Chapter 20: The Domino Effect (Revised)

Inside the basement of an abandoned building in the inner slums, two men, wearing only small waistcloths, lay on metal examination tables.

These two men were completely hairless and pale. If Ira was there, he would recognize them as the ones who cursed him. Both of the men had a long scar down their sides, exact same length, opposite sides. These men were born conjoined at birth.

Needless to say, their lives were hard, and after being abandoned by their own parents they struggled to survive. That's until they were picked up by Glen Marbot. For the first time in their lives, they were given a purpose, and they worshiped him for it. At first, the experiments hurt, the pain was completely unbearable, but Glen said the pain would stop, and it stopped.

They were once weak, but he said they would become strong, and it became so. At that moment he told them they might die. For them, their greatest honor was dying for their Master, his cause was to rebuild the world, and they would be the ones responsible for the beginning of his New World.

Glen stood at a table mixing various ingredients, and adjusting strange tools. Animal remains and vials of blood lined the walls above the desk.

A few days ago, after he found out Ira was injured in a sparring match, he discreetly paid someone to retrieve traces of his blood.

Glen looked at a small vial that was currently holding liquid. The amount it held was barely enough to be called two drops worth, but Glen smiled anyway.

He opened the vial, carefully, and poured a drop into a metal bowl.

Glen grabbed the other mysterious vials and dumped them all into the bowl.

Immediately a reaction took place, the mixture bubbled and pulsated, it almost looked alive. He added more ingredients and constantly stirred the mixture in the bowl. As he stirred, the color of the contents, turned into an ominous, dark crimson.

Glen then focused on a second bowl, he filled with crushed herbs and then poured the last remaining drop into it. The mixture lightly bubbled, and the color was a bright shade of white gold.

"Forget curing her sickness...With more of his blood, she'll be immortal...No more sickness for anyone...No more death..."

Glen soliloquized, with an obsessive glint in his eyes.

Glen finished stirring the mixture and grabbed thirteen syringes. He filled each of them a quarter of the way up, and then put caps on all of them.

He hesitated a little bit and then grabbed two more syringes, and filled one a quarter of the way and one 3/4ths the way up with the white gold mixture. Now the two bowls were empty.

Glen turned around.

There were fourteen examination tables, all of them except one, held an occupant, elderly, men, women, children.

With the exception of the two men in red, everyone else had dull eyes. It was clear they were most likely hypnotized.

"Rise!" Glen shouted as he rung a bell.

One by one, each occupant slowly sat up. He walked past each one and placed a syringe in their hands.

"When the time comes, use it." Glen looked over the occupants and ordered, shaking his bell.

"You have your instructions. Now go." On his cue, each occupant stood up and grabbed a cloak, each one was a different color as to not draw attention. They lethargically shuffled out of the room and up the stairs.

The two pale hairless men didn't follow the crowd but stayed behind.

"Around this evening or so, they should be in position. When one of you find the boy, the other will give the signal. Bring him back by whatever means possible, and use the chaos as cover," Glen said gently as he hugged the two hairless men tightly as if they were his own children.

"Yes..." "...Master" The two men responded, restraining the emotion in their voices. They climbed up the stairs and left Glen alone in the room.

Glen sighed before he grabbed the white gold syringe and tucked it into his chest pocket.

.......................

"Show me the log of prisoners brought in the auction, everything under Marbot," Avery spoke plainly as she took down the hood of her black cloak.

Currently, she stood inside the Kingdom's department of commerce, specifically the record room. After the altercation with Lauren and Casey, the Kingdom allowed Avery high-level clearance, in hopes of getting in her good graces.

"Yes, Ma'am." An old woman went into the backrooms and handed Avery a single sheet of paper.

Avery examined the paper, "Just this?" She asked.

The old woman nodded in response.

The paper recorded the most recent purchases from Glen Marbot, a man accused of using black magic, a pair of disfigured twins, and an old purchase of a female slave from Grant Marbot, Glen Marbot's, now dead, father.

Avery contemplated briefly. "Get me the purchase records of anyone accused of using black magic," she finally said.

The old woman went back into the room and came out a few minutes later with a small folder.

"Black magic is forbidden so there aren't many of people getting accused cases." The old woman explained.

Avery went through the folder and saw that there were no patterns at first glance. After looking it over a few more times she caught a small detail.

"E and A," she said aloud.

"I'm sorry?" The old woman asked.

"Nothing. Could you bring me the records of any proven Witches," Avery asked.

The woman went into the back room and came back with a single piece of paper.

"Witches are notoriously hard to capture." The old woman explained.

Avery silently compared the single sheet to the folder and a connection began to form.

"E and A," Avery said as her brows slightly raised.

It looked to be a random amount of buyers on the lists, but if she looked at the names that began with E or A as one entity, it showed they had the most buys.

"That's all." Avery reorganized the papers and handed them back to the old lady before putting on her hood and leaving the department of commerce.

Stepping into the street she looked at the sky, currently, the sun was setting, there were only a few hours left until the evening. She decided to check to go to the Registry building.

"Glen Marbot," She said to the man attending the desk as she waved the Kingdom's Warrant.

"U-Uh, yeah." The man was surprised at the beautiful woman who was standing in front of him and couldn't help but jumble his words. He quickly went into a back room and pulled out a large folder.

As Avery checked it over she noticed most of the Marbot Family were in other territories, it appeared Glen Marbot's current household was just him and an ex-slave.

"Ethel," Avery said solemnly. "That's all," she added before handing the file back and leaving the building.

Avery moved towards the direction of the Mercenaries Union.

...

On the fifth floor of the Mercenaries Union building, inside of the equipment shop, a few people browsed around.

"How much?" Ira questioned. One the counter of the shop was a complete set of black leather armor.

"Twenty-thousand Gre." The male clerk responded politely.

Ira held his chin, all of a sudden he made a crafty expression and laughed slyly. He waved his left hand and produced a pastry. He looked around and then leaned closer to the clerk, sliding the pastry onto the desk.

"How much now?" Ira asked as he winked meaningfully.

The clerk picked up the pastry and ate it before nodding his head which caused Ira to give a knowing smile.

"Twenty-thousand Gre." The clerk responded sarcastically even winking back at Ira as if it was a discount. He'd come across people trying to bribe him to get lower prices but never someone as odd as the boy in front of him.

"Figures." Ira clicked his tongue and handed over 20,000 Gre.

"Thank you for your patronage." The clerk was a little surprised, the boy didn't seem that wealthy, but apparently, he was, most Mercenaries would hesitate to spend that much on a set of leather armor. Little did he know, Ira currently only had 2,500 Gre.

As clerk slid the set armor across the counter Ira waved his left hand over it and it disappeared from sight.

"Wha-" The clerk watched in surprise, he wasn't sure just when Ira chanted the incantation for his magic.

"Ira, we're done. You ready?"

Lance appeared all of a sudden and asked. He and his party were fitted for armor and would come back to get it at a later date.

"Yeah." Ira left the store with Lance and his party.

There were no Blacksmiths within the Mercenaries Union, as to not upset the economic balance. 

The MU paid outside blacksmiths, to create armor, weapons, and equipment. It was far more convenient for the Mercenaries, to buy equipment where most of them ate, slept, and trained. The only drawback was that the MU charged more for the armor to avoid a cost deficit.

The armor Ira brought at 20,000 Gre would've been around 15,000 or less at the shop which made it. This also encouraged people to buy directly from the source, helping small crafting related businesses thrive.

"What did you get?" Gerald asked as they descended to the third floor.

"A Cerberus leather armor set," Ira answered.

"Woah, that's a lot of money,"  Lance said.

"Yeah, I hope you're paying for lunch." Ira smiled.

The group soon arrived at the cafeteria area and found an open table.

"I'll grab the usual meals, you want anything specific?" Gerald stood up and asked.

"A steak," Ira responded as he held his chin, Gerald walked to the cook.

"Make it two," Ira added.

Gerald waved his hand in response.

"You know, maybe we should spar together sometime," Sarah suggested.

"What's your rating as a party?" Ira reclined in the chair and grinned.

"B plus." She responded proudly while Valerie and Zella nodded.

"You all have to fight me at once if we do," Ira casually stated.

It would sound like arrogant grandstanding if it came from any else, but Ira was too blunt with his words and actions to be one who sought praise.

"You...What's your rating?" Lance asked.

Ira waved his hand and the status card appeared. He handed it over to Lance, by now Gerald was back with the trays of food, each one with a different dish and a cup of wine.

Ira reached the steak and tore a piece off with his hand before tossing it into his mouth.

"Ira...where'd you get this card?" Lance examined the card without looking at the information.

Ira looked at Lance while he chewed. "Secret..." He said with a mouth full of food.

"Well, it looks way more expensive than the-" Lance stopped mid-sentence. "A minus!" Lance shouted and drew the attention of everyone of in the cafeteria. He quieted down and passed the card around for the rest of the group to see causing them to stare at Ira with amazement.

Lance and Gerald saw Ira fighting firsthand, and put his severed arm back in place, which would be beyond normal, but seeing a list of his full abilities was shocking. Especially the fact that his combat rating was high, even though he wasn't skilled in swordsmanship and his martial arts weren't that proficient.

It should be noted that lycanthropes, beast people, and elves usually had ratings slightly better than humans, even with their innate abilities.

"Wait your abilities are-" Gerald started speaking in awe but was stopped by the appearance of a cloaked woman.

"Ira." A woman spoke in a serious tone. Even though she sounded apathetic, her voice was a little pleasing to hear. The party reflexively focused all their attention of the woman.

"Avery," Ira said with an excited laugh before taking a sip from his cup.

Avery took down her hood, as her silver eyes briefly traced over Lance and his friends with complete indifference, before turning her attention back to Ira.

Last time Lance and his friends saw Avery she was wearing her hood and they didn't get a good look, but now they could see her face completely. Even with her indifferent expression, she was still incredibly beautiful. They stealthily peeked at her left hand and could see a pearl-white ring similar to Ira's.

"Are we leaving right now?" Ira asked as under Avery's gaze.

"..." Avery raised her eyebrows in question.

"Right...I'll see you guys later." Ira finished his steak and abruptly stood up before tossing out 50 Gre. He followed Avery's lead as the two headed for the exit.

"Just like a married couple." Gerald nodded his head in approval. Ever since he met Ira he became more outspoken, his shy temperament didn't suit someone as big as him.

"...Yeah," Lance agreed with a dazed expression on his face.

If he was in Ira's shoes he would get engaged too. Sarah, Valerie, and Zella pouted inwardly. Most people subconsciously compared themselves to others, and they were no exception, it's just Avery's appearance left them feeling immensely flawed. 

Avery and Ira made their way out of the Union building. Judging by the sun, it was now the cusp of the evening, in about two hours the sun would be setting.

"Oh, yeah. You aren't a mercenary to my knowledge, so how'd you get past the elevator?" Ira asked curiously.

"Valkyrie mind magic," Avery said uncaringly.

Ira made a skeptical expression, but eventually gave in, "Seriously?" He asked with a trace of expectation in his eyes.

"No," Avery smiled.

Ira silently dropped his shoulders with exaggerated motions.

"We might have a problem," Avery said with a trace of anticipation.

"Yeah?" Ira asked a wolfish grin spread across his face.

...........................

On the peak of a mountain, there was a construct which was very temple-like in nature. A stone pathway led to a statue which stood in front of the palace, a steel sword was inserted into a stone and read as so:

The sword that carved this place.

The words weren't anything profound, but to carve a temple with a sword obviously wasn't something anyone could do.

Past the statue was the entrance to the Temple, which was at the very least 30 feet tall.

There were no doors, instead, a thin, transparent, membrane-like barrier covered it.

The Kingdom was still exploring the nearly unlimited applications of magic, as of right now, the door was seen as a more practical form of protection, as barriers needed a constant energy supply.

Inside the temple, a lengthy pathway stretched throughout the temple and on each side of it, tall gray marble pillars held up the ceiling.

The spaces between the pillars were metal stands, each holding a weapon with a name carved into the stand. To the outside eye, it would look like a peculiar place to store weapons. Only those who occupied the temple knew what it meant. Further down the pathway split into three sections. One lead straight down the middle, the other two lead to the left and right, respectively. each one led to a spacious doorway, covered with a solid silver barrier.

The sound of fighting faintly echoed from the right path, while the middle and left paths were silent.

Behind the middle pathway, a group of purple hair women sat at a dark brown long table made of wood. The wood wasn't ordinary, those who had the ability would be able to detect the spirit magic emanating from it.

At the head of the table, sitting in a chair, that matched the table, was Lauren Thynne. On the left side of the table, closest to Lauren sat Casey. On the close right, sat a woman who looked similar to both of them. In fact, all the seats were occupied by young women with dark purple hair and silver eyes, with strikingly similar features, a few even wore black dresses that looked alike.

"Mother, everyone has received the message, in two weeks they'll be back." The woman on the right stated.

"But I can't understand, why move the whole family after all these years?" The woman continued.

"Judith," Casey started speaking, but Lauren raised her hand to stop her.

"Do you know why I decided to hide that oath all those years ago?" Lauren asked the whole table, who in turn remained silent.

"It wasn't to teach the Kingdom some moral lesson, or to see if the Kings who come and go are more studious than the last," Lauren said, a bit of mockery present in her voice.

"Was it so they don't use us as their shields?" A Valkyrie asked.

"That's just something I told them," Lauren smiled. "Do you think they could even convince us to take a step for their benefit, let alone fight their battles?" She asked.

"Then why, Mother?" Casey asked, even she was confused.

"War and Death are coming to that Kingdom..." Lauren stated solemnly, as her eyes went cold. Her tone gave the impression of pure fact. Tension pervaded the room, a large pressure accompanied it.

"...And when it does, it'll be the perfect environment to train my granddaughters." Lauren faintly smiled, as the pressure instantly disappeared.

The power of a soul contract was immense and it was difficult to find loopholes. Lauren couldn't just tell her granddaughters to provoke the Kingdom, or else it would break the soul contract and kill everyone who took the oath. By hiding her families true status all those years ago, the Kingdom turning against them turned into an eventuality. 

"The awakenings have been slower and slower. The fourth generation of this family have had awakenings in their early twenties, that's four times longer than my own. Stopping marriages with outsiders was nothing more than a temporary solution to an ever-present problem. There are beings just as strong as us out there, and when we meet them I want us to be prepared." Lauren spoke with the grace of a queen.

"Is the training no longer enough, Mother?" Judith asked, she didn't care much about the deaths of humans, but more about the status of the bloodline.

"You should all be able to tell our abilities are suited for war, but by taking that oath, we have been the biggest obstacle in our own development," Lauren explained. Since the oath was broken she was free to speak about it without restraint.

The Valkyries in the room all showed expressions of realization. Although the lives of thousands were now in jeopardy, the Valkyries didn't any concern. A few thought that humans should be thankful. Conflict was followed by a rise in strength, peace was followed by weakness. It was simple logic, for the Valkyries at least.

The principles of the Valkyries sat inside of a moral gray area. They would feel a sense of loss if one of their own died, but the deaths humans were an inevitability to them. Whether they died today or tomorrow didn't really matter in their eyes, but that didn't mean they would go around killing humans as they pleased, well without a good reason of course, but a "good reason" was a subjective thing.

Lauren killed dozens of guards just to tell King Windsor he broke an oath he wasn't even aware of but chose not to kill them all when he ordered his guards to stand down. It was a good reference for the morality of Valkyries. They weren't upright and just, and the oath was born out of sentiment. When weighed against the growth of their own family, it became useless. If King Windsor could hear any of this, he might've come to regret the oath altogether.

"There are abilities that we all should have, and yet we don't. With the end of that oath, even we will grow more than we previously did," Lauren said elegantly, as her eyes held a trace of yearning.

The Valkyries in the room couldn't help but to get caught up in the mood and feel a sense of awe at the new prospects.

..............................

"Your Majesty." General Holchester kneeled in front of the throne. His eyes held traces of fatigue, and his overall temperament was changed, many people felt as if he wasn't his usual self.

"Speak Holchester, tell me just how far this runs." King Windsor ordered grimly.

"We've confirmed around a dozen cases, in which it was evident the Thynne family interfering. Half of the cases could've led to cities being destroyed, while the other half could've affected whole provinces."

"Such as?" King Windsor reluctantly asked.

"Your Majesty may recall thirty years ago, an Elder Dragon was on course for one of the northern provinces." General Holchester said.

"Yes, it caused the populace to stir but the dragon abruptly changed its pattern of...flight." King Windsor realized something was wrong with that statement.

Any dragon that was old enough to be called an Elder Dragon would be unrestrained in its movement. So why would it change its course?

"There were a few reports in small villages of something 'flying' towards the direction the dragon was supposed to head in." General Holchester read the Kings expression and continued speaking. "Forty years ago, when the Dark Elves showed signs of movement, a few isolated reports of a 'flying human-like' creature circulated around at the time, but because they were from small villages or people who lived away from society, they were disregarded. Shortly after the reports, the Dark Elves remained within their borders and haven't moved since," he said.

King Windsor remained silent.

"Most recently we've seen less activity from the Diavol, I suspect that-"

"That's enough, General Holchester." King Windsor breathed deeply.

"Did you gather anything good from this?" King Windsor asked rhetorically.

"Your Majesty, although things seem ominous, we've been in preparation since the black pillar incident." General Holchester said it seemed like more an attempt to reassure himself if anything.

"We both know the preparation has been half-assed." King Windsor spoke frankly.

"There is one thing we may have a lead on, Your Majesty." General Holchester responded.

"Speak, Holchester."

"Before Avery Thynne's...departure...she was investigating a noble family by the name of Fallmire if we can get the information before she does we may have a chance to get into the good graces of the Valkyries." General Holchester suggested.

"If we can earn their favor, then they may lend small assistance if the need arises." King Windsor knew better than to grow optimistic at the first sign of hope.

"You may leave Holchester...send your family my regards." King Windsor could see that it was just about the evening and decided to dismiss General Holchester.

"Your Majesty." General Holchester stood up and bowed before exiting the King's hall.

.................................

"Glen Marbot," Ira said as he held his chin.

Currently, he and Avery were sitting at a table, in an open plaza, close to the Mercenaries Union. The sky was a hazy shade of amber, the streets were busy as most people finished with work, and now made their way home. Avery explained to him in detail how she suspected Glen sent the group of assassins, and that the two men in red were most likely connected to him.

"Why would he kidnap people?" Ira asked curiously.

"Maybe to test his black magic on?" Avery hypothesized, her tone showed she was uncertain and didn't really care. "We'll go visit him and find out," she added with a meaningful tap her saber scabbard.

"You can't get your mother to...I don't know...kill him?" Ira asked jokingly.

"I can only call her if I can't handle the situation, and it's certain that the only outcome is death, " Avery responded.

"And besides, it's better this way," she said before giving a slight grin.

"I guess it is," Ira chuckled as he stood up and stretched.

He waved his hand and dropped a set of black leather armor onto the table. One by one he equipped each piece. Those who passed by looked at Ira strangely, it wasn't a normal occurrence to see someone put on armor in public. After he finished he nodded his head and moved around to get a feel for the set of leather armor.

"Right, lead the way-" Ira trailed off. He felt someone looking at him from afar.

Avery noticed his change and stood up.

On the roof of a nearby building, a man in red robes stood alone, looking directly at Ira. The man began chanting a spell.

"Something isn't right," Ira said. He scanned the crowds, trying to tune his instincts, but he couldn't see anyone within the crowd. Avery also looked around but fared no better.

"That guy again," Ira suddenly turned his gaze to the man in red robes, As he focused his vision he could see the man's lips moving.

"He's chanting something," Ira grinned as he placed his hand on the pommel of his sword.

Avery looked up at the man in red robes. The man continued chanting as he slowly raised his hand. After a few moments, a fireball, the size of a child, floated into the air, visible throughout the capital. People looked into the sky and pointed, but no other significant actions took place. The fireball eventually faded away, leaving people confused as to what was happening.

"You missed!" Ira shouted.

"I don't think he was aiming for y-" Avery began to talk but was interrupted by a loud ringing sound.

It was the sound of a bell. Most people forgot, but within the slums was a rundown bell tower, as the kingdom progressed in the use of magic, it became mostly useless when it came to informing the populace of an emergency, and as such, the tower stop being used. Civilians, Guards, Knights, Mercenaries, Students, everyone was confused. Many wondered if it was a child's prank. That was the conclusion that went through the minds of most people.

Elsewhere others found their answers.

....................

A fireball flew into the air, but while everyone looked up, one man looked elsewhere.

"Dad?" A middle-aged man approached an old man in a brown cloak, who sat on a bench in the middle of the residential district.

"Dad, it's you!" He grabbed the shoulders of the old man.

"Where have you been!?" The man grew teary-eyed. "We looked for two months but you were gone." The man went on, not noticing the old man's strange countenance.

"Dad, I have big news...You're a grandfather now." The middle-aged man laughed as tears fell from his eyes. Suddenly a bell began to ring causing his attention to shift. The middle-aged man was surprised and turned away from his dad to look at the source of the sound.

The old man reached into his cloak, pulling out a syringe. He pulled the cap off and stabbed the syringe into his arm, draining all of its contents into his body. Veins appeared all over the old man's body. They looked like hundreds of worms as they pulsated, his eyes went bloodshot, and his nose slowly dripped with dark blood. Faint groans escaped from his mouth.

"I find it hard to believe that was a coincidence... I think it was a sign that things can only get better from now..." The middle-aged spoke hastily as he turned around, but trailed off in shock.

The old man's figure grew, the originally five foot seven, gentle old man, grew to seven feet under the eyes of his son. His bones cracked and created a sound which could be likened to wood on a bonfire. The old man's arms stretched and nearly reached his feet, bones, similar to claws, protruded from the tips of his fingers, and his muscles swelled imposingly. His skin tone gradually turned into a dark red, and his actual skin began peeling in several places on his body. His face distorted, as his skull widened and became more angular, while his eyes became white if the broken capillaries were ignored. The cloak fell off the old man, leaving his son to gasp in shock.

His father turned into a hellish creature right in front of him, his mind was still attempting process things. "D...Dad."

The old man, who now only could be described as a creature, swiped his arm towards the middle-aged man.

Its claws cut through his neck instantly, beheading him. His head fell to the ground, with an expression of confusion.

The creature emitted a high-pitched and guttural roar. The small crowd that was focused on the bell turned to see a nightmarish scene. A hellish creature and a dead body at its feet. There was no need to say anymore, people broke out into a commotion. As if reacting to the noise the creature jumped towards the crowd.

"Someone get the guards-" A woman yelled but was stopped, two claws protruded from her chest.

"Euh...Auh...Euh..." The woman groaned as she feebly grabbed the claws.

The creature tore the woman in half and jumped towards the closest person.

"Gods have mercy!"

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

"Mommy! Mommy!"

"Guards! Get the fucking guards!"

The distressed shouts of many, resounded throughout the streets as panic took hold.

Ordinary civilians were nothing more than ragdolls when compared to the creature. The creature gave an ear-piercing screech as it ripped a man in half.

Similar scenes played out all over the capital.

...........................

Within the Capital Academy.

"I still think you should use a sword," Aldis said.

"...I would like to...but." Clark hesitated.

"It's fine. I'm just saying it's easier and probably safer in a real fight. Unless you have a lot of strength, I wouldn't recommend martial arts as a primary fighting style." Aldis said indifferently as they reached the cafeteria. Amy already was already sitting down and she waved them over.

"What were you guys talking about?" Amy's asked as her green eyes shined with curiosity.

"Nothing," Aldis said as he sat down.

"Guy stuff." Clark laughed awkwardly.

"Aldis, you should try to-" Amy pouted but noticed both Clark and Aldis looking at something. She turned around only to see a fireball floating in the air.

"Is there a celebration or something?" Clark asked.

His question was answered by the metallic ringing of a bell.

"Emergency bell?" Amy asked, a trace of sadness in her voice. The most traumatic day in her life started with a bell.

"No...The emergency bell in the capital hasn't been used in years. It's probably just a joke," Aldis stated matter of factly.

Suddenly, a horrific scream came from just over the 8-foot wall that blocked off the view outside the academy.

Three nearby instructors ran towards the cafeteria, weapons in hand.

The instructor for Amy's class shouted. "Get back to the dorms-" Before he finished, a creature climbed over the wall. The skin on its face appeared to be in reverse, and it had two long grasshopper-like legs. One of its whip-like arms seemed to drag on the ground and the other arm was more or less normal, especially considering the creature.

"Aiiiioragh!" It screamed as it pounced towards the instructors.

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The instructor blocked the creatures claws and became visibly shaken by its strength. He swung fiercely at the creature, but it jumped away.

"Get to the dorms!" The instructor bellowed, waking up the shocked students. Both of the other instructors took up positions next to the overbearing one.

"You ever see anything like this before?" One of them asked the instructor.

"No...Looks like something out of a nightmare." The instructor responded.

The creature jumped towards all of the instructors again. Its attacks were wild and uncoordinated. Which made them easy to read but hard to dodge. Fortunately, these three veteran instructors were just enough to handle the creature.

Another scream came from behind the wall followed by a second creature actually bursting through the wall. Its whole body appeared as a mass of pulsating muscle, with an abnormally small head, and short legs. One arm was huge, probably as wide as the waist of a grown man, and the other arm looked like a giant curved knife. The creature ran past the instructors and towards the same direction the students retreated to.

"Shit!" The Instructor cursed. "Can you two hold this one?" He asked.

"Fine, but where the hell are the other instructors?" Another instructor asked as he dodged the lanky-armed creature.

"We're the only ones on evening duty for today," The third instructor responded wryly.

"Try to hold on," The instructor for Clark and Amy's class said fiercely as he chased the muscular creature.

..................

"Well, shit," Ira cursed.

"Shit, shit, shit," He continued, clearly expressing his annoyance.

He felt something was wrong. No, he knew something was wrong. It would be hard not to know, it felt as if something wormed its way into his head. It was almost like something was calling for his attention. A prickly feeling that tunneled into his mind. It was faintly familiar.

Ira stared at the red robes man standing on the rooftop. Something indescribable hidden within his eyes.

"AAAAAAAUUUUUUEEEEH!" A blood-curdling scream came from outside of the plaza.

A deformed, child-like creature clutched its head. It's small face protruded forward, with jagged teeth, peeking from under its lips. Its arms were shaped like scythes, curving inwardly. Its tiny eyes dripped with blood. Upon seeing it, many civilians began fleeing. The creature hopped onto a nearby man, who was too slow and ripped into his back.

"Aaaugh." The man screamed out in pain as his organs were pulled from his body. The creature began rapidly chewing his entrails.

"You handle that guy up there. I'll deal with that..." Ira said to Avery, as he smiled mysteriously.

Avery nodded before she dropped her cloak and ran towards the rooftop. Ira drew his sword and approached the small creature. The creature chewed on the entrails loudly before turning to look at Ira.

"AAAUUUUUEEEGH!" The creature shrieked at Ira, but it didn't move.

"That sound about right..." Ira grinned oddly.

Ira crept closer, sword in one and hand, while the other was stretched out towards the creature. The creature made a soft yelp. Ira, still smiling, gently caressed the creatures head, as he knelt down.

The child-like creature rested its head on Ira's hand while he silently raised his sword. With one decisive thrust, he stabbed the creature through its heart. The creature screamed tormentedly and struggled fiercely, but Ira pressed down with incredible strength.

"Quiet," Ira said plainly. The creature stabbed at Ira's sides between the armor, the force behind its stabbing motion caused his body to shake, but he didn't move at all. After a few seconds, the creature stopped moving causing Ira to remove the sword.

Ira still kept his smile as he sheathed the sword. He looked towards the nearby rooftop to see Avery fighting with the man in red robes and began moving towards them.

......................

Back in the academy, a student stirred inside the dorm room.

Furniture was piled against the door while students breathed roughly in a corner.

Aldis was busy going through the chest containing his personal items.

"Amy," He called out suddenly.

"Yeah?" Amy responded as she watched the door.

"Where's your spear?" Aldis asked as he grabbed something from the chest.

"In my room, down the hall," she answered.

"I'll get it for you," Aldis closed the chest and placed two swords on top of it. He fastened a leather belt, with two scabbards on opposite sides, to his waist, and placed the swords inside.

"I'm going too," she said, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Fine," he shrugged.

"Wait! I'll go too, at worst I can be bait," Clark said with a nervous laugh.

Amy opened her mouth but refrained from speaking. Aldis noticed her actions and chose not to say anything.

"You can't open that!" A student shouted fearfully. All the other students in the room looked to be in agreement.

"Any of you want to stop me?" Aldis asked with a questioning gaze.

Of course, no one spoke up. They had no way of stopping Aldis, the real reason they protested was that they felt safer with him in the room.

"Didn't think so." Aldis moved the furniture out of the way and stepped into the hall, Amy and Clark followed behind him.

They moved silently through the halls and arrived at Amy's room.

"You can't come in," She said in an embarrassed tone, rushing in and closing the door behind her. After a few seconds, she came out holding the redwood short spear.

Just when she was about to speak the screams of students echoed through the empty halls.

Aldis, Amy, and Clark ran towards the noise.

The muscular creature was currently beating a student to death, with its huge arm. With its repeated swings the young man stopped screaming before he became a fleshy pile of gore. All the other students rushed out of the room while the creature was busy, so now it was only Aldis, Amy, and Clark who stood behind it

Aldis drew both his swords and Amy spun her spear quickly.

"Hey!" Amy shouted.

The creature turned around slowly and flung guts at Amy.

"Ah!" Amy shouted, blood covered her face and temporarily blinded her so she wasn't able to see the creature charging toward her.

"Amy!" Aldis and Clark shouted at the same time, but Aldis jumped over to Amy's position and knocked her out of the way. The creature swung its massive arm, while Aldis moved both his swords to defend. Aldis was the one to suffer exchange as he was knocked off his feet and into a nearby wall.

"Heh...You're not as strong as him," Aldis gave a dry laugh before he moved to attack. In the time since he fought Ira, his swordsmanship was now Advanced grade. His sword strikes became more efficient and quicker. He twisted and turned, dodging the hulking arm that swung, he also kept an eye on the blade-like arm which rarely moved.

Amy rushed toward the creature's flank and gave a loud exclamation as she stabbed her spear into the creature's back which caused it to swing its arms frantically.

"You kids shouldn't be here!" The Instructor appeared from around a corner and yelled angrily, as he raised the sword above his head and swung downward, leaving a large gash on the creatures back.

The creature slammed its massive hand into the ground, and then swung its blade-like arm, making everyone take distance before it jumped back and began eating the pile of guts from earlier. Its wounds began healing at a visible rate, it gorged itself on human flesh. The creature began to grow as the muscles on its body swelled so much that its head could barely be seen.

"Fuck!" The instructor cursed causing the creature to roar in response.

"What are you looking at? You fucking piece of filth. Fuck your whore of a mother. Fuck your cowardly dad! Fuck your dirty sow of a sister and most of all fuck you" The instructor cursed loudly, veins appeared on his neck as he grew angry. There was no chance to attack the creature while it was eating and that fact increased his anger.

The creature now felt more dangerous than it did before, it was a large chance that they all might be killed before help even came so he felt it was only right to vent his frustrations.

The hallway briefly went quiet before the creature, no, it was more accurate to call it a lumbering wall of flesh, roared loudly. It raised its heavy arm and destroyed the ceiling.

"Instructor, I think you made it mad," Amy said nervously.

......................

"This has nothing to do with you." The robed man said.

"Where's Glen Marbot?" Avery asked half-heartedly.

"My, Great Master won't be-" The red robed man started to speak, but was interrupted when Avery drew her saber and swung toward him. She had no time to listen to a monolog admiring his "Great Master", it was much simpler to just kill him and see if Ira could track the smell.

The robed man began to be decorated with cuts as he tried to dodge Avery's abrupt assault.

"Cursed H-" Just when he began to chant, a white line flashed in his sight and his pale arm fell onto the ground.

He looked at Avery with widened eyes.

"My Master..." He started to speak about his master but thought she would attack if he continued. He wordlessly pulled out a syringe and injected himself. His remaining arm began to make loud sounds. It snapped and popped, his fingers merged into one solid bone pike. His body began to tremble and right when he was going to attack, a black silhouette fell toward him at a high speed.

The black silhouette was Ira of course. He crushed the man in the red robe under him as they fell through the roof, all the way to the ground floor.

Ira shook the dust off and grabbed the pale man's neck before ripping his head off and tossing over his shoulder.

"Is he dead?" Avery shouted from the roof as she peered down into the newly formed hole.

"Eh...Yeah." Ira coughed as dust got into his lungs.

"Well done." Avery praised before continuing, "There's another one right, can you find him?" She asked.

"Yeah, don't worry he's close." Ira grabbed the headless body and the severed head belonging to it before he moved.

....................

He saw his brother fall into the building after Ira appeared above him.

He wanted to wait for his brother to distract both of them before he would move in and subdue Ira, but Ira and Avery didn't take the predicted actions and instead attacked separately, not just that, the boy seemed stronger since the last time he fought with him and his brother.

He decided when he saw Ira emerged from the building he would attack him.

"Over..Here..." A raspy voice said.

The red robed man spun around and took a defensive stance only to see his brother poking his head out from behind a wall.

"Why are you..." The man in red robes started. He was waiting for his brother to finish his thought. When they were in close proximity to each other they usually could tell what the other was going to say.

"..." His brother didn't respond, instead, he was met with laughter.

"Haha. Damn it, I forgot you guys do that weird thing...with the sentences." Ira walked out from behind the wall and tossed his brother's body on the ground.

"Heads up." Ira tossed a pale severed head towards him.

He caught it with both hands reflexively and was shocked to see what it was. "Aaagh!" The red robe man usually was expressionless, but upon seeing his brothers head he screamed in agony.

"Was the joke really that bad?" Ira asked/

"You..." The man dropped his brothers head before digging into his robe, pulling out a syringe and injecting himself with it. Unfortunately, before any changes could take place a saber pierced through his brain and killed him instantly.

"It was bad," Avery said as she swung her saber, cleaning it of blood.

"So my guess was dead on?" Ira asked with a chuckle.

"Just see if you can find Glen Marbot," Avery said as she let a small laugh escape.

"Alright." Ira knelt down next to the body and closed his eyes, he tried to slowly tune his senses, he had only done it a few times so far and they didn't go very well. When he inhaled through his nostrils hundreds of thousands of smells and scents pervaded his nostrils. He blocked everything else out and solely focused his on the smell of the red robed man in front of him. Two distinct scents were on the body, one was the robed man's brother and the other was an unfamiliar scent.

"Found it," Ira said as a small drop of blood fell from his nose.

Avery handed him a cloth, and he took it in a rehearsed manner, wiping his bloody nose and handing it back.

"Thanks," Ira said cheerfully.

"Lead the way." She responded with a faint grin.

"Wait." Ira stopped and tore off the second robed man's head. Grabbing the other dismembered head, he waved his left hand and deposited them away.

"Keeping souvenirs?" Avery asked.

"It's for dramatic effect...you'll remember when you see it," Ira said with a smile.

..........................

Inside of a low lit room, different from his manor. Glen was kneeling on the side of a bed. A tray of lukewarm food sat near the end of the bed. A fork and knife on a plate of untouched meatloaf.

"Glen..." Ethel was currently laying in the bed, she weakly raised her hand to caress his face.

He held her hand to his face "Ethel," he said tenderly.

"I've done it." He said happily, taking a white gold syringe out his chest pocket.

"This should temporarily treat your illness. I might've found a way to cure it all together, and raise our daughter." Glen spoke happily as he looked over, on the nightstand next to the bed was the jar that held his daughter.

"You'll be able to make the world a better place for her to live in," Ethel said as she smiled, a trace of sadness was hidden deep within her eyes, as she looked at it.

"Of course." He nodded his head tearfully before he stood up.

"I'll have to test it first." He said as he made his way out of the room.

"Glen..." Ethel spoke loudly.

"She didn't end up like the others Ethel, this mixture will completely heal her, I'm sure of it," Glen assured her.

Ethel opened her mouth to speak but ultimately refrained. Glen smiled at his wife and left the room. In the next room over, an adolescent girl was bound in chains. The scars on her body, her pale face, gaunt cheeks, and sunken eyes all made her appear to be dead at first glance. Glen walked in with an empty expression and shut the door behind him.

"Ah...N...No." The girl stirred awake from the noise and began to panic.

Glen ignored the girl's protest and injected her with the syringe holding a quarter of the white gold mixture.

"N...No...No." The girl weakly protested.

"Rejoice, you'll be the first to test this out. With this mixture, the world will be free of sickness and of death. We won't need those Valkyries to rule over us, with this...we'll soon be as strong as them." Glen spoke with an obsessive glint, as the syringe drained into the girl's veins.

"Aaagh!" The girl spasmed.

The scars on her body slowly faded, while her face regained color, even her dry and brittle hair regained some life. The girl's expression gradually eased up as the pain faded from her body.

"It works!" Glen exclaimed madly. He rushed out of the room and into Ethel's bedroom.

As he stepped in, he was met with the faces of two people who shouldn't have been there, Ira and Avery.

"Glen..." Ethel began to cry. "Please don't hurt him-" Ethel said but Glen raised his hand.

"My men?" Glen asked.

Ira waved his hand and two pale hairless heads rolled onto the floor.

"Ah!" Ethel gasped as she clutched her sheets, while Glen showed a mournful expression.

"Oh, I understand it now," Avery said as she recalled the time Ira dropped the heads of their comrades in front of two fleeing assassins.

"Yeah, it's better this way," Ira responded casually, as he turned to Avery.

"You think you should bring the bodies next time?" Avery suggested in a relaxed manner, looking back at Ira.

"You don't think it would be too much?" Ira asked.

"If you preferred subtlety, you should've brought a finger or an ear." She retorted mockingly.

"But do you think people could recognize an ear of a subordinate?" Ira countered. It didn't seem reasonable to assume everyone could recognize the ear of their subordinates.

"I don't see how it matters, most people would be too shocked to examine it closely," Avery said nonchalantly.

"Hey!" Glen Marbot shouted.

"We'll revisit this later," Ira said as they both turned back to Glen. "It's a bit rude to interrupt a conversation." Ira smiled as he looked at Glen.

"I'm not the villain here," Glen said as he clenched the syringe in his hand.

"Oh?" Avery inquired indifferently.

"Go ahead. Mock me, but I know evil...your Thynne family is evil...You have the ability to heal everyone in this Godforsaken kingdom, and yet what do you do? You all act proud and aloof as if you're granting us a mercy by not killing us. Even before that, this Kingdom's is still a terrible place. Do know how the people live up north? Or anywhere else for that matter? Or maybe why the poor are shoved into disgusting slums, left to rot in their own filth? You can judge me because I killed some innocent people? Then aren't you just as guilty? The fact you don't take any action to stop the injustices around you is proof enough. Your family could've led this whole kingdom, given people safety, and yet you sat around and watched us as if we were children. You could've guided us, you could've saved us! I want to help everyone in this kingdom, everyone will be equal, sickness won't exist at all, and we'll be better without you." Glen said as his emotions boiled over.

"And how will you save those people?" Avery asked apathetically.

"With him." Glen pointed at Ira.

"Your regeneration is stronger than any monster or creature by miles and it's viable bonding material when combined human blood. Your strength is even beyond human limits, with a small amount of your blood we could save everyone. We could-" Glen spoke passionately but was interrupted.

"Idiot." Avery shook her head. "Your plan is to break away from the strong by relying on the strong?"

"If he didn't exist, how would your "perfect kingdom" exist? If my family didn't exist, where would this Kingdom be right now? Say we did openly protect this Kingdom, what happens the one time we fail to protect it? A bunch of weak, spineless, cowards, much like you, who hide behind false platitudes? If this kingdom only knew peace, the people would rot and when conflict comes to find them, they'd be better off killing themselves." Avery spoke coldly, harshly stating her own view.

"No, no, no-" Glen wanted to respond but was silenced by Avery's saber which she pressed against his throat.

"Well, when those "innocent" people you say you're working for come for an answer as to why their families are dead, what will be your reason?" Avery narrowed her eyes.

Glen looked over at Ethel, who looked as worried as ever. "My reason?" He laughed.

"I'll tell them it was...because of love," Glen said as he closed his eyes.

"Wait," Ira spoke up.

"That thing in your hand. You used my blood for that?" Ira asked curiously.

"...Yes...And you may have seen those creatures I've created. If you just-" Glen answered hesitantly, but Ira appeared at his side and snatched the syringe out of his hands before he returned to his former position, examining the vial closely.

"Wait! Please, heal my wife she-" Before he could finish speaking, Avery slit his throat.

"GLEN!" Ethel screamed.

"Euh...Auh...Euh..." Glen weakly reached out toward Ethel, stumbling around the room.

A memory flashed through his head as his life faded.

His father, Grant Marbot, buying a cheap female slave, with a disease that caused her to be sick, from the auction. Her family fell into debt and to get out, they sold off their only daughter.

Glen remembered how scared she looked, how fragile she was. He gradually fell in love with her, and she eventually felt the same about him. Unfortunately for both of them, her disease was a rare case, and with the kingdoms current level of magic advancements, it was still incurable. Despite that she still became pregnant, something they both saw as a miracle. His father didn't care at first, but when Glen decided he would marry her, Grant turned furious. On a certain day, he confronted and beat Ethel, even while she was pregnant. If he allowed Glen to marry a slave, the entire prestige of the family would fall, so he decided to force Ethel to refuse.

Glen discovered his father beating Ethel, and killed him, because of the stress on her body, the baby was born prematurely, and even worse, a stillborn. Glen covered up the death of his father, sent away all of his relatives to further provinces and worked secretly to find any way to cure Ethel, who never recovered after the first birth, in addition to her sickness. That's why he showed interest in ancient ruins of the old kingdom, and why he delved into black magic.

Glen's surrounding grew hazy, he fell onto the bed, as he faced the ceiling.

"GLEN!!" Ethel put pressure on his bleeding throat in a desperate attempt to keep him alive.

"Et...hel..." Glen tried to raise his arm but it didn't respond.

"Glen..." Ethel murmured sadly before she reached for the knife on the tray at the end of the bed, under the gazes of Avery and Ira.

"Please take care of my daughter, Anastasia." Ethel smiled and pointed to a jar.

For some reason, Ira found himself nodding in affirmation.

Without hesitation, Ethel slit her own throat, she shook fiercely and then fell onto Glen.

'Ethel and Anastasia.' Avery thought to herself.

Ira walked over to the jar and looked inside. There was indeed an infant inside of it. He waved his left hand and the jar disappeared.

"Someone's in the next room," Ira said as he turned to Avery.

She nodded before they walked into the room only to see a girl dressed in rags, chained to the wall. A quick glance and it was clear that her age had to be around nine years old.

"You grab her, I've gotta do something. Meet me at the central plaza when you're done," Ira said before giving an odd smile.

Avery nodded in response and couldn't help but notice his smile held a trace of a peculiarity.

Ira exited the building and found himself in the slums before he began running directly towards the center of all the capital's districts. Moving at an impossible speed, he arrived at the central plaza before long. Columns of smoke, far off screams, and the erratic movement of civilians could inform anyone of the disaster that was taking place.

"Haaaah..." Ira ignored everything as he exhaled and closed his eyes. He sent the intention of a call through his blood, in a way that could only be understood by those who were more animalistic in nature.

Ira opened his eyes and smiled as he drew his sword.

...........................

"Haah...haah...." Aldis breathed heavily as he tried to catch his breath. At the moment, his overall appearance was terrible, his clothes were torn, a large wound was carved into his side, and one of his arms was incredibly bruised.

Amy was currently lying on the floor motionlessly, spear in hand, her condition unknown.

"Move, Kid!" The instructor, who didn't look much better than Aldis jumped in front of Aldis.

"EUUUUUUUAAAAGH!" The hulking mass of muscle swiped its arm and knocked the Sword and the Instructor away before swinging its bladed arm to Aldis.

"Damn it!" Aldis swung his sword to defend himself only to have his sword knocked away, landing near Clark.

"Clark!" Aldis shouted in a strained voice.

"...What?" Clark appeared to be daydreaming.

"Clark! Hand me the sword!" Aldis yelled. All Thynne family members who were children of Valkyries carried a pendant which could let them know if they were in danger. It's just too bad Aldis saw it as something that could hamper his growth and left at home.

"I-I can't...I..." Clark stammered as he crouched down and clutched his head.

The creature raised its arm toward Aldis, but before it could attack, Amy sprung up and stabbed it in the back.

"EUUAH!" The creature screamed and reflexively swung backward with its blade hand. Blood fell to the ground and all seemed to be quiet for a moment. Then the sound of something fleshy hitting the ground set things back in motion.

"Aaaah!" Amy screamed as she fell to the floor.

"Amy!" Aldis yelled, but the creature wouldn't allow him to go check her condition.

"Aaah...shit...aaah." Amy cursed as she held her arm tightly.

"EUAH!" The creature shouted as it picked up her severed arm and began to eat it.

"F-Fuck...y-you!" Amy yelled as blood poured from her arm.

The creature raised his fist to attack once again but stopped suddenly. It looked in a certain direction as it felt something in its blood calling to it.

"EUUUAAAIIIGH!" The creature roared and ran toward the call, paying no more attention to the three in the hallway.

"Amy!" Aldis dropped his sword and ran over to Amy.

"Haaah...I-I'm...fine..." Amy had gone pale in a few moments as she continued to lose blood.

Aldis tore part of his shirt and tied it around her arm to stop the bleeding.

"Clark!" Aldis shouted.

Clark remained in place, crouched down and shivering. "It's not...my fault...it's not...my...fault..." He whispered over and over.

"Hold on Amy." Aldis tied the makeshift bandage tightly around her arm as he limped over to the instructor and placed his hand in front of the instructors face. There were a few faint breaths which let him know that he was still alive.

"Haah." Aldis sighed, he looked at Clark with an unhidden trace of disgust, before he limped away in search of medical supplies or a Mage.

.................................

Avery arrived at the central plaza, with a nine-year-old girl trailing behind her, and saw a large crowd.

As she pushed her way through she could see Ira sitting on a pile of bodies, similar to each other yet different in noticeable ways. These were the creatures Glen Marbot created.

Ira sat on top of the pile of bodies. His hair messily blanketed over his eyes, small spaces allowed the bright yellow pupils to be seen, and right now his yellow eyes were facing downwards.

"I know how it feels." He smiled strangely as he looked at a dying creature. The creature growled in response, but Ira just drove his fist into its skull sending blood splashing onto his face.

"Believe me...I know." Ira said. With his bloodline resonance, the creatures thought of him as one of their own and when they arrived he killed them. In his eyes, it bore some similarity to what was done to him when he was a child.

Avery finally understood what was different about his smile. His current smile seemed to be restraining some indescribable anguish, the strange feeling it had was reminiscent of misery. It was similar to the smile Ethel made before she slit her own throat, except Ira's told of some hidden despair.

Avery looked at Ira with an intense gaze. "Stay here," she said to the small girl before moving through the crowd and approaching Ira. She climbed the small pile of bodies and sat with her back against his.

"I wonder if a fingernail is subtle enough?" Ira asked.

Avery's soft laughter stunned the crowd which already stood in awe at what Ira had done. Ira laughed with Avery before they returned to silence.

.....

Two Knights were sat on a haggardly leather couch. All around them were decrepit furnishings and decorations.

"I'm sorry we came here to ask about Ira." The knight who spoke was Justin, he usually took the reins of things like this while Franklin watched quietly.

"I'm telling you, I don't know anyone by that name." A man with brown hair in his early thirties spoke, as he sipped tea from a chipped cup.

"Ira Fallmire?" Franklin asked curiously.

"There is no one here by that name." The man responded in an annoyed tone.

"...Then we apologize for wasting your time." Justin sighed as he stood up, and Franklin followed suit.

"Wait...I don't know of an Ira who's a part of my family, but I have...or rather had, a brother." The man stated as he looked off into the distance.

"Oh yeah?" Justin sat back down. "What was his name?"

The man looked at Justin and sighed before speaking, "Siegfried, My brother's name was Siegfried."

..................................

By the next day, the news spread of nightmarish creatures appearing almost out of nowhere after the sighting of a fireball and the sound of a bell.

There were around one hundred and thirty civilian casualties. Strangely the creatures appeared at the exact places the guards weren't scheduled to patrol during the evening. Dozens of mercenaries were present in some areas and three creatures were killed, but for mercenaries and Knights with smaller numbers, the creatures would flee or chase after a civilian, eating their flesh to regenerate.

And the last report of the day was about a mercenary and since the crowd didn't know his name, they just called him yellow-eyes.Those who witnessed him kill nearly a dozen of the strange creatures with a smile on his face quickly told the story to others. In a few hours, Ira became something of a hero to the people hurt by the attacks.

The following day, the culprit was said to be Glenn Marbot who used Black Magic in order to create the creatures that attacked. Finding out who the culprit did nothing to ease the pain for the populace who struggled to cope. The attack showed them just how weak they really are and caused all of those affected to yearn for a change.

....

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