Chapter 202 – Investigation of the Horror

Chapter 202

 Investigation of the Horror

Date : Day 3 of Frostfall 1024 Aethellgard Concord Year.

Seeing the horror before them left everyone speechless.

For several heartbeats, none of them said anything. They simply stood there, trying to process what their eyes were showing them.

They had already guessed the scale of the atrocities from what they had encountered outside. The sheer number of Living Dead pouring from Still Forest had already numbered in the thousands. And the Flesh Golem—judging from its enormous body and the countless pieces of flesh fused into it, it might have been created from dozens of corpses.

But guessing the scale of something. And actually standing before the evidence of it were two completely different things. The sight made the reality far more horrifying.

Finally, Ina found her voice. Her cat ears remained flattened against her head, while her tail hung completely still.

“These amounts of blood… and… the wagons…”

She stared at the empty cages scattered around the clearing. Her expression twisted with anger.

“How many sacrifices did those heretics use, damn it…?”

Hyoren slowly nodded. His gaze remained on the clearing.

“The decayed corpses or the bones… they might have brought them from somewhere.”

His grip tightened around his spear. The banner of Aetovacus remained strangely still as he stared at the aftermath of the ritual.

“But… they definitely sacrificed hundreds of…”

His words stopped. He couldn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to. Everyone already understood what he meant.

The empty wagons. The massive pool of blood. The Flesh Golem. The ten dead girls crucified to the crosses. All of it pointed toward the same horrifying conclusion.

Yet there was no time to remain frozen by it. The ritual was still ongoing. They need to do something. Quickly.

Hyoren turned toward Arianna.

“Arianna. Try to examine those five active Runic Arrays. Determine how to stop this Ritual of the Undead.”

The crimson-haired mage immediately nodded.

“At once, Leader.”

She turned toward the nearest runic array and began walking toward it. 

Without being told, Jackey followed her. His exhaustion was still obvious, but he tightened his grip around his axe and moved alongside her. He would protect her while she examined the ritual.

Hyoren then turned toward Ina, Alvis, and Arad.

“Now, we scour the surroundings. If there are still living prisoners… or enemies… or anything… We need to deal with them.”

Arad and Alvis immediately straightened. Both raised their steel spears and saluted.

“Understood, Mister Hyoren!”

The two guards then moved toward the surrounding area, carefully searching through the clearing.

Hyoren's gaze shifted toward Ina.

“Let's scour the opposite direction, Ina. Maybe we'll find something.”

He paused briefly.

“Clues. Or whatever.”

Ina nodded. She unsheathed her short sword.

“Let's go, Hyoren.”

The two of them then moved in the opposite direction from Arad and Alvis, carefully searching the clearing.

Behind them, Arianna and Jackey approached the five active Runic Arrays. The glowing formations continued to pulse. The Ritual of the Undead continued.

And while the others searched for anything that might explain what had happened here, Hyoren and his companions waited for their mage to uncover how they could finally stop the cursed Runic Arrays that had become the source of this nightmare.

***

Hyoren and Ina scoured the surroundings.

First they investigated the wagons scattered around. They moved from one wagon to another, carefully examining each of them.

The closer they looked, the worse the evidence became.

These wagons had not been designed for people to live in. They were cages. Large ones, perhaps, but still cages. The floors were covered only with a thin layer of old hay. There were no proper seats. No bedding. No containers for food. No containers for water. No space intended for anyone to rest comfortably.

The hay itself was dirty and flattened in places, as though countless people had been forced to lie directly upon it.

Hyoren crouched beside one of the cages. His eyes moved across the floor. There were stains everywhere. Old stains. Darkened patches that had soaked into the wood.

Human excrement was scattered throughout the cage, mixed into the hay. The smell was still present. Urine. Sweat. Waste. And the lingering, unpleasant scent of too many human bodies confined together in a space far too small for them.

Even Hyoren's expression tightened.

Ina instinctively covered her nose. Her cat ears flattened further.

“This is horrible…”

Hyoren nodded.

He reached out and touched the wooden bars of the cage. The rough surface was worn from use.

“They didn't even live like humans before being sacrificed…”

His gaze moved toward the inside of the cage. There was barely enough room to stand properly. The prisoners had been forced to share the same cramped space. There was no privacy. No proper place to sleep. No proper place to relieve themselves.

And with so many people packed inside, keeping the cage clean would have been nearly impossible.

The evidence was still there. The filth had accumulated where they had been forced to live.

Hyoren's fingers tightened around the wooden bar.

He looked at the size of the wagon again. Then at the other cages surrounding them.

“They packed them like they were just… livestock.”

His voice became quieter. He shook his head.

“No…”

He looked back into the cage.

“Even livestock might be taken care of better…”

Ina's expression hardened.

She slowly looked into the wagon herself. The thought of people being forced to remain inside these cages made her stomach churn.

“They couldn't even move properly…”

She clenched her fist around the handle of her short sword.

“They were just shoved inside.”

Hyoren nodded.

“And their excrement was never cleaned.”

His gaze moved over the cramped interior.

“They couldn't even separate themselves from it.”

Ina's breathing became heavier. Her tail remained completely still.

The more wagons they inspected, the more difficult it became to remain calm.

And there were still so many of them. One wagon. Another. Another. And another. Each one carried the same traces of suffering.

Each one large enough to hold more than ten people. And there were more than twenty wagons scattered around the clearing.

Hyoren stared at them silently.

The numbers were difficult to comprehend. 

If every wagon had been filled…

His expression darkened.

Ina seemed to reach the same conclusion. Her teeth clenched.

“Voided Covenant!”

The name escaped her with raw anger.

Hyoren didn't answer immediately. His hand remained on the cage. His dark eyes stayed fixed on the cramped space where people had once been imprisoned.

The horror wasn't only that they had been sacrificed.

It was that, even before their deaths, they had already been stripped of even the most basic dignity a person should have had. They had been treated as nothing more than material. Something to be transported. Something to be stored. And eventually—something to be sacrificed.

***

Hyoren and Ina moved toward the back of the clearing.

They had already searched the wagons one by one. There was nothing left inside that could tell them where the prisoners had originally come from. No documents. No belongings that could identify a village. No weapons. No personal effects.

Only traces of suffering.

As they moved farther away from the clearing, Hyoren noticed something unusual beneath the bare earth, he stopped.

“Wait.”

Ina stopped beside him.

Hyoren crouched and brushed aside a thin layer of loose dirt with his fingers. A faint groove ran through the earth. Then another. And another.

Several parallel tracks stretched away from the clearing, disappearing between the lifeless trees.

He ran his fingers along one of them. The mark was too straight and too deep to have been made by footsteps. A wagon wheel. Hyoren followed the trail with his eyes. It wasn't a proper road. There was no stone paving, no carefully cleared path, not even enough width for two wagons to pass comfortably.

It was simply a narrow stretch of earth that had been repeatedly traveled.

The surrounding ground had been compressed by countless wheels.

“Ina, how could they transport those hundreds of people without being caught?”

His voice carried quietly through the dead forest. He touched the wooden strut of a nearby wagon, then looked back toward the trail.

“And where the hell could they gather that many sacrifices?”

Ina followed his gaze.

Her amber eyes narrowed as she studied the rough road. The question was difficult. The wagons alone were evidence that this operation had required preparation on a scale far beyond what a small cell of the Voided Covenant could do.

Ina folded her arms.

“I think they were transported with disguises.”

Hyoren looked toward her.

“Disguises?”

Ina nodded.

“I don't think nobles ever truly inspected every cargo wagon that passed through their territory.”

She paused, thinking through the possibility.

“A merchant convoy carrying ordinary goods would not necessarily attract much suspicion. Especially if the people handling the convoy were legitimate merchants.”

Her expression darkened.

“They could cover the wagons with tarps. Hide the prisoners beneath cargo or inside concealed compartments. They could even mask the smell with herbs or other materials.”

She grimaced slightly.

“And if they used magic to put the prisoners to sleep, they wouldn't have to worry about them screaming or making enough noise to attract attention.”

Hyoren's jaw tightened.

Ina noticed his expression but continued.

“According to the reports about the Voided Covenant, they're extremely meticulous.”

She glanced toward the clearing.

“They don't simply kidnap people and run. They plan everything.”

Her fingers tightened around the hilt of her short sword.

“They have channels among merchants. Some adventurers are suspected of being involved as well. If they have connections with nobles, then gaining access to merchant caravans or adventurer groups wouldn't be difficult.”

Hyoren slowly nodded.

“I see.”

He looked back at the trail.

“So they could disguise the entire thing as a normal merchant convoy.”

Ina nodded.

“A convoy that looks completely ordinary from the outside.”

Her voice became quieter.

“Except the cargo is hundreds of people.”

Hyoren's eyes hardened.

“And none of them would ever leave those wagons alive.”

Ina didn't answer immediately. The silence of the Still Forest seemed to make the words heavier.

Hyoren looked back toward the clearing. The wagons stood scattered across the bare ground, abandoned after their cargo had been emptied.

“So where did they come from?”

He frowned.

“Even a small village would have fewer people than the number of sacrifices here.”

Ina slowly shook her head.

“They probably came from multiple

places.”

She raised one hand, gesturing vaguely toward the distant forest.

“Multiple villages. Maybe even multiple territories.”

Hyoren listened quietly.

“The Voided Covenant has kidnapped people before. Sometimes entire villages, just like Stonewell Village.”

Her expression became bitter.

“They don't always take everyone to the same place, either.”

She lowered her hand.

“They move their victims between different bases depending on what they need.”

Hyoren's brow furrowed.

“Different bases…”

Ina swallowed before continuing.

“Yes, Hyoren. Some might be sent to larger facilities for human experimentation.”

Her eyes lowered.

“Others might be used for whatever other twisted experiments they're conducting.”

She hesitated.

“And some…”

Her gaze shifted toward the clearing again.

“…become fuel for rituals like this.”

Hyoren remained silent. The implications slowly settled in his mind.

“So that's why they have multiple bases.”

His voice was quiet.

“And why they're so difficult to completely root out.”

Ina nodded.

“Sadly, yes.”

She looked down at the wagon tracks again.

“Even if we destroy one cell, another can eventually replace it.”

Her hand tightened around her sword.

“Unless we cut off the head.”

Hyoren glanced at her.

Ina continued.

“We need to uncover which nobles are secretly supporting them. Who supplies them. Who protects them. Who looks the other way when something suspicious happens.”

She exhaled slowly.

“Otherwise, these grassroots cells will continue appearing.”

Hyoren's gaze drifted toward the towering trees. Then higher—toward the abyss-like sky hanging unnaturally above the Still Forest.

“When greed for immortality blinded those fools…”

His fingers tightened around his spear.

“Normal people who only wanted to live their lives became victims.”

Ina followed his gaze.

Her amber eyes reflected the unnatural darkness above them. For a while, neither spoke. The wind barely moved through the forest. There were no other sounds. Only the faint sound of their breathing and the occasional creak of wood from the abandoned wagons behind them.

The reality of what had happened here was no longer something they could simply imagine from reports.

They had seen its remnants.

And now, standing beside the trail that had carried those victims into this forest, both Hyoren and Ina understood something even worse. This nightmare had not begun here. It had begun somewhere else. And countless people had been dragged into it long before they ever reached this place.

***

A few moments later, Jackey's voice rang out from the middle of the clearing.

“Big bro! Come here!”

Hyoren glanced toward the Cat-clan Beastkin which was waving at them, then looked at Ina beside him. She gave a small nod.

The two of them turned around and headed back toward the center of the clearing.

They crossed the devastated ground together, stepping around broken branches and the remnants of the ritual. The eerie sight of the five active runic arrays remained unchanged. Their intricate patterns continued to pulse with a faint, ominous light, each one connected to the towering structure ahead.

Near the tower, Arianna was standing beside one of the arrays. She appeared to have finished her investigation.

Hyoren approached her and stopped a few steps away.

“So, Arianna, what did you find?”

Arianna adjusted the brim of her purple wide-brimmed hat before answering.

“Yes, Leader. Sadly, I couldn't determine exactly how this ritual works.”

She looked back toward the glowing array.

“There are simply too many runes that I don't recognize. Some of them may be runes discovered or developed by the Voided Covenant themselves.”

She gestured toward the five interconnected arrays.

“I will record them and send my findings for further investigation. Perhaps my teacher, Headmistress Thavenessia, may recognize some of them.”

Her light blue eyes narrowed slightly as she studied the intricate patterns.

“But for now, I cannot uncover the entire mechanism.”

Hyoren nodded.

That was understandable. Even Arianna, who had far more knowledge of magic than anyone else present, couldn't decipher everything the Voided Covenant had created.

He turned his attention toward the five Runic Arrays. Their light pulsed steadily. The countless runes intertwined with one another. And each of them were connected with a single line toward the tower.

“Those heretics definitely use plenty of cursed and forbidden runes…”

Hyoren planted his spear against the ground. The banner of Aetovacus settled beside him.

“So it's understandable that even you can't immediately figure everything out, Arianna.”

He paused before looking back at Arianna.

“But can it be stopped?”

His expression became serious.

“And were those ten girls the fuel for the ritual?”

Arianna looked at him. Her light blue eyes met his dark ones. 

“Yes. At least, I understand that much, Leader. This ritual can be stopped.”

A small sense of relief passed through Hyoren. But Arianna's expression remained solemn. 

“And no. Those girls were not…”

She hesitated.

“The source of the power.”

Her crimson hair swayed as she shook her head.

“They were catalysts. Sacrifices used to initiate the ritual.”

Hyoren's expression hardened.

Arianna raised her hand and pointed toward the towering structure.

“But the true power source of the ritual…”

Her gaze followed the faint magical connections running from the five arrays toward the tower.

“And the reason the ritual continues despite every member of the Voided Covenant we encountered being dead…”

She lowered her hand.

“Is inside that tower.”

Hyoren looked toward the ancient structure.

Arianna continued.

“I haven't investigated the tower yet. But based on the connection between those arrays and the tower…”

She narrowed her eyes.

“The true power source of this Ritual of the Undead lies inside.”

Hyoren nodded slowly.

“The ritual can be stopped…”

His grip tightened around his spear.

“Good.”

He looked toward the tower.

“Then let's end this nightmare.”

He turned his head.

“Alvis! Arad! Come here.”

The two guards quickly approached.

Hyoren looked between them.

“Did you two find anything?”

Arad answered on behalf of both of them.

“No, Mister Hyoren. The Still Forest was… still.”

He glanced toward the surrounding trees.

“No monsters. No living prisoners. And no more members of the Voided Covenant.”

Alvis looked around as well.

His expression gradually became troubled.

“But that makes me wonder…”

His lips trembled slightly.

“How could they commit all these atrocities with just five people?”

Jackey, who had mostly remained quiet during the magical discussion, suddenly nodded.

“That's right! To manage hundreds of people, they should've had way more members!”

He looked around urgently.

“Did they run away? We need to chase them!”

Hyoren narrowed his eyes.

He hadn't considered it deeply until Alvis pointed it out. Only five members had been found. Those five had controlled and became the power source themself for the Flesh Golem. They were dead after Hyoren and Elise killed them to stop the Flesh Golem. But an operation of this scale required an enormous amount of work.

Hundreds of prisoners had to be transported. They had to be restrained, moved, watched over, and eventually sacrificed.

Five people alone couldn't possibly have handled everything.

“Right…”

Hyoren frowned.

“How?”

He looked toward the empty wagons.

“To manage hundreds of prisoners, they definitely needed helpers.”

Arianna suddenly spoke.

“Leader.”

Everyone looked toward her. She adjusted her wide brimmed hat.

“It was simple.”

Her light blue eyes settled on Jackey.

“Necromancy.”

Jackey blinked.

“Necromancy?”

Arianna nodded.

“And Sir Jackey, I don't think there are more members of the Voided Covenant here than those five.”

She gave him a small reassuring smile.

“So there is no need to chase anyone.”

The realization struck Hyoren almost immediately.

“Necromancy…”

His eyes widened slightly.

“Right…”

He looked toward the clearing.

“So they used undead.”

Ina nodded.

“That's right, Hyoren.”

She folded her arms.

“The reports mentioned that the Voided Covenant utilizes undead within their ranks. Some higher-tier undead can perform mundane tasks almost exactly like living people.”

She glanced toward the abandoned wagons.

“Other than being pale and cold, they can even be difficult to distinguish from the living at a glance.”

Hyoren slowly nodded.

Ina continued.

“The Voided Covenant has always operated with relatively few members. They rely on undead for mundane tasks.”

She gestured toward the wagons.

“Carrying things. Moving supplies. Managing prisoners.”

Hyoren finally understood.

“I see…”

His eyes narrowed.

“So that's how they managed an operation this large with only five people.”

Arad and Alvis both nodded as the explanation settled in.

Jackey scratched his head.

“Undead really are useful for creepy stuff…”

Ina gave him a sideways glance.

“That's not exactly the point, Jackey.”

Jackey quickly straightened.

“AH! Right.”

Hyoren almost smiled.

Then his gaze returned to the ancient tower. The explanation answered one question. But it left the most important one untouched.

What was inside…?

He tightened his grip around his spear.

“Okay.”

He took a step forward.

“Now there's only one thing left to do.”

His eyes remained fixed on the tower.

“We investigate the tower.”

Without waiting any longer, Hyoren began walking.

One by one, the others followed him.

Together, they approached the ancient structure that had stood silently in the Still Forest for centuries.

***

The closer they came to the tower, the more majestic it appeared.

It wasn't particularly tall, only a few stories high. The structure was simple in design. There were no elaborate decorations, no towering spires, and no grand statues adorning its exterior.

Yet there was something about it that made the ancient structure feel imposing.

Perhaps it was the way it stood alone in the middle of the Still Forest. Or perhaps it was the sheer impossibility of its condition. The tower had supposedly been abandoned for centuries. Yet it looked almost pristine.

Its walls were constructed from smooth black stone, each block fitted seamlessly with the next. There was no mold crawling across its surface. No vines had claimed its walls. No moss covered the gaps between the stones. Not even a single visible crack marred the structure.

It looked as though someone had simply walked away from it yesterday.

Hyoren's dark eyes lingered on the tower as they approached its base. The crimson haze still streaked across his vision, a lingering effect of Berserker. But it did little to diminish the strange presence he could feel radiating from the structure.

He glanced toward Arianna without slowing his stride.

“Arianna… the closer we are to the tower…”

Arianna nodded before he could finish.

“Yes, Leader. I can feel it too.”

Her light blue eyes remained fixed on the tower.

“The Dark Aethell is especially concentrated within it.”

Hyoren's expression hardened.

“So this is definitely the center.”

The crimson-haired mage nodded slowly.

“It would appear so.”

They continued forward.

The closer they got, the heavier the atmosphere seemed to become. Then they finally reached the entrance. The massive wooden door was already open. It was made from dark, heavy wood, and despite its age, it showed little sign of decay.

Hyoren stepped through first.

The interior was surprisingly spacious. The first floor opened into a large chamber with enough room for several people to move around comfortably. A spiral staircase stood toward one side of the room, winding upward toward the higher floors.

Several wooden tables had been placed against the walls. Papers were scattered across their surfaces. Some had fallen onto the floor. It looked as though whoever had been working here had simply abandoned everything in the middle of their work.

But none of that was what caught their attention. Everyone's gaze immediately fell upon the center of the room.

Hyoren stopped. His dark eyes widened slightly.

“What is that thing…?”

Something stood in the middle of the tower.

It resembled a heart. At least, that was the closest thing Hyoren could compare it to. But it was far too large to belong to any living creature. The artificial-looking organ towered over him. Its surface was black, and it pulsed rhythmically. Thump. Thump. Thump. Each beat sent a faint ripple of dark Aethell through its surface.

It wasn't simply resembling a heart. It was beating like one.

Hyoren stared at it.

“What the…”

The thing rested upon an elaborate mechanical structure.

The device beneath it resembled a gigantic flower made entirely from dark metal. Several enormous petals surrounded the base of the heart. They weren't decorative. The strange metal petals appeared to be shaped specifically to draw something toward the center. Energy. Aethell. Runic inscriptions covered every part of the mechanism, glowing faintly beneath the black surface.

Five thick, cable-like structures protruded from the artificial heart.

They extended outward across the floor before disappearing through the doorway. Hyoren followed them with his eyes. Those cables were connected directly to magical lines and to the five Runic Arrays outside. The Ritual of the Undead arrays.

His expression became grim.

Arianna stepped closer. Her light blue eyes began to glow as she activated Aethell Sense. She carefully examined the artificial heart and the complicated machinery beneath it.

For several seconds, she said nothing. Then she finally spoke.

“I believe this is the source of the ritual, Leader.”

Hyoren stared at the pulsating heart.

“So this is what's powering the Ritual of the Undead…”

Arianna nodded.

“Most likely.”

Hyoren tightened his grip around his spear.

“Okay, Arianna. Please investigate it.”

He glanced at the strange machinery.

“Determine how we can safely turn it off.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Or…”

He looked at the heart again.

“…whether we should simply destroy it.”

Arianna nodded.

“At once, Leader.”

She stepped closer to the device and began examining the runes and machinery in detail.

Hyoren turned toward the others.

He looked at Jackey.

“Jackey, guard the door.”

The cat-clan beastkin immediately raised one of his axes.

“Roger that! Big bro!”

He walked toward the entrance and took position there, keeping his eyes on the open doorway.

Hyoren then turned toward the two guards.

“Arad, Alvis, please check the second floor.”

Arad nodded.

“Understood, Mister Hyoren.”

He glanced around the room.

“We'll look for clues or anything else that might be useful. Documents. Paper trail. Identity. Anything…”

Hyoren nodded.

“Good. Please do.”

Arad looked toward Alvis.

“Let's go, son.”

Alvis gripped his steel spear tighter.

“Yes, Father.”

The two guards moved toward the spiral staircase and began climbing toward the second floor.

Hyoren was left with Ina. His gaze shifted toward the tables covered with documents.

“Ina, let's examine those documents.”

He pointed toward the nearest table.

“Those Voided Covenant members didn't have time to clean anything up.”

His eyes briefly moved toward the artificial heart.

“They used themselves as the power source for the Flesh Golem.”

He sheathed Dawn Breaker.

“So whatever they were doing here…”

His gaze hardened.

“There might still be evidence of their larger organization.”

Ina nodded.

“Agreed.”

Hyoren and Ina walked toward the tables.

The scattered papers waited beneath the dim, ominous glow of the tower's strange machinery.

For the first time since entering the Still Forest, they finally had a chance to uncover what the Voided Covenant had actually been doing here.

The battlefield outside had revealed the scale of their atrocities. The five heretics had revealed the price they were willing to pay. And the Flesh Golem had revealed only a fraction of what their forbidden rituals were capable of creating.

But those answers had only raised more questions. How had the Voided Covenant gathered so many sacrifices? How had they constructed something as grotesque as the Flesh Golem? Where had the materials, knowledge, and resources for such a ritual come from? And, perhaps most importantly, were the rumors about their connections to powerful figures actually true?

Hyoren glanced toward the tables.

Stacks of documents remained scattered across them, some neatly arranged while others had clearly been abandoned in haste. Ink bottles and writing implements were still left behind, as though their owners had expected to return.

But they never had. Now, those documents were theirs to examine.

Hyoren and Ina exchanged a serious glance before approaching the tables.

They had fought countless Living Dead. They had destroyed the Flesh Golem. They had killed the five members of Voided Covenant.

But the nightmare surrounding Riverville Town was not truly over until they understood what had happened here. Now, they would uncover the truth behind the Ritual of the Undead.