I find a person sitting down, leaning against the wall.
I approached and saw that it was a middle-aged man.
He seems to be sleeping soundly and doesn't seem to wake up when I shake him or give him a light tap on the cheek.
This is clearly abnormal. What is going on in this village?
"I found another one lying on the ground over here!"
"Me too!"
"Gather them here for now."
We found three people.
They are all of different ages and genders, but one thing they have in common is that they are in a deep sleep.
If this is a poison or a curse, I can do something with the medicine I have.
"They have a sleep irregularity I've never seen before."
"So someone is probably behind this."
"That's the most likely explanation."
"Why would someone do this? Could it have been a bandit with magical powers?"
"I don't think that's possible. From a thief's point of view, it's true that the residents are a nuisance, but why are all the houses' doors still locked? Would a thief take the time to re-lock the doors?"
I open the door of a nearby house.
Inside, there was a figure of a person sleeping soundly in a chair.
There were no signs of a robbery anywhere.
Could it be that the person responsible for all this really isn't a thief?
Doon
I heard what sounded like an explosion and there was a tremor.
Outside the house, black smoke rises from the center of village.
Come to think of it, Kaede said that she smelt blood earlier.
Maybe there are people still awake and fighting.
We ran in the direction of the explosion.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
"Ahhh!"
"Aaaaahhh!"
A group of people staggered down the street, letting out screams.
They looked like zombies, or puppets.
They noticed our presence and turned in unison.
The whites of their eyes were clear to see and drool was coming out of their slightly open mouths.
Their movements were slow, but there was a restlessness about them that made me take a step back.
"Master, they are still alive. The state they're in is a result of mind manipulation...''
"The residents of this village have become puppets. Kaede, can you stop them from moving?"
"No problem. 'Solid Ice'."
Opening her iron fan, Kaede danced gracefully.
The ice instantly incased the villagers' feet, blocking their advance.
That will buy us some time
We have to find out what is causing this. We left the residents behind and ran toward the center of the village.
"Die, die, die, die, die!"
The young man swung his sword in fury.
He cut down the swarm members mercilessly.
"When are we going to end this ☆"
"...Ask Zig - I'm not interested in these things."
"He's not very nice☆ But I admit I like to make the dead shine."
"......."
A woman who appears to be a wizard unleashes a burst of flame with her wand.
The impact destroyed the villagers and the buildings.
There was a black knight beside her, his face covered, so I could not see his face.
However, the speed of his sword is quite fast, and even the simplest attack reduces the number of people in the blink of an eye.
I felt a strange nostalgia for that move.
I've seen it before, but where?
Something tells me this won't end well.
They probably don't realize that the villagers are being manipulated.
"Kaede, blow the villagers away with magic. Don't let them hurt them anymore."
"Yes!"
Kaede waved her iron fan and a strong wind descended from the center of the sky, blowing the crowd of people away.
"Frau, let's go."
"Gotcha!"
I instantly closed the distance between me and the young man with the sword, and made him stop.
He was about to kill a girl.
"Who are you? Get out of my way."
"Listen. The inhabitants of this place are just being manipulated. What needs to be eliminated is the cause of this situation."
The young man laughed at my words.
"What's up with that? These guys are human, right?"