Executioner's Trial

The villagers did not conceal their malice toward him and some of them already shut their doors.

'What's going on?'

As it was his first time encountering something like this, he didn't know how to react.

"Uh, I apologize for my rudeness but I am a royal knight so you can rest assured that I have no bad intentions. I just want to stay here for a few days and I'll also leave. Is there any way I could do that?"

Despite the question being directed toward every ear around, no one responded. The mother and child backed away, entered their house, and slammed the door hard.

"Where can I find the village chief?" Agni asked as he swept his gaze at the villagers hidden everywhere.

Conversing to the village chief might be more fruitful than trying to force these villagers out of their nests.

[Mission: Investigate the disappearance of the knights…]

The disappearance of the knights might be the reason why these villagers seem traumatized whenever an outsider enters the village. Perhaps they might be thinking they might disappear too if they associate themselves with him.

It was a pity. Cooperating at a time like this would have been better. He's a royal knight and not some average knight who's easy to be preyed upon.

No matter how powerful the culprit of these disappearances is, in his eyes, they would all be a lamb to be slaughtered.

'By then, I'll be the new executioner.'

This time, he'll prove that he's worthy to be one.

At that moment.

Step—, step—

The man he sought after finally appeared.

"Good morning, royal knight sir, I'm the village chief here."

Agni turned his head at the voice owner. A frail old man with a cane in his hand walked toward him. On his lips, a mischievous grin surfaced.

"How may I help you?"

.........

"However, before you become a genuine executioner, you have to complete the trial first." Elvin said as he rummaged through the stack of papers.

"Trial?"

"Mm… it's a test if you're eligible to become an executioner. Once you complete it, you'll be given the mark of the executioner which I heard boosts the bearer's power."

Hearing Elvin's explanation, Hans nodded. It seemed like he took this executioner position too lightly.

'A mark that boosts power?'

It might be useful to him. Therefore, no matter how difficult this trial is, he has to complete it otherwise he won't have a chance again.

"Can I ask what this trial is?"

Elvin raised his head and smiled. "You just have to complete a mission, nothing else."

"That easy?"

"Haha, I really wished it was that easy."

Hans observed Elvin's expression and noticed a slight change in his facial mood. Even then, it instantly faded and Elvin went back to finding something in the stack of papers.

After a few seconds of silence, Elvin pulled a sheet of paper and carefully placed it on top of the others. He looked at Hans, pointed at the paper, and spoke in a serious tone.

"Hans, this is your trial."

However, as Hans was about to pick up the paper, Elvin grabbed his arms.

"I'll be frank with you, in this mission you might go insane or even die. I want you to think about it clearly and weigh the consequences."

"But aren't you the one who offered this position?" Hans asked.

"I invited you here because I want to test how far your mentality goes. Can you kill innocents? Can you stake your life in this hellish gamble? I wanted to know about it through this."

Hans blankly stared at the paper. Truthfully, he wasn't afraid of death anymore. Dangerous adventures and hellish dungeons excite him more than life itself.

He didn't know why his mind thought like this. His goal is to find out about his true identity and solve the mysteries of his power.

It's only common to play with life and death sometimes.

However, every time he escaped from this life and death situation, he gained something. For a man like him who pursues power, even if it's crawling into the deepest pit of the abyss, he'll do it just to reach his goals.

With a firm decision, he stared at Elvin.

"Life is always a gamble. The choice to live and to die will always be decided by yourself. Dying is just normal, so I don't think I should pass this opportunity." Hans calmly said.

"As I thought, you're really special."

Elvin loosened his grip and Hans immediately grabbed the paper from the table.

"That mission is chosen by the Emperor himself for the next executioner candidate. Read it carefully and tell me what you think about it." Elvin explained as he leaned on the soft couch and closed his eyes.

As soon as he heard Elvin, Hans nodded and started reading the contents of the trial.

[For Executioners Only.

Mission: Investigate the disappearance of the knights crossing into the Casonar Village. There have been reports of mysterious phenomena happening there and you will be tasked to either take them down or stop them.

You can choose to abandon the mission if…

First, it is deemed impossible to clear.

Second, the cause of the disappearance did not appear for the last 3 days.

And lastly, help is needed to clear it.

Difficulty: C-rank

Note: This is a mission only royal knights are permitted to see. Exposing the mission to outsiders will lead to consequences…]

"This doesn't seem to be hard." Hans muttered.

However, since this is a trial, this mission might not be simple as it seems.

At this time, Elvin opened his eyes and his vision soon returned.

"The Casonar Village is at the far end of the Southern Border. According to reports, our knights disappeared there after staying there for a night. Your task is to investigate it and find out what went wrong."

"Went wrong?" Hans murmured. With Elvin's words, Hans noticed a trace of bitterness in his eyes.

Elvin stood up from the couch and trudged towards the window. His steps were so heavy that the ground trembled as his boots stepped on it. He gazed outside, seemingly reminiscing a memory from the past.

"Agni is a royal knight. He was a candidate for the executioner position and was picked by the Emperor himself."

Hans didn't interrupt and listened attentively.

Elvin continued.

"He's one of the best royal knights and one of the people I respected the most. For me, he's a friend, a comrade, and almost a brother figure. Although he complains about being ordered by me sometimes, he's not that bad."

"What happened to him?" Hans asked the obvious. Since Elvin bothered to tell this story, there must be a certain importance to it.

"Yesterday, we received news from the scouts that Agni vanished from the Casonar Village. Just like you, he's there to investigate the disappearance of our knights."

The light on Hans' eyes dimmed. The room which was bustling with serene silence earlier was now shrouded in mystery and tension.

"We couldn't contact him anymore and there's just no way of finding his location. The guards of the village said that no one exited there in the night so that means that Agni disappeared inside the village."

Hans nodded. Now he knows what the true difficulty of this mission is.

'If even a royal knight vanished without a trace…'

This mission will not be the same as destroying the Baru Empire. His enemy might be more complicated than he thought.

Elvin opened the window and the bone-chilling winds immediately assaulted his face. The lingering scent of grass in the billowing snow tickled his nose.

However, Elvin was unfazed. Despite the chills crawling on his skin, he remained unbothered.

"The reason why I'm telling you this is because I want you to take this mission seriously. In this mission, your life's on the line so you must not let your guard down. Any mistakes might lead to consequences or even worse, death."

"I'll take your words to heart."

"Thank you." Elvin whispered just enough for Hans to head.

Due to the circumstances, he didn't even have time to go to the Casonar Village and see the place for himself.

Hans stood up and walked towards the door to leave. If he wanted to complete this mission, he'd have to do it now. Delaying it would also delay his plans.

However, as he grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door, Hans turned toward Elvin.

"I'll find him. Whether he's alive or dead, I'll make sure he'll get the justice he deserved and all the knights that disappeared before him."

Elvin chuckled. "Haha, is that a promise?"

"No, I'm just telling you that this mission is already complete."

At that, Hans exited the room and the door closed with a thud.

Thud—

'Such a confident young man…'

Elvin wasn't sure about Hans but after engaging in this small conversation, he could vaguely see a shadow of himself in him.

The posture, the attitude, and the brimming confidence within him resembled Elvin's younger self.

"You're still young so you shouldn't die out there. You must be careful, Hans." Elvin whispered as he stared at Hans back through the window. He continued, "May the goddess of luck be with you."

......…..

Inside the Inn.

Room 21.

Hans sat on the chair while the equipment he'll need laid on the table. In his hand, he held a clean white cloth which he used to wipe the dirt off his blades.

[Hans, I have an ominous premonition about this. Why don't you just abandon it? It's not too late yet.]

"It's a must." Hans answered as he inspected his swords for chipped edges or scratches.

[Huh?]

Fortunately, the swords didn't have one and were perfectly fine. Hence, Hans put it aside and picked up the book he obtained from the auction.

"I don't want to go to the frontlines yet. To avoid that, I'll have to work from the shadows. The executioner is just a perfect fit for me. I can freely contact Sariah for updates about the changes in the war and could even respond without being noticed."

[But this mission is clearly dangerous!]

Hans opened the book and the first page was blank. Then, he flipped the pages again and the book title entered his sight.

"I'm an Awakened. It's normal for our job to be dangerous. Everywhere I go, death follows. It has already become common to me. There's no need to fuss about it."

[Sigh—, well, it's your choice. I just don't want to die yet but…in the end, you're still the boss.]

Ignoring Plundy's words, Hans read the book title before dumping it inside his storage bag. He decided to read the book along his journey.

"The sword is present, food is present, water is also here…"

After checking his things, Hans packed them inside his storage pouch which he has three in total.

However, for some reason, he felt like something was missing. Even then, he didn't pursue the issue anymore and bolstered the storage bags in his belt.

This journey towards the Casonar Village might take a long time so while the sun is still present, he'd take advantage of this.

In his estimate, he'd arrive before night. A perfect time for the mission to commence.

'Casonar Village…'

With that, Hans finally left the inn and embarked on his long journey.

.......

As soon as Hans vanished from his sight, Elvin sat back down on the couch.

However, as soon as his butt touched the soft cushion, his eyes widened. The hairs on his skin stood up.

Gulp—

Elvin swallowed his saliva, trying to keep his racing heart steady.

"Elvin."

A gentle and alluring voice rang behind him. As if his butt were lit on fire, Elvin turned around, placed his fists quickly on his chest, and bowed.

"General."