Chapter 15: The Spellcaster (Part 1)

The carriage ambled along the main road as Merlin rested with his eyes closed. Suddenly, a jolt shook the carriage, and he heard the panicked neighing of the horses.

"Moss, what's going on?" Merlin asked, pulling back the curtain and frowning.

Struggling to calm the startled horse, Moss replied anxiously, "Master Merlin, a group of riders just came charging down the street, disrupting everything in their path."

Merlin looked out and saw a group of knights in shining armor barreling forward, paying no mind to pedestrians or other carriages. Chaos erupted in their wake, and angry shouts echoed through the street.

These knights didn't resemble the City Guard, and Merlin hadn't seen their kind before.

"Merlin?" A familiar voice called from nearby. Turning, Merlin saw a carriage parked by the roadside, the driver attempting to calm the frightened horses. Inside the carriage sat Kellis, whom he hadn't seen for more than ten days.

"Miss Kellis." Merlin quickly got down and approached her carriage. "Are you alright?"

Kellis shook her head slightly. "It's only the horses that are spooked; I'm fine. By the way, I visited Aita recently, but he wasn't home. Do you know why?"

"Master Aita said he had some private matters to attend to and needed to leave Blackwater for a while. I was actually on my way to see if he had returned."

Kellis smiled and suggested, "Why don't we go together?"

Merlin nodded, and the two carriages set off toward Aita's cabin, one following the other.

Before long, they arrived near Aita's residence, but Moss opened the curtain and said helplessly, "Master Merlin, the road ahead is blocked."

"Blocked?"

Frowning, Merlin looked ahead to see a crowd of people gathered, blocking the road near Aita's cabin.

"What's going on?" Kellis had also dismounted and looked at Merlin, puzzled.

"It seems the road is blocked, Miss Kellis. Shall we go check it out?"

The two of them stepped out of the carriages and walked toward the crowd. Being fairly tall, they could see over the heads of those around them to the scene within.

"It's that group of knights again. Miss Kellis, do you recognize them?"

Merlin noticed the same group of silver-armored knights who had caused chaos in the streets earlier. Now, they were here blocking the road, drawing the attention of the townspeople.

Frowning, Kellis scrutinized the knights carefully. "I'm not entirely certain, but they look like Guardian Swordsmen of the Church. But Blackwater doesn't have Guardian Swordsmen, so I can't be sure."

"Guardian Swordsmen?" Merlin repeated, recalling that Cardon had also become a Bright Swordsman and thus a Guardian Swordsman of the Gran City Church.

"Could they be from Gran City?" Merlin speculated in a low voice.

"That's possible. But sending so many Guardian Swordsmen to Blackwater means something serious must be happening."

Both Kellis and Merlin found the situation strange. Each Guardian Swordsman was a significant figure, practically on par with nobility. Deploying over twenty of them at once was unheard of.

Just then, another team of knights appeared—this time, the familiar City Guard of Blackwater. The crowd quickly parted to allow them passage. The leader of the City Guard called out to the unidentified knights, "Who are you, and where are you from?"

A knight in a silver helmet stepped forward with a proud expression and replied, "We are Guardian Swordsmen from the Gran City Church!"

The City Guard looked stunned. It was rare enough for a single Guardian Swordsman to visit, let alone over twenty.

"What brings the esteemed Swordsmen to Blackwater?" asked the City Guard leader cautiously.

"We are here under the Bishop's orders to capture a heretic from the Black Moon Kingdom. Clear the area, or you may be harmed by the heretic's dark magic."

The word "heretic" sent a shiver through the crowd, and people hastily backed away from the Guardian Swordsmen, putting distance between themselves and the potential threat.

Even the younger knights of the City Guard looked unnerved, fear evident on their faces.

Merlin didn't fully understand what a heretic was, but seeing the crowd's reaction, he realized it must be someone widely feared.

"Borg Swordsman, the heretic is in the cabin ahead. Surround it," the white-robed man ordered.

Borg stiffened at the command. Without delay, he drew his sword and, with the others on guard, moved forward to encircle the cabin.

"That's...that's Master Aita's house!" Kellis gasped, but fortunately, the noise of the crowd masked her voice.

Merlin quickly took her hand, lowering his voice. "Miss Kellis, keep your voice down."

Merlin had noticed that the Guardian Swordsmen seemed to be targeting Aita's cabin. If they were here, it was likely they had received some sort of information.

"Merlin, I wonder if Master Aita has returned. This situation doesn't look good for him...I hope he isn't involved," Kellis murmured anxiously.

Merlin's face grew tense. He had a sinking feeling that the situation was indeed linked to the mysterious Aita.

The Guardian Swordsmen surrounded the cabin, and Borg, the knight in the silver helmet, turned to the white-robed man. "Sir Jason, what are your orders?"

The man in the white robe narrowed his eyes, trying to glimpse what was inside the cabin, but its windows and doors were tightly shut.

After a pause, he waved his hand. "Borg, go in. If possible, capture the heretic alive."

Borg hesitated, but he was bound to follow orders. He signaled to three Guardian Swordsmen to accompany him, and together they cautiously entered the cabin.

Everyone watched intently. Inside, everything was still. Even the white-robed man furrowed his brow and muttered, "Could we have received false information?"

Suddenly, muffled sounds of struggle erupted from the cabin. In an instant, three of the Guardian Swordsmen were thrown out, their bodies charred as if burned by fire, exuding the sickening stench of scorched flesh. They lay motionless on the ground, dead.

The young knights of the City Guard, already unsettled, turned and fled, putting as much distance between themselves and the cabin as possible.

These Guardian Swordsmen weren't ordinary individuals; each one was at least a Level 1 Bright Swordsman, which meant they were all elemental swordsmen. Yet, they had entered the cabin only to be inexplicably killed.

"Holy Light Slash!" came a shout from within the cabin.

A figure wreathed in blinding white light suddenly burst from the cabin—it was Borg, the swordsman who had led the charge.

"Sir Jason, the heretic is inside," he reported, though his body was battered, with blood dripping from his right arm. It was clear he, too, had been wounded.

"A Level 2 swordsman…a Level 2 elemental swordsman!" Kellis whispered in disbelief. Merlin, too, felt a chill. In Blackwater, a Level 2 swordsman was practically unrivaled.

Yet here was Borg, a powerful Level 2 swordsman, fleeing from the cabin in a desperate, battered state.

The white-robed man, his gaze icy, took a deep breath and called toward the cabin, "Heretic, the Light is merciful. Turn away from your sins, embrace the faith, and you will be forgiven."

A rough voice echoed from within, "Mercy? Does God exist in this world? Your Church has spread the same pathetic lies for years. How foolish! As a spellcaster, don't you realize the Church's hypocrisy? I believe in truth, in the power of magic, not in your illusion of God."

With that, a shadowy figure stepped out of the cabin.