Tales of Astora: Legacy

Chapter 99: Arshe the Wanderer

Chapter 99: Arshe the Wanderer

In the middle of nowhere, stood a large mansion towering near the edge a mountain. But this mountain was unlike any other. Instead of forests or snow, a river of lava was flowing from its giant mouth, releasing constantly a column of black smoke all while occasionally some burning rocks to its surroundings. Molten earth covered the entire valley at the foot of the mountain, erasing all lifeforms. In some parts of the mountain itself, ruins and remains of an old civilization were still left over, unharmed by the lava, not yet anyway.

This place was once the home of the dwarves but after the eruption of the volcano, leaving the entire city and nation under the intense heat and a bed of lava, forcing them to leave their home, it was deserted and labelled as one of the most dangerous locations in the world. However, that was what everyone thought. After the eruption has subsided a bit, a group of men has decided to make this place their new main base of operation. For an organization which mainly dealt with secrets and schemes, this place was perfect. No one could gain access to their mansion as there was simply no way to get to it because of the constant lava flow around and the barrier surrounding the house to keep not just the lava out of the way but also against intruders. However, for some reasons, that barrier has now been lifted. At this rate, the lava would one way or another consume the whole building. Just how did this happen?

A portal opened inside the main hall of the mansion and two figures walked in: a tall man with large bat wings and sharp claws for hands while the woman wore a black suit and a tricorne, equipping her dual swords as she readied her weapons for any surprise ambush. They had to be careful since there was no light or torch in the room, a perfect chance for anyone to just suddenly jump at them. Their only source of light was the radiance from the lava outside coming from the many windows in the room.

"So this is the base of Sanctus?" asked Maria while carefully observing her surroundings. "How come there are no guards?"

"...No they are here...only...Take a good look at the ceiling!" Mephisto flinched his eyes sternly at the sight of what was above him.

Following his example, Maria looked up, only to see a terrifying scene. "What in the world...."

Sticking up to the high ceiling of this large mansion was the bodies of at least a few dozens of people who seemed to be the guards of this place. They have been all impaled by abnormally large arrows, or rather spears, pinned to the plaster through either their stomachs or limbs. A red liquid was dripping onto the floor from the long spear-like arrows, still fresh.

"What happened here?" the huntress uttered in shock.

Approaching the dripping spot where the blood was continuing to fall from above, Mephisto crouched down and touched the crimson fluid before smelling it. "Fresh...It has not been even an hour since they were killed. No...I will say they have just been killed before we get here."

"But by who?" asked Maria.

"....I don't know...but it's highly possible that the culprit is still here. Look over there!" the devil pointed at the large pool of blood lying on the ground. At first, the young woman could not see it clearly until a lightning struck outside and revealed the crimson stain. Even more, a trail of blood of something being dragged away from the pool was left on the ground. Judging by the deep red colour and the liquid state, Meto was right to think that everything here has just happened a short moment before their arrival. "Let's go!" said the devil.

As they passed through corridors after corridors of this mansion, the abhorrence and repugnance of this place were further intensified. Bodies after bodies were found lying in different positions, seemingly trying to escape as many were struck in the back, indicating that they were running away from something or someone, probably the person responsible for this massacre. The servants, the soldiers, they all died to the same kind of arrow from earlier.