Desolate Mage: A Legend Reborn! 50 The Hunters

[In a deserted alleyway between the tourists' information centre and the travel centre]

Two men were standing in front of a scene of carnage.

One of the men stood by, arms folded and showing no signs of consternation despite the scene before him. He had shoulder-length greyish-white hair and was dressed fully in black. He had his lush hair tied back in a pony tail, giving him a cool-guy image despite his slightly older age. His face looked relatively well-kept apart from the beginnings of evening shadow, greyish-white stubble beginning to sprout out on his chin and cheeks. Nonetheless, the hints of a beard and moustache only made him look even more gauche and dashing.

He had on a set of supple-looking armour that seemed simple but gave one the feeling that it was far more expensive than it looked due to the detailed textures and the feeling of quality. In truth, the man was wearing wyvern-hide armour which cost enough for one to buy a few small villages!

His bearing gave him a look of one used to authority, and the eastern-styled sword strapped to the left side of his waist was ornately decorated. The straight eastern Jian/ longsword was all-black except for gold inlays at the guard and pommel.

The other man was kneeling beside the dead bodies of their men, checking the corpses one by one for clues as to who killed them and why.

The confident and suave-looking clean-shaven man was probably in his early 20s. He was tall and well-built without being bulky and dressed in thick but flexible dark-dyed leather armour. All he needed was a black hood or cloak to look exactly the part of a trained killer or a skilled assassin.

They were here because the bruisers unit responsible for this sector of town lay dead, all four of them cleanly bisected or decapitated. From the positions they were standing in, there didn't appear to be any signs of a fight, though it was clear they had met a group as they were split up two by two.

The man examining the bodies for signs or leads then stood up, eyes deep in thought, contemplating just what could have happened. He gave the entire area a a last once-over, then walked back to stand beside his companion. Though, from the way he deferred to the older man, it was obvious that they were not of equal status.

"Karel. Are there any leads?" The older man spoke with a grand and booming voice, though one that was also very reserved and refined, quiet but powerful.

"Hmm." Karel paused for awhile as if to collect his thoughts and form the words. He knew that the man before him, Susano, also known as Blacksword of the Four Lords of the Underworld, had no patience and would not hesitate to cut down anyone who was not useful. Such as a tracker who could not locate his prey.

And he was also very, very nervous - he couldn't figure out why such a minor event happening in his sector would bring the big boss himself to investigate!

So he spoke carefully and with measured words as he explained his findings.

"There should have been an encounter with 2, maybe 3 people. But based on the signs and the surroundings, the conflict was very, very short. Of those 3 people our men met, only one actually fought. you can see from the signs on the ground here--" He walked over to where the boy Anselm had been pressed against the floor, "--And here..." This time he indicated where the leader of the bruisers and his assistant had held Ilya captive, then continued with his discourse.

"...That there should be two people held hostage. The one on the ground should be a youth, maybe a young teenager..."

Susano kept silent, as if waiting for something more concrete, a clue he could work on to order his men to begin the search.

"Now on to the actual killer. From how smooth the cuts were, he or she must have been at least one full realm above them, at least at the mid-Adept level. He also didn't touch any of their possessions - so it shouldn't be done by any of the rival gangs or robbers..." Karel answered, though he seemed slightly hesitant with the last line of his deductions.

Susano's face began to grow cold, a sign that he was losing his already limited patience.

"T-then, here's what I can infer about the killer. One, he's young. This is because of two reasons, firstly he was helping at least one youth who had been captured, secondly, because that should be the only reason our men didn't react or keep their guards up - if he looked to be weak and young." He paused to see what his employer would say.

This time the second-ranked lord of the Underworld raised his brows in interest, clearly intrigued. "Go on."

"R-right. The second thing we know is that he uses a sharp but curved-bladed sword. It has to be heavy enough to cleanly cleave through a human's body, and also long, based on the spot where he landed and struck from. As such, he probably uses a katana, a rare weapon for these parts."

Finally the older man showed a hint of approval, smiling slightly. "And how do you suggest we find him...?"

"Yes! I'm, I'm just about to reach that part. No-one around these parts would have dared to touch our men, they know the consequences and it's an open secret that we are backed by two of the four big families. As such, he must also not be from around these parts. Which could only mean one thing: he or she is here for the Duke's guards selection tournament!"

Then he drew in a deep breath, before hurriedly completing his analysis. "In conclusion, we just need to keep an eye out for someone young, skillful, wielding a katana and who is attending the selection tournament in 3 day's time!" He finished with a rush, breathless and afraid that the man before him would have a sudden change of mood and be displeased.

He was relieved as he saw Lord Blacksword smile, then suddenly frown and sigh before he spoke to himself, "How unlucky to happen just when there's a new boss up top, even above the King of the Underworld, ruling even above the Laughing Man..."

Then the powerful man gave his instructions to Karel.

"Men!" He half-shouted to his dark surroundings, where dozens of grey and black-cloaked and powerful looking figures were suddenly revealed to be hidden in the shadows.

"Go! Tell the young talents to join the tournament. We need to suss out just who it was brave enough to challenge us at such a bad time..."

"And remind Gorun what happens to our enemies...!"

"Yes sir!" A resounding cry of the many voices answered him.

Then he turned to look at the fearful sector leader beside him, Karel who was trembling in panic at the thought that he might just be eliminated right here to keep him silent forever.

"Karel, you will follow me to the tournament." He smiled a sinister and deadly smile, his eyes looking like those of an Angel of Death as he spoke, "I trust you'll be able to identify who the killer is... Or you'll be the one whose funeral anniversary we celebrate next year."

"Y-y-yes my lord..." Karel cursed his luck.

But it was not just him who was cursing him luck.

Susano too cursed his luck; he would have to settle all this quickly before the new highest boss, the Mistress and her maid found out about this, or he would have hell to pay. The duo gave him the chills.

'Especially that demonic maid...'

* * * * *

[Inside Big Mama's Nest, the city's second largest inn, bar and brothel complex]

An eye-patch wearing man stood shaking before a respectable looking middle-aged man.

They were in a fairly large private room decked out in paintings, tapestries, carpets and other luxurious decorations. However, all of the items in the room seemed to depict some obscene scene or lewd image, a reflection of the abode they were in. At this time, they were alone in the room, with all attendants sent out to ensure privacy.

The man looked to be from military background from how he carried himself, straight as a reed and with a disciplined look in his eyes. But at this point of time, he was spouting expletives as he gave the foolish Masra a well-deserved scolding.

"Idiot! Imbecile! Retard! Are you born stupid? Or are you just plain stupid from being kicked in the head too often as a child?? I told you to never, ever, ever come looking for me unless it was an absolute emergency!?!" With a roar, he punched the poor, silly Masra in the face, sending 3 more of his teeth flying, this time 2 canines and 1 incisor. The man fell to the floor in a heap, but hurriedly got up to look for his missing teeth, in the hopes to return them to their places.

"Get up! And be quick, why aren't you quickly telling me why you're here? Do I look like I have all day?" The military man, Captain Eniev yelled harshly at Masra.

'But... You're the one who hit me and didn't want to hear what happened... And now you blame me for being slow???' The leader of the 3 stooges of henchmen cried out at the injustice in his heart, not daring to speak out in his defence. Then he fell to his knees and quickly recounted what happened early at the quester's guild.

"....." Eniev fell silent, but his anger was mounting steadily, turning completely livid and about to explode! In fact, he was so angry that he couldn't even find the words to say. In the end, he could only pant and gasp in fury at his unofficial follower's stupidity.

Finally, once he had calmed down slightly, he took a handkerchief and dipped it lightly in water before laying it against his face in order to cool himself off.

Then he slapped the pathetic thug before him once again, sending another 2 teeth flying!

'My... My teeth... Sobs... My poor poor teeth...' He ignored his injuries and pain to search for his teeth frantically, but unfortunately they had already dropped into the gaps between the floorboards into the gunk and dirt accumulated over 20 years. Nonetheless, Masra still reached his fingers in between the filthy, revolting gaps in an attempt to retrieve his precious teeth, causing Captain Eniev to turn green from disgust!

Coughing repeatedly and looking away, the captain sighed and realised the retard before him was not worth his time. He was so stupid that he had probably been dropped on his head as a baby, or maybe kicked in the skull by a Sar'peh!

Then he explained as slowly as he could bear to. "Never, ever come to see me again. Our arrangement isn't supposed to be public; or are you trying to let the whole city know that our Baron Leocadius Trenel is buying kidnapped youths?!?"

"Now, let me tell you fools. The boy who meddled, you said he claimed Duke de Caldis is his father...?"

Masra nodded enthusiastically.

"FOOL!!!! DON'T YOU KNOW THAT THE DUKE IS A WOMAN????? HOW CAN SHE BE HIS FATHER IF SHE'S A WOMAN!!!?"

The eye-patch wearing man was shocked when he heard those words. So shocked that he dropped the 5 teeth he had managed to fish out of the floor - straight into the nearby chamber pot used for managing bodily motions in the comfort of one's room. His jaw dropped in anguish, but he swallowed his disgust and began to reach out a trembling hand to retrieve his teeth from the pot full of pungent piss.

At the sight of that, the captain nearly threw up, and nearly lost control to slap the man again. Instead, he coughed loudly, hoping that the man would stop whatever horrifying act he was doing. But the cough fell on deaf ears, and Eniev had to look away and cover his ears as he finished his instructions.

"Go and report to Private Lyam! Tell him I sent you. Bring some Adept-level men in plain clothes to deal with the two newbies and bring them both back!" He sighed and gagged as he tried to hold down his vomit.

"I hope you don't disappoint the young master this time. Make sure you don't, or it'll be your head in that chamber pot, not just your teeth."

Then the captain ran away to find a washroom to let out the vomit he had been holding back as he saw Masra try to re-attach the salvaged teeth into his mouth - without washing them.

* * * * *

[Just outside Gorun city]

Sand Crab Byrus stood overlooking the city, affixing the city with a venomous and murderous gaze, even as the first rays of the dawn sun began to break the horizon.

'Soon... Soon I'll have my revenge...'

"Men, stay here while I go see my Master." He instructed the hundreds of riders camped around him, then looked to his three remaining lieutenants.

"Lust, Viyash, Adron. Follow me. We'll see just where that little insect can hide. And if he doesn't come out, we'll overturn every single rock and stone and finally, crush that maggot's bones into powder - all while keeping him still alive to relish every moment of pain! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Maniacal laughter echoed into the early morning sky as the mighty leader of the Sand Crab raiders galloped through the distance with his men; headed towards Gorun city.

* * * * *

Lars' sneezed.

He was queuing up to enter an equipment store. He rubbed his nose as he wondered what triggered his sneeze; his body was hardy and hale, why would he sneeze all of a sudden?

Maybe someone was talking about him behind his back...?

'It better not be another of those perverts thinking about me...' He shivered with a chill up his spine at the thought.

'I hope the backers of those guys come looking for me soon... I left all those clues, I hope they can at least manage to follow my trail...'

He smiled enigmatically.

Chapter end