Third Holy Mission
Day of Thura, 9:01 a.m.
Somewhere in another slum area within Luxen City.
Vivian was inside a room and standing in front of a group of adults.
Standing beside her was a Brown Cloak Priest.
And sitting on the side and watching were Melissa, Havier, Sachion and a Brown Cloak female Priest.
There were also two knights standing on guard at the doors.
Today was Vivian's turn to tell a story or be one of the presenters.
Truth be told, she wasn't obligated to be a presenter until the end of the week, but she insisted that she wanted to. And the only reason why she volunteered -- which, of course, she didn't tell anyone -- is so that she can ignore Melissa, Havier and Sachion. And if they or anyone else tries to engage in a conversation with her, she could brush them off by saying that she was busy trying to memorize the story.
"There was once this peaceful and secluded human village located in the mountains that barely had any human contact from the outside world because they refused to be under the law of any kingdom…
"One day, a very beautiful woman with long golden hair and fair skin visited the village, asking if she could stay for the night in the village…
"Normally, the villagers wouldn't accept her request because of the village's circumstances towards being under the law of any kingdom…
"But this woman was so beautiful that the birds would sing, the flowers would bloom whenever she was around and any person who laid eyes on her would be bewitched by her beauty and presume that she might be a goddess…
"After accepting the woman's request, the Village Chief asked who she was, where she came from and why was she traveling alone…
"The woman told the Village Chief and the villagers that her name was Heather and was from a small town called Da'naan. She was a traveling scholar in search of the secrets of the world and heard that there were some old ruins from the time before magic near the location of the village…
"When the villagers heard about the ruins, they were surprised because they never heard or seen of such a thing. But they were curious and offered to help…
"Heather agreed as long as she gets the information she wants inside the ruins and the villagers can have all of the treasures inside the ruins…
"With such a proposal, the villagers immediately agreed…
"The following morning, Heather and a group of ten male villagers went to the location of where the old ruins was supposedly located…
"When they came back later that day, only Heather and four male villagers returned…
"When the Village Chief and the rest of the villagers asked what happened to the other six male villagers who went to the ruins with them, Heather and the four male villagers told them that they found the ruins and were attacked by a powerful monster hiding inside the ruins…
"The villagers then asked what the powerful monster looked like…
"Heather and the four male villagers said that it was a monster who hid in the shadows so they couldn't tell…
"Hearing the answer, the villagers, especially the ones who were related to the six villagers who didn't return, got angry and accused Heather and the four male villagers that they must be hiding something…
"However, the four male villagers and their families stood their ground…
"And before a fight could even break out, the Village Chief stepped in and volunteered to go to the ruins tomorrow to confirm Heather and the four male villagers' story. And while he goes there, Heather and the four male villagers who went with her will be kept under quarantine…
"The next morning, just as the Village Chief promised, he went to check the ruins along with four male villagers…
"Later that day, only the Village Chief and one male villager came back…
"When the villagers asked what happened to the other two male villagers that went with them, the Village Chief said that they were killed by the powerful monster hiding inside the ruins…
"This made the villagers angry and wanted to punish Heather for telling them about the old ruins. To them, had she never come here to the village and told them about the old ruins, no one would've died.…
"However, before that could happen, the Village Chief told them that he had spoken to the powerful monster and the monster promised that it would not kill anyone as long as no one entered the ruins…
"Despite that, the villagers were still angry, especially the ones who lost their loved ones…
"The Village Chief then forbade them to do such a thing. And when the villagers asked why, he revealed it was because Heather was a very powerful Physical and Magic Art Master and she managed to injure the powerful monster inside the ruins. And if not for the fact that Heather injured the monster, the monster wouldn't have bothered to talk and make a deal with the Village Chief…
"And with that, the villagers had no choice but to just banish Heather from the village…
"After all, none of the villagers were powerful Physical and Magic Art Masters and Heather could easily destroy the village if she wanted to…
"A week later, the village went back to its normal and everyday peaceful and secluded life. Moreover, the powerful monster inside the ruins stayed true to its word...
"However, after another week passed, something unexpected happened...
"One of the families, a wife and two children, of the people who was killed by the powerful monster inside the ruins disappeared…
"The villagers thought that maybe the wife and children left because they couldn't bear the grief of losing the head of their family. Even their clothes and some of their belongings were gone….
"With that, the villagers dismissed it as nothing to be concerned of…
"The next day, another family disappeared.
"And just like yesterday, it was one of the families who lost the head of their family from the powerful monster…
"The villagers got worried but the Village Chief assured them that there was nothing to worry about. He even went to the old ruins along with some people to check if the powerful monster was still there. He also ordered some of the villagers to check around if Heather returned…
"And later that day, the Village Chief along with some people came back unharmed and the villagers who were ordered to check around if Heather returned came back with no news...
"The following day, another family disappeared...
"But this time around, it wasn't one of those families who lost the head of their family from the powerful monster at the ruins. However, just like the first two families that disappeared, they took all of their clothes and other belongings...
"While some villagers think that the family left voluntarily, the other villagers think that they must've been kidnapped because the family that disappeared was one of the most outspoken about how Heather and the powerful monster were dealt with...
"But regardless, everyone in the village was worried...
"And so to calm the village down, the Village Chief ordered all of the abled men to guard the village the entire night…
"Night came and every abled-man guarded the village the entire night…
"And when morning came, the Village Chief ordered all of the villagers to gather at the village square and do a head count…
"After doing the headcount, they noticed that one family was missing…
"They immediately to the house of the missing family and noticed that just like the families who disappeared, the clothes were and some of the belongings were taken…
"But what was really strange about this is that this family had 2 old people with them and one was bed-ridden due to old age so it was impossible for them to leave during the night without being seen…
"This put a lot of the villagers in a state of panic and began packing their things to leave the village while the sun was still up…
"The Village Chief tried to stop the villagers who were trying to leave but they wouldn't listen and continued packing…
"And just when the villagers who were trying to leave the village already gathered at the village square after packing because they figured that it was safer to travel together, the remaining villagers, including the Village Chief, who didn't want to leave cornered them and transformed into demons…
"Heather along with some of the missing men who went to the old ruins and also some of the families who disappeared arrived as well. They all came out from the forest and slowly headed over to the village…
"They all had a huge and evil grin on their faces, especially Heather, as they stared at the terrified humans…
"Heather snapped her fingers and the missing people who came with her transformed into demons before charging..."
Vivian ended her story.
"So what is the moral lesson of this story?
"Well, there are four moral lessons…
"The first one: As humans, we must be united as one powerful group, one nation, in order to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe from danger, especially from the demons, demon-worshipers and the forces of darkness…
"The second one: Demons can take the form of humans, even beautiful faces, and they enjoy torturing humans. To them, humans are nothing but playthings and food, and the few they would turn into their minion…
"The third one: Make no mistake, being a minion of a demon is not a position that anyone would want to be in, as a matter of fact, it's the worst position that anyone could be in. Once a human becomes a follower of a demon, they will become nothing but mindless beasts whose only desire is to cause pain and suffering to others, and can be controlled by a demon with the snap of their finger…
"And the last one: Greed is virtue one must remove from their life. If only the villagers were not tempted by the prospect of treasures inside the old ruins, they never would've fallen into the trap laid out by Heather."
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Hello, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading!
By the way, I posted some Chapter Drafts at P-a-t-r-e-o-n. And to view them, you can read them at…
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