Char remembered when they set off, and it was a time of high spirits.
Eight demon hunters gathered in a place called the Pea-mill, people saw Char and Denver young, ordered them to clear the table, everywhere to find candles and wine and meat, then Char stood at the table in awe, watching the people solemnly swear to the Lorman god, to the real world of the blade demon banished to hell. The situation was solemn and exciting, and he felt that there was no greater cause in the world than the hunt for demons.
"I can't stand it." Warren's scolding broke Shire's memories, "We don't even have a chair, do we have to stand and make plans?"
"This is a camping rock, not a hotel." Only the words of Master Frederic could restrain Valen a little. He was dressed in black, with a sharp dress and a long sword, his face thin, his red hair neatly combed back, his beard neat, and he seemed to have time to tidy up his appearance during these days of hunting, in sharp contrast to the others.
The six surviving demon hunters stood in front of the camp rock, each with a different expression and a deep feeling.
Shire felt cold, the forest wind was cold, and his clothes were thin, he had no armor, and his short coat was stained with mud and grass.
"So Julius is dead. Frederic looked at the empty space, "... I'm sorry." He noticed the emerald gold necklace around Char's neck. "You took his necklace?"
"Yes." Char nodded to Master Frederic.
"Very well, in his spirit." Frederick sighed. "Julius said something I still remember. 'Be careful, make others depend on you.'"
Shire took this to heart, and the necklace around his neck seemed to grow heavier.
"That makes you the only hunter recruit in Upper Loman." Frederick was very concerned about Charles, his eyes moved to him, particularly serious, "you have to know what this means..."
Char felt something terrible. It sounded like some great responsibility, one he did not know now, but one that was certainly important.
"I will..." He thought he didn't sound confident, so he repeated it again, this time more resolutely, "-- I'll try."
"We all need to make an effort, especially in these dark days, when our country is in the grip of unprecedented turmoil, and as we know, the King has long ignored government, sending only eccentric envoys to watch over the places. So elves, barbarians, dragons, ancient threats... A lot of confusion and evil quickly grew. The sooner we destroy the Blade Demon, the sooner we can return to civilization and continue to clean up any other crises that may exist, which is our mission as demon hunters, God witness." Frederic spoke in a steady tone.
"We were one step away from failure." To Charles's surprise, Etienne began to speak, and Charles thought that the old hunter would wait and see the situation and finally speak.
"You are right, we are dangerous and can easily fail. But have we already lost? Even if the odds are only one in ten thousand, we have to give all our fighting spirit to chase this slim probability. You have no idea how deep the crisis is facing the Hunter Sanctuary. If we don't do something soon, we're going to be dragged down by our own debts." Frederic always spoke with an unmistakable tone, and Char was eager to learn this way of speaking, as if it would strengthen his powers of persuasion.
"We have already lost because the devil is among us." Dalton began, his face pale.
"Rare charge, what do you mean?" Frederick frowned.
"That's him." Dalton pointed a trembling finger at Valen. "Are you too slow to detect the evil in him?"
Warren burst into a rude laugh uncontrollably, and then strode toward Dalton.
Frederick held out his hand between them, lest Warren should catch Dalton. "Better not fool around, both of you," he said grim-faced.
It was true that the Shire found Wallen to be unpleasant; he was fierce and disreputable. Shire wondered more than once how such a man could have made it to the ranks of demon hunters, but Wallen did have a place in the hunter's book. If history were to be written after the church, the scribes would also count Valen's exploits in hunting demons.
"Is Warren the devil?" Charles asked Etienne.
"Order. "Etienne's lips were moving and his voice was very quiet.
"Would you believe such nonsense?" Warren stared at Frederic with a ferocious expression.
"Frankly, I do get a lot of complaints about you. People say that you..." Frederick turned to Charles. "Charles, get out of here."
'Why? Char was shocked and surprised. Was there any reason to leave the hunters' meeting?
"What we're going to talk about is highly confidential." Etienne urged. "Go. If you hear what you should not hear, you will fall into the hands of witches or demons who will torture you to steal secrets."
Char went outside despondent, and they just didn't believe me, that I still didn't belong with the hunters? Or do you think I'm too vulnerable to reveal all my secrets when questioned?
But the Shire knew that they were serious, and that ignorance would be the best protection if he really fell into the hands of the enemy.
He moved away from the campstone, and could not help wondering what the hunters would be talking about, the charges against Warren? Hearing that Wallen has a nocturnal habit and can communicate with animals, it is indeed easy to blame Wallen for these dark habits, and it is reasonable to assume that he is involved in some dark witchcraft.
In fact, he thought of Varenn's mean face and thought of him as suspicious.
Man is a beast driven by desire. Varun said that. But does that explain everything? People also give selflessly and make noble sacrifices, but these things can't also come from the primitive human impulse.
Char climbed onto a stone wall that showed signs of being burned and melted. He believed that these long walls were once straight and solid, but now they were covered with stream-like lines, rough and undulating surfaces, and the rocks formed waves.
From the direction of the campstone came the sound of a fierce quarrel, which caught Charles's eye, and he saw the shadowy figures of the hunters in front of the stone, drawing closer to each other, as if they were Shouting, scolding, and even bumping into each other, except Etienne's solitary figure, far from the center of the confusion, who seemed to disdain to join in the argument.
A short time later, Tiffany left the campstone and went outside near the two ring stone walls. She saw Shire and said to him, "Recruit."
Char jumped down and greeted Tiffany. "Call me back?"
"On the contrary, I couldn't stand their arguments and just walked out." She shrugged. "I don't like it."
"What are they saying?" 'asked Shire.
"Some petty things. Warren is trying to prove his innocence, but it's getting worse, Dalton is breaking down, Frederic wants to know what's going on before he makes a decision, and your master doesn't want to get involved." Tiffany climbed onto the stone wall and sat down.
She was pretty, tall and thin, with green eyes, red hair in long braids, a tight leather jacket that was easy to move around, a camping bag, and a thin silver sword at her waist.
"Varun says Maester Etienne has lost his emotions."
"This is the way we have to go, all hunter spells cost souls, you know why?"
A gloomy thought sprang up in Shire's mind.
"Because we have nothing left but our souls."
"Ha." Tiffany was surprised by Shire's answer, "Don't think like this, we have a lot of things, such as partners, equipment and skills." In fact, it's good for us to burn our souls."
"Worth the exchange of our hearts?" There's something strange about the Shire.
"Of course. The vision of the devil and our vision is not the same, in the eyes of the devil, all creatures are carrying the soul to walk the shell, the more powerful the creature, the more strong the soul flame, enough to let them give everything to chase. And the weaker our souls are, the less they appear to the devil, almost to the point of being invisible to his senses."
"Then I should use more spells and lose my soul early." Shire was thoughtful.
"That's another thing, and at all stages of life, what we do is different. Once you have reached middle age like me, or grown old like your master, and the path of our lives has been set, and there is nothing to do but hunt demons, then we have nothing to worry about. Since every day in the future will be the same as today, we will live each day as if it were our last and devote ourselves to the cause of hunters."
Char feels uneasy, being a demon hunter means only hunting demons? Wouldn't that be a miserable life.
"You see, don't you feel so good? That's the good thing about being young. You are still young, you can pursue any ideal you like, wealth, status, food, sex, and after you have thoroughly experienced every happiness in the world, you will realize that this world is precious and worth selling our souls to protect." Tiffany smiled.
"I see." Char nodded solemnly.
"How many spells have you mastered now?" Tiffany asked.
"Only the Yaffen Flame."
"Oh, the Flame of Yafen... Powerful spell. I have great respect for your master, who inherited this legendary spell. Now let me teach you a new spell, simple and important, not as famous as the Flame of Yafen, but not as costly. Pick up a rock and throw it at me."
A new spell! Shire was a little excited.
There was no shortage of rubble for a campstone remnant, and he grabbed a rock and gently swung it at the huntress. She uttered a spell, and the stone seemed to be struck in the air by an invisible force and fell to the ground.
"There was once a demon who lured a hunter into the woods and asked him to invite the demon into the world. The hunter agreed, but at the same time, the hunter also asked the demon to give him wisdom." Jeffery motioned for Shire to throw another stone, and the second stone was similarly unable to get close, falling under Jeffery's spell, "... So the demon agreed, it will surpass the human intelligence gifted to the hunter, and then with the help of the hunter into the world. Using the infinite wisdom the demon shared with him, the Hunter learned how to manipulate the principles of the world, developed a powerful spell of his own to seal the demon in the secret sanctuary, and knowing that the demons would continue to try to attack the world, he created the Demon Hunter Organization."
"The Secret Chapel?" It was the first time Shire had heard of this place.
"It's in a far away place." "No one knows where it is, because the sanctuary holds the most terrible demon, and the original hunter is afraid that the next person will enter the sanctuary and inadvertently release the demon."
"What if no one watches and the devil runs away?"
"Yes, just like our church, we all rally to chase the blade demon, and the few demons in the Church may take the opportunity to escape." But there was no way out, because a big man had offered Frederick a big deal... We need to defeat the Blade demon." Tiffany explained, "It's all trivial stuff, we just have to worry about it. In a word Try to release the mantra in exactly the same tone, pitch, and rhythm as I do. It restrains the flowing air and commands it to flow in a given direction - 'phantom power.'"
There was a slight flicker of light in the air, and this time Char could see it clearly.
He memorized the spell, learned it exactly the same way Tiffany did.
"Phantom powers!
Shire looked around, did not see any reaction, whether effective. To precisely control the scope, duration, and effect of the spell would require long hours of practice, day and night, and he may have just set off a small gust of air somewhere.
"Come on, I'll try to throw a stone at you..." Tiffany wants to practice with Char.
But the noise at the campstone grew louder and louder, until at last Shire heard a shrill curse rising far above all movement:
"Fuck that! I quit!