''These are the leaders of the other guild?'' Jerouch squinted his eyes, seeing the amputated corpses before him.
He had left Azel's house and was now parading the dead city, accompanied by one of the apprentices who happened to be the only one without family ties, and also the less affected psychologically.
''Yes Sir.'' The poor apprentice nodded, pulling his platinum bangs away from his sore eyes.
Both of them were currently inside a large room that featured a large round wooden table at the centre with three silver chairs.
The room had different types of jewellery in the left corner, adjacent to the black metal door, and the rest of the walls were covered in bright mural paintings, mostly of natural landscapes.
The floor, though, had been disfigured with dark blood with flies roaming freely, humming joyfully at the free pies.
Each leader was still in a sitting position, and they all had their eyes wide open. Lines of blood could be seen plastering their cheeks, which made Jerouch guess that they had actually cried blood.
However, their limbs were on the floor as they had been lacerated from their bodies.
They all had another thing in common. Each person had their left ribs sliced, which further diced their hearts into mined meat, with blood soaking their tunic shirts.
'This…' Jerouch looked around the room with a deep frown and arched eyebrows.
'Even with the leaders, there was no sign of a battle or any struggle?' He stroked his temple gently as he fell into deep thought.
''How strong were the leaders?'' Jerouch asked as he checked another angle of the room.
''I-i don't know, but-''
'' They were all B rank warlocks when they were alive, although many were made to believe that they were a rank below.'' A new figure entered the large room, cutting off the apprentice who was initially stammering.
''Sir Azel.'' The apprentice quickly took a step back, giving Azel room to pass.
'Huh?' Jerouch turned facing the newcomer.
'What's with that dead look and impassive gaze?' He wondered as he watched Azel approach him.
His eyes further squinted, processing what he just heard.
''B rank warlocks?'' Jerouch asked again.
''Yes, the four guild leaders were all B rank warlocks,'' Azel muttered, clenching his fist tightly.
''This is a big deal.'' Jerouch thought inwardly. '' An enemy that can render B rank warlocks powerless, and murder three of them without a struggle?''
Jerouch had never seen the power of a B rank warlock before. However, he had seen that of a B rank monster, and that almost led to his death.
This gave him a dreadful impression of whom the perpetrator could be.
''You said there are four guild leaders, so where's the fourth person?''
Azel further clenched his fist with more force than before as all his veins became visible, and his forehead crisped along with a contorted face.
''I've checked our entire guild, but couldn't find him.'' Azel relaxed his hands and breathed out, his eyes going back to their dead shine.
'' I've also checked every nook and cranny of the city, yet he is nowhere to be found.''
''I've decided to make this place as my final check, but it seems…'' Azel bit his lower lip, making the soft organ bleed.
''Because you couldn't find him doesn't mean that he's the culprit.'' Knowing what was on his mind, Jerouch cut him off.
A fellow B rank warlock would not be able to do this amount of damage, at least there would've been a form of struggle from the others
''Unless…''
''Could it be that some powerful bandits had laid their eyes on this city, and they were the ones that caused this carnage?''
Jerouch and Azel turned their head in the apprentice's direction, looking at him with unhidden derision.
''A bandit attack, yet, the glistering jewellery was left untouched?'' Jerouch pointed at the shining ornaments in the corner.
''I…'' The apprentice cowered his head in embarrassment.
After contemplating for a short while, Azel finally muttered something again.
''I think you need to see something in our guild.''
''Oh?'' Jerouch's eyes rolled. ''And that is?''
''I believe seeing it yourself would be the best,'' Azel replied.
Sighing softly, Jerouch looked back and glanced at the gems, quickly concocting a plan for them as he turned to follow Azel.
''Isn't he coping with the situation way too quickly?'' his eyes glinted, watching Azel leave the room.
Shrugging his shoulder, he also quickened his steps and tagged along
___
'Now the fuck is this?' Jerouch gulped.
They were currently in the basement of the merchants' guild. However, Azel had stopped the others from following them, leaving him and Jerouch only in this dimly lit underground.
Flame torches were etched on the dark rocky walls, illuminating the place poorly.
Blood covered the roof and flowed down to the walls and then to the ground.
Pat.
Jerouch touched his shoulder and his hand made a contact with a viscous liquid that stained it red.
''Blood?'' he muttered with a disturbed look.
Splash!
Jerouch took a step forward, sending ripples around the bloodied ground that had been turned into a shallow pond.
'Even though they had been exposed to air for a while, they still haven't dried up.'
'And that box at the centre?' Jerouch began massaging his temple again after releasing a short breath.
At the centre of the basement was a long rectangular stony coffin.
The grey coffin had its lid opened, and it was also smeared in blood.
All the blood that flowed from the roof, wall, and the ground, moved towards the coffin as it kept sucking them.
A terrible aura was emanating from the coffin which scared Jerouch down to his spine, making him subconsciously take a few steps backwards.
It took no genius to realize what was happening as Jerouch's eyes glimmered as he placed the missing pieces together.
''Those humans killed in the city were for a certain reason,'' Jerouch mumbled.
'Their blood was the one that drained underground and then down to this place.' Jerouch's heart quivered at this discovery.
''The coffin is empty, meaning whatever their goal is has been accomplished.'' He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, followed by a soft sigh.
This further brought up another question…
''What was inside the coffin and what's their aim?''
Jerouch was still lost in thought when he suddenly felt the temperature drop to a terrifying degree.
He instantly felt as though time had frozen and space itself had solidified, confining him in a suffocating prison.
His body shuddered, and his mind was on the verge of exploding.
Tap!
Tap!
Tap!
The sound of soft footsteps echoed in the basement as he noticed a silhouette at the far edge.
''I'd rather not be wasting my time here at this moment if I were you, hehe.''
A soft, chilly voice that carried an unstoppable might resounded in Jerouch's ears and his ears abruptly exploded.
This was accompanied by Azel's scream, who straight away fainted from just the figure's voice.