After landing a devastating blow on Jules, the monster retreated. The Spellblade even used a magic spell that could trace the location of every living being within a ten-meter radius, and it found nothing. To be fair, this particular spell consumed mana like a starving man at a banquet. So Jules only used it for about 30 seconds. Even so, that was more than enough to confirm that the monster was no longer around.
The two Magick Knights helped the three villagers back to their house. Numa looked at the one who was attacked by the monster. The man didn't have any open wounds, only a few minor bruises. His left arm, however, was completely mummified. The monster had sucked everything out of the man's arm, leaving only petrified bones wrapped in thin, dark skin. Had Jules arrived a moment too late, the poor man would have died.
The news of the two Magick Knights spread quickly among the villagers. There was a noticeable sense of relief and optimism in the air. The village chief quickly came to meet their saviors. He even invited them to rest at his house.
"Thank you for your hospitality, village chief," said Jules. He removed his armor to check for any damage from the battle earlier, and now he sat in front of the village chief in his regular clothes. This was the first time Numa saw Jules without his armor. As expected, he had a muscular build, which was impressive for a middle-aged man like him. Add to that the fact that he was taller than most men, and you had someone who could intimidate others just by standing there.
"No need to be so formal, you can just call me Old Man Deen, like everybody else in the village," said the village chief as he handed a warm tea to Jules. "You too, young man," he looked at Numa and smiled, "please have some tea. I'm afraid this is the best that we could offer right now. Ever since the monster arrived, we have been prisoners in our own homes."
"Can you please elaborate on that, Chief Deen?" asked Jules while taking a sip of hot tea.
"You see, this horror began about a week ago. We woke up and suddenly the village was covered in fog, as you see right now." Old man Deen pointed toward the opened door. That night was supposed to be a full moon, yet none of its light could penetrate the ominous fog. The result was a pitch-black night.
"At first, most of us still tried to follow our day-to-day lives as usual," the Village Chief continued, "but then we found three of our people died in the middle of their wheat field. Their bodies shriveled up, as if something had sucked their insides, leaving only hardened bones and thin dark skin. Their corpses looked like the mummies from Eastern tales."
"I'm sorry if this sounds inappropriate, but Chief, may we see their corpses?" asked Numa.
"Numa?" Jules was a bit surprised. Not by the nature of the question itself, but more on the fact that Numa was the one who asked it. He never thought the young recruit would speak his mind on a matter like this. "Do you have something in mind?"
"Yes, Sir. At least I thought so."
"What is it?" asked Jules, intrigued.
"Well, I couldn't say for sure, Sir. I need to find out more about this creature first. Because at this point, this is nothing more than a guess."
Jules smiled. He was a bit annoyed when Numa was frozen out of fear, or maybe bewilderment, earlier. He hadn't had a chance to talk to the kid yet, but It eased his mind to know that the person he recruited could quickly recover and contribute. The Magick Knight had no need of a moping soldier. It pleased him to know that Numa was not one.
"I understand," said Jules. "Well, Chief, may we see the corpses?"
"I'm sorry, Sir Knights," replied old man Deen. There's a sense of defeat in his voice. "We already burned them. We were afraid that they would turn into monsters or other inhuman creatures."
"That's unfortunate, but I understand why you did it," said Jules.
Before old man Deen could give a proper reply to what Jules had said, Numa interjected, "Just to clarify, Chief, those mummified remains that you said earlier, did they look the same as the left hand of the man who was attacked by the monster earlier?"
"Ah, yes, that's right." The Chief's eyes widen. "You are correct. They looked exactly the same."
Hearing the Chief's confirmation, Numa paused for a bit. It was clear to everybody in the room that Numa's brain was running at full speed. He then turned to Jules and said, "Sir, permission to conduct investigation around the village."
"No!" replied Jules, firmly. "We will conduct our investigation first thing in the morning."
"But Sir, time is not on our side. What if the monster attacked the village again?"
"I've fought countless monsters in my life, Kid." Jules crossed his arms. "The one thing that they have in common is they won't immediately attack again after they suffered a defeat or if they met a tough enemy. They would usually retreat for a bit, recuperate, and then attacked again when the situation is most favorable to them."
"..."
"We were just involved in a fairly big battle today. We may feel amped up, but our bodies are actually exhausted. This is especially true to a first timer like you. We need a proper rest so we could think and fight at our best tomorrow." Jules stretched his arms and the rest of his upper body for a bit. "Besides, if the monster does appear tonight, we'll deal with it again. Do you understand, Soldier?"
"... Yes, Sir." Numa was not satisfied with his superior's decision, but he also knew that it was the right decision.
Jules faced old man Deen again, "And there you have it, Chief. Do you think you could spare a room for us to rest tonight?"
"Of course, Sir Knights." Old man Deen perked up. "You can stay at my guest room tonight. It may not be much, but we also have some foods prepared for you."
"Thank you, Chief. That's very kind of you." Jules lowered his head.
Numa followed his superior's example. He lowered his head and said, "Thank you, Chief."
After a modest dinner, Jules and Numa excused themselves and went to bed. Jules immediately fell asleep, letting out a loud snore in the process. Numa, on the other hand, still fully awake. His mind kept repeating the crazy events that happened to him today. His first battle, the leopard, the bear, the Paladin, Captain Elric, Sir Jules, the dragon, and the fact that he froze up and nearly caused the deaths of three innocent villagers.
So many things happened.
Frankly speaking, it was a bit much for this country boy. Once everything started to flood his mind, he finally felt the extreme tiredness of his body.
"Ugghhh... dammit!" he cursed to nobody in particular, but mostly to himself.
As a farmer, Numa was no stranger to being tired. But not like this. Never this. There was a time when he was busy at the farm all day long, with barely enough time to rest. Even then, he was not this tired. He decided to close his eyes for a bit. Accompanied by a chilly night breeze, Numa fell asleep.
...
Numa woke up with a terrible pain. Every fiber of muscle in his body was screaming in agony.
"You feel like shit, don't you? said Jules with a big smile on his face. He walked toward his armor that sat neatly across the room, took out a small bottle of potion from the pouch in the inner part of his breastplate, and tossed it to Numa. "Hey, Kid. Drink this! It's a stamina potion."
Numa caught the bottle midair, and gulped it down immediately. It tasted horrible, like a mix of goat milk and lemon juice. But in less than thirty seconds, he could feel an energy welling up from his core. Slowly but surely, his muscle was relaxed and his head was clear as day.
"That felt good, wasn't it?" asked Jules, like a proud kid who just shared his valuable treasure to his friend.
"This is incredible. Where did you get this, Sir? Can I get some more?" Numa was ecstatic.
"I'll take you to a good merchant who sells that stuff for a relatively affordable price. But first," Jules dragged a chair, put it in front of Numa, and sat on it, "we need to talk about the monster. From your reactions last night, I take it you know something about this monster?"
"... Yes, Sir." said Numa, looking straight onto Jules' eyes. "I've seen that kind of injuries before."
"You mean those mummified flesh?"
"Yes," said Numa firmly. "Sir Jules, are you familiar with a monster called Pallwyrm?"