*Horses Galloping*
"We need to report this immediately to the master Plaradus."
the Imperial soldiers that were assigned to investigate the habas mountain quickly rode their horses after discovering the remains of a giant monster, it was full of cuts and grievously wounded and had an empty eye socket. they knew its identity, it is the Cyclope of the habas mountain that gave the Empire security for hundreds of years against the infiltration of the Theocracy.
the Cyclope is a solitary type of a giant, it mainly feeds on different kinds of minerals so it chooses to live in the mountains.
after witnessing the horrendous state of the cyclope, the soldiers instinctively got to their horses and ran as fast as they can, they felt the need to report this as soon as possible.
inside the camp of the investigation team led by the court wizard plaradus...
"The scouts from the habas mountain are approaching at a high speed!"
the soldier assigned as a lookout shouted at the top of his lungs.
the soldiers of the camp quickly armed themselves.
"Lord Plaradus, the group of scouts from the habas mountain are arriving and we suspect that they are being chased."
Plaradus nonchalantly commanded the Commander.
"get all your people into a stand-by."
"yes lord plaradus."
'the demon who made the adversity to the kingdom has already exited our border, so what is this fuss?'
Plaradus is the first person to have noticed that their scouts from the habas mountain are arriving. he, who constantly checks the area, fails to see anyone or anything that is following the team so he is a little bit confused about the commanders' claim.
'What happened to this team?' Plaradus thought for a second before a soldier run into his tent.
"Lord Plaradus, the soldiers from the habas mountain wants to report to you directly, they say that this is an urgent matter."
"Let them in."
in the middle of the confusion.
the soldiers that have arrived, immediately got off their horses, after giving a salute to the commander, one of them was urged to speak.
"Commander, we are very sorry but we need to report the matter to Lord plaradus without delay."
a little bit agitated, the commander permitted them even though he feels like they are bypassing his authority.
"Go! quick."
_ _ _ _ _
"This!!"
'the demon's course is from the kingdom of skirmez to the forest of tyr. its path is in the south of the empire, so the demon is out of the question.'
Plaradus was petrified. he didn't think that the cyclope will end up in a horrible state.
the cyclope was a nemesis for the mages, but it was relatively weak to weapons that were amplified with dark magic. using dark magic is a taboo.
he couldn't imagine the theocracy that was led by the archbishop will resort to using forbidden magic.
Plaradus is displeased, without much preparation, he mobilized the troops that are under his command to set off to the habas mountain and check the situation personally.
"Let's go."
the troops that were led by the court wizard left the camp after they were given an order to march towards the habas mountain...
_ _ _ _ _
Upon arriving at the place where the dead cyclope was seen, Plaradus felt an unbearable sensation.
"I can feel the residue of the dark magic that they used to take down the cyclope."
"and the traces of the battle. I am certain that this was the doing of the theocracy, those damn people." the commander added.
Plaradus and the Commander exchanged words, the commander is nowhere near a pushover. he has a quick wit, he analyzed the situation and immediately came up with an answer.
"Even though they took down the cyclope, I am sure that they suffered a great loss of resources."
"Hopefully Lord Plaradus."
"Let us go back for now, the cyclope will not resurrect anymore, they already took the eye so there is no chance that the cyclope would be revived, leave it as it is."
"but is there really nothing we can gain with the remains of the cyclope?"
"no, the only important part of the cyclope is its eye, I'm sure that the theocracy is planning to use it as an anti-magic elixir against me, the biggest hurdle to them to take down the empire."
"I know this might be an awkward question, but, why is it that you don't seem to be nervous at all Lord Plaradus?"
what plaradus was feeling right now is not fear, he feel a great resentment.
then he let his anger burst out.
like an uncontrollable flame in the middle of the mountain, his mana runs wild.
"they dare to bare their fang towards me when I have already conquered the unbreakable wall of magic?"
he let out his mana in all directions causing the trees around the area to be twisted.
the flow of the wind changed and affecting the air around.
electric currents started surfacing around him.
in the eyes of the soldiers, he looks like a god with limitless power. they saw a scene where a 5th-tier magic-user has revealed some of his power.
"This old man, I am glad he is on our side."
the commander whispered to himself while shaking in fear...
_ _ _ _ _
"My father is a platoon captain of the knights of skirmez, he is the one who taught me to use martial arts, he is really strong and everybody in our residence fears him."
"Wow, your father seems to be a brave man."
"Yeah, I'm so proud to have a father like him."
"How old are you Rita?"
"Fourteen"
"Your father must be very proud of you too."
"No, I am a useless daughter. I couldn't do anything back then, despite training with my father every day and doing anything I can to become strong, in the end, I couldn't do anything to help them."
"Can you tell me what happened in the capital?"
"Okay, but let me tell the story at my own pace."
"Yes, sure take your time."
after passing the test, Anon and Rita both gained their freedom for a while.
then Rita started to talk.
"Everyone thought that it was just another peaceful day, no one predicted that there will be a tragedy."
a disastrous monster appeared right at the center of the capital of skirmez, the city of kez. a lot of people are within the area where the demon, the Apollyon has appeared. just right after the demon appeared, many of the people in the city square are already dead, no one can explain the bizarre phenomenon. everyone turns into bone and skin.
"My mother and I are in the kitchen preparing our lunch together, but, in just a couple of moments, our peaceful day turned into a nightmare. my father, while holding my brother in his arms, rushed toward us to let us run and escape, but the rampage of the demon has caught us. it was fast, and I didn't even have the chance to understand what was happening. the last thing that I remembered afterward is that I saw my father's body burning in fire, my mother tried to save him, she was capable of 1st tier magic, she cast water magic to pour onto him but it was useless, while I watch my mother whine over my father's burned dead body I couldn't think straight. I rushed forward when I saw a wall falling down on them, but my mother gave her last cry to ask me to save my little brother. I didn't even get the chance to hear her say I love you one last time. before I can reach her to block the wall, they're already buried in the pile of rocks. then without any delay, I ran back to my sleeping little brother, I saw blood on his head, I carried him and held him in my arms. I keep running without looking back, I dodged and blocked anything that comes across us, until I get pass the city walls and got into the river. I ran without anything in mind. my arms are already numb, I feel like I just want to give up, but then I remembered my mother's face when she told me to run away and survive. for the very last time, I looked back at the city. it was covered in flames, it was total chaos. I just hoped that there are people that have survived like us, and after that, I wandered into the forest until I saw a group of people who is fleeing the city. we joined them so we won't get lost. at this time my brother is still sleeping. no, he is unconscious, I asked people if I can get some help, luckily there is a doctor among the other refugees."
then Anon cut Rita's story
"How many days have passed since then?"
"I think it is about, 29 days already?"
"Oh, it is almost a month already."
"yes."
'So it means that it happened 23days before I got transported here.'
"So many things have happened after that tragedy."
Rita who is about to burst into tears suddenly felt a warm and pleasant feeling. Rita feels like she is in the arms of her parents. before she realizes it, Anon is nowhere to be found, she found herself walking alone in the alley full of people. she is confused, where the heck did mister Anon go? thinking that they just got separated by the crowd, she continued to walk back to the inn.
After Anon has heard what he wanted to hear, he cast a buff on her, [brave heart]. he felt great sympathy for her but he has nothing to do with her, he just wanted to hear from her about the story of the capital.
"Aaaahh shoot, I forgot to open up the topic about the martial art techniques."
Anon realizes that he forgot something.
'anyway, I still got plenty of time to ask someone with the proper knowledge of this technique. but for now...'
Anon feels great pleasure and excitement hunting down and killing those who feel joy in others' despair.
the face of the demon that he met, as its smile was still vivid in his mind, Anon smirked and clenched his fist.
taking his analysis of the demon's strength into account...
"I think this place is fun. Please amuse me, world villains.".....