II

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  Arc II Chapter 12

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  16th Anima Lunar VIII AAC 753

  “My Lord ...” Kasimir straightened his back, yet his liege ignored his calls. Lord Friedrich remained unmoved as his words fell on deaf ears. The scenery haunted his lord and liege, numbing his senses. Gone was his former confidence. Gone was his resolution. Like a dagger, pain stabbed Lord Friedrich’s heart. The cruel and brutal harshness of reality struck without warning, as his time stopped, and his world froze.

  Lord Friedrich did not expect this outcome. Nobody did. Their death came as a surprise to everyone. They had never arrived at Freyburg as scheduled. The coach had been ambushed and the contingent of knights slaughtered like sheep. They had never stood a chance against their attackers. This was not the handiwork of some foolhardy bandits. This ambush was planned, coordinated.

  Kasimir’s stoic fa?ade did not falter at the sight of such carnage. His iron gaze never wavered. The attack was a despicable act with a sole objective, to eliminate Lady Aurora. The assassins had targeted the House von Schwarz directly. “Lord Friedrich ...”

  “...” His liege did not react.

  “Lord Friedrich ... Lord Friedrich ...”

  “I hear you, Kasimir.” Lord Friedrich’s empty gaze bothered him. His soulless eyes lingered on the lifeless corpse of his fallen father that they had been able to retrieve. Count Geralt died protecting Lady Aurora. He fulfilled his duty to his last breath, yet his sacrifice proved to be in vain.

  “...” Lord Friedrich gritted his teeth, his fists clenched. Rage, ire, grief moved his heart. Whoever was behind this, they would pay.

  Kasimir pitied his liege. As his loyal retainer, he shared his pain. He had been serving Lord Friedrich since his early childhood, as was expected from him, the son of a common baron. They grew up alongside each other. They lived alongside each other. They fought alongside each other. They shared a common fate. Lord Friedrich would overcome the pain. Time would heal his wounds, but scars would forever remain.

  “My condolences, My Lord. Unfortunately, I cannot offer much beyond my sympathies.” Kasimir offered a slight bow. “I knew your father well. Count Geralt was a good man.”

  ...

  ...

  ...

  “...” Lord Friedrich did not respond. His words did not reach him.

  ...

  ...

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  ...

  Kasimir folded his hands behind his back, doing what he did best, he served. He served his liege with his soul, with his heart, with his rapier eager to heed his lord’s call. “Rest assured, Lord Friedrich, we will uncover the truth. We will find the ones responsible, and they will answer for their crimes.”

  “We will see to it, Kasimir. We will see to it.” Friedrich clenched his fists. The rage, the anger, the hatred. His knuckles turned white.

  His father took a thrust through his chest. The thrust struck deep, producing a gaping hole. The wound was clean, precise. Magic must have amplified the thrust. Physical force alone was not capable of this degree of penetration. Speed and strength did not match conventional human strength. Traces of mana still lingered. The traces were faint, negligible, but their presence was undeniable. Lightning. Darkness. Fulmen. Umbra. Lightning with umbral aspect. The perpetrator was a lightning user, just like him, and a master of their element judging by their skill. This was not the work of a common ruffian. This was the work of a skilled swordsman, of a proficient mage, of a professional assassin.

  The carnage, the merciless efficiency, the coordinated nature of the ambush, the execution, all the signs pointed towards assassins. They had intercepted the coach before it arrived at Freyburg. They chose the forest for an ambush. They surrounded the convoy and eliminated all opposition. Nobody was spared. Nobody survived.

  “...” Friedrich frowned. His face twisted with his desire for revenge blazing. “They will pay, Kasimir. They will most definitely pay. Whoever was behind this, I will get them, and I will get my revenge.” The hunt was on.

  “...” Kasimir nodded, while maintaining his decorum. His mask never slipped. “I concur, we will get them. Not today, not tomorrow, but the day will come.”

  “You are right.” Friedrich regained his composure. Now was not the time to grieve. His duties as a knight did not sleep. His mistress required his services even in death. “Were you able to locate her corpse?”

  Kasimir shook his head. “Negative. The men swept the area, but no signs of Lady Aurora. Her corpse is missing.”

  Friedrich froze. That was impossible. “Her corpse is missing?”

  Kasimir confirmed his fears, “It is. We have failed to locate her corpse. We assume the worst, but it seems that not all hope is lost. We cannot dismiss the possibility that Lady Aurora might be still alive. The chances are marginal, but marginal is better than none, although I remain doubtful. Their actions do not align with the usual modus operandi of kidnappers. Their methods are far too brutal, far too destructive. Their actions point rather towards assassins.”

  “...” Friedrich shared his assessment. Kasimir’s analysis was spot on, yet he clung to the last straw of hope as well. Not that they had much of a choice.

  “Kasimir, call the men. Set up guards. In the meantime, we return to Freyburg. We will request reinforcements and inform the church. The dead deserve a proper burial. The area must be cleansed and purified. We do not want this place to be haunted in the future.” Some annoying miasma was the last thing they needed.

  Kasimir straightened his back. “Yes, Your Lordship ...”

  “Friedrich, Kasimir!” A voice interrupted them. Vera emerged from the woods. Her armour limited her movement through the thicket, but difficult terrain did not stop a true knight, even when dismounted, and even when annoyed degraded to infantry. “My men and I, we have stumbled across an interesting find. You should come with me and take a look.”

  Friedrich studied Vera. Her words piqued his curiosity. “Vera, what did you find?”

  Vera shook her head. “No, come, you need to see it for yourselves. You would not believe me.”

  They followed her lead, fighting their way through the vegetation. They arrived at a clearing. The clearing did not appear to be special. It was a clearing like untold others, but the first impression deceived. The atmosphere was different.

  Charred corpses littered the blackened ground, their lives claimed by fire. The grass, the trees, the earth, all was burnt, scorched by blazing heat. An explosion of immense potency had devastated the area, transforming the once peaceful clearing into a smouldering graveyard.

  “... ... ...” Friedrich stared in silence, his face devoid of emotion. Judging by the residual mana, pyromancy was responsible for this sight. Fire was one of the most potent elements known to the arts of magic. Destructive, domineering, powerful in nature, Ignis was a notorious element. It was an element that was primarily used for offensive spells, yet this degree of destruction exceeded even his expectations.

  His gaze swept across the plane. A power area attack was responsible for this. High intensity. High mana concentration. High lethality. All hallmarks of not only a skilled, but also an experienced practitioner of magic.

  “...” Friedrich knelt. His leather gloves touched the earth, rubbing the fallen ash between his fingers. The ash was still fresh. It was fine, powdery, untainted. The Duke must be informed about this. “So many questions. So few answers.”

  The day yielded nothing but mysteries. An ambushed coach. A massacred convoy. A murdered father. A potentially missing girl. A scorched clearing. Nothing added up these days.

  Lord Kasimir von Levinski and Lady Vera von Arnfels

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