Smoking Ritual

The boars rushed forth in formation, certain of their victory. Their target stood still as they muttered something. In the next moment, the stampede of boars was burned to a crisp by a blazing wall of fire.

“Ka!” A man covered in gray fur pounced at Locke, swinging a knife towards his neck.

Ting!

The blade had come into contact with metal armor on Locke's arm. Locke quickly pushed the attacker back, making some distance between the two.

At that instant, a boar that outclassed even the biggest houses in the buried city charged toward him.

Locke quickly swiveled, aiming his fist toward the bull and punching. Supernaturally, the punch sends the massive beast flying into the houses of the city. Next, ants attempt to pile onto Locke, but are incinerated by another burst of fire.

“Tch, damn, you're annoying!” The former adventurer cried out, retreating so as not to be caught in the blast.

“I could say the same to you,” Locke says, surrounded by the smoke produced by the corpses he had piled up.

The two entered a stare down, which breaks when the wolf man, Anzo Bernard, begins to laugh.

“Hahahah, you have Dracoling blood, don’t you?”

“...”

“Yeah, I’m right! You’ve only used fire magic this whole time! And now that I think about it, all the stories that I hear, your victims are burnt!” The wolfman places his hand on his head. “So what now? The fire’s all gone!”
Anzo points to the spot where the massive bonfire once stood; now, only ashes remain.

Locke looks but does not reply.

Dracolings were a race that had the attribute of fire. The only magic they could use, and the only school their Pneuma would descend from, was fire. This meant that they were often at a disadvantage against monsters. However, full dracolings had a sack in their bodies that allowed them to spit fire; this would allow them to have physical magic at all times. This is a reason the dracoling are considered the strongest race.

However, for a human who only had dracoling blood, that sack did not exist. This often meant that humans, who were unlucky enough to have some stray traces of blood that affected magical organs, would be left defenceless.

“Hahaha, but still… I doubt I can beat you; we're in a stalemate.” With the physical strength that Locke had displayed, Anzo had little confidence in a clean victory. If the two continued fighting, it would most likely end in a draw.

“...Why are you doing this?” Locke suddenly asks, looking at Anzo with seemingly uninterested eyes.

“Heh, why am I doing this? That’s simple, because the alternative is much worse.”

“The alternative?”

“You fools live in ignorance! The truth of what will happen to our world, what will happen to all of us!”

“...”

“Don’t you see, their scheming! I don’t know everything, but their all planning something!”

“They?”

“The church, the schools, the countries! The guilds and even those Deviants!”

Locke looked deeply at the adventurer who seemed to dive off a cliff.

The Deviants were a rumored organization that existed in the shadows of the world. Many key figures of history were theorized to be a part of this group, controlling history from the shadows.

“So, what about the other adventurers? The ones sent to investigate around Lyscynal.”

“Haha, them? I killed them.” Anzo said, no emotion in his voice.

“Weren't they you’re friends?”

“That's why I did it! Because I cared for them, they needed to die! What’s coming is so much worse! They’ll thank me in the land of the Spirits!”

“...” Locke almost lost his straight face, but continued. “What's going to happen? What are you guys planning?”

“Hahahaha! Don’t you see! It’s the end,” Anzo stopped, then continued to laugh. “Hahahahahahaha! I see, you're stalling!

“But that won’t do! You're hoping those kids come back with the hostages and escape? Sorry, but that ain't happening!” Anzo raised his arms and looked at Locke.

“Seems that daughter of yours left her cage, so I've sent the queen to take care of her! Oh, and she’s stronger than the Henwen.”

Locke's eyes narrowed at this, his demeanor changing.

“Hahaha, decided? Wanna surrender? A demon hunter such as yourself may be beneficial…”

Locke paid no mind to the ramblings of the wolf-man. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a red and white box.

“Eh?”

Locke holds up the box and flips it open; two thin cylinders appear.

“Do you know what these are?”

Anzo looked on, confusion plastered on his face.

“I got these off a demon I once killed. I’ve made it a tradition- no, a ritual to have one with every kill. It makes my body go numb. When my body and mind are numb, I truly relax.” Locke explained as he held one up.

“Heh, so? You saying you're going to have one now?”

“No. I only have two left… And one belongs to someone else, so I really only have one left. I can’t get any more too…”

Anzo looked at the somber Locke. “So what! Have you fallen into despair, since you can’t save yourself or your daughter?”

“You see… this last one’s for the job I’m on at the moment. My final hunt.” Locke paid no heed to Anzo’s words, continuing his education.

“Hunt… That church pawn?”
“No… I was told ahead of time about that kid, I ain't interested in him…” Locke places the cigarette back in his box. “I got a commission. A demon has snuck into Delphoscere, and it isn’t the average one either, but the most dangerous kind.

“My last hunt will be to find that Noperra. It will be almost impossible…” Delphoscere was large, larger than some countries. This meant that even ignoring its uniqueness, the task was gargantuan.

“So? SO? SO?! You’re not making it out of here alive!”

“So you see, I won’t be having these,” Locke says as he places the box back into his pocket. In their place, a long stick appears in his hand.

“You see, these are what I use to replace those. Their similar things; they come from the forest of gods and spirits on the Eastern continent. I have these for any other kills.” Locke brings the stick to his mouth, holding it with his teeth and left hand as his other hand reaches into his pocket.

“Damn you! No more stalling! I’m gonna kick your ass!” Anzo screams, the ants and boars shaking into action. The henwen, the massive boar, sauntered over.

“Do you know what this is?” Locke asked again, this time, a small steel box appeared from his pocket.

“Enough!”
“This I got from someone very special.” Locke’s become melancholic, “She left it to me, since then I’ve used it constantly.”

The metal box reached just in front of the stick, the top opening like a trap door to the left.

“Huh? That won’t save you now!” Anzo began approaching. Ants and boars alike charge forward. The henwen runs forward like a bull seeing red.

Cht Cht

Locke flicks the wheel on the steel box twice; the sparks fly and produce a flame, lighting the stick on fire.

“Hu-” Anzo lets out, but is cut off by the flame, produced by the steel box, shooting forward and impaling into his skull. “Uwuh…”

Anzo Bernard, the strongest adventurer in Lyscynal, perished.

“Oh, I forgot to explain something…” Locke says, approaching the now slumped Anzo. “You thought that I only used fire magic because it’s all I could. But you see, I used it because it creates my specialty.” Locke ignored the beasts approaching him, inhaling the smoke of the stick.

“Haaah.” The smoke released, mingling with the smoke of the corpses.

In total, over 5 thousand monsters had been killed, smoked, or burned to death. The city, if it weren't for its two passageways, would have seemed like a sauna.

As the smoke from the stick mixed with the rest, it stirred. The smoke all around the city combined into a large vortex, swirling around like a hurricane.

“This is my Pneuma, Rauchen.”

The smoke whirled forth, engulfing the monsters and Henwen approaching. In moments, the henwen had been submerged, quickly popping like a balloon. The rest suffered the same fate.

In mere instants, the charging monsters had died, burnt to a crisp by the blazing smoke.

“First trick your opponent, then catch them off guard… That’s a good lesson, right?” Locke ponders as he stands over Anzo’s corpse. “Still, there are too many of them… I’ve got to get to Helia, but I don’t have the time…”

If Locke used his smoke to kill the thousands of monsters still left, he wouldn’t have the means to kill the queen, placing his daughter in danger. But if he didn’t, his daughter would die anyway.

“Damn it…I just have to kill them…”

Locke stirred the smoke, but stopped as a sweet voice reached his ears.

“I’ll handle them, you get going.”

That voice echoed as a purple streak appeared.

The streak races by Locke, entering the horde of monsters.

Eventually, the streak freezes, causing a massive boom to resound through the cave.

“Great job, prospective teacher. I’ll handle it from here.” The Amethyst Hero, Aneal Astolat, promised.