They are looking for me. As I expected they would.
His reaction became more calm than panic as earlier when he saw Mikhail as he expected in the beginning.
Nortes murmured. And he turning his head, looked back to the vendor who still inside his stand and arranging the crates filled with apple to be close to the counter.
"I need to go, mister. The apple was delicious though."
He said his final words at him, before he started to move, heading into the small alleyway near the apple vendor's stand.
"Stay safe, lad!" The vendor shouted, looking at his customer until he disappeared. before
"That youngster... Why did he suddenly leave that way?" He pondered in whisper briefly, following handling final crate to its destined position.
As soon as a single customer comes to his apple stand, the Apple Vendor taking a glance at his customer who now standing across before the table that was fully filled with three wooden boxes contains of fresh apples.
"Ah! How may I help you, dear sir?" The vendor stared at his customer. While he was still staring at the customer he put down his hand over the counter.
The current customer of the apple vendor is the Sentinel himself, Mikhail.
Meanwhile at Nortes, he is still moving, keeps on running across the moderate tight alleyway until he finally reaches the end.
He emerged to another street, again completely full of people.
Nortes saw the current state of the street as he joined and blended in among them.
He walks through the thronged path.
While he is still in there, his eyes wanders, he stares at the signs of the shops in his wake. Sadly the texts, those words, are still unreadable.
I can understand what people are saying but overall I cannot understand the language at the texts in the signs. Then he grunted annoyingly.
No! Please no! I don't want to go to an academy and learn their language to understand. Worse than that, I have to graduate then get a job. That is so boring. I'd rather die, again, than going to that hell. For the second time!
He murmured, thinking of his choice.
At a brief moment, his eyes caught the view of the shop which caught his interest. He soon paused his movement.
The shop, its appearance, has a strong resemblance to a coffeehouse. Even inside, through the window, there are lights shining like the warm embrace of the sun.
As an idea appears in a flash, disrupted his attention, Nortes's mouth swiftly turns into a pleasant smile,
That's it! I need to find a library somewhere around this town
Without ado, he began to walk again, through across the road full of people heading to several directions.
"This is getting boring."
"I wish something would happen today." His urge arises, finding an event becoming a reality in order to satisfy his boredom and emptiness on this peaceful day.
His body is hungrily thirsty to feel the thrill and excitement.
As they say beware what you are wishing for. It may arise from a bad omen. Or either good. Let them enjoy their harmony over their beloved town. For now...
[A few minutes ago...]
"Ah! How may I help you, dear sir?" The vendor stared at his customer.
"Dear citizen, I am afraid to tell you, you must leave your stand and evacuate immediately." Mikhail stated genuinely. His voice tinged lightly yet serious.
The Vendor's cheerful falters by an unexpected declaration, replaced with a mixture of surprise and confusion. So he spoke again to uncover the details of the news further.
"What's going on? Please, speak. I need to know more about it."
Mikhail nods, accepting the vendor's intrigued request.
"The Duke received a letter from the Eradicator's messenger. It is said a great danger is approaching Philia, but there is none that is written to explain what time it will come. So Duke Decherd acted quickly to give us the mission to announce the news to everyone to evacuate. Before our doom knocks on our door."
He explained precisely.
The Apple Vendor's expression falls in quite terror, badly petrified when it mentioned "The Eradicator".
"Dear god, have mercy upon us all..." His hopeless reaction erases quickly as stoicity takes over.
"Every bad news is okay to listen to unless the letter was from the Eradicator. Their message is but a bad omen. Right! I will evacuate after I finish closing my shop." The Apple Vendor immediately took action as he promised.
He immediately closed his apple stand, disarranged and putting away the things in the stand while completely in ease.
I hope that boy will be okay. There is something about him that made me feel familiar...
The Apple Vendor muttered while doing his best to properly put everything in place yet concerning that young man he met and gave one apple.
But despite trying his bed to read his inexplicable feeling, he eventually cannot put a finger on it.
"Have I ever met him before?" He pondered again while still in motion.
Mikhail glanced at the apple vendor briefly, trusting that he is about to move to speak the troublesome news to the next person, but he paused himself as his mind reminded him of a sort of importance.
He gaze at the apple vendor again,
"Kind sir, pardon me, have you seen the person that has long hair and his hair color is lime green." Mikhail intruded yet kindly.
With a final piece to closing the Apple Vendor's shop as he took the moment to gaze at the Sentinel,
"Of course I know the person that is rightfully you describe. I am sorry also to tell you but the person you're looking for was left before you came here." He exclaims.
"Where is the direction he went?"
The Apple Vendor pointed to the right side,
"He went there and entered that alleyway."
"Thank you. And also don't forget to evacuate soon." Mikhail ran off, heading in the specific direction and headed into the alleyway where his Lord took.
[An hour ago when Nortes awakened...]
In the southwest of town named Philia, there is a forest where inhabited with tall trees, its height able to block the sunlight with thin gap. The gentle breeze howls through these remarkable thick pine trees. However eventually this forest not only inhabited as the same as many forests but it is even where dangerous creatures are lurking in the shadow.
As a loud commanding voice echoes within the forest...
"Get moving! Head toward the north!" The adult man in a crimson suit with a white scarf around the neck declared strictly. "And Hunt two heads toward the west! Be sure to eliminate those until nothing is left behind!" He reminded them with a voice bearing a firm and strict authority.
The forest's unwelcome guests with particular uniforms have already arrived and it seems they will begin their operation without wasting time further.
The Eradicators cried out in agreement to their Superior, clearly understanding his command. Then they head off to where the direction they were assigned to.
"This day is getting worse than the last. These reptiles, their activities are really restless, giving us many locations to exterminate. What are they doing all day? Mate and reproduce?" The man in crimson grunted at his wondering guess yet remain in deep thinking.
"Whenever we slain them, they become many. If their population is the problem so the answer is go to their nests." The man glanced at the other group that was left and which they are awaiting an order.
They are steadily positioned nearby as the man calls them.
"Hunt three, we are moving! You all are with me!" The man in crimson declares.
The Eradicators salute at him in an instant.
The man took the group under his command as they marches toward the exact location lies further in the forest.
A couple of minutes later. After a long walk toward their destined location, the group, Hunt three has finally arrived.
They refilled their stamina while standing. They have no time to alleviate as they are in quite a dangerous place.
The place where deadly creatures lurk which always been active according to the intel their intel they had received.
The forest is always awake… Its silence begins to haunt them.
"Ready your weapons!" The man in crimson declared in low tone to the group, their Superior is completely cautious on the predators would emerged from any directions if they made a loud noises. Their mission is vital, has possibility to wiped out entire group if one do a fatal mistake. He was the first who was ready with his weapon as everybody followed his suit.
"I reckon nobody will become a burden to this mission." He murmured to himself while his eyes are closed.
The eyes soon slowly open. It's now filled with sheer courage than the first which trembling in fear of the unknown as his entire face became stern firmly. And even the seven eradicators behind him followed also.
They enter the huge entrance of the cave and its path is leading downward.
It is dark… There is genuinely no light that can outshine the darkness.
Except at the entrance, it solely can shine through. Yet not very much.
But before they proceed to explore deeper, where the darkness becomes much darker, their leader—the man in crimson suit—activates his weapon around its shaft then at the tip of the spear sparks in flame.
The flame has now shone through darkness.
They began to walk forward. Even though some of them are anxious to feel death.
The silence in the cave…
It grew louder.
The group's superior sensing it is something wrong but he cannot pinpoint it.
Until air blows!
The man's eyes—Their superior—presently filled with a specific emotion.
He knew what its meaning. As he took action unhesitatingly to command before it becomes too late.
"Everybody. Let's return back." The man in crimson spoke but it was just a whisper.
His group were beginning to march out of the cave but eventually one of them immediately activates the spear suddenly as it ignites in flame at the point of the spear then throws it ahead.
"You fool!" Their Superior cried, irritated.
The fire in the spear, shines the darkness while it's still flying across, the fire, its light, little by little, is becoming distant. Swallowed by the darkness itself until nobody saw it anymore.
Tack!
An echo vibrates through the cave.
It stopped eventually. Then…
The fire, its little light outshines there, had extinguished soon as—
Rahroah!
A ferocious roar echoed across the cave!
Their Superior, squinting his eyes to gaze further as to see clearly.
He met a large gaze, it was glowing, flashes in the darkness.
Their Superior and those unknown gaze in darkness, staring at each other for a brief moment until the large gaze breaks first, the glowing eyes grow distant as it instantly gone in the dark.
"So it begins…" Their Superior looked away to glance at his group.
"Run, you pain-in-the-ass Weakers!"
All of them began sprinting towards the exit while their Superior stayed behind.
When the man looks at the darkness, the air flows across again.
But it was not an ordinary wind.
Something is coming…
Their Superior prepares himself, his spear is presently at the ready.
The silence is growing stronger…
Roar!
At that moment, two raptor-like Reaptears emerges in the darkness.
Their Superior quickly ended those reptiles in ease. He ended them by swinging and thrusting the flaming point against their white flesh bodies.
The man takes a deep breath, trying to assure his heart, then after he recovers, he returns in a combat stance at the ready.
He assumes there will maybe be more to come. But eventually none has come to attack. With a nod so considering the Reaptears won't come for now.
He is going to lower his guard, not yet, until he came at the time by counting to sixty seconds, thrice. The man stepped backwards yet his gaze still fixed across the darkness.
His senses may not surrender just yet, as until he come out of the cave.
He gazed back at the cave's enteance for a little moment before his attention averted to somewhere. He glanced at the group, the Hunt Three.
During his absence, they had a commotion due to one of their fellow Eradicator making a terrible mistake. Which it almost gets them killed.
Thanks to their Superior they are survived.
Beep! Bing! Beep!
An urgent sound interrupted their Superior's attention. It was coming from his wrist—a metallic bind hugged around and it had an orb, a clear color as the ocean's water.
The man faces the orb—which can be found in his wrist—in his ear.
"This is Wolf speaking." The strict man answered as a voice came, coming from the orb.
"I report! From Hunt one! An unauthorized person is here-! They went inside the hole!"
"So stupid…! You all need to bring that idiot out from that cave! It's illegal for someone to enter who is not an 'Eradicator'!—" However the voice cut off when suddenly get replaced by—
Boom!
A noise of explosion is more audible than behind the voices of terror. Then it went silent.
"Hey? Hello!? Is someone there? Hunt one?!"
There was no response.
"Son of a devil!-" The Hunt three's Leader grunts then he got cut off as the massive gust of wind blew within the large hole of the cave.
It was not just an ordinary, average breeze. It felt like a storm's wind.
His eyes widened upon knowing what it could mean due he received a cold shiver, crawling its way to his back as it reaches the nape. He sensing an incoming disaster!
"Everybody! Move away from the manhole!" The 'Wolf' yelled, all of the Eradicators were taken distances as their Leader instructed.
Followed by—
Aaahhhhrrphhh-gggaaahhhhh!
A sharp piercing cries bellowing in the darkness from the cave. Everyone covered their ears due to its intense, loud roar, causing the pain upon hearing.
Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!
In every steps the ground trembling in its wake.
Slowly as the creature lurking within the darkness has finally emerged!
The man in red grunts with mixture of annoyance and frustration.
Meanwhile—A minute ago before it has happened.
The Hunt one group came out of another giant hole in the grassy surface. The other group somewhere in the forest at their assigned destination from their superior.
"We have completely eradicated those Riptears, but I was never expecting that easy…" Their Leader ponders the lingering question, bothered the elimination went very smoothly. He does not meet his expectations how it would happen. They faced just couple of Riptears that were no threat and easily to kill.
"It really was, thankfully with your plan." His fellow Eradicator smirked, grateful how excellent his leadership was during their operation inside the cave. Half of the group nodded with him.
Their chatter goes on as gradually everybody loosen their guards, the ambience in the dangerous forest changed by themselves to serene and joy. They are busy relaxing and savoring the moment, unaware they completely lost to their leisure time--They cannot even sense that an unwelcome character has arrived to their location!
The mysterious shadowy figure landed over the pine tree's branch, hidden amongst the leaves. Their gaze fixed on the Hunt one group enjoying their time.
One of the Eradicator among that group averted his attention, wandering elsewhere then he caught a glimpse of the mysterious figure walked and entered the cave. He interrupts to alarm everyone with loud shout.
"S-Someone has entered the cave!"
"Hey! I-It is not the best time to joke around-!"
"I saw it WITH my own eyes for crying out loud! The figure wore just a ragged and torn robe!"
Their Leader thinks briefly before executing an order, "You aren't the kind of person to joke in a life and death situation so I believe you. Before we go there, I need to inform our Senior about it."
The Leader of Hunt One leaned his wrist onto near the ear as wait for the bracelet and their Superior's connect start to clear.
Meanwhile...
Inside the cave, the figure clad in a ragged robe stopped in the half way through the tunnel and they felt the audible noises traveling in the deep of darkness.
"The time has come." They have spoken revealing their voice is a male, tinged in baritone.
"Arise from your slumber." He brought out something from behind the robe.
In his palm, the item he holding is—Dynamite!
Tch!
He fuses the bomb with metallic lighter on his other hand then he casted forward into the darkness with powerful throw.
In three…
Two…
One…
Booom!
The blast ripped the silence apart, followed by a low, dreadful rumble. The tunnel shuddered violently. One by one the wall cracked. The ceiling collapsed in choking cloud of dust, burying the light, sound, and along with the one who fused the dynamite.