Morning started with a scream. Someone had seen the gore and had awoken the village at large. Soon, everyone was out, crowding around the body. The children were led away from the sight, such brutality was sure to traumatize them. Nothing as dreadful as this had happened in the village for years. Wild animals scarcely came around, and the people were as peaceful and meek as a herd of sheep.
"Was it a bear perhaps?" One of the young men posited, but there was an error in that logic.
"Why just his head? There are no bear marks across him?"
The villagers debated the possible cause of such gore. They awaited the expert in this, but he did not show up, Kel Sieker was noticeably absent. It wasn't until Maya showed up at the scene that they were made aware of his disappearance.
Maya gripped her blouse, her heart sunken in horror. The single thought that had hung in her mind amplified, 'Where is my husband?'. He had been acting strangely last night, and he was nowhere to be seen.
Unfortunately, it snowed last night, and any hints that could have been imprinted in the snow had long been covered.
It was in this commotion that the figures in black came, ten of them. The villagers were not quick to notice them until one came in their midst, eyes large, blue and inquisitive, they leaned over the corpse suddenly drawing attention.
"What happened here?" She inquired, her voice dry, and emotionless.
The small group appeared dumbfounded at the question, how had the blonde woman crept between them without notice? Not only that, she had with herself companions that were just a few feet away, they could not believe that they were that absorbed by the scene, oblivious to the environment, and surely it could not have been them all.
Two young men suddenly walked forward, intending on hiding the sight from her, and from those behind her, their faces stern and showing contempt.
"I ask again, what happened here?" She spoke louder this time, raising a square wooden barge that she had taken from her pocket. It was a seal of permission, granted by the country's monarch, the boy king. Even villagers living remotely such as they were had to understand what it meant, they had to cooperate, and honestly, it was for the better.
"We are honestly here to help, we are in pursuit of a witchspirit, and we suspect that it might be responsible for this."
The villagers mumbled the word witchspirit. The word was not a new word to their ears, they lived in the forest in the midst of animals and trees, places such as theirs swelled with superstition. and theirs was no different. They had all heard the term growing up. If It wasn't parents scolding little ones, telling that a witchspirit would come should they continue their terrible deeds, it would be the stories they were told when they gathered by the village's fireplace, but of course, none of them had believed concretely, not enough that they feared getting targeted by such evil creatures, their place was too remote, safe, and uninteresting.
Maya shivered particularly at the woman's words, her husband was out and a witchspirit roamed about. It was like the woman could gaze into her mind, "Is something bothering you? You seem especially worried." She squinted her blue eyes, and under those pristine powerful eyes, Maya felt compelled to tell her troubles.
"My husband is gone, he was acting strangely last night, and this morning, he has disappeared. I am afraid." She blurted so quickly, slurring her words slightly. The little alcohol from last night hadn't entirely disappeared from her system.
'She is afraid of the witchspirit getting her husband. I see.'
"Hmmm, if we do come across him in our search for the witchspirit, we would encourage him to come back. We will keep an eye for him. Describe him."
Maya went on to briefly describe her husband. Kel was of average height, about 180 centimeters, with other young men in the village being taller than he was, he had short black hair as longer hair tended to get caught between branches on hunting trips, he had black eyes, and an impressive musculature.
"I believe he is wearing his nightwear, a plain blue clothing."
The woman simply nodded, and she and her group zoomed into the trees, they moved so quickly as if taut strings had forcibly pulled them into the trees. Now, it was back to what to do with the corpse. As soon as the wardens left, the others came forward to offer Maya words of encouragement, Kel could not be gone, the forest was his turf, and he would be fine, was what they all believed.
Kel had stopped by a tree where he had grown exhausted from running. He had run with no destination in mind, and though his mind was not the same—erratic, he knew where he stood, the tree that stood in front of him. Memories, good memories had been made here, and when he realized that, he eased up slightly, his memories provided little refuge. There, he slept.
He was sleeping when he heard a soft voice incessantly by his ears.
"Mister, mister, wake up mister."
Kel slowly opened his eyes and saw figures clad uniform, all of them bearing a stern countenance save for the woman closest to him. He was much too tired, the events of last night weighed heavily in his mind, all he wanted, all he needed was further reprieve. Somehow, he had known that he was partly responsible for what had happened to old man Ban, he did not understand how, but, it was too much of a coincidence to let the guilt pass.
Tsuki watched the man stir up, and once their eyes met, she could see a glint of the spirit energy he held in his eyes. However there was something else, and she took a step back in reflex once she saw it. She grinned, they had found their target. There was one reason why she spearheaded the mission, the witchspirit fragment had eluded them the other night despite their efforts implying that it was quite adept at hiding.
She was the best sensory warden in the institute, a warden blessed by the heavens with her incredible astral sight, she saw what others did not: Kutashibe's fragment shifting about the young man's soul.
"We have found it." She announced.
"You mean…" One blurted.
"Yes, he harbours the Kutashibe piece." As soon as she said those words, a sword was pulled.
"Put that away." She spat, her voice stinging like snake venom, and the young man that had stepped forward froze in place, returning his sword back into its scabbard.
"The situation has changed. He would make a prime research experiment." She crept forward, and knelt to have her face close to face, looking into his sullen eyes.
"Most interesting. We have to take him to the institute, that's my verdict, does anyone challenge this?" No one spoke.
"Young man, you're leaving to Mitra-galg."