departure

Having his business with Kane, Luke left the branch to meet with Elise.

By the time the finished their respective errands it was already night, so they decided to take a carriage back home.

Once they got home, Luke inspected the items he requested from Elise.

- Young master couldn't you acquire those from the branch?

- They didn't have firearms available there since it useless for mages and knights.

On his desk a pair of revolvers was disassembled, carefully inspecting each part so make sure they were in top condition.

Before his meeting with Kane, he asked Elise to buy the revolvers, various types of bullets and other equipment for hunting, since he didn't know what type of dangers the catacombs could contain.

Confirming everything was in good condition he swiftly reassembled the revolvers.

- Where did you learn such skills young master?

Elsie asked with a surprised expression.

- I practiced them before sleeping. I need alternatives in case a run out of mana.

Luke just lied as easily as he breathed. 

'It's not like I need to tell her where I learned this…'

Luckly for Luke, she didn't pry any further.

- But is there a need for all these different types of bullets? The ones made of silver ate quite a bit of your budget.

'She's unusually curious today.'

- Catacombs belonging to vampires have a higher chance of being nests to monster type ghouls on top of the humanoid ones, and since I am kind of short on time, I will use these on the stronger ones to save some time and mana.

Ghouls, also known as the vampire's foot soldiers, were beings that could not resist the vampire's infection, either by a bite or direction consumption of blood, and ended up becoming mindless bodies of rotten flesh with only one objective: devour living beings.

Despite their fragile appearance, they had very durable bones and skin. Humanity suffered huge losses, before developing countermeasures against them such as silver weapons.

After the war against the vampires ended the Holy Empire led a massive subjugation, seeking to completely purge the ghouls. However, some survived by hiding in catacombs or lairs that were created over time.

*knock knock

-Excuse me.

Luke and Elise turned to the door, Raves Braddock, the house's head butler entered the room, holding a small box in his hand.

He ignored Luke and Elise's uncomfortable expressions, putting the box on the table with a slight force, making it tremble.

- The master ordered for you to wear this during your travels.

Luke took the box and lifted the lid. A bracelet made of small back beads with two white ones rested inside.

Before the boy could ask, the butler answered.

- This is an affinity suppressor; it only allows the wilder to use up to two elements. To pick which one to use just infuse the elemental mana in one of the white beads.

- Now excuse me as I have other tasks at hand.

He turned around and swiftly left the room, leaving both in a daze.

-What was that attitude? Even if he is his grace's right hand shouldn't he show you respect?

-Don't dwell on it too much Elise.

Luke calmly responded Elise remark, putting the bracelet on his right wrist.

'I m going to be full of jewels by the end of this trip.'

He injected mana into the bracelet, the white beads quickly changed to red and green respectively.

Elise looked at the bracelet with sparkly eyes.

-You already chose the ones you're going to use?

-Yeah, I asked for my disguise and equipment with fire and wind elements in mind.

Luke stated packing everything in the bag Kane gave him, but Elise stopped him midway.

- Let me take care of this young master, you got a big day tomorrow so go rest.

- Alright.

Following her advice, he took a quick bath before going to sleep, unaware of her true intentions.

**

At the dawn of the day, Luke was already up, already fully dressed, and ready to leave. He had asked Elise to book a ticket for the trains in the early hours since they were cheaper.

He also had already changed his appearance with the illusion ring he got from Kane. His hair now had a pitch-black color along with brown eyes and a slightly tanned skin, combined with his fully dark green attire, giving an aura of a wandering traveler.

He planned to walk to the station but once he got out, his mother and Elise were waiting outside with a carriage.

'Elise must have told her'.

Seeing as they weren't surprised by his disguise, they must have already seen through it.

- Oh my, leaving without saying goodbye, what a bad child.

-Wouldn't want to make my dear mother shed tears once more.

Luke answered his mother's remark with a smug grin, prompting her to give him a nasty ear pull.

- OOUCH OUCH ALRIGHT SORRY MOTHER!

-humph, you are still too young to talk back to your mother.

With a victory smile she ordered both to enter the carriage.

Once they arrived at the station, they went to the designated platform where the train to the Merak kingdom was waiting for departure.

- Be careful and remember, if it gets too difficult, run, your life is more important than the mission.

Amanda gave Luke one last hug along with her advice before he embarked the train.

- I'll keep that in mind mother.

-Be safe young master, I will wait for your return.

He turned to Elise, to which he responded with a simple nod.

*VUUUUUUUU

T the sound of the stem coming out of the engine, Luke gave a simple wave of hand to both, boarding the train.

Few minutes later, the doors were closed, and train departed towards its destination.

**

While the new of the discovery a vampire catacomb was kept from public knowledge, it did not stop the news from reaching the ears from the upper echelons throughout the continent, especially a country northwest of the Romanus kingdom.

Inside a vast white room, a man knelt at the top of the stairs, with his hands clasped together, he whispered words of pray in from of a well detailed statue.

Clad in a white robe with golden details he finished his pray, glancing at the statue of the goddess Stella with an admiring gaze.

*Creeeak

His attention turned to the sound of the door, a young man, in his 20s , with cyan long hair and ashen eyes , marched through the center of the room.

He wore the same type of robes as the man, but they were clad in a white and red armor along with a sword hanging from his waist, clearly indicating he was a high-ranking individual.

Once the young man got close, the man stood up giving a 90-degree bow.

- This Lowly archbishop greets the Father.

The Father.

One of the titles given to the trio of saints of the Stella religion who directly received an essence of the goddess, essentially becoming an incarnation of her will. They hold the most authority in the Stella empire aside from the pope.

Of course, they must go through a strict training in various subjects before being granted their full authority, but the members still show respect in their presence, that's how influential their titles were.

-Raise your head archbishop, his holiness instructed me to come to you for the final task in my initiation.

The archbishop raised his head, pulling out a scroll from his robes.

The father unrolled the scroll quickly examining the contents.

- A vampire catacomb in the Merak kingdom…

- Siezing any content inside and exterminating all ghouls. Not as complicated as I imagined.

The Father spoke with a tone of confidence mixed in his angelic voice. Anybody hearing it would not have an ounce of willpower to speak or advise against it, but the archbishop managed to utter some word of caution.

- Please do not underestimate those heretics Holy Father, their catacombs are always filled with traps.

The father just flashed a smile at the archbishop's advice.

- Please do not worry, I am aware of my importance to the church and the danger those heretics lairs possess, that's why His holiness allowed me to bring a squad of 12 paladins, ensuring my safety and that I successfully complete my task.

The archbishop did utter any more counterarguments.

-If that is the case, I will pray for your success on you mission. For the Glory of the Goddess!

-For the glory of the goddess!!!