Chapter 43: Dine under the crimson moon

Day 3, third month of the Vermillion Calendar, year 2016

The tavern was quite noisy, filled with people moving up and down. People drinking from massive mugs and enjoying their lives.

"Aye, it’s been two months since those pillars caused the war," one man said at the table. He grabbed his mug and took deep chugs from it.

"Yeah, only two months ago we faced hell. Tch, I lost my only brother. If not for the city having the best knights, it would have been terrible," an older man said. He clutched his mug hard.

"It was terrible. We lost a good chunk of the town, almost ten percent of our population died. I lost my wife," one of the men said in anger. He slammed his fist into the table.

"Calm down, Mark, we all feel for you, but there is nothing that can be done. The city marquee has already set up a twenty-four-seven perimeter around the pillar while his best men take care of things. I heard they won’t stop until they fix it."

"They ain’t fixing anything, mates," an old man from the table next to them said. He was hunched over with his mug in front of him. He had grey hair and a bald head.

"What are you talking about, old man?" One of them asked.

The man’s eyes flashed with madness. "Hahaha, this pillar is sent by the gods, their rage is upon us for all the evil that we have done. There is no way to stop it, mate, no way."

The men at the table looked at him and soon realized he was a nut job. They looked away while murmuring, leaving him to his own talks.

"Also, have you heard? There is a new adventurer in the city. He has been here only two months and has been taking on all the quests that’s available."

"Yeah, I heard of him. Heard he never speaks. He carries a sword and a wand together. I also heard he is quite young."

While they spoke, the door of the tavern swung open as a figure walked in. Leon. He was dressed in light armour, though heavily battered at this point. His hair had grown out so much in two months and his face was barely visible.

His sword hung by his waist and on the other side was his wand.

Everyone stopped to look when he came in, shocked by his presence. To many, he was an urban legend and nothing more, and to others, they had seen him around.

’He should be here. I can get the information from him,’ Leon thought as he walked in, slow steps as he moved. He scanned everyone with his eyes, and somehow their auras were all visible to him. Another special ability he had gained when he hunted a monster that had the ability to see aura and mana flow. It was the Forest Crawler.

He had killed more than fifty of them before he finally gained that special ability from them.

He needed that ability because he knew that the man he was looking for would be the strongest here, and he would know through the aura.

He spotted him, hunched over by the table and drinking.

Leon walked towards him, every step silent, but with the way the entire tavern was now quiet, they could all hear him.

He sat down on the chair beside the man. He was a middle-aged man, some grey hair, a chiseled face, eyes that seemed to have not seen sleep in a very long time.

The man picked his drink up and took a big swig. He placed it down and let out a groan.

"What do you want?" he asked in a gruff voice that reverberated.

"Information," Leon said. He pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to the man. It depicted what people called a monster. It was some sort of humanoid-looking monster with bat-like wings, long claws and sharp fangs. It had some sort of feminine body as well.

"I heard people saw this here," Leon said.

The man glanced at it and then turned back to his drink. "You heard people saw it or you heard I saw it, which is it?" he asked.

"I heard you tried to hunt it down," Leon replied.

"Good, so you know I failed. That creature was the strongest thing I had ever seen. It manipulated the blood of my men and ripped it out of them right before my very eyes.

It moved so fast that we could barely see it. Every attack was lethal and killed someone in the process. She showed no mercy. I barely survived."

He grabbed his shirt and pulled to the side, showing a large scar across his chest. It looked like the kind of attack that would kill someone easily.

Leon looked at the scar for a few seconds, then looked forward. "Do you know where it went?"

"Hmm, seems you are looking to die, huh?"

He said and took another taste of his drink.

"I have unfinished business with it," Leon replied.

"Hmmm, I guess you have met it before. Then you and I have things in common." He said and then got on his feet. He stretched his body a bit and then placed a coin on the table.

"Come to the Chapel of Light at midnight. Ask the door guards that you wish to dine under the crimson moon. He will help you find me."

The man said and walked away, leaving the tavern and vanishing.

"Chapel of Light, I guess that’s where I have to go later. Next place is the city library. I think I am close to finding out what happened and why the past is all a mess," Leon muttered to himself. He got up and turned around, only to see a huge man standing before him, bare-chested, a grin on his bald head while he rubbed his hands together.

"This ain’t no place for kids, you know."