Allan left the temple in haste, he received news that some abandoned houses near the Shield Forest are found and which is in the borderline of the Bahalkii Kingdom.

If he heard some news about that from his aide, he would definitely shrug it off as some unnecessary information.

​​

However the following words of his aide was something that he can't possibly ignore.

"Are you sure they found bodies in that house?"

The supposed cabin that they found on the border has a simple look and can't be suspected as something that would hide a nasty core.

The carriage immediately ran amongst the street going through their Estate. The aide that happened to give him the news was also inside and giving a piece of paper that came from one of the messenger crows.

"It is here, young master Allan. The contents are what I have said."

Allan opened it and saw the explanation accompanied by the news.

"Borderline, Shield Forest, underground, Sacrifice…"

It was a simple letter with no necessary words accompanied by it however you can immediately get the gist of it.

Allan passed the letter again to his aide and burned it. The content of the letter needs to be kept in secret.

"Who found out about that cabin?"

"It was a merchant who used a shortcut and entered the shield forest to cross the Bahalkii Kingdom."

"What about the knights stationed in the Shield Forest? How can it be possible that no one saw this cabin before?!"

Allan felt anger rush to his head.

"Please calm down, young master."

"Calm down?! Something like a cabin was there in our forest and you're telling me that none of the knights ever saw it? And a merchant who happened to come by did? How do you think I'll take this?! How do you think our people will take this?!"

"I'm sorry, young Master Allan. It was because of our incompetency in searching the forest…"

Allan felt a headache brewing. Their constituents have been asking help about some of their family members missing in the forest that was why the Duke immediately implored a search throughout the Shield Forest.

But none of them saw or got a clue about how and why it is in the forest of Shield that was supposed to be the safest forest in the Kingdom for the low ranking adventurer.

The missing people up until now were still missing and speculated that they were dead. And that was the reason why the Shield Forest became prohibited for the public.

'But what? A merchant entered and the knights didn't do anything?!'

"That merchant… Make him shut his mouth. We need to suppress this issue first. Father isn't here right now, so I will take charge. And also contact him as well, father needs to know about this..."

"Yes, young Master Allan…"

Allan's sunset eyes devoids the warmth that it is supposed to have. It has been the headache of his family for the past four years.

Missing people, the magic circle that was drawn in the ground, dried blood across the soil.

"Father also said this before but is it really a sacrifice?"

Allan mumbled to himself. His aide and him become silent as time passes by. Only the hooves and the fast tracks of the wheels of the carriage were heard.

It took them half a day to arrive at the Shield Forest.

When the entrance came to view, Allan and his aide needed to go down the carriage as the space wasn't wide enough for them to enter. They switched to riding the horse that the knights provided.

The knights patrolling the main entrance saluted to Allan. However, they saw the cold look in the next heir and they subconsciously gulped down their own saliva.

"Where is the said merchant?"

The knights avoided his piercing eyes that were looking down at them. Even though Allan is only 19 years old, his physique and stature are different from the others. He's tall and well built just like his father.

"Did someone cut your tongue? Why aren't you answering?"

"Yes, Young Master Allan!"

One of the knights answered.

"T-the merchant escaped…"

"What??!"

Allan grimly looked at them as well as the other patrols in the area.

The knight who saw this felt rushed to explain the situation.

"T-the merchant was restrained and also tied because he was hysterically yelling about blood and corpses… and then a gigantic black cobra suddenly appeared…"

Allan was only looking at him as the knight explains.

"We divided the troops to immediately kill the gigantic black cobra. Amidst the chaos, the merchant slipped in and es-escaped."

The knight feels the sweat in his back as he looks down on the ground.

A knight appeared. It was Mike the leader of the forest patrol.

"Young Master Allan…"

Mike saluted and gave his respect to Allan. He quickly sensed the dangerous atmosphere lingering in front of him.

"Is this troop so incompetent that a single merchant can slipped through this many knights of the Light Legion?!"

Allan almost cussed at how useless the patrol knights can be.

"I'm sorry young master. It was because I was incompetent as their leader."

"Then shouldn't you abdicate that position so that a more competent knight can lead this troop? How many years has it been that you're here as their captain but that Cabin couldn't even be found out by a single knight of yours?!"

Allan can't control his anger. And when he thought that he still needed to save his energy, he immediately dismissed his scolding.

A knight that is part of the Light Legion escorted him to the Cabin, a half an hour of riding the horse made them through the forest.

"Lead me to the underground…"

"Yes, young Master…"

Allan followed the knight inside the small looking cabin. The interior seems to be normal, all the utilities and furniture are displayed like someone lived here just a few days ago.

There were dishes in the sink, there's also the bed and as well as the living area. It was a simple house that can be seen in an ordinary family.

'No one would suspect this if they only saw the facade.' Allan thought as he looked around.

"It's this way, young master…"

In the far end of the room there was a door and inside was a study room, underneath the study table there was a rag and if it was taken out a circled steel can be seen.

And if you pull it up a passage that leads down can be seen.

It was dark and the smell of blood filled the air. Allan pulled his handkerchief in his pocket and put it into his nose to block the smell. His aide as well as the knight that was leading

When his vision was familiarized with the darkness, they came to a stop when they reached the underground. It was a two floor deep down and obviously any sound won't be heard coming from the underground because of the thick concrete walls.

"This way young master…"

The knight leads him to a narrow hallway that can only fit two standing adults. He scrunched his face as the smell of iron penetrated his nose.

The smell of moist concrete as well as molds accumulated throughout the years welcomed Allan and his company.

"This seems to have been built a long time ago… but the smell of blood is fresh."

Allan assessed his surroundings. Soon iron bars with large capacity to put 100 prisoners inside came to view at the end of the hallway.

"What is this?!"

He felt astonished that he became sick to his stomach at how gruesome the dark underground is.

There was a pile of remains in one of the prison cells, blood stain clothes in the corner, a bloodied knife and an altar.

He felt his stomach turn upside down, he felt nauseated when he thought about what was happening in this room for the past years that they haven't found this.

Allan grips his hands until it bled, he was so angry that something like this was happening to the land that they are governing.

He can't imagine how many lives are wasted in this cramped, dark, soiled underground.

On the ground, Allan saw a magic circle, it was drawn with a black ink. A sudden pang fell on his head however he ignored it.

He slumped down to have a close looks at the scribbles of the spell in the magic circle. Another pang with a much more impact suddenly overwhelms his mind.

Flashes of fragments of memories came into his head.

Allan held his head with both of his hands. His aide and Mike become worried and ask him if he was alright.

"I'm fine, I just felt a headache…"

"We should leave young Master… you must have been tired because of our journey and this." his aide told him.

When Allan's eyes fall again to the spells written in the magic circle, his head aches uncontrollably.

"Ugh!"

"Young Master Allan? Are you alright?!"

Fragments of his childhood came to him, it was blurry but he knew that it wasn't good and it was strangely painful.

"What is this…?"