I walked slowly around the field of corpses; they littered everywhere I took a step.
I just wanted to scare them by creating a horrifying environment, but it seemed like some monster lurked nearby.
How the hell did I manage to bring a monster?
I mean, my skills with the flute aren't even that bad.
Right?
"Haa…"
"At least Julie is safe."
Of course, she was safe. As soon as I sensed danger, I stopped playing the flute and stayed by her side to ensure her safety.
I neared a corpse and examined it. It was mummified, as if the grotesque tentacles sucked away all vitality.
"Hooo"
Why did I feel a chill?
Is it because it was a tentacle?
No…
I looked at the corpse once again at the terrifying idea that crossed my mind.
Gulp~
Don't tell me the monster had some strange feti-
Thud~
I heard a muffled sound of the mud being jumped on, and I knew who it was.
'Shit! Did she wake up already?'
I quickly changed my clothing and dropped myself on the damp mud; my face got smeared with it, and my clothes got dirty.
Fuck!
It was hard being a mob character.
And worst of all, I needed to wash because of all the mud on me. Is she coming toward me?
And indeed, Julie opened her eyes sluggishly, her mind foggy. She observed her surroundings for a good moment, and memories of what had happened gradually came to her mind as the fog lifted.
Her head flicked to a spot, but there was nothing.
It was empty.
'He is not here.'
She tried to close her eyes, then opened them again, as if wishing it was a bad dream and she would wake up if she opened her eyes again.
But…
Reality was cruel.
The space was still empty.
She remembered a certain conversation.
'Idiots! Who told you to take the boy!'
'B-but sir, he got swept in when the girl was trying to hold something for support.'
'Haa…'
'S-sir, should we kill him?'
Her expression paled, her heart sank, and tears welled up in her eyes. She tried to rub her eyes but froze; her eyes widened because...
She could move.
The ropes were gone.
The colour on her face came as if a realization hit her.
"Yeah, he might be... outside."
She quickly steps out and searches the area.
This time, her heart sank even more.
She was surrounded by gigantic trees. The space was dimly lit, and a strong stench of iron lingered in the air.
She took slow and careful steps to avoid making the sound, but the wet mud betrayed her, as her every step produced sound despite her best effort.
"It looks scary." She quietly mumbled to herself, afraid she might attract a dangerous monster in the unknown forest.
She walked for a few more seconds before all colour was drained from her face again.
As if reality were playing a cruel joke. Julie saw a field of corpses, their vitality stolen from them, their skin dry, and the horror in their eyes before they died remained.
'No, no, no, no.'
"It can't be..."
But then...
The reality gave her one more slap of mockery on her cheek, as her sight landed on a small body near a bunch of corpses.
Her hope turned into helplessness.
The tears that had gone came back with even more force.
"No... sniff... it's all my fault... sniff... if I-I hadn't held his..."
'Hands.'
She blamed herself for all the things that happened to him.
A deep guilt came crashing down on her; she regretted ever holding his hands.
Sniff~
If she didn't get curious about him.
If she hadn't—
Her thoughts halted as she neared the small body; her legs started to move faster by the second as if she would lose it if she stopped even for a moment.
She moved so fast that she crashed.
Bang-!
Despite feeling pain, she was happy.
"Sniff...hahaaha...sniff...hahaa..."
'Thank god he is alright.'
***
Moments before Julie's collision.
'Did I hear a sniffle?'
What the hell?
Is she crying? But why? What happened?
I was sure she was okay.
Dammit, I need to check it, but I also need to make it so that I just found myself here.
'Fucking mob life!'
As I heard a sobbing sound, I tried to wake up as casually as possible, then...
Bang-!
"Ugh!"
"Sniff...hahaaha...sniff...hahaa..."
"What are yo—"
Waah!
Julie hugged me and cried even louder.
"Sniff...I, I am so glad you are... Sniff... okay, Liam." The moment I heard her low voice, almost a whisper, I roughly understood why she cried.
And for that... I felt a small pang of guilt.
***
Crossblades Mansion.
After last night's breakout, all guests were sent home with apologies directly from the head of the Crossblades. The guests didn't show their displeasure outwardly, keeping it inside.
Knights were scattered all across the territory to investigate and find out who the kidnappers were, yet no result came out.
Thud!
"I will kill them by torturing them to death."
Inside the office of the Crossblades' head, two sat facing each other. They were divided by a desk, but their thoughts were the same.
Corwin massaged his forehead from the headaches he was suffering; meanwhile, his friend David threatened to kill the assailants by torturing them to death after reading the reports from the knights, rage evident on his face.
And Corwin knew why.
'I wish it were a bad dream.'
"Haaa..."
But he knew reality was a cruel bitch, and all the things that happened were true. As the reports scattered in front of him said clearly that they found nothing, only that they had infiltrated the mansion when they were recruiting servants for the banquet temporarily.
"haaa..."
"David, my friend—
Letting out another deep sigh, he was about to speak when the door slammed open and a knight entered the office in a rush.
His breath was haggard, but he still tried to maintain his composure by standing still with his head bowed to show his apologies for his sudden intrusion.
Seeing the knight, the two men didn't say anything for a while; then, breaking the silence, Corwin spoke with his brows knitted tight and his expression serious.
"What did you find?"
"Huff... My lord, we found a teleportation circle at the back of the mansion, hidden in a mountain."
"Is that true?" Corwin spoke, wearing an even more serious expression and radiating a huge amount of killing intent.
The knight got flustered by the pressure his employer emitted and stammered on his words.
"Y-yes, my lord."
Both men were silent for a while, processing the revelation they had just learned.
"Lead th-
"Lead the way."
Corwin was beaten by his friend, who said the words faster.
'Dammit! Why am I feeling pain for such a nonsensical thing when my daughter is kidnapped? And I think I saw that knight last night reporting too.'
Kon then led the way, taking his employer and his friend to the site where they found the circle.
...
...
The two men reached the site after thirty minutes of walking on foot. Knights were stationed all over the site to protect it.
They soon reached the circle, and their expressions fell.
'This is...'
"...a teleportation circle of a very long distance." They uttered the same words simultaneously while looking at each other.
That was the final slap of mockery they received from reality.