COI C152
According to the stories of the wild nature, told by goblin words. Follow the law of nature, and that’s the way of the living, while the dead differs but once live follow its nature. There are exceptions, a life that dies without even witnessing the breath of life or a being it never lives at all. All of them are sentenced to a place they thought peace. However, they were supposed to live, the law of nature cannot be easily getting rid the way of the dead. It questions the lives of those spirits’ beginning, the words of answers; The goblin says it simple, yet questionable ‘The circle of life’.
The goblins are guarding the edges near the ruins, across the Chojima Distriict and partially in Fuku City. They don’t know what’s going on in the ruins nor the remaining locations in Taiyou Industries. It was then they could see the feral spirits passing by. That’s when they have to react.
“Alright boyz, someone is going to the other side of the city to ride a train to Enders Bridge then spirits our way to Mountaiwall. The Horde Chief should expect the vile spirits seeking tributes”
The goblins are forming a line begin their quest to go to the train station. The surrounding city is no safe place to venture through. The forest is not guarded, only the west region protected by the moving train chugging through anything that blocks it. They were the crazy bunch. They are groups were not allowed to get in the districts. The city still has some uses for them. They don’t mind, but they mind about the boredom. They just sang as they are walking near the border and through the city.
“Hooray, Hooray, I don’t know why! we sing to our doom!”
“It’s alright, (this city will make something up) / (Like they are eating our shroom!)”
“Someone is eating the shroom, yeah!”
“And now we come for you with the spirits, Ah!”
“We don’t have the evidence! they will beat us anyway, Ah!”
“Now they put us display, with their weapons ready to beat AWAY!”
The patrol heard them singing different rhythm but harmonize with their singing voice and their hysterical lyrics. They don’t know what to response as the warning already set in their devices. ‘Watch over the goblins using their spirits. It will attract the hostiles outside of the barrier, so be sure not letting them use it until further notice. PS, the citizens don’t have strong spirits. Continue on the orders until you report something suspicious’ They look at the goblins singing their way close to the barrier.
“After hearing them singing, they suspect we are the one going to attack them”
The goblins turn their heads to see the patrol guards are eyeing on them. The tone changes into a deep voice as they brought out good music from the city. They synchronize together as one of them has a music player playing the jazz sound track. The goblin sings in a deep voice.
“We are just walking boyz, goblins got no spirits or had”
“We are just walking boyz, looking at us a threat, (paused)* feels really bad”
“Bu-Bu-Bu-Bu-Bu-Bum” The others sing like sidekicks
“Though I want to beat you a stick / Though he wants to beat you a stick”
“I think it will do the trick / He thinks it will do the trick (Laugh*)”
“The city is getting wilder. Police raised their weapons higher”
“They’re going to beat us up / But it’s all made up (The other goblin sings deeper)”
“(ALL) So I am a walking talking boyz, walking singing boyz”
Sidekicks “Bu-Bu-Bu-Bu-Bu-Bump Tss”
They look at the last guy that did the ‘bump-tss’. The singing goblin beats him an actual stick, and continues on the song. They are on their way carrying the beaten goblin.
“And they say I tell a lie / He tells a lie”
“Taken this rude guy / We abducted a guy”
“Say to the police a goodbye / Another crime goes by”
“Bu-Bu-Bu-Bum Did I lie?” / Gulp* Not even cry”
“I never lie . . .”
The police never heard or seen the goblins being literal and proven stupidity on their points. The pedestrian saw the incident and recorded what happened. The goblins continue singing as the jazz music is making a noise on the public. Both annoyed and intrigued by the people, and to the first time to hear a goblin sings to jazz. People kept asking the police and only told them that they are acting up again, but seriously in need to go somewhere. The way they performed in front of the police still persists on their attitude once again.
Emerald sees one of her co-workers busy watching some video. The same video shared about the goblins singing their way to the train station. They are in the most critical situation with the patients are in stasis with their curses. Trying to access the samples on their bodies, they found out something persistent even the use of actual medicines. Layers upon layers of cursed like it forms a shell on the curse mark. A shell that is thick as femur bone, so thin yet it grows and expand like a fungus. Getting rid of it truly is beyond from normal means.
The adventurers are ready themselves to find the cure for the victims. Along to search further to anyone out there who are still trapped, they heard message about them that they need blank scrolls to every saferooms they find, a lot of it. This is the only way they could stay away from the endless strong wind of the feral spirits. The Enders teach them about the Feral spirits and why the use of the ritual called ‘Pack Leader’.
“Natural order still exists after death. The spirits are normally beasts and others went feral without a master. This will be less of the burden, but the dead is endless. Have enough that you are protected through the ashes wind”
Tabitha and her companions are giving the rituals to Archivist and Illtended. Altair was skeptical to let them have it. But Syri explains it to him
“They are still animals, Altair. They are not too bright and follow on their instincts as their last familiar practice when it was alive. We will just use the front both taunting and taming”
Altair held his ritual item, meant to heal through shamanism. The goblin, Train, gives it to him in case he is facing the tribes. It says it can protect them against the hunt and banishing curses when it reaches to them. It can’t cleanse against what already been marked, but it will let the rituals go elsewhere.
The adventurers are forming their small groups and planned to scatter through the ruins to find the spirits that would settle the feral wraths. The main objective is to protect the dome and the secondary is to find the echoing duck to end the corruption. The Saint Heroes are taking the main objective, while the rest of the S ranks doing the second objective. While the rest of the adventurers choose their own path to follow up the second and all while survey around the new chaotic environment.
Tabitha’s team took the survey. The plan they wanted to do is to herding and taming the feral spirits they can find. Faye and Syri have knowledge to know about the spirits, with the adventurers and their compelling powers, they can able to go through the deeper parts of the ruined district. Faye said to them
“With this pack leader ritual, we should be careful not to alarm the desperate packs”
Tabitha asks “You mean among the feral spirits had their own groups too?”
“Yes, but they are all satisfied having only five or less. These feral are in the millions with only minimal actual pack leaders. In the animal kingdom, this kind of behavior is for the best survival instinct”
Illtended is setting up his equipment, filling every inventory he had with supplies of potions and kits for any situation. Altair ready with his own kits; repairs, medicines, magic scrolls, and other divine tools. Syri sees him preparing those sets like as if he was an Enders.
“Where do you learn about these kits?”
“I have my time with your Enders. Rusic, Haw, and even Emerald’s teachings from the rat”
“Huh, I guessed every one of them is a Raker Mawn Members”
“Rusic is not one of them. He is a dwarf”
“A dwarf who freely gone to this city? He must be a free agent”
The Enders who worn the rituals as his armor coming alive. His figure of a bird’s head and the body beast straight with his bird claws on his hands and claw feet. The armor on his torso down to his knees are furs, and his back has feathers with his wings separated and floating behind as it finished manifesting itself. The spirits flow around him in the form of birds. The sound of their screams is as strong as eagles or any predator birds they could recognize by it. His helmet, the bird head, pointed to the direction to the ash wind. He sets his wings up and swoop his way to the ruins.
His helmet pierces through the air as the wind breaks the smoke and clear off as it gives a clear sky for a moment. The feral spirits follow the strong wind and chase him as he disappears through the ash wind. Archivist takes the first step and called out to the others.
“It’s time, let’s go now before the feral returned massing itself again”
Enders are moving out, while the citizens follow after. Tabitha gives her luck to her team
“Good luck everybody”
Illtended claps his hand “Let’s bring it on!”
Altair picks up his kits “I hope you guys keep your spirits up!”
Faye leans to Syri “My translation has some term conflicts about ‘spirits’”
“Making excuses to avoid cheering? You don’t have to”
Silfa watches them while they take the second leave with the dome. Knowing well that their spirits possessed the pack leaders, they still need to decide who will be leading their spirits. Puma is obviously the best candidate. The dialogue in her UI says something impressive as it keeps saying ‘puma’ to the public.
“Raise your songs, boyz. Let our roars reached greater than the lousy pup, suckling, weakling shrieks. If anyone of you going to backstabbed make sure make it look like its victory than funny jokes. Laughs*”
Silfa stops for a moment to hear about betrayal among them, even the situation like this. Then something out there made her suspect about the dome’s guidance.
The ruins, shrouded and covered through the ashes of the monsters’ remains. Merged together with powerful magic attracted to certain spirits. So many remains that the spirit able to get their own body. Without the goblin nor the rituals maintained, they turned feral. It is a sign to most shamanism that the land is cursed. It can be easily cleansed with rituals they have, but what happened if the spirits are in the millions after they were told. Or was it because the demonic powers were there corrupting them all.
In the feral spirits’ animal kingdom, it is hoarding the ruins of Mihayara District. The city barrier didn’t see the ash wind and still it has the light bluish fog. The Taiyou Industries with their spirit pets near, the ash wind draws near against its competitors. The spirit pets watch it happening as they are being pull into their masters’ sides. The new moon keeps the feral spirits at bay, blinded yet the essences are near to all of them. There they could smell the spirits in Kes’thar forms, poorly made yet numerous.
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Within the ruins, it is turning, shifting, and everything what lies on its streets, floors, and what the ash touches. Lifeless place filled the area with monsters being appeared once again, removing the bomb effects are eventually moving as it already being consumed already by the feral spirits. They are possessing the demons’ creations as it moved pieces by pieces of its body, tearing everything on the body in a form of small or large critters. The rooted infested feral goblins turned into saplings with dried flesh with shamanistic auras.
The duck hides within the building and looking at by the window. The other spirits made out of toys from the city itself. Watching the scene where the feral spirit is manifesting with neutral mana by sheer ferocity. The duck turns around with the other stuff toys where none of them could done any better with limited rituals on their bodies.
“Duck” It speaks tiresome.
“Dinju!” Annoyed that they are already here since the beginning.
“Da mahn” It shows its hands the number of days since this problem went active. It was only two days ago.
The Kes’thar rituals on them wondering inside the building waiting for the troublemakers to come by. The duck sees the other junk assembled toys looking at them knowing too well the warning of their interference. The duck just looks at them as they were the ones the first that appeared making this ruined city into their dens. These Kes’thars react differently as what the tribes were back then. The duck expressed emptily by the weird summons of non-goblins, but Dinju is here to follow the battle. These junks were coming from after the siege, the secret of demons’ magic hidden through the realms. Realms reconnected again without a purpose.
They turn to another problem with the new form of Kes’thars happened below the tunnels. They don’t know how they got there and only know that they are bad spirits within them, so many unique spirits all come together show the signs of this place is dead. The junks told the duck.
“(Noise coming from its body clapping and tapping itself with its metal pieces)”
“Duck”
It responds to them with truth. They were amazed to hear that there are people are here in the new dead lands. They move to the window as the ash wind has no effects to blind their view.
Surveying down the wrong direction to find the living, the duck turns to see to the other side of the building. The junks can’t see life and only see the dead. While the duck can see the living, but it can’t see the souls. Souls are different kind of spirits. They are not belonged the spiritual order of the goblins. Like the Elves, dwarves, and even the humans with their over exaggeration in polytheism and atheism. Those kinds of spirits exist, it wonders why they cannot be interactable to the other side. But it sure does interact with the demons’ ‘afterlife’ though.
Dinju comes in, with its little teddy bear body come running at the rubber yellow duck. It said to him abruptly
“Dinju . . .”
Duck opens its mouth wide while holding its head. Dinju spoke so long as if it was alive. It’s long ‘Ju . . .’ takes a minute to finish without even a breath to stop. The duck reaches out to the other toys and said it what Dinju said
“Du . . . u . . . ck”
The same long minute, the goblin spirits heard it. It was no ordinary ‘duck’ echoes, it is something they are familiar with. The ritual item is here. No, a ceremonial item.
The moment they are starting to figure out how it was able to survive the war. Feral spirits appeared from the bottom floor, other version of Kes’thars going up to the building searching for the enemies that attacked them recently. The Kes’thars weren’t that high quality as they easily torn themselves apart by their silly traps. Marbles, jackstone pieces, and random miniscule blocks are place on the floor quickly destroying their feet. They fell for it easily, but its trembling body able to reattached itself once again with its rooted tendrils.
They heard them coming. The spirits are ready to face the feral once more including their pack leaders. Through the barricade door, the breached breakthrough the feral were calmed with the rituals left behind. They disperse once the ritual circle releases. One random Kes’thar was easily calmed down and disperses with the others. The Kes’thars aren’t too smart when facing weak rituals as they were not blessed to exist and violating among the living.
The Junks and the toys are grouping together near the window. Either they are brave they will jump off through the roof or they are wise they will fend off the remaining infested Kes’thars. It can’t manifest with impurities, but the strength of the demons’ Will is strong and empty. Banishing them all to what little defense they have here. As they heard they bringing the ritual sapling inside the city, they are hoping what to do with it. Both sides are ready to fight, rituals versus bad rituals had begun.
Tabitha uses her card to find the spirits they are looking for. Inside the ruins are in chaos as the domains are being formed and all around them are come to life. The spirits are possessing all objects around, everything with it to a small body frame. Faye watches her surroundings.
“Typical, the shamanism doesn’t merge with neutral mana effectively. The spirits with non-living magic don’t go well to each other. Be careful, if something this small keep running around like this. Then it must be the prey, where are the predators? Everyone, we should be cautious”
The feral move away as something big is coming. The body figure of a bull made of stone debris. It charged with quaking steps as they tried to move away. Archivist bends the ground with his foot stomping with quick movements, lifting them up in the air as the floor shakes. The bull is not alone, a couple more of them joined together and mistakenly hit it each other from the back. It breaks apart then materialize after the hit. Illtended said
“Ok, after seeing those little critters, where were those bulls coming from?”
“Ignore it, focus on the bull”
Illtended readies himself with his shield. He steps on the floor as it still shakes, he fell on the ground as the bull begin to charge him. Faye uses Tabitha’s unique cards and change the terrain into sands. The floor vibrated as the sand moves vigorously. Archivist bends the sand to pull Illtended up. The bull bashes the sand while charging at him. Its hooves are slowing against the soft ground. The other bull leaps forward using its horns to ram him down. Syri casts her wand to Illtended’s shield to push him to counteract the bull’s attack.
His shield holds on as the other two behind it are ramming together like a battering ram. It pushes him back to the sands as he is losing his footing again. the sands spread by the sheer force slamming him down to the ground. The bulls materialize together as one, the neutral mana within it is weakening its fusion. Illtended is down but able to picks himself up using his magic. Archivist bends the sand to tip the bull over, its fused body won’t able to react by its both mana didn’t work together. It tips over and he hits on its belly. He added mana on his fist, pierces through bursting out the neutral mana it has. The spirit is free from the corruption and breaks free to search for the new body.
Three body remains of the monsters leaving their cores as it disappeared. Archivist lays his hands on it as the cores almost escaped. Altair comes in and bring out a container to seal the cores. Once it was over, Altair uses his magic to pull Illtended to his side. A quick examination through his body where the blow hits him harder by three big and heavy bulls. He cleanses it removing the traces of the feral attacks. The corrupted rituals mix with demonic mana had been removed. They couldn’t tame them as the cores are more valuable than unknown beasts.
The first fight is over. Tabitha checks Faye’s deck as the unique deck changed something she didn’t recognize. The deck written at the back of the cards. She reads it
“Spiritual Kingdom?”
Faye didn’t expect Oue did make this kind of deck, making her wonder what her life is when she studies magic. Altair takes his time to take care of Illtended, Syri walks by to see the problem. The hybrid mix of 2 types of mana will make it harder for him to heal Illtended. Healing while in the middle of the ash storms, Altair is not going to ignore it. After some time, Altair was able to cure him.
Such a relief on his face, Illtended sweats a bit to see an A rank support having trouble.
“So, uh, Doc? What’s taking you so long?”
“Curse and demons’ magic coincide together. Breathe* It is kind of obvious for the demon to spread it like disease while the other marked you stay weak. You don’t know that you will feel worse from the curse, this one is different from the others, and at the same time the disease is removing your pack leader buff”
Keeping his face with no understanding what he meant. Altair shares his UI with him with the easy definition. Illtended says to him simply
“It’s like removing my strongest buffs, right?”
Altair answers “Yeah, sort off. There is more, but we’re not going to discuss it here. Let’s move on before more of them shows up”
“But what if it was the shaman who controls it?”
Altair wasn’t impressed with his idea, as a support, he doesn’t want to have something harder for him to heal.
The healer among the group as he checks up on the others. Archivist was also had the same effects when hits the bull. The burst explodes its body releasing what the remains of the monsters. Doing some autopsy on the monster, he finds traces of the demon core affecting the rituals. Not quite strong, but still persists on him, some confirmations that it will harm them greatly if it spreads. Tabitha becomes worried to see Altair is busy looking at her partner. A slid from her deck to find a card she needed. She places on her partner and the detail shows something odd.
A minor presence of the hybrid curse, but not so strong affecting his body. However, the details about are very sever for her to read it. She says to Altair
“Will he be fine after this?”
“I have a special trait used to detect all dangerous ailments. I just need to understand first the difference between shamanism ailments and mana ailments. The check up shows minor effect but no signs of it with my magic. Archivist, tell me when you are having trouble. I can’t understand my magic how this sickness works”
After they recuperate, something from the far distance happened. The sounds are coming from above, where Tabitha’s card detect the location of the echoing duck. The UI shows to her that it is surrounded with its own group against the feral spirits.
“Guys, I think we found it, but it is in a lot trouble out there”
Faye uses the card to scout around them, then plays another card to track any enemies around.
“Strange, it starts to go a different direction here . . .”
She uses another card again to clear and see the other direction it is going.
“. . . I don’t think they too want to reach the duck. So, this where we can finally see that echoing duck”
The feral spirits and the goblin spirits didn’t have much effort to fight each other once the dome is coming into the ruins. The soothing and calming dome is quelling the spirits in ease. The living didn’t hear its whispers among the spirits. They could not resist the sounds as they tried not to get close. Tabitha and her team see the adventurers are heading this way collecting as many feral spirits as they can. They eventually being attacked large creatures now, but easily slain from their weaken carcasses.
Tabitha sees Faye is tripping herself. She comes in and catches her as she is about to fall.
“Are you ok?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. They are already here”
Illtended uses his pack leaders’ abilities. The feral spirits he tamed finally behaves he wanted to, but the direction it fights going wild all around. Illtended chooses its form like a dog. A big fluff kind of dog as it tries to fight by curling like a ball ramming anyone in its path. It accidentally hits Faye as with its first attack.
“Sorry about that”
Faye sighs “We should camp inside the buildings. I’m sure all of us is getting tired from this mess”
Altair checks on the condition with Illtended and Archivist. Their bodies still don’t have the signs the sickness he was expecting. Through the wide UI chat among the healers, others are showing the same symptoms and there are few people are down drenching in with the curse. Those people are high ranks, they need to find a easier way to cure it. The methods they have before is slow because how the curse keep reattracting the ailments regularly every time it being marked again.
They decided to camp among the ruin buildings as they see the inside is clean and essences remained with the feral spirits. It gets rid any debris leaving the building standing on its own. Syri is suspicious about it
“Something this clean made you look for what the goblins are up to”
Archivist agrees “Knowing about goblins always loot everything just to make something out of it are always a given”
Altair has the same idea. “I heard some of them who scavenge but not this clean”
They don’t give a chance for any of the enemies to come after them on the ground floor. Going through the floors for any secured areas they could find. Illtended starts to slow down as the curse kicks in.
“Altair, I think I got your symptoms right here”
Archivist joins in as set himself resting along the wall.
“Cough* It gets to me too. Care to examine us?”
Altair begins working as his examination is proven true, still minor. The two already feeling it, and kept saying to him that they got it.
The spirits they tamed moving around them, all playfully. The curse still persisted after trying the spirits to use their abilities on them, it did work but not strong enough. Tabitha watches them getting healed up while the two Enders are securing the areas. Faye’s cards are more than she had ever hope for in her deck. She can feel the cards of her deck to pick the right one to make their camp secured. The cards she uses are to make environment that the feral spirits won’t find them. Meanwhile she was busy to read the rest of the cards, she finds card that is not useful for both active and passive abilities. She spokes out
“Lore card?”
She shows it to them “Say, I have a card that can identify”
Altair’s response “An identify item, I have been using mine to find the disease but it explained about shamanism curses and the neutral mana combined. Please, use it, anything would be better that I can helped these two”
Altair checks them up again. The buffs and the boosts happened to them as they are being role as tank or frontlines. Thanks to their magic to gain shields and protection, all of the attacks are taken on them. The feral spirit did a number on them without him knowing.
Now the battle log is showing that the attacks from any Kes’thars or the feral spirits. They are slowing its way to wound them. The chat also concludes that they are getting hurt as they are being degraded by the spirits. It is clear that the two mana types are kept battling each other out. If the mana is gone, the curse slowly comes in. If the ritual is gone, the demonic magic will follow up. It is an endless cycle. Nothing could resist it because of its alternating sequence. This is a strange phenomenon.
Faye finally plays the card to identify the sickness. Altair sees the card washing them down and the leaks show the UI to identify it. A warning sign pops out as it requires less RAP to put on the UI. It is surprising to see something for the UI requires him to have more magic control than the UI needed. It will cause him to lose contact with everyone around him. He only needs for himself the convenience to maintain his fatigue. With this, he sure going to take care of them.
Faye saw him shaking as she and Syri reach out and grabbed him. His body is tired and the affects of the feral spirits were on him without him knowing. His UI is now being filled the details with the card’s lore. Syri and Faye sees the information as they read through the card.
“Again, it is the same slow procedure. I thought there should be a stronger one”
“Syri, there is, but we don’t have that kind of materials to make it”
“It doesn’t matter, Faye. The cure was already there. We just need to take a rest and clean off the curse as before. It is minor, it won’t stay for long”
Altair changes his RAP again and obtain back to his normal self. The card’s lore provided a disappointing solution for just a few moments. He admits that what he is doing is rushing to find to cure it. His magic is not enough to cure it, and made him being cautious when the time it gets worse on his team. He sends out the message as the people who are affecting by the minor curse are forced to move back. The adventurers weren’t able to get this through and keep their conditions in check.
This place is getting worse than they have thought. The curse is one of many from the people who are infected by it before. It is clear that it will spread. Thankfully it is just minor effects, but what they fear more as the monsters start to grow in numbers. As the smoke smeared images of them are still raging in the air. They feel on the ground as the monsters carves with broken written rituals around it. They can hear the chants as more Kes’thars are being summoned.