Cecilus looked down at Mirok's corpse lying before him.
His task of collecting souls was nearly complete. After confirming that the village held enough people, he had slain the boy without hesitation.
Cecilus slowly lifted his gaze to the many large boulders surrounding the area.
Mirok's memories began to pour into his mind. Cecilus had taken the boy's soul just as he had done to countless others.
"This is a graveyard…" Cecilus muttered.
The white devil appeared beside him.
"Yes. Some believe it is best to return the body to the soil and allow nature to continue its course, so that the body may rejoin the cycle of life."
"Does it matter?" Cecilus asked coldly. "What does it mean to them? Whether we burn, bury, or shred a corpse, why should the world care?"
"Have you heard of Veyloria?" the devil asked. "You may know it by another name. The one often spoken in the thoughts of demons on this continent. Heaven."
"Yes… Many demons think about heaven. Looking through their memories, most of them believe in it."
The devil nodded slightly.
"The demons, despite what humans and elves believe, do hold faith in an afterlife. They say that when one dies, their soul is placed upon a scale. If the soul is pure, it does not tip the scale, and the person is sent to a beautiful place called Heaven, where they may live in eternal happiness and forget the burdens of the living world."
"But if the scale tips," the devil continued, "the soul is cast into the underworld, where it suffers for eternity. On this continent, they call that place Hell."
"And what does that have to do with burial?" Cecilus asked.
"I told you, when you first awoke, about the origin of magic types, did I not?"
"Yes. Magic types came from creatures. Humans, elves, and demons hunted and ate them long ago, and over many generations they inherited their magic."
"That is the widely accepted belief on the Ascended Continent," the devil replied. "But here, many believe something else entirely. They believe there is a being who created the mystical beasts and governs the laws that dictate reality itself."
"A god, in other words."
"This god is said to take our souls and bring them to the center of the world, where we are judged before moving on to the afterlife. The name of this supposed god is Eldruvaar. That is why many bury their dead beneath the soil, so the soul may be closer to its destination."
Cecilus raised an eyebrow.
"But souls rise into the sky. They don't descend into the earth. And didn't you say it was a fact that magic came from creatures?"
"It is widely accepted on the Ascended Continent," the devil said calmly. "But most of the world holds different beliefs. And the ability to see souls after death is an anomaly."
"In the last several millennia, only one soul mage has lived long enough to truly understand such things. One person's word is not enough to overturn the beliefs of the entire world."
"However, on the Ascended Continent, they do believe the soul lingers briefly as it rises towards the afterlife. That is why they hold funerals immediately after death, so the soul may witness its own ceremony."
Cecilus thought for a moment.
"Yes… You're right. Most of the memories I've seen from the Ascended Continent include quick funerals. That means the number of people who are wrong is enormous… but I wouldn't be able to refute them either if I weren't a soul mage."
"Souls rise quickly and do not linger long. Even if the funeral is held immediately, the soul wouldn't be able to see anything."
Just then, the white devil spoke sharply.
"Wait. Cecilus, you've been spotted. On the hill. They saw the body."
"Shit! I can't let this spread. If the chaos starts too early, it will become troublesome!"
Cecilus quickly mounted Xena and galloped toward the village, but he was already too late. In the distance, he saw a cluster of villagers and children gathered together, staring in his direction.
"He killed Mirok!"
One of the boys pointed at Cecilus as he approached.
A surge of mixed emotions flooded Cecilus's mind. Panicked thoughts spilled from the villagers, but he remained calm. He had experienced this many times since losing his memories. Over time, he had grown accustomed to the noise of other people's thoughts.
One thought stood out clearly. It came from a large, broad-shouldered man.
I need to tell the women and children to run!
Before the man could speak, Cecilus summoned his dust elemental. With a burst of wind, Cecilus shot forward, off of Xena, towards the man.
If they scatter, they'll be harder to kill.
Cecilus had already drawn his sword, but just as he closed in, a woman beside the man stumbled and fell directly into his path.
Instead of piercing the man's stomach, Cecilus's blade plunged into the woman's heart.
Dammit!
The crowd gasped in horror.
Cecilus now stood in the center of the group, having killed another villager. His movements were so fast that some of the children had not even seen him dismount.
"Women and children, run!" the man shouted, eyes wide with fear.
Cecilus's sword hovered inches from the man's chest. With another burst of wind, Cecilus lunged forward and killed him.
I was too late. Now they know what to do.
The women and children began screaming as they fled.
Nine men remained behind, gripping whatever tools they could find. Most held shovels, though a few carried swords. Watching their neighbors die before their eyes had hardened their resolve. Cecilus could feel the determination in their souls.
What did that woman even trip on…?
Cecilus glanced around and sighed. Villagers fleeing in different directions could still be hunted down thanks to his fast methods of travel, but it was still inconvenient.
Xena charged into the remaining men to assist, while Cecilus summoned his blood crow. The creature seized him in its claws and lifted him into the air.
"It's magic! He's a mage!" one of the men shouted as his shovel narrowly missed Cecilus.
Three of the men began arguing below.
"It doesn't matter! He's only one man!"
"You idiot, a mage can kill all of us! We need to retre—"
Before he could finish, a blood spike shot through the air and blew his head apart.
No. You all need to stay together.
Xena managed to kill one before being put down, but the rest were easy to finish. Cecilus remained in the air and let the blood crow pick them off one by one.
When only two men remained, they tried to run. The moving targets made the spikes slightly less accurate, prolonging the process, but eventually, they fell as well.
Dark purple lights flickered from the corpses as the souls were absorbed into Cecilus.
"There should be fifteen villagers left… but I only need eleven more souls. I could just leave the rest…"
The souls flooded him with memories. Cecilus had grown used to suppressing them and sorting through them later, but for now he searched for useful information.
From the memories, he learned that several villagers had already left days earlier to sell goods. When they returned, they would discover what had happened here. Killing the remaining stragglers would not prevent word from spreading, so there was little benefit in staying.
Cecilus always wore his scarf high enough to obscure his face, so he was not overly concerned about being identified.
While he considered his next move, his crow was already flying toward fleeing villagers in the distance. It was easy to spot them against the open desert. There might have been some villagers hiding in houses, but Cecilus chose to pursue the runners first.
Two women and five children ran across the sand.
Trying to cross the desert on foot was already nearly a death sentence, but it would not save them from Cecilus either.
He ordered the crow to fire.
Blood spikes rained down and killed them all.
"That's five more. Only six left."
By then he had traveled far from the village, and the remaining villagers had likely gained distance.
"This is why I needed to kill them faster…"
The desert was still the best hunting ground. Within ten minutes, he spotted another group moving along the river.
He counted from a distance.
Five people.
"Really? One short?"
He caught up quickly and killed them as well. But when their memories entered his mind, he realized something strange.
Only two groups had fled the village.
The rest had stayed behind.
"Yes… Let's end this chase. The last obstacle to my goal is back in the village, hiding from me."
Cecilus returned and searched every house.
Before landing, he had scanned the horizon and deduced that no one could have fled. Based on the terrain, there was no way anyone could have escaped without being seen.
One by one, he broke down doors and searched everything until there was only one small house left.
He hadn't felt any emotion or heard another person's thoughts while checking all of the previous houses, which verified to Cecilus that no one was inside. This last house was the same, and as he broke down the door and looked through the inside, there was nobody there.
"What!? Where did they go?"
I only need one more soul… How did they all escape? Did they run?
No.
There was nowhere they could have gone without being seen.
"White devil. Where did they go?"
"I don't know."
What? The devil doesn't know? Right when I only need one more? That's too suspicious!
Cecilus knew that the white devil could sense souls from a great distance. So how could it not know where they were?
Also, why didn't they warn me that someone was about to spot me when we were conversing? They would usually have sensed it earlier!
Why would it stop me from gaining souls when that's exactly what it wants?
None of it made sense.
"How do you not know?" Cecilus demanded. "Can't you sense their souls?"
"They are either outside my range," the devil replied calmly, "or they are dead."
Dead? What could have killed them? There were no mages…
"Well," the devil continued, "you should simply move on to the next village. Gaining one more soul should not be difficult."
Yes… It shouldn't be difficult at all.
This devil is definitely hiding something.
But I can't do anything about it. They're in control.
Even if I suspect them, I have no choice but to follow… unless I'm sure that I have enough strength to fight them.
I need more information.
If a fight does happen… I can't go in blind against the white devil.