The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 197: Studying the murals (2)

Chapter 197: Studying the murals (2)

’Saint Elsa Oswaldo was a true badass.’

The murals depicted the life of the Saint, highlighting her bravery and honorable conduct. The notes provided by Sterling helped tremendously in ’reading’ the figures.

After scouring the walls the entire morning, he paused to get a bite. He munched on the rabbit’s leg he caught and grilled. Although his backpack held plenty of rations, he ignored them, saving the dry biscuits and water bottles for a time when no other options were available.

With his path blocked by life-threatening dangers, he decided to study the dome. Although time ticked by, he liked to take rests whenever possible. But the main reason to hole up inside the dome was his interest in the dragon’s figure. He hoped to learn more about it while the chance existed.

’She fought bandits and monsters, freeing these parts from their terror. According to the murals, a Dragon did fly over these parts. And she confronted it but the outcome is missing. Did she die or did she kill it? If she killed it, how did the governor end up owning it? And why is there no mention of it in any of the books out there?’

After his break, Hex decided to investigate the cabinets. It was clear that no human visited the dome after Notrelune’s fall. Scouts worked like scavengers. They would have taken everything with them, even the mottled doors of the cabinets.

The moment Hex touched the cabinet, the door crumbled. With a wry smile, he looked inside. The cabinet seemed empty for the most part with some broken miniature statues and books inside.

’They are worthless.’

His happiness turned into a frown when he opened the pages. The ink faded a long time ago, leaving torn and stained pages behind. Displeased, Hex tapped the cabinet.

Crack.

The cabinet collapsed, leaving Hex frozen for a bit.

"Fuck it."

He kicked the broken pieces, sending them flying. Just as he turned to leave, his eyes fell on the now-uncovered wall. A circular mural stood there, faded but still clear enough to be read.

In the middle of the mural, he saw the Saint standing hand in hand with a male figure. She held a baby in her arms. The man’s blurred face didn’t hide his statelyness. Behind them, stood a large castle. Above the castle stood a crest, depicting crossed swords in front of a reptilian head. Hex suspected it to be the dragon’s head. But what drew Hex’s attention was the snake-like figure curled up underneath the castle.

’Is that the governor’s ancestor?’

According to the information he received, the corpse lay in the vault of the governor’s castle. It was plausible the ancestors of the governor built their castle on top of the corpse, preserving it. After all, a Devil-stage corpse should be invaluable.

’I assume they kept it as a family inheritance. If Mother hadn’t caused the city’s destruction, they still would have an invaluable asset. Shame they died but I seem to have some affinity with it. The first dome I studied, turned out to be of someone who slain the creature years ago?’

Hex made a mental note about the crest, the castle, and its layout. He believed he would need this information when searching for the corpse. It wouldn’t be during this outing.

The governor’s castle stood in the district of the high and mighty. Hex didn’t doubt one second that the dangers in that area would surpass the dangers of all other districts combined. Entering it would be akin to suicide at this point. He required the assistance of others if he wished to stand a chance.

Hex spend the remainder of the day resting and preparing for the area to come. He didn’t dare to underestimate the warning placed by the scouts. Those people entered the central region with the Calamity still around in the market district. Undoubtedly they were lucky but their luck depended on their bravery to even consider taking such risks.

...

The next day, early in the morning, he exited the dome. All in all, this place rewarded him with plenty of stuff. He gained more of the Souldust - he named it as such - and found some clues about the Frost Dragon. He also gained a trick up his sleeve by adding the Souldust to his techniques to wreak havoc.

He traveled through the day, discovering a few domes in his path, none of which he saw marked on the map. In some he sensed Disasters but there were two he didn’t sense anything from. He avoided those two especially. He rather assume them to house Calamities than think them empty only to encounter something he might lose his life to.

At night he rested in the tree trunks, trying to contain his energy as much as possible. In one day he saw enough evidence to prove the skull on the map wasn’t a mistake. Others, who didn’t have his advantages would have died during the day.

To conceal his tracks, Hex even refrained from killing smaller creatures, afraid to lure something bigger by the smell of blood.

’The map doesn’t have notes past this point. This will be new territory...or my grave,’ Hex mused with a hollow laugh.

He stood on a branch near a river branch, parting the forest. The map showed the stream but the other side of the creak missed notes and marks. To make matters worse, the scouts colored the water red.

’My senses aren’t picking anything. Is there a Calamity inside or is the river too deep to explore with senses alone?’

After a moment of hesitation, Hex gritted his teeth and neared the water. He rarely experienced such nervousness. Dark crevices, narrow and murky caves, and deserted alleys, all were familiar territory. Facing life and death in those places was akin to breathing for him. But water? Even normal fishes creeped him out.

"I can do this!"

Taking a deep breath, Hex put his toes in the water.

"Brrr!"

Cold.

The water was too cold. The boy who hunted in frozen chasms jumped back when touched by the cold water. After calming his thumping heart, he took another deep breath and put his foot inside.

Cold.

But he didn’t retract his foot this time. Instead, he put his other foot inside. Standing in ankle-deep water, he stared at the water like it was his mortal enemy. He felt the mud beneath.

"Let’s go!"

He gritted his teeth and took a few more steps. The water reached his knees. The breeze flowing made him shiver. He took another step...and froze.

Something brushed against his feet. The murky water limited visibility and he didn’t sense a thing!

Again. It brushed against his feet again.

Unwilling to die without a fight, Hex retrieved his sword and jumped.

"FUCK....you?"

His sword cut through the ’enemy’ easily. When he pulled back, he saw a bush of wet thin grass on the edge of his blade.

Standing in the knee-deep water, he wished to drown himself. ’Luckily, no one saw that.’

He stepped forward. Again something brushed against his feet. ’You think I will fall for that twice?’ He laughed but his smile faltered. The scouts colored the river red. What if he neglected the danger? What if it wasn’t grass this time?

Standing in the middle of the river with the water reaching his chest, Hex didn’t know what to do. Despite the cold water and cool breeze, he sweated.

He balled his fists and proceeded. Nothing happened. He continued to wade through the river. Step by step. Nothing happened but his heart was in his mouth. He expected something to happen. Anytime. But nothing happened. Not when his waist came out of the water, not when his knee came out of the water, and not when his ankles came out of the water. Finally, he was out of the water, shivering and trembling. But nothing happened. Was he lucky? Or did the scouts make a mistake?

Woosh!

Suddenly, he felt the wind on his back. But he stood upwind!

Flex Step!

Without looking, he jumped up. Something brushed against his feet. But this time he was certain it wasn’t grass. The thickness surpassed his entire width. It came down the large trees at the side of the river.

Bam!

Having missed Hex, the thing crashed into the water. Hex landed a bit farther and watched with apprehension at the waves coming from the river. He sensed the energy it radiated. A Disaster.

Slowly, a large head emerged while its body moved in the water. Looking right into the cold eyes of the boa, Hex knew a battle was unavoidable.

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