The Innkeeper

Lex was not at all surprised that Mario was unhurt. After all, he was much too strong for monsters of this level to overwhelm him. But when he reached his rooftop and saw the size of his party, he was extremely surprised.

It was much too small. Only around 10 people were following him. All of whom were excellent fighters on their own as well. Clearly they would have survived even without Mario as long as the rest were together. But their small numbers and, most of all, slow and steady speed told Lex something was going on

That's when Lex noticed that Mario's son, Elio, was not with the group. He did not jump to conclusions, but he kept the thought in mind.

Despite how near they were, the group did not get impatient at all, and continued on their pace. It took nearly an hour before they finally reached the tavern.

Like the previous two warriors, the group was hit hard by how contrasting the environment within the tavern was. But unlike the first group, they did not become overly arrogant once they reached this establishment filled with civilians. Thugs like them had a deeper understanding of the way of the world. In the killing field that Babylon had now become, only disgustingly overwhelming strength would allow one to live in such comfort.

Lex had prepared food for everyone already, and at the sight of the steaming bowls of soup being laid down for them, these rough and tumble men gave Lex a lok filled with sheer appreciation and gratitude, and sat down to savor their first meal in days!

Mario, however, did not go towards the food and instead sat himself down at the bar, his deep set eyes gazing out into the distance. He ordered hard liquor with nothing but a gesture and downed the glass like a parched man chugging water.

"Your party is smaller than I would have expected," said Lex as he approached the man. Men like Mario did not need consolation or words to ease them. Instead, treating them softly or carefully might actually offend them.

In such a case, it was best to just be upfront with them about what you were curious about.

"It was that damn killer," Mario said, his voice hoarse. He downed another glass and began to pour one more drink for himself.

"He shepherded us like cattle towards the light, only to pick us off one by one. Even I couldn't catch him. He has clever ways to hide in the shadows, and of making people disappear, only for their corpses to reappear a short while later."

"Do you think he had something to do with the light formation failing?"

"He shouldn't. While he is very tricky and clever, he is not strong enough. The formation is heavily guarded. It would take at least a nascent cultivator to break through all of its defenses, and if he were that strong, he wouldn't be picking off the weak like that. He would be aiming for me. Instead, what he's been doing is not targeting me, but targeting people right in front of me. There's a small but significant difference."

Lex did not need to ask to know what the difference was. One meant that the killer was strong enough to challenge Mario, while the other meant the killer knew he couldn't take on Mario himself, but was skilled or crazy enough to antagonize him.

Lex asked him if he knew the situation in the rest of the city, which Mario did not. He had stuck close to his own turf until it became obvious that the killer would pick them off one by one unless they left.

One thing that caught Lex's curiosity was that the killer somehow had a way to not be targeted by the monsters in the dark. While everyone else was fighting for their lives, the killer was sailing through the darkness like a ship in calm waters.

Mario did not say much else, but the addition of new guests quickly caught everyone's attention. With not much else to do, they talked and exchanged stories, and quickly a new fear began to spread between those staying at the tavern - that Mario and his gang had led the killer right to them. But nothing of the sort happened. The tavern was as safe as always.

While Big Ben and Betty were just glad to be alive and safe, the triplets along with the bakers had many minor panic attacks. They all had family out in the dark, but they knew there was nothing they could do to search for them.

The small spark of stimulation provided with the addition of new guests soon waned as the days returned to their previous monotony. Lex had somehow produced more mattresses and bedding, and opened up the hidden chamber underneath the bar so the tavern wouldn't get even more crowded.

Seven more days passed like that and, just as everyone - the kids especially - were about to lose their minds, another group was spotted heading towards the tavern.

This group was much larger than Mario's, but when they arrived, they were also in much worse shape. This group had been led by one of the nobles and the parents of one of the 'extra staff' Lex had helping at the tavern.

Unsurprisingly, their story was very similar to Mario's. They were surviving, barely, in one of the safe zones that had developed around the town, until one day when the killer appeared and started killing them off one by one.

It was out of sheer desperation that they ventured out into the dark, but the giant beacon of light was not their first destination. It was like they had been forced by the killer to come this way, for when they head in any other direction, the murders would increase.

Lex received this news with surprising calm. It made sense. He had been feeling something was slowly building from the moment the lights failed.

Four days later, another man appeared. He walked through the darkness alone, the monsters dying around him. He was another noble, and he had been unable to save a single person. It was mostly the monsters that killed everyone he had tried to protect, and the few survivors had been picked off by the killer. The next day, the remaining three nobles arrived as well, once again alone.

By now the tavern building was jam-packed, even with the secret storage downstairs. The mood was grim. It seemed like they were the last survivors in the town, for no one knew what was happening with the mayor and town guards.

Even with nearly a 100 people packed into the tavern building, it felt like the loneliest place in the world. They lived on a small island of safety, surrounded by a hungry abyss.

At least, that was until Dino and Betty started getting creative with their foods, and started asking everyone what their favorite was. With the endless supply of ingredients that Rick somehow always provided them with, the mealtimes at the tavern became the most anticipated times of the day.

People would place bets, and play guessing games as to what would be the meals of the day. The music never stopped playing, and Lex provided an infinite variety of board game ideas for everyone to entertain themselves.

It really did feel like there was a festival going on inside. This was because one day Lex had an epiphany. If everyone's mood was being disrupted artificially by some means, could he not do the same?

He purchased a formation that blocked any outside interference in emotions, and another that slightly eased the mind.

That was all that was needed, for the numerous children inside immediately became joyful, and entertained all the guests. They created their own plays and put on their own performances.

Deep down, no one forgot that they were in a desperate situation. But at the same time, they could do nothing about it, so they chose to indulge in whatever joys they could claim.

Unbeknownst to them, for the last three days, the killer had been outside the tavern, hiding from the spotlight that lit up the street. He had been watching.

His plan to lure all the high value targets in one place was a success. What he did not expect, however, was that his system would fail to provide a safe way to infiltrate the tavern. So, for the last few days, he had been using his X-ray sight to carefully observe the tavern and its inhabitants.

There were too many peculiar things going on in there that could not be explained, so the killer didn't really try. His entire focus was on finding a way to infiltrate.

In the end, when he could not find a way on his own, he had to rely on one of the quest rewards he had been saving up to kill the mayor.

"System, prepare the Death Bubble. Target the highest value person in that building."

Suddenly, Lex, who was busy cultivating in his room, disappeared.