Chapter 262: Corruption

"| text |" - Something being said in draconic from a human perspective.

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Mid Morning - Mid Summer : South of Deepcross, Southern Holy Kingdom

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- Rhanes Ravenna ~

"Ugh..." I gripped my head as I tried to sit up in a daze.

But I almost immediately felt someone force me back down. "Sir, please relax." Glancing toward the voice, I met eyes with a thin man wearing a round monocle and a mostly clean white garb.

He was far from strong enough to push me down, but I recognized him and complied immediately. -What in the world is Templar Division Two doing out here?-

The man standing next to me was named Oswyn Aegar, a man referred to by Templars and many nobles as the Mad Doctor for his incredibly gruesome, yet effective, 'medical practices', but known by a majority of common folk as the Lab Rat.

Unfortunately, his incredible achievements in advancing human medicine were continually overshadowed by something else. 

-He is skinnier and paler than I expected...- Momentarily looking at the top of his head, I saw his two large, round mouse ears before quickly averting my eyes.

I didn't want to risk offending the man who was treating my wounds, after all.

But truth be told, I doubt he would have cared. "Sir, your body is in terrible condition. You have several severely ripped muscles and tendons, a cracked vertebra, three broken ribs, and a hole in your stomach that I could fit my arm into... You should thank Aesir for even surviving as long as you did."

I winced from a momentary surge of pain as he situated my head on an uncomfortable cushion.

"I have already done all the procedures I can, from cleaning up and partially closing the wound in your stomach to resituating the scattered fragments of your rib cage. But now that you are awake, there are some things I must ask." He silently pulled up and sat in a chair as he looked me in the eyes. "You are Rhanes Ravenna from Templar Division Four, correct?" He waited for my subtle nod to continue. "What are you doing out here? The higher-ups said there were no Templars in Deepcross."

-No templars in Deepcross? Why would the higher-ups bother mentioning that?- A hint of doubt appeared in my mind before I could even speak. "I was temporarily released from duty three months ago, so I came here to spend time with my daughter."

"Ah, I see. Well, that is truly unfortunate." His voice and expression were completely heartless.

I gave him an angry glance before catching myself and assuming it was a misunderstanding. "Haah..." -I need to relax...- "She may only be 20 years old, but she is close to becoming a Cleric, so I'm not worried about her surviving the flood." -Plus, Shadow is with her...- I was convinced I had nothing to worry about.

But that didn't last very long. "Sir, I was not referring to the monster flood."

-Huh?- My eyes instantly shot open. -W..what does he mean by that?-

I didn't have long to question it, however. "I never would have thought a noble templar would let a family member live in a town like Deepcross." A deep and slightly dissatisfied voice met my ears as my gaze locked onto a huge man in templar armor walking over to me. "Since it seems you weren't informed of this mission beforehand, allow me to break the news to you."

The man was huge, standing just shy of two and a half meters tall, with a wide, muscular build and an incredibly oppressive aura to match.

His expression was quite unsavory as he stood over me. "The name is Andras Snyder, the Captain of the Second Templar Division. I'm sure you've heard of me."

I gave a very subtle nod as I tried to shake off my wandering thoughts about the situation. "M-my name is-"

"Rhanes Ravenna; Division Four, right? From what a few of my men have said, you have quite a good reputation among the Templars." He quickly glanced at Oswyn, making him momentarily walk away. "I'm quite surprised you weren't informed of this matter. Does your captain know you are here in Deepcross?" Seeing me nod, he continued with a suspicious tone. "Well, that's quite peculiar, because the higher-ups specifically said that there were no templars here a mere week ago..."

His gaze felt like it could burn a hole through iron.

"For now, I will assume it's a misunderstanding and get to the point..." He uncrossed his arms as he walked over and picked up a book that was lying on a small table next to me. "A week ago, we were given a mission to come here and retrieve something. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what it is, but in the process of us going to get it, we caused the monster flood you had the displeasure of experiencing."

He paused, likely to watch for my reaction, but I was already losing myself in my own thoughts.

"Originally, our plan was to clear out the dungeon as we descended, but the higher-ups had other plans." *clap* He closed up the book with one hand before looking me in the eyes with a serious expression. "The second part of our mission was to use the monster flood to destroy Deepcross and go through to 'clean up what was left' after it had dealt its damage."

-W..what...- In an instant, the steady breeze turned still, and the rustling leaves in the canopy went silent. -W..why would they.. order that?-

"As it turns out, the higher-ups view Deepcross as an oasis of sin. A place full of criminals and runaways. A blemish in the world they wish to present to the gods... It was why they made sure there wasn't someone like a devout Templar here.. yet here you are..."

My face had long since lost its color. Thoughts and emotions were ripping through my mind so fast that they had lost their form and begun mixing into a hellish concoction, but through the storm, one desire stood strong. -I need to guarantee Astren's safety...-

It was a desire that filled my body, which was on death's edge, with enough energy to destroy a mountain.

But for some reason, I couldn't move or even speak. It was as if I was suddenly glued to the table and a rag was shoved in my mouth.

It was as if my body refused to listen to me.

*thump* *thump* *thump* Distant rhythmic vibrations could be felt as I fell into prayer, wishing only for my daughter's survival and wellbeing, even if it meant I was to be tortured and treated like a sinner.

But my instinct only continued to take more and more control of my body until an unfamiliar voice finally met my ears.

"C-Captain!" It was a young templar knight, likely in his early thirties. "Sir Déntro has-"

The man was almost immediately interrupted by a deep, inhuman voice that seemed to come from everywhere. "Kid, get out here. We are having a change in plans."

The voice sent a chill down my spine and made me completely stop breathing.

Even Andras, a man who could snap me like a twig looked a little anxious. "Isn't that a bit too sudden?"

It was a scene that purged every single unrelated thought from my mind. -H..huh?-

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- Astren Ravenna ~

*thump* *thump* *thump* *thump* "So.. where is it bringing us?" I leaned over and whispered to Miss Whyte as we followed the colossal dragon through the clearing.

"To camp." She responded to me bluntly before looking back at the dragon with an indescribably bright look in her eyes.

-To think she can still wear such an innocent expression...-

She couldn't have been more than 14 or 15 years old, with a flawless face, moderately long white hair, and an aura that could easily be mistaken for a queen's, but no matter how I twisted it, I couldn't understand her at all.

Even just a few moments ago, she stood in front of a colossal dragon without a hint of fear and spoke to it like it was a normal occurrence, while I was walking behind her, feeling like I could die at any instant.

But thankfully, I was able to partially distract myself from that awful feeling by questioning what Miss Whyte spoke to the dragon about.

From what I could vaguely gather, her name was Katherine Whyte, or she was looking for someone named Katherine Whyte, and there was something about that name that led to us being brought 'to camp'.

They didn't talk for very long, so clearly I was missing something, but I had no right to question it. "Hooh..." -I just need to take a deep breath.. and follow along...-

But even though I just needed to follow in their footsteps, the walk was absolutely excruciating.

Like walking on the edge of a blade, I felt that if I made one wrong move, the massive tail looming over my head, creating huge gusts of wind as it swung side to side, would come crashing down.

But eventually, we made it to the camp.

-Is this the Southern Dungeon?- Looking forward, between the legs of the massive dragon, I could see a large, familiar obelisk built on top of a large cave entrance in a rocky hill.

But, oddly enough, except for the countless monster bodies along the ground, and the large clearing, it looked mostly normal.

At least that was until we saw 'them'.

"Lord Déntro, you have returned." The first to show themselves was a young Templar, who immediately ran out into the clearing to bow to the dragon.

-Lord.. Déntro?- I didn't realize whose name it was at first.

"Has Adonis returned?" The dragon immediately responded to the knight with an inhuman, but clearly understandable voice.

-Is it speaking with magic?-

"He should be out soon, Lord Déntro." The knight held his bow but somehow didn't sound the slightest bit nervous.

"In that case where is Andras? We are adjusting the plan."

"H-huh?!" The knight quickly became flustered. "B-but Sir Dentro-!"

"Nevermind, I found him... Kid, get out here. We are having a change in plans."

There was a short moment of silence that followed the dragon's voice before the younger Templar ran off, and a giant of a man came walking out of the woods.

The man was easily over two meters tall, with a wide frame and muscles larger than I had ever seen. Even his presence was heavy as if tens of thousands of angry souls surrounded him.

Even in front of the colossal dragon, he didn't back down. "Why are you suddenly changing the plan? Although you dragons may have freedom, if my men abandon the plan 'they' gave us, we will be held accountable."

"You don't have any right to be combative with me, kid." *CRUNCH* A massive web of cracks spread through the entire area in an instant.

"Hoh? You think just cause you're so much bigger than me that you can boss me around?" He slowly reached up for the hilt of his greatsword, which looked as long as him.

"You know what will happen if you draw that sword." *crackle* The blue sky immediately went dark as the huge creature spread its wings. "Even if your strength were greater than mine, you would still have the body of a human."

"Tch..." The huge man immediately clicked his tongue before pulling away his hand. "If that 'brother' of yours wasn't such a monster, I'd drag your head through the capital and take the title of dragon slayer." His confidence was endless in front of the dragon.

But it didn't last very long.

"Andras... Angelos..." *tremble* The entire forest trembled as the horrifically deep voice met our ears. "I remember suggesting you two get along... Are you two truly not going to heed my advice?"

The voice echoed out of the dungeon nearly half a kilometer away before the head of a dragon, completely dwarfing the one I stood behind, appeared.

-W..what...- My eyes only widened as it squeezed itself through the massive, 40-meter entrance to the dungeon and finally stood up. -W..what.. is that?-

Towering over 80 meters tall, with dark crimson scales and countless horns making up its crown, it looked like a totally different creature from the dragon next to me.

But even still, the dragon next to me treated him like nothing. "Took you long enough... Did you get it?"

"Who do you think I am?" Opening its mouth slightly, it showed a nearly two-meter-wide orb in its mouth before hiding it again. "In any case, I heard as I was coming out that you want to change the plan..." *crunch* *crunch* *crunch* The ground cracked beneath its feet as it walked over. "Is it related to those two?"

Seeing the behemoth lock eyes on me, my entire body froze.

"Not the girl in the back. I am not sure who she is.. but..." The green-scaled dragon suddenly paused before opening his mouth and causing the ground to shake. *TREMBLE* "|The girl in front is named Katherine Whyte.|"

The dragon's voice was indescribable and incomprehensible, speaking in a language I couldn't fathom.

The crimson dragon responded in a similar fashion. "|Hoh? A demihuman with the name Whyte? Are you sure it isn't a coincidence?|"

"|Absolutely certain. Just look at her sword and clothes...|" Both dragons momentarily looked toward Katherine while they seemed to speak to each other. "|It was all clearly made by a dragon, whether she was truly given the name Whyte, or not... However, if she truly is a Whyte, then we could bring this matter to the Hall. Bringing down the Whyte family ahead of schedule couldn't be bad...|"

"|True...|" The crimson dragon quickly closed the distance between us with a few steps before lowering his head to get a closer look at Katherine. "Little girl, it seems you wish to say something to me... You may spea-"

She interrupted him without the slightest worry or hesitation. "Help me find someone!"

Everyone in earshot immediately froze, while the dragons just looked at each other with expressions even I could tell were confused.

I, on the other hand, was simply appalled by the fact that she would interrupt such a colossal monster. -Is she stupid?!-