Unforgivable Bastards
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Past Loi, 25 years old.
Adventurer guild.
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I grip my adventurer ID card tightly in joy. I finally managed to rank up the rank E.
Without thinking about it, I quickly jolt to the machine to check for available missions or quests.
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Escort a merchant to a nearby village and back to the kingdom of Enchantio.
Requirement:
Rank E adventurer and above.
Reward: 500 golds.
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500? That's a good deal!
I quickly accepted the quest without a second thought.
The information of the quest is sent to a device every adventurer owns, it logs down every information of every quest the adventurer accepts.
I go to the place listed to meet my client the next morning, the gate of the Kingdom of Enchantio. The Kingdom of Enchantio is South-West of the capital and the nearest village should be... Regon Village, a flourishing fruit paradise.
I look at the carriages. Inside it are crates of boxes with a protective scroll surrounding them.
"Hey!" One big husky guy. "You know how to ride a horse?"
I nod.
"Take that one."
He points at a brown horse.
...
That guy is in the core formation realm... This quest should be easy.
After confirming the 15 adventurers following the merchants, the group set off.
"Keep an eye out! Even though we are nothing special, there has been an increase in crimes in these areas." Says the big guy.
"Yes!" Me and the others reply.
The sound of galloping as well as the sound of the wooden wheels rocking against the road. I cannot hear anything at all.
...
Why do I have a bad feeling about this? We have one core formation here and it's not like there are any expensive valuables in the crates...
I shake my head and snap out of it. Maybe it's just my instincts becoming overly ambitious.
We reach the village without any issue.
A beautiful girl on the outskirts of the village welcomes us and guides us in.
Once in, the tense atmosphere lifts. The joyful singing and dancing rehearsals as decorations are put up in place.
Several other merchants can be seen relaxing in this village, there are several bars and inns for travellers to stay in.
"Everyone! Enjoy yourself, for the time being, come back here tomorrow afternoon and we will set off back to the Kingdom of Enchantio." Says the big guy.
"Heave-Ho," I mumble as I help the merchants unload their carriages. A villager girl walks to me and hands me a towel.
"Oh, thanks."
"Hi, mister!"
?
I look at the person who handed me the towel, it's a young girl about the same age as my sister, 12 years old.
"I'm Lina! Let's exchange information." Says the girl.
"Information?"
"I will tell you more about the festival happening tonight and you tell me more about the outside world! You are an adventurer so you've gone to many places right?"
I scratch my head in embarrassment. "Well, I'm quite a new adventurer but I have things I can share."
"Yay!"
I describe my life before everything went downhill. The small but joyful little moments that I took for granted. The little trips to neighbouring villages or places.
"I see... I have never left this village before so I've never seen the outside world." Says Lina.
"So, what is this festival about?" I ask.
"It's a festival to celebrate our yearly big harvest! It is also celebrated for wishes of prosperity and luck for the year ahead." Says Lina.
"I see..."
Ropes decorated with flowers are hung on the edge of the roofs from one to another. Everyone seems to be in a good mood, I should relax for a bit.
I walk to the inn and take a short nap in my room.
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...
!!!
I sense something weird and immediately woke up. I look out of the windows to find everyone dancing around a bonfire. Music is played by a group of people, everyone has a huge smile on their face. Yet what is this unpleasant feeling...
...
No, I can't shake this feeling off, I need to check it out.
Suddenly, when I step outside of the inn, a rain of destructive spells including fireballs and thunderbolts came down onto the people celebrating.
!???!
"An enemy attack!"
I draw my sword by reflex but a swarm of enemies dressed with black cloth covering their faces came in and slaughter everyone. I attempt to defend myself against the first attacker but he instantly went in for a kick to my stomach and hit my nape using the pommel of his sword.
"Ack!"
C-Core formation! Every single one of them is in the core formation!
In an instant, I was knocked out.
When I regain consciousness, I realise I am tied up lying on the ground.
The scene... Well...
All of the male villagers and merchants are hung on trees. The relaxing paradise instantly becomes hell.
The big guy following my group is beaten up badly as he attempts to get up.
"Stop it! You psychopaths! Fuck-"
He coughs out blood as he collapses on the ground. I look to my left to realise what he is referring to.
!!!!!!!!!!!
Moans of agony as the women are pinned against their will. Their screams echo throughout the burning atmosphere.
Although I can only see a vague silhouette due to the smokes, I can already imagine what's going on.
A boy appears from the smoke, fanning part of it away.
!!!
I caught a glimpse of Lina...
"Fuck! You bastards!" I accidentally blurt out.
The boy noticed me and walks closer to me.
He steps on my head and says "What's wrong? Are you angry about what we are doing? Well too bad, become stronger then. You are too weak. Besides, all of you adventurers should thank your lucky stars. Dealing with the Adventurer's Guild is too troublesome for the Desmall family, that's the only reason why we are keeping all of you alive."
He pulls up my face using my hair.
"Memorize my face, I dare maggots like you to take revenge for these villagers, I am Azriel Desmall, the heir to the Desmall family."
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Present
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Although I am selfish, I am not a monster. If I have the strength, I would save them.
After about 30 minutes, reinforcement from the kingdom arrived after sightings of smoke and fire burning in the village and everyone was rescued as the Desmall family escaped.
However, I didn't hear much about what happened to Regon village afterwards. They disbanded and decided to each go their way.
In some particular cases like Lina who was impregnated by those bastards, they committed suicide.
...
I sigh.
Fuck. I didn't ever want to remember what happened that day.
I look at the fatty. Although his head is attached back using mana, his body is still visibly decomposing and cold. Not to mention the cut mark on his neck.
I need to act fast.
I look around and find a paper on a table. Some cartridge of ink lay beside the paper.
Perfect.
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Dear mother and father,
I will be going on a slightly longer journey for a bit. Don't worry, I will be back within 2 weeks.
With love, Loi.
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I place this paper in the mail and place it in the mailbox of the mansion before departing for Celturus.
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A stagecoach stops when I wave my hand out beside the road.
"Where to?" The driver asks in enthusiasm once I show him one platinum coin.
"Celturus."
"Get on, you guys look shady as fuck but for another coin, I can sneak you in"
I take out another platinum coin and fling it to the driver. The driver catches it and continues driving when we got into his cart behind.
I look at fatty. I've hidden the cut marks using an illusion spell and wrapped a cloth around his neck. He now smells like he hasn't had a bath in days, his internal organs have decomposed.
After some rocky time, a tall wall van is seen on the horizon.
"Hey! We are near, get into the crates, I will smuggle you in." Says the driver.
I hid both the fatty and I in the shadow instead by using Schatten.
"Hey!" Says the driver to the guard. The guard whispers something to the driver and the driver points behind.
"You sure they are here?" The guards say.
"Yes, in those crates."
The guards went to check the crates to find only empty air and some illegal drugs.
"What? They are not here?"
"That's impossible! I swear I..."
The guard sighs. "Whatever, probably ran away when they noticed something is wrong. Get going."
The driver clicks his tongue. "Damn it, I missed the chance to get 10 platinum coins."
Hm? Someone is willing to buy kidnapped people for 10 platinum coins? Is it the demonic cult again?
Once the driver gets into Celturus and parks in a secluded spot, I reveal myself and place a knife at his throat.
!!!
"You? How?"
"Now now, where's the platinum coin you scammed from?" I say.
"H-Here!" The driver hands the coins with shaking hands.
His bald head and white goat moustache with his frail body say that he has been taking those drugs while selling them.
I kill the driver by slitting his throat and looting him. I click my tongue, only 8 platinum coins and some more drugs in his body.
I place his body inside his cart and set fire to it before disappearing.
...
!!!
"Smoke! Fire!! Someone is burning in that cart!!" A passer-by shouts.