Diplomacy over the force of violence.

Is it for the sake of convenience?

Or are we trapped in a bubble of hypocrisy?

Everything in life has a sort of complexity.

Maybe that’s why reality tends to be a bit messy.

The bloodstained walls letting off a horrifying stench, it was a carnage in the night.

And the victims of this atrocious blight.

—Brings a terrible sight.

 

---

 

One could never imagine another human being doing something so inhumane to others…

The priest said that it was the work of a necromancer.

An abominable mage that reanimates the dead.

Classified as threats to be immediately executed under the orders of the Clergy.

Necromancers have caused havoc and mayhem, instilling fear to the common man and depriving them both of their life and hope.

It is said that once a necromancer has stepped foot on a village, the chances of going back to their normal lives is slim to none.

From their soil losing its fertility to the stigma it brings.

One could say that it was the worst thing that could ever happen to them.

Those that encounter such individuals have never come out alive nor unscathed.

Although their motives to massacre people stem from their practices of necromancy.

There was one common trend that they seem to thread.

Villages would frequently wind up being their victims.

Time and time again.

This time it was no different.

Headless corpses and animal carcasses were all over the pentagram in the center.

Just the scene alone would make one’s hair stand up.

I took out a flask.

Just as I was about to put some into my system, the bloody lines on the ground lit up.

“You utterly foolish sod!”

A menacing individual, his face disfigured to the point that it no longer looks human, appeared from the shadows.

The serpent intertwining on the handle and the protruding horns on its end was unmistakably a staff with affinity of demonic energy.

This is my target.

A madman among any other necromancers.

—Bruel of the Buer Cult.

“How unfortunate, a street urchin like you to wander over here. Oh well, I’m not one to be picky.”

He raises his staff and the ground beneath starts to rumble, a crack formed on the pentagram.

The madman cackled.

“Thanks to you, the ritual will be complete! Now offer yourself and relish in the forthcoming of his might!”

He pointed his staff at me, ready to fire off a spell.

Before he could do so, I took a step back and tumbled backwards.

Seeing this, he laughed his guts out.

“Are you trembling in fear now? Did you finally realize your situation—

Just as I hovered a few inches from the ground, I faded away from the perception of reality.

My entire being is like a blur, blending in my surroundings.

His reaction to this was of confusion, “Where did that sod go!?”

I took out my stifling dagger which was enhanced with the sharpness of an obsidian blade, and threw it at him in quick succession.

“Argh!!!” It plunged deep in his face, more specifically, his left eye.

Now that his perception was cut in half, I took that as an opportunity to go for the kill.

In just a blink, I covered the distance between us.

“...whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed.”

My dagger coated in lethal anti magic properties, sucked the mana out of his body violently, depleting every ounce left.

I then systematically cut off his limbs from left to right.

Blood covered and ruined my shabby clothes.

When my dagger reached his neck, he recoiled in genuine fear, “Hieek!”

As his staff fell to the ground and I trampled upon it, the pentagram lost its shining glyph.

He shook uncontrollably.

Like a turtle lying flat on his back, he squirmed and chanted curses yet it was nothing more than a futile attempt.

How can one use magic when you don't even have the mana for it?

He must have realized by now that there was simply nothing that he could do.

Sobbing and begging for his life, I dispelled my concealment.

“Even a madman like you knows the fear of death very well, after all you are just human.”

“What do you want? Riches!? Fame?! Power?! I can give you everything, just spare my life.” He bargained for his life.

I slide across my dagger, and he freezes up.

“You’re no street urchin!”

“That’s right.”

“T-then who are you–Who sent you?”

I pressed the dagger deeper, blood spilling out.

Dripping down the ground.

—Yet this won’t bring them back.

Of the villagers that suffered a terrible and horrifying end.

The thought of it makes my blood boil.

“Do you think you have that kind of right?”

He tried to speak but I slammed his face to the ground with so much force that it cracked the hard brittle soil.

“Do you know what’s stopping me from finishing you off?”

Again, he attempted to open his mouth but I interrupted him again.

This time his jaw was dislocated and broken.

“You, paying the price. That’s why merely killing you won’t be enough.”

I took out my flask and popped the cap off.

Prying his eyes open with my dagger, I poured the entire contents inside the empty sockets.

Making sure to empty it all out.

“AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

Writhing and twisting his body in agonizing pain, the madman cried blood.

Of course, pouring in holy water to an open eye socket would hurt like hell but it also acts as a salve that heals wounds however…

In this case, due to him being a necromancer, his taboo mana catalyzed the holy water to be a deadly weapon.

I bring my dagger to his head and—

Splat!

He dropped like a rag doll.

Staring at his lifeless body, I took out a metal box.

Clicking its side, a single cigar was dispensed out.

I placed it between my fingers and lit it up.

Another village gone…

If this keeps up, the outskirts of the kingdom will be nothing more than no man's land…

Then again, the kingdom never cared about those that aren’t within a nobles territory.

Puffing the last smoke out, I threw the remaining end, still having a kindle, to the madman’s eye socket.

Immediately, the holy water serving as the fuel, fired up in a strong ignition.

Setting him aflame like a bonfire.

Feeling a strong aching sensation in my chest, I walked to the remains.

Looking at it, I can’t help but feel the pits of my stomach churn at the thought of what the villagers had gone through to end up like this…

How could they know that something like this could’ve happened to them? They were simply living in ignorance, not interfering with others and just…

Feeling my knees give up, I slumped against a cart.

My breaths were getting uneven, exhaustion was starting to show as my hands tremble.

I pulled out another metal box, inside of it was a set of pills for my illness.

After swallowing one with my own spit, I began to look for a place to bury them and surveyed an empty plot of land right behind the village hall.

There were weeds growing there but the rest seem to be barren.

Next to the pub was the smithy, and that's where I was going next to borrow some tools.

Inside, dust has started to settle.

An assortment of weapons, armors, tools and equipment lay down in piles.

It wasn’t evenly distributed, some were missing—

Gush.

I stepped into a pile of sticky blood.

Tracing it back to its source, my heart sank once again.

A lifeless body stared straight at me, with a rosary in one hand and a bronze silver sword in the other, she looked as if she was ready to pounce.

Sighing, I kneeled down at the body.

I closed her empty eyes, my heart was clenching tight from the thought of how she ended up here.

“Rest well, lady…”

With the shovel in hand, I began digging.

Determined to put their tired souls to rest.

 

---

 

By the time I buried the last corpse, it was already past dusk.

After all of that, I clasped my hands and closed my eyes.

Oh, Heavenly Light.

Please shine our night.

Flesh and heart may fail.

As humankind is frail.

The body that is sown is perishable,

But the soul remains salvageable.

Save them as you have saved me.

Heavenly Light and Almighty.

The sound of galloping horses made me open my eyes.

In the distance, I saw them, it was the cavalry of knights whom I notified at the barony the day before.

They made their way to the burial grounds.

Once I stood up, the cavalry halted.

The knight on the rear gestured to his fellow, he then slowly approached me.

The knight in silver armor hopped off his white horse and pulled his visor open.

“It’s been a while, Inquisitor Abel.”

I replied with a bow, “It certainly has been, Sir Corden….” Glancing at the others behind him, the knights were trying their best to maintain their demeanor.

“I hope that your journey to this village went smoothly and I do apologize for informing your cavalry in such short notice…”

“Don’t worry, I do not mind. The Silverwood family is heavily indebted to the Order’s grace, it would be wrong for me to turn away an ally in times of troubles.”

“...Thank you.”

Packing my things, I curtly bowed to him as I handed him a scroll.

“I’ve mapped all the villages that were affected by the necromancer’s malevolence, although I stopped the summoning ritual, I’m afraid that the heretic’s presence might invite some unwarranted guests…”

“Well, my men were unsatisfied with the monster subjugation beyond the border, so this will certainly fix their disappointment.”

I chuckled a bit, “I see, it’s a win-win situation for both parties…”

Then I explained to him what happened.

From the moment I arrived on the outskirts to the elimination of the madman.

“Your blade is as swift as ever.” He took out his sword from his sheathe and stabbed it on the soil that now rests the bodies of the villagers.

He curled his lips tight as he sucked in a deep breath.

“...I’m sorry for not making it on time.”

After his apology, he muttered a quick prayer then looked at me.

“Abel, I give my gratitude to you for helping them rest…From the bottom of my heart—Thank you.”

The look on his face made me pause, I could only curtly nod at his sincerity before speaking my thoughts.

“As an Inquisitor, it is my duty…” A smile broke out of his serious expression “however, as much as I’d like to stay. My mission here is over, I have to report this back immediately.”

“Is that so? I really wanted to catch up on certain matters but duty comes first I suppose."

He patted me on the back before nudging me to go.

"Well, I wouldn’t want to keep you waiting.”

I couldn’t help but smile at those words, Corden was always an understanding and sincere individual despite the heavy burden of being a count.

It's a shame that his obligation to the Royal family basically made him detached to his own family.

—Abel, before I forget.”

He handed me something, feeling the smooth silky fabric, I could tell it was a patch made in various materials.

“Even though you are not one of my men, you have proven the honor and loyalty of what a knight is…Therefore— Before he could finish his sentence, I cut him off with a wave.

“Corden, thank you for the kind gesture but I have to decline…”

As much as I’d like to be a part of the Silverwood family and earn the status of an honorary knight, being an Inquisitor was more than enough credibility to my job.

That's why I don’t need such recognition.

Tossing back the patch of insignia back to him as I walked away, he snorted.

“You really are one of a kind, Abel.”

Kicking the dirt off my boot, I turned around and nodded.

Then I set off beyond the yonder.