The Sword Saint’s Second Life As a Fox Girl

5-48 Havoc looming

The day came and went. Darkness fell, bringing along a chill that sent most people scrambling into the warmth of structures and buildings. The day wasn’t much better but it still had some heat to offset the chill. Now, there was none. There was no sun to give warmth to the people. Only the moon, which was half-drowned in darkness. 

Rain was slowly becoming more and more frequent. The nights were getting colder and colder. The howls of wolves and monsters were louder. The growls could sometimes be heard from places far from the edge of the woods. Blood and entrails could be found on the fringes of the town during the morning. An omen, most would see it as such. They weren’t wrong. The season was about to change. 

The cold darkness beckons the advent of winter. Beings of shadows thrive in the extreme chill. It wasn’t commonly known but evil beings were naturally attributed to darkness. One had no need to be a learned person to know the approaching dark tides.

The streets were empty for such a reason and more. But of course, only the streets here were hollow. The other parts of the town were drowned in merry. The emptiness of the streets here was due to its history. It was once ruled over by a gang of thugs that dealt secretly in demonic arts. Nothing good ever came about dabbling in such nefarious principles. The thugs were reminded of this lesson in a terrible way. Hundreds died in this tragedy.

Though this happened a few decades ago, the streets remained abandoned till this day, or at least that was what the official impression was. At present, the area had become a breeding ground for organised crimes. Even more recently, a certain faith had taken up roots in these parts. The faith was not shy in its workings. They had even painted their insignias all over. Amidst the common folk, there was no one who knew their insignias. Thus, no concern was raised over their seizure.

Amelia knew better, however. She knew more than the common folk of this town, even more than the guards and soldiers. She had her cloak on, wrapping tightly around her, covering nearly every inch of her body. Although her face was common enough to be forgotten easily, she was not taking any chances. She trod through the dark streets with firm and wary steps. She was more than capable of protecting herself from ruffians but common thugs were not what frightened her.

She came upon an alley with deep shadows permeating in the depths. A small shack with missing tiles and planks was cramped into the end of the alley. Her body shook and her eyes shivered when she entered the narrow path. She felt her courage fading but she steeled her nerves and proceeded into the alley.

With every step she took, uncertainty crept deeper into her heart. However, for the sake of love, she forced herself into the darkness. The air was teeming with foulness. This alone assured her that she was on the right path, not that she was lost to begin with or if it wasn’t even possible for her to be lost.

When she reached the shack, the door creaked open before she even knocked on it. She sensed no magic in the vicinity. She saw no hidden contraption around the door. It was just a coincidence that the door creaked open when she neared. A grim and unsettling coincidence. 

Amelia stepped into the shack. There was nothing within the shack, save for a hatch on the floor that could be opened by a secret set of gestures. Amelia tapped on the hatch lightly a few times with her heels before stomping on it hard. The hatch then proceeded to pop open, revealing a long flight of stairs.

There was no more room for doubt. Amelia resolved herself and descended into the room below the shack through the hatch. A short walk through a damp corridor brought her to a vast room of more amicable condition. Care was given to the room’s maintenance. The light was ample but not enough to lit the whole room. 

The floor planks did not creak with every step. The walls were neither damp nor darkened with dirt or plants. However, the mood remained as bleak as ever. A man sat in a chair in the middle of the room. A small table set before him, beset with papers. Amelia had not made her steps light but the man gave no attention to her.

There were others in the room, a woman and another man. The woman was a stranger to Amelia and so was the latter man. The latter man was tied to a chair, positioned in front of the woman who was standing over him. The bound man struggled and cried for help, or at least he tried. His mouth was bound, too, by chains. The woman giggled and clapped happily as the man wriggled desperately in his bondage.

When the captive stopped moving, the woman’s face twisted with anger and kicked the man in the sheen. The man screamed and flailed, and the woman resumed her merry expression. She brought up a small knife and began flaying the man. The man’s agonising scream pierced the chains. The enclosed room only served to amplify the man’s cries of pain.

Amelia hid a grimace at the horrible sight and turned away. She then looked around the room. When she didn’t find what she was looking for, she showed her scowl. 

“You’re late,” said the man in front of the papers, without turning around. His eyes scoured the papers as if they were fastened to them. The captive’s screams did not bother him in the slightest.

“I had to make sure I wasn’t followed,” Amelia replied bitterly.

The captive screamed loudly once more.

Amelia tried not to let it affect her but it was proving to be more difficult than the man in front of her suggested.

“And were you followed?”

“Would I be here if I was?”

The man chuckled. “I would if I was in your shoes. Who knows? You might even be leading them to me in hopes that some misfortune will befall on me.”

“And why would I do that?”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

“So you are aware of how distasteful your actions are?”

“I am not without a conscience, lassie.”

Amelia tutted. “Liam’s not here. Where is he?”

“Somewhere you won’t find him.”

“I want to see him.”

“And I want millions of gold,” the man snickered. “We all want something but we don’t always get what we want.”

“If you hurt him, I will—”

“You will do nothing,” the man cut her off, swinging his gaze to her. “You need not worry about your lover as long as you do as you are told.”

“And I did what I was told.”

“Not all of it. Not yet. That’s not the end of your job.” 

“So I have been told.”

“Did they believe you?”

“They didn’t,” Amelia answered begrudgingly. “But they don’t need to. It’s just a brief meeting. There’s no need for trust.”

The man sighed. “What would you do if they didn’t adhere to the time of the meeting? Or if they didn’t come at all?”

“They won’t do that. They will come. He will come.”

“Maybe the Fox-kin would come, but the dragon is a different story.” Saying that, the man rose from his chair, revealing his right arm— what was left of it. “This is what you will get if you underestimate him, Amelia.”

Amelia knew the man before him was one of the few rare individuals that were in the upper echelons of levels. Seeing him in such a state brought her some sense of comfort. She even felt that it was a pity that the dragon didn’t go for the head. “Your advice is appreciated, Uriver, but I don’t intend to fight him or the Fox-kin.”

He snorted and tossed an item to Amelia.

She caught it and brought it close to her eyes. “What is this?” she asked. It looked to be a sphere and it was no bigger than her palm.

“If the Covenant’s information can be believed, the dragon is weak now. This sphere would be more than enough to contain him.”

“Contain him? What are you planning?”

Uriver smiled. “You don’t need to know. Just get him to where we want him.”

“That’s all?”

“That’s all. Do that and you will get your Liam back.”

Amelia pocketed the sphere, letting her gaze linger on Uriver for a while before she promptly departed from the room in haste. She didn’t even spare the woman and her captive a gaze as she departed.

“Well, this is no fun,” said the woman as she stared at her unmoving captive. She kicked him but there was no response. She plunged the knife into her captive’s shoulder but there was still no movement.

“He’s dead, Giri. So stop with the ruckus already.”

“I’m bored, Uri,” the woman, Giri, whined as she plopped herself down on the lap of her now-dead captive. “How long do we have to wait?”

“Until tomorrow, if everything goes according to plan.”

“Ooh! Splendid.” Giri shook with joy. “I always wanted to fight the Faerie-kin and the Dragons.”

“There will be no fighting, Giri, until we are sure that the Dragon is in our captivity.”

“Whatever. As long as I can see red, I’m happy.”

Then, a boy stepped out of the shadows. “Have you thought about the contingency?” 

“Ah, Billy! You’re here!” Giri cheered. “You just miss our dear friend, Amy.”

“I was always here, Giri. And she is not our friend. And her name is Amelia.”

Giri shrugged. “Whatever.”

“Well, Uriver, do we have any contingency?”

“If this doesn’t work, then nothing will,” Uriver answered.

“Can’t we just kill him?”

“The seal is different this time around. The Spirits are involved. There’s no telling that it won’t carry over to his next incarnation.”

“What a hassle,” the boy sighed.

“Patience, Billy. We are so close to greatness. All this time, it was just right there. If I had known sooner, the ignominious failure with Quinteburgh could have been avoided.”

“I don’t like this. How would we know if any of this would work or if any of this info is credible?”

“The Covenant would not lie to us. They can’t afford to.”

“You jest, Uriver. Are we seriously putting all of our trust on them? The Covenant is a business, first and foremost. An all-out war with Demons would not be good for business. There’s no business to be had if everyone’s dead.”

“The Fox-kin and the Dragon are thorns in their side. To continue their operations, they need them gone. We can do that for them.”

“At what cost? Uriver, they have no reason to help us.”

“We are both practitioners of the dark arts.”

The boy narrowed his eyes. “Ours are for a noble and holy cause. His grace demanded it. The Covenant is a bunch of heathens and infidels. They have no love and respect for the Divines.”

“I am aware and we don’t need their devotion. Just their gold and knowledge. Patience, Billy. This is the closest that we have been. We must proceed with the utmost caution.”

“If you say so, Uriver, but let it be known that I’m against this. I went with this because it is the decree of His Grace.” The boy, Billy, then melted back into the shadows, leaving Uriver to his lonesome self.

“Would he be a problem?” asked Giri.

“He won’t.”

“He smells and talks like the heathens.”

“Careful now, Giri. He has been one of us longer than you have. He has my confidence and also His Grace’s. You, on the other hand, have yet to gain any of our confidence.”

Giri chuckled. “Don’t worry, Auri. I shall have your confidence soon, and more. I can’t wait for tomorrow. It will be glorious.”

“Indeed it will. I am going to enjoy this very much,” Uriver muttered in glee at the sheer thought of finally getting revenge on the one who took his arm.