“The barrier?” Howes stumbled back while trying to make sense of this new development. “You mean the one around this town? The thing that made everyone sick?”

“Yes. It was made to deter merchants and other travelers.” I replied solemnly.

“So…There really is a sorcerer living here.” Howes clenched his fists. “The barrier drove people away and let the sorcerer practice his spells in secret.”

“No, that’s wrong!” I clamped a hand over my mouth, immediately regretting that outburst. Howes did not know about my involvement with this and any information that I carelessly reveal could be the end of me.

Howes didn’t reply. He simply stared me down until I relented. Despite his enormous size, I hadn’t been scared of Howes until I learned that he was a hunter. After that, I’d slowly gotten comfortable in his presence. Howes and Vole were by far the least threatening of the six hunters and it seemed that Howes really did intend to honor his debt to me. He came off as affable and even sometimes naïve, especially for someone who lives by killing monsters.

However, all my preconceptions shrank away under his glare. Even in this dimly lit room, I could clearly see that the man towering over me was not someone who would tolerate my half-truths. At least Howes chose to be patient. He seethed in silence while thinking about the sorcerer, the obvious cause of his transformation.

“T-The sorcerer didn’t create this barrier to hide himself. He did it to protect everyone else.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I worked for him.” Now I’d said it.

In one swift movement Howes grabbed my shoulder with one hand, lifted me up, stepped forward and pinned me to the nearest wall. His hand wasn’t on my neck but the pressure made my breaths short and hasty.

“It’s not what you think…” I gasped. My arms fell limp at my sides. I knew I stood no chance. “Let me explain everything. Then you can do what you want with me.”

Once again, Howes’ silence was enough of a reply. He let go of my shoulder and I fell to the floor. There was no salvaging my place in our power struggle so I decided to stay on the ground. Sitting cross-legged, I closed my eyes and composed myself.

“Do you know why this town is empty? It’s not because of sorcery or demons. Many years ago there were people living happily in this pocket of the kingdom without any knowledge of the occult. Then my family…”

I was forced to pause. The incident happened a long time ago but I didn’t think my memories were this hazy. Frustrated, I ran a hand through my hair and then let it ball into a fist. Maybe this display of emotion was fortunate as Howes began to look down on me with more interest and less fury.

“A disease began to spread through the town. My parents were one of the first to be infected. They were innkeepers, so the illness was probably brought in by a sickly traveler.”

That was it. That was all I could say about my parents. Any tangible memories I had with them were gone. This sudden realization was somehow more disturbing than remembering their deaths. When had I forgotten about my life as a human? I couldn’t say; I had never reflected on it.

“It seemed simple enough at first. People would complain about a cough or runny-nose. Then the coughing would get worse, much worse. They’d cry about chest pain or aching all over their body. The town began to slow down as more and more people visited our few doctors. Then, rather suddenly, people started dying. Some due to suffocation, others from the weakness and dehydration brought on by the disease.”

I sat under duress, shaking as my memory ignited. Events before I lost my humanity were vague but everything that happened afterwards sprung into my mind without issue. My composure began to fracture simply by remembering that epidemic.

“I managed to be one of the few outliers and stayed healthy enough to help the sick. Eventually there was only one doctor left who hadn’t succumbed to the disease. He was the sorcerer, Vesta.”

“And you didn’t think that it was strange?” Howes made his first interjection. “That one of the only healthy men left was a sorcerer?”

“Vesta didn’t create the disease, if that’s what you were thinking. He was originally a doctor and he worked tirelessly to cure us. Vesta told me that he had always dabbled in sorcery but only as a scholar. When it was clear that conventional means weren’t useful he began to delve deeper into the occult.”

“But you only know what he told you?”

“Yes, but I believe it. Vesta agonized over this disease as much as anyone.”

“You know what fuels sorcery, right? It’s souls. If people were dying left and right, then he would have been the only one to benefit.”

“You’re right, Vesta did use the souls of those that succumbed to the disease. He used them to try and cure the rest of us.” I finally looked up and glared at Howes. No matter what kind of prejudice he had against magic I was not going to allow him to insult my master.

“…Fine then.” Howes let out a short sigh. “What happened in the end?”

“Once the town had completely fallen apart, Vesta built the barrier to at least isolate the disease. There weren’t many documented attempts to use sorcery as a means for healing. Vesta was forced to work from scratch and in the end he was too late. By the time he discovered a way to cure everyone, their sickness had advanced to a terminal stage.”

Howes looked at me strangely but didn’t say anything more. I suddenly realized that I had left myself out of this story. Of course demons wouldn’t get sick but how did I, a human, survive?

“…I meant everyone excluding myself of course.” I quickly backpedaled. “I was just healthy enough to survive with Vesta’s treatment.”

“So that’s why you speak so for him so fiercely.” Howes shook his head in disbelief. “To think that a sorcerer would act so selflessly…Where is he now?”

“He left a long time ago.” I returned to staring at the ground. “Vesta blamed himself for learning too slowly. It was painful for him to stay here.”

Howes didn’t follow up but my story was finished. I endured an uncomfortable silence for what felt like ages. Howes simply stood before me, wrapped in his thoughts. I couldn’t understand it. He was more concerned with the notion that a sorcerer could be good than with the murder case that we’re currently investigating.

“Why do you hate sorcery so much?” I asked.

Howes cocked his head. “It’s normal to fear and hate the occult.”

“Even so…” I trailed off.

“Well, you told me your story so I’ll tell you mine.” Howes sighed and sat down in front of me. “I never knew my birth parents. They abandoned me in the woods when I was just a baby. But then I was taken in by a couple from a nearby village.”

I watched his face morph from a pained scowl to a tiny smile. His expression hadn’t changed much during my story but this seemed more like the Howes I knew.

“I grew up in that village, living without a care in the world. When they told me I wasn’t their child, I didn’t care. It just meant that they were even more amazing for taking care of someone like me. However, after I turned sixteen, people started to go missing. It wasn’t a gradual thing either…sometimes two or three people would vanish each night. The townsfolk were terrified, saying that a demon was hiding nearby.”

I sat there in horror. Not because of the story but because Howes had suddenly returned to his earlier mood. He ground his teeth as he sat before me, trembling in rage.

“Eventually, in desperation, the survivors picked the largest house in the village and slept there together. That was a mistake. The demon broke in and started killing everyone. My parents told me to run and so I did. I was terrified. Of course, when the demon finished with everyone inside it ran me down as well…” Howes trailed off in an effort to contain his fury or grief, probably both.

“Was it really a demon?” I asked carefully.

“Yes. It had a humanoid form with large black wings, bat ears and two massive fangs. A demon’s appearance greatly varies but now that I’ve seen so many I’m sure that’s what it was.”

“Then how did you survive?”

“When the demon found me, I asked why everyone was killed. ‘I was hungry.’ It replied. I asked the demon why it chased me down. ‘For fun.’ It replied. Then I just stopped caring. Whether I lived or died, I didn’t want a creature like that to exist. So I fought it with everything I had and won.”

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My jaw dropped. With the body he has now, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Howes killing weaker demons unarmed. However, to do so at only sixteen is nothing short of a miracle.

“After that, I didn’t want to see anything like that happen again. So I trained myself to fight and set out to find more demons and the sorcerers that create them.” Howes stood up and dusted himself off. “That’s why I do what I do.”

We left soon after that. Howes wanted to destroy the room to break the barrier but I advised against it. Damaging the room could cause the magic to go berserk or even cause a cave-in. We would need another sorcerer if we wanted to dispel the barrier.  

I looked up at the sky to see the beginning of a sunset. We had been talking down there for quite a while. Even though our stories had been sad, I found myself smiling.

“You’re actually a lot like Vesta, aren’t you?”

“Huh?” Howes whipped around to face me. “How am I like a sorcerer?”

“Eh?” I suddenly stopped, realizing I’d said that out loud. “No, I didn’t mean it like that! I was just thinking that you both went through a similar experience. Then, even after seeing your loved ones die, you persevered for the sake of helping others. I really admire that.”

Howes frowned a bit and turned away. At least he had no more complaints with my comparison. We kept walking in silence but it didn’t last long.

“Oh thank god.” Ten exclaimed as he rounded a corner. He dashed over to us. “I’ve been looking for you two everywhere. Something terrible happened.”

I blinked. I could never get over the disparity between his monotone voice and frantic words.

“What happened?” Howes asked.

“Teach got out of his restraints. He was chasing Dain and me but then we got separated. I couldn’t find either of them so I started looking for you two.”

“That crazy bastard!” Howes broke into a sprint. “You two go back to the house where it’s safe, I’ll find him and Dain.”

I started to run as well but Ten grabbed my shoulder.

“Wait, I need to talk with you about something.”

“Can it wait?”

“I don’t want anyone else to hear us. It’s not something I can explain to the others.”

Then it relates to demons… I grimaced.

“Don’t worry, I just decided it was better to keep you in the loop.” Ten reassured me. “Last night, after I talked to you, I snuck into the other guest rooms while everyone was sleeping. I decided it was important to check what kind of weapons they had. There weren’t any surprises until I came to Vole’s room.”

“Vole? Technically he’s not even a hunter, right?” From what Dain said, Vole was the advisor to a nearby lord.

“Yes, he’s just a scholar who’s known for an eccentric love of the occult.” Ten nodded. “Vole had a vial of blood in one of his bags. At first I thought it was just a harmless item that he’d collected somewhere until I smelled it. It was half-demon blood.”

“Half-demon? What’s the other half?”

“Human.” Ten’s lips bent into a small frown. “It’s very rare, but there have been records of children between humans and demons.”

“Huh…Is this really relevant to the murder?”

“It was the only item missing from his bag after he was killed. Half-demon blood is known as a demon attractor. If you splash some around an area it will draw demons in, even from different towns.”

“Did he bring the blood to try and lure demons into this area? This place was already rumored to be swarming with demons…" I put a hand to my chin. "So doesn’t that mean he started the rumor?”

“That’s certainly possible.” Ten gave me a non-committal shrug. “It’s hard to think of another reason why he’d bring such a rare and dangerous item.”

“So then whoever killed Vole was trying to stop him?”

“Right now, we can’t be sure.” Ten shrugged again. I was pretty sure he already knew what happened, or at least that he had a much better guess than I did. “I want to try and find that vial. So if you smell it, let me know.”

“What does it smell like?”

“Hmm, all I can say is that there’s no particular flavor. It simply draws you in. If you smell it, then you’ll probably try and find it regardless of my request.”

“Can do.” I nodded. “Maybe I’ll even find the murder weapon while I’m at it.”

“Maybe…” Ten shrugged a third time and I gave him a cuff on the shoulder.

Our walk back to the inn gave me a chance to take stock of my situation. I was actually quite lucky, all things considered. If I had killed Howes earlier, then Dain and the others would have found me out when they arrived. If Ten hadn’t decided to chase that rumor, then I would have had no one to advocate for my innocence. In short, things could have gone a lot worse…for me that is. When we reached the inn, I learned what happens when you’re not so lucky.

This time I smelled it before I saw it. It certainly wasn’t what we were looking for, but it was definitely someone’s blood. Ten and I raced back to the inn to find Howes and Teach locked in combat. It was hardly a contest. Even with his training as a knight, Teach was quickly overpowered and disarmed.

“You bastard!” Howes yelled as he struck Teach with the hilt of his own sword, knocking him to the ground.

“Wait, wait. You have it all wrong.” Teach tried to raise his hands to defend himself but he was shaking uncontrollably. I squinted and realized he was actually trying to contain his laughter. “N-no, you’re making a mistake. I found the murderer.” Teach snickered for a second and then broke into a mad laugh.

“Oh shit, Dain…” Ten raised a hand to cover his mouth. I followed his gaze to find Dain’s body lying nearby. He wasn’t moving at all and with that much blood around, it was safe to say that he wouldn’t be getting up again.

“He was hiding the murder weapon.” Teach announced proudly. “I felt something strange when I kicked him earlier. So when I caught him, I took off his shirt and found the bloody knife tied around his chest.”

I thought back to when we turned out our pockets. Ten suggested it as a formality and none of us expected that anything would be found. Keeping the murder weapon on his person was a bold move. Our investigation had been flawed from the very start.

“So you killed him without another thought?” Howes seethed. “Do you think that’s how a knight should act?”

“I told you that I would solve this myself, and I did.” Teach grinned. Like a cat that already ate the canary, nothing Howes said could affect him now. “It was what he deserved.”

Howes didn’t give up there and after he restrained Teach, the two of them argued well into the night. In the end, Teach wasn’t swayed and none of us had the authority to drag him in front of his lord to seek justice. If there really was any justice to be found from that.

After spending another day tied inside the inn, Teach would only speak to ask if he could leave. Howes couldn’t justify detaining him any longer and so Teach took Vole’s belongings and left.

“Are you happy with yourself?” Howes asked him as he packed for the trip home.

“No, I’m disappointed. When my wife was suspected to be a witch, Vole stalled the execution because he wanted to talk with her. That gave me enough time to prove her innocence. I owe my family’s life to Vole and yet I failed to protect him.” A small grin flickered across his face. “At the very least, though, I was able to get revenge.”

With Vole, Teach and Rowan gone and the rumor that started this mess debunked, there was no longer a reason to stay in this ghost town. My two final guests packed up their things and left soon afterwards. Things quickly returned to normal.

…Or that’s how I imagined that things would go.

The next morning came and neither Howes nor Ten seemed to have any intention of leaving. In fact, they didn’t seem to have any intentions at all. At a glance they were living here as normal tenants in this abnormal house. However, I could feel it. There was a subtle tension shared between the three of us.

I couldn’t ask why they didn't leave because I already knew the answer. They both still had business here. This investigation wasn’t finished yet.