The strange noise coming from the torture room caught the guard's attention. Some of his co-workers said it was the voices of prisoners killed by torture, but Orcus didn't believe in ghost stories - of course, there were no such things as ghosts, his legs were trembling for another reason!
"Is anyone there?" The man's voice echoed throughout the room. Maybe he should turn back as long as I didn't see anything traumatic, but curiosity was greater than fear.
Despite being an abandoned place, the old torture room was clean, as if someone had swept it daily. The sound of pounding chains drew Orcus' attention to one of the rooms further inside the torture chamber. His steps became slow as his heartbeat did the opposite. The long sword in his right hand trembled. What kind of cowardly guard is afraid of the dark?
The door of the room with the rustling of chains was open, it was like a trap calling him, but like a good idiot, he would fall into it.
"Hello," he announced as he walked cautiously through the door.
What he saw next surprised him, the long sword went down and it took Orcus a few seconds to recover and hold the weapon again. There were seventeen children in total, all gagged and blindfolded. Who would be the perpetrator of such a grotesque scene?
"I-I'm going to set you free!'' he shouted as he staggered toward the little chained girls.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, my dear Orcus..." The familiar voice from the doorway behind him made a cold sweat break out on the man's fat body.
"M-Marquis Edward, you're alive!" Or are you a real ghost!?
"What are you doing here?"
"I-I heard a strange noise while cleaning the upstairs, so I went downstairs and found... the children! Help me here, Marquis, someone has trapped them here and…"
"I know, I'm the one who imprisoned them."
"W-What?"
It was hard to believe what he heard. Were his ears still dirty? Edward Soul Za, the supposedly dead marquis that you really respected so much...
"That's right, dear Orcus, I am the Machiavellian mastermind behind the kidnapping of children and the attack on the village. You can congratulate me now."
"I-impossible! You are…"
"An admirable nobleman? Someone who would sacrifice his life for his people?"
"..."
"Indeed, I care about you, but not as you think…"
"W-what?"
"To me, you are just animals. Animals that by reproducing create the food necessary for my existence. Without you, I could never achieve a quality as good as this." The marquis pointed to the chained children.
"So... don't tell me that…"
"Oh, yes, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I remembered why you joined the guard…"
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. No…" Orcus fell to his knees on the frozen ground.
"Your daughter... what was her name again? Ah! Tail, wasn't it?"
"No…"
"She was a behaved sacrifice and believed until the end that "Daddy" would come to rescue her…"
"Wretch…" The guard clutched the sword firmly.
"You may want to use this sword to kill me now, but what good will it do? Your daughter is already dead."
Orcus tried to stand, but his legs weakened. Why? Edward, the marquis you have served for so many years has turned out to be a monster. Just the man he considered one of the rare kind noblemen in the world... In the end, he was just like all the rest - if not worse!
Tears welled up in the guard's deep eyes as he pondered the best way to sink the blade of his sword into the rotten flesh of the marquis.
"I won't blame you if you want to kill me, but remember that you have also been helping me all this time. If it weren't for your help, I would never have become so respected in Grain Village. Thank you, my dear friend Orcus."
"Thank you...?"
"Come, get up and help me, let's pretend that none of this happened. I'll check on Miss Rory and Princess Elisabella and be right back to discuss…"
"Miss Rory...?"
"Yes, I have captured her."
"Pfff…"
"Huh?" Edward turned his face to the man kneeling on the dirty floor.
The tears of the hitherto depressed guard disappeared and in their place....
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Strangely enough, the man began to laugh loud enough for his deep voice to be heard in all the rooms.
"What is the reason for such joy. Are you happy that I am imprisoning Miss Rory?"
"That's not it... HAHAHAHA…"
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"Could you explain, I don't understand."
"It's simple! You're dead, mister... I mean, Edward!"
"Huh?"
"You messed with the Kurone boy's sister."
"And…?"
"If you'd seen what he did in the battle against the orcs, you'd understand. Unlike me, he doesn't hesitate to kill any enemy who lays a finger on his sister, because... that boy is deranged!"
Orcus saw Kurone's outburst of rage during the attack on the village. Despite never having held a rifle in his life, the young man fired with all his might at the monsters that were approaching Rory - at that moment lying on the ground for lack of mana. Behind that fringe, there were the eyes of a true madman.
"That boy has the eyes of someone who would face even the king of demons, if he could make the little girl cry. So I will say it one more time: you are dead, Edward. That boy is a hero and you are a villain, the outcome of the story is clear."
Although he kept his usual calm posture, sweat began to drip slowly from the marquis's forehead.
"I would call someone like this a madman, not a hero. In any case, he won't find this place. Not even the villagers know about it, except for the guards."
"Master Edward…"
"Ah, Brain... Did you get rid of Mr. Nakano as I asked?"
The red-haired maid came downstairs, a little worried.
"I didn't even have to make an effort, he went to the capital to try to help Sophia. He was also very sad when he found out about Rory's 'death'."
"Ha! I wanted to see Sophiette's face after being accused of something she didn't do. As you can see, dear Orcus, the "hero" is no longer here to help his sister."
"I wonder...? Why don't we make a bet?" Orcus managed to find the strength to stand up, leaning on his sword.
"What a pushy man."
"Sorry to interrupt, Master Edward…" Brain caught the marquis' eye. "That's why I came here, where is Amelia?"
"Amelia... I haven't seen her for some time... Why do you ask?"
"Because the carriage disappeared, so I thought you ordered her to do some work."
"I didn't order it. That reckless coachwoman couldn't go out there, even more so with the carriage that was supposedly charred."
"This smells like treason to me." Orcus spoke in a provocative tone.
"It can't be... These demons are loyal tools, they cannot betray me."
"There is a greater feeling than loyalty, Master Edward."
"What? Why are so many people finding this place?" Edward said in irritation as he saw the man coming down the stairs.
"I followed Brain." Edgar, the white-haired butler, pointed at his coworker. "Young Amelia must be confused, it's an age thing. You must have been through it too, sir. It's quite complicated, especially when it involves a young person." The butler spoke in a paternal tone.
"Impossible! Amelia betrayed me…"
"Let's talk about the most important thing." Edgar stared at the chained children. "I don't think your father would want you to do this. As your mentor, since you were a child, I don't approve of your actions either."
"Quiet! I'm trying to think…"
"I'm sorry, Master Edward, but I won't let you cause any more trouble for the residents of this village."
"Mr. Edgar, should you really be defying your own master?" asked Orcus, confused.
"Unlike the maids, I am a human. I promised Sir Edward's father that I would put him on the right path, but it seems that I will have to pat him on the back to guide him on this path." The servant pointed the sword he was carrying at Edward. "You never managed to beat me before, have you improved in these last few years?"
"Edgar! This is disrespectful to the master!" Brain stood in front of Edward, in order to protect him.
"What a noise, shut up!" A voice from down the hall caught everyone's attention for a moment.
"It's Miss Rory, don't mind her, she just woke up." Edward shrugged and pointed at Orcus' sword before continuing: "Could I borrow it? I won't refuse my mentor's invitation."
Orcus made mention of handing over the sword, but an earthquake stopped him. It was only for a few seconds, but the tremor seemed to last for several minutes inside the bodies of those present. It was not a simple tremor, it was a call.
"Too bad, "it" came faster than expected." The marquis looked up at the ceiling of the room.
"I-it?" asked Orcus.
"Yes... "It". I believe you know that monstrosity by the name Black Beast.
Edward's words sent a shiver down Orcus and Edgar's spine. Why was the Black Beast, a Calamity-class monster, approaching Grain Village?