#005. Demon Hunter (4)
“It is here.”
Serman said to Virgil.
The two had come to a temple worshipping the Sun God to meet the lord of Javelin.
This building, the second tallest in the city, was splendid and majestic, befitting the Order of the Sun.
Especially at the rooftop’s end, the statue of the Sun God with both hands raised high toward the sky compelled a feeling of piety merely by looking upon it.
“Quiet.”
“Given the times, it is rather so.”
The area around the temple was deserted.
With even the lights extinguished, it was dark.
Though the temple should have been packed with worshippers, after the sun vanished from Javelin, the people shunned it, claiming the Sun God had abandoned them.
“If you go inside, the Lord will be there. The reward shall be paid after that.”
Leaving behind Serman, who had grown somewhat gruff, Virgil entered the temple.
Screech—
The unmaintained door shrieked.
The interior was as dark as it appeared from without.
Small candles flickered here and there, but they were insufficient to illuminate the vast space.
Perhaps because of that, an uncharacteristic gloom hung about the Order of the Sun.
Finding the lord was not difficult.
Beneath the symbol of the Sun God bearing a benevolent smile, a woman draped in a veil knelt in prayer.
Her name was Sophia Javelin.
A young woman who had lost her father at a young age and succeeded as lord in place of her mother, who had fallen to an incurable disease.
“Would you please wait a moment?”
The lord spoke first, sensing Virgil’s heated gaze.
“Very well.”
He went and sat in an empty chair.
Her back was visible to him.
Faint flames flickered, causing her shadows to dance.
That sight, intertwined with the surrounding atmosphere, revealed a peculiar sanctity.
Several minutes passed, and Sophia rose to her feet.
Her figure was tall and slender.
And voluptuous.
A body honed through exercise made even Javelin’s characteristically simple dress appear sensual.
Virgil also stood and stopped before Sophia.
She did not remove her veil.
Her features, visible through the translucent fabric, were strikingly distinct.
Virgil did not remove his helmet either.
The gaze visible through the face guard was sharp.
It was Sophia who spoke first.
“For the matter of Makum, I thank you once more on behalf of Javelin.”
“It was something that had to be done.”
“You shall be properly rewarded.”
“Of course.”
“And there is one more matter I wish to commission.”
“What is it?”
“Please find the sun of Javelin.”
“Straight to the point.”
“Is there any need to waste time?”
“Do you believe it possible?”
“Yes. If it is you.”
“Do you know me?”
“I do not.”
“Then on what basis?”
“Your eyes. Those confident eyes are the first I have seen since my father.”
At her answer, the corners of Virgil’s lips rose slightly within his helmet.
“Interesting.”
Her personality seemed exactly as he had known.
Did that mean all manner of interactive events with Sophia were possible? No, here it seemed even more was possible.
Virgil removed his helmet, thinking.
‘Perhaps I should kill her now.’
***
“Why so late?”
Jake spoke to the Player entering through the door.
The two, having grown close in a single day, conversed comfortably.
“By your face, I take it you didn’t meet him.”
“Yes, well… there were simply too many people.”
“Come to think of it, that Demon Hunter and you entered from the same direction. Do you know him? What in the world is his identity?”
“Not exactly… Hmm, I’m rather curious about his identity myself.”
“Hoho. Don’t tell me you’ve been hiding power beneath that armor as well?”
Fat chance. I wish.
The Player swallowed the words that danced on his tongue.
“If you run into him again, be sure to bring him to our assembly. He would be a great help.”
“Haha… I’ll do my best.”
“Yes, yes. Come now, let us be off.”
Jake donned a mask and descended to the basement in the rear yard.
The Player stood still, gazing down at the mask Jake had prepared.
Perhaps because it was made to be worn over a helmet, it was all the cruder.
Once Jake had gone deep inside, the Player muttered quietly.
“Item check…”
***
Outside the temple, Serman paced about restlessly.
Screech—
As the door opened, he hurried over with quick steps.
Virgil emerged.
For an instant, his figure stepping out from the darkness felt like the reaper; it was horrifying.
“Did your conversation end well?”
“More or less.”
“How is her condition? Has she not grown too frail?”
He asked with a face full of worry.
Serman’s affection for Sophia seemed extraordinary.
“Would you not see for yourself?”
“I would like to, but during the Hundred-Day Prayer she must not meet anyone. She must not leave the temple either. I suppose this will be the first and last time.”
“I doubt that.”
“What…”
As the two conversed, the temple door opened once more.
From within, Sophia walked out wearing a white veil over her head.
“Serman.”
“Ah! My Lord! How—!”
Serman reacted violently.
For some reason, he appeared more furious than concerned.
“Give this man Javelin’s emblem. Grant him the right to pass anywhere. This includes entry to and exit from this temple.”
“Th-that is absolutely impossible!”
“I have nothing more to say.”
Sophia returned into the temple.
Left behind, Serman trembled, his mustache quivering, as he glared at Virgil.
An unprecedented rage emanated from him.
“Just what words did you use to bewitch our Lord…?”
Virgil replied nonchalantly.
“I said nothing of note. Merely that I would find the sun.”
“You… Hoo… you must have some other scheme… Follow me. I shall reward you for Makum.”
Serman, who took the lead, walked with steps brimming with malice, while Virgil, who followed, paid it no mind.
The storehouse was beneath the lord’s manor.
A considerable amount of goods was piled inside; under normal circumstances, choosing would have been difficult, but Virgil was not one to hesitate.
“I will take this.”
He selected a dagger approximately two palms long.
Sliiing.
Drawing it from its simple scabbard, a silver blade was revealed.
From tip to hilt, a line of engravings ran along it; upon closer inspection, they resembled a chain of human eyes.
“Hmm… very well.”
Serman’s expression showed relief that it ended at so little.
Virgil sheathed the silver dagger and tucked it into his belt.
Then, a shimmering vial hanging beside the dagger caught Serman’s eye.
“Th-that vial, is it by any chance an Elixir?”
“It is indeed.”
“Heavens… to carry something so precious. Just what is your identity? From the very start, walking about with that greatsword so effortlessly made no sense.”
Late suspicion indeed.
Unable to think of a decent excuse, Virgil prevaricated.
“A Demon Hunter.”
“…What can I do. I have no choice but to believe. In any case, would you consider selling that Elixir to me?”
Had this been a game, a new quest notification would likely have rung out by now.
But this was reality; everything had to be chosen of his own accord.
“I am not without the ability to pay.”
“Hmm… I will grant you one item from this warehouse in exchange.”
“Anything within?”
“Indeed.”
Virgil thought briefly before replying.
“I shall consider it.”
The warehouse was spacious, its contents many.
Mostly rusted spears, at that.
Moreover, by his standards, only one thing here was of use.
He reached out and lightly brushed the silver dagger at his waist.
Recalling the blade’s ability, Virgil smiled in satisfaction.
“I have no need of anything as yet.”
“Well, if you change your mind, be sure to tell me.”
Serman gazed at the Elixir with greedy eyes.
“Very well.”
There would be no changing his mind.
The legendary miracle drug, the Elixir, said to save even the dying.
Who knew what changes it might bring about.
Virgil was being especially careful, as he was doing his utmost not to deviate from the main story as he knew it.
A journey with no clear end.
He wished to take it easy.
“By the way, have you decided where to stay?”
Serman asked.
“You may not have known, but the Hour of the Moon draws near.”
“I was aware.”
“If you lack a place to stay, follow me—”
“I secured one earlier.”
“Hm? Were you not with me the entire day? Which inn?”
“The Order of the Sun.”
“Ah, the Order of the… wh-what?!”
When Serman let out a shriek, nearby soldiers gathered.
“What did you just say? The Order of the Sun?”
There was only one Order of the Sun in Javelin.
The very place where Sophia was undertaking her Hundred-Day Prayer.
In other words, it meant he would be spending the night with Sophia.
“Is there a problem? I have already received the Lord’s permission.”
As if there were nothing more to say, he turned and climbed the stairs.
Serman glared daggers at the back of Virgil’s head.
“H-how dare you…”
A mere wanderer, coveting what was beyond him!
Unable to endure, he shouted once more.
“Stop! Demon Hunter!”
At Serman’s rage, the soldiers guarding the storehouse raised their spears.
Virgil gripped the hilt of his greatsword and turned his head halfway.
“Can you handle this?”
At his emotionless tone, the soldiers’ spines tingled.
A gaze as if looking down upon a small insect he could crush at any moment.
Arrogance bordering on overconfidence, if not surpassing it.
Though the spear tips wavered with the soldiers’ instinctive fear, their expressions were nothing short of knightly.
They surrounded Serman to protect him.
A scene that demonstrated just how important a man he was in this city.
Facing Virgil’s fierce eyes, Serman recalled his prowess in capturing Makum.
At this rate, the soldiers could all be killed.
He bit his lower lip hard.
“Ahem, it seems the Lord has offered one of the temple’s spare rooms… My excess loyalty is the cause; I ask for your understanding. Everyone, lower your spears.”
At Serman’s command, the soldiers withdrew their spearpoints.
“Then I shall take my leave.”
Virgil climbed the stairs once more.
***
Sophia’s face, hidden beneath the veil, was more beautiful than imagined.
Her skin was soft, her breath sweet.
Like the reincarnation of a goddess.
Every second that passed was rapturous.
Enough to make him reproach himself for the blasphemous thought of killing her he had briefly entertained.
“It seems a Demon Hunter is skilled at everything.”
Sophia spoke with reddened lips.
“I merely do my utmost in all things, provided the client is satisfied.”
Virgil let out a small snort.
He had said it himself, but it was truly an absurd thing to say.
At this rate, he might truly become a Demon Hunter.
“I imagine Serman did not take it well.”
Sophia spoke, gazing into Virgil’s jet-black eyes.
“His voice was quite loud. That is all.”
“Hmph.”
Sophia smiled. Yet before long, her expression turned sorrowful.
“Serman… that man has all but imprisoned me here. I wish to leave.”
“Then leave. You are the lord.”
“I cannot… Serman told the citizens that if I pray fervently to the Sun God for a hundred days, the sun shall rise again. He said it was for the best… As if all of this were my fault. Well, I suppose it is fitting. I inherited the blood of House Javelin, yet I cannot even properly wield a spear. If only I took after my father even by half…”
Sophia’s father and the former lord of Javelin, Dimitar Javelin.
He was a superhuman and a grandmaster of spearmanship.
So revered was he that rumors circled claiming the city’s fall had begun after his mysterious death a decade ago.
Compared to him, Sophia was far too young and weak.
Moreover, incapable of using magic, the arrows of blame naturally turned toward her.
All the more so these days, with the sun gone.
“Do not blame yourself overmuch. It is not your fault.”
At Virgil’s calm comfort, Sophia smiled awkwardly.
“Ah… by the way, did Serman not speak of me?”
“He did not. Nor do I wish to lend that man my ear.”
“That is a relief…”
“Is there some issue?”
“It is that…”
After a brief pause, she opened her mouth.
“There are rumors that he goes about claiming to be my true father. He says it is only natural I cannot use my father’s spearmanship, for Javelin blood does not flow in my veins.”
“That must have upset you.”
“Yes… He also took my sick mother, claiming he would treat her, but there has been no word for days. He tells me nothing…”
“Why not punish him with your authority as lord?”
“I cannot. The citizens rely on him deeply; if I were to act, things might escalate…”
Virgil nodded silently.
Afterward, Sophia continued to ramble about all that she wished to say, while Virgil simply listened.
She knew this was not how one behaved toward a person met for the first time that day, yet for some reason, she felt remarkably at ease.
As if drawn by something.
“You must have been quite lonely.”
“Pardon? Well… I suppose so. But I did not seek you out without thought. It is only…”
“I understand. It happens.”
“Thank you.”
“Enough.”
“Then what are your next plans?”
“Who knows. Is there something you wished to tell me?”
After a brief silence, Sophia opened her mouth.
“The cemetery… begin by going there. I have heard that corpses there keep disappearing. They say it is the work of ghouls, but I think otherwise. There is most certainly something there.”
“Very well.”
Of course he knew.
His next destination was there, after all.
The two fell quiet for a moment.
As expected, Sophia spoke first.
“Virgil.”
“Speak.”
“Please find the sun of this place.”
“I shall.”
Virgil answered easily because he knew the method, while Sophia, who did not know, thought him a truly confident man.
And she was all the more drawn to him for it.
“Please bring salvation to Javelin…”
The scent of lilies drifted from her as their lips met.