Free Web NovelChapter 84: Ch 83: Division of Labour
"Hold each other tightly so that you don’t get lost during teleportation."
Kael warned his party as he clutched Lyra in his arms and activated the magic circle.
The coordinates of the village that had asked for help had been provided in the letter sent to him, and he was easily able to reach the village.
The first thing he noticed was that monsters were attacking the village, causing people to run and hide to the best of their abilities. But a lot of houses had already collapsed, and dead bodies were everywhere.
"W-What is-"
"Don’t look. There is no need for you to see this."
Kael grabbed Seraphina’s smaller body and turned her around to press her face into his chest.
Out of them all, she was the most innocent one. She had already seen death before, but that did not mean it was a pleasant sight for her.
’As a Saintess, Seraphina would see her fair share of blood. But I don’t want her to get used to it just yet.’
Kael took quick action to get the situation under control. He deployed a barrier around the village, and that pushed the monsters out, causing the villagers to let out sighs of relief.
Most people collapsed due to a lack of energy and looked at him with wide-eyed expressions.
"Grand Master Kael? Y-You arrived to help us? Oh, thank god! Thank you, god, for listening to our prayers and sending help."
The elderly leader of the village walked toward him on shaky legs. He looked ancient, and each step looked like it could be the last for this man.
But the old man persisted and somehow made it all the way to Kael without collapsing.
"Do you have any idea where these monsters are originating from? It is not normal for so many of them to gather naturally." frёewebnoѵēl.com
Kael pointed out as he looked beyond his barrier. The monsters were trying to tear it apart and get to him. And their number was increasing rapidly.
It almost seemed as if someone or something was spawning them from somewhere. More information was needed before he could make an assessment regarding the situation.
Unfortunately, the village leader and the villagers were not of much help.
"I am afraid that we cannot be of much help. We are mostly weak and old folks left here. We were helpless once the monsters started to come...and they came rapidly. We spent all of our time and resources protecting the village, so we could not investigate what was happening."
The old man did sound sorry, which surprised Kael. When people said words like these, they were mostly lip service.
But that did not seem to be the case with this village.
"I see. So the monsters came in waves and all of a sudden? That seems like concerning behavior. Especially since none of the other places seem affected. Give me a minute to check what is happening."
Kael put Lyra down before he used his magic to float high in the sky. It allowed him to see the movements of the monsters. From what he could tell, it looked like the monsters were coming from the same place and were only attacking this village.
And his suspicions were true.
The monsters were travelling in a straight line, which was highly unusual.
’So, someone is controlling these demonic beasts after all. Removing the person in question should be enough to save this village.’
More importantly, it would give Kael a clue as to why this had happened in the first place.
He came back down and landed lightly on his feet. The village leader immediately headed over to him with a concerned look on his face.
"G-Grand Master, did you find anything-?"
The villagers looked at him with nervous expressions, waiting for an answer.
"The monsters are mostly moving in a straight line, almost as if they are being lured toward this village by something. It’s almost as if the culprit behind this is somewhere in the village. Do you know who it could be?"
Kael asked, and the village leader looked beyond shocked at his words.
"W-What? How is that possible...! Everyone in this village wants a peaceful life. They would never do anything to jeopardize it. C-Can there be another reason...?"
The village chief asked, and Kael immediately nodded.
"Of course! I was just pointing out the most obvious answer. But there are a lot of ways to make monsters behave like this. For now, I will focus on breaking the spell that is summoning these monsters so that they stop multiplying. I will be heading for the source now."
Kael assured the village leader, and the man looked beyond thankful for Kael’s help.
"Grand Master, thank you. I have no idea how I can even repay you for all your help. If you need anything, then please let me know immediately."
The old man bowed in front of Kael, and it made him feel uncomfortable. He quickly pretended that he had not seen the old man bow to him. It left a bitter taste in his mouth to see such a display.
’Ugh, the virtues of modern life are hard to forget.’
Kael felt a little awkward, so he started to walk toward the barrier. His party followed after him, but he had a different task for them this time.
"So, what is the plan from here?"
Iris asked, not noticing the slight shift in Kael’s expression, but Leon noticed and immediately looked pissed.
"You are not thinking of leaving us behind, right? I am here for demon subjugation training. You better not tell me to sit this out."
Leon had a point, and Kael immediately felt like he had to defend himself. Especially since this was exactly what he had been thinking.
"I was not considering it until now, but it might be better if you stay behind and look after the villagers. I put up a barrier, but there is no telling when it might fall. We cannot leave the village unattended. Seraphina also needs to heal the people who are injured."
Kael pointed out, and Leon looked one second away from cursing up a storm and ruining his reputation.
Thankfully, Iris was standing beside him and quickly covered his mouth before he could ruin his reputation as the hero for good.
"We understand. We will work hard back here. You should also take care of yourself."
Iris reminded him, and he nodded before grabbing Lyra.
"Don’t worry! I will take Lyra with me for protection. You all better take care of the village."
Kael walked quickly (he was not running, despite what it looked like) until he could no longer see Leon. Somehow, he had a feeling that the hero was getting more and more dangerous every day.
At least the girls were not showing signs of going mad...yet.
