Brigante Ark - Chapter 175

Somewhere deep in the promenade, the two had themselves a nice picnic.

Luxurious red silk lay on the ground, with a basket made of woven fiber open, unpacked by Noora, had the plates, glasses, a bottle of wine, utensils, napkins, and some basic necessities such as paper towels and cutting board.

Alastor sat, while furtively watching the woman who’s putting an already fried egg, pasted the chess on top of it, and added two pieces of bacon on her sandwich.

Noora returned her gaze to him. She handed the sandwich to him and he reluctantly accepted it. Noora made another set sandwich for her.

“You’ve been busy this early morning, I see.” Noora started.

Alastor as of now eating the sandwich, and he opens the wine, pouring his own glass, then he drank before replying to her words.

“Well you did let me sleep here yesterday, so it’s only natural to repay the favor you’ve done to me.”

“What favor?”

“All of it.”

She chuckles.

He continued, “Last night, a bolt of lightning struck on your farm. You should be glad, I was able to conjure a barrier before the animals especially the cows and pigs can come out.”

“I should be thankful to you then.”

“You are very much welcome.”

She started puckering her lips, “Now, what reward should I give on you?” she asked herself.

Alastor stared blankly at the lady who’s trying to lure him in.

“Don’t give me that look.”

She sighed, giving up, “Alright, alright, I won’t bother you.”

“You should be. I wasn’t in my best mood.”

“Why is that? Did the chores heavily tax your body?”

“More than that.” He replied with an exasperating sigh, “I’ve chased a monster outside of your mansion.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Believe me or not, but the monster appeared to dig a hole on the wall of your mansion.”

“That shouldn’t be possible. I sealed the place with a barrier. It should be strong enough to withhold a monster just enough for me to notice.”

“Well,” Alastor scoffed. “Your barrier sucks.”

She glared at him. Alastor felt his blood run cold. He backed away.

“Geez. I’m just kidding here.”

“I’m not mad because you defeated the enemy. What I’m afraid of is that you might have exposed yourself.”

“Expose to what?”

She didn’t reply. The light atmosphere has been replaced by a heavy tone.

“Is there something you’re not telling me, Noora?”

She stared at him for quite a while before sighing, “Before I’m going to spill more information, I must assure you that the barrier is still intact.”

Noora rose from. Her hands locked to each other and began to mutter exclamation magic. Base on what he’s hearing, she must be using her native language to conjure magic. Symbols made of light suddenly grew out from her skin and shoot out to the sky. The entire dome of the barrier began to pulse for a minute. As soon as she desists her hands, the barrier stops pulsating and goes back to its transparent form.

“What did you do?” Alastor asked.

“I fixed the barrier and the walls to make sure that no monsters will be able to break in again.”

“That’s the least we should worry about now,” Alastor exclaimed.

“What is it?”

“I can say that the barrier spell you conjured is a mid-tier spell. That alone should be enough to stop a monster on its tracks even if it tries to break it. The question should we ask now is how? How did a monster like it manage to break through your barrier and destroy a wall without even you noticing?”

“Ah.” Alastor snaps his fingers.

“Have you deduced something?” Noora asked.

“It might be just a big coincidence at all.”

“What do you mean?”

“It must’ve been looking for food last night. With the heavy rain overlapping your senses, and us… being busy… the monster was able to broke inside, but thinking like that, the time frame should be put in the line of queries too.”

“I think the plants are the reason why it has been here until morning. You see, a rare plant, skavunska, is always active at night, the plant nourishes from the light of the moon. Whenever some animals or monsters would try to devour it, it would release a strong spore to put any intruder at sleep. That must be the reason why you found it active this morning.”

“That would perfectly fit, but how come I didn’t see any plant as I chased it away?”

“That’s because, during the morning, it sleeps underground. You should have killed the beast when you had the chance.”

“I did. I have to chase it away first so that your beloved farm won’t be harmed and received any more damage further.”

“I see. That means he’s not on to us yet.”

Alastor raised a brow, “What do you mean?”

Noora clasped her hand. “I would like to use this chance to explain to you how I will send you back to the Radiya.”

“Don’t you think it’s too early for that? You have 2 more requests, you know.”

“Yes, I am well aware of that, but as I’ve said before, we’re always losing time. Do you remember when did I last stop telling you my tale?”

Alastor nodded. “You were talking about the traitor, am I correct?”

“Few weeks after the rampant, the remaining mages tracked down the traitor, but the bastard had already made his move. He tapped into the dark arts. He became a necromancer. The bastard even learns some spells from the mephistic hunters and tribunal hunters.”

“That’s preposterous.”

“He was able to control monsters to some degree with the assistance of powerful dark magic. Despite our efforts, in the end, we mages were taken out, one by one, until there’s only me left.”

“Simply to say, you abandoned them.”

She snaps and she slaps him, “You, you don’t have the right to lecture me of abandoning people! You have no slightest idea what I’ve been through!”

Alastor remained undoubtful in his words, “Sure, I do. If you truly care about your men, then you wouldn’t have to abandon them and die with honors along with them.”

“What good is dying if the enemy still lives?”

Alastor didn’t reply.

“Be careful the next time you utter words, Alastor. I don’t need a lecture coming from a man who lives for money and killing people.” She continued. “Tell me, did once in your life have you ever cared for anyone or show at least a bit of humility?”

“I have.”

“That’s a new one. Are they still alive?”

“People die every time, Noora. I can’t control their destiny.”

She stared at him for seconds. His words are discerning.

Alastor continued, “I take the next request is to kill that bastard, am I right?”

“Yes.”

“You hate him that much?”

“More than you could ever imagine.”

“All this time, has this between us ever mean anything to you, Noora?”

She quickly replied, “No. There is nothing between us in the first place, Alastor.”

“I see. So, you’re looking to hire a gun to slay that monster.”

“No matter what era is, people use others to gain something, you should be aware of that.”