CHAPTER 16: THE TRUTH
Moro pointed to the door.
"Here you go. The village head is right 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."
This voice even worried Woli. But he didn't show it.
"Thank you. I take it you're the village head."
The village head tilted his head slightly. His bald head glowed in the dim light. He stroked his black beard.
"Correct. My assistant Moro must have told you."
"Yes. He brought us here."
"Then let me introduce myself. My name is Mephis. What are your names?"
Woli answered briefly.
"Woli. The one in the middle is Kaito. On his right is Ren. On his left is Aiko."
A smile appeared on Mephis's lips. But it didn't reach his eyes.
"Woli, Kaito, Ren, and Aiko… good names."
He gestured to the two men beside him.
"These are Moro and Marteon. You've already met."
"Yes."
"If you don't mind me asking… what brought you here?"
Woli's voice was calm.
"We received a distress call. We sent four hunters here four days ago. But we haven't heard from them since."
Mephis's eyebrows furrowed. As if he were pretending.
"Nonsense. There's no problem here. Why would a distress call be sent? Besides, no hunters have come here. Someone might be luring you into a trap."
Woli shook his head.
"That doesn't make sense either. We would have been attacked on the way here."
Mephis paused for a moment. As if he were thinking.
"Yes… that's true. Then come, let's relax a little. Let me show you around the house."
"Alright."
Woli turned around. His voice dropped to a whisper. But it was clear.
"Stay alert. I sense something strange about this place."
They nodded. Barely.
Woli turned back around. They started walking.
Just as they reached the middle of the hall, Woli noticed something.
"Village Head Mephis… what is that blood on the stairs?"
Mephis waved his hand in the air. As if it were nothing.
"That? We hunted a boar yesterday. While carrying it up, blood came from its wound. It spilled on the stairs. Nothing to worry about."
He turned to Marteon.
"Hey Marteon, clean that up immediately. Let our valuable guests feel at ease."
Marteon bowed his head. His voice was mechanical.
"As you wish, Village Head Mephis."
Mephis smiled. But that smile wasn't friendly at all.
"Yes, let's continue."
Woli didn't take his eyes off the stairs.
"What's upstairs?"
Mephis's voice was still calm.
"We'll go upstairs soon. Please, let's continue."
They started walking again.
Meanwhile, Raven and Rin were about to act.
Raven looked out the window. His face was tense.
"Rin… we have to do something. They're about to fall into a trap in that house."
Rin was leaning against the wall, struggling to breathe. Her right arm was missing, but her eyes were still sharp.
"Master Woli is strong… but you're right. If they fall into an unexpected trap, they might not be able to do anything. Let's move."
"I think we should go straight to the house. What do you think?"
Rin shook her head.
"If the villagers see us, they'll come out of their houses and attack. Their minds have been washed."
Raven's eyes narrowed.
"Is the village head controlling them? What do you think?"
"You're probably right. But we can't be sure."
Rin struggled to straighten up.
"Now let me explain the plan."
The tour inside the house continued.
Mephis spread his arms wide.
"Yes, two places remain. The basement and the upstairs. Let's go down to the basement first. There's something I want to show you there."
Woli's voice was questioning.
"What are you going to show us?"
"It's a surprise, Master Woli."
Reluctantly, Woli followed Mephis down to the basement.
Aiko whispered to Kaito.
"Kaito… do you feel uneasy too?"
"Definitely. But maybe we're overthinking it."
Ren's voice was cold. But warning.
"Be quiet. They might suspect us."
They reached the basement.
Mephis pointed to a spot in the darkness.
"What I want to show you… is in that chest. One second."
He walked slowly. He took a small key from inside his jacket. He opened the chest.
And from inside, he pulled out a large sword.
The sword gleamed. The engravings on it were dazzling.
Mephis raised the sword into the air.
"This is the thing I wanted to show you. This sword was placed in this chest a hundred years ago by the founder of this village – my great-great-grandfather. A family heirloom."
He fixed his eyes on Woli.
"Well? Do you like it?"
Woli examined the sword. His face was expressionless.
"Yes. It's a beautifully crafted, elegant sword."
Mephis nodded with satisfaction. He scratched his bald head, stroked his black beard.
"Then we can go upstairs now."
He took the sword with him. He slowly began walking toward the upstairs.
Woli asked.
"I'm curious… why did you bring the sword?"
Mephis answered without looking back.
"I'm going to show you how I'll cut the boar we hunted upstairs in a single stroke. Then you'll understand why this sword is so special."
They all headed to the second floor.
Meanwhile, Rin had explained the plan to Raven.
Rin's voice was a whisper.
"Did you understand?"
Raven's face twisted.
"I don't want to accept this."
"We have no choice. Come on… let's start executing the plan. Run toward the house, shouting."
Mephis, Woli, and the others had reached the second floor. They were about to enter a room.
Just then, a loud voice was heard from outside.
Someone was shouting at the top of their lungs.
"MASTER WOLI! STOP! IT'S A TRAP! STOP!"
It was Raven and Rin.
But there was something else that wasn't normal.
All the villagers were behind them.
They had come out of their houses and were chasing them. Their eyes were empty. As if they were robots.
Woli's eyes widened.
"What is this? Those are… Rin and Raven! Why are the villagers chasing them? Village Head?"
He turned to Mephis.
"I hope you have an answer. I thought no hunters had come here?"
Just then, Mephis gave Moro a signal with his eyes.
Moro suddenly pushed Woli through the door.
Mephis turned to Kaito and the others and threw a kick.
All three were thrown out the upstairs window.
CRASH!
They fell to the ground, right where Raven and Rin were.
Concern was on Rin's face.
"Are you… alright? Where's Master Woli?"
Kaito got up from the ground. He was in pain.
"Ahh… damn village head."
Aiko's voice trembled.
"I knew something wasn't right from the beginning."
Ren was already ready.
"We need to go back upstairs."
Kaito nodded.
"First, we need to deal with these villagers."
Raven drew his sword.
"We'll hold them off. You go upstairs immediately."
Just as they were getting up, three figures appeared in front of the village head's house.
Moro, Marteon… and a stranger.
Bald, long-haired, eyes empty.
Upstairs, Master Woli and Village Head Mephis were alone.
Woli's voice was cold.
"I knew there was something wrong with you from the beginning."
Mephis smiled. But this smile no longer hid anything.
"Knowing… changes nothing."
He nodded toward something.
"Look behind you."
Woli turned around.
A section of the wooden floor rotated and lowered.
From below, a vibrant green gem rose.
Huge. Massive. Touching the ceiling.
Woli's eyes widened in shock.
"W-what is that?"
Mephis's voice was now completely dark.
"You don't need to know that."
He raised his hands.
"Mind Seal."
Woli's eyes suddenly turned green.
He screamed.
"YOU… WHAT DID YOU DO? AHHH! MY HEAD! I CAN'T THINK! WHAT IS THIS? AHH!"
He fell to the ground. Dropped to his knees.
Mephis raised his hands into the air. He shouted with great enthusiasm.
"LET THE FUN BEGIN!"
TO BE CONTINUED...