Chapter 40: Scream
"Isn’t this dangerous then?" Reinhard asked, his voice carrying genuine concern.
Vanna sighed. "Not really. Some of the Sinners aren’t actually very strong combatants. At the very least, Phineas is only a Third-Class Inquisitor. The difficulty lies in locating and capturing him because he always leaves before any forces can arrive. Most likely, he’s already departed the town or will leave once he realizes you’re investigating."
Reinhard blinks before asking. "How do you guys know he is in the Third Class? You haven’t seen him before either."
"The Mori Empire has a Mythic Key that sends a ripple out that quickly analyzes the magic volume of all Beast Masters in the city. With this, they could lock onto the magic in his body and write it down later." Vanna said, leading Reinhard to nod his head.
Joseph leaned forward. "Could it be possible he had something to do with the disappearance of the Cup Inquisitors?"
Vanna’s expression tightened slightly. "It’s possible, but I hope not. For now, you three should continue investigating. I’ll have another team dispatched to provide backup. If you sense anything wrong or encounter extreme danger, abandon the mission and leave without hesitation."
Marie smiled and nodded. "Of course!"
Vanna hums before continuing. "Now, regarding the town before Mensis. It was called the Town of Autumn, which had existed for decades and maintained ties with both the Mori Empire and Memento Mori Academy."
All three students blinked in surprise.
"Could it be that an Inquisitor from the school helped create this tunnel?" Reinhard asked.
"Correct. This tunnel system was constructed as an evacuation route in case of disasters or Phantasm Beast attacks by one of our old students. This occurred years ago, as there was an outbreak where beasts went on a rampage. They attacked farms, villages, and even towns throughout the region. Records indicate they destroyed four farms, three villages, and two towns before reaching Autumn Town."
Marie frowned as she crossed her arms. "So, it was Phantasm Beasts who burned and destroyed the town?"
Vanna’s lips curved into an amused smile. "It was the mayor and residents of Autumn Town themselves."
"Huh?" Marie blinked in confusion, but then her eyes shine in interest as she leaned forward.
"They evacuated all residents into the tunnel system, and then once the beasts invaded. They set everything on fire, creating a circle of death that trapped the Phantasm Beasts within the flames."
Reinhard, Marie, and Joseph stared blankly before all three muttered simultaneously. "What an amazing town."
Vanna chuckled. "But the odd thing is, there are no further records about them after this event."
Reinhard’s eyes narrowed. "Could it be that they encountered Phantasm Beasts in the tunnel?"
"It’s a possibility. Since there are records of what happened above ground, some survivors must have escaped, but they refused to discuss whatever occurred in the tunnels."
"Either it was too horrible to speak about, or they didn’t know the full story. They may have escaped first or afterward." Joseph reasoned with a sigh.
Vanna nodded. "I don’t need to repeat myself, but be extremely careful."
All three nodded before the projection dispersed.
"Things are only going to get more dangerous the deeper we go. So, I want to ask how the Herald Marker skill sharing actually works?" Reinhard asked, no longer wanting to put it off.
Joseph sighed. "We should have explained this earlier. But we felt telling you everything at once would be too much."
"To be fair, it’s not like we expected we needed it. The mission was just to find some clues on the Cup Inquisitor, not deal with Phantasm Beasts." Marie says with a giggle before then pausing and smiling at Reinhard. "To think our first mission would be this interesting."
Reinhard’s lips twitched, but he couldn’t deny her words. Regardless, he understood where Joseph was coming from, as he was already tied down with the other information during the carriage ride.
"Besides, I wanted us to get a lot closer before doing that." Marie says softly, leading Reinhard to blink and then chuckle.
"Fine, I agree with that sentiment... Now the Marker?"
"Essentially, it acts as a link between all three of us with the marker as the central node. From what I recall, the main holder, which is you, will act as the centerpiece that holds our magic together." Josephs says, leading Reinhard to blink.
"So, my own magic, or is it my Beast Spirit will help power the central Node?" Reinhard asked.
"It’s your Beast Spirit. You can think of yourself as the person who will endure the pressure of our magic as it goes into the node."
"No wonder trust is needed for this." Reinhard muttered with Joseph lightly chuckling.
"Anyway, it works by imagining the skill we want to share, and the necklace draws magic and the skill template into the node. When we need to use a shared skill, we imagine the necklace and draw magic from it to activate the ability." Joseph begins talking.
Reinhard processed this explanation, visualizing all three of them touching the necklace while imagining their skills, magic being siphoned into the central repository.
Then they retrieve those skills by following the golden thread from their Beast Symbols to the necklace.
"Let’s do it then. What skills should we share?" Reinhard asked with a raised brow.
Marie stroked her chin. "Rein you should add the Drasil Step, it’s excellent for saving our lives in critical moments and giving us time to think. I’ll add Purging Lance, which provides a powerful striking move any of us can execute when the opportunity arises. Joseph will add Wind Drift, which can alter attack trajectories or help move us out of danger from the wind pushing us."
Joseph nodded while Reinhard inwardly praised Marie’s reasoning. The selection covered multiple potential risks that Drasil Step and Wind Drift can save them from, while Purging Lance provided offensive capability when needed.
In addition, having all of them be able to utilize the skills two times would be extremely helpful.
All three placed their hands on the necklace simultaneously.
Images of the mentioned skills appeared in their respective minds as the artifact began drawing magic from them. Black-blue light emanated from Reinhard, golden-white from Marie, and grey from Joseph.
Reinhard felt a sharp pain through his mind with his body slightly trembling before he blinked as it faded, and he saw.
These energies flowed into the necklace, and at its center, Reinhard could perceive all three abilities stored in separate sections.
Marie’s eyes shone with excitement. "Alright! Let’s explore more!"
Reinhard’s lips twitched. Even though we might encounter a Sinner or something equally dangerous, she’s still excited... Amazing.
They moved through the tunnel from which the Taurus-X had emerged, continuing deeper into the underground system.
At the passage’s end, stone steps led downward, causing all three to furrow their brows as they descended.
A door waited at the bottom, leading them to pause and glance at each other.
"Can you hear anything Joseph?" Reinhard asked quietly.
Joseph moved to the door and placed his ear next to it, and after a couple of seconds he shaked his head. Reinhard sighed before moving to the door and pushing it open, all of them saw a chamber.
But what caught their attention was the Phantasm Beast a few feet away.
It was an amalgamation with arms from Werefangs twisted together with wax and wooden mannequin limbs. Autumn Deer hooves protruding at impossible angles, all converging around a closed single massive eye at the structure’s center.
Then the eye opened.
A scream erupted from the amalgamation!
But there was no sound echoing from it, the scream instead appeared in their mind. Countless voices layered over each other that made Reinhard tremble as he heard screams of terror, roars of bestial rage, crying pleas for mercy, and desperate begging for release.
Reinhard clutched his head as the assault overwhelmed his senses. Beside him, Marie dropped to her knees while Joseph staggered backward, and all three felt foreign emotions rushing through them.
Images flashed through Reinhard’s consciousness. Werefangs trapped and struggling as wax poured over their living bodies. Autumn Deer was paralyzed by some unknown force while their limbs were methodically removed.
People flee through these very tunnels only to encounter Phantasm Beasts in the tunnel.
The amalgamation’s eye focused on them, and the mental assault intensified. Reinhard felt his grip on reality beginning to slip as he saw through the eyes of dying beasts and felt the terror of trapped humans.
Darkness crept in from the edges of his vision. The last thing he saw before consciousness fled was that single massive eye, watching with pity and plea.
Then everything went black, and the screaming continued even in the darkness.