[Brian's POV]
My body had nearly reached its limit; these monsters were endless, even though we had been slaughtering them for a full hour.
— Groaarrr!
The roar of a monster echoed from behind me. Turning around, I saw a creature four meters tall about to pounce on me.
— Slash!
Suddenly, the monster's body was split into two pieces; its red blood splashed everywhere, soaking the armor I was wearing.
"Don't let your guard down, Brian! This fight is still long!" said the large-bodied man who had saved me.
"R-ready, Inquisitor Marcus!"
Currently, the Aques unit from the Authority of the Temple of Goddess Diana was conducting a raid on a monster nest that appeared in the Duchy of Grenaut. In response to this, the Empire cooperated with them to ensure the safety of the citizens in the Duchy of Grenaut region by sending one battalion totaling 400 troops.
I and the others continued to fight without stopping, and after four hours of continuously killing monsters, we finally won by clearing this nest. All the soldiers lay on the ground, breathing heavily, their bodies flooded with sweat.
In this assault, there were 35 injured victims and 27 deceased victims. Among them was one of my members; he died when a monster with hands similar to saws split his body into two pieces.
"Aaron was a brave soldier."
I heard a familiar voice from the side. Inquisitor Marcus was seen walking toward me, then staring at Aaron's corpse. I and Aaron became academy students guided by the Inquisitor when starting this activity. If I am not mistaken, he had a girlfriend stationed in the Margraviate of Viturbe. How do I explain to her that her lover died under my leadership?
"Come, Brian, let us get out of this place; I want you to learn something," the Inquisitor invited.
I obeyed and walked following him out of this monster nest. Of the six members I brought, only three succeeded in surviving this mission. I do not know why this could happen; I already tried as best as I could to kill those monsters as many as possible.
Not long after, we arrived at the tent belonging to Inquisitor Marcus; he then took a bottle of beer and sat on a chair. The Inquisitor drank that beer, then signaled for me to sit. I did not know what he wanted to convey to me at this time.
"A fight against one or a few enemies is different from a fight involving hundreds to thousands of enemies," said the Inquisitor seriously.
I did not understand what he said... is there a difference in being involved in a small or large fight? Our goal is only one, right? That is defeating our enemies by any means necessary.
"Your face shows that you do not understand at all what I am talking about," said the Inquisitor, who then sighed. "In a large fight like this, the most important things are stamina and cooperation."
Stamina and cooperation, huh?
"I observed you in the fight earlier; you never coordinated with your members and more often moved forward alone," stated the Inquisitor.
"But Inquisitor, isn't it our duty to kill as many monsters as possible? And I hate to say it, but the others only slow me down if I cooperate with them," I said frankly.
"Then, what is the result? The monster wave was still attacking while you had already lost stamina, making you unfocused and almost killed," countered the Inquisitor, who then took another gulp of his beer. "As a group leader, your main duty in this fight is the safety of your members."
I could only bow my head hearing the Inquisitor's words, and I think what he said was true. I am indeed a bad leader.
"Listen to me, Brian. If fighting alone you are already this strong, then imagine if you fight together with your comrades," said the Inquisitor, holding my shoulder. "Make this a lesson for you when you are on the battlefield later."
Fighting with the others, huh? However, how can they follow my fighting style? In terms of strength and speed alone, they are left far behind.
"Ah, there you two are, apparently."
Suddenly, a woman in armor aged in her 20s entered the tent where we were.
"Elvira, what is it?" asked Inquisitor Marcus.
She is Elvira de Nesentia—one of the youngest Inquisitors serving, stationed at the Alcantara fortress. Inquisitor Marcus's rank is Senior Inquisitor, one level above Miss Elvira, who is just an ordinary Inquisitor.
The Inquisitors are a special unit within Aques consisting of elite and experienced knights. Their duty is to investigate the existence of Heretics and hunt them so they do not become a threat to the Authority of the Temple of Goddess Diana. However, they also sometimes participate in monster nest raids like this.
"Read this latest newspaper," answered Inquisitor Elvira while giving the newspaper she held to Inquisitor Marcus.
The Inquisitor's expression was seen changing very seriously when reading the contents of that newspaper. I became curious; what kind of information actually made him restless like this?
"It is written here that a group of academy students and a patrol group succeeded in finding a Demon nest and succeeded in killing one True Vampire in the Margraviate of Cataluna," revealed Inquisitor Marcus.
Huh, a Vampire? Aren't they winged demons that really like sucking blood...? Wait a minute! Isn't the Margraviate of Cataluna the location where Ariel's group was stationed!?
"Inquisitor! Is there Ariel's name written there!? Is she okay!?" I stood up while holding both of Inquisitor Marcus's shoulders asking that.
"Calm yourself, Brian! It is not written here that the academy students suffered casualties, but 14 patrol members died at the hands of those vampires," answered Inquisitor Marcus, trying to calm me down.
Is that so? So Ariel is fine. Thank goodness then...
"However, it is also mentioned here that they succeeded in defeating a True Vampire and her four accompanying Vampire Brides," muttered Inquisitor Marcus.
"They must be exaggerating this information," stated Inquisitor Elvira. "It is impossible for a group of academy students to be able to defeat a True Vampire along with four Vampire Brides; even Inquisitor Marcus would have to truly exert all his strength if he wanted to fight a True Vampire."
"That must be Raul de Garcia's doing!"
Both Inquisitors furrowed their brows when I shouted that name.
"He must be the one spreading this exaggerated info to make him famous!" I expressed to them.
"Whatever it is, currently we must be alert because Demons have come back after they last appeared 50 years ago," said Inquisitor Marcus. "Besides that, currently the Temple Authority orders us to hunt 'The Masquerade,' who have begun to be active again after the incident a two year ago."
Is the incident referred to by the Inquisitor regarding the fight of Herman von Waltering—one of the Holy Knights—with a Performer using 'The Fool' mask? Both died when conducting that duel.
"Brian, get ready. After this, we will train to increase your abilities so that you can hunt those Heretics," said Inquisitor Marcus.
"Of course! I am always ready to become stronger!"
***
[Raul's POV]
One month has passed since the raid on that Vampire base...
After the fight with the Vampires, I and Emilia reported our findings to Marquis Fran. He was very shocked that there was a Demon nest in his territory. I then proposed to evacuate the residents in the eight villages in the Margraviate of Cataluna to this Fortress City so they would be safer from further attacks by those Vampires.
Marquis Fran agreed to my proposal, then ordered all the citizens in the villages to evacuate to the Fortress City of Cataluna. This order caused a bit of panic and fear; many citizens protested this order because of their reluctance to leave their homes, gardens, and livestock. However, like it or not, they had to obey this order.
However, after evacuating the citizens, we did not detect any activity of those Vampires at all. Even after ten days, there were no incidents of people disappearing like before. Hearing this, the citizens requested the Marquis that they be sent back to their respective villages because it was felt there was no longer a threat that would endanger them.
However, Marquis Fran only allowed the citizens to return on the fifteenth day after sweeping every corner of the Margraviate of Cataluna territory to look for traces of the remaining Vampires.
Seeing this phenomenon, I felt a certain anomaly. This is because it is impossible for the Demon side to send only one True Vampire to this world to kill Brian. At the very least, they would send a Noble Vampire whose strength is equivalent to a Grand Espada here.
"Oh Melissa, look at you getting more beautiful day by day!"
I saw a man flirting with a woman with maroon hair who was making drinks. He is one of my members—Tom. This man is very well known for his behavior of always worshiping women. Currently, we are at a tavern after conducting daily patrols.
"Look at that loser, always humbling himself to a woman, making the pride of men crumble!"
the one shouting that at him was Jerry. He is also one of my members; he is known for having a trauma toward women because he has been cheated on and used by them multiple times.
"What did you say!? What does it matter if a man worships women!?" asked Tom, who walked over to Jerry.
"Hmfft! Women always use and trouble men! Only fools enslave themselves to them!" answered Jerry with a mocking tone.
The two were already facing each other; Tom's face looked annoyed as if he wanted to bash Jerry. Since a long time ago, they have never gotten along if they are in one room.
"Take back your words!" exclaimed Tom, pulling Jerry's collar.
"Or what? Indeed, those women only trouble men!"
— Bamm!
Tom bashed Jerry's face, making him walk backward unsteadily.
"All Women are a Queen!" shouted Tom loudly to Jerry.
Jerry then wiped the blood from his mouth and laughed out loud.
"If She Breaths... She's a B*ctthh!" shouted Jerry, who then ran toward Tom.
Those two drunk men then exchanged blows inside this tavern, making this place even more crowded. My other members then cheered the two of them and made bets on who the winner would be this time.
"Take back your words about women!" said Tom while landing a punch on Jerry.
"Neverrrrr!" Jerry replied by hitting Tom.
They again ran toward each other to launch a punch and...
— Bam! Bam!
Both were thrown until unconscious before being able to punch each other. That was because I first bashed both of them hard so this noise would stop.
"Piers! Vista! Take them out," I ordered the other members.
The two were then taken out of this place while I sat back in front of the bartender's desk.
"Fufufu~ Those two look more spirited than before."
I heard a woman's voice laughing in front of me. Her beautiful green eyes and her maroon hair tied up gave an energetic impression to those who saw her. She is Melissa—the daughter of the owner of this place; ten days ago she came from the Grand Duchy of Wiena to help her father here.
The woman smiled while giving a glass of beer to me.
"Thank you, sorry they always make a noise in your tavern," I replied with a small smile.
"It's okay. In fact, the presence of your members here makes this place lively," said Melissa, looking toward the academy students who were drinking and chatting.
For some reason, I felt a familiar sensation when talking to this woman. Judging from her face, I think her age has just entered twenty, making her two or three years older than me. Body language, way of speaking, and her smile reminded me of her...
"What is it, Captain Raul? You have a sad expression like that?" asked Melissa, looking at me with concern.
Damn... everything is very similar except the color of the eyes and hair. Is it just a coincidence?
"No, I was just thinking about my work," I lied to her.
"Is that so? How about the patrol activity today? Did you guys catch a group of criminals?" asked Melissa, who poured a bottle of beer into a glass; it seemed she wanted to chat with me.
"Lately, patrol activities have been monotonous," I answered her. "The security crisis experienced by this region is gone; now the citizens can conduct their activities without fear."
"Thank you for your hard work; we businesspeople will also not be afraid anymore if our supply deliveries are interrupted on the way here," said Melissa, who raised her glass, signaling an invitation to toast.
I raised the glass I held, accepting her invitation, then drank all the beer inside this glass.
"Your homemade beer is indeed the best, Melissa," I praised her.
"Ehehe~ Thank you for the praise." She giggled hearing it.
While busy chatting with her, suddenly the ring given by 'The Masquerade' group that I was wearing was seen slightly glowing. This means, are they going to give me a mission this time?
"Sorry, Melissa, there is something I have to work on," I said to her while standing from the chair. "Thank you for the drink."
"You're welcome, hope you enjoy your night, Captain Raul."
After paying for the drink, I then went out of Melissa's tavern and looked for a quiet place to perform a 'Soul Jump' to our meeting place. After finding a suitable place, I then began to activate this ring and closed my eyes. Not long after, my head felt very dizzy and my body felt like it was vibrating very heavily.
After that sensation vanished, I opened my eyes and saw myself already at the meeting place.
"Ah, you finally attended here as well, Joker," said Puppeteer, who apparently had arrived here first.
Unlike before, currently only Keeper and Puppeteer were present at this place.
"Ughhh... I am still not used to performing a Soul Jump to this place," I muttered, complaining.
"Hurry here; I will give a mission for you both," ordered Keeper, who then opened his book. He then flipped the pages and stopped; a light appeared on the page of the book currently touched by Keeper.
"You will go to the Duchy of Grenaut," said Keeper, looking at the two of us. "The Tracers there found a new Cursed Child; your duty is to persuade the child to stay in our orphanage and protect the child from the Inquisitors who are hunting that child."
Fortunately, the Duchy of Grenaut is not too far from here. I can make a round trip after finishing patrol.
"However, be careful. A Holy Knight is reported to be around that area," said Keeper, warning us. "You must be able to bring that child before the Inquisitors find the child."
"Is that all our duty?" I asked him.
"Your second duty is to kill Bishop Vermind—the highest official of the Authority of the Temple of Goddess Diana who is there."
After receiving the duty from Keeper, I and Puppeteer then agreed to meet at the orphanage place that is there. We will meet the Tracer who knows the location of this child, then persuade the child to join 'The Masquerade' group.
After finishing the meeting, my soul returned again to my original body. I think this first mission of mine is quite easy, but we must be careful because our operation area is near one of the Inquisitors' fortresses.
However, before I execute this mission, I must take care the spies that Duke Alvaro assigned to follow my movements while outside the academy. I do not want that cunning man to know all my activities while being a Performer.
It seems tonight I must lure him out and fight with him.