Chapter 18: Chapter 17: Massacre

Aleph woke up looking at Vaynard's behind. He had been running with Aleph over his shoulder for some time now, getting as far away from the army of the abyss as possible. 

He cleared his throat, hopefully loudly enough for Vaynard to hear. He kept going, ignoring him. 

Aleph heard running water, so he turned his head to see that they had been running along the riverbank. Hope flashed before his eyes. Is this the same river flowing near my home? 

"Set me down, Vaynard. I can walk by myself."

Vaynard slowed at that, eventually stopping at a bend. They sat down on some stones as he got Aleph up to speed.

Vaynard had picked him up after the explosion he caused created some confusion. They were too weak to fight any longer, and so Vaynard opted to flee with him in toe, eventually happening upon this river. He knew that Carrack's hometown was close to one of the major rivers in the kingdom, so on a whim, he had been running alongside it.

"Are you sure this is the one?" Aleph said, skeptical. Even though he was hopeful too, he thought that the chances weren't good. They picked a random portal out of dozens; Statistically, it just wasn't a good bet.

"It doesn't matter. There's a good chance we will come upon a settlement running along the river anyway. We can 

Aleph sighed and looked up. The moon was unusually bright that night, which was a huge help even to his heightened senses. He walked towards the river, hoping to spot some fish, when a growl from the other side startled him. 

It was a black bear, known to be territorial and to not take kindly to men. From what Aleph could see, it seemed that this was true for this world as well.

"No magic." Vaynard warned from behind him. Aleph turned to see him lying down leisurely, watching the developments like it had nothing to do with him. 

He belatedly noted that Vaynard's wounds have not healed, and wondered if he was inhibiting his powers on purpose or if he had bottomed out like him. Aleph recovered a little mana while he was unconscious, but he dared not risk the mana hounds' attention.

Aleph nodded and turned back at their unwanted visitor, who had stood on his hind legs and roared. 

It was over in seconds. Aleph broke through the creature's skull with one swift stab of his knife. 

Moments later, the waft of cooking bear meat permeated the forest. Aleph cut them into very thin strips, cooking them in as little time as possible in order to save time. The harbingers were entering portals en masse; Vaynard and Aleph had little time for a barbeque.

Still, Vaynard savored the meal with gusto. Aleph had more than eaten his fill, but Vaynard reached for more strips of meat to skewer and set on the fire.

"Forgive my manners, friend. I've not had a proper meal for more than a month. As you may have surmised, Agony does not treat his prisoners well." He said in between bites.

Aleph watched him eat. The man's body was filling up in real time. He had been a well proportioned young man before, but now he had the physique of a hero. His royal charm made itself known even as he was sloppily eating bear skewers and wearing the raggedy clothing of a dead emissary. His bulging stomach was unsightly, but even it evoked a feeling of nobility, and Aleph suspected it would be gone before long. The man's body was truly unique.

"Is that sorcery?" Aleph pointed this out, his curiosity winning out.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry." Vaynard gulped and explained.

"I was born blessed with this constitution, as are most in my family. We called it the royal right. Mine is much more pronounced, however, which led to my ascension to crown prince. Worry not, this is simply a result of my mana stores replenishing. Think of it like the enhanced strength one would gain as they manifest a mana heart. Such phenomena do not attract the hounds' nose as long as mana does not leak out like it would if we actively used spells."

Aleph simply nodded. It was as good an explanation as any. He stared at his hand, imagining the flowing mana within. It was true that its mere presence enhanced his strength, but could it have other properties like Vaynard's? He shelved that away for another time.

They departed soon afterward, going eastward along the riverbank. Aleph felt physically refreshed, but his growing dread at Hios' condition left his nerves frayed. He even risked calling out to his disciples with the little mana he'd saved up, but noone was responding. The transmitters were working as intended, but it deepened his concern rather than encouraged him.

They picked up the pace, making up for lost time, eventually seeing smoke above the trees.

"I hope we're not too late," Vaynard said darkly as they came upon a small commune in the middle of an attack.

The pair sprang into action, attacking the closest harbingers  from behind as soon as they got close. They offered no resistance and fell en masse. Vaynard picked up one of their war cleavers and went to work, swiftly beheading the enemies as soon as he got close. He wasn't shining with power like he was when they were escaping, but with his body fully recovered, there was no need to.

They carved up a path to reach the gates, where they saw the horrific aftermath of the ambush. The dead were strewn everywhere, charred, maimed and broken.

Aleph's blood ran cold. He ran to the middle of the to the nearest square, slaughtering any demon he came across, frantically searching for survivors. There were small skirmishes anywhere he looked, and things were going terribly. 

He fanned his knives in all directions, stabbing the nearest harbingers in the back of the neck. With a wave of a hand, Aleph beheaded them and followed through to hit the rest of the monsters. The little conflicts were settled in an instant. The men were dazed, suddenly out of mortal danger.

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"On me, men! There could be others who need us!" Aleph shouted, scanning for the next place he could go, until he noticed their faces. Aleph saw a look of hesitation among them, of resignation and defeat. They were feelings he was all too familiar with. He sheathed his weapons and pleaded his case.

"I know you wish to mourn, friends, and I will mourn with you, but we are not done. As long as demons roam in these parts, our families will not find peace. Will you come with me to liberate these lands?"

Aleph dared not look at their faces now, for fear of losing his edge. Instead he turned towards where the clashing of steel still rang.

"I do not wish to mourn you too. You may fight if you wish. Or don't. Either way, please stay behind me."

Aleph ran without warning, towards the nearest enemy. It swung its bloody cleaver at him, threatening to slice him clean in half.

Aleph sidestepped the blow and sliced the harbinger's wrists with his knife. It barely cut through, his knives finally growing dull with constant use. Still, the harbinger let go of the cleaver, letting it dig deep in the cobblestone. Aleph took the cleaver for his own and spun, then jumped to his next target before the harbinger's pieces fell to the floor.

He struck down demon after demon, until he could see smoke in the distance. He followed it to an alleyway, where an emissary was lighting a whole block on fire, black flames spraying from his hand. Aleph heard wails of anguish as he got closer, even outstripping the clashing of steel. 

The emissary was dead instantly. An enraged Aleph beheaded him and dug out his heart with nary a word, killing him where he stood.

Bloodied mana heart in hand, Aleph began using it to siphon the black flames out of the homes it struck and sending it towards all the enemies in his sight, reducing even the headless, heartless emissary into ashes. Aleph stood still coldly and watched him burn, before moving to stand in front of the soot blackened home. It was silent now, with sounds of fighting all but gone. All that could be heard was faint crying of a child within the house. Aleph was afraid to look. He had seen much tragedy in the minutes he had arrived. He was afraid that more would bring him back to the man he once was, the blubbering fool who let despair cripple him for days at a time. 

His hand hovered on the door for what felt like an eternity. Then he absentmindedly noted that the hand he had stretched was the one he held the emissary's heart in. He let it go in disgust, letting it roll among the rubble. He turned back to the house to steel himself once more, only for the door to open from the other side. It was a woman holding a sleeping infant, who presumably fell asleep from exhaustion. His mother drew closer to Aleph, who was unsure what to do. He who slaughtered demons, who stood against heralds and even god himself, froze with fear against a human mother and her sleeping child.

He saw her look at the charred remains of the demons behind him, and rightfully assumed it was Aleph who slayed him. She pressed her head against his chest and sobbed quietly. Her shoulders shook with such force that Aleph was concerned the shaking would wake the child. He held her shoulders still, but the mother drew closer, leaning into the accidental embrace.

"Thank you." He heard the mother say from within his arms. The pair was warm, in a different way to ones who narrowly survived being roasted alive would be. He noticed the people gathering around him, all their stares emanating a similarly warm feeling. It reminded him of his disciples, who used to look at him with similarly warm feelings.

He extricated himself with extreme reluctance, being reminded once again of his purpose.

"There are others I hope to save. Can anyone point me the way to Hios?" He said.

"But my lord-", said a stranger to his right. "The night is deep, and there are monsters about. You are wounded as well. It would honor us if you would atleast stay for the night."

Aleph looked at the man. 

"I am sorry, but my family is also in danger. Similar attacks have been happening all over the kingdom, so I must get to their side immediately."

The man wilted, obviously unwilling to let Aleph leave. He noticed similar levels of reluctance among the village folk, most of whom had lost someone tonight. Maybe they wanted to take up Aleph's promise of mourning with them. Or they were afraid of the nightmarish creatures returning. Maybe they simply felt that warm feeling from before and were reluctant to escape it, too. 

"Give it up, friend." Vaynard said from the shadows. He stepped forward and gestured to the people.

"I know that look they're giving you. By saving them, you have claimed their lives for your own. These men are yours now, whether you wish for them to be or not."

Aleph staggered. Three children were one thing, but an entire village's worth of people? He could hardly take care of Hios, but now he had even more under his wing? The weight behind their stares are becoming too much to bear.

"Aren't they your people, Your Majesty? You should take them to safety as befitting of your station. My disciples need me." Aleph tried to say dismissively. Vaynard snickered, not buying his words for a second.

"Please, friend. You're not fooling anyone. How's this? I'll go on ahead to Hios. I need to save Carrack anyway. Besides, you'll only slow me down in your condition. You need to stay here and recuperate. Maybe make more of those toys you're so fond of."

Aleph stared at him, struggling to think of a way to refute him, but he's right. He may have had brief spells of rest along the way, but he had still been fighting constantly for almost two days now. It was the same for Vaynard, but he had proven that even without proper equipment, he was far more capable at Aleph at this point.

"Will you make it?" Aleph said.

"As long as Carrack leads the forces at Hios, they can hold on until I get there. And if Iona's there too?" Vaynard paused, before saying, "It might be over by the time I get there."

Aleph thought for a moment. Carrack was one thing, but Vaynard's confidence in Iona was surprising to say the least. She seemed competent, but he thought she wasn't a combatant. Then he remembered the magic she showed, showing up at his side without warning one time. It bore a resemblance to how they were ambushed by Agony at the portal. Replicating a herald's abilities were exceedingly difficult, but Iona's mastery of the spell seemed to eclipse that of Agony's.

He decided to trust in his new friend. "If you feel so strongly about it, then come. I will mend your gear. Men, point me to an anvil, and begin harvesting the demon carcasses. We have much work to do."

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