Records of the Weakest Emperor

Chapter 172: A Cry

"Since there is a Witch here, then there must be a Sabbath. A Sabbath might be dangerous however, they only stay in one place. I must locate where the Sabbath is, then memorize that location so I can avoid it at all costs. However, a Witch isn't an existence that pops up randomly in a battlefield like Ghouls or Creepers..."

"In short, something must've brought them here..." Calvin thought to himself.

He was careful in his movements, cautious of violating any taboo as he followed the route that he gave Heisenberg and Ricardo.

"The Witch earlier wasn't even at the Purveyor-rank... If I were to make a deduction, then there must be no Ambassador-ranked monster here, or the church would've already noticed this village earlier and sent a punitive force. But just because there's no Ambassador doesn't mean that there are no Emissaries... Furthermore, what if there are a dozen Purveyor-ranked monsters here?"

"The Mortician's strength is below that of a Purveyor, but I should be able to forcefully raise his strength by burning the essence that he got from Valefor's soul fragment. Unfortunately, that would mean that I am risking the Mortician's death since using that essence that's already infused in his body meant that I am also burning a part of his vitality at the same time..."

"I won't use that method unless push comes to shove."

"For now, I should investigate the village and find out just what kind of monsters are in here and how many of them are here..."

Calvin faintly nodded. He had made his plan and a decision was done.

"But still, discover the secret of the Village of Tulog? And gain followers? How do I even gain followers when I guess every person in this village is already dead? Could it be that there are still survivors? That should be the case... I don't think the Ascension System would give a mission with no rhyme or reason nor any way to complete it."

"There must be survivors here somewhere..."

Calvin pondered before an idea came to mind, "The villagers must've gathered those passengers they kidnapped to the village center. We scouted the village from the high ground earlier, but we haven't seen any kind of settlement suitable for prisoners around the western, eastern, southern, and northern parts of the village. In other words, the kidnapped passengers must be in the village center."

Calvin made his way towards the southern gate of the village using the route that he had memorized. A piercing shriek suddenly rang ahead of him and his pupils constricted in shock. The shriek was so loud that it was impossible that it only came from a single being. The sound must be the result of the amalgamation of shrieks and this particular cry could only come from a single foul monster.

The Witch.

Sabbath.

"The Witches!"

"Fuck, they must've startled the Sabbath!" Calvin cursed out loud as he kicked the ground with his feet and made a dash for it towards the direction where the shriek had come from. Priests might be more than qualified to deal against the Witches, but that was only true if Heisenberg knew where to attack.

Witches could only be killed by destroying their brain stems.

Calvin was now regretting the fact that he hadn't told the two about this particular fatal weakness of the Witches.

"I've been too careless... But damn it, why didn't I expect that there was a chance for these two to meet the Sabbath? First, why is the Sabbath even at the Southern Gate? Shouldn't they be gathering at the village center instead?"

"That doesn't make sense, the Witches consume the flesh of the living for their sustenance just like every other Corpse Eater out there, but why are they stationed at the southern gate? Why are they not at the village center where they can pick and consume anyone they like at any time they desire?"

"Someone must be controlling these monsters behind the scenes. We came from the southern gate, so we are distant from the northern gate... It doesn't take a genius to find out that we would most likely exit the village through the southern gate. Someone must be observing us, I don't know where, but that someone or something must be toying with us..."

"If they have the ability to control these wretches, then they must be at least an Emissary. An Emissary in a place like this is an existence that's basically equal to a god. Even if the three of us combined our strength, there is no way that we are able to kill that kind of a monster..."

"Just what kind of a monster is behind all of these? Could it be that it's the Saintess of Death?"

A concerned look appeared on Calvin's face, "If it's indeed the Saintess of Death, then we're fucked... A being that's strong enough to cause miracles and become the subject of faith is basically on the same level as Subordinate Gods. They are only weaker than the Seven Gods and Goddesses. They are peak existences indeed..."

"Damn it, Grace... Do you consider this as an S-Tier Quest? If we're facing the Saintess of Death, then this must be a triple S tiered quest! You categorized it wrong!" Calvin couldn't help but grumble out of irritation. Although he knew that there was a low chance that they were indeed facing a Subordinate God. After all, if that were the case, then the church would've already detected its presence.

But something that wasn't a Subordinate God meant that it could be an Ambassador.

Or maybe even an Emissary.

Both were existences that Calvin couldn't possibly defeat in his current state even if he used everything that he had.

A bitter laugh escaped from Calvin's mouth, but then his expression suddenly froze.

It was because the fire of the oil lamps hanging over the doors of the houses around him suddenly extinguished.

Calvin was instantly plunged into darkness.

"Fuck!" A low groan came out of Calvin's throat as he forced himself to stop at such speed. He swept his gaze around the area as a conjecture appeared in his mind, 'My situation might look hopeless right now, but if the 'thing' that's controlling everything in this village is indeed toying with us, then it's impossible that 'it' wants us to die prematurely...'

'There must be hope within the despair. A light within the darkness.'

'Light...'

'Where is it...'

Calvin activated his Predator Senses and the darkness around him was dispelled. Having a Golden Class, he was able to see through the darkness as if it was in the daytime.

His eyes frantically darted around until he spotted an oil lamp hanging over a door a few meters ahead of him.

Calvin responded immediately.

He made a mad dash for the door and forced it open with his shoulders.

Bang!

A loud commotion ensued, and as the door was opened. A hair-raising aura seemed to have turned its eyes to his way.

"Close it!" Calvin screamed in his heart.

He closed the wooden door and as soon as the door was closed. The sinister aura vanished as if it hadn't existed in the first place.

A sigh came out of Calvin's mouth, but before he could fully relax.

A woman's crying voice rang out from the streets just outside the house where he was in.

"What is that? A woman? Is she a villager here? No, that should not be the case. That resentment that I felt can't possibly come from a human being... She must be a monster. But just what kind of a monster? The Bestiary depicts at least a dozen monsters who can transform into women and cry, what is she?" A tense look suffused Calvin's face.

He stood where he was, unwilling to move for even an inch.

A paper was in his hand, its surface riddled with ink that formed a mysterious rune.

Calvin remained rooted on the spot, but his body leaned closer to the small gap in the door.

His eyes shone in a golden hue as he activated his Vision to look at what was going on out in the street.

The street was still basked in darkness, the winds howled and chilly, but as soon as Calvin peeked through the gap in the door.

The winds suddenly stopped.

Not a noise existed at this moment apart from the woman's crying.

'It's here!'

A faint floating silhouette revealed itself in the distance.

Calvin's pupils constricted as he focused his gaze in that direction.

Soon, the silhouette revealed its identity.

She was a monster wearing clothes belonging to the dead.

Pale and bald, with a shriveled face and a corpse-like body.

She was a...

"Banshee!"

The Banshee floated out in the streets as it continued to cry.

Calvin realized that the Banshee wasn't slow at all, instead, it was flying fast as if it had a purpose.

It visited each and every house around the block until it eventually reached the house where Calvin was hiding.

Sweat dripped from Calvin's forehead as he slowly brought his body down. His muscles tensed like an arrow ready to fly. The Banshee was a terrifying monster similar to a moonwraith. Fortunately, one didn't need to take advantage of a moment's weakness similar to the moonwraith to actually attack the Banshee.

It was because Banshee's had a physical body.

It might be a Specter in nature, but they were more of a Corpse Eater than a Specter due to this physical attribute.

Still, fighting a Banshee was no-joke.

However...

Calvin stroked his golden quill and a bloody silhouette manifested behind him.

It was a young man wearing a hospital gown.

The Mortician!

"Bring it on!"

Calvin screamed in his heart.

His hair stood on its end, Calvin was ready to engage.

As the Banshee stopped in front of the wooden door, it seemed to have noticed the gap in between the door.

It moved closer and stared into the room with its eye that had nothing but an empty socket that looked to be a black hole.

When its non-existent eye landed on Calvin, it opened its mouth and let out a wail!

Boom!

A booming sound rang out as a loud explosion occurred.

The house that Calvin was hiding in was immediately demolished from the force of the Banshee's Cry.