Chapter 6: The Bell of Heuka

“…What do we do now, boss?”

“I don’t know either, you bastard.”

Without even looking back, Doris and his group fled in a state that could only be described as utterly wretched.

They tumbled through the dirt while chasing after Claire, got singed by fire.

Of course, the worst of them all was, without a doubt, Paulo.

Not only was he crying and sniffling, but the stench of urine hung thick around him.

“To think there were two Skill Users in a backwater village like that…”

Doris, Haman, and Folke fled on pure instinct.

Their mercenary’s intuition screamed at them—what they’d just seen was a monster far beyond any Enlightened they’d ever encountered.

[Attention]

Anyone would think so, after witnessing someone summon storm clouds, thunder, and lightning, and then flash like a bolt themselves.

That’s why they ran without a second thought, driven by instinct.

They had no time to worry about Claire, who’d fainted at their feet, or Paulo, who was still too stunned to grasp the situation.

Their heads were filled with only one thought: if they didn’t run, they’d die.

“Haa… It’s going to be hard to even find another village like that.”

“We’re almost out of food, too. What are we supposed to do now?”

If they’d known things would turn out like this, they would have at least stolen plenty of food when they first arrived at the village.

They’d grown complacent, thinking they could always come back.

“Now that I think about it… didn’t we almost die in that restaurant?”

At Folke’s words, the three of them stiffened.

Hadn’t they smacked that monster on the back of the head and slapped his face in that very restaurant?

Looking back, it was sheer madness.

“Why the hell is a monster like that hiding his power out in the sticks?”

“How should I know. That’s a seriously twisted hobby, if you ask me.”

“Ugh… Whatever. Let’s just rest for now.”

They’d run so hard, they had no idea where they even were anymore.

As they lay sprawled in a field of grass somewhere unknown—

Ding-ling—

A faint bell sounded from somewhere.

Ding-ling, ding-ling—

Doris slowly rose at the sound of that unnatural bell.

Ding-ling—

A story that had been passed among mercenaries like a legend suddenly came to mind.

“…Get up. Now!”

The Legend of the Bell, said to come only for the wicked.

A bizarre group so elusive that, even after decades of conflict with the Empire, not a single member had ever been caught.

A paradise for villains.

A sanctuary for the wicked.

The continent’s most notorious criminal organization.

Heuka.

Whenever they appeared, the chilling sound of a bell always accompanied them.

“Mercenary Doris, Mercenary Haman, Mercenary Folke, Mercenary Paulo.”

Between the chimes, an eerie voice echoed out.

“Former members of the Valter Mercenary Corps, but killed fellow members and a client. Fled with valuables. Prior to that, secretly committed crimes such as rape and murder…”

With the voice, five unfamiliar figures appeared before Doris as if out of the mist.

“Is it true?”

Five masked men, all cloaked in black robes.

Realizing who they were, Doris quickly dropped to his knees and bowed his head.

“Have you come from Heuka…?”

But the man in the black robe only repeated himself.

“Is it true?”

“Ah, yes! It’s true!”

The other three, quick-witted as ever, followed Doris’s lead and knelt, bowing their heads.

“We did it! It’s true!”

By now, the fog had grown thick.

That bizarre bell continued to sound from somewhere.

The ominous figures and voices of the Black-robed Men.

“Heuka is watching you.”

At those words, Doris pressed himself flat to the ground, clenching his fists.

What could be sweeter to a villain than these words, spoken to one who knows he’s wicked?

If they could just join Heuka, they’d never have to run or hide, or worry about food again.

“It’s an honor! I desperately want to join Heuka!”

The other three echoed him, voices full of joy.

“We pledge our loyalty to Heuka!”

“We’ll follow you with our lives!”

But the voice of the Black-robed Man looking down at them remained utterly emotionless.

“To join Heuka, you must prove yourselves.”

“We’ll prove ourselves!”

“We’re ready for any trial!”

Their voices brimmed with hope at the chance to join the legendary group they’d only ever heard of in rumors.

“I saw a village nearby as we came.”

At the Black-robed Man’s next words, their minds went blank.

“Kill all the villagers and set the place ablaze. Etch your names where they can’t be missed. That is the Trial of Black Fang.”

That was why Heuka’s secrets never leaked, and their unity was so strong.

To join Heuka, one had to spread their infamy far and wide.

The Empire’s power was overwhelming, and there was no mercy for villains.

Once you made your name known like this, there was no going back.

Loyalty to Heuka was now their only way to survive.

“Uh… What if we refuse…?”

Paulo, the most afraid of Hio, mustered up his courage to ask.

The answer was cold and firm.

“We don’t bother keeping witnesses alive.”

In other words, refuse, and die right here.

There was no choice.

So Doris spoke as carefully as he could to the Black-robed Man.

“In the village… there are two Skill Users. We let our guard down and got hurt because of… that…”

“So, you’re saying you can’t do it?”

“N-no! We can do it!”

Refuse, and die.

Overwhelmed by the terrifying presence and the Black-robed Men, Doris couldn’t answer any other way.

“Still, with your current skills, two Skill Users would be tough. We’ll take care of those two. But you must kill the villagers, burn the village, and carve your names in the most visible place.”

“Th-thank you…”

At Doris’s reply, the Black-robed Man pulled something from his robe and tossed it beside Doris’s head.

A bell, painted pitch black.

“When you’re ready, ring the bell three times at regular intervals. We’ll come.”

“Y-yes… Thank you…”

There was no reply to Doris’s thanks, and when he finally raised his head, the Black-robed Men had vanished into the mist.

Without a sound.

…Phew…

“Boss… What are we really going to do?”

“I should’ve told them there was a monster in that village…”

Doris suddenly snapped and shouted at their pathetic expressions.

“You idiots! Are you going to run around telling everyone we’re useless?”

“B-but there really is a monster in there…”

“Yeah, that guy’s the problem. But if you think about it, as long as he’s gone, it’s doable, isn’t it?”

If they could lure that monster away and, in the meantime, burn the village and kill the villagers…

If they could pull that off quickly, they’d be accepted into Heuka and be safe.

It’s Heuka, after all.

If those five are as strong as they seem… maybe even that monster would be no match for them.

“True… I’d only heard the rumors, but seeing them in person was terrifying.”

“Whether they’re people or ghosts… And there were five of them. Maybe we really can do this…”

That monster who commanded lightning was terrifying, but the Heuka members who appeared like ghosts were just as fearsome.

And there were five of them on their side.

“No way, boss! You’re all saying that because none of you saw that monster up close…!”

“Shut up, Paulo! Should we have just died here, then?”

“T-that’s not what I meant…”

“There’s no other choice. Now that it’s come to this, steel yourselves. It’s Heuka. The one group even the Empire can’t catch—Heuka.”

“…Yes.”

Doris’s eyes flashed with a cold, determined light.

The gaze of someone with nothing left to lose.

His mind was made up.

“What’s done is done. We’ll leave the monster to Heuka, and if it comes to it, even that woman—”

It was just another ordinary day.

***

Ever since the lightning storm two days ago, the weather had been clear, and the villagers’ anxiety was slowly fading.

“You’re a pushover!”

“Yeah! You’re a pushover!”

Hio was still the children’s favorite plaything, but even so, he didn’t push them away.

He’d gotten used to it, and these days, such teasing rarely rattled his patience.

Besides, with only a little left until his goal, he was willing to put up with it.

After enduring the kids, he’d go inside the shop, where he’d be greeted by Claire’s pouty face—another part of his daily routine.

“I told you, I don’t like it.”

“What now? Why again?”

“Don’t you ever think about fixing that cowardly personality of yours?”

“As I’ve said countless times, I’m not a coward—I’m a pacifist.”

Even this sort of conversation was perfectly ordinary.

Although, from here, things were a little different.

“…Fine. I’ll let it slide.”

Claire’s attitude had changed noticeably since the incident two days ago.

“Huh? That’s it?”

“W-what else was I supposed to say…?”

Normally, she’d snap at him, call him a coward, pathetic, stupid, and so on…

‘…Whatever! I’m going upstairs!’

With a loud yell, Claire stomped off to the upper floor.

After she woke from her exhaustion-induced fainting, they’d told her the villagers had banded together and chased off the thugs.

She’d been a little suspicious at first, but soon accepted it.

After all, there was no way cowardly Hio could have fought them off alone.

Of course, if Claire went around asking anyone in the village, the lie would be exposed immediately.

But knowing Claire would never do that made it a safe lie to tell.

After all, Claire was the village’s biggest loner.

She insisted she was the one avoiding others, but it amounted to the same thing.

In the end, it meant she had no friends.

Anyway, since that day, she seemed to avoid calling Hio a coward.

Even though she’d come with the villagers, the only person Claire remembered seeing was Hio.

The thought that Hio, the coward, had run at the front for her sake made her heart feel strange.

‘Hmph! He can’t say a word to the village kids, so how did he manage that?’

With those thoughts, Claire stomped upstairs.

Hio watched her go, letting out a small sigh.

“Whew… Time to clean up.”

Maybe it was a late-blooming adolescence… He just couldn’t keep up with her ever-changing moods.

‘Still, those guys probably won’t dare come back here.’

Even to him, the Skill effect he’d shown was absurd.

It was the sort of thing you’d only see in the late stages of a game.

The lower the scum, the more they valued their own lives, so they wouldn’t dare come near.

‘Still, just in case, I’ll ask Jason when he comes.’

He couldn’t shake his unease.

Jason was due to visit again soon, so he planned to ask him to finish those guys off for good.

‘And once I max out my Patience… I’ll have to leave.’

It wouldn’t be long before his Patience reached the target of 1000.

Then he’d have to leave the village and start acting in earnest.

He already knew where he’d go.

‘Last Mage’s Tomb…’

The place Hio had to visit once his Patience was maxed out.

Coming to this village wasn’t just because of Jason.

It was one of the few places he hadn’t thoroughly explored in the early days, and there was a dungeon nearby that only he knew about.

***

Last Mage’s Tomb

Hio had discovered that dungeon at the start of the game, looted everything from it, and then sealed it off—no one else knew about it.

That’s why he’d chosen it as his first destination after leaving the village.

There was something there that couldn’t be obtained at the start.

“All right, cleaning time!”

With a determined shout, Hio started scrubbing with his rag.

There really wasn’t much time left now.

He’d endured for two years, and only had a few months to go.

Parting with the kind villagers would be a shame, but leaving was also a way to protect them.

He’d enjoy these peaceful days for just a few months more.

…Or so he thought.

“Fire! Fire!”

“W-what is that?!”

“F-fire!”

That was, until the village was engulfed in flames.