It was too late to back off; not like Aurora would have it any other way. Before the leader of the Reds could do anything, she was before him, touching his chest and stopping it with her slender hands. He felt like hitting a brick wall at full speed, crashing against it, sensing his organs trying to move forward, pounding against his insides, getting scrambled up, and getting ruptured. No matter what type of strength he had as a beast folk, Aurora overpowered him with her much more robust and trained mana, forming a black shield around her body.
"Your life is already forfeit." She mouthed without any voice coming from her mouth, waving her free hand, and the screams of the Reds leader echoed far and wide, shocking everyone.
They could see both his hands spinning in the air, landing meters away before Aurora kicked him in the stomach, separating his torso from his legs as they were severed from the body just the same. One of Sion's subordinates had already acted, casting a healing spell and sealing up the wounds so he would not bleed out, but his days as an adventurer or even as a mage were surely over.
His subordinates didn't fare any better. Those who tried to jump on the rest of the Misfits soon found their bodies tangled up in dark, black tentacles emerging from the ground and another Misfit dancing around them like an angel of death, decapitating them one by one.
"Who are you…?" The leader of the Greens asked, petrified, watching how easily his people were dispatched right before his eyes.
"You will know." Sion smiled, aiming at him and his compatriots, and when he pulled the trigger, invisible bullets hit him and two of his subordinates. "...!"
While the Greens commander felt sick and woozy and fell to his knees, vomiting uncontrollably, hit by the invisible rays, his men had it much worse. Their skin started to blister and bubble as if they were thrown into a vat of acid or oil. Blood flowed from their mouths, noses, and eyes, gurgling before falling over, dying an agonizing death.
"Run!" The others screamed, finally realizing they were dealing with mages at a Tier that was easily enough to rank them at the top of the continent. At least as far as adventures were considered.
They discovered to their horror, that running away was no longer an option. Their campsite was locked down by a black sphere, wholly cut away from the outside. Those men who were stuck outside, serving as sentries, when realizing they couldn't break in, decided to run for it… but it was a futile effort. Melody and the rest of her gang were watching them and giggling to themselves. They were elevated by letting them play hide and seek and tag simultaneously. Their mission was clear: their newest friends wanted them captured… so they designed a contest between themselves to herd the funnily shouting, scared people to the fort and see which fairy could get them back first!
"I won't go down without a fight!" The Blues chief roared like an insane barbarian, lunging at Sion, but he quickly dodged, shooting out visible light this time, letting it go through her ankles and making her fall. To his surprise, she promptly regenerated the wound to stand back up and try to rush him down once again.
"Two elements? And quickly changing them… talented. But… not enough." He thought, aiming again, casting a spell that made a magical circle manifest behind him. From the barrel of his pistols, an array of light burst out, nailing the woman to the ground, remaining there, pinning down her body by her joints. "Stay put!" He smiled, looking at Aurora, who was in the middle of skewering another man, slicing her way through them quickly and efficiently.
None of the Misfits had any real trouble handling the four adventurer groups. It was surprisingly easy, in fact, which startled them. Unlike the Undead, they were not regenerating quick enough, weren't coming in hordes, and weren't emitting a horrible aura that endangered their concentration. The fact that blood was being spilled and they were crying and shouting was making them a bit uncomfortable, but knowing what type of groups they were dealing with, there was no chance of showing any mercy. Not when people were dying, and they were out here endangering the region for their own profit.
"We give up! Show mercy!"
The cries of the people grow louder and louder, but the Misfits only halted their weapons when Sion's voice ordered them to do so. Those who survived were herded into the middle while the dead bodies were dragged to a pile to set it on fire in the meanwhile. They were working as an oiled machine, already making some of the four groups' defeated, barely alive leaders start to suspect their origins.
"My name is Sion, and she is Aurora Amarin. We are from the Misfits, led by Lia Amarin! We are the de facto leaders of this region at the moment!" He smiled, looking at them, watching all the color leave their faces. "You are all sentenced to death! Don't hope to leave this place alive." It was a bombshell, something that was hard to swallow or comprehend. "Here is the deal!" He clapped before they would burst into useless cries for mercy. "You will answer our questions, all of them, with honesty! Then, you will be granted a quick, painless death! Lie, obscure the truth, and you will be granted a painful death, and we will also exterminate your families."
"You can't-" The stubby, short man tried to say something with trembling lips, his skin whiter than fresh snow.
"We can." Sion shot him down with a cold gaze, "None of you are from this region, are you? None of you knows what happened here only a short while ago? And you go excavating an old ruin without telling the Houses? Right after the invasion of UNDEAD? Heh!" He spat on the ground, feeling his stomach turning, "You signed your death warrant the moment you decided on this stupidity! Your only question is, will you end up like him before dying," He pointed at the mutilated body of the Reds chief, "or will you take it with dignity… Time to spill the beans and redeem your family names!"
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The interrogation only lasted for an hour before they told them everything. Were they lying? It didn't seem like it, as neither group spoke against the other. In their situation, it was almost impossible to come up with a lie that was backed up by everybody present. While they spoke, Aurora recorded everything, forwarding it to Lia and Simbad, the latter already on his way to look for the source.
"Hmm…" Simbad closed down the projection, standing on a tree branch close to a city in the jungle named Rubiar. It was not under quarantine as their gates were not assaulted in the Undead outbreak, but mages from a subordinate kingdom of the House of Berison were present, hidden from the public eye, keeping a close watch.
According to the new information, the Reds' real name was the Roaring Tide group, originating from the south and primarily operating in territories belonging to the Marduks. The Greens were from the same place, their name being the Glint of Jade. The other two were from a different area; the Blues wore the name of Scarfiends, a notorious group from the Nerifits' territories, while the yellows were the Wallbreakers from the Berisons.
None of the divisions were someone with real fame or an established name. Only their leaders had some fame or infamy because they were Tier 4 mages. They all described that they were approached by a middle-aged, average-height man with short black hair and a clean-shaven, elegant face. His eyes were piercing blue, and he carried himself with the air of nobility. Many of them suspected he was from a wealthy family or a kingdom close to one of the Houses because the information he provided was too good to be true.
He presented a map to each, telling them about an ancient ruin. Not a sub-realm, but a ruin, hidden underground with treasures and artifacts from before the Dark Ages. His offer was simple: get the treasure, and he would pay such an amount per piece that all the leaders were gobsmacked. Their reasoning went out the window, replaced by their greed, agreeing to the deal. He was even generous enough to put down a mouth-watering amount of gold from the start, financing their travels to this region.
Arriving at Rubiar, the four groups met up, introducing themselves as their given code names… and that was when they came up with the idea. If the artifacts are worth this much to a man, they may be worth more to others! Their greed simply took control of their thoughts, and after a bit of digging, they found out that their informant was a local, wealthy merchant himself, with no real affiliations, named Garrash. He worked alone, always pocketing the most profit possible. It… was… perfect. They lured him out, killed everybody connected to him, and now only they knew where the hidden ruin was! They just had to get all the treasure and sell it for more to someone even wealthier.
"Idiots… More bandits than adventurers!" Simbad spat, heading to where the Greens supposedly killed the man. It should be not far away from Rubiar. He quickly marked the other points of interest where the rest of the loose coalition of idiots slaughtered the remaining people of this… Garrash.
It was easy to know he had come to the right place; the forest still carried the marks of battle and the odor of strong poison. But… there was nothing. He found the pit where they burned the body, but… it was empty. With his new senses, enhanced by Hajna's spells, seeing more than any human could, Simbad determined that the pit was empty of ashes. Even with the time that passed, the soil should still have the residue of the remains of human bones, but it was clean of it.
"Did they really burn the body?" Simbad asked, sending a message, and a few minutes later, Aurora answered that they were sure. "Well... he is not here. He wasn't burnt away. Nobody was. Something smells fishy! Take the leaders to the fortress for further questioning! Purge the rest."
"Already done." Aurora's answer arrived instantly, thinking just the same the moment Simbad first asked if they were sure about it.
"Now…" He surveyed the area, examining everything, "Who is our mysterious contractor?"
After spending the rest of the day trying to find clues, there was nothing to find there or at the other sites. The only clue he had left was the name Garrash. Heading into Rubiar, Simbad spent two more days going through every possible source the four groups could also have access to. Nothing. This Garrash did not exist.
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"Read this!" Lia said, her brows pressed together, sharing the information with Lorin, Rinzen, and Ceiline. It was the full report of Aurora, Sion, and Simbad's findings, and it baffled Lia just the same.
"Undead?" Ceiline asked after reading it, but Lia had no concrete answer for her.
"Could be. One thing is sure: whoever this Garrash knew perfectly well what he was doing and didn't mind them turning against him! What he wanted was hidden inside the ruin, for sure. If you ask me, he would have become a different person and approach them when they try to sell it!"
"It is logical…" Rinzen agreed, "Did we go in yet?"
"I told Aurora to make preparations and try it! I also dispatched more Mifits to go there so they wait for the reinforcement before going down. We are borrowing most of your peashooters for it!" She smiled apologetically at Ceiline, who just shook her head.
"I was about to suggest it."
"Hey…" Lorin spoke up, his voice a bit troubled, unsure. "I… I think I know this, Garrash."
"Huh?" They turned towards him, surprised.
"I don't know if it's him… But I met a man named Ferrah just yesterday. He is supposedly a wealthy merchant in the region and looked to cooperate with me. He wants in on establishing supply lines between cities. The description fits, and he said he would do it cheap… because he wants to help."
"Right here?!" Lia asked, standing up from her chair.
"Yeah." Lorin nodded, looking confused, "He offered that he would have people willing to take up permanent residence in quarantined cities and work closely with us… because he heard about you." He finished, glancing at Lia. "He didn't have any weird feelings about him… I don't think he is an Undead."
"Can we meet him?"
"He wants to meet!" Lorin nodded, "I was about to bring it up!"
"Huh… Okay… this is getting interesting! Or lucky… Set up a meeting, Lorin! I am eager to meet this man… let's see what he wants! Don't mention anything about what we know! I want to hear his offer… I may even accept it!"
"You would?" Rinzen questioned, tilting her head slightly to the right. "You want to spread out a net?"
"Exactly… I want to know who is behind this and what they really want! If this is the work of the Undead… then we have a serious problem on our hands…"