Walter walked towards the building, his feet carrying him with hastiness. He didn't dare delay as his whole family was still held captive by the Enchanter, Castor. Albeit he didn't trust Castor and wouldn't dare give him such a powerful mystical item such as the Book Of Mysteries, he didn't dare put the lives of his family members on the line. Everyone knew how evil and vile sorcerers from the Schools of Black Form Magic were!
Using magic, he pushed the door open. A gust of light breeze brushed against his body, causing his hair to flutter as he walked into the building.
The interior of the building had a different hue in comparison to the exterior. Walter had noticed that outside the building was actually old with algae growing over it. He had expected the interior to be affected as well but to his surprise, it was not like that. The walls were built with monoliths which shone like polished stones. Across the walls were candlesticks which held many candles. These candles were lit, burning slowly with fulgency.
Walter looked around, trying to figure out what kind of building he was standing in. He walked around, looking at every nook and cranny but couldn't discover anything.
"Where is that Enchanter?" Walter frowned, seeing no sign of Castor. He waited for some minutes but still there was no sign of Castor. With the amount of time spent without even seeing Castor, he felt he had come to the wrong place. He had to leave before those Arcane Guards and sorcerers got him.
"I will find you," Walter said to nobody in particular and turned to leave through the door he had come through. This was the only door in the building and Walter couldn't help but feel that whoever erected the building did so for other purposes than a shelter.
He was about going when a waft of odorous smell filled the building. He stopped in his tracks, his nose picking up the smell.
This...He couldn't help but shudder when he recognized the smell. This was the smell of blood!
Walter gasped as his mind was filled with all kinds of thoughts. Where was the blood coming from? Whose blood is it?
Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heart began beating fast, threatening to tear through his chest. Taking a deep breathe, he calmed himself and waved away any negative thought.
He gave up on the idea of leaving as he wanted to discover where the odour of blood was coming from. Sniffing the air, he walked slowly towards the direction his sense of smell was picking the odour from.
He stopped before a gibbous part of the floor. He had walked around the building but failed to notice this floor. And to think it was protuberant made him suspect something was behind him not noticing it. How could he have not noticed something which was so distinguishable!
He peered at the gibbous floor and noticed that it had edges. Looking at it very well, he discovered it was actually a stone slab.
An underground? His eyebrows narrowed as he bent down to push the stone slab with one had, not letting his guard down for one second. He was so alert that he could react to any danger immediately even though he was pushing the stone slab. It wasn't as if he was focused on only the stone slab. His focus was everywhere, spreading outside the building as well!
When he removed the stone slab, all he saw was darkness. It seemed the candles which illumined the whole building couldn't penetrate the darkness. Accompanying the darkness was a putrid stench which struck his nose immediately. He had to hold his breathe as he muttered a spell to illumine the darkness.
"No!" he screamed in horror and moved backwards at what he saw. Inside the ground were several rotten heads stacked upon each other, there rotten eyes wild open in horror!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
He didn't need any soothsayer to tell him who those heads belonged to as he summoned the courage to take a close look at them.
Countless maggots were burrowing their way in and out of the rotten skins, yellow pus oozing out. The yellow pus which oozed out from the heads formed a thick slime which was rising like the ocean waves.
He muttered another spell, causing the heads to float out of the ground so that he could know how many they were and also affirm his guess.
The heads floated into the air, the eyes still staring into his eyes with horror. It gave him the chills and almost made him lose his mental 'grip'.
He counted the heads and shouted in horror, losing hold over his spell. His eyes were wide and his mouth opened as he moved backwards, the heads dropping one after the other.
Plop! Plop! Plop!
The rotten heads dropped to the ground with plop sounds. It was as if they were pulps and not heads; they dropped to the ground, transforming into a thick slime of yellow substance which Walter couldn't identify.
The slime was thicker than a normal slime and emitted a gleam of dotted white lights which blinked like stars.
"He killed forty eight of my family members," he gasped as he dropped to his kneels with a loud thud. The Book Of Mysteries which he had been holding all along slipped from his right hand and fell to the ground.
"He killed forty eight of my family members," he continued talking in horror, staring at the slime which had begun to dry.
He had known that Castor wasn't someone to be trusted but he didn't know that he would be so heartless to kill forty eight of his family members without even waiting to get the Book Of Mysteries. What was his motive? Why did Castor ask him to bring the Book Of Mysteries and in the end, kill forty eight of his family members? Why did he do what he did?
"Why?!" he didn't know when his thoughts slipped his mouth, escaping into words filled with anger. "Just why?!"
"I will tell you why," a voice said calmly. Walter had no idea when the person had arrived and couldn't help but turn to look at the person immediately.
Standing at the door were twenty men, the person who had spoken at their front. He was tall and tan with a powerful stature and aura. He and the other men were dressed in black outfits, katanas and swords strapped to their backs and sides.
Walter took time to observe them, feeling their auras. Their auras were filled with corruption and evil just like Castor! He couldn't help but think whether they had been corrupted by Castor and become his minions.
Judging from their hues, he could tell that they were Knyghts. Then a reality dawned on him. Dan Richards had been one out of the whole lot of them!
He wasn't intimated by their number and asked, "Are you working for Castor?"
The man who was standing before him grinned, "Working for Castor? Heh, we're working with him."
The man didn't give Walter the chance to speak again as he said, "We were asked to get that Book Of Mysteries for him."
Walter, still, didn't understand anything. Why were the Knyghts working with Castor? What would they benefit from partnering with him to get the Book Of Mysteries? Did they think the monster would be so generous to share the Book with them if he got it?
"At what cost?" Walter asked. "What did he offer you?!"
"Shouting will not bring them back," the man said. "If you don't comply and hand over the Book Of Mysteries, we will kill the other two."
Walter's eyes narrowed. Up till now he had not actually thought about the other two members of his family which were left alone. Who were they and why were they left alone and not killed like the rest?
It was not like Walter didn't want anybody to survive but everything had become so mysterious, intertwined with conundrums stacked upon each other. Every event and action had garnered suspicion from Walter and he couldn't help but think about why the other two were left alone.
The man raised his right hand and waved it. Immediately, the other men who had gathered in the room gave way as two men dragged in a woman and her daughter.
"Jane and Amber," Walter muttered, his body almost trembling. The two who had not been killed were actually his wife and child!
"Walter, help us!"
"Daddy, help us!"
Cries filled the air as Jane and Amber tried to break free from the grips of the men who were holding them. Their faces were drenched in tears and their eyes filled with horror. It was obvious they had seen how the other family members had died and we're obviously petrified.
Walter stared into their eyes, his expression turning sober. After seeing them like this, he became weak and almost broke down on the spot. If he wasn't so taut he would have given in to the emotional fluctuation and broken down instantly without even trying to resolve the issue. As an Arcane Guard, he was expected to be as tough and taut as rock. And that was what he did. He surmounted all his feelings and stared straight at the men, his eyes observing them one after the other.
"Give us the Book Of Mysteries," the man who had spoken earlier said. "Give us the Book Of Mysteries or see them killed."
Seeing that the man was not saying anything else, Walter said, "Tell me something and I'll give you the Book Of Mysteries."
His expression was calm and straight. The man observed him for flaws in order to ascertain if he was lying or not but couldn't. Not wanting to waste any more time, the man said, "Go ahead."
"Who exactly are you?" Walter asked, his voice reflecting his calm face. "What relationship do you have with Castor?"
The man scoffed, "Seeing that you've become enemies with the Arcane Safety Department and Hands Of Arcane as a whole, I will tell you everything. It's not like you will head over to them and hand yourself over, spilling out all we have told you to them."
Walter too, was studying the man. His eyes which had been filled with compassion and love for Jane and Amber were now filled with focus. In order to save them, he must be able to observe his environment thoroughly to avoid jumping into the infinite gorge of danger. He didn't know the strength of his opponents and could only deduce that by observation. That was what he was taught as an Arcane Guard.
"First, we are the Vile Knyghts of the Evil Form Combat," the man said. "Second, we are members of the Hall Of Corruption."
Hall Of Corruption again? Walter controlled his facial muscles so that he would not frown instantly. To think that this organization which had existed for five thousand years and were still somehow existing till now made him shudder. What was this organization scheming?
Walter didn't know much about the Forms of Combat and could only think about other things instead of trying to figure out what they were. Connecting Castor with these Knyghts and then the Book Of Mysteries, Walter deduced one thing. It wasn't Castor that needed the Book Of Mysteries. It was the organization! It was the same Hall Of Corruption which had waged war on humanity!
"You've wasted our time a lot," the man disrupted Walter from his thoughts. He waved his right hand and immediately the other man who was holding Jane nodded.
Walter couldn't react and could only watch as the man shoved Jane to the ground and unsheathed his sword, his hands gripping it. He was showing Walter that he would kill Jane without wasting anytime if the Book Of Mysteries wasn't handed to them amicably.
The man knew that Walter had killed Dan Richards and was therefore no ordinary Arcane Guard. If they forced him to hand over the Book Of Mysteries, it was likely that he would escape with it based on his strength.
"Give us the Book Of Mysteries or your wife dies," the man repeated.
Walter bent down, picked the Book and said, "The Book Of Mysteries is no toy for the Hall Of Corruption."
He tugged the Book into his shirt and clenched his fists, exuding a powerful aura. He wasn't the least bit intimidated by their number or what they would do. The Book Of Mysteries was considered a very powerful item and would no doubt become destructive if it fell into the wrong hands. If the Hall Of Corruption got it, the same Jane and Amber he was trying to protect would still die before his eyes. He didn't trust them one bit.
"Give us the Book Of Mysteries," the man repeated. By now the other men were drawing out their swords, ready to attack.
But Walter was not moved and was fully resolved not to give them the Book Of Mysteries. With a frown he said a word—a word filled with the brute force of lightning!
"Never!"