I did take care of this job first. If we get busy being sidetracked, who knows how long the Goddess would remain in Cheshire?" I asked Via.
Even with Yamir's help there was no absolute guarantee that "she" would remain stationary.
For all we could know, she would try moving elsewhere by the time we even arrived. That would mean that time would be of the essence.
And considering me, perhaps in more ways than one.
The situation is simple, but it's still hard nonetheless.
This whole thing is just a matter of my priorities. And right, I only have two cards that I could play.
The first option is for me to play it safe and focus on not losing my job. But the downside to all of that is that I would be risking precious time on our chance encounter.
The second option is more so a "high risk, high reward" type of gamble.
If I chose to go straight towards Cheshire, I can devote all my time and resources into capturing the one person who could help determine the very fate of the world. But if my endeavors fall through here, then my whole situation would be utterly fucked.
As I was thinking, I racked my head, trying to figure what would be the best play to make.
Suddenly though, Via purposed something else.
"Before we figure anything out, why don't we just look over what the Pope sent us? Maybe we'll be able to wrap this up quickly."
Oh yeah, that's right. I haven't even checked what our assignment was really supposed to be.
Let's see, I remember Sylvain gave me some sort of letter earlier. Now where did I put it exactly?
I double checked all my pockets, but I couldn't seem to find it.
"Huh?...Where did I put it?" I asked, finally realizing I misplaced it.
But as I said that, Yamir emerged into the kitchen area with the letter I was looking for.
"You left this outside."
But before I could question it, she simply threw the letter on the kitchen table and walked away.
"Oh, appreciate it."
"Don't mention it."
As she walked past them, she suddenly yawned.
Perhaps feeling tired by this situation, she returned to her bedroom, probably hoping to sneak in a power nap in the process.
Regardless unlike me and Via, I think she hasn't finished packing for our little road trip.
Well, not like there was much for her to bring in the first place, since there was hardly anything personal she considered of value.
Ignoring Yamir, I checked the letter before breaking open the wax seal.
"What's inside?" Via asked with curiosity.
Tearing free of the covers, I unsheathed a couple of different assorted documents inside.
"Looks like some sort of report."
Energy readings, paper images of certain monsters and other complex files all made up the bundle.
Each mixed with other different headnotes and important information in regards to the atmosphere and mana.
Via peered over to see what these were about, but unlike Riad who seemed to understand it with relative ease, immediately became confused due to the complexity.
However, there was one particular "theme" we did seem to notice. A pattern that served as the reason as to why this file was made.
In the bundle of the files, multiple photos consisted of images of different monsters.
While most of them consisted of your typical average beasts such as goblins, orcs, direwolves and the like, there were greater exceptions like, but not limited to, natural golems and big pythons in between.
However, despite the vast difference in the species, there was one thing they all shared in common.
Each of the monsters located in the pictures had unnatural looking purple crystalloids protruding off their bodies. These amethyst crystals came in various shapes and sizes as it grew on their limbs.
From what we could tell, these crystals served as either some sort of partial body armor to protect, or to enhance their like claws, teeth or any other possible weapons. However, due to the rather pained or angered expressions shown on the creatures, it seemed to be that these crystals were some sort of parasite trying to possess and harm the victim.
"Fellstars, huh. Because of course it is." Via mumbled aloud.
Due to their rather impure ethereal glow they gave off, these crystals were named "Fellstars" in reference to the lost grace of fallen angels.
Besides possessing the infective and contagious traits of fungus, not much is known of how these crystals appeared or their purpose for existing.
Because of their obvious orthrodox appearance, many scientists and other researchers are unsure if they are natural or perhaps manmade.
A small yet bittersweet smile caught the corner of my lips. Was this some sort of twisted joke? Some sort of divine karma brought upon from the heavens?
I couldn't help but my forehead and eyes with my sweaty palm. This sense of hysteria and anger that I'm feeling is overwhelming.
"To think the very thing that halts our progress...would be one of our own creations."