The Sound Of Despair

The plan was perfect, literally impeccable. Three genius minds had conocted the plan throughout the whole night. It was simple, yes, but that was what made it all the more efficient.

{Sturm, are you sure this is going to work?} Licht asked.

<<Ha, what a question. Isn't he supposed to be the smart one? Schatten is just as confident as me; maybe their roles are slowly changing.>>

"Of course, I am sure. I have calculated our rate of success multiple times and included every single variable I could think of. So don't worry," Sturm answered with confidence.

There were three steps to the plan; first, a diversion. They would plant multiple dark lightning traps throughout the town and set fire to various warehouses. Coincidentally, most of these warehouses belonged to the Siren Merchant Group, but that was just a bonus. 

As soon as the fires spread, the town guards would mobilize. At that moment, the traps would come into play, spreading further chaos and hindering the guards from sending reinforcements should something go wrong. 

Second, they would use Schatten's lightning to entirely coat Sturm in darkness, allowing him to infiltrate the church's grounds unseen. The church guards were stationed around the building's perimeter, so as long as he managed to gain access, the plan would be a success. 

Schatten could only maintain the shadow cloak around Sturm for a few seconds. However, even that was already impressive, as a mana construct had to be built around Sturm's whole body. Tremendous willpower control was necessary to achieve that, so the only way for the wolf to accomplish that was to reduce the construct's stability at the cost of the spell's time.

It was impossible to sneak past highly trained and perceptive guards with so little time, but here was where the brilliant part came into play. On Earth, back in the 15th century, Leonardo da Vinci had already made the design for the object Sturm was going to use, and the first successful use of it had been in the 19th century. 

It meant the same was possible in this world, but no one had come up with it yet. At least as far as Sturm knew. That's right, what Sturm was thinking of was the glider. A fixed-wing aircraft that would allow him to glide over the church and enter it from the tower on top. 

They had already bought firm magic beast leather and light but sturdy magic beast bones to build the construct. Their tests were… admittedly less than optimal. Sturm was no engineer and had to work by trial and error. It took a few days, but finally, the glider worked well enough for its purpose.

The only building with enough elevation to reach the church's tower was around 200 meters away, so as long as the glider held up for that distance, they were good to go. It did not matter if it broke down afterward. Because of that reason, the beast leather and bones did not have to be of high quality either, making them considerably cheaper, and more importantly, easy to buy without being questioned.

The third step would usually be escaping, but Sturm had a better idea. If their plan worked out, no one would suspect that a slave had gotten access to a church. In that case, why not built a subterranean tunnel long enough to reach the forest somewhere outside? Then, Sturm would be able to come back whenever he wanted, and none of the Three Forces or the Pirate Lords would ever find out.

Proud of their ingenious plan, Sturm was looking forward to the night. If he could reach the 10th step like high-ranking nobles, then few in this world would be able to stop him as long as he kept growing. At that time, everyone who messed with either him or someone important to him would come to regret their decision.

No longer would he be a pawn of circumstances and luck but would take his destiny into his own hands. Both Schatten and Licht were just as excited as their contractor. If Sturm grew stronger, then so would the lightning space, and in consequence, them as well. At the same time, as the space expanded, their comfort would rise as well. 

Licht already dreamed about building a giant bed made of thunder eagle feathers, far away from the uncivilized Schatten. But, while the three kept dreaming about the endless possibilities, dusk soon arrived. 

Sturm spread open a small map on top of a table inside an abandoned building. There had been a few beggars around, but a little magic had quickly scared them away. On the map, several locations were marked. Those were the warehouses Sturm and Licht would set on fire while Schatten kept placing dark lightning traps. 

There was the risk that unaffiliated and innocent people would trigger the traps, but there would be no danger to their lives. This is because the traps were meant to paralyze and stun, not kill. Even though Sturm had grown a lot more ruthless compared to his self on Earth, he had not yet given up his core values and beliefs. 

"Alright, meet up in one hour back on top of the water tower. If anyone encounters trouble, prioritize safety. We can always come back or try again at some other place. Now, let's move out."

Schatten melted into the shadows and got to work while Licht moved from rooftop to rooftop. If any citizen spotted him, they would probably think he was an oversized cat or even just doubt their vision due to the tiger's sheer speed.

Compared to the two beasts, Sturm had it the hardest, especially since few people were on the streets during this time. Most were guard patrols, which were increased throughout the night as thugs and thieves waited in alleyways for the occasional drunk or careless prey. 

While it was undoubtedly harder than for the other two, it did not mean it was hard. On the contrary, with Sturm's enhanced senses, he had no trouble spotting either of those groups well before they would cross paths. Just like that, he moved from one warehouse to the other, starting fires by igniting dry wood with lightning. 

They started the fires in places where they could grow unnoticed for a while until it was too late for a single person to extinguish it by himself. Then, after successfully finishing his third task as a new arsonist, the first warning bells started ringing throughout Dagger's Rock Town. By now, Licht had started five additional fires, and smoke was filling the skies.

"Fire! Fire! All commoners are to leave their houses and create a water chain. I repeat all…Argh!" 

The first patrolling guards were already starting to mobilize the commoners, while some of them inadvertently stepped into Schatten's traps. Panic started spreading, as the rich commoners living close to the warehouses were scared that the fire would reach their houses as well. 

Screams could be heard from a few houses that did catch fire, and Sturm's face paled upon realizing what they had done. Firefighters on Earth would quickly take care of a fire, but those did not exist in Dagger's Rock Town. If the guard force and citizens did not manage to quell the fire, then the whole town may be burned to the ground.

<<Oh god, what have I done?>>

It was too late for regret, and the appointed time kept getting closer. Sturm commanded Licht to meet up immediately, without burning the few warehouses they had initially wanted to target as well. Schatten was already waiting high up on top of the water tower, with citizens lined up in front of it, passing buckets of water along a long human line.

Sturm squeezed past the commoners and climbed up the tower. Everyone was too busy to either see or care, and once on top, the teenager had a good view of the whole town. The fires were set far away from the church. Initially, they had considered threatening it with fire as well but were scared the mage would be stationed there in response.

"Schatten, Licht. Go help the people and save who you can. This is our fault, so I hope you can do something about it. We will keep up communication, but if there should be any interference, then we meet up in front of the House of Herbs at noon tomorrow," Sturm said.

Honestly, both of the contracted beasts couldn't care less about how many human lives were lost. What did it have to do with them? It was no different than when random magic beasts died. They did understand that it mattered to Sturm, though, so after cloaking him in dark lightning, the beasts gave one last comment before they left to reduce the mess they had caused. 

{I do not agree with leaving you, but I respect your decision. Take care, Sturm. Remember, if you die, so do we, so do not hesitate to call upon us should something happen,} Licht said.

{The cat is right, we will be helping out for you, but if we have to decide between thousands of humans and you, then we will let them die without hesitation,} Schatten added.

<<How could I let this happen? Should I go help out as well? There will be other opportunities in the future. What would Reinhardt and Edgar tell me to do?>>

The answer was obvious, so Sturm readied the glider they had prepared and placed on top of the water tower beforehand. Then, with a deep breath, he decided to banish the guilt eating him from inside and concentrated on the task. Regret and reflection would have to wait.

Firmly grabbing the glider's handle, Sturm started running before jumping off the tower.