Volume 3 Chapter 1: Part 3: The Abnormal

"Today is a beautiful day, isn't it?" Onyx asked Rena as he looked up at the sky. It was a clear and bright day. What made it even nicer was the gentle breeze coming towards them.

"Indeed it is, master Onyx. The day is sunnier compared to yesterday." Rena agreed with him.

"Yep. Thank goodness I have our magical bag, or our supplies would have been soaked." Onyx sighed in relief. Compared to today, yesterday's weather was tons of rain.

All their supplies would have been soaked by the rains if not for Onyx's magical bag.

Onyx looked down at the map, "It looks like we're going to hit the village today. So until then, we can let our guard down and rest up."

"Are you sure, master?" Hearing this, Rena frowned a bit. Letting their guard down might bring trouble for them later on.

Onyx laid down inside the carriage, "Mmhmm. Rena, you don't have to be so on edge, or you'll always be paranoid all the time. Isn't that right?"

"Mmhmm, you don't have to worry about a thing, miss. The road we're taking is free from monsters for the most part. And the ones who come to attack us are usually goblins or lower." The coachman said.

That was true. Rena agreed. Yesterday, there was little to no monster that came their way. It was peaceful.

"See, you don't have to be so on edge. Just relax a bit more." Onyx smiled. And then, he took out some apples from his bag,

"Here, try one of these. These apples are really delicious. Picked them out myself."

"Master, where did you get these apples from?" She and Onyx went to buy some extra gear and supplies for their quest. Rena never saw him put apples on the list.

"I got it from a tree when we took a stop yesterday," Onyx said as he bit down on the apple,

"Don't worry about anything else. If push comes to shove, I'll stop it."

Despite his calm attitude, Onyx surveyed the area with quick glances, and his ears were on the lookout.

Even he knew having too much of a calm attitude was dangerous. But the same could be said for having too much caution. It would make a person paranoid, and he might never get any rest if that happens.

"..." Hearing his words, it did make sense. Rena grabbed the apple, "Thank you, master." She bit into it, and her face turned into surprise. Sweet.

Cute. Onyx smiled as he watched her eat it. She looked like a bunny. He turned over to the coachmen, "Here, mister. Try one too."

"Thank you, young lad." The coachmen ate the apple as he continued to drive the carriage.

"No problem." Onyx munched down on his apple. It's two days after he and Rena set off for the town. And it was smooth sailing for the most part.

Oliver hired a coachman for the two's travels. And it was fast. It would have taken them days for them to get to the town. It only took them 2 days.

Maybe I should hire a carriage from now on. Onyx was tempted to hire them to get from place to place faster.

"Coachman, how long will it take before we arrive at the town?"

"Should in a couple of hours or so, lad. You can relax around for a bit. I'll tell you when we get there."

"Gotcha." We got some free time then. Onyx turned to Rena, "So, how's your visit with Michelle?" In those few days of prepping, Rena had gone to visit Michelle.

"It was fruitful." Rena could only give a light, wry smile. The only thing she can say is: Michelle became a couch potato! When she arrived at Michelle's home, she was surprised by what she saw.

She's laid on her sofa, being fed grapes like she's living the life!

"Pour me some wine! And get me some pears too!" Michelle's face was full of happiness and greed, not realizing the dark ball of fury at the front door. Rena gave her a lot of lectures after that.

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"I see. How was the plant for Michelle?"

"Ahh, the plan worked wonders for her! I was surprised by how smooth her skin was. She looks like an entirely different person." Michelle's face was flawless. Rena couldn't believe it.

She looks 10 years younger than before. Rena felt a tint of envy and jealousy when she saw that.

"Hmm, then I'll give you a petal when we arrive at the village." Onyx noticed the look on Rena's face. He could feel the envy.

Rena quickly waved her hands around, "Master! You don't need to give me something so precious! You should keep it for yourself! The crimson saint spider lily is a life-saving herb!"

She knew about the herb. Heck! Michelle continues to boast about the herb to the point that Rena's mind is filled with it. And she knows who she got it from and what she had to do to get it.

Onyx waved his hand, "You don't have to worry about it. And besides, I don't need 8 petals all to myself. I'm not going to kill myself 8 times in a row."

Of course, he knew the herb would save him from anything. But,

8 times?

How would he get himself into so much trouble? No way! After the fight with the deviled python, Onyx wanted to go at his own pace rather than rushing it.

"I'll give you four petals. It'll come in handy and save your life in your time of need."

"..."

Onyx smiled, understanding the silence. But he turned to the coachman, "So do you know anything about the village we are going to, mister?"

"Of course, I used to be a resident there. The village is famous for its wheat products. What's more, the bread they make is to die for."

I see. Hearing that, Onyx was a bit excited by it. He continued to talk with the coachmen, getting to know more about the village.

"Thanks for the info." Onyx smiled. It gave him a great understanding of the town.

"Ren-'' Onyx was going to ask whether or not she was excited about it. However, he quickly bit his mouth down. What he saw was a sleeping Rena. She dozed off and is sleeping on the floor right now.

You're going to catch a cold if you sleep like that. Onyx sighed as he placed a light cloth on her body.

...

"Ugghh." Rena slowly woke up, rubbing her eyes. The first thing she saw was Onyx smiling at her,

"You're awake now."

"..." Rena stared at him. Nobody said anything as they stared at each other. Onyx was the one who spoke up first,

"You got some drool coming down." He pointed at his mouth, showing where it was.

"!" Rena quickly touched her mouth, wiping the drool off her face. She asked, "Master, have we arrived there?"

"..." So you're going to ignore that, are you? Onyx chuckled as he explained, "No. The coachman-"

"Young man, we're almost there- what?"

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Onyx caught the change in tone from the coachman's voice. He looked over to see a slight shadow of the town.

"Something's wrong with the town. The town usually has a sweet aroma from the bread. And as you get closer, the smell gets stronger. But I don't smell any of that. This is strange."

Hearing that, Onyx frowned. He turned back to Rena, and she nodded back to him.

"Mister, I'm going to sit in front with you." Hearing Onyx's tense voice, the coachman nodded. He knew Onyx was doing this so he could protect him if anything came their way.

As the carriage continued straight, Onyx understood why there was no smell coming from the town. Rather,

Why is no one working?

"I'm going on ahead." Onyx jumped off the carriage and quickly dashed towards the town! The coachman was surprised by what he did while Rena screamed out.

But Onyx was too far ahead for him to hear it.

After a few minutes, the carriage stopped in front of the town. There, the coachman and Rena understood why Onyx rushed out so quickly. And the reason for this was two dead bodies! Onyx saw the bodies from afar and quickly dashed out to examine them.

When the coachmen saw the bodies, his face lost all color while Rena looked at Onyx. Onyx shook his head, signaling they were dead before he got there.

"These bodies have been dead for a day at the most." As he touched the blood, Onyx realized the kill hadn't been so long. Is the enemy close?

"We need to go in." Onyx got a bad feeling about this. And he was right. As the carriage entered the village, the three were met up with many more dead bodies!

Onyx jumped off the carriage and shouted, "Rena, here! You and the coachmen search east of the village. If you see anybody injured, give them a potion to drink. I'll do the same on the right."

"Understood."

"And if you guys find the thing that did this, don't engage alone. Run away." That thing wasn't normal.

Rena and the coachman nodded their heads, and they split.

...

What in the world happened? As Onyx walked around the town, he found only pure devastation.

Just what could have done something like this?

The more Onyx walked around, the more he wondered what could have done this. The mills around the town were obliterated halfway, and the houses were torn to shreds.

It's powerful. For it to do something like this meant the thing had a lot of power. Not finding anybody alive on the streets, Onyx decided to enter their homes,

"Is anybody here?!" From home to home, Onyx shouted out, hoping to find somebody alive.

But to no avail; no one responded back. But this won't stop Onyx. He continues to walk around in search of any villagers. And then,

Food? Onyx could smell a faint sweetness.

Onyx followed the smell, making him arrive in front of the home. He knocked on the door,

"Is anybody here?"

Silence.

"I'm an adventurer from advent city. I'm here to search this town!"

Again, silence.

Don't tell me. Onyx didn't hesitate as he kicked down the door! And his hunch was correct. What he saw was food scattered on the ground. He touched the food with his hand,

It's cold. Onyx continued to search around the house, and he found a drawing. It was a drawing of the family; the father, the mother, and their two kids.

Onyx didn't look at it that much as he searched up the stairs. And there, he saw it.

No words came out of Onyx's mouth.

The only thing he could do was cover them with a blanket.

That was the only thing he could do as he continued to search. As the search kept going, it got grimmer.

Is everybody really- Stop! Don't think this way! There has to be somebody alive.

Onyx continued to shout out.

"O-over here." And those shouting did something! Someone responded to him, and Onyx quickly ran over. The voice was faint, but it was enough for Onyx.

On the sidewalk, the man was coughing out blood.

"P-please." "Don't talk right now. Save your strength!" Onyx said this as he took out a potion and forced it down his mouth.

This isn't looking good. The man was critically injured. Especially the stomach. And the blood wasn't slowing down either. It was a miracle that the man didn't die instantly with such a wound.

"Gh, ca,caa." "Ca?" Onyx didn't know what the person was trying to say. What's more, the man spat out blood!

Damn it! Onyx knew not even a potion could help this person. And the man seemed to realize it too. He used his last strength to raise his fingers and point toward an alleyway.

"You want me to go there?" The man nodded slightly, and finally, his body turned limp and lifeless.

"..." Onyx didn't say anything else as he laid the man on the ground. He bowed his head and looked towards the alleyway.