Chapter 86 What Really Happened

Linius Ginehart became busy for a while after Lieutenant Arc Lisbon called for him. He wasn't able to immediately return and continue with that conversation with the master. It took him at least three hours to finish all the paperwork that the lieutenant kindly dumped in front of him.

He thought that those documents were destroyed during the attack but to his amazement, Lisbon actually saved them and put them to safety.

"Those documents are important and it would be a headache if they got burned because we won't be able to produce those again with all of the revisions done on it," he reasoned. He was too serious when he was saying those words that the major couldn't refute his words nor his actions of prioritizing those pieces of papers.

Linius sighed and placed the quill on the table after he had gone through and signed all of the documents that needed his approval. He stood up and stretched for a bit before he left his own tent to go and find out if the master had thought about his proposal already.

The night air was chilly but not enough to be called freezing. It was actually good for someone who wanted to unwind and the night was also strangely peaceful, far from the Alfonso that was buzzing with life. He was looking around as he walked and he noticed a slouched silhouette not far from where he was.

He slowly walked towards that direction when he noticed that it was actually Astrophos. His gaze was far beyond the horizon and he was clearly lost in his own thoughts because he did not react when the major stood beside his sitting form. Linius looked at the man and saw how messy and distressed he was. He could feel the storm raging inside of the mage even though he would appear calm whenever he was facing other people.

"You looked like the world has already collapsed and you're the only one left behind," Linius commented as he also gazed into the far distance.

Astrophos did not answer but there was a flicker in his eyes, an indication that he was actually listening. Maybe that's what he really felt, like everything around him was crumbling down and he was left, confused like an idiot and didn't know where to go.

"Ever since I went on that mission, everything has changed. Concepts I've firmly believed in have been questioned. Just everything about this world has become so surreal that it felt like they aren't real any longer." His voice was calm as the realization of him losing his sense of existence slowly dawned in his mind.

As he said those words, his surroundings slowly felt different, he felt different. He felt that he did not belong to his world any longer.

"Is this because of what happened to the town?" Linius asked. Now he was getting curious because he knew nothing about the master, aside from what he observed from the moment they met.

"More than that but it is indeed because of the recent incident that I am now questioning my morals as a human," he laughed at himself. Those words when said out loud were actually mocking him.

"What happened?" Linius clenched his jaw at the sudden laugh but he couldn't let himself get carried away. All he knew was that the master had a hand on the incident but he did not know what he had done.

"He instigated the culprit to create those dark fog and summon those monsters. I tried to stop him but I was frozen in place," he started as the memories of the past came back to haunt him. "He did it so coldly with a deranged smile on his face."

That night, after the master's talk with the hero, they left the banquet. He thought they were going back to the inn but instead they went to the area where the slums were located.

It was an awful place, there was no signs of life and it was completely shrouded with thick black fog and darkness. He wondered why they were in that kind of place until they came to the only house standing in that desolate place.

Cygnus did not even knock and just entered it directly. There they found a half-dead man, whose skin had lost its flesh and the bones sticking out. He was near death but Astrophos saw the still burning fire in his eyes.

"You're about to die now and yet you still managed to take a peek at that rather detestable banquet," he heard the master say. Astrophos looked at him in confusion but the other two only remained silent.

"Because I wanted to see the faces of the people who pushed us into this state before I kill them all," he still spoke clearly and moved like he was not on his deathbed. He looked at the young man with eyes as deep as the darkness he had seen.

"Have you given up on gaining power then, so that no one can stand in your way?" The master once again asked. He walked around the house and peaked at the photo on the half broken picture frame on top of the fireplace.

"That was all talk. A memory from when they were still alive. A reminder to myself. A fragment of what was left of my sanity." He also stood beside Cygnus and stared at the picture of a woman and two children with happy smiles on their faces.

"Why don't I help you with that before you die? I can make that happen and you'll be able to get revenge on those people." He saw the master look at the thin man with that same smile he has whenever he planned to do something.

"How will you do it? You are up against a hero, a person blessed with holy powers," the man asked. Astrophos was about to intercept and stop them from continuing the conversation but he was held back by the butler.

"I will send a dragon." The master's smile reached his eyes and Astrophos realized that he must be enjoying that talk.

The man's eye slightly widened because he was not expecting the man to say something like that. He knew that the young man was capable the moment he walked inside his house.

"How will you do that?" He asked with pure curiosity and even Astrophos himself wanted to know how.

Instead of answering them, he raised his finger and made a shushing gesture. The man smiled and nodded his head. Astrophos saw him step away from the master and then he started to mumble gibberish words but the mage understood them.

"What are you doing!?" He asked in surprise and intended to stop the man from finishing his incantation but he was held back by the butler. He tried to get away from the man but he was tightly held.

A rumble sounded around them then chaos broke around the entire town of Alfonso. He saw how the master smiled in satisfaction and how he waved his hand in an empty space where a crack suddenly appeared.

"Let's go," the master called Mr. C and Nina. The two nodded as they pulled the mage behind them.

Astrophos struggled and when he attempted to use magic, he realized that he couldn't. The crack on that empty space widened until it was the height of the house and beyond that was pure darkness.

He was confused and at the same time, he felt fear because he did not know what happened. He did not want to enter that darkness because he did not know what it was.

"Don't struggle Mr. Astrophos. You should be glad that you will be the first mage to experience entering a different dimension." Cygnus was ecstatic that time and excited.

Since he couldn't do anything, he was easily dragged inside that dark dimension where they watched as everything happened. A dragon appeared and everything went downhill and yet he could do nothing.