Boom!

The noise was not from thunder because the rain had stopped long ago. Instead, tonight Sylvester learned a new thing about the human body.

It turns out that the human body can actually explode on its own. That was exactly what happened when they put the so-called 'little' Gibby on fire. At first, the family of three screamed like there was no tomorrow, and it took a long time to die entirely. But when the man and woman were melting, 'little' Gibby's giant belly exploded.

Thankfully, the insides of Gibby's belly didn't spread too far, but the same could not be said about the odor, which was equally as bad as the cellar. Responding to that, most covered their noses, and a few simply fainted.

Miraj was affected, too, as he had a sensitive nose. He quickly hid inside Sylvester's robes. "I wanna go home."

Sylvester agreed with him for once. "We will head back tomorrow. Our mission was to exorcise whatever was abducting people here, and we've accomplished it. The cave is not our problem now."

Sir Dolorem thought he was talking to him, so he responded. "You are right, Master Maximillian. Your assignment is over. The examiners agree to it as well."

"How do you think I did?"

After taking a pause, Sir Dolorem nodded. "Remarkably. It hasn't been more than a week, and we're done. That alone demands good merit. And I'm sure the two examiners will appreciate returning home quicker after seeing the madness here. They are average Clergymen and guard Knights of the Holy Land and are not used to seeing such things."

'And they are supposed to judge me and the likes of Felix?' Sylvester couldn't help but lower their standing in his mind a little, but respect was mutual, so he'd keep that going.

He looked at the sky, the clouds had cleared up, and the beautiful twin moons were shining the brightest in the night sky. They were long past midnight, so the rays of Solis was not far away either. But he wondered, 'What does the other side of the world look like?'

"My lord, if the Ratwoods were doing the abductions, what's inside the cave?" Chief Marigold came to him to ask.

"I am as clueless as you in that regard. But I believe if even a Bishop of the rank of Master Wizard could not kill it, it's out of my league to defeat." He bluntly replied as he knew his own limits. Being merely an Adept Wizard, he would die in a blink if he stepped into the Cave.

"B-But then how will the Cave be… Favored One, we will starve to death here. The gold mine is our only source of income."

Sir Dolorem interrupted. "The Church will send more powerful wizards to exorcise. They, too, can't let a goldmine remain useless for too long. So do not worry, Chief Marigold. Now, I believe we should have some rest. Master Maximillian has been traveling and working for two days now. He must be tired."

'Good man, way to end the conversation.'

"Please… we are thankful for this much. We shall not disturb you for the night anymore." Chief Marigold quickly left and told people to return home. The fire would burn for the night since 'little' Gibby was too big to burn fast.

Once again, Sylvester and the rest returned to the Monastery, heated some water to bathe, and then went to sleep. This time they dropped like sacks of grain. Even Miraj snored that night, but he was tucked in Sylvester's arms, so it wasn't too loud.

With that, Goldstown was not haunted anymore… at least a part of it wasn't.

…

That night the whole town had the best sleep in over three years. The fear of their loved ones being abducted was gone, albeit there was some worry for the cave. Seeing the cannibal family burning soothed many hearts and minds, as strange as it may sound.

In fact, since the whole town was late to sleep, most woke up late too. But something was different this time because there was more crowd in the streets, and a few more shops were also open than usual.

There were smiles on faces and lips and many graces—for Sylvester.

Sylvester and the rest were woken up by a loud knock on the door of the Monastery. It raised their heartbeats because the last time the knocks came, it turned out to be something terrible.

"Yes?" Sir Dolorem opened.

"Respected holy men, Chief Marigold invites you to break the fast with him." A thin man in a ragtag brown tunic and dark brown pants. There was nothing on his feet, however.

"Who are you?"

"I am a slave under the service of the Roger family. I am called Reed."

Sylvester interestedly walked to the door and asked. "How did you fall into slavery?"

"My grandfather was a slave, brought here to work in the mines. My family has been in service to the Roger family for generations. They treat me very well." The man clarified at the end, for he was taught never to make his masters appear wrong to others.

"We will be at the Chief's house." Sylvester let the man go and returned to gather his things. He didn't think much about slavery as it was merely a way of life in this world. If he were the king of the world, he'd have abolished it, but he was a mere little soldier, so he couldn't do anything other than dip his hands in this darkness.

After they cleaned their faces and packed the luggage, they walked to the Chief's house. The hosts welcomed them with respect and smiles on their faces. Chief Lawman Leeland has also come with his wife and son.

"Felicia, give the flowers to God's Favored" Chief Marigold pushed his granddaughter forward.

It was the same girl Sylvester had saved the night before. She still seemed to have some fear in her eyes, but her face looked healthy and vibrant, though the same couldn't be said about her mind. The scars of the trauma were going to stay for life.

The brown-haired 10-year-old girl smiled cheerfully and gave Sylvester a small bouquet. "Thank you for saving me."

Seeing her being such a good kid, Sylvester instinctively smiled kindly, raised his right hand, and patted her head a few times. It lasted a few moments only before he quickly retracted his hand.

'Damn it. I'm not an old man anymore.' He cursed himself silently. Being someone with an old mind, he couldn't see anyone younger than middle-aged as someone other than a kid.

Sensing the awkwardness, he chirped. "I'm starving."

"Yes, yes, please this way, God's Favored," Leeland gestured to follow.

They soon sat together around a table and ate an excellent healthy meal consisting of a lot of butter, bread, vegetable soup, roasted chicken, and milk. The town was certainly among the richest in the continent due to its mines and enjoyed a high quality of life.

Sylvester even reckoned that the town was supposed to look more prosperous if not for the closed mine. In fact, it was shocking that people had this much with the mine being closed for over a year.

'I should stay on the good side of the Roger family. Who knows, one day they might give me a small loan of a few gold graces.'

After eating their big meal, they departed in their little Stagecoach. Nearly the entire town gathered around to see them off, even with their slight disappointment that the mines were still haunted.

As Sylvester was getting onto the Stagecoach, Chief Marigold walked to him quickly. "O' Favored one, please accept this little donation from our town. We wish you a healthy life and success and that we meet again."

'Holy Solis, that's a lot of money!' Sylvester was secretly excited about the large silk pouch of money.

But he could legally not take any money for himself as servants of Solis were not allowed to do their duty for money. However, Sylvester was no pushover who'd not take his reward. "Thank you, Chief Marigold. I shall put this donation in the donation box of the Magna Sanctum."

"B-But this is for you."

Sylvester smiled, albeit it hurting him. "I am a mere servant of Solis. My work is my duty, not a monetary profession. I shall take my leave then."

As he turned around to enter the Stagecoach, he found a moment to whisper to Miraj on his shoulder. "I will loosen the pouch. You eat half of the coins."

"Aye-Aye, Maxy."

"Ehm… May the holy light enlighten us!" He roared from the Stagecoach, ushering the whole village in repeated chants.

"Move!"

"Make way!"

Suddenly, the chants started to diminish, and shouts of multiple men and grunts of horses echoed from behind the crowd. Soon the crowd began to split and make way. Two horses appeared, then two more, and then two more.

Six horses were pulling a big, long stagecoach. Then there was another coach behind laden with all kinds of crates. The two reinsmen appeared to be Church's men of Bishop ranks.

The Stagecoach stopped beside Sylvester's. Then its gold-decorated door opened, and a frail old man, about five feet four, with hunched back, stepped out. He had the mitre of an Archbishop on his head, and on his chest was the rank plate with four golden stripes, signifying he was an Arch Wizard.

There were three other men with the mitre of a bishop on their head and the rank plate of Master Wizard. They surrounded the Archbishop and made their way towards Sir Dolorem.

One of the Bishops spoke. "You are in the presence of Archbishop Lucas. Are you the aide to the Bishop sent here to exorcise the mines?"

Sir Dolorem respectfully saluted the Archbishop since men of such rank usually ruled over all monasteries in entire Duchies, making them somewhat equal to a noble Duke. It was a very high rank in the Church as well.

"Your grace, respected Archbishop. I am Sir Dolorem, an adjutant under the Inquisitor High Lord. I am currently an aide to God's Favored, the Lord's Bard, Silvester Maximilian."

The Archbishop's old gray eyes shined instantly. He turned to look at Sylvester, who had gotten out of his Stagecoach.

"Ah, the famed Lord's Bard. I have been told about your beautiful hymns by your headmaster, Cardinal Brightson. I hope to one day be graced by your light." Archbishop respectfully said while holding Sylvester's hand.

"Thank you, your grace." Sylvester disliked being so touchy with these churchmen.

Sir Dolorem reported then. "The Bishop sent to exorcise the mines died inside, your grace. We came here for the examination…"

Everything was told to the Archbishop, from their arrival to the finding and burning of the Ratwood family.

Archbishop Lucas sighed at the revelations. "Indeed, sometimes the real demons hide in plain sight while we look for the creatures of the night. You did a marvelous job, God's Favored. But as the matter stands, the mines are closed.

"Saint Wazir tasked me to extract a year's worth of gold from these mines in a week. And I shall not return before I have fulfilled my duty."

He glanced at his aides, the three Bishops. "Get all the equipment out. We shall enter the cave immediately and banish whatever creature is inside."

Sylvester nodded. He wanted to have nothing to do with these men and their tasks. He was heading home anyway.

But it appeared he spoke too early.

The Archbishop looked at Sir Dolorem and the two examiners. "You three shall accompany us. Sir Dolorem, you shall come with us inside the cave while the two of you… the wizard stays, so you shall stand guard at the cave entrance to open and close it."

Sylvester quickly objected. "What, but Sir Dolorem is not strong either. That creature has killed three priests, two archpriests, and one Bishop by now."

The Archbishop patted Sylvester's shoulders. "I am touched that you care for your aide this much. But, worry not, we do not need him to fight. We shall need a messenger in case something happens inside. For such a task, a Knight is needed."

"But-"

Sir Dolorem stepped forward, being the foolish religious man he was. "I will be honored to help, your grace."

"Good, let's head out right away."

Sylvester silently watched as Sir Dolorem prepared his swords and magic stones. 'This is foolish! This is suicide! We should be on our way back."

He didn't have any blood ties with the man, but being with him for eight years, often spending all the time other than sleeping with him, he had grown to see him as a subordinate—a loyal subordinate.

Dying at the hands of a dark creature was not respectful to his subordinate at all. But he found himself at a lack of words and authority to do anything. He was a mere Adept Wizard.

'What can I even do? I'm just a light bulb. It's foolish of me to go in there and die for nothing.' He couldn't bring himself to put his own life at risk.

So he sat outside the ominous cave entrance after the team went inside. One of the examiners was left with him, prepared to open the entrance whenever needed.

The towns' folks had also gathered in large numbers in hope around the cave, having brought food and drinks. But only Sylvester had a constant frown on his face for the next 3 hours—desperately waiting.

'I hope this isn't the last of him.'

"OPEN!"

Suddenly a loud shout came from inside. Priest Boroly moved quickly and used Earth magic to move the giant stone at the entrance.

Sylvester stood up close in wait—expectantly.

"MOVE! I must return to the Holy Land quickly!"

Sylvester rushed to stop the Bishop that appeared, clothes torn from places, blood oozing from his head and back. "Where is Sir Dolorem? What happened?"

"T-There… They are fighting… but can't hold it for long. Sir Dolorem is injured… I must call for help!" The Bishop yanked Sylvester's hands and ran towards the town's port.

Sylvester silently peeked at the dark, menacing depth of the cave as the large stone was placed again to cover it. His heart was shattered, and frustration peaked.

He felt helpless because he knew no help was coming anytime soon.

'The Holyland is one whole day away—Fuck!'

[1] Magna Sanctum - The largest Sun Temple in the world. For this, the Holy Land is sometimes called Magna Sanctum.

___________________

I EAT STONE! YOU GIVE STONE?

**501 Stones = Bonus Chapter!**

APE TOGETHER STRONG!