"Wait, shouldn't we call Rudy and his knights first? They are also a part of this investigation and may be of some help fighting the kidnappers. Well... If not, then I think we can handle them anyway. We'll follow your every order, Zed." Kelvin said directly to Braum. The group was still inside the inn preparing to leave.

"Every order? Damn, Y'all have some freaky relationships with Zed. But I agree with Zed about going straight to the kidnappers. I figure Zed has arrived at the same conclusion as I did..." Grant chimed in.

"The same conclusion?" This time, Lisa was too curious to stay quiet and asked the question.

"I see. You are more capable than I thought, searcher Grant. That's correct. The reason why we aren't going to Rudy first is..." Braum started explaining his reasoning and plans to rescue the remaining children.

The murky shadows of the night soon arrived. The entire mercenary group named The Black Hoods were there in addition of two members of the searcher guild: Grade B searcher Grant Holmes and the searcher guild's identification expert Lisa Redflower. The location itself was outside the city of Lancester—a bleak courtyard of great length facing an equally gothic mansion surrounded by the snowy forest. The group of six was hiding behind a particularly large tree stump that was tall enough to hide their entire figures.

"Hmm...I never knew there was such a mansion outside of the city. I don't think any noble lives here so I'm wondering why such a huge building hasn't been noticed sooner." Grant said quietly.

"That's because it was surrounded by the dark magic of the order of the Apocalypse. I have learned how to dispel it." Braum replied.

"The order of the apocalypse? dark magic? Do those things really exist?" Lisa said with curiosity.

"Yes. I have learned of their existence when I was inside the dungeon. I will explain everything in due time. Let us quickly enter the mansion to rescue the children. I sense a few of their members inside. I don't think they notice us yet." Braum said with confidence.

'The prince has changed somehow...he seemed more...mature' Kelvin thought.

'Something must have happened when he was asleep' Grant also thought in his head.

Both Grant and Lisa were then granted hooded capes that could cover their entire body by Kelvin. The capes seemed to be using the same technology as the exo suits—allowing the wearer to change the color of the fabric and blend in.

"This cape is incredible! What magic does it use? I can't seem to detect anything. " Lisa muttered excitedly.

"No time. Let us move." Braum replied with a stern voice.

The group slowly walked towards the castle while blending in with the environment using Yakana's technology. They have also learned how to block the dark magic so that it would not affect them in any way.

'It isn't perfect yet...but I can now easily dispel the dark magic of the order's cannon fodders and small fries but high-ranking members like Vastel, the masked man I met in the labyrinth, are too strong for my current abilities' Braum pondered in his mind.

After a while, they arrived outside the mansion.

"Kaz. Detect the children's whereabouts" Braum ordered.

Stolen novel; please report.

"R-right." Niko seemed to be taken aback by Braum's more serious demeanor. He then quickly turned on his ARIM.

SCANNING LIFEFORM...

BATTLE FORCE ACTIVATED...

FIVE (5) INDIVIDUALS WITH DARK MAGIC SIGNATURE DETECTED-LOCATION IRREGULAR

FIFTEEN (15) HUMAN CHILDREN DETECTED-LOCATION TOP FLOOR EASTERN

"There. On the top floor on the eastern side." Niko said.

"Holy shit...So this device could also do that." Grant said. He was still wearing the device.

"What? Can you also see what they are seeing, Grant? Give me! Give me!" Lisa begged with a squeaky voice.

"Ssshhh. We don't have time for that now. I'll let you borrow it after this." Grant replied.

"You talk as if I'm still going to let you use that device after this is done..." Kelvin said with contempt. He seemed to always take a dislike to Grant, for whatever reason. The stern voice of Braum then interjected.

"Enough. Let us rescue the children first. The device and I can detect the five individuals with dark magic inside but I can't pinpoint their exact location. Stay on your guard."

The group was making their way inside the mansion. They entered through the top floor window of the western side to be safe.

" *sniff* The smell of blood. And not just any blood—young blood." Grant muttered.

"Are you a fucking vampire? How the hell would you know about that?" Niko asked with confusion.

"He's good at what he does, Kaz. He's right. Some of the children didn't make it..." Braum said with a face full of sorrow.

The entire interior of the mansion was even bleaker than the exterior. The gothic sense of the architect can be felt vividly as each ornament and furniture seemed to be specially designed to strike fear on the hearts of its viewers. The moonlight entering the blood-tinted windows of the mansion also gave the interior the appearance of a nightmare.

Along the way, the group opened some of the rooms they encountered but found mostly nothing. They would either see a normal bedroom or an empty library. All of the contents seemed to have been moved somewhere else. It's clear that this mansion was used not as a base for the kidnappers, but as a storage facility to keep the kidnapped children.

While they were inspecting room after room, they finally found an important piece of information. An emblem insignia on the wall of one of the bedrooms.

"That emblem...it seems you two were correct. " Kelvin said with awe.

"I can't believe it...how could they..."Lisa closed her mouth with her hand in shock.

"Tch. Elmyra was right. Let's rescue the children." Braum said and the group kept moving.

After a long trek through the large mansion, they finally arrived on the eastern side. The door leading to the room where the children were supposedly in was in front of them. The crying sounds of the children can be heard coming from inside the room.

"This is it. Ready your weapons. Lisa and Grant, stay behind us." Braum ordered quietly.

The group pulled out each of their weapons and went into their combat stances.

"Breach," Braum said.

(SLASH SLASH)

Kelvin made two slashes with the vibrosword to completely break the door open. What they saw inside was a scene from a horror story.

" *gulp*" Grant swallowed his saliva.

"KYAAAAAA" Lisa couldn't hold it in and started screaming.

"These fuckers..." Braum muttered.

A masked man with a dark uniform was standing facing their opposite directions in front of a table. In the table, dozens of children's body parts are in the process of butchering. Hands, legs, heads, the large body parts were cut up in equal measures while some other parts like the brain, eyes, and genitals were kept inside clear jars.

The masked man noticed their arrival and turned around. The mask he was wearing was unique to what Braum has seen so far. The mask was just a blank canvas of white with no distinguishing facial features and no holes to see out from. The masked man started speaking.

"Ah...so you have found us. Good job for not letting us detect you. That's very impressive." The masked man didn't seem to panic after being caught in the act.

"That voice...I see. It's you." Braum muttered.

"I was right. I thought what you were doing back in the orphanage was nothing strange but I was wrong. That was the biggest mistake of my life, thinking you were innocent." Grant also said with a regretful voice.

The masked man started to bow in an elegant manner after hearing them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my workshop. And congratulations on finding the mystery." The masked man said with a grandiose voice. He then started to open his mask. The handsome face of a young man with blond hair and blue eyes greeted them.

"Rudy Hastelfield...You will pay for this!!!" Braum shouted with earth-shattering anger.