Fate/Inheritance

Chapter 29 - 28: When Death itself danced in the night (Part II)

With the sound of applause by the crowd I looked at the smiling girl who by now have thrown the mask of a frail lady from a noble house. Here standing before me is someone who stalks from the shadows and strikes her target with the intent to kill.

"Are you perhaps from the Order of Weavers?" I asked the girl while trying to move and measure the space I can maneuver from this sharp strings. The Order of Weavers are a branch of executers that is composed of orphaned women trained to kill the heretics who disobeyed the doctrines passed down from the Temple of Death who worsh.i.p.s the God of Shadows and Assassins and the Goddess of Death and Incarnations. They have many ways to kill their targets but the one they are famous for is the use of strings.

If why I have this kind of knowledge? Well my teacher Zero drilled it on me in the first day of training along the knowledge of all the known and well known organizations of the world and dangerous individuals. Looking at the girl I noticed the finger she pointed with have a trace that a ring had been put in it. I suddenly remembered a certain group and accidentally spoke it a loud.

"Lost Banshees" When I had spoken those words the girl in front of me smiled 'radiantly'.

"Heee~ for Tenryuu-sama to know that name~ As expected of the disciple of Shadow Army I guess~ I thought of keeping you for being such a cute boy but it seems I can't now or Big Sis will be angry~" She said and had slowly started to tighten the strings. Seeing the wounds appearing in me I started to churn my brain for ideas to think. When she noticed me have a calm look she made a surprised expression.

"Hmm~ to calm down so fast you really have the skills to become an assassin~ well I can only say to you too bad~ if you try to pull out your book I will first slice your d#ick ok~" She said and tugged her finger making my lower head felt a huge shiver. Oi! That's scarier than dying you know! I retorted mentally, it seems bringing Ruby around finally paid off. I already have the idea of how to escape but it needs time.

"I have three important questions that have been bothering me so please before you try to turn me into a waste please answer them. First how did you notice, second what happened to the girl you are using your identity for, third and lastly why are you guys planning to kill the people in this hall." I spoke three primary reasons just to buy time.

I already sensed through my incarnations that the guards hiding in the crowd and in the guarding posts was already replaced by different individuals and the protective barrier is being slowly inputted with new orders. I already pieced together what are they planning to do so I asked the third one.

"Fu~ fu~ fu~ buying time I see~ well it's already too late anyway and I'm starting to get bored so I'll gladly answer you~. First Question is pretty easy~ you are good at acting but sadly you just have a faint smell of alcohol~ so even if you think you can disguise yourself as a drunkard please reek of one who drank 10 glasses of wine~." I clicked my tongue when she told me that. For her to have such sharp nose tch! I messed up.

"Second question is also easy~ even if we are excommunicated we still follow the rules that tied us to the Order~. Little Laila is currently sleeping in her room dreaming of the Charming Hero~." She said with a smile. I twitched my mouth when I heard James recently spreading nickname, the guy got it when he was accidentally bumped into a maid carrying a pail of water and got drenched. That scene was accidentally seen by a passing noble lady and it spread like wild fire from the mouths of the noble ladies and the sharp ears of the maids.

"Third and lastly… It's because of that guy." She answered me this time with an angry face pointed at the podium where a weird guy is standing and making a grand speech. Now that I felt it there where nobody that noticed me who have wounds talking with a cute girl, I saw the people having a panicked look and the fake guards pointing their weapons at the fl.u.s.tered people leaving us alone in the open. So I sharpened my senses and finally noticed where covered by a strange aura. Thinking such things, I looked at the guy and felt his face familiar.

"Wait… I know that guy I saw his face once I think I saw it in a wanted poster." I blurted out when I finally remembered where I have seen his face.

"*nods*Yes that bastard is a wanted criminal, his name is Drakel the Mad Priest of Twisted Dolls… If that creep did not have that piece of paper…" She murmured the last few words to herself.

"Wait that weird rumor was true?" I asked, even if she murmured the last few words I heard the words 'piece of paper' it finally made sense why. Drakel is a priest working at the Temple of Death and he was branded as a heretic when it was found out he was using corpses as the main ingredient to his puppets.

The guy was a strong volunteer in helping clean war torn places of corpses so the vultures known as necromancers won't use the bodies in vile practices and was found out about his 'secret' when a surviving soldier in his last assignment escaped and saw how he finished off some of the surviving men out there and skinned them alive while praising the Goddess that the temple prays to. The thing that baffled a lot of people is why the Lost Banshees which was a division of the Order famous for their upright heart assisted him in escaping the other executers.

So weird rumors and conspiracies spread like wild fire especially when the Temple with their long standing history of sending traitors to the graves stopped the chase. The most prevailing rumor is Drakel hold the weakness of the Lost Banshees and the Temple knows it and due to their leader who is a 'very important' saintess they stopped chasing him.

"Yes… it's because of that annoying clause that we cannot spread the truth." She smiled weakly. It seems I was spot on. My preparations to escape is finally over, if I just had dragged William around and felt it was fine I could had let big bro take over and stab that bastard. But I still need to ask something just to satiate my inner curiosity.

"Wait! How come you did not just ask someone from the Temple of Magic to dispel the contract?" I asked her with curious eyes when I noticed her preparing to chop me to pieces.

"It was a contract using the Soul." She said weakly, I finally get it. Any form of contract involving the soul needs a peak 7th Stage or Circle of strength and knowledge of a Pope from the Temple of Magic to break them without the consent of the people who swore in the contract alongside the Goddess Minerva's authority of any form of magic involving the soul. The only one said to have reached that level of strength is the leader of the fourth generation heroes and that guy's location is unknown to even the Wizard Marshall himself while the current Pope was just recently chosen so the guy is still in their vast libraries tutored by the elders and the only Saintess that can harness Goddess Minerva's authority is well known to follow the 'equivalent exchange' theory so the only thing that brings them if they ask her is definitely another pact of slavery.

"Now that I satisfied your curiosity Tenryuu-san~ please die~." She said with a smile.

'Now!!' When I was preparing to release the technique I was preparing... in that moment I finally felt it.

I did not sense 'it' when all my focus is stuck with this girl and the technique but when that moment I released my tension I finally noticed the strange incongruity. We are actually currently facing the door just leading outside the hall way and I saw the fake guards stationed there on the ground with white faces like they had seen a ghost. In my slowed perspective due to my pumping adrenaline I peered through the moonlit road outside the hallway and I saw a huge shadow. I sensed how 'its' presence and the air that overwhelmed the hall felt oddly similar. When I pieced it together I finally understood.

I saw Death.

I looked at 'Death' in horror that is bathed in moonlight that acted as its spotlight in these dance floor.

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Extra:

Lost Banshee

"Hey~ hey~ how many members does your group have~" – Yamada

"50 why?" – 'Laila'

"…*smirk*" – Yamada

"You! You just thought of something perverted you bastard!" – 'Layla'

"H-hey! That's my balls you trying to dissect! I was not the only one thinking of something right!" – Yamada *secretly looks at the readers*

Kewwl!!!(A segment of What if…)

*sees the carnage brought by Drakel*