Meanwhile, back in the central town of the Grafted Cluster, Hestu and Bulren were just given notice of their huge bump in profits in a single day.
"See?" Hestu bragged, pointing at the papers in Bulren's desk. "It's working. The people are using Flarecorp products."
But despite increasing his gains to nearly double its normal amount, Bulren couldn't bring himself to celebrate. He looked out of the window and saw the outskirts of the central town being separated from the outside world by a semi-invisible wall of fire that prevented anyone from going outside.
There were Flarecorp soldiers posted all around the circumference of the flaming sphere, preventing people from hurting themselves as they tried to sneak out of the territory.
Doubt began to seep into his heart. This would definitely not be the first time that this could happen. If Flarecorp eventually arrived in the Grafted Cluster, it was more than possible that this forced isolation would transition from temporary to permanent.
He didn't know if he would be able to live with that. But of course, he couldn't say any of this out loud to Hestu. The man was in control of the 6-star wizards in charge of maintaining this barrier. They could easily focus their attention onto him if he voiced out his concerns.
"Now that we have made sure that the Reborn company can't expand their business here, we shall slowly take back the other settlements from their grasp," Hestu said. "I'm looking forward to it."
After finishing his conversation with Bulren, Hestu walked out of the mansion and back into his carriage.
Unbeknownst to him or any of the bodyguards assigned next to him, there was a peculiar shadow that seemed to have attached itself to his feet.
…bu to to…
…rah ta ta…
"WHO IS THAT?!" Hestu screamed, surprising his bodyguards.
"Sir, no one said anything."
"I heard it clearly," Hestu insisted. "Someone is playing tricks on me. Guards, do your job and inspect our surroundings for any miscreants playing a prank."
The Flarecorp guards looked at each other before awkwardly looking around at the empty streets of the central town.
With the Martial Law in effect, there was no one out of the streets loitering about. They were all confined to their homes, creating an eerie silence that overcame the whole territory. This made Hestu seem all the more crazed since the guards hearn not a peep from their surroundings.
However, they still did their jobs and checked the corners for any intruders.
They saw nothing.
"The coast is clear, sir. There's no one here."
Just as then, Hestu heard another clear voice echoing from all directions.
…talking to you…
"There it is again! It sounded like a child, a teen!"
The guards looked at Hestu with worry. They started to think that he was crazy.
"I'm not crazy!" Hestu swore. "I must have been cursed! It must be the work of a wizard or a mage that is out to get me!"
It wasn't long before the Flarecorp 6-star mages were gathered at Hestu's temporary residence. They seemed annoyed. They were already extremely exhausted from keeping the flaming barrier active all day that all they wanted to do now was to sleep. Yet Hestu summoned them despite it.
"Exorcise this malevolent curse. I keep hearing things…voices…they talk to me!"
The 6-star wizards immediately used [Inspect Magic], [Curse Identifier], and even [Find Disease] to check up on Hestu's well-being.
All sorts of lights surrounded Hestu, with each one revolving around him and inspecting a different aspect of his very presence.
Hestu's body began to light up as these lights entered his body. And as they did, the wizards could see an x-ray vision of his body with his bones, veins, and even mana cores visible from the outside.
If there was any anomaly present, the lights would immediately highlight the problem for the wizards. But after a few minutes, the lights faded, meaning that the magic found no anomalies in ihs body.
His mana levels were normal, his physical body was in tip top shape, and there wasn't any kind of spell or magic that was casted at him by a different person.
It seemed that the 'voices' that he heard were all in his head—a product of his imagination.
"This can't be!" Hestu screamed.
"We suggest that you return to Batchrock town at once and ask for your replacement," said the Flarecorp wizard. "You don't seem to be fit for this mission."
As soon as that was mentioned, Hestu aggressively pointed at everyone in the room. "You will do no such thing. My liege, my King, will not hear of this in any shape or form. I will bring victory to Flarecorp and show that this problem is no hindrance to my abilities, that I guarantee!"
Soon, Hestu was left all alone in his room.
The subtle sounds of drumming and strumming kept on beating in his head, preventing him from getting a good night's sleep.
The next day, Hestu tried to act as normal as possible. However, he would often see shadowy figures and forms on the edge of his vision, only for it to disappear once he tried to look at them.
This wasn't enough cause for worry though. That came a day later, when Hestu found himself becoming lost in a maze within his own guest house.
The 4-bedroom mini mansion became a kilometer long. He tried to exit the house, only finding himself back to his own bedroom. The windows outside were completely bolted shut letting no sunlight shine through, with only the artificial luminescence of the flickering oil lamp illuminating his surroundings.
"Help! Get me out of here," he shouted, but his words came echoing back at him at full force.
Every door he walked through seemed to lead him further and further down the path of insanity. Time seemed to blur. His consciousness became foggy. He just wandered this endless maze in a daze, opening one door and the other for an endless amount of time.
He didn't know how long he had been trapped into this door, but after what seemed like an eternity, he finally found the exit.
"...help me…," he said exasperatedly to the guard outside his house. "I've been trapped…for months…years? I don't know…"
The guard looked back at him with a strange look. "Sir? It's only been a few hours."
The wizards were once again asked to examine Hestu's well-being. But aside from looking a bit haggard, the man was in perfect condition. His mind however, is a complete mess.
"I was trapped there, I tell you!"
"There's no traces of magic in the house," said the wizard.
Having no one believe him made Hestu feel intensely paranoid about his surroundings. He couldn't even take a bath for fear of being trapped in that maze again, making him look even more disheveled and dirty as the days passed.
After a week, Hestu's well-being deteriorated to the point that he wouldn't even go out of the house anymore. He kept himself on the corner of the room, hugging his knees and biting on his nails. His eyes were completely sunken.
It was at this point that suddenly, Hestu saw darkness seeping out of the walls, covering its entirety.
Shadows flew back and forth in the air, infecting everything it touched into darkness.
In the end, all Hestu could see was an endless black void.
He floated in this space, wary of his surroundings, before a giant figure came into view.
It was a colossal violet slime.