13 Chapter 12
(A/N: Well, seems like I really should continue this then. Thank you all for the support.)
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Escanor spend the night onto one of the trees in the forest as usual. He got used to living like this as he never got himself some money. Honestly, he only joined a guild to earn money as that lady in the forest told him, she also told him that he would found the one that his soul seeks through the journey he would make.
He's still confused about what she meant that time but he still left the forest and explore the world as per that lady's advice. Arriving at this thought, escanor started thinking about the lady who took care of him for a short time in the forest.
She was escanor's first ever person to be in a conversation with ever since he got his power. She's beautiful and kind to him, but she has this natural superior and strong aura around her that pressure escanor sometimes, though she never mean it.
She was the one who taught him how to read, taught him the existence of money or the use of it. She taught him how to control magic and many more. Their time together isn't that long, but for escanor he treasure those moments dearly.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to said that she's the one who pulled him out of the darkness and made him accept his own power, though he still can't control his power, he feels like he's getting close to it.
He then thought about her appearance...
Escanor cut off his thoughts about that lady and decided to sleep as he still has something important to do tomorrow. Wearing nothing but an oversized pants, escanor slept alone in this cold and dark forest.
...
It was now morning, you can see Escanor as usual doing his own exercises to make his body always stay in top condition.
After he finished, he hunt some animals around and cook it. After cooking his not so delicious food with clear signs of overcooking on the sides of the meat, he ate it as his breakfast.
He also went to find a nearby lake to wash his body. After he's done with basic hygiene, he then went out to continue his search for some clues that would lead him to the one responsible for the village's destruction.
...
He arrived in no time as he then started to work and started inspecting the ruined village.
Escanor was currently roaming around the destroyed village, remembering praesia, he searched each and every destroyed/burned house to see if there were civilians that were in similar situation to her.
He searched every nook and cranny for more survivors in the village but he found none. So he gave up and reach to the conclusion that they were taken by those criminals.
Escanor started thinking deeply about what praesia have told him yesterday, she said she heard her father getting killed but he didn't find any body or other villagers body at all. After thinking about it more deeply, he decided to go to where he found praesia.
...
Arriving at the ruined house where he found praesia, Escanor started expecting its sorroundings.
"She said her father came inside by kicking the door yelling for them to hide, so he's standing here". Escanor mumbled as he stood to where the door used to be.
"She said she heard the people said that they will kill her father and take her mother and sister away". He mumbled as he crouched down.
"Villagers were taken away, but how about the dead?" He mumbled as he took off some debris in the floor, and there, he saw, a dried pool of blood.
"There it is". Escanor said. He suspected that maybe the culprits would hide evidences and would dispose the dead bodies, so he want to search some clues of dead bodies and here, he saw a pool of dried blood.
Escanor inspected it throughly for a minute and he noticed something.
"A trail". He said as he saw that the dried blood seems to be moving into one direction. He followed the trail and he found more dried drops of blood that were covered by broken debris in the house.
He followed the trail until he reached the window area, he saw that the window were broken, indicating that it was kicked as he saw some dent that looks like a shoe print on the stone ground. Meaning that the owner of the print put his weight on his other foot so that he can kick the window.
Escanor also inspected the window and its broken glass, there, he notice dried blood in it. 'It maybe graze the dead body they were carrying that's why there's blood here or it maybe graze one of the culprits?'. He thought.
Escanor leapead in the window, arriving outside. Looking down, escanor saw shoe prints in the dirt, he didn't notice this back then as it was covered with broken debris from the house.
He then crouched down and brushed the debris away to see the trail of blood along with faint shoe prints. Escanor keep following the trail until he eventually arrived at back of the village where the villagers grow their crops.
Here, the trail got clearer as the culprits step onto muds. He stood up and looked around. There are too many footprints here that looks like they were going back and fort, thus its hard to know how many people the culprits of village's destruction have as there are a lot of footprints in pairs here and he wonders why no one ever found this obvious evidence.
He turned around and watch where he went through to get here by following the trail. He glanced around and it seems like this part of the field where they grew crops isn't that obvious when you look outside.
'That explains it'. He thought. He went back to the muddy field where the trails are. He inspect each trail and notice that they were deeper. Each foot or shoe prints were printed deep into the mud, which indicates that they were carrying something heavy. As for what they're carrying, he suspected it to be the dead bodies of the villagers.
Or it could also be the captured villagers, or maybe both? He didn't find any trail other than this so maybe both. Escanor slowly stepped on the field as he followed the trail carefully. He's used to finding trails, after all he wouldn't choose the quest "investigate" if he don't know how to.
Living most of his childhood in the forest, he need to learn some things if he didn't want to be killed when the night time comes. Finding trails were just one of the things he learned, after all, he needed to secure a safe place to stay every night which is the time when he lost his magic and at his weakest.
After following the trails for about 10 minutes, escanor finally exit the village. He looked around and discovered that he's on a road where only few people would take. Looking around, he discovered yet another trail.
Closing in it, he crouched down and touch it. "This looks like the trail of a wheels? I've seen something similar in other towns and magnolia". He said as he followed the wheel trail with his eyes.
'It would take so long if I walk while following the trails'. Escanor thought. It never rained in this place ever since the destruction of the village so the trail was still clear and present.
Escanor then sighed, looking up, precisely at the sun, he concluded that it was now afternoon. 'I have no choice'. He thought. Suddenly, crimson-orange magic circles appeared on both of his wrists, and he started transforming to his prideful self slowly.
This were the seals that were enchanted to surpress him from transforming to his prideful self. It was the lady that found him in the forest was the one that's responsible in surpressing his prideful self.
Back then he beg her for help as he had enough of turning into what he call a "monster" every morning as he saw that she's very powerful, to help him, that lady cast a very powerful enchanted magic to seal or erase his magic that make him turn into his prideful self, but instead of working, the magic that she cast just burned into oblivion, injuring her slightly in the process.
Seeing that he injured the one who wanted to help him, Escanor wanted to escape away from the lady as to not hurt her anymore, he doesn't want the person that wanted to help him to get hurt. When he was about to run that time, the lady called out to him.
They talked it all out and reached an agreement. She helps him with the problem of his magic and in turn, she would study his magic. It was the start of their days together in the forest. Days goes by, they got closer and he also told her his story ever since he got his magic which she listened attentively.
He never knows her name as she never mentioned it and he also never asks. If she want, she can just say it, but if not, he would respect her decision. Months of studying his magic, the lady finally found a way to surpress his magic.
Turns out that every time she tried something that are related to sealing or erasing his magic, it would retaliate on its own, which earned her quite a few burns in her body, but she eventually healed herself from the injuries.
She discovered that as along as it is not related to something that can harm his magic, then it wouldn't retaliate. So all she did was to put an enchanting magic that surpress him from transforming every morning, and it works.
It doesn't fully surpress his magic, but it only prevent him from changing his personality into his prideful self and also prevent his body from transforming. The magic circles would be lifted using his will, and that's what he's doing right now.
(A/N: Just think of it as the magic circle version of Escanor's glasses in Nanatsu no Taizai that merlin made.)
Due to that lady helping him surpressing his magic, escanor was eternally grateful. Escanor would never forget this favor that saved his life. At least now, he wouldn't just go into a rampage every morning and was now capable in joining guilds like what he did the day before yesterday.
Sighing, escanor then fully transformed to his prideful self. Erasing his previous personality, changing it with nothing but pride as he then stood up proudly.
Showcasing his 6 feet height and his ripped body, he then smiled and spoke in a deep manly voice that has a tone of pride in it. "Now then, it's time to hunt some ants".
With a confident smile, he stepped hard into the ground and.
*Boom*
Escanor vanished in his place, leaving a huge crater with spider web cracks around while destroying and uprooting the sorrounding trees with wind pressure caused by his speed alone.
