Lost Fantasy-The Flowers of Stelis (Arc 2) [Hiatus]

Chapter 57

When Loganel noticed, he was transported in front of the inn that he had resided in. He was sitting on the stone brick road with the corpse of the Former Human not too far from him. Since it was dusk, the road was darker and there were fewer people, helping him mask his sudden appearance. For those that did notice him appearing out of thin air though, they rubbed their eyes, shook their head, and attributed the scene to magic, which was completely possible.

Loganel's heart still pounded in his chest as the scene in Vamir played out in his memories once again. The deadly aura that Alved had exhibited and the helpless look Zackery had on his face, both conveyed to Loganel how dire the situation truly was. Trying to convince and persuade them will be impossible, and as night slowly crept onto the world, there was little time left before the Vampires of Vamir dye the city red and cause the streets to flow rivers of blood.

His mind was still conflicted regarding the situation, but Loganel knew he had to act and not waste any time. Therefore, he grabbed hold of the collar of the clothing that the corpse wore and dragged it into the inn without giving it much thought. His top priority is meeting up with his party, and when he entered, they were all there. They initially smiled sadly when they saw him after returning with no information on the attackers of the victims, but when they saw the corpse Loganel dragged with him, that smile vanished.

"What is that?" Marilin whispered in shock.

"Loganel..." Tetsuya stared at the boy with his eyes wide, hoping that he would receive an explanation from him.

What am I supposed to tell them? Loganel asked himself as he stood there and stared back at his party in silence. Do I tell them about Vamir and let them warn the Church? Then doesn't that mean I would take part in the trap that will be set for them? If I don't tell them, then does that mean I allow them to slaughter?

Faced with this dilemma, Loganel's response to it was... nothing. He cannot bring himself to make a decision. On one side, it's the lives of humans, and on the other is the lives of the Vampires. Both had done nothing wrong, so who deserves to die?

Having being raised as a human, Loganel initially held a bias against Demons. However, in the short time he had spent with the Vampires, he discovered that they were completely sentient creatures similar to humans. In fact, both Demons and humans are similar in how they perceived things, how they loved their family, and the measures they'll go to ensure their own safety. So who is it to blame then? Who does he blame for trying to survive?

Loganel realized that where he stood, he's playing the role of an almighty judge that can decide who lives and who dies. However, when both sides did nothing wrong, and one side must die, then who dies? What gives him the right to play the role and decide whether or not certain individuals die? He cannot make this decision.

"Loganel?" Tetsuya said once again, dragging Loganel out of his internal conflict and forcing him into facing the reality, which is how fast time was flying by. The time for him to think was becoming less and less, yet Loganel needed more and more time to decide the more he tried thinking about the situation.

"T-this is the Former Human that's the culprit of the attacks," Loganel said as he looked at the lifeless corpse.

"Did you kill it?" Tetsuya frowned as he observed Loganel with a stern expression on his face.

"Y-yeah," Loganel muttered the lie, hoping that they won't notice the slight abnormality in his voice.

"Kaz," Tetsuya said to the demihuman boy that stood next to him. "Go see if the scent is the same as the one you've picked up."

Upon hearing the orders, Kaz wanted to obey it but his body refused to move. A strong scent lingered about the corpse, causing his instincts to kick in and warn him of danger. Whatever it was that the corpse had came into contact with, that thing is dangerous.

"Kaz?" Tetsuya looked at him in confusion as to why he hasn't moved.

"S-sorry."

Kaz forced his trembling legs to move and took the first step towards Loganel and the corpse. He subconsciously stopped breathing in order to avoid triggering his natural instincts that screamed for him to flee. However, he knew that smelling the scent will be inevitable. However, he just did not want to smell that deadly scent for any longer than needed. In fact, he had smelled a similar scent from Loganel the day before, but yesterday, that scent was docile and kind.

Slowly, Kaz breathed once again, taking in the scent on the Former Human's body. He only needed a small whiff to tell whether or not this was the culprit, so he quickly pinched his nose once he got what he needed. However, just that split second of taking in the scent on the corpse's body made him shiver and collapse to the floor. In order to distance himself from that scent, Kaz crawled away from it and forgot about maintaining his image.

"What's wrong?" Marilin asked with a concerned expression on her face.

"It is him," Kaz confirmed the culprit to be the corpse. "But—" he stood up and looked at Loganel in fear. "—what the hell was this thing around?"

"What do you mean?" Tetsuya looked at him in confusion.

"That body," Kaz said as he trembled. "That body and Loganel... I could smell something else on them. Something that's making my primordial instincts trying to burst out of my body and force me to run. If I were to come across the source of that scent... killing me will merely take a second."

"What did you do, Loganel!" Sheriel cried at him after hearing what Kaz had to say about the scent. "What was it that you came across?"

"Loganel..." Tetsuya stared at the boy from the corner of his eye. He subconsciously brought a hand to his sword, but he quickly took it back in fear that anyone would see it. No one from his party saw it, that is except Loganel.

Are you really... Tetsuya balled his hands tightly into fists until they trembled from the tension. Did you really betray humanity.

"In any case," Tetsuya sighed as all emotion fled his face. He decided to handle the situation apathetically and observe for even longer. "We have to take this corpse to the Adventurer's Guild tonight."

"Tetsuya..." Sheriel looked at the boy with her hands close to her chest.

"We can't have the body laying around here," Tetsuya explained. "And after that, we leave the city immediately."

"Why?" Marilin questioned.

"Kaz smelled something strange," Tetsuya said as he glanced at the trembling demihuman. "It must be something bad if it made him like that."

He then looked over at Loganel for a second before quickly averting his gaze to avoid eye contact.

"Loganel and I will take the body to the Guild," Tetsuya said as he walked over to the corpse. "The rest of you pack everything up. We're leaving tonight."

"G-got it," Marilin and Sheriel said at the same time.

Tetsuya nodded at them before turning around once again to where Loganel and the corpse was. He knelt down and grabbed hold of the corpse by its legs and gestured for Loganel to help carry it by lifting it by its head.

"We'll take the wagon," Tetsuya said to the others, "and once we return, we leave."

Then, he turned towards Loganel. "We need to talk," he said in a soft whisper that was only audible between the two.

Afterwards, the two exited the warm and cozy and comfortable inn, leaving behind the crackling fire in the fireplace to return to the cold winter streets of Rostindel. Outside, a sliver of sunlight shined in the distant sky as the day breathed its last breaths. Overhead, the moon was out. For some reason, the moon appeared red to Loganel and the others seemed to not have noticed.

Author's Note:

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