C145: Crollo Fabius (1)
[There were many nobles who went from the Kingdom of Durman to other countries, but there was only one that met the conditions you said.]
"Who is it?"
[It's Duke Fabius.]
Fabius? I've never heard of it.
Five years ago, when I was working as the hunter, Abraham Van Helsing, my main stage was the Kingdom of Durman. After hunting the Beast of Gévaudan, many people called me a great hunter and tried to contact me, most of whom were nobles who wanted to keep me under their command. But I had never heard of the name Fabius even among the noble families.
It's for the first time that I hear about the existence of this duke.
"I can't believe there was such a duke. I didn't hear about him when I was a hunter."
[At the time when brother was there, Duke Fabius was not in the Kingdom of Durman.]
It didn't exist? The duke family?
"I need a detailed story."
[As you know, the kingdom of Durman was ruined five years ago after the Bloody Night incident.]
"Yeah."
Due to the abnormal proliferation of cryptids, the state has completely lost credibility of the people. Although the cryptids hunt ended successfully, the damage was devastating.
The estimated damage was astronomical. So did the kingdom release the money to compensate?
'What compensation. They were busy filling their pockets.'
No matter how many commoners died, it didn't matter much to the nobles. Rather, they would have liked it better if the number of people trying to start a revolution decreased.
These actions ignited the anger of the citizens that had been suppressed. Above all, it was not a knight or a wizard but only a hunter who killed the Beast of Gévaudan at the time.
It was like pouring oil at a time when there were many complaints about the defeat of the nobles and the result was directly linked to the revolution.
'The angry people raised a flag of revolution that was incomparable to before, and the royal family sacrificed the nobles to live.'
In fact, the royals were the same people, but they had something better than the aristocracy, so they were quick to notice.
Thanks to the swift condemnation of the nobles, the royal family was able to maintain the name Durman, at least nominally.
'Most of the nobles were divided and other nobles, who recognized the seriousness of the situation, attempted to flee to another country as a whole with their families.'
In other words, it was after the Bloody Night incident that the nobles of the Durman Kingdom fled to other countries. However, it was said that the Duke Fabius defected before it happened, so I didn't understand.
He left years before the revolution?
"……It wasn't being exiled. Did they run away?"
[Yes you're right, they ran away.]
"They ran away. From what?"
[He was curious about that, too, so I looked for a reason……There's something weird going on. A case? No, it's a little vague to call it a case.]
Hans over the crystal ball seemed quite embarrassed, wondering if he could say this.
"Just say it."
[There was a rumor that the family itself was cursed before the Fabius family went into exile.]
Cursed? At the sudden words, Rudger remained silent and Hans' explanation followed.
[That's right. One day, the family's elders disappeared.]
"The elders disappeared. Is such a problem related to a curse?"
[The problem is that it didn't end there. The people in the family disappeared one by one. The culmination of that is the previous house master, who stepped down, was burned alive.]
"Burned alive?"
[What's interesting is that the house was not on fire, only the previous house master caught fire and died. It was such a strange story that no one believed it even though rumors spread at the time.]
At the end of the day, people had no choice but to be afraid because the Fabius family received God's punishment.
"If you look at the flow, even the elders who disappeared one by one……."
[Right. They were all burnt to death. Just like the death of the former house master, their bodies suddenly caught fire and became ashes. The family hid it as much as possible, but they got caught.]
"It's strange."
[That's right, it's strange. The Duke's family would have strict security, and a part of the family members were wizards.]
All those people were burned to death one by one.
It made sense for people to say that it was God's punishment, not just assassination.
"Was that why the duke family of a country fled like they were exiled?"
The people of the Fabius family also realized that the curse, or something else, was trying to kill them so they ran away to all parts of the continent to live separated and scattered from each other.
But the incarnation of revenge created by the union of death, malice, hatred, and sadness followed them.
"How many members of the Fabius family are left?"
[Only one.]
He didn't know how many people were there in the Fabius family but it would never have been a small number because it was a family with a duke position in a country. There should've been at least 100 people.
"Are all the rest dead?"
[Of course, they were all burned to death.]
Esmeralda found all those members and killed them.
"But wizards wouldn't have died like this. Was there any resistance?"
[There was. They hired people, called knights, and everything but as you can see the results…….]
"Is that so?"
[I watched the case in chronological order, and I found something unusual. The scale of the fire is increasing.]
"The scale has increased?"
A rustling sound was heard over the crystal ball. It seemed that Hans was looking through the data he had collected.
[At first, only the people of the Fabius family died. A scared man had dozens of bodyguards but only he was burned to death like a ghost.]
"You mean they didn't touch anyone else."
[But as more and more new arson attacks took place, the damage began to spread not only to people from the Fabius family, but also to people around them.]
At first only the members of the Fabius family were targeted but things escalated.
[It got bigger and bigger and in the last case a whole house was burned down.]
I remembered Quasimodo, the spirit of fire that appeared in the banquet hall. At that time, I took it for granted that he ran rampant as soon as he appeared, but up until now, he had purely eliminated his targets?
'The damage, which was initially limited to certain targets, gradually spread? It is surprising, so there must've been some kind of change of mind since the scale has grown.'
I remembered Esmeralda's past in the painting magic. I don't know what happened to her later, after she disappeared into the darkness of the forest on the day of the Great Fire of Roteng.
I don't even know how she got into the Black Dawn Society.
"Hans, who is the last survivor of the Fabius family?"
[The last surviving member of the Fabius family it's a guy named Crollo Fabius and he is also the current head of the Fabius family.]
"The head of the family is still alive?"
[I checked and it was like that.]
"Where's that Crollo Fabius guy?"
[You didn't know?]
What do you mean I don't know?
When Rudger responded that he didn't really know, Hans replied in a slightly dismal tone.
[That person is a teacher in Theon right now.]
* * *
Rudger stopped in front of a private residence for teachers in Theon.
'Here it is.'
The plaque at the entrance read [Crollo Fabius].
'I can't believe he was really working as a teacher in Theon.'
At times like this it is said that it is dark under the lamp. Don't tell me the last survivor that First Order Esmeralda was chasing was in Theon.
'Esmeralda infiltrated Theon to kill him.'
All Esmeralda has done so far was to remove the people of the Fabius family. After eliminating them one by one, the last survivor of the Fabius family was the family head and he was here in Theon.
'It's surprising that she moved only for revenge, considering she entered the Black Dawn Society. Zero Order agreed with this?'
It was hard to conclude recklessly because I didn't know the nature of Zero Order.
"Ding-dong."
Rudger rang the doorbell but there was no response from within.
'There's no way he isn't here.'
Rudger had already stopped by Crollo Fabius' teacher's office before coming here.
Crollo Fabius was a teacher of Theon, but he was practically close to an honorary teacher. He was not chosen after taking the teacher's test, but because he was a nobleman from the Kingdom of Durman and received his position as a condition of asylum.
He is a honorary teacher, but he didn't even went to work.
'Then he must be at home.'
Maybe he's still sleeping? Rudger, who pressed the doorbell a few more times with that thought, shook his head and grabbed the doorknob with his hand.
"……."
After a moment of silence Rudger carefully let go of the doorknob and slipped back. Immediately after that, the door opened by itself, and an attack magic flew from inside.
'Magic?'
It was a sudden attack, but Rudger reacted calmly. The source code magic was activated, creating a mana barrier in front of him and the magic that flew was blocked and scattered.
'The power is weak. It wasn't a targeted attack but a hastily executed magic.'
However, there was no guarantee that another attack would not come. There is no one watching now, but if there is a disturbance, it will attract attention.
After the judgment, Rudger stormed out and ran into the house through an open door.
"Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!"
There was a startling cry from the inside. Although it was broad daylight, the inside of the house was dark because of insufficient light, but Rudger saw through it.
Crollo Fabius was hidden behind a fallen wooden table while pointing his cane away.
Without slowing down, Rudger immediately jumped at him. The tip of the cane held by Crollo flashed and a ray of light was shot. A third-level light attribute emission magic. The range is narrow, but the penetration is high.
It cannot be stopped by a hastily placed barrier but the ray of light emptily cut through the air.
"What…!"
Crollo opened his mouth wide at the sharp movement that he couldn't believe was executed by a wizard. Shortly thereafter, Rudger's right hand, who ran over the table, grabbed his mouth and twisted his arm holding the cane with his left hand.
"Ugh!"
"Quiet. Do you want everyone outside to know what's happening here?"
When I whispered quietly, he stopped screaming. As if he had finally calmed down, his breathing slowed even further.
Rudger carefully let him go.
"Who are you?"
"Rudger Chelici."
Rudger raised his body, which was bent.
"I'm a new teacher."
"You're a teacher?"
"Mr. Crollo Fabius, right?"
"That's right."
Crollo finally realized that Rudger was not an enemy, and sighed in relief.
Rudger looked around the room that was messy and smelly because it wasn't cleaned in a long time.
As I approached the window to open it, Crollo cried out.
"Hey, don't open it!"
"Isn't it full of dust?"
"This is my house! Just leave it alone!"
His eyes were full of fear.
Rudger also took a closer look at the figure of Crollo Fabius. It was obviously the first time they met, but Rudger realized that he was familiar with him.
'That man…'
The blonde hair, which used to be brilliant in the past, has now become murky and has lost its shine. Maybe he couldn't wash properly or sleep well, but under his eyes, he was full of dark circles, and his untidy beard grew messy.
'Crollo Fabius.'
The last surviving member of the Fabius family and the man that caused the Roteng Fire.
I couldn't have forgotten what I saw in the magic world of painting.
'I thought I saw him somewhere.'
Isn't he the one who talked to teacher Selina a while ago? At that time, I only saw his back, but the blonde hair, physique, and atmosphere were very similar.
'The man who committed such a thing is still alive.'
A feeling of disgust rose, but Rudger suppressed it. What matters now is that he wasn't trying to hold Crollo Fabius accountable for his crimes.
With his hands off the curtains, Rudger slowly approached Crollo. He picked up a fallen wooden chair nearby, placed it in front of Crollo and sat there.
"Mr. Crollo Fabius."
"What…."
Crollo felt something irresistible form Rudger's voice calling his name. He was relieved to hear that you are the new teacher, but what was that atmosphere?
Rudger's eyes seemed to glow red in the dark.
"Let's talk."