The Divine Hunter Chapter 6: Past

At night.

The dark sky and the two bright moons on the sea complement each other, and the snow in the front yard of Kelseren is sparkling white.

The entire Dragon Mountain Range was silent, with only the sound of the night wind blowing across the snowy slopes, and the sound of the tide lapping against the rocks in the endless sea under the cliff.

Igesena was exhausted after traveling for half a day and went to her room to rest early.

Coen received the teacher's order and took Roy with him to get some air in the snow outside the house. He visited the library and the simple alchemy room that exceeded Roy's imagination, and told him about the past of this ruin. .

"Man, tell me, the glorious history of the Griffin School and the Kael Siren...how did it come about?" Roy knelt down and placed the Gorfin on the snow, and the little one immediately disappeared into the night. , and then a soaring black shadow appeared in the distant sky.

"You have asked the right person. The teacher has told me this history countless times and asked me to memorize it. Have you seen that stone tablet during the day?" Cohen tightened his collar, cold wind The blow made him twitch his nose, "It was the elf mage who first discovered this magical land and erected a stone monument in the courtyard."

"Later, around the beginning of the eleventh century, our..." He paused, squatted down, and patted the snow, "The creator, Master Azulie, led a group of men to build this castle... As you can see, most of the buildings are now buried beneath our feet."

"However, the original mages used Kael Siren as a testing ground to continue their experiments on witcher mutations..."

"But the experiment was not very successful...the corpses of many failed experiments were piled up in the lobby, as well as the ghosts of people who had not become demon hunters and the curses caused by death."

"Azulie led the mages to abandon this ominous place... to pursue a new career."

Roy breathed heavily into the palm of his hand and felt a little uncomfortable. The founders didn't seem to be good people, and their methods were cruel... They used humans as experimental subjects and discarded them after use...

"At almost the same time, the Order of Demon Hunters split, and the Demon Hunters with different ideas went their separate ways,"

Keen continued, his three-colored pupils reflected the moonlight, and his whole expression was shocked,

"Ellan of Larvik led thirteen like-minded comrades, followed the footsteps of founder Azulie to Kelseren, cleaned and buried the corpses in the castle, and swore an oath to Kelseren In order to commemorate the mentor who had a profound influence on him, a knight named "Griffin", the Grand Master of Elam decided to name the school after him."

"The Grand Master of Elam created a fighting method that focused on pre-battle preparation, flexibility and the use of magic, and began to cultivate the demon hunters of the Griffin School."

"At the same time, he will educate his disciples with "The Noble Spirit of Knights" and "Guide to Knightly Virtues". This is also one of the purposes of the school founded by Lord Elam."

Roy's eyelids twitched.

"He hopes to use this to change ordinary people's impression of witchers. He hopes that one day, people can put aside their prejudices and sincerely express respect and gratitude to witchers."

Roy walked slowly and looked at the low fortress with only a few rooms behind him again.

I feel an inexplicable force.

The Griffins are definitely idealists.

But he was also a little puzzled. Since the mage chose to abandon the demon hunter,

"Why is Your Excellency Elan here looking for Azulie?"

Sent to your door as a dog licker?

"According to my teacher, although the Grand Master hates and despises the mage's cruel experiments that go beyond the bottom line and destroy humanity," Cohen breathed out, "but he agrees with his original concept of 'saving the common people'."

"He wanted to find Azulie and Cosimo and ask for an explanation - had they abandoned their original intention?"

"He wanted the two creators to change their ways."

Roy shook his head.

A demon hunter went to persuade the powerful wizard who created him to change his ways. Roy admired Elan's courage, but——

"There is no doubt that Lord Elan failed."

Keen shook his head with a gloomy expression, and continued for a long time, "He was never able to see the two founders and had no chance to convince them. But it was a blessing in disguise that he found such a magical place and took advantage of the opportunity to build Kai Er Siren, and then the Grand Master of Elam devoted all his energy to the Griffin School for the rest of his life."

“Many famous and righteous people have emerged from the Griffin Faction.”

"Like the dragon slayer, George of Kalgan."

Roy curled his lips.

To be honest, in the world's impression, the dragon slayer who died due to Xiao Xiao's plot was more unlucky and stupid than heroic and powerful.

"Cohen, do you think Azuri and Cosimo are dead?" Roy asked,

"No one knows." Cohen sighed, "Anyway, they haven't appeared in front of the world for a hundred or two hundred years."

……

"The Kael Sirens were established, and other schools also emerged during this period... All schools operated independently and in balance. The witchers entered a golden age of unprecedented activity, from the eleventh to the twelfth century."

Cohen shrank his neck, as if he felt a little cold. The five fingers of his right hand opened and shrank, and he instantly drew the Helio Talisman. The black shield covered his whole body, and he straightened his back immediately.

Roy raised his eyebrows, the other person's movement of outlining the seal was too fast for him to see clearly.

"It wasn't until a hundred years ago that the Grand Master of Elam discovered that the tremendous development of demon hunters had finally reached the point where there were no monsters to hunt."

Roy took a deep breath and recalled the various experiences he had experienced after becoming a witcher. With mixed feelings, he blurted out, "When there are no monsters to kill, witchers become monsters in people's eyes."

Cohen glanced at him in surprise, "Your Excellency is not very young, but you are quite knowledgeable."

"When people are no longer threatened by monsters, demon hunters, whose skills and spell-like abilities far exceed those of humans, are instead seen as a threat." Cohen said with irony in his tone,

"At that time, a great plague broke out in Temeria. The church was afraid of the increasing power of the witcher, so it slandered the witcher as the culprit."

"What church methods are so dirty?" Roy asked, "Cliff, the father of the sky?"

"I don't mean to disparage the current church...I am just stating a fact," Cohen emphasized before answering, "Several churches, Cliff, Meriteri, Eternal Fire...their archbishop at the time believed that hunting The devil threatens to spread the faith..."

"Start stigmatizing witchers."

Roy lowered his head.

He thought of the Meliteli Temple on the outskirts of Elland, the loving Aunt Nannik, and the priestesses who selflessly adopted orphans.

This great faith also has this dark history.

"Meanwhile, mages covet the rich magical tomes in Kael Siren."

"I learned about it from Mr. Vesemir..." Roy interjected, "A lot of secret knowledge about Kel Siren is even jealous of Aretuza, Ben Ade and other magic academies."

Cohen glanced at the moon in the sky, with a hint of pride on his rocky cheeks, followed by sadness, "Yes, most of them are due to our predecessors' persistence in magic and their repeated research. , and collected from all over the world. Because the Grand Master of Elam adheres to the principle of neutrality, he refuses to share this part of knowledge with mages who love to participate in politics."

"The mages quietly triggered a devastating avalanche in the Dragon Mountains on the pretext of the crime placed on us by the sect." Cohen said in a heavy tone, "The avalanche destroyed and drowned the Kel Siren."

"What's even more terrifying is that it was a late night in winter. My predecessors followed the tradition of going out for training in the spring and returning home in the winter - all the Griffin sect demon hunters gathered in Caer Siren. I was meditating in my room, almost dead..."

"So the avalanche happened a hundred years ago?" Roy asked, "and only Kelda survived?"

Cohen nodded and shook his head, "My teacher, the former monster knowledge mentor of the Griffin sect, managed to survive."

"The Grand Master of Elam, who was in the courtyard outside the castle at that time... witnessed with his own eyes that the castle he had been running for most of his life turned into a snowy mountain, and countless compatriots died tragically."

"Witnessing the greed and cruelty of humans and mages..."

Keen suddenly clenched his fists and then unclenched them.

"He was heartbroken. He helped my teacher escape from the underground, treated his injuries, and left behind a "Demon Hunting Notebook" that recorded all his knowledge in his life. He left Kaer Siren and his whereabouts are unknown since then."

"A hundred years have passed," Cohen said regretfully, "As an apprentice of the Griffin sect, I have never seen the once glorious castle."

Okay, two survivors, two very different choices.

One guarding the ruins.

One left disheartened.

Roy's heart couldn't help but feel a touch of sadness and anger.

The world is full of ill will toward witchers.

He has already learned about four incidents of witcher extermination: the Serpent Sect's stronghold of Gesved was sacked by the Wild Hunt, the wizard led a mob to invade Kaer Morhen, and the King of Kaedwen organized a bloodbath for the witcher tourney. The universities, mages and churches in the north are greedy for magical knowledge and launch a large avalanche to destroy Kelseren...

The mages and the church destroyed the home of the Griffin sect with shameless sneak attacks without any effort. As the founder, Elan never thought of revenge?

Just walk away and wander around the world?

Roy then shook his head, wondering how an individual could take revenge on the church and mages.

It is also possible that Elan's selfless dedication and chivalry in protecting mankind have become his prison.

He became incredibly pedantic and unwilling to harm humans.

……

After a long silence.

Roy stared at the stone tablet quietly until Cohen took a breath and adjusted his mood.

"Anyway, these are in the past tense. Now, my teacher and I are living a good life."

Roy thought for a while, some people didn't have high demands on life, and it was impossible to make them change their attitude with just a few words.

"So, Lord Elan, have you ever returned to Caer Siren since then?"

Cohen shook his head,

"Maybe the Grand Master is still looking for Azulie's footprints in some hidden corner of the world."

Roy fell into deep thought after hearing this.

As far as he knows, most of the earliest demon hunters in the world are missing: Ivar Evil Eye of the Snake Faction, Aiga of the Wolf Faction, Elan of the Gryphon Faction...

If they are still alive, why don't they go back to their old school to take a look and meet their juniors.

If they were all dead, why wasn't there any news?

They all died in a corner that no one knew about?

This is the most likely possibility.

But Roy also has an extremely bold guess - these long-lost master demon hunters are all trapped in one place!

……

"Cohen, there are only two of you left in the Griffin School. Do you still follow the previous tradition? Travel in the spring and return to Caer Siren in the winter." Roy asked,

"I did arrange it this way..." Cohen glanced at the house in the center, and there was a faint light from the door. "I have been outside for most of the year. But as far as I know, in the past twenty years, The teacher never left Kelseren..."

He said with admiration, "Compared with collecting money to hunt monsters, the teacher prefers to 'sharpen his pen' to record knowledge. Apart from basic survival needs, he spends all his time studying -"

"Beside the fire, holding a thick tome and a scroll of parchment, recording his thoughts and experiences... Every day when the sun sets, he will go into the house on time and study until late at night."

"Decades are like one day."

“The teacher’s desire for knowledge is unparalleled!”

"Then does he like teaching apprentices?"

Cohen hesitated for two seconds before nodding heavily, "The teacher is merciless. When I was a child, as long as I answered a question wrong, I would be laughed at by him!"

"But I feel that his love for students ranks only after knowledge."

Roy put his hands behind his back and walked around the bright lights,

"Okay, Sir Cohen... Honestly, in your opinion, Master Kelda, is it possible to go to Novigrad with me?"

Cohen shook his head decisively, "Believe me, there is nothing in heaven or earth that can make a teacher leave his hometown."

"What about you, buddy?" Roy was not discouraged, "Would you like to be a guest at Gawain's house and see those children and my ten brothers?"

The old attitude is resolute and difficult to overcome.

But the attitude of young people seems to be more open-minded.

Cohen rubbed the short beard on his chin and said nothing, with a look of confusion on his face.

Roy continued, "Your girlfriend Igesena took all her belongings and left the village. She offended two gangsters, and it is estimated that it will be difficult for her to return home in the future."

"Are you planning to let her stay in Caer Siren forever?"

Cohen continued to remain silent, but his thick eyebrows furrowed tightly.

"If you want to fulfill her wish and take her to live in the city... then how about taking my advice? Don't go to the big cities of Coville and Powis where you are unfamiliar."

"In Novigrad, the Witcher Brotherhood has strong connections. It couldn't be easier to arrange a job for her..."

"The Brotherhood has a resident mage who has a good relationship with me. If you two have had enough in Nuo City and want to return to Povis, all you need to do is say hello, a breath, and a portal."

"Roy~IndoMTL.com~Why help us?"

"Is it weird for a witcher to help a witcher? Well, don't look at me like that. You can think of this as an investment. Maybe the brotherhood will need your help in the future?" Roy said solemnly, " Of course, we will never force you to violate the spirit of the 'Griffin'."

"Man, what you said makes sense...I will ask the teacher and Igesena for their opinions. If they don't object..." Cohen was finally tempted, "We will go to Novigrad."

He wanted to see what the other schools were like.

He raised his face and begged, "But please stop asking me to join the fraternity...the teacher will not allow me to do this, and it will also trouble me."

"The Griffins stick to their principles and will never change."

Roy shrugged, nodded, and said in a seductive tone, "I promise that I will not mention this matter again to interfere with your judgment... You can treat this invitation as a relaxing trip... with Igesena Go to Novigrad for a honeymoon."

Under the moonlight, the "diplomats" of the Demon Hunter Brotherhood and the young people of the Griffin Faction reached a preliminary agreement.