The Cardinal Hero of Magic

The Time Of Mourning

Lillian's Pov

A week had passed since the brutal fight with the Leviathan, and the aftermath had taken a heavy toll on Balthasar. Gray's death had hit him hard, leaving him withdrawn and distant from both Emiko and myself. He barely ate, hardly slept, and spent every waking moment using his Clairvoyance skill, despite the strain it put on his already fragile mind. Even when he did manage to sleep, his nightmares haunted him relentlessly.

As the days passed, our concern for Balthasar grew into fear, until one day we awoke to find him, and all his belongings had vanished without a trace. Emiko and I searched frantically for our friend and hero, but all our efforts led to dead ends. Even Emiko's heightened sense of smell couldn't pick up his trail.

"Lily...where's Master?" Emiko asked in her human form, her voice trembling with worry.

"I don't know, Emi," I replied, my heart sinking as I saw the devastation on her face.

Emiko's azure hair fell across her face like a veil as she looked down, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Why did he abandon us?" she wailed, her voice quivering with emotion.

I immediately dropped down to my knees and pulled Kitsune Queen into a tight embrace, hoping to comfort her.

"Balthasar, where on earth did you disappear to?" I muttered under my breath, feeling a mix of worry and frustration.

Once Emiko had calmed down, we packed our belongings and set off toward the next village to train and prepare for the upcoming wave. Emiko transformed into her fox form, and we began our journey to Ironwood Village, known as the Town of Blacksmiths. However, our progress was halted by a town guard.

"Sorry, ma'am, but you need to pay 20 copper to enter," the guard informed me, eyeing my money pouch.

I rummaged through my pouch and handed the man a silver coin, receiving 80 copper coins in return.

"Thanks, but be careful, there was a murder in the village just the other day," the guard warned us.

"Any idea who the victim was?" I inquired, my curiosity piqued.

"We don't have a description of the killer, but he used a fire spell to burn the victim and took his slaves," the guard informed us, causing Emiko and me to exchange wide-eyed glances.

Could it be Balthasar?

"Emiko, let's go," I ordered, and we sprinted around the village in search of any clues. Eventually, we stumbled upon blackened scorch marks on the ground, evidence of a fire spell.

"Lily, do you think...?" Emiko trailed off, her expression anxious.

"We have to find him before he does something irreversible," I declared, placing a hand on Emiko's head as she transformed into her human form.

We approached the townsfolk and started asking for information regarding the killer's whereabouts. We discovered that he was last seen heading south-southeast, and even though it was a long shot, we had to try.

"Please, God, let us find Balthasar before he does something terrible," I pleaded silently, feeling a sense of urgency and desperation like never before.

As soon as we received news of a lead, Emi swiftly transformed into her fox form and I climbed onto her back, heading towards the South-Southeast. Our journey was long and arduous, passing through village after village, each one with a chilling tale to tell of a man dressed in black and his army of armored Demi-Humans. Finally, we arrived at a towering wall made entirely of pure black obsidian.