Chapter 44 – Emergency Search

“What is it?” Asterios asked, curious of what Ven had in mind.

“Just recently, we have received another new task. It was labelled as a lower-level emergency but fortunately ranked at E, so you can still participate. We are looking for any adventurers who know a thing or two about tracking.”

“Master! I’m confident in my tracking ability! I worked as a hunter in my village for most of the time!” Miria smiled at him excitedly.

Asterios brushed through her hair. “Yes, I know. Let’s first hear the details.”

After she had their attention again, Venera continued. “Two days ago, an eleven-year-old boy came rushing here while crying and shouting about his brother suddenly disappearing. After hearing him out, some girls at reception pitied him and quickly gathered their pocket money to put an urgent quest. The boys were playing in the nearby forest when one of them supposedly disappeared from the other’s side. The younger brother said it happened when they were passing through a part of a ruined watchtower as they usually do. He couldn’t find his sibling for an hour and ran back to the village.”

“And since some time has passed, I guess he didn’t just return back home?”

“No, he is still missing. Also, the quest was initially F-rank, but our Guildmaster decided to bring it up to E-rank after hearing from the boy about some weird noises, saying that it might be the work of some monster.”

Asterios pondered. “Did people attempt this task already? Did we get something new from them?”

Ven nodded. “Yes, there were two parties who started searching, but they still didn’t find any clues.”

“Any reports about people or animals missing in the vicinity?”

It was Ven’s turn to think for a moment. She then jogged away to another station and started flipping through some book. After returning, she shook her head.

“Doesn’t look like it.”

“Guess that’s all we have. Is it possible to meet with the client?” he asked.

“If you accept the task, I can give you his location. Of course, I’m not forcing you to. I just thought that your companions might have a chance—”

“It’s too late for that. You already brought this to my attention with the hope that I’ll join on the quest. You girls okay with this?” He stopped Venera and turned to his partners.

“Of course, Master! 2 days have already passed! We should find the other boy before he dies of hunger!”

“I’m in the same boat as her, my Lord.”

He nodded at them and turned back to their advisor. “Well then, I don’t feel right about the amount of info, but let’s go with this. Time is crucial here.”

Venera smiled and bowed to them. “Thank you. Here’s how you can get to the boy’s house. I wish you luck! And please, watch yourselves.” She handed Ast a note after registering them for the task.

“Don’t worry! With the two of us around, nothing can get close to Master!” Miria placed her furry hands on the hilts of her swords and puffed out her chest.

After they took a few steps away, Selene slowed down. 

“My Lord…”

Asterios turned around to glance at her. She was looking back at Venera. As he was going to ask what’s wrong, she switched her gaze to Miria and he instantly remembered something.

“Ah. My bad. I completely forgot about the collar.” He brought them back to Ven before anyone else approached her. “Sorry to disturb you again, but since we are already here, I’d like to order one more collar.”

She glanced at Miria at first, thinking that maybe they damaged their previous one, but it was still present on the panthergirl’s neck. Moving her eyes onto Selene, and specifically onto her fluffy ears, she immediately understood the similarity of the situation.

“Of course! Let’s take quick measurements and I’ll pass them to our artisan and we’ll make it while you are gone. Same as the last one?”

“No, this time we don’t need the stretchy material. I’d like you to pick something soft and elegant that would fit the lady here.” 

He gestured at Selene who smiled gracefully. While she was able to keep her expression calm and collected, the joyfully dancing tail behind her back completely gave away her eagerness to have one. Asterios chuckled inwardly and wondered if any Beastfolk could actually control their tails enough for it to not show their true emotions.

Venera took a few glances at the foxkin and nodded her head. “Leave it to me, I’ll make sure to pick one that suits her elegant neck perfectly!”

“Thanks. We’ll be going then. Hopefully, it’s not too late.”

They left the Guild building and rode on Miria’s back towards the location to not waste any more time. Within a few minutes, the described place entered their sight. A young woman was sitting on a porch in front of a wooden house with an anxious expression. She was staring north, unmoving.

Miria stopped shortly before they reached her from the side and transformed back to not scare her. They followed Asterios and walked up to the woman. She ignored or didn’t seem to notice them even as they stood just steps away from her.

“Excuse me,” Ast spoke first.

Brought back from her thoughts, the woman’s head frantically jerked towards Asterios and looked at him with the same, sad expression. She kept silent.

“We are adventurers sent here by the Guild.”

Her eyes regained some clarity and the woman suddenly stood up. “My son! Did you find him! Please, tell me he is safe!” she pleaded, grabbing Ast’s vest.

He placed a hand on her shoulder to calm the woman down. “I’m sorry, but we still have no information about your son. My party is just going to depart to look for him. I apologize for troubling you, but would it be possible to speak with his brother?”

The woman’s fingers clenched the material on his chest and she looked like she was going to burst out crying at any moment, but she managed to calm herself with a few deep breaths.

“I… I’ll ask him. He doesn’t want to leave his room since he returned, but…”

“Tell him that we need his help. That he is currently the only person who can save his brother. Only his words can guide us.”

She nodded and went inside the house.

“Do you think that will work, Master?” Miria asked.

“I don’t know, but I have a hunch it might. He seems to be a smart kid, running straight to the Guild after the incident.” Asterios shrugged.

A few minutes later, the door opened again and a short boy came out with his mother behind him. He looked at the group with uncertainty, but the girls could notice a faint trace of determination in his eyes.

Asterios crouched on the porch. “Hi, my name is Ast. What’s yours?”

“Tony…”

“Well then, Tony. We are going to find your brother, but to do that, we need to know as much about your little trip as we can. Do you think you can talk about it?”

The young boy looked Ast in the eyes for a moment before nodding.

“Great. We know how he looks, so let’s start with what you were doing when he disappeared. You can tell me anything, no matter how silly you think it might sound.”

“We were coming home from the forest. Garry and I play in the forest a lot. We stopped by the ruins we often play inside together too. I really wanted to play hide and seek but he said it would be getting dark soon, but as we were walking through a corridor to the exit, I heard him laugh and when I stopped looking at the ground and looked to my side he was not there. Then I heard him laugh again somewhere further so I thought he actually agreed. I was happy to play with him, but after looking everywhere, I couldn’t find him. He always gave me hints when we played before but he didn’t laugh again even once… And… I panicked… It was going to be dark soon… and… and…”

“It’s okay, that’s plenty enough.” Asterios plopped his hand on his head and patted it reassuringly when the boy started slowly looking like he was about to cry. “This helps us a lot. You are really brave, you know? You made the best possible choice to run to the Guild.”

“Will you find my brother?”

“That’s why I came here. We’ll do our best. And you should do your best here too.”

The boy tilted his head at his words a bit. He was not sure what the man meant. Asterios moved his gaze from him and glanced at the woman behind the boy.

“That lady over there looks very sad. And you look like a big boy. You should keep her company while we are gone. She needs a strong man like you by her side right now. Can you do it?” Ast returned his eyes to the young boy and he nodded after looking back for a moment.

“Good.”

Asterios stood up and started walking away, but when Miria entered his sight, he thought about something.

~Ermm… Could you like… familiarize yourself with his scent, Miria? If you would be able to pick up their smells on the site, you could potentially distinguish between them with that,~ he asked her mentally, letting Selene hear them too.

~Of course! Why do you sound so awkward, Master?~

~Hahaha. It just feels weird asking you that.~

~I’ll try to remember the signature of his spiritual essence too, albeit it’s extremely scarce,~ Selene added, activating her Spiritual Sight.

~May I change, Master? It will work better,~ Miria asked.

~Hmmm… Alright, let’s try it. Follow my instructions.~

When he stepped off the porch and reached the duo of girls standing nearby, he patted Miria’s head and acted like he whispered something to her in a voice low enough for the family to not hear it. She nodded with a wide smile and jumped back, breaking into a run. Black mist enveloped her body as she fell to all fours, and in a few moments, she shapeshifted into her panther form, making a sharp turn and running back at Ast.

Instead of just arriving by his side, she pounced on Asterios with her front paws while she stood on her hind legs. He caught her in his arms while staggering a bit and laughing loudly as Miria started to joyfully lick his face. After a minute he managed to throw her off him, but she kept rubbing her head into his chest as she purred as loud as she could.

Scratching behind her ears, Asterios glanced back at the family. Both the mother and the child were staring at them with wide eyes, but their expressions were completely different. He could tell how shocked, scared and anxious the woman got after seeing such a huge black panther that pretty much could squash Asterios if she fell on him. Meanwhile, the boy’s eyes were literally sparkling, filled with nothing but awe, and his mouth was wide open.

Ast smiled at them. “Do you like cats?”

The boy started nodding before he even finished his sentence.

“Hmmm… I don’t usually do this, but since you’ve helped us a lot, I may let you pet her a little. What do you say?” he said with a big grin.

If not for the arms his mother quickly placed over the boy’s torso, he would have been already running towards them, but that sudden obstruction didn’t allow him to move even an inch.

“Mom! Please!” He looked up with pleading eyes.

“Don’t worry. She is not your typical beast. You saw it yourself. She’s my summon and I guarantee she can’t do anything against my will. Besides, she’s the most docile kitty you can find in this realm,” Asterios tried convincing her, and just to emphasize his words, Miria began circling him and rubbing her whole body against Ast’s affectionately.

The woman looked at them with slight anxiety and then down at her son who was pretty much shaking from excitement. She sighed heavily and lifted her hands, freeing her child and watching as he rushed towards the giant cat without a moment of hesitation.

Miria laid down on the ground to not tower over the kid and Asterios showed him how to properly brush her fur and scratch her head, guiding his hands to Miria’s nose too, as it was their main purpose of luring him closer.

“Alright, that’s enough, we have someone to find.” He pulled the boy back after a short while. Tony didn’t protest and ran back to his mother, waving at them as they were leaving.

The party headed straight for the ruins of the watchtower as it was the most obvious place to start searching for the boy’s brother or any clues.

“Thanks for that,” Asterios said to Miria as he was riding on her back with Selene, brushing through the panther’s fur.

~I’m glad it worked. I got a good whiff of him.~

“I wish I could be more useful to you, my Lord…” Selene added.

“There’s no need to feel down. Everyone has their moments. While you couldn’t really do much due to his spiritual essence being very weak, I’m sure I’ll be relying on your abilities a lot in other situations. Maybe even very soon.”

“I’ll do my best when that time comes.” She nodded.

The ruins weren’t far from the village and they started seeing a grey, crumbling, stone tower above the trees in just three minutes after their departure. Twenty seconds later, they stopped in front of the building. Many chambers were partially collapsed with their insides exposed to the world. Besides the main hall, it consisted of a few other structures, most likely functioning as barracks, kitchen and dining room, storage and such.

Miria stayed in her panther form and led the expedition inside. Some of the rooms still had their ceilings almost intact, making the surroundings dark and gloomy, so Selene created a floating ball of blue spiritual fire and let it hover over their heads as they started exploring the complex.

Not long after they started, Miria confirmed that the brothers had definitely visited this place a lot as their scent was quite noticeable in the air around them. She focused on following Garry’s smell wherever it appeared with the least mixture of the other kid.

In half an hour, the first tour of the whole place ended and they didn’t gather much from it. Miria was sure they visited every possible room and the trail didn’t leave the area in the last three or so days.

~Do you think it’s the work of some monster, Master?~ she asked at some point.

“I can’t know for sure. It does feel a little weird. At least two parties came here before us and neither was attacked or found anything worth reporting to the Guild. If it is a monster, then it seems to possess some intelligence. And knows how to hide well. Unfortunately, that doesn’t narrow it down enough for me to pick something specific from the catalogue of monsters I know.”

“And there weren’t any holes the older brother could fall into…” Selene commented.

They continued going around the whole area while looking for anything of importance to them until Selene suddenly stopped when they were just leaving the warehouse section again. Asterios turned around and saw her distant gaze.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

“I think… I felt a flicker of spiritual essence underneath us, but we haven’t seen any stairs or anything else that would lead to a lower level, thus I’m slightly confused.”

“Then the answer is simple. It might be hidden. Do you sense any changes in the airflow here, Miria?”

~No. I would have told you if I did, Master.~

“I could have mistaken it for some underground monster or animal though.”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

~But, we have no idea where the entrance is.~

“I can just create one then,” Selene suggested, making the other two look at her slightly surprised. “At worst, It’s just a few meters of stone. I can punch through it with ease.”

Asterios showed a wry smile. “I would rather not have you collapse the whole structure if there really is something down there, including our target.”

“Ah…” Selene’s ears flopped down for a moment, but they quickly perked back up. “I might have a solution that doesn’t require sheer power.”

“If you think it’s safe, then I trust you.”

She nodded with a smile and moved back a few steps, just in case that whatever she felt would remain in the same spot. Closing her eyes, she traced a circle around herself with her feet. A moment later, Selene’s hair started shimmering and a second tail appeared behind her back, announcing her entering the second stage of Awakening.

The line she drew previously, illuminated itself in a bluish hue. Selene started creating a variety of hand signs in front of her chest, finally stopping at her palms joined together. Four spiritual claymores, each of the size of a person, appeared above her. They had beautiful, azure colour and emanated an aura of power. In the next second, she raised one of her arms to the sky with just her pointer and middle finger extended, and swung it down, aiming at the ground.

The giant swords dropped from the air and sank into the stone pavement like it was butter. Selene then moved it and made a few circles with her fingers, still pointing at the ground. The blades followed that motion and the group watched as they travelled according to the circle around her in a counter-clockwise motion, cutting through the ground with barely any resistance.

After a few laps, she raised her arm again and the swords returned to their previous position above Selene’s head. Meanwhile, she stepped out of the cut-out shape, summoned the spiritual apparition of her demonic hand and grabbed the floor with its claws. With a grunt, she pulled it with a lot of strength, and after releasing a loud crack, a pillar of evenly-cut stone flew upwards, slammed into the ceiling and fell down on her side.

Selene then repeated that motion two more times, sinking the blades deep into the created tunnel, making them spin, recalling them, and then sending her spiritual arm to grab the bottom of the pit, pulling out another pillar of stone. During the third time, the shape came much shorter than the rest and she dismissed all the techniques, returning to normal with a soft sigh.

“It looks like there truly is a space down there, my Lord,” she said with a proud smile.

Miria approached the vertical tunnel and sniffed the air.

~And I’m pretty sure I can smell the brother’s scent coming up,~ she added.

“Thank you. That was quite the sight. How are your reserves? You used your Awakening.”

“I used up 30% of my spiritual energy with that, but I’m fine. The second level didn’t put that much strain on my body and I will be able to use it again at full capacity in case of an emergency.”

“Alright. Start replenishing your mana with mine through the connection,” said Asterios, entering his own ‘awakening’. “How are we going to get down there? I guess we should get a rope.”

Miria switched back to her humanoid shape. “I should have no problems jumping down.”

“If I may, my Lord,” Selene asked for his attention. “I can carry you down in my arms. That is if you don’t mind,” she suggested.

Asterios smiled. “Of course I don’t m—”

“I can do it too!” 

Miria quickly walked up to Ast and stood in front of him with a slightly reddened face. She opened her arms and averted her gaze, visibly embarrassed, but determined to be the one to transport him.

Selene chuckled behind her back. “While certainly possible, it will be safer with me as I can create footholds while descending. Don’t you think our Master’s safety is the most important thing right now?”

Miria couldn’t rebuke her statement as it certainly was right. Asterios saw her troubled expression and stepped closer to kiss the panthergirl on the cheek while hugging her waist, much to Miria’s surprise.

“Go first and secure the place for me, okay?”

She nodded bashfully and her gaze darted a few times between Ast’s eyes and lips. He smiled at her gently, sending her a mental push, and she softly pecked his mouth before hastily running away and jumping into the hole.

Selene approached him with a smile of her own. “Slowly but surely, she is making progress.”

“And you don’t miss a chance to help her with it, do you?” he answered while shaking his head.

“Ufufufu~. She needs to learn to be more honest with herself before you find many more mates or she will have a hard time asking for your affection with how she currently is, my Lord.”

“Why are you so sure I will have many mates, hmm?”

“Even though our time together is still considered short, I can already clearly tell what kind of person you are, my Lord. You possess a strong, natural charm. There’s something about you that draws individuals of the opposite gender in. Paired with your kind and caring personality, it’s quite a strong combination. One would have to be blind or stupid to not be aware of possible implications of such mixture,” Selene explained and extended her hand towards him.

“Do you feel charmed too?” Asterios asked with a playfully raised eyebrow as he grabbed it.

In one swift motion, she scooped him off the ground and pulled into a princess-carry. Selene looked at his surprised face with a mischievous smile.

“Maybe a little.”

She chuckled softly and jumped into the hole to follow after Miria.