“No traces… again.”

Solas Frostrune scanned his surroundings but apart from the debris and small crater left by the explosion, the rest of the place was intact and lacked even the faintest footprints.

Amare, Addy, Lexander, and the group of Holy Knights had immediately responded to the loud explosion and headed towards the scene, but their research was fruitless.

“This might be a tactic to distract us. Perhaps we got close so he did this to distract us.”

Although Addy’s remark was logical, he was ignored by almost everyone, which only added to his frustration.

With a hideously ugly expression, the disheveled frail-looking man drifted away from them, mumbling to himself in anger.

Unbeknownst to him, his suspicions were no different from Amare’s, who opted to keep her thoughts to herself.

While she might be slightly weaker than Lexander, she was a Vampire; Marjory Na Xivia’s kin. She was particularly sensitive to certain energies, so when she felt a sinister aura pulsate from afar, she became unsettled and confused.

She knew it couldn’t be the parasite, because such a negative and malicious energy could only emanate from unique devilish creatures, those usually belonging to secret organizations.

However, judging by the fact she felt it from such a big distance, Amare knew that the source of this energy was extremely powerful. It was something beyond her capabilities. Even if Armen was with her, they still wouldn’t be its match.

Amare stole a glance at the composed Lexander as she arranged her thoughts.

“I think this is it for me.”

The girl cut-off the silence and declared with a clarion voice, catching everyone’s attention. Solas didn’t look interested in what she had to say as he instructed his subordinates and kept looking for tracks.

Lexander, on the other hand, frowned.

“As much as I want to catch the parasite, I have other pressing matters to take care of.”

She elegantly bowed towards the knight, but as she was about to leave, he stood up and worriedly asked,

“The perpetrators behind the massacre might still be around. It’s not safe for a young girl like yourself to wander alone.”

He didn’t seem to have any ulterior motives. Lexander was genuinely worried about her wellbeing, and his gentle expression clearly conveyed that.

“Thank you, Mister Biax, but I assure you I can take care of myself. Now, then…”

To avoid dragging their conversation and having to convince him, Amare hastily walked away, though she could feel Addy’s piercing gaze on her back.

A couple of minutes after the vampire left, Lexander, who was being nagged by the restless Addy, let out a sigh and clapped his hands to catch Solas’ attention.

“I believe I might know where the vermin is. Follow me…”

Then, he unsheathed his seemingly unremarkable steel sword and started running at a fast rate. He headed in the opposite direction Amare had taken, but it didn’t seem he had chosen this path randomly.

“Mercy! P-ple-aaagghh!”

The village chief, who was prostrating on the ground, had his head slammed against the ground as he desperately begged. Alas, his pleading bore no fruit as the monstrosity before he raised its foot and crushed his body, thus giving him a miserable and agonizing death.

The elderly wasn’t the only one who was killed. All the villagers were lying on the ground, their bodies either headless, mangled beyond recognition, or dismembered in a brutal and inhumane way.

The village was situated on the outskirts of the city and had a small population, yet tonight, it was attacked by a nightmarish entity that shouldn’t belong to this world.

It shared a couple of similarities with the fictional gargoyles; Its skin was black, a pair of massive bat-like wings, an unsightly face, and an overly-muscular body with tiny clusters of scales distributed evenly between the elbows and knees.

This towering creature tore its shining red eyes from the corpse of the village chief, a satisfied grin plastered on its revolting face.

It directed its gaze toward a shabby wooden shack, which housed the gargoyle’s ultimate prize. Even from a distance, it could hear the frightened cries of the young children, holed up together and hiding under the beds, in the closets, or lying in plain sight as they were stricken with fear.

“It’s definitely a fantastic night to gorge upon their heats.” Spoke the gargoyle as it licked its lips and glanced at the full moon shining resplendently amidst the star-filled canopy.

With no one alive to stop it, it dove straight at the shack, pulverizing half of it and killing a few children in the process, but it didn’t care about that.

It lifted their small bodies and munched down on their frail chests, shredding their skin and hearts and gobbling all of it.

“I…I’ll kill you!”

Once it savored the sweet meal, its attention was caught by a trembling boy who bravely left the cupboard he had been hiding in.

The boy was holding a broken plank, his pants reeked of piss as a result of the absolute dread he was experiencing. Nevertheless, he mustered his courage and charged at the gargoyle, hitting it with the plank continuously.

To no avail, his attempts were nothing but a comedic display for the gargoyle, which extended its long arm and picked the boy.

“Aren’t you a delicious one. Look at this bright soul.”

Before it could crush him to death, several other children ganged up on it, either throwing small debris or shouting empty threats with shaky voices.

Having grown tired of their pitiful attempt, the gargoyle snorted and shot a thin beam of light that moved on its own and caused everyone’s heads to burst like watermelons.

The horrifying sight made the boy trapped in the gargoyle’s hand vomit as tears and snot covered his pale face.

“What do we have here?”

The gargoyle grinned as it set its eyes on the cupboards, sensing a cowardly boy; The only one who remained in hiding.

Just when it was about to kill him too, a blinding flash of golden light burst forth from the cupboard.

The gargoyle’s expression drastically changed as it let go of young Arthur and retreated in panic.

It barely dodged the dangerous light, but even after that, it didn’t kill the last two kids. Its instincts were telling it to run, so it ran and took to the skies, soon vanishing amidst the darkness of the night.

“Chris!”

Arthur, who was still in shock, crawled to the cupboard and saw his friend unconscious. The fire previously initiated by the gargoyle was spreading, so Arthur tried his best to drag his friend out of the shack and into a safe spot.

The monster was gone and the two of them survived, but when Arthur beheld the gruesome sight of the massacred villagers, he tasted the deepest despair for the first time.

The shock and helplessness overwhelmed him and he eventually fell unconscious on top of Christopher.

…

Vivid images of the past flashed in Arthur’s mind as he stared at the gargoyle standing dozens of meters away. It ripped its eyes away from the cage in which dozens of children were trapped and meaningfully gazed at him.

“You… I know you.”

Its deep and chilling voice echoed across the empty field within the forest. Its crimson eyes were pulsating with an ominous radiance, sinister and soul-rending.

Arthur felt his hands shaking as the trauma of the past was like an unstoppable wave that washed all over him. He was no longer a powerless boy but it wasn’t easy to get rid of deeply-imprinted emotions of fear and despair.

Maybe if he was given time to prepare, he would have been calmer, however, life was wont to surprise the unsuspecting.

‘The children must be from Smithy Town and Warmcross. Anna is still alive too…’

Tense, Arthur concentrated on the unconscious girl in the gargoyle’s hand.

“You will be a fine addition.”

The gargoyle casually threw Anna to the side and unfolded its bat wings. At the same time, Arthur grasped his sword and activated his Barrier Magic.

Just as he was about to attack, he felt a mountainous pressure immobilize him. He saw the yellow-ish barrier shatter into tiny pieces and a devilish big foot came from above, crushing his body to the ground.

“So you became a parasite?”

The gargoyle cackled and stepped on Arthur’s body, enjoying the sound of his ribs breaking.

From the side, a swift white shadow lunged at it, but it was blown to the back like a kite.

Furball crashed into a tree and then fell down, its fur covered in blood as it vainly tried to get up. That single hit from the gargoyle dealt substantial damage to the rabbit, rendering it incapable of moving, much less retaliating.