The Path of Madness

Chapter 5: The Unforgettable Smell

The pub closed early today, according to Aldric's memory, it should have closed at exactly 11 p.m. Aldric leaves the pub after Arthur's uncle sends them back. He tries to ask Tom and Frank why the pub closed early. They simply replied that perhaps today uncle Arthur would go to his wife's grave.

According to Aldric's memory, Arthur's uncle would always close the pub when he visited his wife's grave. He could have temporarily handed over the responsibilities of the pub to Frank, but he retaliated by not being able to hand over the responsibilities to a brat like them. Maybe he didn't want to stress him out for thinking about them when he visited his wife's grave.

From the memory of Aldric the wife of Mr. Arthur named Sofia Deniel, after the last name of Mr. Arthur, Deniel. His wife died when they were newly married, she died before the death of Aldric's parents. Mr. Arthur's wife was a friend of his mother and aunt. That's all he knows from Aldric's memory.

It's only 9 p.m., Aldric is a little confused whether he's going home now or not. He wanted to get to know this place better with his own eyes but decided to take a break while. Today was more than enough, for her start in this world, she did not want to rush around. He tried to pass a long way to his house, it was a deserted road near the pier. A place where he can relax and enjoy the night.

He walked leisurely while looking at the new scenery of the buildings in this world at night. Street lights lined up neatly, with the streets passed by just a few people, a cool wind fell on his face with the sound of faint whistling waves.

He looked at the sky illuminated by the moonlight. The 8 full moons were no longer there, only one big moon was shining in their place. He had doubts about the phenomenon. Aldric had never studied astronomy so he did not even know what the reason for the phenomenon was. While guessing - wild guessing the reason for the phenomenon in this world, he started walking away.

He walked while thinking about his comrades in the pub. Frank and Tom, despite their frequent fights, are fun people. They also often joke and laugh together. They reminded him of his subordinates' memories.

He smiled a little. This may not be a bad life. He could live peacefully and quietly here without the sound of bullets and bombs waking him up at any moment. He could have a family he never had, and he could laugh with friends without them planning to kill him.

Suddenly, he heard a voice in an alley near the pier he was passing by. The voice sounded like screams and cries. Aldric was curious. What the hell is going on over there? He doesn't want to get into trouble.

He paused for a moment and changed his mind as he looked towards that dark alley. He saw a bright red light at the end of the alley. Is that fire? Is there a fire? This reminded him of the fire in the paper this morning.

He hesitated a little - hesitating to go into that alley. He felt that something was strange there. He planned to leave, if there was a fire then the surrounding residents would come to extinguish it. As he was about to leave, he felt a sting of familiarity in his head, it made him confused as to whether he had ever encountered a scene like this. He felt it reminded him of something he had forgotten. He was convinced of this familiarity from Aldric's memories. As strongly as she tried to remember, she could not remember anything but she only felt this scene had familiarity. He was in contemplation, whether to examine it or not.

He took the first step towards the alley. As he inhaled a deep breath, the scent of blood hit him hard, filling his nose with an unforgettable sensation. The dense and foreign smell of metal shocked him.

He felt his heartbeat increase, and his breathing became breathless. The scent was very familiar to him, a smell that would never be forgotten. The moon was shining down on the street behind the alley, giving a touch of light to the surrounding environment, which was very close, but the smell brings an unforgettable contrast to the calm-looking nature.

The smell is very thick and pungent. That smell made him creep. The smell of blood, it was a smell he could never forget. The smell that always follows him while on the battlefield. The smell of blood is the smell that always marks death, sorrow and destruction.

His instincts sleeping in the depths of his soul cried out, sending out a loud warning.

Aldric did not dare to go any further into that alley. He doesn't want to know what's in there. He doesn't want to get involved in anything, I don't know what it is.

He tried to turn around naturally and left the alley quietly. He pretended nothing happened. He walked towards his house in a relaxed state, there was no change in the tempo he was walking. He would walk a random route towards the commercial district first, if anyone followed him, he would be able to escape the tracking using the crowd.

As he walked, he felt a change in him. He felt himself becoming cold, calm and emotionless. He feels himself back to being Elric, a professional mercenary who has decades of experience on the battlefield.

He tried not to look back to determine if anyone was following him or not. He felt that he was being watched. Behind him he felt a gaze watching him. He remained indifferent and walked with an unchanging tempo.

As he began to see the still bustling shadow of the crowd in the commercial district. He felt the view behind him disappear. He still did not dare to look back. He would walk the street in the commercial district for several hours. To eliminate any oversight he may not have been aware of.

Church bells began to reverberate marking 12pm. In this world the church bells will echo at 6 am, 12 noon and 12 pm.

He had already tried to join the various crowd to remove his tracks of where he had gone. This should be enough. The commercial district will start closing after 12 p.m., if he tries to buy time again, it might be easier for the enemy to find him. He started heading home through some narrow alleys.

He arrived at his home safely. He opened the door with a spare key that he kept. He entered the house and tried to close the door slowly. He did not want to wake his family who were on break. She would try to walk with heart as she heard her aunt's voice from the living room. “Aldric, are you home?

Sarah looked at Aldric with a worried face.

“Aldric, you just got home? Why are you coming home so late?” Ask Sarah in a soft tone.

Aldric looked at his aunt with empty eyes.

“Sorry, Aunt Sarah.” Aldric replied in a slightly nervous voice.

“What's up? I won't scold you for coming home late.” Ask Sarah again in a confused tone.

“Alright then.” Aldric replied again with a relieved voice.

Sarah got up from the sofa and approached Aldric. He held Aldric's hand gently and hinted at worry.

“Aldric, I know you're an adult. It would be normal for a young man like you to come home late at night. But remember not to get involved with the problem while you're out!” Said his aunt in her usual stern voice.

Aldric smiled slightly and said. "Well aunt, I promise that I won't get into trouble."

"Then why are you still not sleeping aunt?" Tanya Aldric tried to shake off the guilt of already reneging on the promise before she made it.

"I just want to read a book before I go to bed." Answer her aunt in a quick tone.

Aldric saw that his aunt was trying to lie to him. Perhaps he was not a very sensitive person but he would not miss such a very clear scene like this. Her aunt's eyes clearly reflected tenderness and worry as she looked at him. He may be waiting for Aldric to come home restless and restless. He had no idea what would happen to those eyes when he learned that Aldric White had died, killing himself. Will it reflect sadness, anger, or emptiness altogether.

Aldric felt a warmness in his heart. Even though he knew that the gaze was not shown to him. It remains a foreign feeling that makes it addictive. Like when her sister cares about her or her aunt worries about her. He began to have doubts in the depths of his heart, whether he was worthy of this. It's worth having a family that cares about and worries about it. He is the trash that should be wasted in hell and get paid for his sins. He pinched his lips and tried to answer his aunt.

“Is that so, do not read too late aunty.” Aldric said in a soft voice.

Sarah smiled and replied. “Come, clean your body before entering your room. You should rest now.”

Aldric nodded and went to the bathroom to wash his face and body.

He went into his room and lay on the bed without changing clothes. He thought about what had just happened.

He remembered the smell of the blood he breathed in that alley. He was sure it was not the blood of a casual accident or murder victim. The smell of blood had a very concentrated aroma, according to his experience the aroma with such concentration could only exist by cutting one of the victims' bodies to the dryness of blood, perforating his body with cannons or bombs, he said, or some group of victims who were killed somewhere.

He observed the moonlight from the window in silence. It was no longer a calm light bringing peace, he began to have the illusion that his light was changing to blood red shining on this world.

He will try to investigate this incident tomorrow, if the event becomes big then let the authorities handle it. He will not bother - bother plunging into trouble. If there is no news at all. It would only be an unknown danger. Maybe he'll try to find something to avoid it. This world would not be as peaceful as he thought if his guess was correct.

Perhaps he should also decide whether to investigate the real Aldric's death. He can't be half - half in this.

But before that he had to think of a plan, if he was going to take a risk he had to make some way out plans. That night Aldric thought long with calm.