487 Chapter 487: Abduction (1/2)
”Ugh…”
Melina stirred awake, sitting up groggily as she struggled to remember where she was. Then she spotted the faint beacon of moonlight trickling in through small windows. Looking up at the rows of windows in the somewhat Gothic architecture, Melina blinked on confusion.
”Where…am I?”
It took her several seconds before she came back to her senses and realized that she was obviously inside a building. The question was what building this was. It was deserted right now, and she couldn't see anyone else around. A large, open space.
Melina dusted herself off and checked for wounds. She didn't have any injuries, which was a good sign. Shaking her head, she tried to remember what had happened. The last thing she remembered, she was chasing after Iris's friend, Isabella, and her date, Edward. Then ”they” came. Melina had tried to resist, but they had knocked her out in one blow, someone striking the back of her neck before she realized he was behind her.
She had blacked out, and the next thing she knew, she was here.
”Oh, you're awake.”
”They” came. A man with a bandanna wrapped around his head, surrounded by hooded people. However, there was a strange group accompanying the hooded kidnappers, almost numbering as many as them. They looked humanoid, but their faces were…
”Jack O'Lanterns.”
Those were humanoid monsters bearing pumpkin heads. They were not very powerful, but they were highly intelligent and skilled, which made them very dangerous.
”Good morning, Princess!” the man leading them greeted her cheerfully, his hands in the pockets of his flabby trousers. Melina stiffened.
”You are that man from earlier…!”
She clenched her fists and watched the man approach. Unfortunately, she didn't have a weapon on her. Why would she? She was supposed to be enjoying her date at the Weaver's Festival, not get involved in a battle. Especially in the middle of Flandor City, which was one of the most secure cities in the Global Federation.
The guy grinned as he watched Melina summon her mana, but he didn't move. Instead, he raised a hand and revealed a whip.
”Will you be faster at casting a spell, or will my whip be faster, I wonder?” he taunted. Melina ignored him and conjured the beginnings of her holy spell. Even though she desired to be a swordswoman, she was still a natural mage, good at casting spells. That was why people wanted her to stay as a mage instead of picking up the sword.
However, spells took time to cast, especially the complex, powerful ones. The guy's whip lashed out and almost caught Melina by surprise, forcing her to dive to the corner.
”I would refrain from doing that if I were you,” he warned with a chuckle.
”Master James,” one of the hooded, masked kidnappers whispered as he took a step forward hurriedly. ”The preparations are almost complete.”
”Oh, looking forward to it.” James waved flippantly at his subordinate. ”Hurry up. We don't have much time.”
”Right away! The rites are almost done, we just need the sacrifice.”
”Heh. Sacrifice. I like that word.” James turned and his whip snaked out to strike at Melina just as she unleashed her spell. A golden beam erupted from her hands, but missed him, scorching the wall behind. A few of the hooded kidnappers dispersed to avoid getting hit. ”I almost feel sorry for you, little lady. You have a lot of spunk, and it's a waste to use you like this.”
The hooded subordinate retreated at a flick of James's hand and the leader turned his gaze back on the frustrated Melina.
”Don't waste your mana. Even if you can cast spells, there's no way you can take on all of us.”
Melina regarded James, the masked kidnappers and the horde of Jack O'Lanterns, realizing that her chief captor was right. It would be difficult to fight her way out by herself.
”Are you a summoner? Is that how you're controlling those Jack O'Lanterns? But that's impossible, even summoners can't tame monsters. How did you get them into Flandor? Who are you? And who are these people? What do you want?”
”Ah…so many questions. Where should we start?” James chuckled and shook his head. ”Firstly, you are mistaken. I'm not a summoner. But…well, I guess you can say that this is a form of summoning magic.”
He raised his hand, and the Jack O'Lanterns shifted, appearing to move to his tune.
”In order to fight monsters, my organization performed some sort of surgery on me, embedding the genes of an alpha-type monster into me. Thanks to that…these monsters see me as their leader.” He stretched out a hand to stroke the pumpkin face of one of the Jack O'Lanterns, who didn't move. ”They are actually quite lovable once you get to know them.”
”…surgery?” Melina repeated incredulously.
”As for who I am…well, my name is Henry James. You can call me Brother Henry. Though your life will be cruelly cut short within the hour, that doesn't mean we can't become intimate friends.”
Melina's mouth was moving, but she was unable to say anything. Henry James continued on, amused.
”Our organization…” he waved toward both the Jack O'Lanterns and the masked kidnappers. ”…is called Grimaldus. I don't think you have ever heard of us, right?”
”…”
Melina clenched her fists, but didn't say anything.
”Seems like it.” James shrugged. ”Well, just think of us as the villains for now.”
”What do you villains want with someone like me, then?” Melina demanded. James threw his head back and laughed.
”Are you really that dense? Did you not hear a single word of our exchange earlier?”
”…sacrifice…” Melina swallowed when she remembered the masked subordinate speaking to James from earlier. ”You want to use me as a sacrifice for some ritual…”
”Bingo!” James waved his hands about excitedly, raising two fingers for victory signs. ”Full marks! It took you a while, but I guess that should be expected from an honor student like you!”
”What sort of ritual…?”
”That will be a surprise!” James giggled hysterically. ”Now, I wonder? We shall see! Oh…whoops! But you won't be alive at the end of it, so you won't get to know!”
”Why are you doing this?!” Melina tried not to wail. ”Why me?”
”Are you really that dense?” James snickered as he studied her. Then he shrugged. ”Might as well let you know, or you'll die with regrets. We were hired to eliminate you, my dear Melina Franklin.”