CHAPTER 110: CHAPTER 110 - THE MISSION IN PAIR (6)

The grotesque laugh echoed through the broken beams of the old granary as Luca and Selena dashed across the dusty path, their boots thudding against the earth. Trees blurred past them. The sun had barely climbed higher, but a chill darker than morning dew clung to the air.

They burst through a thinning patch of trees—and there he was.

A man cloaked in tattered black, half his face hidden behind a stitched leather mask, was dragging an unconscious villager through the dried grass. The man’s gaunt frame turned at the sound of their approach.

He froze... then slowly tilted his head up, revealing wild, red-stained eyes and a grotesque grin.

"Jjiejiejie... Two little pests? HAHAHA! More sacrifices for the Lord!"

He dropped the limp body like a sack of meat and launched toward them with unnatural speed, hands gnarled and clawed with blackened veins pulsing.

Luca was faster.

Twin sabers unsheathed with a crisp metallic ring as he ducked under the man’s lunge and slashed upward. Sparks flew as steel clashed against hardened claws.

Selena raised her hand, her eyes cold and calculating.

"Frostbind."

A surge of jagged ice burst from her fingertips, freezing the enemy’s lower half mid-stride. But he shattered through it with sheer brute force.

"Thunder Chain!" she called again, and tendrils of lightning wrapped around him mid-air. His body convulsed violently.

"Now!" Luca stepped in, blades crossing in a scissor-like slash, striking the man down.

He collapsed, twitching, blood trailing from his mouth. Despite the burns and cuts, he chuckled faintly, then coughed.

Luca planted his foot near the man’s chest, sabers poised.

"Who are you working for?" he demanded, eyes sharp.

"Where is your hideout?" Selena followed, voice calm but fierce, lightning still crackling in her palms.

The man simply trembled with mad laughter.

"jiejieiejijiei.."

"How many have you taken?" Luca growled. "Where are the others?"

But the man’s expression only grew more twisted. His shoulders shook. He let out a high-pitched giggle, eyes rolling back.

"HAHAHAHHA.."

"Your questions mean nothing... He will come," he croaked.

Selena’s eyes narrowed. "Talk—"

CRACK!

A lash of lightning snapped against the man’s shoulder. He didn’t even flinch.

Instead, he began to cackle louder, his back arching unnaturally.

"All of you... sacrifices! HAHAHAHAHA! The Lord rises—!"

BOOM!

A deafening blast of mana erupted from his core.

"SELENA!" Luca roared, lunging forward.

He grabbed her, shielding her with his body as they both hurled backward into the dirt. The shockwave exploded behind them, incinerating the man’s body in a flash of dark fire.

They crashed hard, rolling across the ground. Dust and char filled the air.

For a moment... only silence remained.

Then Luca groaned, lifting himself slightly over Selena.

"You okay?" he asked, breath ragged.

Selena coughed, nodding beneath him. "Yeah... thanks."

Behind them, only scorched earth remained where the man had stood.

And an ominous silence... as if something far worse had just been set into motion.

The faint glow of fading embers danced on the wind as Luca and Selena rose to their feet, brushing the dust from their clothes. The place where the cultist once stood was now nothing more than scorched earth and fragmented bone, a silent testament to his fanaticism.

Selena’s voice was cold, tinged with frustration. "I didn’t think they would be this ruthless. He exploded his own mana circuit."

Luca nodded, eyes still fixed on the blackened ground. You haven’t seen yet how ruthless they can be, he thought grimly, memories of darker cultist acts flickering in his mind like ghostly echoes.

He exhaled slowly. "Let’s go and explore the other places. The Ravine Path might have more of them, or at least something useful. We have to move fast."

Selena gave a tight nod, determination etched into her sharp gaze as they turned and ran down the narrowing trail.

Ravine Path

The path twisted dangerously along the edge of a steep cliff, the drop beside them lost to the fog that clung low like a ghostly curtain. Stones crunched underfoot, and the occasional chirp of nocturnal birds echoed eerily.

Selena raised her hand, casting a faint sphere of light to illuminate the darker patches of the path. "Anything?"

Luca crouched near a pile of disturbed stones, brushing his fingers over the soft earth. "Footprints... maybe a day or two old. But they lead nowhere."

They pressed deeper into the ravine, examining every overturned rock, every broken twig. But aside from the quiet rustle of wind and wildlife, there was nothing.

Selena exhaled. "They haven’t used this trail in a while."

Luca stood, frowning. "It’s clean. No signs of recent movement. Let’s head to the ruins."

The Ruins

The ancient ruins stood like skeletons of a long-forgotten past—broken stone pillars, overgrown courtyards, and weathered carvings that had lost their meaning to time.

Luca examined a strange set of burn marks on a wall. "Maybe a mana flare... but old. Not recent."

Selena brushed aside a hanging vine, revealing what looked like dried blood on a cracked stone. "They might’ve passed through here weeks ago."

They searched thoroughly—beneath fallen columns, inside the hollow remains of statues, and among shattered altars—but all they found were small fragments. A broken dagger. A tattered piece of cloth. Faded footprints leading nowhere.

The sky had long turned indigo, and the moon now hung high above them.

Luca sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Let’s go back to the inn, have some dinner. We’ll explore the Forest Trail and the old church ruins tomorrow. It’s too dangerous to comb the forest at night. It’s fine for gathering info... but a fight in the woods could alert them."

Selena looked around the hauntingly silent ruins one last time, then nodded. "Alright. Let’s go."

Together, under the starlit sky, they began their quiet return to the inn.

The inn’s warm candlelight flickered gently as Luca and Selena stepped inside, the door creaking shut behind them. The cozy murmur of other travelers, the clinking of plates, and the smell of roasted meat filled the air.

"Welcome back," the innkeeper greeted them kindly, wiping her hands on her apron. Her eyes twinkled with hospitality as she added, "Long day?"

Luca gave a tired smile, fishing out two silver coins from his cloak and placing them on the counter. "Dinner for two, please."

"Of course, dear. Take a seat, I’ll bring it right away," she replied, pocketing the coins with a nod.

They chose a quiet table in the far corner. Luca remained vigilant, his eyes scanning the room. The warmth of the hearth couldn’t ease the chill in his bones. When the innkeeper returned and placed steaming plates in front of them, Selena reached for her fork instinctively.

"Wait," Luca said sharply, his voice low.

Selena looked at him, puzzled.

"Cast a detection spell on the food. We can’t trust anyone. Not here."

Understanding dawned in her eyes. She nodded and muttered a few incantations under her breath, her fingers glowing faintly with mana as she passed them above the food. A moment later, she sighed.

"It’s clean. No poison, no magic tampering."

Luca nodded, though his hand lingered near the hilt of his saber as he finally began eating.

They ate in silence for a while before discussing their next steps.

"We’ll hit the forest trail and church ruins tomorrow," Luca said between bites. "No good investigating the woods at night. A fight out there could expose us."

Selena agreed. "And if there’s something... watching, it’s best we don’t stumble blindly into its den."

When they finished, they climbed the stairs to their room, the inn already growing quiet as night deepened. Once inside, Luca shut the door firmly, then glanced over at the hidden compartment of his cloak.

As he summoned the baby dragon.

Luca knelt and gently unwrapped the bundle—a baby dragon, her crimson eyes blinking sleepily in the soft lantern light. She chirped softly.

Luca smiled and pulled out a wrapped plate of meat from the bundle. "Look what I brought?" he said teasingly.

The baby dragon’s eyes locked on the food, tail wagging slightly. Luca tore a small strip and held it toward her.

"Try it."

She sniffed it cautiously, then took a bite. Her eyes widened in delight, and soon, she was eagerly nibbling away at the meat, letting out small satisfied squeaks.

Selena watched the interaction with a faint smile, but a shadow soon passed across her face.

"I’m... not feeling well," she muttered, her brow furrowed.

Luca turned instantly. "What?"

His vision blurred. A sharp hammering pain pulsed in his head. He staggered, grabbing the side of the bed for support.

"...How?" he mumbled, trying to summon his Aura—but it felt sluggish, like it was being siphoned away.

Selena collapsed first, her body hitting the wooden floor with a dull thud.

Luca’s eyes widened in horror, but before he could move, the world spun.

A shadow moved—someone was inside the room. The figure stooped and lifted the baby dragon. She squirmed in their arms, eyes tearing up as she reached her tiny claws toward Luca.

"P-papa...papa..." she whimpered, her voice broken and confused.

"No...!" Luca tried to rise, to crawl, to do anything—but his limbs felt like lead. Then, a hard boot slammed into his side, knocking him back against the wall.

The last thing he saw before the darkness took him was the baby dragon’s terrified face disappearing beyond the door, her cries echoing in his ears. As he heard "HAHAHAHA, there is no need for sacrificing 100 people, who would have thought I would encounter a Dragon here."