Chapter 39: The town

As the sun rose, a thick mist blanketed the deck of the ship. Despite the early hour, Lucy was already awake and chowing down on a plate of scrambled eggs. She washed down each bite with a swig of beer, much to the frustration of Charlotte.

"Lucy come on. You're an addict."

"Yeah, so what?" She said, simply continuing to enjoy her breakfast.

"I'll just purify you whenever you get drunk from now on," Charlotte said crossing her arms.

"The whole purpose of drinking is to get drunk!"

Suddenly, Charlotte's eyes caught sight of a faint outline of land in the distance. She nudged Lucy and pointed towards it, a look of excitement in her eyes.

As they approached the dock, they were met with a shocking sight. The dock was in shambles, with large pieces of wood and debris scattered everywhere. The town they had left behind was in just as bad of a shape, with buildings knocked down and the streets littered with rubble. It was clear that something terrible had occurred while they were away.

Then they realized who caused it.

The general.

The once active town was now in ruin, with debris and broken buildings littering the streets. The smell of rot and decay filled the air, a sickening odor that made the adventurers feel uneasy. Injured people could be seen shuffling about, trying to clean up the mess and clear the streets of debris.

Blake and Ethan used magic to enhance their leg strength, allowing them to quickly reach the town before the ship arrived. Ethan executed the spell with ease, while Blake struggled a bit before he was able to keep up with Ethan

Blake had his sword drawn.

They ran through the streets, their legs pounding against the ground.

They approached a woman who was covered in dust, her clothes torn and her hair wild. She looked up as they approached, her eyes wide with fear and her face etched with exhaustion.

"Who did this?" Blake shouted, his voice ringing out in the stillness of the morning. "Where did they go?"

The woman looked at them, her eyes clouded with fear. "It was the demon army," she whispered, her voice hoarse and weak.

"Charlotte! Heal the injured! Blake and I will bring them to you!" Ethan yelled to her from far away.

Charlotte nodded at the two as they ran.

"I didn't expect you to be the hero type, Blake."

"This was our fault dumbass. We ran from the general and these people paid for our uselessness. The least we can do is help them."

As they scoured the area, they were overwhelmed by the wreckage and the loss of human life. Yet, amidst the chaos, they stumbled upon the faint sobs of a child.

Guided by the cries, they eventually discovered a small girl, trembling and covered in dirt, hiding in a corner. Her tears had left tracks on her face and she appeared frightened and isolated.

The two brought the crying girl over to Charlotte, who was known for her healing powers. As Charlotte started to heal the girl's injuries, the child cried out in pain.

"Sorry for it hurting. She's a weird healer." Blake said.

"I am not a weird healer!"

"Sure well anyways- kid are you okay? Where are your parents?"

"I don't know. I heard them screaming a-and they disappeared." The little girl said crying.

Blake and Ethan walked away from the little girl, talking amongst themselves about the situation. The destruction and death around them seemed to weigh heavy on their minds.

"This is fucked up," Blake muttered as he kicked a piece of rubble. "I don't know if I can do this man. I'm not joking. I can't- I can't deal with this."

"We have to prevent this from happening again."

"HOW?! That general packed up the frost devil and destroyed this village. Just because you got some cool ass new power doesn't mean anything if it lasts a minute. I can wield my sword perfectly fine but my magic is weak."

A demon appeared out of nowhere, wielding a large scythe. Its humanoid form was intimidating, with skin as black as coal and eyes that glowed red with malevolence.

The demon was a woman, with long black hair that flowed behind her as she charged toward Blake and Ethan with lightning speed. Blake was quick to react, using his sword to block the demon's attack.

The demon shifted its attention to Charlotte and the girl as soon as it saw them. A sinister smile spread across its face as it rushed towards them.

The girl was unable to escape, and the demon brutally killed her with a swift strike cutting her head off. Charlotte, meanwhile, was able to dodge the attack and fell to the ground.

Blake and Ethan's faces were filled with rage as they witnessed the child's death.

Just then, Lucy entered the fray, running towards the demon with fierce determination in her eyes. Her wand glowed brightly with a deep orange light. She wielded the wand like a sword, striking at the demon with quick, precise movements.

The demon's skin sizzled and burned where the wand made contact, causing it to recoil in pain. With each strike of her wand.

Lucy then plunged the tip of her wand into the demon's heart

She ignited a powerful blast of fire that consumed the demon and the buildings behind it. The ash from the demon's incinerated body was carried away by the wind, creating a trail of smoke that drifted into the sky.

The surrounding buildings were reduced to rubble and the ash from their remains mixed with the demon's ash.

Charlotte gazed at the ash and rubble where the demon once stood, her expression was one of shock and disbelief. She stood frozen in place, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape.

"When did you become a swordsman Lucy?"

"My grandfather forced me to learn it."

"Then why are you a mage?"

"Because my magic is stronger than many others. Being a swordsman would slow down my magic growth and I can protect more people at once with magic rather than a sword. I was cursed because someone feared my potential and the curse would've forced me to be a swordsman but I have other plans. If I get rid of the curse I can easily be an S-rank mage."

Ethan and Blake were somber as they dug a small grave for the child.

Ethan's face was etched with sadness and tears fell down his cheeks as he worked. Blake was visibly shaken and had to step away from the grave for a moment, heaving and retching as the reality of the situation hit him.

Charlotte looked at Blake and Ethan as they worked to bury the child.

This was one of the few instances where she felt empathy for them.

"Do you guys think the demon was sent back to kill everyone left in the town?" Lucy said.

No response.

The two were still too shocked to respond.

Lucy sighed and looked at Charlotte.

"Let's find any other survivors so you can heal them."

"Alright."

As the group searched through the rubble and destruction, their hopes of finding survivors dwindled with each passing minute. The streets were silent except for the sound of debris being moved and the occasional sigh from one of the adventurers. Despite their efforts, there were no signs of life, and the woman they had spoken to earlier was now lying lifeless on the ground.

The other adventurers in the town were searching for survivors just like Ethan, Blake, Lucy, and Charlotte. They spread out in different directions, combing through the rubble and debris, looking for any signs of life. But despite their best efforts, they came up empty.

Whoever lived in town had died.

The group then began their journey back to the capital, the sky darkened and the rain began to fall. The raindrops hit the ground with a soft pitter-patter, quickly soaking the ground and the clothing of the adventurers. The rain was heavy and unrelenting, making it a miserable day for travel.

It was a terrible day for rain.

Amidst the mud and rain, they could make out a set of footprints that didn't lead toward the capital. Instead, they seemed to be heading in a different direction, towards a smaller town located far away.

The footprints could not belong to any human. But after only a short while, the footprints suddenly stopped after a certain point.

Ethan and Blake both looked furious as they realized the implications of the disappearance of the footprints.

"Nothing changed, has it? Javlem was destroyed and now this one." Ethan said to himself.

"Lad the kingdom reclaimed Javlem and it is being rebuilt." An adventurer with a thick brown beard replied to him.

"Yeah but so what? Who cares about Javlem when other towns are being destroyed?"

"I suppose you're right. Though Javlem is safe another town suffered. But I still believe in our country. Though many may die I still believe that we will triumph in the end."