Morning had already arrived when Kamigan left Balthazar's house, making his way back to Sir Aldric. As he approached, he saw Aldric standing outside, his expression calm yet unreadable.
"Welcome back," Aldric greeted.
"Good morning, Sir Aldric," Kamigan replied.
The atmosphere was light, the air fresh, and for a moment, everything seemed peaceful—at least, on the surface.
---
Far away in the capital city, however, a storm was brewing. A storm that would carve itself into Kamigan's heart.
King Nordstrom VI of Thaldrin had made a decision—one that would alter the course of history. Thornbarrow was to be wiped from existence. His reasoning was twofold: first, he had deemed the village a liability to the kingdom. And second…
---
"The village has become a liability to the kingdom!" a council elder declared, his voice filled with conviction.
"My king," another elder added, "that place is an infection. We must cleanse the kingdom by eradicating it."
King Nordstrom leaned forward on his throne, his expression weary. "And how do you suggest I do that? How do you think the people will see a king who slaughters his own subjects simply because he deems them inconvenient?"
His voice carried the weight of contemplation, confusion, and fatigue. The council murmured among themselves, desperate to construct a justification for their proposed eradication.
"Perhaps we accuse them of practicing witchcraft in secret," one elder suggested. "We could brand it as a holy civil war."
Another scoffed. "And what evidence do we have to support such a claim? None. When the other villages begin to question the royal court's motives, what will we say?"
The king exhaled heavily. "He is right. We have no valid allegations against them."
Silence filled the chamber until another elder spoke up, his voice measured. "Then perhaps… we stage it as an invasion. Or a raid."
The room went still. Every chancellor paused, listening intently as his words echoed through the hall.
"I mean," the elder continued, "if we cannot fabricate a reasonable charge against them, then let us use bandits to do our work."
Nordstrom's eyes darkened, his voice rising in fury. "Are you suggesting that we—we, the royal court—hire bandits?! No! I will not stain my honor as a member of the royal family of Thaldrin! If this is the best strategy you can come up with, then this meeting is adjourned."
His anger thundered through the chamber, but before he could rise, the elder hastily intervened. "No, my king, please! Calm yourself. We do not need to stoop so low as to hire bandits…"
The king narrowed his eyes. "Then what exactly are you suggesting?"
A slow grin spread across the elder's face. "We disguise our own forces as bandits. We strike from the shadows and vanish like ghosts. The kingdom will never suspect a thing. And to accomplish this, we shall create an elite task force—one designed for destruction and deception. They will be known as The Phantom Scourge."
The king took a deep breath, his mind turning over the possibility. "An undercover task force…"
A hush fell over the chamber.
"Hmmm… It is a sound strategy," Nordstrom admitted. "But secrecy is paramount. Such a force must remain hidden from all eyes. Who among us is capable of ensuring such discretion?"
The elder's grin widened. "We have just the man for the job… The Vice Commander of the Third Knight Division—David Lancaster."
The king's lips curled into a smirk."Then it is settled. I hereby declare the formation of the special undercover task force—The Phantom Scourge."
It was settled. The royal court had made its decision—Thornbarrow would be eradicated. The brewing storm had finally arrived. Yet, far from the capital, in the quiet village of Thornbarrow, Kamigan remained oblivious to his fate, going about his life as usual.
---
Kamigan stirred from sleep, shifting from a lying to a sitting position. He gazed out the window, watching the sun bathe the village in golden light.
"I guess I should go meet Balthazar," he murmured to himself.
Rising from bed, he made his way to the bathroom and took a quick bath. As he stepped outside, the sunlight struck his eyes, making him squint.
"I should start going."
A voice called out to him from a distance.
"Kamigan! Where are you going?!"
Kamigan turned to see Aldric approaching.
"To meet Balthazar," he replied.
Aldric raised an eyebrow. "Balthazar? Heh. Since when did you two become so close?"
"I wouldn't exactly call us close," Kamigan muttered. (In fact, we're more like enemies than friends.)
Aldric chuckled. "Well, when you get back, come see me. I have something to tell you."
Kamigan frowned slightly. "Alright." (Something to tell me? That's unusual.)
---
Walking through the streets of Thornbarrow, Kamigan made his way toward the house where Balthazar had held him captive the night before. But as he neared his destination, he noticed something unusual—a large crowd had gathered outside.
His pace quickened. What's going on?
As he took a large step forward, a sharp tingling sensation shot through his head, followed by a searing pain. His headaches were back—stronger than ever.
Kamigan collapsed to one knee, gripping his head as the pain consumed him.
(What is this? It feels like my skull is being hammered from the inside out. I'm not sure I can stay conscious much longer... but still, what's with the crowd? Where is Balthazar?)
Just as he was about to lose consciousness, the pain vanished—suddenly, completely. It didn't fade away; it simply ceased to exist, as if it had never been there. The only trace of it was the faint trickle of blood from his nose.
Breathing heavily, he wiped the blood away. "That... was awful. Now, back to the crowd."
---
Pushing through the gathered villagers, Kamigan tapped a middle-aged man on the back.
"What's all the commotion about?"
The man shrugged. "Not sure if I'd call it a commotion, but the old man's gone missing."
Kamigan's eyes narrowed. "By 'old man'... do you mean Balthazar?"
"Yeah."
"Gone missing?"
"No one's seen him come out of his house since this morning."
Kamigan frowned. "That doesn't mean he's missing. He probably just left the village."
The man shook his head. "We asked the gatekeeper. No one's left the village all day. And Balthazar isn't exactly the type to slip by unnoticed."
Kamigan fell silent, thoughts racing. (Balthazar told me to meet him today, and now he's vanished? That doesn't make sense. Was he kidnapped? No... he's too strong for that. The most logical explanation is that he left without anyone noticing. But why? He was expecting me today... so why disappear?)
---
The crowd gradually dispersed. Once they were gone, Kamigan stepped inside the house, scanning the room. He searched for any sign of Balthazar, any clue as to where he might have gone.
Nothing.
After a while, he let out a frustrated sigh and stepped back outside, the mystery of Balthazar's disappearance weighing heavily on his mind.