CHAPTER 15: ARRIVAL AT THE VILLAGE
"Go get your belongings. Now. We need to be in Atsutki Village by tomorrow."
Woli's eyes scanned the faces of the three young ones.
"And get ready…" His voice lowered, grew heavier, almost turning into a whisper. "To use your powers for the first time."
Kaito, Ren, and Aiko nodded without even opening their mouths. Then the three of them began walking toward their rooms.
Just as they were leaving, someone stepped out of the Chief's chamber. It was Malrik.
Woli paused. "Lord Malrik? Is something wrong?"
Malrik's voice was low but sharp.
"Look, Woli. All I ask is that you keep an eye on that boy, Kaito. If he can't control that power… the Aurelia Kingdom will fall. Maybe even Dorn and Terramar as well."
His eyes locked onto Woli.
"You understand me, don't you?"
Woli's voice was calm. But there was weight in it.
"I'll do what I can. I promise."
"I hope you keep your word. Otherwise… I'll take action myself."
Woli was annoyed, but didn't show it.
"Don't worry. I always keep my word."
He turned around and headed toward the palace exit without waiting for Malrik to say anything else.
Malrik watched him go. He thought to himself:
"I need to take that boy under my control personally. Even if Erwin doesn't want it… I have to do it for our kingdom."
At the palace exit, Woli was waiting. Finally, Kaito, Ren, and Aiko arrived.
Woli looked them over. "Ready?"
Kaito's voice was confident. "Ready to the core."
Ren just nodded. "Yes."
There was both excitement and fear in Aiko's voice. "I'm excited, but… I'm also a little scared. I've never even used my powers before."
Woli's answer was short and sharp.
"Being scared is normal. Just don't show it. Understood?"
Kaito nodded. "Understood."
Ren did the same. "Understood."
Aiko followed. "Understood."
Woli nodded. "Then… let's go."
The four set out toward Atsutki Village.
When they stepped outside the palace, Floris wasn't like its usual self.
The capital, always oppressively hot, was now cold and rainy. Only a few merchants and shop owners were outside. Normally, the city smelled of sweat. Everyone was in a hurry, impatient, stressed. But today… none of that was there.
Woli frowned. "I haven't seen the city like this in a long time."
Kaito tried to remember. "When I first came here, it was hellishly hot. Everyone was rushing. But now… no one is around."
Aiko sighed. "I have a bad feeling about this."
Woli shook his head. "Never mind. Let's go to the capital's gate. The guards will have horses waiting. We'll ride fast and get to Atsutki. It'll take about an hour."
The four headed toward the capital's gate.
The guards stepped aside as soon as they saw them.
"Master Woli, I take it you're heading to Atsutki?"
"You guessed right."
"Then let us bring the horses."
Two guards immediately brought four horses.
"These are the horses set aside for you. Safe travels. Be careful."
Woli nodded. "Thank you."
The four mounted their horses and set off at a steady pace.
After some time, on the outskirts of Atsutki Village…
Kaito slowed his horse. "Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Back in the Chief's chamber, when Malrik mentioned 'Morde,' everyone tensed up. Why? Who is Morde?"
Ren and Aiko were just as curious.
Woli took a deep breath. Slowly, he began to speak.
"Morde… is a man from the old tales. He lived five hundred years ago."
Kaito's eyes widened. "Five hundred years ago?"
Aiko was surprised. "Then why is everyone so scared of him?"
"Quiet and listen."
Woli's voice grew even more serious.
"Morde was an ordinary man. But back then, things weren't like today. Djinn and humans were at war. The Djinn were crushing humanity. They almost brought them to extinction."
He paused for a moment.
"Then… something happened. The war suddenly turned. And Morde single-handedly killed all ten Ifrits of that time. "
Kaito's mouth fell open. "What? He killed ten Ifrits… alone?"
Ren's voice was cold, but there was surprise in it. "Impossible."
Aiko shook her head in disbelief. "That can't be true! How could anyone kill ten Ifrits alone?"
Woli shook his head. "We don't know. But it's said that everything written in the old tales is true."
Kaito sounded relieved. "Morde is human… so we're lucky."
Woli's face darkened.
"There's something else written at the end of the tales."
All three asked at once. "What?"
"It's written that Morde became corrupted toward the end of his life."
Kaito frowned. "You mean… he turned evil?"
Aiko's voice trembled. "Now I understand why everyone is afraid of him."
Woli's voice was thoughtful.
"The only thing I understand is this. Toward the end of his life… his perspective changed."
"Why do you think that?"
"No one becomes corrupted overnight. Something must have changed his perspective… and the corruption began."
He snapped back to the present.
"Enough. That's all you need to know for now. Speed up your horses. We need to get there quickly."
CAPITAL FLORIS – THE CHIEF'S CHAMBER
Malrik stood before Erwin.
"Erwin… do you think they can succeed?"
Erwin's voice was calm. "We don't know what's there. It's hard to say for sure. But Woli is with them. I doubt anything will happen."
The door opened. Vex entered. A beautiful woman with green hair and green eyes.
"You trust Woli a lot, Erwin. Why?"
Erwin's eyes were still half-closed. His voice was heavy.
"When Woli came here… you'll all understand why. My friends."*
Just then, another man spoke. Throne – dark brown hair, a long nose, a large build. He stood out from everyone else in the room.
"Erwin! Where is this lack of seriousness coming from? Woli is not you! Don't forget that! Your attitude is irritating me."
Erwin struck his staff on the floor.
TAK.
For once, he opened his half-closed eyes.
"Silence."
His voice filled the entire room.
"Don't you trust me? I sent Woli there. That means I trust him. Don't worry about the rest."
Throne fell silent. But Vex spoke.
"What about Raven, Rin, and the others? They've been gone a while, and we still haven't heard from them."
Malrik nodded. "Vex is right. No word from them. Something is definitely wrong there."
Erwin sighed.
"You're right. Then… let's give it two days. If we don't hear anything in two days, we'll figure something out."
ATSUKI VILLAGE – THE GATE
Woli dismounted his horse. "Here we are. Be ready. Don't let your guard down."
The four dismounted and entered the village cautiously.
But the village was strange.
It looked abandoned. No one was around. The doors were closed, windows dark. It looked like a ruin.
Kaito's eyes scanned the area. "What is this? Why is no one here?"
Aiko's voice trembled. "This village is so creepy… What happened here?"
Ren's gaze was sharp. "This isn't normal."
Woli was calm. But alert.
"Stay calm. Let's move forward. The weather is rainy. Maybe people are inside their homes."
They walked a little further. Ahead, two people were talking.
Aiko sounded relieved. "There! We worried for nothing."
Woli's voice was cold. "It's too soon to say that."
Kaito stepped forward. "Let's go talk to them."
As the team approached the two people, they passed by houses. They saw people inside the houses. But none of them came out. They just stared from the windows.
Kaito hesitated. "There are people inside. Maybe it's normal. We worried for nothing."
Ren nodded. "Maybe."
They reached the two people.
Woli spoke. "Hello."
A man answered. Older, tired eyes.
"Hello… who are you?"
"Woli. A Djinn hunter. These are my students. We received a distress call from here."
A strange expression appeared on the man's face.
"Oh, is that so? We didn't send any call. I'm sorry, you came for nothing. Besides, no one comes in or out of our village anymore. What kind of trouble could there be?"
The other man spoke. Younger. But his eyes held the same tiredness.
"Hey, sorry if we worried you. My name is Moro. And this is my brother, Marteon."
His brother nodded.
"Follow us. We'll take you to our village head."
Woli nodded. "That would be good. Thank you."
Moro smiled. But his smile didn't reach his eyes.
"You're welcome. Follow me."
The four began to follow Moro.
From the window of a house on the left, someone was looking out.
Raven.
His face was pale. His breathing was heavy.
"No way… This is… Master Woli and his students."
He turned around. Rin was leaning against the wall, struggling to breathe.
Rin's right arm was missing.
"What do we do, Rin? Boney and Zimps are dead. This place is a web of traps. We have to stop them, immediately."
Rin slowly straightened up. Her voice was a whisper.
"Master Woli is strong… don't worry. We need to focus on our own situation for now. We're lucky he came just in time. Otherwise… they were about to enter that house."
Raven took a deep breath.
"You're right. Sorry, I exhausted you. But… that village head. That village head is very dangerous."
Meanwhile, Moro led the four to the house at the very end of the village.
Moro pointed to the door. "Here you go. The village head is inside."
Woli slowly opened the door. It creaked loudly.
They entered.
In the middle of the room, someone was sitting in a large chair.
The chair slowly turned toward them.
And a disturbing voice was heard.
Cold. Heavy. As if it were a herald of something.
"Welcome."