Feeling the breeze of the wind on my skin felt invigorating and even if it hasn’t been two days since I last been in the sky, I started to miss the calm of the cloud. No sound other than the wind, nothing else to see other than the magnificent scenery travelling at high speed under me. The only thing disturbing my sense was the tight grip that Latie had on my waist. She really was scared to fall off.

On Lendwrek back’s, we had nothing to worry about. He was a pro of the sky, and it would take a Calamity monster to bring him down. And even if it ever happens, I already know who I’m betting on.

To get a better sense of where we were, Latie asked me to fly lower than I would have liked. Getting a closer view of the roads and forest, she recognized multiple villages, I could almost hear the panic in the villagers. She didn’t seem to mind all the potential commotion we were causing. Apparently, as long as it was an official job by the guild, it takes priority over simple problems.

Casting a shadow over the world, we continue further away from Dawnriver until the number of villages and fertile land let place to plains of wilderness and unknown danger. With my connection to the root in the ground still active, although weakened by the distance, I could sense multiple monsters hidden in the tall grass and leaves of the forest.

With no direct visual on them, I was forced to rely on their weight and the pressure of their legs to guess was they were. At first, I was surprised that jackalopes and creatures of similar size were the hardest ones to detect. With their few pounds barely triggering my detection ability, they disappeared off my radar half the time. Wolves and stone lizards were almost impossible to miss compared to lighter creatures who were weaker, but faster and stealthier.

It had been nearly 3 hours since we departed from the city and I could finally see our destination. On the other side of green forests brimming with life and vitality, was a land with some darker shade of green and purple. Said land had leafless three, populating it area with empty fields of dead grass, once full of life and animal to eat it.

Stopping at the border a few meters away from where the plagued lands begin, Landwrek landed. Sliding off his back, Tara, Hybry, me and Latie had to continue on foot from here on. As he didn’t have any plague resistance, he couldn’t continue with us without risking his life, so I told him to wait for us. He could wander nearby if he wanted or simply take a nap, it was up to him, as long as he was there when we finish what we were here for.

Taking a green potion out of her satchel, Latie choke it down in one swing and waited a few seconds for it to take effect. It didn’t seem to taste good as she put her tongue out and had to endure the disgusting smell coming out of her mouth. At least for me, it didn’t smell bad at all, just the normal spiciness of plague-related things.

Taking my first step into the plagued lands, I felt at home with how much plague mana there was around. Each breath was less and less spicy as my throat became used to how much poison it was exposed to. Compared to me, Latie was taken aback by how quickly I got used to it.

“So spicy! Cought cought, does it taste that sweet to you, you seem to be enjoying all that extremely toxic and dangerous air.”

“Just taking in the spice, having a plague affinity, will do that to you. I could stay here all day.”

“Well, once I’m back to the fresh and breathable air of Dawnriver, feel free to come back and enjoy the morbid scenery to your heart's content. It's not for me.”

“You know, when you say it like that, you make me look like some abnormal and strange girl. You can hurt people feeling with such words, you know.”

“You just became A rank at 16 with four familiars, and two of them make other A-rank adventurers look like kitty compare to you. Is it wrong to say that you are not an average girl?”

“Hey, I never denied anything, I rather be more than less. Anyway, I want to be back before night, so let's hurry.”

With all the dead land before us, we walk in the direction of a village that is in the centre of this part. Even if the village had been evacuated in time, she needed to see the state of the place and report her finding.

With no monster or animal around, everything was effectively deserted by all living things. The road being straightforward, it wasn’t long before we began seeing the outskirt of the village. What was once a field used for farming was now filled with nothing, not even dead grass. The first farmhouse we found showed signs of people having lived here once. The empty cabinet and room devoid of furniture would have made the house look brand new if it wasn’t for the decomposing wood that the walls were made of. Except for the heaviest couch and bed showing signs of advanced decomposition, the house was totally empty. There was a few decomposed pile of sludge lying around, where the rest of the furniture must have been. The poison was so potent and toxic that I was confident that this house would be erased from existence in a few more months.

Next was the barn and stable. When the village was evacuated, they must have taken the animals and horses with them, as they were no sign of decomposed carcass or even bones. They weren’t even insects infesting the place, they probably couldn’t endure the poison and melted in less than a day.

With the first farmland finished, we entered the core village next. The house was for the most part a bit smaller, but still ravaged by the plague, like all the others. Trails of carriage leaving with haste could be seen in the muddy ground, as well as horseshoes. Inspecting the homes, they were in the same state as the one we had seen before. Empty, ravaged by decomposition, and depressing to look at.

I never would have thought it was possible for a land to be this empty of life. Although I still had my connection with nature, there was little to no life found on the ground. Even Tenta seems troubled at the lack of nature around us. It didn’t have any plague affinity to protect itself, but I was able to absorb the little poison he was getting, as his size and constitution were hard to protect. Tara didn’t have any real plague affinity either, but as long as she had her thought skin, and she suffered no wound, she would be fine. If it came to it, I could always absorb a bit of the poison, buy her time, and send her back to Lendwrek.

It goes without saying that being a plague Calamity monster, Hybry was totally fine with the ambient poison. He did seem to be uncomfortable in the area, meaning I did a great job at getting him used to a modern and happy life with me and the others. For his sake at least, I wanted to get back to my hammock and cuddle him in my arm as soon as possible.

Continuing our exploration of these lands, we left the village and aim for the border between this country and its neighbour. I don’t know for own long we walked and honestly, I don’t care. The silence was starting to get to our nerves, as it felt like something was waiting for us. Still, there was nothing to be detected other than pure silence. The lack of sound was far more disturbing than the lack of life in my ears.

Finally, after a long and uncomfortable silence, I detected movement ahead of us. A creature was chasing another smaller creature, this was all I was able to detect with my limited rotting roots.

Signalling my find to Latie, she decided to at least get a view of the things. This was why she was sent here, after all. Focusing my attention on the two monsters, the hunter seems to have caught up with his prey and both of their movement stopped. Without any new information reaching my brain, there wasn’t anywhere else to go other than our new target, the last known location. Unless it could fly, there was a good chance it was feeding on its prey.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Moving as stealthy as we could, we moved into a forest of dead three. The sight hurt my heart a little, but we step in nevertheless. Hiding behind threes, it wasn’t long before we reach where I last felt the monster.

Covered by a thick trunk, we observed the first major discoveries of the mission. A human-like creature was eating the inert of what seemed like a deer with blue skin and two horns pointing backward. With a splatter of blood around it, the monster quickly ate the raw red meat without any second thought, going for another organ or bite when his hands became empty.

But there was one thing that perturbed my sanity more than anything else. Why the hell does that thing look like a human!? With its rotten skin and missing hair, the only thing that had a shred of decency was the battered clothes that cover most of his body. Even from behind my dead three, there is no way I can miss that this thing in front of me is or was once a human. At the very least, it hasn’t detected us, probably too busy savouring its first dinner in days.

“Unfortunate,” Latie said. “Deery are quite a rare sight, it pains me to see one like that.”

“What?”

“A Deery, close to a deer but with horns that have magical abilities making them quite hard to get, also make them expensive at the same time. With how rare Deery are, it would not be surprising if it is the first time you see one.”

“That's not what I meant. Why does that thing look human!”

“Don’t tell me you never heard of the plagued dead?” Shaking my head, I was craving an answer for what the hell happened to that man.

“When someone without a plagued affinity spends too much time in the plagued lands. He would probably die, but there is a small chance that he develops a disease, keeping him barely alive. Just enough to make him feel the pain that ravages his body, not enough to keep him sane as he succumbs to his most basic instinct. Search, kill, feed. Anything he finds is nothing else than food.”

“So that zombie?”

“What’s a zombie? Never heard of that monster before.”

“Something I never thought I see here. Can it spread its infection with bites?”

“I’m pretty sure it can, but as you need a plagued affinity to survive here, you’re already immune to it. And as there is no record of a plague dead leaving the plagued lands, the risk of an infestation is abysmal.” Taking note of the monster that was once human, we left the thing to himself.

Continuing toward the country border, I asked Latie why there was a plagued dead here, as I was told that everyone was evacuated in time before the land was plagued.

“There’s always a strangler that either doesn’t want to leave or just ignores the official statement of the guild. We don’t have the means to find and force them all to obey, so cases like this happen all the time. Honestly, why won’t they listen to the guild or even royalty for that matter, we try to help them!” She said, stomping the ground furiously.

More walking later, we reached a small stone tower no taller than a few meters. To my surprise, Latie told me that this tower marked the border between the two countries. As they were absolutely no change in the desert and dead lands around us, I didn’t believe her.

Sensing something tingling my plague affinity, I looked far away into the supposedly other country and spotted something on the far horizon. A wavering shape was sweeping the dead ground, moving wherever it wanted without a care in the world. With nothing else to block or oppose it, the snake-like monster was barely visible, but the fact that I was able to see it at such a distance was proof that its size was no joke.

When I learned what it was, I wanted to go back to my dragon as soon as possible. This monster was not the kind I wanted to mess with, no again!

“This is Viperearth the Calamity monster that plagued both this very land that were on and the country of Ostery. He possesses the ability to permanently plague a large area and change whatever is unlucky enough to be there. He is the only reason why plagued land exists. We better leave before it comes back into its new territory.”

Viperearth is not a name I want to hear ever again from now on. I already had my share of Calamity Monster, and I’m not planning to fight another one anytime soon or ever for that matter. I only hope that fate shares my opinion. The only thing soothing my soul at that moment was the little hydra in my arms.

Leaving the snake Calamity monster to the far horizon, far away from me, we had one last stop for the plagued lands’ inspection. Another village, this one closer to the border and the first place to have been hit by the Calamity.

Reaching the place, I wasn’t surprised to find it dead silent. Its state was much of the same as the last village, but there was something more to it. With my plague affinity, I sensed a very high plague mana concentration. Not as much as Viperearth, but greater than the rest of these dead lands. The problem was that I couldn’t find what was emitting such an ominous feeling in my spine.

As Latie didn’t have a real plague affinity, she couldn’t sense anything, but my worries were enough to put her on guard. Sticking to the main road for safety and space, we walked deeper into the village until reaching its centre. With a small pool of contaminated water leaking from the ground, the emptiness of the area continued to trigger my senses. We weren’t alone in this village, I knew it in the deepest part of my plague affinity. Whatever it was, I had a bad feeling about it.

Next to the poisoned water was a dog lying on the ground. Rib cage exposed to the air, tail half decomposed, dirty brown fur and exposed muscle meat didn’t make the dying dog look very healthy. The only sign that he was alive was the feeble excuse of it breathing. He was at death's door.

Approaching the poor thing, Tara kept close to me as a safeguard. There was little risk that the dog would or even could attack me, but she wasn’t going to take the chance. Hybry looked afraid of the dog, not because it could harm him, but because he didn’t want us to end like him.

Putting my hand on its back, I slowly petted him. With a single spasm of surprise, he awoke and try to see what was touching him. Incapable of even moving its head, I got in front of his head and soothed him. The contact with his inside didn’t make me stop as my hand slid on his dirty fur. His eye sockets were pitch black, hiding his eyes from the outside world, but even if I could not see his stare, I knew that he could see me.

“Shhh, everything is fine, you’re safe with me, you’re not alone anymore.” I said, calming him down with my softest voice.

A single extremely green tear fell from him. Opening his mouth a little, he tried to lick the water so close yet so far away from him, to no avail. Gorging my hand in the water, he excitedly licked all the water he could from the small amount I was able to get. A feeble spasming tail was all he could manage to thank me.

Next to me, Latie didn’t try to pet him, but I could see that she felt bad for the poor dog. What was once a proud hound was no more than a decomposing body struggling to live in vain.

“He must have been left behind without anyone noticing. The villagers must have left in a hurry since this place was so close to the plagued country. Still, how can his master leave him to die here? It a miracle he survived this long.”

“Don’t know, and as much as I want to find that bitch, it can wait. The least I can do is give this poor thing the calm it deserves.” Putting my hand on my sword grip, a small blue tear rolled down my cheeks when I unsheathed my blade.

Seeing the shining silver, jiggling was all he could do. Slowly opening his mouth, he didn’t even have the strength to yap. With the blade ready to deal the final blow, I waited, trying to gather the strength to end this poor thing suffering, but I wasn’t able to.

I know what it felt like to be helpless, to want to die, to finally end all the suffering I endured and just disappear from the face of the world without leaving any trace. But, more than anything else, I know what it feels like to want to live no matter what. I could see in him that he didn’t want to die, no matter the atrocity he would suffer, no matter what fate was ready to throw at him the next second he lives. He survived this far, weeks after the contamination of the land, living was all he knew, and dying was something he was scared of.

Alone, this place was probably all he knew, his whole world was this dead end that was now trying to kill him. When water, the liquid of life itself, is toxic, what chance did he have?

Just like me, he didn’t want to die, even if his body wanted him dead.