The Peculiar Alchemist

45 || All Should Die

Once again, Marc found himself tagging along with Kellen who was incredibly useless. All he did was steal things from his father's office and give him nothing but a vague hint of where his father might be.

The only thing Marc was grateful for was the fact that he knew now that his father was still alive, hopefully unharmed and well. All he wanted was to bring his father back home and stop all this madness. However, Kellen was not being helpful at all, and instead he just told him to follow without any elaborations.

"How long has it been since I asked for your help? You keep disappointing."

It was his frustration speaking for him, but he really did mean his words. Whenever Marc approached him or Agnes, they'd just continue to evade him and throw him at the other since they both did not want to deal with him.

Kellen didn't say anything in response, he just stopped walking and stood in front of a chapel before he turned to Marc.

"He's here."

That made Marc frown. "In there?"

"Not exactly. He's under." Kellen told him bringing him around the chapel where many people were silently praying inside. There was something peaceful about seeing that, but Marc wasn't there for peaceful moments. He was there to find his father as he let Kellen lead him to where he was, supposedly. "You're free to go there and look for him. The whole cult is in there."

Marc was now looking at the side door of the chapel, and he tentatively approached it before looking back at Kellen who made no move to follow him. "Aren't you coming as well?"

"No, thank you." Kellen shook his head and Marc turned the handle to open the door to walk in. All the while, Kellen was watching him from a safe distance. "I also don't recommend you go in there."

He almost called Kellen a coward but he didn't dare to when he knew he might chicken out as well. The moment he walked inside, he found himself in a very dark room, and the moment he conjured a light sphere, he found himself wanting nothing more than to turn around and leave.

The first thing his eyes fell on was the hatch door that led somewhere underground. It looked heavy and made of metal, but it also looked very old and a bit rusty. The sight of it made Marc feel nervous, but when he looked at what was painted on the walls, he immediately turned around and left.

There were many wards of all kinds drawn in there, and there were also protective runes and charms. The place was heavily guarded against whatever cursed creatures that might take interest in it, and while that was not uncommon in chapels, it was still a little bit overboard. He knew what was going on down there, and it just made everything worse.

There were probably many angry spirits all around the place, and if necromancy attracted so much evil, he did not want to be near it. That's why he walked out and closed the door as if he had never been there.

"Are you certain he's in there?" Marc asked not wanting it to be true.

Unfortunately, it was.

"He's been coming here frequently." Kellen told him from where he stood, and Marc went to him because he, too, did not want to stand near a place so disturbing. "However, there's something you need to know."

Marc looked at him curiously, eager for any bit of information. "What is it?"

"Your father uses many names – something I do often, too – that I think Briar and her cult still don't know his real name. He also started going back home recently. "

"My father did what?" Marc sounded a little bit hurt, but he was also furious. "He's been coming back home and yet he never said anything to me. I can't believe he'd do that."