Zayden came to a firm halt as his eyes scanned his surroundings. His skin tingled with awareness of the dark mana that was brewing in the town. When they had arrived here, everything was masked. In fact, it was an illusion of the actual reality. Zayden knew he wasn't just dealing with monsters. There was dark magic here, and he could feel it in his bones. Now that they had spent time in Rivendell, the illusion magic was waning. Taking in a deep breath, Zayden called for his magic within. Steam started streaming from his nose, slowly surrounding him in a cocoon. Being able to control fire, steam magic was also part of him. He shut his eyes and focused on bringing out more steam.
Illusions are crafted out of what was already real, and then making it seem real. Zayden hadn't pinpointed this earlier until Conny had blabbered about them being the only humans.
"Reveal," he murmured and opened his eyes.
The steam surrounding him like fog instantly gushed out towards the four corners of the town. In the blink of an eye, the illusion cracked. Zayden smirked. That official would definitely not see the sunrise, he thought, as the people in the town suddenly turned to glare at him with hollow eyes. This was exactly what he had perceived earlier. A rotten smell.
"Hurry up, fellas," he whispered to himself, hoping the others were alright.
---
**At the mine**
"My Lord, the Crimson Wardens have seen through our illusion. It just cracked," a slender man with blue locks replied hastily as his eyes darted left and right at the miners who were purifying the gold. It was the last process. If things went well, they would leave here at nightfall. But now—
"Is the war god here? I bet he is," the high-ranking official asked as he stared directly at the gold he was holding with a smile. As always, the war god was needed to clean up the mess of those ranking at the top without him knowing. "I prepared a present for him. A huge one at that. He would surely make do with it." He grinned evilly.
Blue locks frowned. "What about the others? A group of two are already at the public office. The others haven't been located," he relayed in worry. The war god was here to thwart their plan, but what was the present Lord Rigolo was talking about?
"Ben, bring me the blond boy. I would like to have a word with him. Kill the others. Release the hounds too." Lord Rigolo chuckled amiably.
Ben bowed and suddenly slipped through the walls of the mine.
---
Zayden cut and thrust as bodies fell in heaps around him. Now that the illusion had faded, the skins of the townsfolk had a faint grayish tone and their eyes were glossy, almost like glass. Yet it was empty, as if their life force had been sucked out of them. They were corpses that had been corrupted by miasmas. The illusion caster had done a great deal here. Although they fought and moved like humans, Zayden knew they couldn't feel pain. How could people be so evil?
His hands throbbed in pain, but his body refused to stop as he sliced through the hollowed corpses. Their black blood painted his body and their quiet wails pierced his ears. This was why he was made. To slaughter. Drawing power from within, Zayden struck his sword to the ground, releasing a strong force that shook the ground, sending the hollowed flying in different directions. Taking a huge breath, Zayden's joints ached. Half of the crowd was down. He didn't know when he would finish them off, but he kept fighting. He wasn't a knight who fought with elegance and dignity. He was Zayden, the Midnight Reaper, who slaughtered without mercy.
He roared. The current in the air charged, releasing lightning as it struck the corpses around, electrocuting them.
Ben stood beside a stall as he watched in mortification. He was searching for the blond boy when he came across the man in a red coat and silver hair, covered in blood. That was him. Zayden. A shudder went through him as he quickly turned back in fear to escape the reaper's wrath.
A heavy blow unexpectedly landed on his face, smashing his head against the wooden stall. Blood dripped from the wound on his head and he groaned in pain. When he opened his eyes, a tall man with black hair and a blond boy was standing before him.
Hirotaka and Conny had reached the public office minutes ago, but there wasn't a sign of Jenny and Stanley there. On their way to find Zayden, they caught a man slipping through walls and stalls.
"This is him." Conny pressed his lips together as he bent and dealt another blow to Ben. "Where are my friends, you bastard?" he yelled and struck again.
Ben had thought that with his abilities, he would be able to evade the Crimson Wardens. Even the boy Lord Rigolo had sent him to bring was stronger than he thought. "At the public office. Th–they are trapped inside," he stammered in fear as he stared at the duo guardedly.
Hirotaka went on his heels as he took in the young man who was almost the same age as Conny. "What are you doing here? What happened to this village?" he asked pointedly. There wasn't time for nice chats.
He wasn't supposed to say anything. If he did, Lord Rigolo wouldn't keep his promise. "I–I, I can't say," he whispered with a shaky mouth.
Hirotaka pushed his glasses lazily, then he punched the boy in the stomach. His face was too bloody. He wasn't ready to get his hand dirty. "This is the last time I will ask you. What happened to this village?"
Ben coughed as blood came out from the sides of his mouth. They would keep hitting him if he didn't speak up. If he did, the official would take the most precious thing from him. The town was gone. He was partly at fault. He finally opened his mouth.
His vision tilted and his body swayed. He was going to fall. Fighting the dead had sucked a lot of mana from him. A soft hand from nowhere suddenly steadied him. Zayden frowned and slapped the hand away. He disliked women touching him. Although his stepmother during his life as Raiden had made life a living hell, this body of Zayden also had its bad side with women.
He pointed his sword at the newcomer and raised his head. "Back of—" His eyes widened in shock as he stared at Isabelle. Isabelle? he whispered. No. The girl was rather looking angelic. Her hair was sparkling gold and her skin was clear as a porcelain doll. Her short white dress fitted her perfectly and—there. That was the shock he got. Wings. A monster? Huge feathery white wings lined with gold spread from her back as she drew back.
"Who are you?" he questioned the breathtaking figure. She was either an angel or a beautiful devil. She started to fade. And then, she wasn't there anymore.
"What… was that?" Zayden asked himself.
"Zayden!" Conny called out. Ben had confessed everything that had transpired in the town. Watching Zayden fight was always scary. Even though it was a scene that often played before their eyes, it never ceased to make him shudder. If there was anything to describe Zayden, it was a beast in human flesh.
With a stunned expression, Zayden made his way towards the others who were gathered close to a stall. For unknown reasons, his strength had returned faster than normal. When he got there, he saw a beaten-up boy on his knees.
"What happened here?" he questioned boldly.
"He sold the town." Hirotaka dusted his hands and pointed towards the direction of the mine. "The official is at the mine where the gold is being purified as we speak," he elaborated earnestly. "Although, telling us had cost him something."
Zayden shook his head. So that was what Granny meant. "What would you think if you were a townsman who works at the mine?" he had questioned.
"That bastard," Zayden murmured. He had said "think" and not "do." Now that he was back to his senses, Zayden noticed Stanley and Jenny were not there.
"Where are the others?" he asked.
"Trapped in the public office. The door couldn't be opened from the inside," Hirotaka replied as his hard gaze fell on Ben, who was shivering at the presence of Zayden. "We'll head there to help them, while you"—he pointed at Zayden—"should make sure that the official doesn't see the sunrise."
"Isn't that Granny's words?" Conny teased and pushed his hair away from his face. This was one of the most confusing missions he had taken on. Hirotaka smiled and picked up Ben from the ground.
"Let's go."
Zayden let out a sigh of relief and looked behind him. That encounter earlier. It seemed he was the only one who saw her. Quietly, he made his way towards the mine. Those greedy aristocrats were the reason the war happened years ago. Now, they were doing more harm to the world at large. If this persisted, there was no doubt that the end war would surely happen.
Ben fumbled with the key in his hand and inserted it into the keyhole. Having the ability to slip through anything, he had quickly trapped the other two in here, not knowing it was going to backfire. He pulled the door open and was about to step inside when a gun was suddenly placed on his head.
"Don't shoot, Stanley," Hirotaka sighed and pushed Ben away from the doorway.
"What the hell happened out there? Where have you been?" Jenny's series of complaints came like a flood. "How did we get locked in here?"
"Ask him." Conny shrugged and looked at Stanley, who was holding two brown parchments with a pale face. "Where is Zayden?" he asked as his grip on the paper tightened.
Hirotaka frowned. "At the mine? Is something wrong?"
"No. He shouldn't be there. Here." He raised the parchments for them to see. "This is a royal order from both the cathedral and the capital dominion faction. We have to leave this town now," he replied with shaky lips as he tried to push past them in a hurry. This was unlike the Stanley the crew knew.
"Wait! Stanley! What's going on?" Jenny asked. She knew Stanley had been quiet earlier, but she had thought it was probably because they were trapped in the public office without any escape.
Stanley turned to look at them in fear. "They're going to seal this town. Zayden. His powers. Us. All of us are going to die."
Hirotaka frowned for the umpteenth time. His brain was slowly turning to mesh. "What do you mean, seal?"