After the discussion earlier, the team decided to continue to interrogate Hugo back at HQ. The details that Valens had mentioned were dangerous enough, so they decided to pack up and go back to report at HQ in the middle of the night.
When they arrived at HQ, Gen. Luis ordered the team to interrogate Hugo, but Exeo requested to meet with General Luis, while the rest of the team would watch the captured cult leader.
General Luis nodded and agreed to Exeo's request and he led him to his office.
Once inside, Exeo sat down on the chair across from Gen. Luis's desk. The general motioned for him to sit down and then he began to ask questions.
"So, any updates from your interrogation before you brought him here?"
Exeo nodded and said, "There were, although, there is no exact confirmation from Hugo himself."
The general frowned and said, "Explain."
Exeo explained how Hugo kept denying their question and even tried to escape. He also added that Valens had mentioned some important details which it was not mentioned in any of the intel given prior to the mission.
However, the most worrying point was when Valens told them the Blovik Empire's name which he mentioned during their briefing on their first mission. The general took out his cigar and lit it, thinking hard for a moment.
Exeo knew that the man was deep in thought and waited patiently for his answer.
Finally, the general sighed and gave Exeo a folder. He motioned for Exeo to take it and read it.
On the outside, the folder was an official document of the Clareo Military Forces but on the inside, it contained a very thick dossier that contained all the information that the general gathered regarding this cult group.
Exeo opened the folder and skimmed through the contents. There were a lot of data and information, which were arranged neatly in the file.
The first page was the title of the report; it was titled "Hades' Wrath". The next pages were filled with a long list of names starting from the top: Hugo, Vadim, Alin, Marlin, Sariel, Tzara, and the rest were all members of this cult. Below the list were details on each of them such as their age, height, weight, family background, and personal details.
Next were the crimes committed by the people named above, including where and when the crime was committed, the victims, and the punishments meted out.
Lastly, there was a detailed description of the rituals and practices that the members of this cult performed and descriptions of the different locations where these events occurred.
Exeo was stunned after reading the content of the folder.
"Sir, I'd like to ask. There's no information about Blovik Empire here." Exeo asked, hoping that the information might have been overlooked.
The general smiled wryly and said, "I can only tell you that this is the best information we have on this cult. I don't want to lose anyone else because of our negligence. We will never know what happened if someone who knows nothing about this cult tries to investigate or infiltrate it. Just be glad that you caught this guy alive and hope for the best."
Exeo bowed his head in acknowledgment. He stood up and walked over to the door, but was stopped midway when the general said, "Call for Valens for me here."
Exeo turned around and nodded. After a few moments, Valens came in and sat down in front of the general's desk.
He was wearing their team's uniform, with the armband of the team's logo, and with black shoes. His face looked lean and sharp.
The general placed the folder containing the information on Hades' Wrath in front of Val.
He picked up the folder and stared at the cover sheet for a while, as though he could see the whole story written there.
Then he looked up and said, "It seems like a great deal of effort went into gathering all this information. So, why did you call me here, sir?"
Gen. Luis smiled and said, "This is the reason."
He pointed at the folder and continued, "We found something that we think should be shared with you, so please keep it between us."
Valens looked at the general again, puzzled.
"Look at this," the general said and flipped open one of the files.
A photograph disk fell out and landed on the table.
Photographs that were saved in a photograph disk can save at least 5 minutes worth of scenes, but the motions saved will be in a fast-forward option.
Then, the general pressed a small switch on the disk and it showed the inside of a cave. On the ground lay a large piece of cloth and a pair of boots, which were lying close together. A small candle flame flickered on the cloth.
At the other end of the cave, two men were facing each other. They wore dark robes and masks, and both held long-bladed swords in their hands. One of them was pointing the sword toward the other, who appeared to be fighting back.
As they fought, sparks flew and the air crackled with electricity. The men were locked in an intense battle. It seemed that neither side was going to give way.
Suddenly, the man holding the sword lowered his arm and stabbed his opponent straight into his heart. The other man fell backward and disappeared behind the stone wall of the cave.
There was a sudden silence in the room. The scenes were taken from quite far away. The light was not good, and it made the figures of the combatants appear blurry.
It also showed the dead body of the victim lying on the floor, and the killer standing before him. Both were masked and robed, just as before. But this time, the killer took off his mask.
Although the light was not good, the killer can still be identified because of his hair. This time, Valens who was silently watching the silent motion picture, knew this feature and suddenly gasped and said, "Reinhart Bellator?!"
General Luis who was observing Valens, frowned and said, "This was taken 20 or more years ago. How did you know it was him?"
"I saw his picture when I was homeschooled. Although we don't hang the picture of Reinhart Bellator, our parents had kept one," Valens replied.
"But, what does our ancestor get to do with the cult?"
"That's exactly what I'm wondering myself. Perhaps he has some connection with this cult, but we don't know anything about it yet," General Luis said.
"You mean… this is…"
"Yes. Yes, this is Hades' Wrath," General Luis said.
Valens was silent for a few minutes. He is now talking in his mind with the shadow, and asked, "Did you know that the previous Bellator had a connection with the cult?"
The shadow replied, "His connection with the cult is that he killed many of the cult's members. The man he killed, or rather gravely wounded, was Hugo's father."
Valens's eyes widened in surprise, and the shadow continued, "Yes, the one you had killed along with that white ice kid."
This time, General Luis kept observing Valens, and based on his observation of him, there was still something mysterious about the youngest Bellator.
After a momentary silence, Val then asked the general, "Is there any intel about the history of the cult?"
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
General Luis sighed quietly.
"We have no clue about the history of this cult. We only know that the cult has existed since long ago, but its history is lost."
"Then, what about the Blovik Empire, sir? What happened after the war ended?"
The general was silent.
"Sir?" Valens asked again.
"The Blovik Empire. They're gone now, too."
"Gone? You mean they've been destroyed by the enemy?"
"No. Not even defeated. Just vanished," said the general.
"What do you mean?" Valens asked.
"They just stopped existing. They just vanished without any explanation. No trace of them left anywhere. They just disappeared completely. Even if we go through records and archives, nothing about the empire exists anymore."
Then the shadow suddenly yelled which made Valens flinched, "Ah! Now I remember!"
Valens asked the shadow in his mind while trying to cover up his action earlier. "What? What?! What did you remember?!"
"Blovik Empire. This was the city that the other Bellator had wiped out! Ahaha!"
The shadow laughed but when Valens heard it, he asked, "You mean, the Bellator before Reinhart, is that it?"
"Yup," answered the shadow.
"Then, we can no longer really retrieve any records or leads about the cult?"
"Who says you can't", the shadow simply asked.
Valens frowned and said, "What? We can't really get some leads to..."
Suddenly, he realized something and stood up, making the general startled a bit.
He looked at the general with a serious expression and said, "Sir, I think I know where we can still find some leads, or if possible, about Blovik Empire."
"Go on. Tell me." ordered the general.
"I think I know where the Blovik Empire is located."
***
100 or so years ago, the city of Blovik, the capital of the Blovik Empire was under siege by the invading army of the Kingdom of Westland.
When the city fell into their hands, the city gates were opened for all sorts of people to come in; from beggars and thieves, to those who were slaves or criminals, to even bandits and murderers.
In this state of chaos, the city was invaded by a group of unknown assassins dressed like monks and priests. They came disguised as healers and priests to save lives and offer prayers for the victims. But once inside the city, these masked men began killing anyone who got in their way.
At first, most people thought that this was the work of the kingdom, but the assassins didn't show themselves until after they'd already slaughtered many innocent citizens. When they revealed themselves, everyone became horrified because these assassins were not human. They wore black hoods over their faces so that they could not be identified, and each assassin carried an iron scythe, with blood dripping down their blades. Their clothes were soaked red with blood. They looked like demons and vampires.
These assassins murdered hundreds of people before being discovered by the guards of the city, who tried to fight them off. However, they were outnumbered, and the assassins overpowered them easily. The guards died one by one. Some managed to escape and hid in the nearby forest. Those who couldn't hide were killed by the assassins.
One night, included in those who managed to escape were two young girls who decided to leave the city and were both orphans. One was the daughter of a knight, who had been slain by the assassins' attacks. She was saved by her friend, a maid, who took her in.
When they were already outside of the city, they met a group of men, all wearing military uniforms. Among the group, one of the soldiers told them that they were looking for survivors from the city. After hearing this, the girl felt relieved and thanked him. Then she asked why the men were searching for survivors. He said that the city had asked for help but it was too late for the city to ask for help.
However, the soldier said that it was the commander's orders that they will still continue to aid and help the city. Thus, they met with the soldier's group. The girls wanted to thank the commander for still aiding the city albeit too late, and looked for survivors instead.
However, the soldier said that their commander is not with them but is in a different location. Thus, the two girls decided to stay with the soldier's group at the campsite for safety.
On the other hand, there were also rumors going around that the king himself had sent troops to attack the city.
After some time, the commander arrived at the campsite. The commander gave a speech to his men. He told them that they were now to rescue the people of the city. That they are to free the prisoners in the city jail and kill those who try to hinder them from saving the citizens. He then ordered the men to move forward and rescue the city.
While the commander was giving his speech, another group of men appeared, led by a man in a golden robe. The man introduced himself as the Grand Master of Hades Temple. He then told the commander that the temple has been aiding the citizens of the city since its fall and that it would be best if the temple could take charge of the city.
Thus, the temple became the new ruler of Blovik, and the city was renamed Hades.
Years passed by. The people lived peacefully. Many years later, the king's son married the daughter of the Grand Master. Soon after, the king became sick and died. The queen took over the throne.
But soon after, the queen started having nightmares. In her dreams, she saw her husband and father-in-law dying in front of her eyes. This scared her so much that she lost consciousness and fainted. Her servants found her unconscious and brought her back to her bedchamber. There she woke up screaming, crying, "They're coming to get me! I'm gonna die!"
The Queen went to see the priest of the temple. The priest was surprised that she was awake at such an hour. But the queen told him about her dream and what happened to her during it. The priest examined the queen, and he told her that the spirit of the king is possessing her.
The priest had tried to exorcise the evil spirit from the queen but failed. The spirits seemed stronger than he expected.
However, another high priest who heard the Queen's issue offered his help. Together they prayed and cast spells to drive out the evil spirits from the Queen. But nothing worked. Finally, they realized that the only person who can do this is the Grand Master, the High Priest's brother.
When they asked for the Grand Master's help, they were led to an underground basement. There, they were greeted with a big old wooden door, and a carved symbol on it. It shows a big star carved on the whole wooden door, but there was also another carving, a snake coiling around it. They opened the door, and they saw a giant staircase leading to the basement. They climbed down the stairs. As they reached the bottom, they saw the Grand Master waiting for them.
As they entered the room, the Grand Master said: "Your Highness, please lie down on top of the stone table."
Once the Queen lay down, the Grand Master began chanting magic words. Once he finished, the Grand Master touched each side of the head of the queen, while the High Priest put a cloth over the queen's mouth. And suddenly, the Queen began to convulse, thrashing about, until finally, she stopped moving altogether.
One last step the Grand Master did is that he pulled out a dagger, and pierced the forehead of the queen. Then he stabbed the dagger into the table. Blood flowed out of the wound like water.
The Grand Master lifted his hands and spoke, and the blood disappeared.
The Grand Master continued saying: "Now, let us begin the cleansing ritual."
And so he began to chant more magic words. When he finishes, he walked over to the table where the Queen used to lie, picked up the dagger, and whispered something no one could understand. The knife glowed red and turned into fire, shot through the wall of the basement, and disappeared eventually.
After a few minutes, the Queen's body suddenly started moving. She sat up and opened her eyes. This time, the eyes were listless, empty, and dark, just like the dead.
The Grand Master smiled in satisfaction and motioned his hand up, and at the same time, the Queen also stood up. However, the wound made the Grand Master on the Queen's forehead was gone, as if it was not pierced earlier.
The Queen's appearance may look like she is still alive, but she is now being controlled by the Grand Master, like a puppet.
When the news that the Queen was possessed but was exorcised by the Grand Master, spread throughout the city, this caused many people to believe that the Grand Master was truly powerful enough to destroy the evil spirits.
And so, the Grand Master became famous and loved among the citizens. Some even called him 'the Great Exorcist'.
However, this news didn't fare well with neighboring cities and kingdoms. One day, some soldiers from the nearby kingdom came to Blovik. The Grand Master welcomed them warmly and invited them inside the castle. He showed them all around, including the secret passage under the cellar which leads to the underworld.
Later, when everyone retired for the night, the soldiers stayed in their sleeping quarters. In the middle of the night, they awoke to hear someone shouting outside. It sounded like a woman calling for help.
They ran out and found the Grand Master standing beside a large stone table, holding a dagger.
His face looked pale and angry; his lips were drawn together in a tight line, and he was glaring at something lying on the table.
The soldiers were startled because they couldn't see anything else except the Grand Master himself. At first, they thought it might be a mannequin or dummy, but then they noticed that the figure moved its head and arms slightly. It was the Queen!
"What are you doing?" cried the soldiers.
But the Grand Master raised the dagger threateningly toward them, and yelled, "Silence!"
Then the soldiers understood why they woke up — the Queen was trying to call for help. So they decided to intervene before things got worse.
So they rushed forward, intending to rescue the Queen. Before they could reach her though, the Grand Master pointed his dagger at the soldiers. At once, the ground suddenly lit up with a very big magic symbol drawn in the dirt. It shone bright red.
It was a circle divided diagonally by two straight lines. Each diagonal line had three circles inscribed within it, and each circle had four small dots in it.
Then all the soldiers who were inside the magic symbol had their bodies twisted and contorted, like those of dolls. Their limbs stuck out unnaturally, their heads bent backward, their faces stretched wide open, their mouths agape.
All the soldiers' clothing tore off their backs and fell to the ground. All of a sudden, there appeared a huge white boney hand. The hand reached for the soldiers, grabbing them one after another, pulling them toward the center of the magic symbol.
Finally, only the Grand Master remained standing. He stared at the soldiers, his eyes burning with evil and malice. Beside him, was the Queen, who stood silently, but lifeless.
Then, the Grand Master chanted some spells, and the soldiers who were grabbed by the huge white boney hand started dragging them below the ground until no bodies of the soldiers can be found.
However, some of the soldiers that visited the Blovik, didn't come out or had escaped. Thus, they hastily returned to their own kingdom. They told the story of how the Grand Master of Blovik had summoned an enormous demon, and how it was able to take away all the soldiers.
This news soon spread far and wide, and the soldiers who heard this went back to their kingdoms and warned other kingdoms about what happened to the soldiers from their kingdom.
Soon, many kingdoms sent armies to invade Blovik and tried to ruin the temple that had ruled the city. One of them was the country of Nuista, which would later be known as Clareo.