30: Unforeseen Circumstances

After a few minutes, the massive ghoul horde had been eradicated. The ground was littered with their corpses, oozing stinky and viscous blood.

Emil and Ira stood in the basement, a strange expression on both of their faces. There was slight anger apparent on Ira’s face and her lips were pressed into a hard, straight line.

The necromancer never came.

Neither of them were able to understand why.

“Could they not have been inside?” Ira wondered, her irritation evident. Even though she did not display it outwardly, she still had a cautious side to her. The thought of being ignorant right now left her uneasy.

“Even so, they would have sensed that we’ve been killing their soldiers.”

What did it mean if the necromancer didn’t come to confront them?

Emil had an idea in his head, but he did not like this conclusion.

Ira clicked her tongue. “Damn…”

“It’s possible that we underestimated our enemy,” Emil said, sheathing his daggers. “And that may have lost us our advantage.”

She tightened her hands into fists. “I think you’re right.”

Every move they had made thus far was based off an assumption.

The two of them came to realize that this might have been more dangerous than originally expected. It wasn’t that they were looking down on the necromancer, but both of them operated under the thought that the ghouls were the main reason behind their actions. If these creatures were to be attacked, wouldn’t the necromancer jumped forward to stop it?

But they hadn’t.

Which meant that the ghouls were not that important and the necromancer could afford to sacrifice them.

Was it to mislead people like Ira and Emil? It couldn’t be said for sure. Either way, they had been revealed to the necromancer while the latter remained in the shadows.

Emil did not consider himself to be a mastermind. He was very aware of his own limits and tried to compensate for them. Generally, he tried to err on the side of caution.

Ira was on the same boat. She was intelligent enough, but had a naturally straightforward personality.

Both had fall into the multiple traps the necromancer had laid thus far.

It left them feeling bitter.

Emil kicked himself for not having taken longer to think it through. He knew that the time did not allow them that luxury, but he still was irritated.

Now they know we’re aware of them.

This could lead to many possibilities. One was that the necromancer would hide themselves even deeper in the crowd. Or, they would begin their hidden agenda even sooner now. There were other choices, but Emil felt that these two were the most logical.

After all, the array would not remain open long enough for the necromancer to dilly-daddle. Especially since they were aware that there was at least one person or more that knew about the truth. Even if they didn’t want to, they’d have to hurry it up because it was possible that their plan could be interrupted.

Emil and Ira both agreed on this. They considered finding the main group and joining up with them. This would, perhaps, apply pressure. It would be possible for them to reveal the necromancer’s existence and possible goals to everyone else, gaining the support of the majority.

Still, it also meant that the necromancer would know their faces and they’d lose all form of secrecy. It was a trade-off which could prove to beneficial to them.

Anyone who acted suspiciously would be doubted and isolated by the rest of the group so the necromancer would have to react fast if they didn’t want to become a suspect.

Both of them agreed that forcing the necromancer into making a choice was their best option. They were still pretty confident that he was in the late Argenti stage or else he wouldn’t bother with all of the extra trouble and directly attack the mercenaries. The man outside the array was probably an hired for protection.

If they could end the necromancer, there was a chance that he wouldn’t even bother with them because he wouldn’t get paid for it. They still operated under the basis that he would attack them, though.

Their plan was rather straightforward at the end of the day: use brute force.

“Feels like we’re a step behind still,” Ira said with a dry laugh as they ascended the staircase. “But this time, I’m feeling even more excited. I really want to punch that bastard in the face.” As if to prove it, her fist was trembling at her side.

“Calm down,” he warned lowly.

“I’m all right.” She shook her head a little. “They won’t get another chance to dupe us. I’ll kill them myself. Trust me.”

Emil stared at her right hand, clenched into a fist so tightly he wondered if she’d bleed. He prayed she wouldn’t attack everyone in the group if they couldn’t determine who the necromancer was fast enough.

He didn’t want to see the others hurt, so he could only hope that wouldn’t be the case.

“Let’s hurry up,” Ira growled. “I don’t want to give them any more time.”

“Promise me you won’t do anything rash,” Emil responded.

She glanced back at him, her red eyes glowing. “I am not what you think I am.”

Emil shook his head. “You have to prove that to me.”

Hearing his words, shock registered on Ira’s face. Her expression evened out again, the blaze in her eyes dimming. “Fine.”