Chapter 45

Arthur turned around just to see someone he never saw before standing behind him. At first, he thought it was an enemy, possibly from the Doom Order, but it seemed it wasn’t the case.

“Are you here to help me? Please!” she begged for Arthur’s help.

The person who was there in the basement was a good-looking woman, but all the dirty hid some of her beauty. She looked like a mess.

“Are you okay? What happened?” said Arthur, trying to understand more about the situation.

“It’s all master’s fault. He wanted power and did this, all of this!” she got on her knees and cried.

“Master? Are you talking about the chief of this village?”

“Yes, that bastard. He offered the entire village as a sacrifice to get power. Some masked people came a few weeks ago and convinced him of this bullshit.”

.

The Doom Order convinced the chief of that village to use everyone as a sacrifice, presumably to summon a demon, as that was what they did every time.

“I’m Arthur, and I promise I won’t hurt you. What’s your name?” Arthur said softly and got a little closer to the girl.

“I- I’m Dara. I used to work as a servant of the chief before everything happened. Now, I have nowhere to go…”

Dara had nowhere to go after all that crazy shit happened. She wasn’t particularly strong. At least her level didn’t show that, but Arthur couldn’t let her in that place.

“I’m a captain of a crew. I can see you’re not good at fighting, but I can hire you to be my assistant. Take care of meetings, money, and these kinds of stuff. What do you say? You can meet the rest of the crew and see if they are to your liking. If not, then I can just give you a ride to some city nearby.”

It was an excellent offer, and Dara accepted it. Arthur was not forcing her to become his assistant, and even offered her a ride if she declined it.

The Doom Order did the same thing they tried back on the island Arthur was staying, but this time it worked. What was the reason behind summoning these demons? It shouldn’t be a thing for humans to do.

“There are a lot of ways to get power. Why go into the dark side? Is it that much easier?” thought Arthur.

Kai showed up right after, surprised to see someone else inside the house.

“This is my vice-captain, Kai. He will get you new clothes and food.”

“Absolutely. Come. What’s your name?”

Both Dara and Kai left, leaving Arthur alone in that dusty basement.

The task was to uncover what happened on that island, and Arthur did just that. He was almost certain the summoned demon was not around anymore, and everyone from the Doom Order had already left as well. There was only one thing to do, and that was to get everything related to the Doom Order as proof, and see if he could get the help of someone to hunt these crazy people before it’s too late.

Arthur grabbed these books and tossed them inside his magical backpack. It should be enough, but he still wanted to find more before leaving.

What else the Doom Order could hide? All of its members used masks to hide their identity. But what about the chief of that village? After doing what he did, he surely was now a member of the order, and it was someone Dara knew well.

“Maybe Dara can help me track this man? That’s my only bet.” thought Arthur.

After getting everything he could from that basement, he left to meet the rest of his crew and talk about what he discovered it.

Dara was already outside chatting with everyone, especially with Hayla. It was easier for her to talk with other girls, and there were a few of them in Arthur’s crew.

“She will get along with Jane and the others. How long it will take until I find them?” Arthur thought.

Everyone was together now, and he explained everything, and asked if Dara could help him track the village’s chief.

“I could try, I guess.” Dara stopped for a moment to recollect all of her thoughts, and talked about everything she knew about the man.

“His name is Runo. He seemed like a nice guy before. I don’t know what these people promised him to change him so drastically. Anyway, he has a son, and I’m not sure if his son is dead or is helping him. Even though he lived here, he told me once he had family on an island called Liset, which is far from here.”

Arthur listened to everything carefully and went after that guy. Their task had no time limit, so it shouldn’t be a problem if they delivered the books as proof after finding Runo.

“All right. Let’s find that man, and -” before Arthur could finish, an earthquake erupted throughout the island. It happened out of a sudden, and no one knew the reason behind it.

“Watch out everyone. It could be a beast, or someone!” yelled Arthur.

When everyone looked up, they couldn’t believe it. Five pillars erupted from the ground, and a building that looked like a temple came out of the ground onto the surface, destroying everything in its path. That caused the earthquake.

They all stood still and waited for the temple to fully emerge. It was huge, similar to that palace in the underground city. No one said a word, and some even forgot to breathe.

“What the hell is that? Should we look?” Kai asked.

Exploring that place was not in Arthur’s plan, but he couldn’t leave without taking at least a look in that strange building. He took only a few members with him.

Arthur and Kai brought Joshua and Hayla along. Joshua was that guy Arthur helped in the alley, and Hayla, the girl that helped him with the potions.

“Joshua, I’m counting on you. This place smells like it’s infested with traps, and I hope you’re good at spotting those.” said Arthur as they walked in the strange building direction.

“Yeah. Different from the other beggars, I’ve never stepped in a mouse trap before, so don’t worry.” Joshua said that in a way that looked like he was being serious.

“Huh?” Arthur thought if getting Joshua into his crew had been a good idea.