“Demon?” Miraj looked left and right at the crowd of Inquisitors, frozen as if stuck in time.

Sylvester went closer to one of the men and tapped on their faces. “No reaction, no scent of any emotion. The Bloodlings are not known to speak, Chonky. But Demons are sometimes able to do so. Also, a Bloodling is a monster that kills, while Demon is something that possesses for whatever their plan is.”

He looked at Lady Aurora’s face as she remained in his arms. “But to think that the demon could also affect her mind, we will need to be careful this time. Let’s return and strategise first since dealing with a demon is very different from dealing with a bloodling.”

“I don’t like being here… I feel like someone’s watching me,” Miraj complained and hugged Sylvester’s neck. 𝐞𝐨𝘃𝐞𝐥.

“I feel it too.”

Sylvester didn’t waste any more time and left the mist with Lady Aurora and arrived at the Monastery. There, as per his orders, a room had been prepared where she could be treated and woken up as quickly as possible as she had no physical injuries.

“Isabella, come with me.” He ordered while heading to the room.

With her, the General and the newly arrived Archpriest of the monastery followed behind Sylvester and arrived in a room near the General’s office.

Sylvester put Lady Aurora on the bed there and took off her armour. “She’s only mentally defeated. Physically she’s absolutely fine. Still, have a look, Isabella.”

He turned around and faced the General. “We’re not dealing with a bloodling, General Arnold. It’s a demon of a high class—possibly an A or S class. Bring me any exorcist you have in your ranks.”

“A demon? But how? This land never saw any demonic activities here. Bloodling makes sense as a war was fought here years ago, but this?” General Arnold wondered loudly.

At that, the Archpriest and chief of the village stepped forward. The man was old with a hunched back, short, and had white hair with a beard. His face appeared wrinkled and, at the moment, full of worry as he spoke, “I believe it’s due to a curse, my lord.”

Sylvester asked, “Your name, Archpriest?”

“Brylee, my lord. I’ve been the priest and chief of this village for the past eighty years and just recently became Archpriest as the last one died. I’ve seen many generations come and pass here. But what we’re seeing right now is the result of the church itself—the consequences, if I may add.”

General Arnold tried to dismiss his words, however. “No, it can’t be related to that. Demons don’t appear so fast from a curse.”

“But we’re forgetting that he also knew the magic of the Beastkins, which is as mysterious as the Lord’s plans,” Archpriest Brylee said as he focused back on Sylvester. “Lord Bard, esteemed bringer of the light. What I will say has not a single word of lies in it—so please hear me, for it might help the village.”

Sylvester smelled the sadness radiating from the Archpriest. ‘What happened here that has made even him so sad?’

“Let’s take a seat then.” Sylvester went to the corner of the room and dragged a few chairs. They all then sat by the window while Isabella checked Lady Aurora.

The Archpriest started telling the tale, “My lord, until a few months back, a rich and influential Mizar family used to live here. They were Tiger beastkins, mixed with the local population. They were staunch supporters of Solis, as they had been for generations—this monastery is the prime example of it.

“They were in the trading business with the various companies in Libertia and Beastaria, all legally done. They were very kind people and always took care of the entire village. They produced jobs for everyone here—everyone was happy—until the Crusade started.”

Sylvester shifted on his seat, having guessed already where this was going.

The Archpriest sighed and looked out of the window. “I remember that day vividly. The crusaders came under the command of Baron Karl Rockwood. The Baron demanded that the Mizar family pay fifty thousand Gold Graces. That was a lot of money, even for them—not to mention, the patriarch of the family had gone out to fulfil a large trade order, so there was not much money left.

“The Baron accused them of hiding their wealth and being unfaithful. He accused them of being bloodling worshipers and barged into the house with the Crusaders. They looted everything but did not find enough coins. Then he blamed the family for heresy and burned the mansion down.

“After that, they killed the entire Mizar family, beheading them publicly, humiliating them for no reason. Little kids were scared and crying—yet the Crusaders showed no mercy—in the name of Solis, they openly committed heresy.”

Sylvester stood up and poured the old Archpriest some water. “You must be close to the family, Archpriest?”

The old man nodded while gulping water. “M-My daughter was married to the Mizar Patriarch’s son. She was also killed with her daughters—five and six-year-old little fluffy-eared younglings. I performed the family’s last rites with my own hands.”

“What about the demon?” Sylvester steered the topic back in the right direction.

“Yes, the demon. Some days after the whole ordeal, the Patriarch, Elyon Mizar, returned from his business, only to find the burnt house and ashes of his family that I handed over to him. But he went into a rage and vowed to kill the Baron. He’s not a simple man, my lord. He’s a pure Tiger Beastkin man with great physical strength and some magic to speak of—Beastkin magic.

“He cursed the lands before he leapt away in a mindless berserk state. He prayed in the name of Solis, ‘From the land where lies the ashes of my kins—shall rise darkness and that time will be when the end begins.’ were his words. He also threw the ashes of his family on the spot and slit his wrist to put blood on it. Must have been some sort of a ritual.”

‘A blood ritual? I’ve only read about them in dark magic classes, and it’s mostly used by illegal dark wizards. Do Beastinks have a more mainstream blood magic?’ Sylvester wondered as he thought about it.

From what he knew, to bring forth a demon, you needed a demon key. The key could be anything known to mankind, and as long as it’s tainted by a demon’s evil energy and a human or another living creature keeps it close for long enough, the possession begins. But here, the demon seemed to be something called forth. ‘Or is it even a demon?’

“Did you not report the incident to the higher-ups?” Sylvester asked while eying Inquisitor General Arnold with doubtful gazes.

“We did,” the Archpriest answered, “We have yet to receive any reply from the Cardinal Suprima.”

Sylvester sighed, for he knew there would be no reply. The Cardinal’s office was compromised, and the man didn’t receive any letters before the Duchess, and her loyal stooges checked them.

“What about you, General? Why have you not initiated the response per the Holy Law of Light?” he pressed on the General.

“We have started it, my lord,” General said, “As the HLC(Holy Law Code), Article 66 applies to the Baron and the entire crusade army. But, we have our hands tied here, so we planned to deal with the Baron after this.”

Sylvester stood up and walked over to Lady Aurora while commanding, “As I am Grand Crusader, this matter lies under my authority. General, spread the word to the Baron and the Crusaders under him. The Grand Crusader will meet them to reward them for their impeccable work, so ensure they are present at Baron’s Keep when I reach there.”

“It will be done, Lord Bard,” General Arnold understood what the plan was.

“Reward them? Lord Bard, how can y–”

Archpriest Brylee stopped as General Arnold tapped his shoulder and shook his head. It immediately struck the Archpriest what reward Sylvester was talking about.

Sylvester was focused on Lady Aurora. ‘How am I supposed to solve this mess now? I don’t even know what I am dealing with. My light magic also appears to be useless, as if it’s not the devil that has kept her in a coma.’

“General, please prepare as many long ropes as you can. I will enter the mist and bring out at least a dozen Inquisitors. I must test something on them to understand the nature of this ‘entity’ we’re dealing with,” he ordered.

With that, everyone got busy after his commands and hurried around to find as many ropes as possible. Sylvester’s plan was to take one end of the ropes in, tie it to the bodies and signal to the men to pull the bodies out.

In half an hour, everything was ready, and Sylvester prepared to enter the white mist once again. The air was blowing harshly as well, but the mist wasn’t affected by it.

Thud!

However, just as Sylvester was entering the mist, the Inquisitors standing at the edge dropped down, and one froze up like those inside the mist.

Sylvester cursed internally and shouted at the back. “Everyone! Move back! The mist is expanding—quick!”

His words spread panic as the monastery was not too far away from the mist, and if the mist were to keep spreading, then soon enough, it would be taken over too.

Sylvester looked back at the General. “Get the exorcists ready! We are going to start a Seven-Light Ritual here. I’m afraid this mist is going to be a bigger problem than any of us can imagine.”

In Sylvester’s mind, the last words of that Beastkin Patriarch the Archpriest revealed echoed.

‘From the land where lies the ashes of my kins—shall rise darkness, and that time will be when the end begins.’

“If the end begins here, and this mist is the end—then how far will it spread if not stopped? The Duchy? The Kingdom? The Continent? What in the devil’s name did that Beastkin invoke?”

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