Hearing the loud footsteps of a gigantic creature coming closer, the trio of half-beasts hid behind some boxes in a narrow alley. These boxes were small, and to hide together, they had to squeeze in.
As the creature approached their street, they could smell the rotten lemon smell getting more and more intense.
When the creature reached the street parallel to the alley where the half-beasts were hiding, he smelled a sweet perfume in the air, which was a very different smell from the ones he was used to.
Following the line formed by the perfume, the creature was led into a narrow alley, a place his head would not enter even if he were half his size. Aware of this, the creature stretched out one of his arms to reach what might be there, whether it was a person or a different food.
Meredith was sweating cold, pressing her own hand against her mouth and nose to avoid making the slightest noise. She looked over and realized that Luke was as calm as ever. That reassured her a little.
When the gigantic white paw crawled on the ground beside them, the trio could see dull black claws on a hand with only four fingers, three in front and one behind.
At the moment the creature's hand passed beside the boxes, Luke quietly summoned his Panspermia axe, because no matter how strong the creature was, this was still an Epic-level axe.
Frustrated that his hand hadn't accomplished anything relevant, the creature thought about climbing the rooftop houses, but deduced that such an effort wouldn't be worthy. The creature huffed in stress and started to walk away, still causing small tremors in the town with each step.
Luke and Alexis were relatively calm because they knew that when it comes to demons, any kind of thing could happen; however, Meredith was too inexperienced in mystical matters, being the typical type of person who had never seen a monster in front of her before.
"Ha... Ha..." The half-fox became breathless as she finally allowed herself to breathe. "What was that thing?" She asked the two adventurers in a low tone of voice.
Before Alexis or Luke had a chance to answer, they heard the creak of a door in the alley. A few moments later, a man poked his head out, looked both ways, and upon seeing the trio of half-wits, spoke:
"Come on! Get in quick! Before the monster comes back here!"
They didn't think twice; after all, they couldn't find any other person brave enough to open the door for them.
After the trio went through the door that the bald and fat man opened, they found a partially dark room, illuminated only by a few candles on a table. Behind this table was a woman who appeared to be about thirty-five years old, and on her lap was a tiny baby.
After the door had closed, Luke took the liberty of starting the conversation and asked the locals:
"What was that thing?"
"I don't know... one day he appeared, and since then, he goes out regularly to eat." While he went over to the table to check the wax candles' size, the man answered in a hurry. "Since then, people don't go out on the streets to work or buy anything... Did you really come to kill this creature?"
Before answering the man, the half-dragon had the sensitivity to realize that the humble family was cold, so she took off her jacket and said:
"Take this... this winter can't be easy with this situation." She held out the jacket to the old man, since the woman next to him had her hands full.
Surprised by this gesture, the man had no delay and took the warm coat to cover his daughter and grandson.
"Thank you." The man and the woman thanked her.
"Answering your question: we are here to kill anything that is doing harm to this city. You can help us by giving up information, right?" Alexis asked.
" Of course... it's not every time we get a chance to see adventurers." The man replied, pulling out a chair for the S-Class to sit at the empty table. "What do you need to know?"
Alexis needed to take it easy so as not to frighten the locals further, at the same time building up their trust, so she did not immediately ask about the demons.
"We heard that the attacks by an animal started a few months ago, and now there is a monster prowling the town. Are these things linked?" As far as the half-wolf gang knew, a male demon was killing and devouring some people, not a giant creature.
"Ha! Are they linked? Of course, they are, because they both have the same culprits: Marie and Masink!" The fat man said, getting a little stressed. "I'm sorry about that. It's just that every time I remember that at this hour they must be in that mansion on top of the hill, with their butts facing the warm fireplace, I get angry."
Everyone in the trio of half-beasts came to the same conclusion at that moment: he was talking about the demons.
"Who are these people you mentioned?" Luke questioned, pulling up a chair at the table to sit down too.
"Masink is the honorary earl, and Marie is his wife. They called themselves that after the nobles who lived on top of the hill died, and they took over the place." More quiet this time, the man explained.
It is common knowledge that in the Broteforge Empire, there are no titles such as count, marquis, duke, and other noble titles; after all, there are only eight noble families recognized by the Emperor, and the others are just different branches of those same noble families. Therefore, the only title of authority within a noble family is that of Matriarch or Patriarch. For this reason, everyone was surprised by the title employed to Masink.
"What do this count and countess look like? Are they strong or perhaps adventurers?"
The woman with the baby on her lap was the one who answered this time. "They are the most horrifying people I have ever seen. Their skin is as pale as dried wheat, and they are always smiling proudly with their pointy teeth... After they arrived, the earth began to rot, people started to disappear, and after a few months, that creature appeared. Now, we rarely have the chance to leave our homes and fetch firewood. With the coming of winter, everything just got worse."
"Calm down, Isabelle… the things will get better." The old man spoke and looked at the trio of half-beasts. "They seem to be strong adventurers, maybe they can really help us."
"It doesn't matter how strong they are, father. That monster out there, and those two on top of the hill... They're too powerful."
Luke didn't mind the woman's emotional opinion and continued the conversation. "When we were outside the city, we didn't see or hear the giant creature. Is there anywhere he could have been before we entered the city?" He questioned.
"I don't know. Usually, this thing appears out of nowhere, but people say he usually takes his victims to the Abandoned Mines."
"Then we'll start our attack there." The half-wolf knew that when it comes to living creatures, no matter if it's a monster, animal, or human, a creature's most vulnerable moment will always be after a meal.
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