Asylum

"That's the rock! I know it!"

Darien pointed to a huge boulder as tall as a man in front of him.It stands in the forest north of Broken Maple Town.The locals regard it as a landmark and named it "Giant Rock".Fresh footprints were scattered around the stone.The search and rescue team has just passed by this place.

Pastor Cherey raised his head, looked at the top of the Giant Rock, and then walked around the rock for a circle.

"Did you find anything?" Darien asked eagerly.

"No blood or fight marks."

"You mean Lano is still alive?"

"Very likely. Since his book was found here, it means that he must have dropped the book for some reason. Maybe he was taken away by a monster and lost the book in a hurry. Maybe he dropped the book on his own initiative , as a clue..."

Cherry touched the rock, then sniffed his finger.His face looked murderous. "Very light, but unmistakable. It's the smell of sulfur."

"……What's the meaning?"

"demon."

"Uh... I thought the demons were all expelled by you?"

"Mostly yes, but there are still a few demons scattered around the world. No wonder Priest Anton is no match for it."

"Then Lano...he..."

"Don't panic. Since there is no bloodstain, there is a good chance that he is safe and sound. Don't scare yourself." Pastor Cherey pushed aside the grass beside the rock and carefully examined the traces on the ground. "Here is a footprint with a strange shape, not like human's."

He gestured to Darien to follow him.Priests, like the most skilled hunters, track their foes by clues in the dirt and blades of grass.Darien thought horribly that he had learned such a proud ability from the battlefield, from life-and-death confrontations with the enemy again and again.

They followed the trail deeper into the forest, and soon the sulfur smell was so strong that even Darion could easily smell it.This shows that they are getting closer to the target.Soon, a cave appeared in front of it, covered by withered vines and trees, it was almost invisible if you didn't look carefully.

"That's right there. The demon must be hiding inside." Cherey whispered to Darien, lying in the grass, "You stay outside, I'll go in and check."

"No! Don't go in!"

Suddenly, a childish voice came from above.Darien and Cherry looked up at the same time, only to see a small body jumping down from the tree and hitting Darien right on the head.

"Wow! Yes, who is it?!" Darien stared at him.

"My brother is me!"

"Lano! You're fine!" Darien hugged his younger brother tightly, "Little bastard! You scared me to death!"

"Brother, how can you call me a little bastard? I'm a little bastard. Aren't you a big bastard... Ouch!"

Darien punched him on the head, and hugged him distressedly: "Where did you go! I'm so worried! The whole town is looking for you, you know!"

"What? I... I've been hiding in trees all night..."

"What are you doing on a tree? Do you want to become a monkey?"

"Brother, you don't know! I saw Scarface and the three of them sneaking around yesterday, so I followed them to see what bad things they were planning to do. They went all the way to the 'Giant Rock', and then..." The boy hugged his shoulders and shook his head. I shuddered, "Suddenly a huge monster appeared! Scarface seemed to want to lure the monster away, but the monster didn't listen to him, and instead took the three of them away. I was afraid that the monster would find out, so I threw the holy book away. and then climbed up the tree. The monster brought the three of them into this cave. I hid in the tree and dared not come down. I was too sleepy at night, so I fell asleep..."

"Don't do this in the future! Did you hear me!"

Cherry said, "Go back to town, you two."

Darien asked in surprise, "What about you?"

"I'm going to kill that demon."

"No! I can't leave you behind!"

"I can't be distracted to protect others during the battle. You will only drag me down here."

"But..." Darien bit his lips, "No, I can't go, it's a coward's act to leave the enemy behind."

Cherey sighed: "Forget it, you guys wait for me outside. If I don't come out after 10 minutes, it means bad luck. Go back to the town and let everyone hide in the shelter. There are gods there." Blessed by magic, demons cannot enter."

The two brothers looked at each other and nodded at the same time, agreeing to the pastor's proposal.Cherry unloaded the club from behind and tore off the rags that bound it.It turned out to be a white scepter with a light purple gem inlaid on the top.Chere held the scepter and strode towards the cave with his head held high.Darien and Lanno couldn't help but let out a long sigh.The tall figure is really as tall as the legendary holy warrior.

"I believe it now, he really is the 'God's Butcher Knife'."

"I'll just say it. Reverend Cherry is a great fighter."

The two gazed at Reverend Cherry with reverence.

He stopped at the mouth of the cave.

"Huh? Why doesn't he go in?"

Cherry began to back away slowly.

"Hey, I was praising you just now! Don't come back! Aren't you the 'God's Butcher Knife'!"

Cherey turned around and yelled at them, "Run!"