Isekai For Hire Chapter 15: Explosion?

Read chapter 15 of Isekai For Hire by wk_rust on NovelPedia.

Explosion? Lorena begged her legs to move faster as she crossed the bridge in Stealth, her heart racing and the pungent smell of smoke filling the air. The bridge emptied into a wide street with shops on either side, at least, what used to be shops on either side. The first three shops, at least sixty feet of street, were completely decimated. The limestone buildings were now nothing but rubble and smoke. Lorena kept close to the far wall, the flames that burned the remains of the buildings causing havoc on her shadows. What happened? Lorena’s eyes fell on the only other person on the street. He was face down on the cobblestone in front of the second shop, little more than charred flesh and bone at this point. Her mind flashed back to scenes on Earth, to bombings and terror attacks. Anger flared from Ren and Lorena had to close her eyes for a moment as she breathed through it. It was getting harder and harder to separate Ren’s emotions from her own. Have there been terror attacks like this before? No. Nothing like this. This is… Ren trailed off as people started to trickle out of buildings and a crowd formed around the rubble. Several mages appeared in the crowd and began casting spells that made quick work of the remaining fire, bringing a blanket of darkness down on the street. Lorena took this opportunity to move forward into the crowd, paying extra attention to avoid bumping into anyone. She wasn’t sure what would happen if she hit someone while in Stealth, but she imagined at the very least it would give her away, if not knock her out of Stealth completely. “Make way! Make way! Inspectors coming through!” a man yelled from somewhere at the back of the crowd. She moved with the crowd as they formed a hole. She looked on as several city guards, followed by three important looking officials, the inspectors Lorena guessed, made their way to the edge of burning rubble and fanned out. Ren practically growled at the sight of the three inspectors, the left one just a few feet out of reach. They had matching uniforms that reminded her of old-timey uniforms worn in the 1700’s, with large blooming pants, frilly shirts under long dark coats, and heads topped with wide brimmed hats with a feather sticking out of them. Each official carried a large jewel encrusted staff. What’s wrong? We knew them by another name—collectors. The officials turned to face the crowd and raised their hands as they began casting. The crowd took two steps back. A shimmer spread, growing upward from the ground at the edge of the crowd and formed a dome over the rubble. The shimmer turned a faint red color, not opaque, but casting an ominous color over the scene within. Before Ren could say more the crowd came alive with whispers. “Bet it was the Brocken.” “If it was it’s the third attack this month.” “No way they’d do this, this is way too violent.” “I wouldn’t put it past ‘em. Bunch of savages they are.” Lorena tried to put faces to the snippets but struggled due to the crowd size. I knew it. This is all Everfrost’s fault. We’re going to- Ren, I need to focus. She said with her best attempt at a soothing tone. When are we going to talk about it? I’m tired of you avoiding things that I care about. She moved with the crowd as they shuffled again, clearing way as a wave of silence fell over the crowd. Hold on— With the silence came fear. Cold, devastating fear. The hair on the back of her neck and arms stood straight up. Her shoulders went rigid and her body curved in on itself, cowering. Her mind raced, unable to process thoughts. Her gaze diverted to the ground. What’s happening? Ren said, terror in her voice. Then she saw him. A human, average height but impressive build. Muscles bulged under his black fitted shirt. A large cloak made of a gray, icy mist trailed behind him, coating the ground in frost as he walked. He had a black robe with a hood that revealed nothing. He carried a large staff made of a thunderous storm, trapped by mere willpower. Lightning