Dark Magus Returns

Chapter 964:  Visiting The Start

The trio had finally arrived at the medium-sized village, and it was a place that had brought back big memories for a couple of them. Walking down the streets this time, it was the first in their journey where they had seen Safa slow down her pace.

As they were walking, Simyon pulled Liam by the scruff of his shirt.

"Hey, I need to mention something to you and it's pretty serious," Simyon said. "This village, it's Safa's hometown. So she's going to have a lot of memories and feelings going through this stuff, so calm down on the intensity."

"What do you mean intensity?" Liam replied. "Are you saying I'm insensitive? I think I'm more aware of things than you."

Liam wasn't joking with his reply either; thanks to his system, the subtle movements in the muscle structure of one's face told him how one was feeling or the emotion they were portraying. Still, it didn't mean he knew how to deal with it.

"Also, isn't this your hometown as well?" Liam asked.

Simyon shook his head. "The three of us met at the same orphanage which was located close to this town but not really a part of it," Simyon explained. "I was from another village that was destroyed due to a portal break, and I lost everything. So the town itself, I have no attachment to, and I've somewhat dealt with my demons. I'm just not sure Safa has done."

There was a lot of regret with Simyon originally—his sister sacrificing herself for him, him not being strong enough to do anything, and wanting to be as strong as the Pagna warrior that saved his life.

Because of this, he had become a shield, a strong shield, and he couldn't let the past hold him back but have it try to push him forward.

While walking around, they had gone down an alleyway, away from the marketplace. There were still people selling items but it was with a rag on the floor, handing out vegetables or trinkets for coin.

As they walked, a few times Safa had even given them coin, without asking for anything in return, and the two boys didn't say anything.

Until they had eventually stopped. Safa stared at a wooden house that connected to a row of other houses. It was slightly slanted on its side.

"Is this your old home?" Simyon eventually asked.

Safa nodded and continued to look at the door, until it creaked open. She saw a young child inside wearing just a long shirt that covered their knees; it was filthy.

"Mum, there's a few strange people outside staring at our house!" the young boy shouted.

"Come on, let's go," Safa said, as they wandered off.

"Wait, don't you want to go inside and have a look around?" Simyon asked.

"What I'm wondering is if they aren't family members then how did they even get inside the house," Liam added.

"It doesn't matter; most likely they learned of what had happened. I don't even know who got the rights to the house after our parents passed away and we moved from that. I don't think there are many that would want to live in a house of death anyway," Safa said. "If it can at least provide some shelter for another family, then that's fine with me."

After visiting the house, Safa didn't say much, but they had grabbed some food to eat, and then she said they should head to the nearby church, which came as a surprise to Simyon.

"Wait, don't you want to go anywhere first? Do you want to head to the clan, or to the orphanage to see if everything is okay?" Simyon asked.

Safa shook her head. "That would just be distractions right now," Safa replied. "Right now I want to focus on the task. We know the Red Brigade aren't involved this time—they wouldn't be. Besides, the more time we spend, who knows how many more lives could be lost."

With the three in agreement, they decided to head off. It had been a while, so Simyon was looking forward to heading to the orphanage again; he thought maybe he could teach them a few things he would have liked to have been taught back then. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

However, as he thought about his hometown and Safa's place of origin, a deep thought did enter his mind in all of this, and he had to ask.

"Liam...what clan are you even from? We've traveled quite a lot through the Dark Faction and we haven't run into your hometown, have we? I mean, don't you want to go home or anything?"

"Yeah, home, I guess I haven't gone home. I didn't even go home during the break, did I? Well, my home is wherever I am, so there's no need for that. Besides, don't you think all of this talking is going to slow us down? Come on!" Liam said, going slightly ahead of the other two.

Now, it was Safa and Simyon that were turning to each other.

"Did he just completely avoid the question?" Simyon asked.

"He did. Come to think of it, we don't know much about Liam, do we?" Safa replied.

Liam was the most talented individual not from a big-name family. That was all they knew, and through a series of coincidences he had ended up coming along with them and getting the power of a system from another world.

Although Simyon found Liam incredibly annoying, he had been with them through it all, in every situation always willing to fight. Yet they knew nothing about him, and for a moment both of them felt bad.

However, the issue at hand that they were going through now was the bigger thing.

"If he needs to speak to us about it, he will, and when we can we'll help him as well. It's because of him I might find out everything to do with my brother," Safa answered.

They had long exited the town, and now having reached just over the hill, they could see the church in the distance.