Chapter 34 - Calamity (1/2)

After asking Martha to go get Nathalia, Luke waited for the girl at the foot of the stairs leading to the second floor.

When the Elf saw the half-wolf, the blush on her face became even greater. 'Why am I getting embarrassed? Is he just a guard... particularly mine? No, no. He's not yours... he's your friend.' The thoughts bubbled like champagne in the young woman's mind.

”Your mother wants to talk to you.”

Nathalia raised her neck. ”My mother? Why?”

”She wants you to hear about The Calamity or something.”

Still confused, the girl followed the half-wolf into the Matriarch's room. Nathalia had read a lot about The Calamity, however, she had never heard her mother talk about it.

When they sat down in front of Ayumi's desk, the woman began to tell the story:

”Five hundred years ago, there were not so many Dungeons yet, and the Cardinal Kingdom had not even been founded, the nine kingdoms were plunged into deep disgrace...”

People began to disappear, and the strength of the monsters inside the Dungeons was so high that the barriers could not hold most of them back.

Outside, the once fertile soil became sand, and the crops were infested by various pests. The rivers and lakes were infested with a black liquid, and finally, the food wars began. The world was immersed in this terror for fifteen years.

However, four courageous people managed to circumvent this veritable calamity in the nine kingdoms.

Demiurge, a shrewd Druid, and avid necromancy researcher saw similarities in the black liquid that infested the lakes with oil he used in his experiments and found an effective neutralizer. He also discovered ways to reinforce the barriers in Dungeons.

Hera the Elementalist had legendary earth bending skills, which allowed her to restore many cities that had already fallen into ruins, and she single-handedly built the pillars of the Cardinal Realm.

The Templar named Arani achieved the feat of winning a war against an entire nation, being the only one in his army, and with his connection to the deity of death, he offered all the souls he killed so that the ground would return to life and the monsters would be calmed. This part of the story is still much debated by atheists today.

Finally, Leto was such a skilled assassin that little is known about his accomplishments or his true identity. He killed many greedy men who took advantage of the moment to profit, which prevented even more misfortunes.

”Together, this quartet stopped the advance of Calamity, and they never even met. It is said that their powers and abilities were so spectacular, that even the Gods were envious.”

”Easy...” said Nathalia, touching the seasons with her hands. ”Didn't Calamity only happen in the outside world? Nothing in the history books includes the dungeons.”

”Many things happened during The Calamity...” said Ayumi as she relaxed her back in her chair. ”Some of them too big for us to understand yet.”

As they left the Matriarch's room, Luke became slightly thoughtful. 'Five hundred years is a long time... Still, to me, this one seems like just a children's tale.'

*

The rest of the day was tedious, and the half-wolf just stayed practicing in the training room with the Elf, as they did almost daily.

The next morning, Luke and Nathalia went to the Guild to get some feedback from Eliz, about the situation of the rescued. If the redhead was part of the group of missing first-timers, everything would be easier.

However, luck was not on their side.

”Eliz ran to the morgue no more than an hour ago. She also asked me to let you know in case you guys showed up.” Explained the receptionist.

”Necrotery? Did something happen?” Luke questioned.

”Yes, the man you guys saved yesterday is dead.”