by Ink Bamboo
The horde encompassed not dozens, but at least a hundred ‘people’ running in unison. Many of them had remained hidden within the forest’s foliage, unseen until the order to attack had been given. Amongst their ranks, even a mix of the forest’s most common beasts could be seen. Their target was clear: the city of Sol and their inhabitants.
It didn’t take long for the beasts to overtake the running speed of their human counterparts. They became the first group to clash against the few men standing guard at each gate of the city.
“What is this smell?” exclaimed a guard at the southern front. Unlike his counterparts from the northern and western sides of town, his armor had a shiny luster that drew one’s attention to its embellished insignias. He was one of those unfortunate guards serving a noble that had received the task of guarding the southern gate as punishment.
“I have no idea, but it smells like rotten meat,” complained one of his partners.
“Hey,” said another one of them. “Do you all see that, in the distance?”
“Just what is that?” asked the first guard.
“We’re damned, we’re majorly screwed.”
“Is that…”
“By Alexandra’s shiny tits...” exclaimed a guard, dumbfounded at the scene.
They were finally able to see the inbound horde of beasts, men, and women making their way towards them. From their ravenous movements, it was easy to conclude that their intentions were in no way friendly.
*Clank*
The sound of metal hitting the cold hard stone was like a bell, waking everyone up from their stupor. One of the guards had dropped his gear in order to increase his mobility, taking a head start in escaping with all the speed he could muster.
The scene, however, wasn’t limited to their side. It didn’t take long for a similar display to be seen at each outpost on the western and eastern entrances. Realizing the futility of their efforts, some guards had decided to escape, leaving their comrades behind in order to gain time for themselves. Just like that, the town’s defenses soon fell to the first wave of the invasion.
The townsfolk would have probably noticed the commotion if most of them had not been busy trying to save their lives from something else: the black-death. A name they had given to the poison that reaped the lives of so many.
The situation had caused the many townsfolk to split up three-ways. The first group was composed by those who had gone to try their luck at the Church of Harvest. The second by those who had escaped from the town, afraid of the condition being contagious. Lastly, there were those whom had found salvation in an unexpected place. More specifically, at Amro’s side.
Alas, this meant that everyone was too busy to realize what was happening on the outskirts of town. As such, by the time the guards were overwhelmed by Noelle’s frenzied army, everyone else had yet to realize the attack that was coming for them.
How could the people at the church know something that was happening at the borders? Not even the sound of screams could reach them given the commotion they were currently dealing with. Despite the church’s repeated announcements that they had no holy water left and that their priests’ mana reserves were nearly spent, the populace kept on pushing for help. No one wanted to give up on their loved ones’ lives, much less their own.
All of this presented the perfect opportunity for the savage, fiend-like army to creep onto the crowd. A group of people all gathered in one place with little room to move? It was the perfect target.
It didn’t take long for heart-wrenching screams to merge with the sound of people requesting help for their families.
Perhaps the first group of people who realized the change in this situation were the guards following after the nobles. With both soft and hard approaches, they had convinced the clergy to treat their lords and comrades before the commoners. Since that was the case, they refused to lower their guards in case the common folk revolted against them.
“Jonathan,” one of them said. “What are those commoners doing over there?”
The man turned to look where his partner was pointing, only to find a group of people taking bites off of someone else.
“It looks like they’re eating each other. Are these disgusting fools really that starved?”
Both of the armor-clad men laughed for a second. Having fun at the expense of the commoners was almost second nature to them. Alas, a third guard noticed something they didn’t.
“Hey, guys… isn’t the same thing happening there?”
“Holy Kovas, you’re right. Wait, it’s happening all around the perimeter!”
“Those fools have really gone crazy. Call the clerics, tell them it’s an emergency!” Jonathan instructed a squire behind them.
The squire soon returned, followed by a white-haired priest in a white robe. He was Michael’s partner, Lucille.
“Here he is, sir. His name is Lucille, he’s an envoy from the church of life,” spoke the squire while presenting the priest at his side.
“Why did you call me? We have our hands full. We can’t be bothered to deal with insignificant matters,” said the priest in a rather stern manner.
“Hey, priest, look at those people over there. Is our master healed already? We need to get out of here.”
“What?” exclaimed the shocked priest, taking a quick look towards where the man was pointing. He quickly saw a group of men and women with strange scribbles covering their bodies. Eyes opening wide, he screamed, “Defensive formations, now! Those are ghouls, undead vessels of hatred and death. Kill them at all costs and give them a well-deserved trip to the other life!”
The guards recoiled when they heard his words. Ghouls? Those were monsters they had only heard of as scary bedtime stories when they were children. They didn’t even think they were real. Yet now they were being attacked by such creatures? Just what had happened to their peaceful town, for it to become so hectic the past couple of days?
“Move you fools, now!”
There was no time to dally. Hearing the priest’s commands, most guards took battle formations, readying their weapons after fastening the straps of their armors. Fortunately for them, the crowd of civilians had slowed the undead from reaching them too quickly.
They were ready to advance, allowing some frantic civilians to take cover behind them. However, a separate group of men carrying the same marks as the ones the priest had called ghouls made their way forward. They were dressed like mercenaries, the air around them completely different from the wild and ravenous ghouls that were eating the civilians.
Their movements were orderly, and they even their eyes seemed to carry a hint of intelligence. If not for the marks covering their bodies, they were just like a normal human. A black-haired woman was in front of the group of mercenaries. Her crimson eyes drew the attention from some dim-witted men amongst the guards. Only a thundering shout from the priest was able to bring them back to their senses.
“You cursed woman! What is an apostle of death like you doing on this side of the continent? Your kind is not welcomed here!” screamed Lucille.
Ignoring the priest’s tone, Noelle only smiled. She adjusted her robes before answering him in a teasing tone. “Oh dear, shouldn’t I be asking the same? What is an envoy of that flat-chested goddess doing here? I thought your division of the church was too busy trying to conduct peace negotiations at the northern border to worry about a small town like this.”
Lucille’s eyes twitched at the backhanded insult towards his goddess. He was a man who respected all beauty. Having the biggest star in his firmament insulted in such a manner snapped something inside of him.
“You dare insult the Goddess of Life? I will have you whipped to death for your crimes!” he said. “I can sense it was you who unleashed this accursed situation onto these people. State your motives, you necrophiliac whore!”
The woman’s eyes seemed to glow with an eerie red before she spoke again.
“I’m just searching for a lost toy of ours. But do no
t worry, my partner is already on his way to pick it up. As for me, I came over here to have some fun. After all, my children over here were feeling quite hungry,” she said, pointing towards the ghouls.
The priest’s expression turned grave. Defeating a necromancer was a difficult matter. Their methods were always underhanded and engaging them in a battle of attrition was never a smart thing to do. Fortunately for him, the Church of Harvest was just behind him, which meant he would have the assistance of several low-ranked priests in order to deal with this woman.
A group of brown-robed clerics soon came out of the church. They had been quickly informed by the same squire from before about the transpiring events. Most of them went pale in fear, realizing the situation was way beyond their capabilities. Only a handful of them, including the rank two priest in charge of the church, kept their calm as they quickly came to stand by Lucille’s side.
“Unholy wench, by the authority given to me by the Goddess of Harvest, I command you to leave this place,” said the leader of the local church. “Unless you’re prepared to declare war to our holy mother, leave at once.”
Noelle could only laugh at the priest’s manner of speech.
“Haven’t we already been at war for the last couple of centuries? What makes you think I’m afraid of murdering a few more priests?” she said, taking a step forward. “I mean, I’m not even afraid of killing a couple of scumbags either.” With that, she used half a step to turn around and grab someone by their neck with her right hand. Her left hand, instead, was now blocking a dagger aimed to her chest.
It was Slyfox. He had been lying in the shadows, waiting for an opening to steal some holy water for himself. Unfortunately for him, he had been delayed by the amount of troops surrounding the building. Whilst waiting, he had seen people attacking others at the perimeter, and soon realized that something strange was going on. After hearing the screams of the white-robed priest and listening in on his conversation with the scarlet-eyed woman, he quickly realized the gist of the situation.
The black-haired woman was the one responsible behind this incident. The situation clearly caused by her will. As such, using the discussion between the priest and the woman as a distraction, he had approached the necromancer, ready to stab her from behind.
Alas, she had noticed him, something he had never expected.
“Oh, sweetheart,” she said, smiling coyly. “You know nothing about the undead, right? A master and her servants share everything. Whatever they see, I see as well. Sneaking up on me like that was a nice try though, I’ll give you a star for the effort.”
Her hand then tightened around Slyfox’s neck, the sound of bones ground away the man’s consciousness. The strength on Noelle’s hand was something not even Slyfox was able to handle.
“I really wish you better luck in your next life,” she said, letting Slyfox’s limp body fall to the ground. “Now then, where were we at, Mr. Priest?”
Lucille and the rest of the priests’ expression darkened upon seeing her easily break Slyfox’s neck. Just how much strength was required for such a thing? It was clear to them now that this woman was rank three if not higher. She was an opponent they couldn’t afford to go easy on.
“Charge!” yelled one of the guards behind them.
“No, don’t be foolish!” warned Lucille to no avail.
His voice was dampened by the cries of war given by the guards. Right now, they had eyes for one thing only — fighting to break out of the encirclement they were slowly being driven into.
Chapter 28
Target.
The orders came too late. Dozens of men armored in leather armor had stepped forward to battle the creatures. Their blades skillfully sunk in the fleshly bodies of the ravenous ghouls, releasing the smell of pungent rot into the air. The monsters, however, didn’t react to their moves. After all, they were devoid of any self-awareness and could not feel pain.
Yet one thing was for sure. Attacking the beasts had moved their attention from feasting on the commoners to retaliating against the guards. Not something the guards had intended out of the good of their hearts. To them, it had been a grave mistake. Their feeble mental resilience, still shaken by the wanton savagery going on in their surroundings, was not prepared to handle such retaliation from the human-shaped monsters.
The ghouls sank their mouths and fingers into whatever flesh they could grab, quickly bringing several guards to the ground. This only worsened the situation with the remaining guards, for it shattered whatever hope they had of survival.
That was, at least, until a green light covered them all.
“Bark armor!” shouted the priest leading the Church of Harvest. Seeing the armored fools walk into a fight with an opponent they knew nothing off did little to ease his nerves. He had to do his best to tip the balance to their favor. The priests from the church of harvest were not battle-oriented, so the most he could do was improve their chances of survival.
The guards quickly collected themselves. They had forgotten they were not alone. Who could be better suited to fight the undead menaces than the faithful servants of the church? They soon gained some distance and started using the advantage of their weaponry against the undead.
“Ora, it’s not nice for the grown-ups to involve themselves in their children’s games,” said the crimson-eyed beauty. “What do you say? You big boys and I can play something else. Mind leaving the children to their own?”
Hearing her words, the priests began making their own preparations. The weakest clerics started moving the few surviving and rational commoners inside the church while those with some battle experience made their way to support the few guards with what little they could do. Only the white-haired priest, Lucille, and the head-priest for the Church of Harvest remained to face off against the black-haired beauty.
“My name is Noelle, by the way. I’ll be keeping you two company for tonight so I hope both of you are ready. Please do your best to last as long as you can, it’s no fun otherwise,” she said, taking a moment to bring a finger to her lips. As she did so, she seductively whispered her next words, “Mind Flay.”
After uttering her spell, a world of darkness enveloped both priests. Their eyes were filled with nothing but an expansive void, one which extended across their entire horizon.
“What is this?” spoke the head-priest for the Church of Harvest, dumbfounded. His church wasn’t wealthy by any means, the amount of knowledge he had access to was pretty limited.
Unlike his temporary partner, however, Lucille knew what this place was. It was a soul domain. A space limited to those who had reached a certain level of attunement with their own soul. What’s more, it was a foreign soul domain, one they had been brought to against their will. As expected of a necromancer, they were most skilled when it came to the matters of the soul.
Alas, Noelle never intended to give them much time to adapt to their new surroundings. “He he, do you like how I decorated of our battlefield?” she asked.
Turning around, both men soon saw a familiar figure. With the same long, black hair and crimson-eyes, she stood in front of them with a smile. Unlike the rest of this grim world, her appearance still retained colors. Her eyes, especially, seemed to contain way more liveliness than they had before.
“Welcome to my mind,” she said. “I’ll take it you silly boys know what this place is and thus know how I can do whatever I want in here. I hope the two of you can entertain me properly.”
As she finished her words, chains shot from the floor and the sky, quickly binding both priests against their will.
Lucille knew there was still some hope left. Bringing a foreigner into your soul had its own set of risks. For starters, if she was not strong enough to overwhelm their spirit, they could easily wreak havoc from within; such was the risk of letting an outsider into the most inner part of your being. Additionally, any physical advantages would be abandoned inside this domain, which meant only the strength of one’s mind and spirit mattered.
“I wonder how much of this someone can take,” said Noelle, extending her hand.
A pike rose from the ground, appearing before her. With a skip in her step, she took the pike and made her way towards the priest from the Church of Harvest. Once she was in front of him, she tapped the pike against his stomach before, carefully testing its flaccidness before driving it inside.
This is not real, this pain is nothing but a lie, the priest thought to himself. He wasn’t willing to give his opponent the pleasure of seeing him in pain.
“Oh, no screams?” asked the apostle of death. “I bet I can change that.”
Finishing her words, she drove a second pike inside the priest’s body. “And here I thought you priests were more lively than that.”
Endure it, the priest repeated to himself. She can’t have the strength to keep this spell going on forever.
“Are you perhaps thinking about enduring?” Noelle asked with a giggle. “Are you not aware that pain hurts, whether you call it an illusion or recognize it as reality? Stop being so stubborn. Embracing it is your only choice.”
A third, fourth, and fifth pike were then inserted into his body. “How long can you last, I wonder?”
Outside, barely a few seconds had passed before the head-priest for the church of harvest fell to his knees. The unfocused look in his eyes was evidence enough that he had passed on towards his goddess’s embrace. Despite sharing the same rank as Lucille, his mental endurance was not up to par. He had been to weak to resist the gory games carried on by the crimson-eyed beauty.
His collapse brought a surprise to those who saw it. Not a minute ago, he had still been ordering around the rest of the church’s staff. Why then was he falling to his knees? Had that woman done something?
Of course, none of them knew the answer. They were not experiencing the hell both priests did inside Noelle’s soul domain.
Back inside, Noelle giggled to her heart’s content. “How surprising!” she said. “You’re the first one to resist more than a hundred. It seems like the rumor is true. You members from the Church of Life are indeed the only ones worthy of being our adversaries.”