"Sign here and here. And here as well..."
Richard clicked his tongue, "Fine, fine. Honestly..."
Standing in front of him was a strange looking person dressed in black overalls and a crow mask.
Not just in front of him, but a whole bunch of them were moving in and out of the bar, carrying with them black plastic bags filled with unidentified materials.
These people were called the 'Cleaners', and were a part of the Circle of Magi that were integral in handling the aftermath of encounters with abyssal creatures.
This included cleaning up the scene of the encounter and retrieving items and persons involved.
Those not tied to the Circle could also make use of their services, but it was far more expensive. Richard couldn't help but glance up.
With that getup, he found it hard to believe the things in the suits were human too.
He sighed and shook his head.
Once he was done, he walked off towards the side where the others were seated.
Celine stood up and stared at him, her gaze complex.
"You seem used to this."
Richard smiled lightly then shrugged,
"Is that how it looks? Must be the weather then."
Celine frowned and raised a brow,
"What? That doesn't make any sense."
Reaching out, he gently lifted her chin,
"It shouldn't."
Celine's cheeks immediately turned red,
"W-wha..."
Umbra 's chuckle cut through the suspicious air,
"Oh? Could our mischievous leader be making a move? How shameless."
Celine immediately slapped his hand away.
"Impressive." Vagabond said with a stoic look.
Richard shook his head,
"How can you say that with such a straight face?"
Clearing her throat, Celine asked coldly,
"Now that it's over, shouldn't we be meeting up with Leon?"
Richard shook his head,
"It's not over yet."
Celine raised a brow, "You don't think Leon would have defeated the Lich by now."
He nodded,
"If he had, the ghouls should have returned to the abyss. That means their battle isn't over yet."
Celine's brows furrowed with worry. Seeing this, Richard waved dismissively,
"Don't worry. He should be fine."
Gregory nodded,
"Maybe he just hasn't found it yet?"
Richard paused for a moment then picked his phone out of his pocket. He dialed Leon's number, waited for a moment then turned the phone off.
'He isn't answering.'
He turned to Gregory,
"Can you locate Leon for me?"
Gregory nodded, "I can. Just give me a few minutes."
He turned to the others,
"Right now, we are at a crucial junction. Most Lichs are of the High Horror rank. If that thing decides to act out, the outcome will be disastrous. We could very well be expecting the worst."
"In that case, what are we waiting for?" Celine said, "If Leon is in danger, there's no time to waste!"
She began hastily walking away.
"Actually, it's the other way..." Gregory trailed off.
"..."
***
The city was cold and damp.
The rain had finally come to an end, but there was a faint, lingering chill that remained still.
In the slums, it was even more apparent.
There were people all around. In the abandoned houses and in the streets.
But the place still felt desolate and unhomely.
However, none of that bothered the motley crew if young sorcerers as they made their way towards an abandoned warehouse.
"This is definitely the place. Practically reeks of the dead." Richard muttered.
The huge doors to the warehouse were opened, and on the inside, there was only darkness.
"Wait." Celine said all of a sudden.
"What if this is a trap? We can't reach Leon, and all this just seems so strange, and—"
Richard stopped her, "Going down that line of thinking won't help. Remember, this is not just any trial. This is a mission. And it is not over until every nightmare has been expunged."
"But..."
He grinned, "What are you so scared of, princess? If you are so scared, then you don't need to worry. I will protect you."
Celine grimaced,
"I can take care of myself."
Richard chuckled,
"Is that so? Will you feel the same way once we enter these unholy grounds?"
Celine stood straight,
"It won't be like the last time."
Richard nodded. It had only been a few days since he had first met this sorcerer princess, but he already had an idea of what kind of character she possessed.
'She's a brat. A cute one though.'
He chuckled darkly,
"In that case, let's go see how ugly this monster is."
They all headed into the open warehouse.
Unlike the last time, Richard immediately felt the presence of the abyssal creature without any spatial distortion.
'How troublesome. I guess I have no choice then.'
The sound of snarls and growls came from the darkness.
Then an archaic whisper. Dozens of voices overlapping, chanting over themselves.
The revolting aroma of death surged through the air.
Vagabond took a step forward,
"In the bar, we could fend them off because of our coordination. It won't be easy this time." His eyes narrowed.
"Each ghoul is a Scourge with a few Apostates scattered in between. There's close to a hundred in here." Richard muttered.
Then he grinned,
"And then, there's the big guy..." He said, glancing up.
A strange apparition floated overhead.
The wrinkled face of an old man, the beautiful face of a vibrant young woman, and the face of a child.
Each one had their mouths stretched wide open, chanting strings of curses in the abyssal tongue, tears of blood flowing like rivers from their gouged out eyes.
Attached to the horror-inducing face of the Lich was a ghostly figure clad in flowing black robes. In its hand, was a scythe.
Vagabond began chanting as he shot forward.
Celine wrapped her sword in a layer of burning light.
In the dark warehouse, the intensity of the holy light was even more powerful.
She rushed right after Vagabond.
The ghouls in the warehouse came rushing forth like a tide of rot.
They climbed over themselves, all for a taste of the ripe, succulent meat of the warm-blooded human meal before them.
Taking a stance, Vagabond suddenly came to a halt.
The runic tattoos on his body lit up. Using the force of his momentum, he twisted his large frame.
In a shocking display of agility, he kicked his heel at the first ghoul.
An explosion of brain matter, blood and bone fragments filled the air as the headless body fell to the ground.
Without flinching, he sucked in a deep breath and punched forward.
The air in front of him rippled and a two more ghouls had their guts erupt right out of their backs, their torso completely vanishing. The parts of the abyssal monsters collapsed, dead before they even hit the ground.
Celine glided forward. Her light sword flashed several times as she swept past a ghoul. The abyssal creature fell to the ground in bloody chunks.
Shrieking at it lunged into the air, another ghoul, this one of the Apostate rank tried to grasp her hair.
These ghouls were much stronger, and far more agile than their weaker counterparts.
The aura of death and rot surrounding them was also much stronger.
Her eyes colder than a knife, Celine twisted her body gracefully, completely evading the ghoul.
The creature in the form of a corrupted human flipped over unnaturally as its limbs twisted.
Before it could react, a torrent of white, scalding flames bathed it.
Watching the Apostate ghoul burn to ashes under her cleansing fire, Celine parried a serrated claw with her blade without looking back.
Dodging another, she swung her sword violently, sending two heads flying.
Gregory and Umbra chanted as they hurled spells forth, most of them to provide support and aid to the frontline sorcerers.
Meanwhile, Richard calmly observed the Lich above.
'As expected, it is a High Horror. I was worried for a moment.'
He sighed. Although he had faced High Horrors in the past, he had never faced one that was an undead before.
'I guess this can be good for a test.'
Suddenly, a stream of thought rushed into his head.
His brows furrowed then relaxed.
He chuckled derisively,
"You are trying to play with my soul? How bold. It has already been sold, you see. You are playing on private property."
Richard stretched his hand forward. He paused for a moment then called out,
"Gregory."
A beam of concentrated holdly energy shooting from the tip of his staff, Gregory replied without looking at him,
"What is it, Richard? Also, would you mind helping out a bit? I think Vagabond and Celine are about to be eaten..."
Richard rolled his eyes and called out again,
"Look over here, or you'll miss it."
Gregory's head turned to the side,
"Hm? Miss wha—"
His eyes widened.
His face paled.
His mouth and throat became dry.
An incredibly intricate two layered magic circle spinning into existence behind Richard. It was equal parts beautiful and terrifying.
The magic in the air churned violently.
Richard calmly exhaled,
"Feasts your eyes on my wonder."
The Lich seemed to sense the incoming danger.
Itself three faces spat out curses even faster.
The undead corpses ilon the ground stirred to life.
The others watched with pale faces as the ghouls they had killed, with the exception of those burnt to ash crawl back into the land of the living, their bodies knitting together. Including the ones yet to be put down, they ignored them and rushed towards Richard, shrieking madly.
"Stop them!" Someone seems to yell.
The world slowed down.
In the face of the approaching tide of rot, the grin on Richard's face became even more pronounced.
'Work your magic, Razor.'
What made the Bane family sorcerers so terrifying, was their ability to incorporate the power of the Demons under servitude to them into their spells.
It was really unique, one of a kind magic.
However, not every one of them could master it.
And even then, making uses of these kinds of spells was dangerous as it was, in a way, dark magic.
Drawing the power of Demons could have adverse consequences.
But Richard didn't have such a problem. He could utilize the power of the Demons without any worry at all.
Almost to the point where he could abuse it.
The world shook as he let his hand fall.
"Excalibur."