Hal sat in his room, all the windows were still broken, exposing the now blue moon that showered him in its mystical light. In front of him, Mr Vandinel stood in front of one of the windows, the light from the moon rendering him a mere silhouette.
He was observing the mansion from this point, or at least what was left of it. Killing the mutated cultists did not get rid of the other mutated servants, which rampaged around until the servants resorted to using long-range weapons to deal with them.
On that day, almost a third of the staff working in the house of Harleyclover were wiped out, either by the cultists or by their fellow companions, who were given no choice but to do so
"Conceptual corrosion, I have never seen one this vile before"
There was a hint of melancholy in the detective's voice as he sipped from his lit pipe and let out a cloud of smoke that looked mystical under the new moon's light
"What is conceptual corrosion anyway?"
The detective took some time to answer as he took another sip from his pipe.
"This world, as you already know, is one ruled by concepts, embodiments and laws. These are the beings that act as the building blocks of our world, and anything they have authority over is built in their image"
He turned and faced Hal, his entrancing Hal demanding Hal's attention to the point he found himself unable to look away from the silhouette whose gentle brown eyes were illuminated by the moonlight.
"And we who draw on the powers of these concepts are no different; they force our bodies and minds to align with their image, shaping us into perfect vessels of their power, whether we control it, or they do"
The detective continued as his eyes now moved to the moon, his face now showing that melancholy more clearly.
"Your eyes and hair, they changed when you got your power, and so did Tai's eyes. That's conceptual corrosion. What we saw today was what happens when conceptual corrosion is not controlled"
Hal touched his eyes that glowed for a moment as he did. Was this what it meant by losing your humanity? Conceptual corrosion slowly mounds you into what that higher being desires.
"So how do you stop? How have I not turned into a monster as well?"
"Conceptual corrosion is inevitable, but it can be controlled, and it is the will of the mind; all beings in this world possess one and as long as you can keep your mind sound, the conceptual corrosion should not affect you too much, but the more times you awaken, the harder it will be to maintain a fully human state"
But then there was the lord of stars and his assistant; they were higher beings, but they looked completely human, though he couldn't say the same for the Primordial Owl, which did not look human at all.
There were too many questions around this phenomenon, so Hal hoped he would run into a scholar's book with the same information.
He also found himself curious about why the detective knew so much, and that strange voice of his always put him in a trance, something a normal voice should not be capable of
"Mr Vandinel, how do you know that much and also, are you gifted?"
Those light brown eyes moved within the detective's sockets and stared directly at Hal.
"I was wondering when you were planning to ask, well, for the info, I'm a detective, so being a treasure trove of things I shouldn't know is kinda my thing and for the voice, I made a contract that allows me entrance and simply make one give in to my commands"
"With what being a detective?"
The detective closed his eyes and turned back to the dazzling moon
"Trust me, if I could tell you I would, but the forces that bind me cannot allow me to spill this secret, so be patient with me, maybe someday I'll be able to say"
That truly frustrated Hal, such intense build-up for nothing, at least now he can confirm that he wasn't going mad every time he heard his voice, the detective, and what being could he have made a contract with? He forced the thought out of his mind as he replaced it with another question
"What's next, Mr Vandinel? The mansion was trashed by the aftermath, and the duke is overcome with paranoia after the incident bot to mention all the lives we lost"
Hal tried to keep a relatively calm demeanour, but even he could not deny that their victory was too bittersweet to the point that most of the servants were somewhere either mourning or traumatised by the incident
Mr Vandinel left his window side view and touched Hal's shoulder before gesturing him to follow, and so Hal stood up and followed Mr Vandinel as they made their way through the halls of the mansion
Most of them were damaged during the struggle between them and the cult, and as they walked, Hal could see the different servants
Some were weeping while others just sat idly by with gloomy looks on their faces, while murmuring something to themselves
Mr Vandinel walked until he reached the room that was once the living room of the mansion, but after Elizabeth faced off with most of the cultists in the area, the place was left in a sorry state
And in the room was Elizabeth, who was leaning against the wall. She looked less interested in anything going on in the current moment, though Hal was surprised even to see her here after she contributed a lot to the aftermath of the battle; he expected her to be in bed somewhere
His eyes soon landed on Lyrrah and Tai, who were seated in what was once a whole sofa but was now split in half, with Tai and Lyrrah sitting on either side
Lyrrah and Tai had also contributed a lot, with Lyrrah almost exhausting her limited reserves of soul flame, which explained her dozing off on the sofa
Meanwhile, Tai looked disappointed in himself, maybe because he felt he didn't contribute that much, though he was the one who took on the most dangerous cultist
The thought that the chef could actually be the leader who was keeping up with them through the battle still left Hal baffled and in denial
Mr Faizo was also there and served the duke a cup of tea. The man's eyes were still wide with fear as he trembled even to pick up his cup of tea
The worry Mr Faizo felt for his master was more than noticeable, though it soon turned to frustration the minute he set his eyes on the detective
Mr Faizo raced towards him and grabbed him by the collar
"You, this is all your fault"
His voice alerted everyone as Lyrrah sprang awake, and Tai rushed in to calm the head butler down.
"Mr Faizo, please calm down, you have to consider that the duke is only alive because of him"
Mr Faizo pulled himself from Tai as he turned to him with a fury in his eye, ready to strike the swordsman down, but a barrier appeared and protected him as Hal saw tears fall from the man's eyes.
"They're dead, and our home is in shreds just because you were curious, just because you wanted to interrogate that cultist"
His voice rose as servants began to gather around them
"If you had just let them kill that cultist on sight, then we wouldn't have lost so many of us, our house would still be something, the duke wouldn't be in this condition and that blue moon wouldn't be in the sky"
Lyrrah's barrier expanded to fully surround the angered and sad butler as he fell to his knees. Hal felt guilt weigh heavily on his heart; some of the servants who had died had been close to him, and he could see the same guilt in the eyes of Tai and Lyrrah, since they were the ones who let him live
Mr Vandinel fixed his coat as a sigh escaped his lips; his face only showed calmness as he knelt to join the butler at his knees
"I'm sorry, I let my greed take over, but that is why I am offering a place in the palace and full compensation to all families. I know this may never be enough to fix what I've broken, but I promise you they shall always be remembered by the entire kingdom, for the king has declared it The Day of Harleyclover"
Mr Faizo turned back with an eye still burning with fury
"And who are you to make this declaration, detective?"
The detective smiled and rose to his feet as he fixed his coat once again
"I make this decree as the Duke Vandinel Deminicus, the Arch Duke of Malentei and current ruler of Haverfield"