Chapter 125: Pursuers of Delki (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 125: Pursuers of Delki (2)
As they stepped outside, acting as if they had seen nothing, the brilliant midday sun beat down on them once more.
“Whoa, my lord. What on earth did we just see? Why are they all dead like that?”
“It was the work of an 8-star mage or higher. These are the traces left by Hell Wind.”
“An 8-star mage? I can’t imagine someone of that caliber holding a grudge against bottom-tier thugs like these. We’ve certainly walked into something grim the moment we arrived in Delki.”
Jin and Jet shook their heads as they climbed back into their saddles.
“Take exactly ten minutes. See if any of the locals know Gaber Marius. I’ll be by the fountain we passed on the way in. If no one knows him, we move straight to the next survivor.”
“Understood.”
Just as Jin reached the fountain and began to ponder why the Nelta Vigilante had been slaughtered, he saw Jet returning.
“Didn’t even need ten minutes, my lord. I found three people who saw Gaber heading into the vigilante headquarters, drunk, at dawn yesterday.”
“Then Gaber is dead, too. I see. Let’s move. Who’s the next survivor?”
“He’s in a town about two hours from here. Weatherway Marius. This one’s a mercenary.”
The two left Nelta behind, a bitter taste lingering in their mouths.
No matter how I look at it, this doesn’t make sense. An 8-star mage wouldn’t need to cause such a scene to deal with mere thugs.
Why would a powerful mage risk committing a magical crime within the Huphester Alliance just to massacre some gangsters?
This wasn't a murder born from a deep-seated grudge; it was too quick. There were no signs of torture. Someone launched a surprise attack, crushed them like bugs, and left immediately.
The clues were too sparse to draw a firm conclusion, but something about it felt too unsettling to be dismissed as a mere coincidence.
That question weighed on Jin’s mind for the entire two-hour ride, right up until they arrived at the gates of the mercenary guild where Weatherway Marius was stationed.
Screeeak.
When they opened the door, a group of men with fierce expressions greeted them.
“Haha, working hard, I see. We’re looking for Weatherway Marius.”
As Jet stepped inside with his usual affability, the men let out a collective sigh.
“What? Damn, I thought we finally had a client. Why are you looking for Weatherway? Oh, are you the guy he beat up at the tavern last night?”
“Ah, no, nothing like that. We’re old friends. I happened to be passing through on a trip and wanted to see his face before I left…”
“Wow, that scumbag actually has friends? What a miracle. Weatherway hasn’t shown up for work yet. I’ll draw you a map to his place; go check on him there.”
“Much appreciated, brothers!”
After receiving the map and navigating through main streets and back alleys, they arrived at Weatherway’s house. Once again, Jet pounded on the door.
“Weatherway! Are you in there?”
Thud, thud, thud.
The firmly shut door showed no sign of opening, even as several neighbors shouted at them to be quiet.
“I’m picking a lot of locks today.”
Even before Jin could give the order, Jet began working on the lock. With a soft click, the door swung open.
“Ha.”
“Good grief.”
The first thing they saw was a man collapsed in the middle of the living room, his body twisted at an unnatural angle. It was Weatherway Marius.
“My lord. Um, this fellow looks dead… He’s not breathing.”
“It’s poison. And just like the others, he died recently. Seeing as his skin and complexion haven’t discolored, this is a high-grade assassination poison.”
Faint warmth still lingered in the corpse’s chest. He had died two or three hours ago at most.
“My lord, does that mean…?”
“Someone is actively killing the survivors of Moon’s Sacrifice. And the one who killed the Nelta Vigilante is different from the one who killed Marius. Their methods are completely different, which means there are at least two of them.”
Having confirmed the death of the second survivor, Jin was now certain.
The culprits recently realized the Seven-Colored Bird was digging into the name ‘Marius,’ and now they’re cleaning up the survivors of Moon’s Sacrifice to prevent any information from leaking.
This could no longer be a coincidence.
Furthermore, Jin judged that if there was any element of chance in this situation, it was working entirely in the killers’ favor.
I don’t know if the culprits are aware that Jet and I are tracking the survivors. If they are, they’re deliberately framing us. If they aren’t… then this is just rotten luck.
An investigation into the massacre of the Nelta Vigilante and Weatherway’s death would begin by afternoon at the latest.
From the locals’ perspective, the last people to visit the Nelta Vigilante were Jin and Jet. In Weatherway’s case, his fellow mercenaries had clearly seen them.
Going back to the mercenary guild to say, “Report this, Weatherway is dead,” wouldn’t work. Even if they were miraculously believed, Jin and Jet would still have to undergo an investigation by the local guard.
If that happened, Jin risked his identity as a reserve flagbearer being exposed, and finding the remaining seven survivors would become impossible.
Jin gritted his teeth, suppressing a wave of irritation.
I may only be a reserve flagbearer, but how dare they play games with a Runcandel?
The culprits identified so far were one 8-star or higher mage and one assassin proficient in poison.
That alone is an incredible amount of force to deploy just to clean up the survivors of Moon’s Sacrifice. It means this matter is that important to them. There might even be more assassins.
As Jin stepped out of Weatherway’s house, Jet followed in a panic.
“My lord, what should we do? Wouldn’t it be better to head back to Tikan for now? We’re going to be framed for this for sure.”
“That’s a good idea, Jet. But we’re going to meet every last survivor before we go. We have to move fast, before the assassins kill them all.”
* * *
The third survivor.
The fourth, the fifth… all the way to the eighth.
They rode like madmen until midnight, switching horses three times and using teleport gates twice, but not a single one was found alive. Every single one had died just before they arrived or a few hours prior.
The only silver lining was that there seemed to be only two assassins. All the victims had been killed by either wind magic or poison.
Because of this, Jin was about to explode with frustration. It felt as if the survivors of Moon’s Sacrifice were being snatched from right under his nose.
“Phew, this is the last survivor, my lord. Den Marius. What if this fellow is dead too?”
“Just open the door.”
The final survivor, Den Marius, lived in an isolated house on the outskirts of a city in eastern Delki.
From the fourth survivor onward, they hadn’t even bothered to knock. They simply opened the doors, praying to find someone still in one piece.
Tick, tick, click!
The moment the front door of the last survivor’s house opened—
Swish!
An arrow flew out from within.
Jet flinched, unable to react in time, but Jin caught the arrow aimed at his chest with a bare hand.
“Wh-whoa! Holy—my lord! You saved my life.”
Swish!
Clang!
Jin quickly drew a dagger and deflected a second arrow. The eyes of the man standing in the living room widened. He shouted, his face pale with terror.
“Wh-who are you?! To deflect a crossbow bolt at this range… you’re no ordinary warrior! Why are you breaking into someone’s house…?!”
“Den Marius, survivor of Moon’s Sacrifice. Is that you?”
The man’s jaw dropped.
“How do you… Don’t tell me, are you the Ghosts of the Royal Faction? Or were you sent by the Master…?!”
The moment he confirmed the man was Den Marius, Jin almost wanted to hug him. Honestly, he hadn’t expected Den to be alive.
And he mentioned ‘the Master.’ Is it Taimun? Or the Master that Alu spoke of?
Whichever it was, Jin had a powerful intuition that this man was a crucial link to the curse.
“Den. There’s no time for long explanations. It’s dangerous here. Assassins will be here soon, so come with me. Consider me your savior.”
“Wh-what are you talking about?”
“Gaber, Weatherway, Bert, and the others. Since dawn today, assassins have been killing the survivors of Moon’s Sacrifice. All nine besides you are dead. I don’t know if they’re the Ghosts of the Royal Faction or Taimun Marius’s henchmen, but I’m certainly not one of them.”
“…You know Lady Taimun!?”
“You must be confused, but trust me and follow me for now. If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t need more than five seconds. Do you understand? I won’t harm you, I promise.”
After a few seconds of agonizing deliberation, Den nodded.
“I understand… Please wait a moment. My daughter is sleeping.”
“Good grief, man! Bring her out quickly! Don’t tell me you have a wife too?”
“I don’t. I’ll bring her right away!”
Den hurriedly mounted Jet’s horse with his half-asleep daughter on his back.
“How long to the eastern teleport gate from here?”
“We’ll have to ride hard for three hours.”
“It’s far. I’ll explain the rest on the way. Let’s go!”
Neeigh!
The horses snorted and began to gallop through the open night streets. Jin and Jet, with their hoods pulled low, and a rough-looking man carrying a child.
Given the hour, they looked somewhat like kidnappers, but fortunately, the Delki patrols didn't bother stopping them.
Once they crossed the main road and entered a deserted forest path, Den spoke up.
“Are the rest of my brothers truly all dead?”
“Yes. I suspect it wasn't the Ghosts of the Royal Faction, but rather this ‘Master’ you mentioned who sent the assassins. Who is this Master?”
Den avoided the question, as if he couldn't reveal that just yet. Feeling frustrated, Jet was about to threaten Den with a few curses when he saw the young daughter and turned his head away.
“You’re going to end up telling us anyway, man! Don’t be stubborn, just spit it out. I was a bottom-feeder just like you, but my life turned around after I met my lord!”
“…More importantly, didn't you say there were nine brothers who died?”
“Yes, I confirmed it myself. All deceased.”
When Jin answered, Den tilted his head in confusion.
“Then you have it wrong. I was too flustered to say it earlier, but there are twelve brothers of Moon’s Sacrifice in total, including me.”
Jin yanked the reins, bringing the horses to a screeching halt.
“What?”
“There are two more.”
“Where are the other two?”
“I don’t know. Unlike me, those two are still receiving direct orders and are active.”
At those words, Jin and Jet looked at each other.
Two brothers remaining.
Two assassins.
Just as Jet was about to ask more, a brilliant blue light flared from the dark thicket in Jin’s vision.
It was mana.
“Ambush!”
Whinny!
The light erupted from the bushes, and their horses collapsed with death rattles.