Outside the capital, in a secluded cave. Deeper and deeper, stone walls extended, lit by burning torches until they reached a massive open cavern.
Under the faint glow of candles, a man opened his eyes, tied to a stone altar. He growled, realizing his mouth was closed. He tried to stand, but he was chained.
The man struggled, cursing beneath his muffled screams.
CLICK! CLACK! From the shadows, a blond elf approached, a smile on his face. “Come on, you’re the ones who attacked first.” Vars giggled, “Thugs like you are okay to kill since no one would come looking for you,”
The only thing Vars cared about was the safety of his mission and the secrecy.
The man growled at the top of his lungs, glaring at Vars.
Vars smiled, “Come on,” He giggled, “Undead don’t come out of thin air, and the worse the person’s death, the stronger the creature would get,” He lifted his staff up, “In the name of the bloodied one, under the red god of murder.”
STAB! He stabbed the man, and the screams filled the cave. Dark magic flowed from his staff into the struggling man, transforming him into a ghoul.
Vars laughed, “Stand up, I need you to do something for me.” He waved his staff as the ghoul stood.
“A year ago, an abyss gate opened beside the capital, but it was immediately closed even though tens of powerful demons rushed out. I don’t know who defeated them, or how they managed to close the gate.” Vars shook his head, “But I managed to track their magic, and the signal is as weak as a child. It must be some old adventurer, he goes by the name of the blade of the capital.”
the ghoul stared at Vars, lifelessly.
“Take ten greater zombies and get rid of him, I will give you the scent of his magic.” Vars waved his staff, and the ghouls started growling.
“I don’t want him to intervene in the last act, bring me his corpse so I can turn him into a death knight.”
As Vars turned, the ghoul rushed out with the zombies.
****
Outside the city, in the death of the knight. A little kid walked out of his house beside their family farm, yawning. “Need some water,” He headed out to the well.
He walked as he usually did, throwing the wooden bucket down the well and pulling a full one with the rope. With one scoop, he washed his face, and he drank the second.
“Nothing beats cold water,”
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” As he relaxed, he heard his mother’s scream filling the night sky. The kid gasped, rushing into the house as fast as he could.
The kid kicked the door open, and his mother cried, “Leon! Run away!” He could see her getting dragged into the darkness by a rotted hand, his father wrestling a zombie in the corner.
Leon growled, rushing toward the table and taking a knife. Fearlessly, he lunged into the shadows after his mother, swinging at the monster dragging her.
CRACK! He hit the zombie in the forearm and kicked his elbow, breaking the arm.
The zombie didn’t flinch, but Leon kicked him back and grabbed his mother by the arm, pulling her as hard as he could. “Run!” He shouted.
GROWL! The zombie lunged forward, biting the mother in her leg.
“Get away from her!” The father roared, tripping the ghoul with an ankle kick, and lunged over the dinner table.
The zombie growled, swinging and thrusting his fingers at the father’s stomach. Zombies had more strength than a normal human, and so his hand pierced the father’s torso.
As the father’s blood dripped, he smiled, grabbing the zombie by the neck. “Got you,” He ground his teeth, gathering all of his strength in one motion, and swung the zombie around, throwing him toward the ghoul in a forceful swing.
Leon backed away, his back hitting the wall as his knees shook, failing to lift his weight. “What am I going to do,” He gasped, “It’s like that day…” His teeth started shaking as his eyes glared at his mother bleeding on the ground.
[It’s like the first time, hunter. Take up my power once more, and your contract would set in stones.]
Leon stopped shaking, and lifted his hands, putting them together with a crazed smile.
^She’s right, I don’t have time to think. I need to push it out as soon as I gather enough mana. I shall worry about the contract later, now it’s time to hunt once again.^
The zombies paused, their heads turning toward Leon in the blink of an eye. “The magic, it was him, not the father.” The ghoul growled lunging forward.
“ROAR! Queen of the hunt, Maharaja.” In an instant, all the candles in the house snuffed, and a dark shadow lunged forward, snatching the head of one of the zombies.
The ghoul snapped back, lifting his hand ready to blast the house with a fireball. “A warlock. I should have known since you’re still a kid.” Warlocks and paladins are notorious for borrowing power from powerful beings. The only difference is that one of them must devote his life to the servitude of a god, and the other has to sign a contract that is never fair.
The ghoul could see it, prowling in the shadows on four legs. A white beast, with claws and fangs with black fur, munching on the zombie’s rotten skull. [Black Jaguar]
“The power to shift into animals, I expected more.” The ghoul laughed, conjuring the fireball above his palm.
Thud! The black jaguar faded into the shadows and the ghoul took a whiff of the air, “I can smell you,” 𝘦𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘦𝑙．𝑜𝑟𝘨
GWA! The zombies started growling one after the other, quickly falling silent with the sound of their skulls rupturing.
The ghoul growled the human’s blood muddled his sense of smell, and the jaguar’s black fur helped him meld into the darkness. It would be hard to locate him in such a room filled with objects to hide behind.
The ghoul smiled with his twisted teeth, opening his arms, “Lit!” with his words, a wave of magic spread across the house, lighting all the candles with an unholy flame.
“Show yourself, an animal won’t stand to the forces of death,” He growled.
The mother, lying on the ground could see him, hanging on the ceiling with its claws, there her son lay, a wild monster with the stare of a human.
The ghoul noticed her stare and looked up, but he was too late. He only saw the beast’s teeth as they clenched on his skull, ripping it apart like an apple.
Leon landed on the floor, his jaws dripping with blood as he stared around him at his terrified parents. “Much blood spilled, yet the beast within still yearns for blood.” Leon said in his Jaguar form, “To the forest, I go. I must find prey,” He lunged out of the window, leaving his parents baffled.
Almost at the same moment, the door burst open and five heavily armored men rushed in, “We sensed necrotic magic, what’s happening?” The paladin shouted, his eyes darting around the room, seeing Leon’s parents.
“We got survivors, heal them. Don’t you dare let them turn into undead, the gods will never forgive you!” He shouted, pulling his sword and rushing toward the ghoul’s corpse. “By the gods, a ghoul. A necromancer must be nearby. Search the whole region.” He yelled again and jumped out of the window to chase the source of the necrotic magic.
The other paladins started healing the parents before they could turn into zombies from their wounds, and the night of the blade ended.
***
On the other side of the city, Arad and the girls returned to their room in the royal capital and laid all that they bought there.
“What a big room,” Eris ran into the room, staring at the massive three beds lined for them.
Aella stared at the room and then went outside searching for Gin the maid.
“Gin! I finally found you,” Aella said with a smile, waving her hand.
Gin bowed to her, “Lady Aella, is there something I can help you with?”
“About that,” Aella scratched her chin, “I told you three bedrooms, not beds.”
“Is there a difference?” Gin smiled, staring at Aella with a confused face.
A vein bulged on Aella’s forehead, “Get us three separate bedrooms, now,”
Kin walked into the scene, staring at the two. “I told you to prepare three different rooms. The ones on the east are best.”
Gin sighed, “But that’s too much work,”
Kin glared at her, “Get there and get them ready in an hour, and I don’t want to hear complaints,”
Gin looked down, “As you order, Sister Kin.” She turned around and left with a sad face.
Kin approached Aella and bowed, “Sorry for sister’s behaviors. She can be a bit lazy.”
“I’m more surprised you two are working as maids,” Aella sighed.
Kin looked at her with a smile, “Sorry if this might sound bad, but you as an elf shouldn’t bother reasoning our actions. It’s the same as if someone asked why is Arad a mere adventurer but with a different reason.”
Aella stared at Kin, trying to determine her intentions.
^[I bet my wings are spies, or at least double agents for the metallic dragons. They work for the kings as maids, a political move, while also keeping an eye on the human royalty reporting everything to the steel queen of the metallic dragons.]^
Aella smiled, “I wonder who you work for?”
Kin stared at her with a passive look, “I assign some maids as support for you tonight, or even cast a spell to block anyone from looking or hearing what happens in your rooms. You need something like that tonight,”
Aella nodded, “Just the spell please,”
“Consider your rooms secure as long as you stay here,” Kin smiled, walking with Aella toward their room.