The Long Night - Part 2

The party fought against the creepy bug-like creatures while under the natural lights of the night sky. Like Earla had said, it wasn't the end of it; as soon as three of the creatures were defeated, three more would spawn from the magic circle. They were already in their fifth round, and there was no sign that it would stop anytime soon.

Ayu glanced at Kamiro with a look of pity each time he shrieked while he slashed the creatures.

"H-Hey, don't look at me like that. You know I don't like bugs..."

The party's battle against the monsters dragged on, and although they were not particularly powerful, the summons didn't end, and the party was growing tired.

Something's off...

Fatigue was setting in rather quickly, and the three hooded figures didn't seem to be bothered by the magical strain that continued summoning should have caused.

Ayu glared at the hooded men. "There's no doubt about it now, those amulets are magic artifacts. It must be giving them more magic."

"And it appears that this enclosed space is slowly draining our magic as well," Earla said, "This is a battle of endurance, but with those magic artifacts, I'm afraid we are on the losing end..."

So that's what it was. "We have to do something..." Kamiro said.

The party caught their breath while the next batch of creatures began to emerge.

"Invacabo Glacies: Ice Javelin!" Ayu shot an icicle barrage toward the five hooded figures. Like before, it went right through the three in front and the two behind before shattering against the enclosure. She panted before grunting. "It's no use..."

"The fact that they are facing us with summons and are using that ability to avoid getting hit, most likely means they aren't physically powerful. If only we could damage them..." Earla said.

Wait... Throughout the battle, Kamiro racked his brain for something, anything, that could help them in the fight. Finally, he noticed something. Though small, it was a glimmer of hope. The main issue was being unable to land a hit because of some magic ability they had. But what caused it? Was it a spell, the amulets, or something else?

Kamiro figured the two in the back must have been in control of the barrier; their continuous chant seemed different than the other three. They also always stood behind, as if needing protection, but why? Unless that strange ghost-like ability was a spell that one of the two in the back was using.

The one on the back left. When Ayu last attacked, it gave Kamiro the final clue of the puzzle. Though the chanting was incomprehensible, and it was subtle, he could tell that one of the two hooded men standing back had changed their chant, just for those few seconds the ice barrage lasted.

"What are you standing around all dazed for. Help us out!" Ayu said. She and Earla faced off against the next batch of summons.

"Right!" Kamiro forced himself to fight the bug monsters and paid close attention to the hooded men. As soon as the creatures were defeated, he told the girls his theory, along with a plan.

"You don't have to look so surprised, Ayu," Kamiro said.

"Ha-ha. Well, I'd expect something like this more from Earla than you."

"Rude." He pouted.

"That just might work, but it is a gamble..." Earla said.

Kamiro had suggested that they attacked in unison, similar to the combo attack they had done in the party ranking exam. Ayu would hold off the summons, Earla would use her 'Blinding Light' to blind the enemy, and Kamiro would use 'Accelerate' and rush to take out the target.

Yet, there were still too many unknowns that had to be filled with assumptions. The main one being that the hooded man could only activate the spell to those in his field of vision and himself. Kamiro came to that conclusion after careful observation as they battled, but it could've easily been wrong.

"There's also a chance that he still activates the spell just on himself, even among the confusion of the combo attack," Earla said. "But given our circumstances, this is the best we have... Probably."

"P-Probably?" Ayu said with a cold sweat.

"As soon as this next batch of summons come through, we commence," Earla said.

If they could take out the one in the back that was activating the specter-like spell, then the remaining pieces would fall, but with their magic continually being drained, the party only had enough for another attack.The monsters were already half-way through the magic circle.

Kamiro shivered. "Here they come."

"What!? W-Wait, I'm not ready!" Ayu scrambled into position and aimed her short-staff.

"One last time." Kamiro gripped his twin-daggers and awaited the starting gunshot of the race, the final summoned critter.

"It's a good thing it's still nighttime. The flash should be more intense. But we'll have to time this just right; I only have enough magic for a few seconds of it," Earla said.

The gunshot went off as the final bug fully emerged.

"Now!"

Kamiro was already in a full sprint, and the party activated their spells in unison.

"Invocabo Liber: Accelerate!"

"Invocabo Glacies: Ice Javelin!"

"Invocabo Lux: Blinding Light!"

In a flash of brightness, everything went silent and vanished. Though only seconds passed, it was as if time stopped at that moment. Then, like when awakening from a deep sleep, noise filled the area once more. The sound of Ayu's icicles crashing against the summoned creatures, the slashing of Kamiro's blades breaking the sound barrier, and finally, the cracking of the purple enclosure. The gamble paid off.

Kamiro stood over the two hooded men in the back while he panted. His blades dripped blood from his victims. Though not mortally wounded, it was enough to incapacitate them, and they withered in pain on the ground. He proceeded to shatter their amulets to not take any chances. Their mysterious, silent character had broken, and they cursed at him.

"Y-You... You'll pay for this!" The hooded man forced his words out, visibly in pain.

The other man to his side laughed in delirium while he ran his fingers through the gouge on his chest. He looked at his bloody fingertips and laughed even louder.

Earla had wasted little time in taking down the other three men the moment the plan succeeded. They laid motionless from her attack, and she too had cracked their amulets when she struck them with her sword.

"I-Is it over?" Marvin said. The shaking trio rose their heads and inspected their surroundings.

"Almost." Kamiro stared at the two hooded figures underneath him.

Through the small eye openings on their hooded masks, they held an intense glare. The longer Kamiro stared at their hoods, the more the feeling of deja-vu would grow... Until it finally came to him.

He had seen that hooded mask before; on the night Nolan's carefree expression turned serious. An apparently drunk man had staggered out of a sketchy underground venue, clenching what appeared to be the same hooded mask. He remembered Nolan's words; it was the cult he'd mentioned.

Still, there's no way to know for sure.

The man who had been cursing resigned himself and laid muttering nonsense, so Kamiro focused his attention on the other. He stepped on top of the delusional men's chest and crushed down on his wound. The man continued with his now muffled laugh.

Kamiro snatched away his hooded mask. He was taken aback a bit by the man's unexpected appearance. Apart from the crazed look in his eyes, the man just seemed like a regular looking young guy, not someone you would expect to see in a cult. But what really surprised Kamiro was something on the man's upper neck. Right under his jawline was the same symbol he had seen back then with Nolan. A spiral circle-like symbol was engraved on his skin.

"So, it is The Silent Circle..."

Earla and Ayu had been checking over the other three defeated men and discovered they also had the same symbol engraved on their necks. Though they laid unconscious, it seemed the men still breathed.

The two girls looked up with a quizzical expression upon hearing Kamiro's comment.

"Are you referring to the cult?" Earla said.

"You've heard of it?" Kamiro met her gaze.

Earla nodded. "They had been gaining traction in the kingdom as of late, enough to warrant some investigation quests. Actually, if I remember correctly, there were some higher-ranked investigation quests about a possible cult hideout somewhere in the south-western part of the kingdom, not too far from here."

"That might explain how they got to us so quickly. Their hideout might be close," Ayu said.

"You guys are the type that will easily talk, right?" Kamiro said to the men underneath his foot.

His response was spitting blood at Kamiro's face. Unfortunately, it didn't have enough force to hit its intended target, and instead, gravity brought it right back down onto his own.

Kamiro stared at the man with contempt. "Guess not."

The night dragged on. Marvin and Gregory sat beside a small campfire they had started, with their mule, Old Bill, standing by their side.

"It's kind of tempting to join them..." Ayu muttered.

The party had been trying to extract any information they could about Fleur's whereabouts, but the delirious man would not budge.

"Should we try the other one?" Earla said.

The incoherent rambling man had been unhooded as well by then. He was a middle-aged man, and the glassy look in his eyes told Kamiro that it'd be no use trying to talk to him. But their only option was between those two, as no matter how hard they tried, the party could not get the other three men to awaken.

How hard did Earla hit them? At least they're breathing...

All five of the once mysterious and hooded figures had been tied up, but the only one that would talk, squirmed around and spewed saliva filled blood while he cursed and laughed with delirium. He was stubborn to a boot and wouldn't reveal anything.

Kamiro looked toward the other man with an exasperated sigh. "I guess we can try... What the hell is wrong with them anyway? Are they seriously this brainwashed?"

"There's no doubt that they are severely indoctrinated, but I think it's the Daemon magic. One of the most common consequences of heavy use is the loss of sanity..." Earla said.

Kamiro knelt next to the middle-aged man, a scrappy gray beard covered his face. The man stared at the glistening heavens and mumbled nonsense in a low voice. His empty gaze was not focused on anything in particular, and he was a lot calmer than his buddy.

The man's ramblings continued. Kamiro leaned in closer and to his surprise, he heard some phrases that couldn't be ignored.

"I-If it's for my daughter, I'd—If... it's for my daughter... haha." His broken words were interrupted by his own occasional delusional chuckle.

What nonsense is this guy muttering... If It's for My Daughter, I'd Even Defeat a Demon Lord?

"D-Don't worry, Beatrice, you'll be better soon. Y-you'll be better soon," The man said.

"Beatrice?"

When he heard Kamiro mutter that name, the wide-eyed man seized his rambling and his gaze locked to Kamiro.

" You... you know my daughter?" For a moment, life had breathed into the man's eyes ever so slightly."

The three party members glanced at each other as if they'd stumbled upon a hidden treasure before they shifted their focus back to the middle-aged man.

Kamiro shook his head. "Sorry..."

"B-Beatrice... ha, my... precious little girl..." The man smiled while he glanced at the star-filled sky once more. The glassy expression in his eyes had begun to fade.

Kamiro tried to be calm with the man. This was the closest the group had gotten with trying to obtain any information about where Fleur was taken. But also, a little part of him felt pity for the man.

"Your daughter... She wouldn't like seeing you like this, would she?"

"..." The man leaned up to observe his surroundings.

His narrowed eyes looked at the mule further back to the side, and its caretakers that avoided the man's gaze, huddled around a small campfire. He glanced at his three unconscious comrades tied up, along with the one next to him that'd finally exhausted himself. The man scrunched up with his hands tied behind his back and looked over himself before falling back down with a thump. He glanced at his black hooded mask next to him and let out a deep sigh. His gaze fixed to the starry sky again while a melancholic smile filled his face.

Ayu stepped in closer. "We just want to know where our friend was taken."

The man stared at Ayu with a slack jaw. "You... remind me of her." The tone in his voice had changed and somehow felt less chaotic.

"Please..." Earla said.

The man shut his eyes and strained to speak, but it didn't appear to be because of the wound. "Your... friend... the elven girl."

The party was attentive while the man spoke.

It almost seemed as if something was holding him back from speaking his thoughts. "There's an abandoned church... not far from here... on the outskirts of Petram... In the forest... to the east. Ugh!–" His words were cut short when the engraving on his neck began to pulse with a burning glow.

"The marking..." Kamiro said.

"No..." Ayu let out a cry while she saw the man thrash around with heavy grunts and bloody coughs.

"I-It must be some kind of spell ingrained within the marking..." Earla said.

The bearded man dripped blood from his mouth while he scuffled out words. "S-She should still be there. There were no plans to relocate anytime soon. She should be under—Ugh!" The glowing of his engraved marking intensified.

"We have to do something!" Ayu said.

Kamiro untied the man. He hunched over into a violent fit of coughing and then collapsed onto his back. The man panted heavily while he tried to catch his breath.

He placed his fingers on his neck and caressed the engraving, which had begun to sear the skin. "It seems... they didn't want to take any chances." The man chuckled.

Even through all that suffering... that saddened smile he has doesn't fade.

"It... It's okay... I'll be able to join you now, Beatrice." The man's voice had grown weak while the light in his eyes began to fade. "Beatrice... " His eyes fell shut, and silence filled the area.

"..." The party stood without words.

But the man's labored breathing persisted. "Beatrice? I... I found someone!—" Without warning, the man's eyelids snapped open, and his expression became unhinged. "T-There's a group, t-they can cure you!"

Kamiro backed away from the man's sudden erratic movements.

"What's happening?" Ayu covered her mouth.

"I'm... not entirely sure, but it's definitely not something Kamiro's attack caused..." Earla said with a cold sweat.

The engraved marking on the man's neck was wholly lit with a dark orange, tainted with blood, and it emitted the odor of simmering flesh. His bloodshot eyes had lost any hint of reason they'd once shown, and he choked on dark red fluids that poured out from his mouth and nose like a baking soda volcano. Kamiro and the girls looked on in horror while the man met this grim demise.