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[Shapeshifter] Chapter 32: Search Party
🕑 Added 2025-07-08 03:32:00 +0000 UTC"Gerald and the naked man are not here," Brandon said as he stood in a dungeon corridor soaked with blood. Remnants of the Iron Legion's aura flickered across his body as he glanced around.
"Neither are the wolf corpses we had gathered," Aria the archer added as she circled an overturned wooden cart.
Sarah looked between them and the empty wooden cart. The smell of iron and death in the air was overwhelming. "What the hell happened here?" she mumbled. She had never seen such a scene before.
"A slaughter," Brandon said, exhaustion in his voice. "We came down here to clear out the dungeon rush that the Guild Association had posted a request for. While the job turned out to be a lot more than we had anticipated, we should have been able to retreat safely before Gerald ran out of mana."
"If not for that strange naked man who ran on all fours, coming up behind us with a few wolves in tow," Aria added, her expression dark as the blood dyed her black boots while she circled the cart, inspecting it for clues. It was eerie how much evidence there was of the slaughter that had taken place, yet not a corpse in sight.
"There's a chance another group of wolves passed through here and took the corpses, including your likely dead teammate," Devon said, not bothering to sugarcoat anything. "But I'm not seeing enough paw prints in the blood to justify that theory."
A heavy silence descended over the group as they all pondered the possibilities.
Devon turned to Jill. "I think we should leave and get reinforcements."
Jill slowly nodded. "Yeah... that might be for the best."
"No," Sarah said. "We cannot leave yet until we find out what happened to Joe. If we waste time heading back, more clues will be wiped clean. For whatever reason, it seems he is cleaning his tracks." She shot an accusing glare at Devon. "You were hired to help me retrieve my boyfriend's corpse. While the job has gone beyond that, I expect your cooperation in this."
Devon's expression tightened. "Sarah, I understand we are failing you and your father's expectations, but I believe we should head back now. Someone capable of making this many corpses disappear isn't so simple."
Sarah crossed her arms, unimpressed. "I thought you loved the thrill of battle, Devon? Wouldn't you want to hunt down this monster that killed my boyfriend?"
"Monster? I thought we were hunting a man here." The warrior chuckled as he balanced the war hammer on his shoulder. "While I do find joy in fighting, I love living more. Monsters are dumb and easy to beat, but another Hunter..." he froze and his eyes widened, likely due to a repressed memory resurfacing. "They are another story."
"Assuming that naked man is the Joe you're looking for, we should stop him as soon as possible," Aria suggested. "The first few floors are our hunting grounds, and we can't allow such a menace to roam freely and get more people killed." She paused for a moment, as an idea seemed to come to her. Turning to her leader, she said, "Perhaps the death of Gerald can be overlooked if we explain the situation and bring Joe to HQ for questioning."
Brandon stroked his chin and slowly nodded. "That could work. As it stands, the stock price of the Iron Legion is at risk if we return with the news of a dead newbie mage on the first floor of the dungeon. It would be a massive hit to the Iron Legion's motto of being the safest guild for newbie Hunters, and we would undoubtedly be used as scapegoats by management." The warrior turned to face Sarah. "We will accompany you in chasing down Joe so long as we can take him in for questioning. What do you say?"
That was a tricky question. Sarah technically didn't have the authority to make such a decision. But right now, that wasn't much of her concern. With the two Hunters she was given threatening to bail on the mission, she didn't see a way forward without accepting the offer. Of course, this was all assuming they were even chasing Joe... she had decapitated him after all.
"So long as you share the full results with The Stormbringers Guild, I can agree to that proposal for now," Sarah said. It was a known fact that the Iron Legion guild worked closely with the Ether Technocrats—a guild comprised of wealthy businessmen that focused on research and often hired the Iron Legion to do their dirty work. Joe would no doubt be handed over to the Ether Technocrats for interrogation, and they would safeguard that knowledge if not for a contract forcing them to share.
"I'm sure something can be arranged," Brandon smiled. He then looked at Devon. "What do you say, fellow warrior? Down for a hunt?"
Devon clicked his tongue. Clearly, he was uncomfortable with the situation. He shifted his weight, looking to the ground as he seemed to mull over his options.
"Come on. While I agree that the disappearing corpses are a concern, by the sounds of it, Joe hasn't shown much combat capability so far except for some low-grade holy magic," Brandon reasoned. "Look around, there are so many of us here, and you two are C-grade hunters."
"It just feels suspicious..." Devon said, leaning on his war hammer with a frown.
Brandon chuckled, "True, but do you really want to return to the Stormbringers Guild empty-handed? You will get shouted at, and Aria and I are likely to make headline news tomorrow if we don't find this Joe person and bring them in—"
"People are coming," Aria suddenly said, interrupting Brandon. She squinted down the corridor and retrieved her bow that was slung around her back. Nocking an arrow before anyone had even reacted, she crouched behind the wooden cart. "Appraisal," she said, and Sarah saw golden mana gather around her eyes.
"More wolves?" Brandon asked as he picked up his tower shield and planted it down before him, facing the supposed threat.
Aria shook her head. "Three Hunters—no wait, there's only two of them and a corpse."
A corpse? Sarah thought, her eyes narrowing. They were on the first floor of the dungeon. It was rare to suffer casualties on this floor, even during a dungeon rush. Either they murdered the Hunter, encountered a reaper, or maybe... Joe was responsible?
Jill flicked her wrist and two fireballs sailed forward, illuminating the corridor. Sure enough, there was a male warrior with what appeared to be a priestess slung over his shoulder. His expression was gloomy, as was the woman trudging at his side, who seemed to be a mage. A very typical and safe party setup of classes to deal with any situation, so how had it gone so wrong?
"Fellow Hunters, my name is Brandon, a captain of the Iron Legion. State your names and affiliations," Brandon's voice boomed down the corridor, drawing the attention of the two Hunters.
"Devon? My name is Eric, I'm with the Stormbringers Guild," the man said, looking up and seeming surprised.
Sarah felt relieved learning they were from her guild.
Devon stepped forward, "Hey! Eric!" He waved his hand. "What happened, bud?"
Eric seemed to brighten up ever so slightly, "Devon, it's really you. I'm sure glad to see your ugly mug down here."
"You know each other?" Sarah asked.
"Sure we do," Devon grinned. "Eric is a drinking buddy of mine. We completed the same combat training course last year. He's a C-grade warrior like me."
Sarah nodded. While there were hundreds of C-grade warriors in the Stormbringer Guild, it wasn't weird that two warriors in a similar level bracket would know of one another. Especially if they competed in the training camps that the Stormbringer Guild hosted to teach teams how to better coordinate, survive in the dungeons, and more. While leveling up was always the best way to grow in strength, properly learning one's role in a team and how to utilize their abilities effectively was also important.
Eric and Devon clasped hands with a satisfying clap and pulled each other into a quick hug. After stepping back, Devon eyed the woman over Eric's shoulder.
"I'm sorry about your loss, man. Mary was a wonderful person."
"It's fine," Eric said, but the sadness in his eyes showed that he was anything but fine. He noticed the wooden cart and went over to rest the dead woman on it.
Sarah felt her stomach twist at the sight of the woman's condition. It was grotesque, to say the least. Large patches of her skin were blackened and rotten, and in some places, she could see the exposed bone.
Devon's gaze hardened. "What could have possibly done this?" he asked the question on everyone's mind.
Eric leaned on the cart, looking down at the corpse with empty eyes. "We were coming up from a relatively unsuccessful raid on the second floor and passed an odd-seeming fellow. He wore a black cloak that hid his face, and he needed to use the wall for support to walk. I didn't think much of it until Mary pointed out that she sensed dead mana coming from him due to a passive skill she possessed. Bringing up the idea that he may be a Reaper, I grew greedy. After all, they can often have bounties, and we had a very unsuccessful hunt."
His hands balled into fists, and it seemed like he was holding back tears. "When pressured for his identity, he said he was from the Iron Legion."
Sarah shot a glance at Brandon and Aria.
"But there's no way he was from that guild," Eric continued. "First of all, he didn't have the Legion's aura. Secondly, he was working alone. He then said something about us 'invading his home and pushing him too far' before he unleashed a powerful corruption spell at us. I—" he choked up, unable to continue.
"He tried to block the attack," the mage at his side said softly. "But they seemed to arc around him as if Mary had been the target all along. Her mana shields barely held up, but there were too many attacks."
"What was such a powerful mage doing on the first floor?" Eric hissed through clenched teeth. "It's not fair."
Sarah kept quiet, her mind racing. These weren't weak Hunters at all, yet this mage had faced three of them and killed one with a single skill.
"A mage, huh? There were traces of holy magic used at the scene of Joe's disappearance, but they mentioned corruption magic." Jill pondered aloud. "I've never heard of a mage dual-wielding such opposing affinities at once. Hold on, you said dead mana?"
"Yeah?" Eric said, his eyes slightly reddened. "What of it?"
Jill's eyes widened slightly as she turned to Sarah. "What if Joe is a necromancer?"
Comments
NeoJungleLover
two suits of armor a slime and hunters raid walked into a crypt...
Beeees!
Our shapshifting mind slime really is an absurd thought that would never cross these folks mind. But it sounding like a raid may be put together to hunt him down
