"So this is the Sawyer's Place."
Standing on top of a small hill, Felix looked at a single house within a ranch that actually looked quite nice. If one ignored the many carriages sticking out from behind that looked half torn down for firewood.
The house itself looked to have two floors with an attic and possibly a basement or at least a cellar on the side of the house. Out on the front porch, Felix saw an old man who looked more like a corpse than a living person. While around him, there were two thin men with a metal plate on the side of his head and the other licking his lips as he kept shifting as if it's impossible to sit still.
The energetic one seemed to be telling a story as he kept laughing as well making motions with his hands. These movements mixed with the other providing support, it didn't seem like a good story. For when one slashed the other pretended to have his body sliced or cut and falling to the ground as if dying.
Despite the two acting like this and the many carriages with quite a few flags of merchants still fluttering. Felix didn't rush in directly but still chose to investigate them a bit more. He needed to at least know how many there were inside before taking them all down.
He also would need to look at the connection between this family and at least the mayor. If there were others connected to this place that covered their killing. Felix didn't know at the moment and could only play it by ear. There shouldn't be that many that are though.
Circling the place, Felix kept trying to look in through the windows and doors. Besides a living room where he saw quite a few bones and an animal skull. This just looked like a normal place from what he could see. For what was behind the closed curtains and blocked view, he didn't know quite yet and guessed it wasn't a normal room.
"So at least four are confirmed currently." Felix frowned.
At the stove, Felix saw a middle aged man who appeared in his fifties cooking some meat. The way he hummed a tune it was clear he was a bit happy. Just, this sight made Felix a bit nauseous due to it being a human leg he was slicing and cooking. From the sight, it should be a male leg.
"It also doesn't look like they use magic." Felix said, but wasn't certain.
This family could either be casters or had their magic tools tucked away. Either way, he can basically confirm that he found the source of missing travelers.
--
After debating with himself on how he should go about taking them all down. Felix felt he was just over thinking it a bit and just decided to storm the place. If there were traps as he thought previous mages should have come to handle these people. He could just crush them with his immense magic.
'Unless they have a magic canceling type of magic.' Felix thought.
Still, even without magic, he wouldn't be helpless. It will be more troublesome, but not impossible. Also due to lack of visible traps or alarms to his eyes, he felt the chances of this family knowing such magic is quite low.
Once he had the plan, Felix didn't hesitate and stepped onto the driveway heading up towards the house. Where the two were talking with the really old man.
"Kid, what can I help you with?"
The thin man who could sit still noticed him and called out. His face kept scrunching up to the one side as he held up a small folding knife. The folding knife looked like a shaving blade.
"Don't resist and come with me to turn yourselves in. Your family killing spree ends today."
Felix said seriously, but made them laugh in a chaotic manner. Clearly they didn't take his words seriously.
"Turn ourselves in, he says." The man mimics in a mocking way.
"Must be one of those annoying mages." The metal plate one deduced.
"It's been a while since we had mage meat on the table."
"Kill…him." A soft and aged voice ordered between heavy breaths.
"Yes grandpa." Both men said.
Then as both stood up, the one with the shaving blade lowered his hand as he flicked it out. While the one with a metal plate reached over and pulled out a magic gun.
In response? Felix just took a step as his magic surged and two pillars of rocks jetted out of the ground.
"Oof!"
"Ahh!"
Both men who were so bold previously were knocked down clenching their stomachs in agony. Still, Felix followed this up by wrapping them up in a rock thus subduing them effortlessly. He also didn't forget the frail barely living old man.
He found some rope on the porch and tied the old man up despite his little resistance raising his arms to fight him. Before he kicked open the house door and stepped inside the house. Upon entering, found there were actually more inside then he originally estimated.
Beside the cook he saw originally, there was actually a woman in a wheelchair. Beside her there were actually four more men. The most surprising one being the human giant with a mask made of human skin and a chainsaw with a ribbon beside him.
Looking at the candles and birthday decorations, clearly it is the largest man birthday. So as he looked them over, in return they returned the look. Then chaos broke out as they all began scrambling for weapons.
"You guys really don't want to fight." Felix offered.
Still while he said this, he clapped his hands together. The floor beneath him began to shake as from the wooden floorboards, wooden pillars began to rise up. Within moments, everyone in the room much like the ones outside were tied up. All but the cook in the other room at least, but Felix didn't have to move.
Thanks to the commotion, the cook came rushing in with a knife. So, Felix just slid his foot and using magic to enhance his strength punched him flat. Faster than he came, the cook just slammed into the wall and crumbled to the floor where Felix tied him up in wood like the rest.
"Why are you doing this to us?" The woman in a wheelchair cried.
"Really?"
Felix just gave a blank stare at this woman who weeped as if he was some great villain. It felt weird coming from a family of cannibals who killed who knows how many over the years.
Shaking his head, Felix just began searching the house for evidence and regretted going into the walk-in freezer they had built. Besides the skinned pigs they raised outside, there were at least a dozen humans hung on the hooks.
Many didn't have complete bodies and made Felix shake his head. After wishing them better luck in their next life, he continued searching the place. Upstairs, he found a rotting woman who he guessed used to be the grandmother in the family.
Walking into another room, he found various bones in a workshop and an infant corpse dressed up as a doll. After seeing this, Felix took a deep breath and counted to calm his emotions before continuing the search.
During this time he also checked up on the captured to make sure they didn't escape. Finally, he found a notebook. Besides some rants about being the family dog that always cleans up after them. It noted many names and the number of bodies he had to dispose of over the years.
There was even mention of a man approaching to trade the junk the family collected from the merchant they killed. In exchange for covering for the family activities, the man would occasionally come by to collect.
"Will my quest fail if the client gets arrested alongside the target?"
Felix scratched his head a bit confused about how to go about this.