Chương 16: Call of the Void (5)
"Sorry I shouldn't have said that..."
Hawke felt ashamed for calling their little blessing a "monster".
"No... I understand, you're worried about what might happen to him if his talents came to light, right?"
Anaise spoke in a kind tone, extending her wing to embrace her husband.
"*sigh*... I have to go meet up with Lark to investigate the Wyvern corpses. "
Hawke said, his expression turning bitter.
"Can't you rest for a bit, Hawke? You've been working too hard these days."
Anaise suggested, with a very concerned tone.
"*sigh*, I wish I could but... There's a lot that's going on right now."
"Wyvern's aren't even supposed to fly through this area, something must have happened in the central part of the continent."
Hawke said, his gaze laced in fatigue.
"... I understand dear, go do what you need to do, you are the protector of Frostfront after all."
Anaise said, resting her head on Hawke's shoulder.
Frostfront is the city beyond this village, it is a fortress that stands as a shield for this village and many others, protecting them all from outside threats.
"*sigh*, I should leave now, the promised time to meet with Lark is close, and knowing how meticulous he is, he's probably already there."
"Okay..."
*smooch*
"Please be safe my Love."
Hawke only responded to Anaise's words with a soft smile before beating his wings and ascending into the sky.
*FWOSH!*
He tore through the air at tremendous speed, he was atleast two times faster than when he was carrying Berkah to the village.
///
Roughly 12 minutes passed and Hawke found himself above the skies where the large Wyvern corpse was.
His sharp eyes glanced at the figure of Lark who was already standing next to the Wyvern and inspecting it.
[I knew it, he's already here...]
[The instructions on the letter I sent him were extremely vague, how did he find the corpse so quickly?]
Hawke mused, preparing to descend to the ground.
In this world, there exists a magical device in the form of a book, each book has a unique code in the form of magical runes, by having a person's code you can instantaneously send letters back and forth to each other.
In order for a message to be sent, you have to write the contents on a blank paper on the book, upon concluding your message its imperative that you include the code of whoever you want the message to reach.
You must then tear off the paper from the book which will be burnt to ashes by a blue flame, an indication that the letter has reached the recipient.
The book to which you have sent the message to will glow and vibrate, alerting the recipient of your message.
Naturally, the magical item is quite expensive, so only a few people are in possession of them.
Hawke had sent one such message to Lark using the item.
*FWOSH!*
Hawke surrendered his body to gravity and rapidly descended from the skies.
*Thud!*
His landed on his feet, his knees absorbing the force of his fall.
Lark turned his head, and bowed.
"Greetings Captain."
Lark said, in a respectful tone.
Hawke began walking towards him.
Lark was a man with bright bronze skin and round, yet neat, bushy hair like cotton, on his back was two large wings the color of desert dunes.
Lark's body was adorned with grey full body armour with a bright blue emblem of a wing on its chest and a longsword sheathed on his waist.
"Hey, Lark, you don't have to be so formal when it's just the two of us you know?"
Hawke said, a friendly grin adorning his face.
"... Sorry Captain, but the current situation requires a professional attitude. "
Lark said, gesturing toward the mummified remains of the Wyvern.
He added:
"I have never seen anything like this before, it's like something that's been dug out of an ancient tomb."
"I know, that's why I brought you here, this thing has not even been dead for a day."
Hawke said, his lower lip slightly trembling.
"Before we continue... How is the situation at Frostfront?"
Hawke asked, his shoulders stiff from the anxiety of Lark's imminent response.
"The humans... are still attacking, they seem to be hellbent on taking our city..."
Lark said, chewing his lips and clenching his fist.
He added:
"They would be more bold if they knew of your absence captain..."
Hawke narrowed his eyes before responding.
"Don't worry Lark, they won't attack yet... they plan to tire us out first. "
"*sigh*... anyway back to the Wyvern."
Hawke changed the topic, simply speaking about humans caused him nausea.
"As you wish captain.Firstly, it is strange to find a Wyvern all the way out here, so it's safe to assume that they were escaping from someone or something, and it must've been an entire flock of them since they don't travel alone."
"Secondly, if they nested close to us, they may start hunting our people in the nearby villages. Although we are already occupied with the humans I suggest we station some soldiers at each village, what do you think?"
Hawke thought briefly before responding.
"... Yes I agree, the safety of our people comes first."
"Thank you captain. "
Lark responded in a voice full of gratitude.
[Ah that's right... Lark is from one of the villages, no wonder he's so thankful.]
"Thirdly... I made some investigations before coming here based on what you told me about the corpse and..."
Lark was hesitant and shut his lips tight.
"Spit it out already..."
Hawke grew impatient.
"Based on what I've found... The remains of this Wyvern are similar to what the victims of the Demon King look like."
"What?!"
[...Does that mean the Demon King was here?!]
Hawke's heart almost skipped a beat upon hearing the unbelievable words that came out of Lark's mouth.
Lark ignored Hawke's shock and continued:
"The Demon King possesses an abilitiy that is unique only to him, that allows him to drain the life force of his enemies, if anything, that's the power that has put him on top of the food chain for the past 50 years or so."
"Shit... Why would the Demon King be here?!"
Hawke cried out.
"Pardon me captain, I was only suggesting that the corpse resembles those of his victim's , not that it was done by him, he hasn't left his castle in decades after all."
Lark declared, his voice carried by reassurance.
[No... that's the only thing that could explain this bizarre corpse and how my family survived that ordeal.]
[Why would he save them?]
"Lark, cut off an arm from these remains and take it back to the city for further examination."
"We should also torch this corpse, I don't want to leave traces of the Demon King here, it'll bring us trouble that we can't possibly deal with."
Hawke barked his orders, the possibility of impending doom clawing at his psyche.
"As you wish Captain."
Lark received the order and unsheathed his sword.
*Slash!*
In an almost imperceptible motion, he cleaved the Wyvern's arm.
He then set it on fire, and the two of them silently watched it burn.
A few minutes passed...
"I'll be going then Captain, are you coming with?"
Lark asked, carrying the large Wyvern's leg under his armpit.
"No... there's something I still have to do."
[There's still a corpse up there...]
Hawke said, his eyes fixed on the clouds above them.
"Alright."
*Fwosh!*
Lark beat his wings and made his way to Frostfront city.
*Fwosh!*
Hawke flew to the skies shortly after and pierced through the clouds.
He flew towards the nest, which was half destroyed.
*Thud!*
He landed on the surface that remained.
[This nest has been in the family for years...]
[My father, grandfather and great grandfather all hatched here...]
He stroked the edge of the nest, his being dripping with nostalgia.
[Now then...]
He glanced toward the young Wyvern and extended his palm.
[I need to destroy this.]
*bzzzt*
Lightning slowly built up on his palm.
But suddenly!
*step*,*step*
[!!]
He heard footsteps coming from behind him, followed by a soothing voice that seeped into his soul.
"Hello, my feathered friend... My name is Nicolai Aurelius Vermont."
The man adorned with a pitch black suit and a white tie elegantly bowed as he introduced himself.
He had long pointy ears, not like those of Elves which protruded on the side of the head, his pointed to the back of his head.
On each tip of his ears was a platinum earing.
[A... D-Demon?!...]
Hawke cried inwardly, a cold sweat cascading down his feathers.
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