[ ~ Chapter • Start ~ ]
"This will be easy..." Jonathan spoke as he made a long jog through the hallways of the mansion, trying to look for anything that might lead him to some secret compartment.
But, his long search was beginning to feel time-wasting, especially after the moment where he kindly snapped the neck of a maid who saw him and hid her body in a cabinet.
With his naturally sharp senses, he heard several voices from downstairs.
"Miss! You're not supposed to be inside here, Lord Mandeville is having his private time with a special guest!" A man, supposedly a guard, yelled out.
"But, someone who intends to assassinate him has broken into this mansion!" A woman replied, indicating that he actually saw him.
Based on the tone of the woman, she was not just worried, but was also cautious about what she should do.
However, it seems like her luck was not really on her side right now because the ones on the lower floor don't seem to believe whoever that woman who was going to chase him.
"And what proof would you have? If not, you can just stay here to wait for the other guards or leave."
Without interest, Jonathan immediately focused on searching the mansion, ignoring the voices from below.
And when he heard a few footsteps from nearby, Jonathan glanced at a door right beside him, and noticing that it was locked, he immediately began to pick the lock.
"One... two... then... there, good!"
He entered the room smoothly without much of a problem. And to his surprise, this room had several really good looking jewelery placed around it.
Maybe this John Mandeville had these to flaunt his riches, or are these actual artifacts?
And as much as he knew they were quite valuable, taking them away isn't really his objective right now.
But...
"Damn, that black mask looks damn awesome. Would've fit me right now." Jonathan commented as he noticed the mask placed on the wall in front of him. However he was skeptical.
"Should I take this possible risk, or not?"
Tapping his boot a few times, he pondered upon his decision.
"Eh, dead men won't seethe, anyways."
Coming to the conclusion, he immediately walked towards the mask and unhesitatingly took it out of the wall before inspecting it.
The Black mask looked like a Raven's head, which should cover the upper half of his face, and it really fit him for some reason. It has golden markings around the "eyesockets" and the "beak", making it look more valuable than it should've been.
But, he wasn't really sure if he should wear it right now or let Olga discover if there were any curses attached before he wore it.
"Curiosity kills the cat, but I'm not the cat." he muttered, immediately donning the mask to see if it had any effect.
He soon found out that it was just ornamental and made just for show. Either way, it didn't matter to him; his objective was now his main focus.
Exiting the room, he proceeded further into the mansion, and sneakily hopped down to the first floor before he leaped to a hallway.
It took him an even longer while to locate the basement, as he now found himself in a situation where he plays a statue because of several knights walking around the hallway he was in.
"Leos, you found the assassin yet?"
"No, not yet sir. Everyone's been looking around the mansion and, uh... we tried to inform Lord Mandeville.. and he just shut us off and ordered us to not interrupt him."
"I see... get moving already, otherwise we won't find him, or her."
The knights almost began to walk away, but then they noticed Jonathan who was completely still.
"Sir, what about that? I haven't seen such a strange statue before..."
"Ignore that. We're not here to randomly touch the stuff of Lord Mandeville, what if we break that statue?"
"Sorry, I'm returning to duty right away!"
And then the knights were gone, allowing Jonathan to breathe a sigh of relief and begin moving out, not hesitating to use some of his Psychic Energy to find out his location.
Though he stopped, even for a moment, just to look at the direction where he felt like somebody was looking at him.
[ ~ Line • Break ~ ]
And while Jonathan was closer to his destination, Claudia revealed herself from a nearby hallway, glaring at his cloaked figure before giving chase.
How did she even get inside the mansion, anyways? The teenage Claudia had not done something questionable, even though she knew the more "mature" things through reading some books at her free time.
She threatened the guards by mentioning her father, who, even if he was old, was still at the higher hierarchy of nobles that was a rank equal to John Mandeville. That alone did not let the guards hesitate and immediately allowed her in.
In other words, she forced her way in legally.
There was a condition she accepted, though. The guards will eventually report to Grave Levantine after this event and she will be expected to face shame.
Anyway, back on the track.
While she followed Jonathan sneakily, he opened a door to the basement and immediately entered it, before closing it silently.
Strangely enough, that doesn't seem to be indicating that he was going to assassinate John Mandeville.
"Was he a thief? Hmph, that's not possible."
Skeptically, she entered the basement, walked down several tens of steps down, and arrived in a cold basement to bare witness to Jonathan and John Mandeville walking around the cold basement
"You fool! Do you know what you're doing!? And you even dare take away what's mine, this is outrageous!" John Mandeville yelled, pointing his cane towards the cloaked Jonathan while he crossed his arms.
"Why not? I'm here to not just kill you but also rescue that child you just locked up... and maybe the other one locked here, too." Was his barely nonchalant reply, which infuriated John Mandeville, and even had Claudia almost question whether to defend the old noble or not.
But... should she trust the cloaked man, too?
"... Fine, I'm too old for this, anyways. And after my death, my son Lucas will be inheriting my position, anyways." John Mandeville ran to this conclusion, as he scratched his wrinkled head.
"Oh, you're going to do what I think right?" Jonathan skeptically asked, tensing his body as he prepared to strike John Mandeville immediately.
The response to that question was merely a dark chuckle, as John Mandeville took out a large purple jewel half the size of his fist.
"I was willing to lay my life down, even if it meant to defend my treasures, and my enterprise if ever this happened, now despair!"
Suddenly, before Jonathan could take away the purple jewel from John Mandeville, a deep purple energy burst out from him, launching the Dark Elf backwards.
Then, John had been covered in a cocoon with light purple veins that began to beat loudly and rapidly, scaring those who saw it, even the two children locked up in their cells.
"... What the hell..." Jonathan muttered while he stood up from his position, staring at the cocoon with pure disbelief. "... When and where did he... obtain that?"
Claudia was so shocked that he unintentionally entered the room, and with her presence known, Jonathan focused on something else.
"Hey, you! Female Knight in ridiculous armor!"
She looked at Jonathan.
"I'm going to need your help in killing the monster that will come out soon."
Based on the seriousness he had, Claudia had felt like she shouldn't doubt him.
The cocoon burst out, allowing a monster as tall as them, to exit and replace John Mandeville.
It looked very intimidating, as four tentacles burst out of its back, and one of it's arms was elongated and looked more like a lance, while the other was a large claw that possibly could rip them apart any moment soon.
"... Oh Goddess Celestine..." Claudia exclaimed, unsheathing her sword as she readied to fight, despite herself fearing for hers, Jonathan's and the children's lives.
"... That's definitely an invader..." Jonathan muttered, and Claudia took a small glance towards him.
"Invader?"
"Archdemons, in the church's eyes." Jonathan clarified, allowing Claudia to realize what John Mandeville had become, just before the two of them dodged the swipe of the claw of the transformed noble.
This battle that caused a temporary truce has now begun.
[ ~ TO • BE • CONTINUED ~ ]
