Chapter 9: Chapter 7: The Beginning Arc

During the night, the white-haired girl slept. A group of six black hooded figures stood outside in the center of the kingdom.

The bulky, short one of the group glanced to the side, “Master your orders?”

The elderly figure holding a long staff answered, unfazed, “kill them all except Rival, Josie, and the named boy.”

And so the reciting began through the night. Aside from the stars and the moon, there were different lights from the elements coming to fruition, helping to paint the previous street with diverse colors.

The first one to finish was the prolonged one of the warmage, who secluded the entire building inside a water barrier. This included the entire party he brought along himself. As the many chantings finished, spells befell the orphanage, causing a loud sound solely within. The different figures took out their weapons, enhancing them with their affinities as they tore windows and doors down, murdering every child in sight. Screams, blood, and pain resounded from the inside for quite a while, killing practically everyone.

In less than an hour later, three figures appeared tied up with blackened hoods on their heads, disabling them from their sight. “We’ve found the targets you requested, master.”

The elderly figure looked down on them and voiced out after doing a pleased grin.

“Are you Esteban?” Upon hearing the old man’s words, the boy’s body started shaking, unable to speak as his mouth contained a piece of cloth, with another one around it through the entirety of the head to impede the target to spit. However, the fact he reacted was enough for the old man to grin once more. “Bring them to the base. We’ll end it here tonight.”

He looked at the woman on his right, “set fire to the orphanage.”

Rubia bowed her head deeply as the rest took the kidnapped ones into diverse wagons that waited for them. She looked back at the building, her newly received target, and pointed the palm of the right hand towards it, disdaining the master’s request but compelled by loyalty to execute his command. “Phoenix heed my calling, for your burning self is required to tear the path that lays ahead. Fly, oh heavenly spirit, whereas ashes will remain through the trail you abide. Now, accept my mana as compensation and show me of your miracle, tier 3 wings of flame.”

Very much like the rest of the spells, there was no spirit who actually came in front of the user. Instead, the fire took the shape of the figure the chant represented. A form of a bird entered the orphanage through the entrance from a door that was now knocked on the floor, exploding inside, spreading its flames everywhere. The girl retracted her hand, making the three red magical circles disappear, and turned around.

At the same time, the barrier used by the master dissipated, allowing the water to spread around the orphanage, avoiding Rubia’s spell entirely, in order to avoid extinguishing it.

‘With this, we left no vestiges.’ The woman stared at the wagon while heading towards it, reminding herself of the most recent addition to her family. ‘I wonder if the girl will feel good or bad about this place being destroyed.’

Without caring too much deep inside, she left along with the rest before the kingdom guards that patrolled the cities found them.

Once the raiders entered the wagons and left, the glow inside the soon-to-be collapsed building started lighting up. Very much like the dawn showing its presence in a world of dusk. As a strange phenomenon like that one was, the rays beamed towards the windows of those who slept in the houses around. Some of the night sleeping creatures started gradually waking up, disoriented towards time, thinking that they possibly had a dreadful night of sleep after a long day of work. Mutters and indistinct sounds of indignation left the darkened holes of such beings as madly as they felt towards the sun. Many spread their curtains to the sides, being blasted by the surprise of what was actually happening, not accepting it instantly in their tiny minds. Locked in disbelief as one of the heavenly places built by the order of his majesty was ablaze. Oh, the horrors that appeared in their expressions, invoking the very demons within them. The sadness which resounded in their hearts for the screams and despair that came from such a place that would no longer comfort them. Oh, the fake sense of peace that possessed their very brains, incapable of accepting such a treacherous and tremendous crime. 

“Who dared bare their fangs at the king, the chosen by the god of light!?” A figure behind the voice rose his neck, finding the naked female looking through the window, allowing the annoying brilliance to enter the comfortable shadow of a well-deserved bedtime.

“Shut up, woman! Come back to bed and warm me up! Let the guards handle the errands, or the divines, if it comes to it.” The last part of the final sentence struck a trembling sensation at the docile figure, one whose body bathed in hues of yellow and red, almost like she was burning. At the very least, her eyes had inconceivable flames reflected in them.

A few hours later, as someone reported the incident, different lights and sounds echoed through the blackened streets that led to the now half-melted cheap material slab number 55.

As the ringing of chimes approached, the rest of the residents, who were still asleep, started waking up in fear. Random voices went on through the night, too hard to resemble someone from the darkened silhouettes.

“The bells! They’re here!” An unfamiliar voice echoed through the night.

“What!? Why are the men of god coming!?” The person opened the window and noticed the flames of hell that reached out for heaven in treason. “Oh noes... to think someone actually burned one of the orphanages belonging to his highness military.” It was common sense that the caretakers were talented, so an incident was extremely improbable. The figure spoke of the hidden truth. Many of these institutions belonged to the army. The representative chiefs would get money upon giving good seedlings to the brigade. No, not every orphan would provide for such groups. Most were born feeble and unworthy. Those who didn’t serve went to work directly under the noble families, and very special rare cases to the royals.

The chimes started ringing loudly and a holy light befell the fire, very much like god landing a sacred blow, destroying the sin that was committed, causing the hellfire to disperse.

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“Priestess of light, I’ve used a detection scroll in the area to seek out intruders, but none to be found.” A man who held some paper scrolls under his armpit directed himself to an extremely dazzling beauty whose red hair color and caramel eyes penetrated the hearts of any impure who dared take a glimpse at her figure.

With a displeased expression unbefitting of such a character, she rose both hands into the air and a golden holy circle began spreading quickly in a large area.

“Present yourselves, oh tainted creatures, you who own polluted minds and remain devoid of faith. Bring me, oh god, the culprit for a just punishment shall receive, tier 2 malice detection.”

At that moment, by fate or coincidence, a shadow resonated against the circle, breaking its restraint without hardships. Without having enough time to use a stronger spell, the woman dressed in silky white expensive robes glared in the direction where she noticed something strange. ‘That presence just now... I’ve never felt anything like that before.’

For better or worse, it was too far to be visible. She sighed, disappointed, realizing that the enemies had gotten their way that day.

“Tell the church to place a few priests in each orphanage and educate them in the ways of the lord. The culprits might attack more of them soon. We must avoid the children being murdered. It would only sully god’s plan.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll seek for some guards too.” The group that surrounded her with shining bells rose them to shoulder height while one of them walked hastily to deliver a message as ordered.

Behind, she stayed looking for clues at the remnants of the orphanage. ‘Has the time come for a god’s candidate to appear in our kingdom?’ Her eyes pierced the night sky as if looking at her superior, but quickly they fell back to the ground towards the pieces of burnt wood, coal, and leftovers of stone.

The god would choose someone to reign over his kingdom under his guidance and blessing, someone with the same blood as the king.

‘If that was true a message would’ve arrived at the church by now...’ The priestess nodded her head to the sides, failing to understand what was the thing she felt, starting to disbelieve that it was something at all, possibly even a malfunction of her magic.

It was not an uncommon thing for spells to fail, or receive some disturbance from the mana density mixed within the air. This time around, her posture changed to a praying one and a purifying burial began.

With it, the priests surrounded the place, creating a gigantic magic circle that encircled the entire property, allowing for their power to be used by the woman. A great pressure started shaking the place, as with every sentence she would add a new circle on top of her hands to channel her sacred power.

“Heed our prayer, almighty creator, that rules over us, for we have a humble wish to return the deceased back to you. Towards the reincarnation cycle, they must go, to bring peace upon their spirits and balance to this world. Rule all that is sinful and evil away. Bring us your blessing and greatness. Oh, lord in the higher heavens, please listen to my request. Bring to them your salvation, tier 6 holy right.”

Unlike most spells, this one was solely to ascend the souls of those who died, to avoid ill creatures to rise from the corpses themselves. As long as the spirit remained inside the body, it wouldn’t be abnormal for it to become a zombie, a ghoul, or even a ghost in the best case. A glorious light resonated through the space and within a great vibration of mana being empowered. Like an earthquake, the buildings around shook like a human would in fear.

Shortly after, unexpected words came out of the closest priest to the woman. “Bianca, the souls!? They’re gone?” 

The priestess, upon hearing those words, made an ugly expression, a vile and hateful one. Alarmed, she looked upon anyone that saw her in such a state. Something unnatural had happened, and in the dark, the entire group remained silent and fearful. “Oh, lord...”

The man close by shivered at the brief reply from the priestess, being left dumbfounded with his mouth entirely opened. Every single time before this one, such a powerful ritual would’ve naturally caused the blue formless lights to ascend to the sky, but to their surprise, such had not happened. 

Now, with the spell dissipated, the night had returned, along with the tragic strangeness of such circumstances.

“We must return to the church and report this to archbishop Michael immediately!”

Unable to do anything else, the bells around, lowered all at the same time upon the woman’s yell and the marching resumed, taking the sounds and the light with them, leaving that place darkened like it was before everything commenced, allowing the poor humans to return to rest, and the corpses to rot naturally, void of an essence. The church apprentices would soon collect them, either to burn them to a crisp or placed underground. A different custom they practised consisted of a burial along with a prayer.

In the priests’ minds, the thoughts of vile creatures haunting that place in the future propagated along with the potential countermeasures.

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