Everyone stared at the empty carriage for a good ten seconds before their brain was able to process what happened.

Right now in front of them, the carriage lay empty. The adventurer they had worked so hard to capture was not inside. The carriage wasn’t completely empty….there were the bandages and clothes which the adventurer wore, there were a pile of bones and a bunch of organs lying around….in all it was wrong to say empty….the carriage had something just not a living adventurer.

Was he dead? Had he been killed or did he commit suicide?

What happened to all his flesh?

What spell destroys the muscle and leaves behind bones and organs?

Everyone who could see inside was disgusted.

Nobody knew what to do next.

Once again they were faced with situation that they could not explain or had faced before.

If you pick up a live healthy prisoner, then when the doors open you should have a live healthy prisoner. Now if in the process the prisoner were to die, then there should be a body which one can conduct a post mortem on and learn of the cause of death….what do you do when its only half the body?

Conclude murder? Suicide? Or escape?

The one who broke the silence was Vanessa.

“SEARCH THE CITY! TRACE BACK OUR PATH! HE MUST NOT ESCAPE!” Vanessa screamed in frustration.

The soldiers looked at her as if she was kidding.

Surely, nobody can survive without bones and vital organs?

“GET TO IT!” Vanessa snapped.

Only those of the Erito forces who had clashed with Sora and seen him live without a heart knew why Vanessa had issued this order. They were quick to disperse the moment Vanessa said to find him.

Vanessa was certain that the adventurer could survive even without bones and vital organs.

She had witnessed it.

She didn’t know what kind magic it was but seeing it once was enough for her. She could draw a wide range of conclusions from it; including that Sora was alive and had been waiting for this moment.

‘Just what are you…’ Vanessa thought as she looked at the body parts left behind in the carriage.

***

The purple team members looked down at the scene of confusion.

The five members looked unperturbed.

“Kiyoma, do you see what I see?” A short girl with pink hair spoke.

“Yesss..” Came back a reply from a man with a black serpent like head. He was a member of the Serpent Tribe as well.

“Since when did the dead walk?” The pink haired girl continued to speak.

The other three looked at the girl with a raised eyebrow.

“The question was rhetorical! Sheessh….even I know the undead can walk….look at the context!” The girl defended her statement.

“I seeee the one with a body as cold as stone walking with the rest…that is neither dead nor the alive…” Kiyoma spoke as he came to the rescue of the pink haired girl.

“I must say…it was brilliantly done…” Another member of the purple group spoke up. It was a tall man with blue hair. “I would have escaped at the first chance I got….yet here he stands with them as one of them…”

“I believe he has reasons for doing so…” Another member spoke up. It was a girl with green hair.

“Like?” The blue haired man asked.

“He needs what he lefts behind.”

“I see…so he will sneak up and pick it up in the confusion…interesting…I wonder what kind of magic this is?”

“I sense no magic.” The last member spoke up. He had normal black hair.

The other four members looked at the black haired boy.

“No magic?” They asked in unison.

“Yeah…not an ounce of it….maybe some in those bones….but otherwise nothing…”

“He really is interesting.” said the blue haired man.

“So can we pick him up?” The pink haired girl spoke excitedly.

“No….not yet…” The blue haired man replied. He clearly appeared to be the leader of the group.

“We must see what he does next. Just because we catch the tail of the snake wiggling we must not cut it off. We must find the head too…” The green haired girl explained.

“Sheeesshh….Maria and her explanations…..” The pink haired girl complained.

“It would be better to capture the entire gang and the leader of the gang than just one low classed adventurer.” The black haired boy quickly explained.

“He’s got what he needs…” Kiyoma interrupted the conversation.

“Really….brilliantly done….he went so casually to the carriage as a volunteer to clean it up….” The leader complimented Sora.

“I still don’t understand how he got out…” The pink haired girl complained. “And how did he knock out the soldier at the end of the line?”

“That is not relevant to the situation right now.” The black haired boy cooly replied. “For our mission to proceed we must only understand what we can ….”

“Hida-san is boring as well….everything by the rule book…” The pink haired girl complained.

“He’s running away now…” Kiyoma pointed out as he watched Sora clad in white uniform dash away from the others.

The soldiers below did not even notice that one of them who had offered to clean up the mess had disappeared now.

“I really can’t believe they made a human captain of the Erito forces…” The pink haired girl continued her whining. “They should have made you captain….Vassel”

The blue haired man, Vassel, looked at the girl and then spoke. “Yeah…but then I really don’t like politics…”

“Liar!” The pink haired girl said. “You actually like Vanessa, don’t you?”

“Let’s go after him.” Vassel said as he refused to reply the last question.

Nobody said anything after that.

The five simply jumped from roof top to roof, staying behind Sora carefully observing where he was headed.

***

The Abbe returned to the Blue Inn. He was completely drenched.

Maylon and Gustav were sitting at the reception. They had been anxiously waiting for the Abbe to return.

“Grandfather!” Maylon cried out as she saw her Grandfather return.

Before the Abbe could say a word, blood began dripping from his mouth.

A long silver sword protruded through his stomach.

“Good evening.” The cold words came from behind the Abbe…there stood the black butler.