Chapter 2
*unknown PoV*
As I walked around the ruined village that was ravaged by a monster horde, I felt cold, guilt washed over my body as I saw the corpse of the inhabitants litter the streets.
This was the fourth attack today in the span of 2 weeks, the monsters seemed to have flock together and attack villages outside Orario.
And from what we've gathered as evidence, this attacks aren't a coincidence. Something or someone are controlling the hordes, and all our findings shows that Evilus is behind the attacks.
Low level monsters such as Goblins, Kabolds, and Orcs, shouldn't be this strong outside the dungeon. their level should have been stagnant. But with the recent vanishing of adventurers as will as stronger monsters outside points to one unified conclusion by the gods and adventures alike.
That Evilus is on the move once again.
And with that the death toll of adventurers accent to an all time high.
Death, a familiar concept for us adventurers, yet something we can't get used to no matter how many times we saw and experienced it first hand.
Bodies lay waste all around me as my fellow adventurers carried the corpse or at least what remained of them on a pile to be burned off. I steel my heart and got to work, helping on carrying them as respectfully as I could, it was the least I could do.
As I was scurrying around the area I saw something that made me fall deeply in rage, a leg, a small, fragile leg. A leg of a babe that's been severed, pulled out their body, teeth marks visible on it.
Besides it a woman, stabbed multiple times, and missing chunks of her flesh, gutted, her insides devoured by the foul beast that invaded this village. No doubt, the mother of the babe that was taken, too early in their life.
As I prepare myself mentally to carry them in the pile I saw someone who I haven't seen in a long time.
"Fuck..." I muttered to myself, as I walked closer to the lying corpse of my friend. "I guess we won't have that drink after all Sieg." I looked at the body of my friend Siegfried Kaiser, a retired level 3 adventurer and a former member of my familia.
I kneel in order to carry his body, but stop as I hear a faint breathing under him. My body jolted as I quickly lifted my friend's body up. Then I see a child, bleeding from his shoulder.
"WE HAVE A SURVIVOR HERE!!!" I scream at the top of my lungs as I pick him up and rush him towards camp. His body, getting paler, his breathing rougher by the minute. "stay with me kid, we'll get you all patched up."
I reached the camp and laid him down, I ripped the shirt he was wearing, it'll get in the way, and I see it, a huge gash, deep enough to penetrate the bone, blood gushing out the wound as I did my best to stop the bleeding with whatever first aid kit we have on hand.
The flaps of the tent blow open as the captain of the mission came inside, Finn Deimne, a level 5 adventurer from loki familia, along with the elf Riveria.
"what's the situation?" He asked calmly as he stepped at my side holding the child in place, he was shaking, maybe due to shock from the wound he received.
"I found this child, beneath a former colleague of mine, suffered a heavy wound at his left shoulder, likely from an axe, he's bleeding bad, the weapon likely penetrated and crushed his bones in his shoulder."
"noted, Riveria, cast a healing magic towards the boy, we have to at least make sure that he survives this." he then turns to me and asks. "is there any survivor that may know him, any relative that may have survived this massacre?"
as I was about to answer a green glow illuminates the tent, as the elf cast a healing incantation for the child, the shaking stopped, as the bleeding slowly subsided, i poured a red liquid at the wound, as I made sure that the bone was placed at the right places before continuing with the treatment.
"Not that I know of." I answered Finn, I got a good look at the boy and he reminded me of Seig, he has Sieg hair, dark amber in color, and his face has the same shape as his. then everything clicked. "fuck..."
"what is it?" Riveria asked as she was pouring mana out to support the healing of the boy.
"I think he's the son of Siegfried." I answer as I remember the look on my friends face.
"Siegfried... The Vanguard?" Finn asks for confirmation, Sieg may be a level 3 but he was famous when he was active, charging recklessly in the front lines of the dungeon, absorbing agro like a sponge and impaling the monsters in his way with his trusted spear, gaining the alias of The Vanguard along the way. "so the colleague that you said that you found dead. It was Siegfried then?"
"...yes." i answered dryly as my throat started to lump. Sieg was an orphan, and I don't know the mother of the boy, knowing that, the very likely conclusion is that this boy has become one as well.
Finn walked away as he kicked a box of supplies out of anger. "fuck... if only we were faster, if only we arrive a tad bit faster we could have save them."
"Finn, control yourself, we can't save everyone, we are not heroes..." Riveria calmly reprimanded Finn, she then continued. "we are adventurers, death is part of the life that we chose, we can't avoid it, it will always loom in our line of duty. The best we can do is to save who we can, when we can."
"..." Finn was silent, from what I can see he's contemplating something right now, Finn, the hero of his people, to his kind looks down at his feet while clinching his fist. "you're right, death is around us, and we can't save everyone. But that doesn't change the fact that we arrive too late to stop this." He then released a portion of his mana, it clings the air with a thick sensation, you can feel anger radiating at his small body. "Evilus will pay for what they've done today."
Finn exited the tent and went back to his duty as the commander for this expedition, while Riveria stayed inside tending to the wounds of the boy.
"he's right you know..." she starts a conversation, I looked at her confused. "Shakti, we may not be heroes, but I'm sure as hell that we'll make those evilus bastards pay for what they've done today."
The level 4 elf spoke in anger, I haven't seen her angry since I've known her, yet her ambiance seems to scream rage all over. And I couldn't agree more. Innocents killed, adventurers missing and presumed dead, children slaughtered, and orphans being made. The sins of evilus grows and right now all I can think of is "yeah... we'll put a stop to those fuckers and kill them all."
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hey chapter 2 is out now, how did you guys like it?
have a great day ahead.