Volume 12: The Two Monsters

Chapter 1, Part 1

The atmosphere in the tavern was quite rumbustious. But for "Adventure Calls" - the main tavern of the Holy Kingdom's capital and a favorite place for adventurers to get a drink, it was nothing out of the ordinary. The servers brought food and drinks to the tables, without paying too much attention to the loud conversations around them.

"And I am telling you it was dozens of them! I saw the corpses myself when we went to that village." - exclaimed a burly looking adventurer with a platinum plate hanging from his neck. His voice carried over to the corner of a tavern. Where a man in a chainmail set alone at the table, a drink in front of him.
Marv Elen - the leader of an orichalcum ranked adventurer group called "The Young Blood" - a name that was given to them by an acquaintance when they first started, due to the whole group being comprised of very young adventurers. 10 years later they were the youngest orichalcum adventurers in the kingdom.

Having just returned from a quest he was eager to catch up on the latest news, he listened intently while waiting for the other members of his group to gather.

Demons - that was the talk of the town. Although he was not too sure about the details, as his group was away on a series of quests. It seemed like the trouble had started several months ago. There were reports of people disappearing in the remote villages on the east side of the kingdom. Adventurers were dispatched to investigate but were not able to find anything unusual.

Then the contact was lost completely with several villages. Adventurers who were sent there reported the villages were abandoned, with many houses having broken doors, but no other signs of battle. It was quite strange, it was as if the people who lived there were taken away. Such disappearance began to spread to other, nearby villages. One by one, the residents of seven villages had disappeared without a trace. As he was recalling the events that followed a man in a robe approached and set at his table.

Kiza Achin - a magic caster from Marv's group, he was able to cast several 4th tier spells. A genius magic caster, in time he would certainly overtake Fluder Paradyne of the Baharuth Empire as the top magic caster. He also had an incredible innate talent, which allowed him, after some meditation, to store up to three spells in his mind, which could be used instantaneously at a later time. This skill was incredibly useful and had saved "The Young Blood" group on several occasions. Much like Marv, he was on the cusp of adamantite rank.

"I just ran into Kiara. She was in a hurry, on her way to the Palace to report on her mission. But I asked her to stop by here afterward to share her information with us." - said Kiza, after ordering his drink.
Kiara Guroal, a member of "Devastation" - one of the two adamantite adventurer groups in the Holy Kingdom. She was a dual wielder like Marv, though instead of swords she used small axes, and instead of relying on strength she relied on her mind-blowing agility and drunk-like style of fighting. Nicknamed "Whirlwind of Death" she was an incredible fighter. Marv had spared with her on a number of occasions, and the result was always the same. He could never land a hit - her seemingly random, drunk-like movements made it impossible to predict her position, while her own weapons would come at him from the most impossible angles. For all his strength, Marv realized he still had a long way to go to stand at that level.

"So it's true, the "Claw" had been killed," Kiza's voice snapped Marv out of his thoughts. "The situation appears to be quite dire. It's no wonder that the Empress had called most of the mithril and higher ranked adventurers to the Capital. The Palace certainly appears to be planning something."
"Perhaps," replied Marv, taking a gulp from his cup, as his thoughts gone back to the events of the past month.

Thanks to Potemur Dorland - the highest ranked Holy Priest of the kingdom, a renowned strategist and an adviser to the Empress. They had discovered a pattern in the villagers' disappearances and predicted the next village that will disappear. "Claw" - a mithril adventurers' group and the highest ranked team in the town of Cressa was sent to the Kolea village.