20th of the Golden Moon
The trip back to the mainland lasted six days, but it was peaceful and comfortable.
Frankly, being a magnet for all sorts of trouble, Arthur expected the ship to get attacked by sea beasts or pirates, but none of that happened. The route from Ilexset to the Human Continent was frequently-patrolled by Warships from the Militant Syndicate and the Global Azakin Empire.
Arthur had caught a glimpse of the warships and saw how truly massive they were. They had mechanical metallic cannons integrated into the deck and fully charged with Mana, making them look quite domineering. There were also soldiers standing in orderly fashion and fully-alert.
The ship docked at a small port North-West of the capital of the empire: Azakin City.
Arthur saw three gargantuan and sky-piecing towers positioned to form a triangle. They were 1 kilometers from each other, and at their center was an equally massive magical formation radiating a blinding crimson light.
He didn’t know what it was, and didn’t personally check. Then again, with the hundreds of knights guarding every part of the region, it didn’t seem possible to get close.
Instead of travelling on foot, Arthur delved into a quiet forest and looked for a suitable flying host. He had diverged from the main road and enjoyed the beautiful scenery until he stumbled upon a black-winged eagle with a yellow-ish beak and a pair of piercing eyes.
The poor animal was minding its own business only to be struck down by an icicle then lifelessly fall into the parasite’s hands.
After attaching the relatively small magical bag on the eagle’s back, Arthur possessed it and took to the skies.
The sensation of flying freely was always exhilarating and greatly facilitated travelling. Arthur didn’t have to worry about patrols or getting stopped by anyone.
He soared high in the skies and flapped his wings, swirling around as he dove down and increased his velocity.
Soon enough, the majestic and truly enormous Azakin City came to view. It was visibly split into two parts, the Outer Region, which was a web of intertwining small and big streets, buildings of all shapes and sizes, and even circular arenas akin to colosseums.
The Inner Region was built on top of an artificial and slightly inclined plateau, seemingly made of stone. The Inner Region was more intricate and made up of high spires, tall and beautiful buildings, and cleaner streets.
Arthur felt an ominous aura surrounding the Inner Region, and he also saw a semi-translucent golden barrier enveloping the area.
Even though he was possessing an eagle, he felt exposed and endangered, so he hastily flew as far away from the city as possible. His instincts were warning him to not get close or try anything stupid, so he heeded the silent warnings.
He had wanted to stay in the Outer Region of the city to relax and gather a bit of information, after all, Azakin City was one of the biggest cities in Astria and there were bound to be people knowledgeable about the Devil Doctor.
With so much money in his possession, Arthur would have paid the informants handsomely. Alas, Arthur felt too unsettled by the sinister aura and felt safe when he drifted away from the Imperial Capital.
…
The Parasite only stopped flying after 12 hours. The eagle descended on top of a wooden building before falling into a cramped and dirty alleyway.
Arthur switched back to Leonis’ body and entered the dirt road, looking around in curiosity.
He was in a small town at the left bank of the Fool’s River, which stretched from Azakin City to the Red Rock Mountain Range West of the Desert of Commerce and Peace.
The town had no more than ten buildings, and its inhabitants seemed to be familiar with each other. The atmosphere was light and welcoming, enough for Arthur to rent a room at the local inn and enjoy a delicious dinner.
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“I hope you liked it!”
Early in the morning, Arthur leaned back against the creaking chair and patted his stomach. He had only paid 10 coppers for the room and food, but the quality of the dishes was truly superb.
The wife of the owner came to take out the dishes, but she kept eyeing him while giving a warm smile.
She was genuinely a good person, as were all the villagers. They mostly kept to themselves and didn’t bother Arthur even though he dressed and looked like an aristocrat. They weren’t afraid of him, but they also didn’t seem fidgety or nervous around him.
“I did. You’re a great cook, Madam.”
“If I want to please all the customers, I have to be good at cooking hahahaha! Still, thank you for the compliment. If you need any help, I’m at the counter.”
“Alright.”
Arthur nodded his head and then proceeded to read a book while relaxing in the cozy quasi-tavern built by the owner.
It was definitely a house which was subjected to rough changes to make it look like a tavern. Nevertheless, it clearly worked as Arthur felt better than ever.
For a couple of hours, he just read ‘Connection of Soul and Magic’ and only stopped when he heard echoing footsteps from behind.
He closed the book and glanced at the entrance, from which entered three knights clad in silver armor.
Only one of them wasn’t wearing a helmet. He was a stalwart man with a small beard, a commanding jawline, a blunt nose and short raven-black hair.
The knight kindly greeted the owner and his friends, who were chatting in the corner, then walked to the counter.
“Good Morning, Sir Raymond.”
“Good morning to you as well. I’m here on official business, but it’s something trivial.”
The wife tensed up only for a bit before smiling and waiting for him to continue.
Raymond leaned to the side and pointed at a poster nailed to the board right behind the counter.
“That criminal has been caught. The bounty on him can no longer be claimed, so I’ve been tasked to visit nearby settlements and get rid of the poster. Would you mind giving it to me?”
Arthur’s attention was directed toward the poster, but when he looked at it, his expression dramatically changed. He was left speechless for a couple of seconds and only snapped out of it when the three knights left.
‘It can’t be. I’m surely wrong.’
The parasite abruptly got to his feet and approached the counter.
“Sorry to disturb you. May I ask something?”
“Anything, dear.”
The wife, who felt relieved that the knights left, returned to her usual cheerfulness.
“The poster he took… whose it was?”
“Oh you mean the criminal? I don’t know much, actually. He had a big bounty and they told me to put his poster for everyone to see. I’m glad he was caught, though.”
“...”
“Is there anything else?” Asked the wife, confused by Arthur’s long silence.
“Are there any more posters left?”
“Greg, our Blacksmith, also has one but I expect Sir Raymond to take-”
Before she could finish, Arthur dashed to the exit and soon disappeared from view.
…
“Sir Raymond! Welcome welcome!”
Greg’s Smithy was a store built on the side of the street; It had a roof sustained by a thick stone pillar, but the equipment were all clustered together and visible to all passerby.
“Always working hard, huh. Keep it up, Greg!”
The bushy-bearded Blacksmith embarrassingly scratched his nose while nodding his head in response.
“Anyroad, can you hand the poster back? We only want that one.”
Raymond pointed at a specific poster while adding,
“The criminal has been caught and taken to the Shadow Keep Penitentiary.”
“Ah… really? Good good!”
Greg didn’t seem to particularly care about the poster, after all, it’s not like he was getting paid to put it on his house’s wall.
He ripped it from the wall and was about to hand it to the knight only for a rapid silhouette to descend from the sky and snatch it.
Before anyone could react, the eagle spun in the air and turned into a black dot in the clear blue sky.
“Ahem… don’t worry about it.”
…
A safe distance away from the small village, Arthur returned to Leonis’ body and kept looking at the poster. It had a drawn picture of a bright-faced man with a thin beard across his cheeks and chin, a well-matching mustache, relatively long hair, and a pair of round and energetic eyes.
‘Trespasser’ ‘Thief’
‘Suspected to use high-grade Magic Spells.
If you see him, contact the authorities with haste.
Going by the name of ‘Chris’ or ‘Christopher’.
Bounty: 12,000 Blakin Gold.’