Chapter 3: The Mysterious Magician

After escaping from the blazing village, the Knights of Tesma kept moving towards the east, where their destination was supposedly located. Night came, and they stopped to recuperate. Soldiers pitched tents, and some made bonfires. Jiablu saw some soldiers prepare dinner. He felt a peculiar sensation when the aromatic scent wafted through the air. Was it longing for food? He had yet to find out.

He was staring at the soldiers that tirelessly moved about in the grassy plains when a voice called out to him. It was firm but gentle, “How are you feeling?”

He looked at his left and saw the commander of the knights. By estimate, the must have been past the two meter mark. He was gigantic for a human. Jiablu also noticed a scar that ran across the man’s left cheeks. He stood and stared at him in silence.

The commander scratched his temporal. How should he deal with this? He had never handled such delicate things before. One wrong move and he might shatter the mind of the traumatized child. He felt a chill run down his spine. It was something he had to avoid at all costs.

He coughed once before he continued, “I am Lancelot Frederick, one of the three commanders of the Knights of Tesma.” There was an awkward pause before he added, “How about you? What’s your name?”

If someone were to see him now, Lancelot was utterly sure they would laugh at his incompetence in handling such sensitive matter. He was known as one of the strongest knights in the history of the Kingdom, but that was all. Aside from warfare, he had no other weapons from his arsenal.

He patiently waited for a response but received none. As he thought, conversation with the child was currently useless. But he understood. What transpired in the village was horrendous after all. It was normal for a child to be speechless from shock.

After a deep sigh that depicted resignation, he grabbed the hand of the child and gestured for him to come inside the tent. For a moment, the split second their eyes locked with each other, Lancelot swore that he saw an evil glare come from the child. No, evil was an understatement. It felt as though all the hate and resentment in the world had gathered and condensed to a single point. For an instance, he almost screamed.

Thankfully, he was able to restrain himself. Had he screamed, a large commotion over the soldiers would have transpired. But what was that? Now that he gazed at the child, all he saw was pure untainted eyes. The eyes of a victim. Lifeless and without purpose.

Lancelot violently shook his head thrice as he dismissed the thought. He noticed the quizzical look of the child, and he heartily smiled in response, “Haha~ sorry ‘bout that. Did I scare you?”

After a gentle tug, Lancelot and the child went inside the tent. It was wide enough to accommodate a dozen soldiers at once. There were no tables, but the floor was laden with a carpet. The two figures inside glanced at Lancelot and the child the moment they entered.

“It’s the commander~ how’d it go?” a woman said with a chuckle. Her blue eyes were dancing as she tilted her head to the left.  The child noticed that despite being part of the Knights of Tesma, the woman wore different attire. Hers was a chasuble embroidered with the Kingdom’s insignia on the shoulder.

“Haha~ judging by the commander’s dejected face, I guess it’s obvious,” an old man added. He wore the same armor as the soldiers, but one could clearly notice the stark contrast in physique. His body was ancient, with numerous wrinkles adorning the skin. Moreover, his limbs were as thin as twigs. It made one wonder how he was able to handle the weight of his full plate armor.

Lancelot gave an awkward smile as the two joined in the laughter. He gestured for the child to come and sit beside him. To his relief, the child complied. At the very least, the child could understand words. He was grateful for that fact.

The woman began distributing a small bowl to each and everyone in the room. It was beige in color, and a small piece of meat floated on top. Jiablu’s share was as large as those of the adults. He held his bowl with a hint of curiosity. He had begun to slightly salivate, a first time for an undead like him. As he had expected, a human body was weak and helpless. They needed to constantly feed themselves, otherwise, they would perish.

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“So, how’s the investigation?” asked Lancelot.

The old man replied after a sip from his bowl, “Don’t do it, sir. I think the rumors are true. The area in that mountain is territory of a powerful undead. It is foolish to try and challenge it. Going back to the Kingdom to report is the best course of action.”

“And how did you arrive at that conclusion?” asked Lancelot. He noticed that the child had yet to touch his bowl.

In the old man’s stead, the woman replied, “When we searched the village for survivors, I’ve found traces of undead—hundreds of undead. We encountered none along the way, but I think the rumors were true. The ravaging of the villages surrounding that mountain is perpetrated by the undead.”

Lancelot’s eyes widened. He bit his lips then said, “I see. Faith, you are a High Priest of the Order of Aquina. Even the Kingdom would have no choice but listen to your findings.”

Faith nodded once. She paused for a few seconds as she stared at everyone in the room. Should she tell them the other thing she found? It was preposterous, and even she was unable to believe it. But it was there. She was sure of it.

She gulped the lump in her throat then mustered her resolve. “Commander, actually… the undead aside, I found something even more surprising. Even I myself don’t want to believe it… but God Aquina cannot be wrong. There really are traces of magic used in there before we arrived.”

Faith glanced at the child. Jiablu noticed it, his hands still holding his bowl. Did she notice? Should he kill her? Such thoughts filled his mind as he quietly listened to the conversation.

“Magic?” said Lancelot. For some reason, he was feeling uneasy: as though the conversation would determine their life and death, that some Reaper was currently watching their every move.

“Yes,” said Faith. “The high ranking spell, Obviate.”

Time seemed to have stood still as everyone stared at the woman in shock. Was she serious? Obviate was a high ranking spell capable of vanquishing enemies in the blink of an eye. But as far as they knew, it was a rank 8 spell that needed at least a hundred magician’s worth of mana to cast. Moreover, the magic could only be cast after necessary preparations were done. At the very least, it needed an intricate magic circle that would take almost a month to finish.

They stared at the priest in utter astonishment, and realized that she meant every word she said. If that was true, then a Rank 8 Magician appeared on that village and obliterated the undead. Who was it? Why did he not reveal himself when they arrived? But then, there was also the possibility that the magician had already left when they arrived at the blazing settlement. There was also the chance that it was an organization. Yes, it should be an organization. Otherwise, what kind of monster would that magician be if he was capable of using that spell alone? They shivered at the thought.

“—and the spell, Immortal’s Blessing, was also used,” she added.

They almost wanted to scream the moment they heard it. Immortal’s Blessing was a rank 10 spell capable of healing the most grave of injuries. Even now, there was only a single magician in the entire history of the continent that had used it. But according to records, that certain magician managed the feat only after depleting the power of a Mana Stone obtained from a young Dragon.

They all glanced at the child. If Immortal’s Blessing was used, then it would have explained the child’s absence of injuries. His clothes were torn and tattered, there were blotches of blood, but even the slightest scratch was not visible. The more they pondered, the more feasible it seemed.

Who was that mysterious magician? He killed hundreds of undead and healed a child using the most advance of spells, as though it was nothing but a whim. Was he stronger than the Seven Holy Apostles? But why did he not reveal himself till now?

“This is crazy,” said the old man. Everyone agreed.

Suddenly, a rumbling sound was heard, and everyone glanced at its source. Jiablu shot a quizzical gaze when he suddenly found himself at the center of attention. Another grumbling sound echoed, and he glanced at his stomach.

“So, this is the feeling of hunger? Magnificent,” said the child. Everyone realized it was the first time he spoke.