"- didn't notice it at all but what if they notice tomorrow ? We managed to repair that dumb soldier's mace thanks to your skills but we can't hide everything. They'll see that the whole town only has equipements from your workshop... and they'll ask questions. And that's without considering the other dragon woman. Have you seen her by the way ? You seem troubled master..."
Murgoth nodded somberly, still putting some weapons he'd crafted in his storage space.
"Yeah. I was moving some stuff in our caches and I think she used some kind of spell to locate me. Me, a level 100 player with stealth build. That's not... reasuring. We'll have to move quickly for some time. Or at least avoid confrontation."
"We also need some intel about their motives for being here. We saw something like twenty of them in the forest and I doubt they're just here for show. And even if they're drunk, twenty holy knights are still a threat. Maybe we should let some mid-quality gear in the shop to keep up appearances. We could get info out if them that way."
"Hm. Could be a good idea. You'll stay as the shopkeeper and I'll go talk to the governor. We need to arm everyone for the revolt."
"Master... now that I think about it... Could someone here have leaked about HalForge's plans ? It's pretty convenient for these knights to arrive just as we're preparing for our first attack. They could be delaying our attack by staying here."
"... Maybe. That's not too far-fetched. I'll talk to the governor about this too. A spy among us would be... bad. Like really bad. Just to make sure we'll have to conduct a search Sned a message to the governor."
...
"Governor of HalForge. Great to see you. I trust that you already knew about our arrival."
"Paladins. Your men caused quite a ruckus in my town. I would have guessed that soldiers of the holy would be untainted by liquor and bad breath. It seems that I was wrong. But enough with the chit-chat. Why are you disturbing our peaceful ways ? Are the Papal States trying to push their authority where it is not needed ?"
"Please governor. You surely must remember that the demon lord subjugation happened five decades ago. We have reasons to believe that demon followers are rising again. That is why my squad has been sent to scout for strong individuals in the Empire. Her holiness has no desire for lands, you know it."
"... Is that all ?"
"Oh no. HalForge is not a place where we ask for men to enroll. Instead, your town's expertise is metalworking. Am I right ? We hope you'd craft as much equipement you could. For a fair price, obviously."
"I will think about it... Meanwhile, you should visit some forges and manufacturers. They will surely help you more than I could ever do."
The group of four Paladins thanked the man and left the town hall. The governor couldn't really hear what they were talking, but still deciphered the word mines coming out of the mouth of one Paladin. This was not good at all for the town. If they were to inspect the mines... then they would find Sir Murgoth's imps and demon summons.
The rebellion would be delayed. For how much time ? The man didn't know. He grumbled.
For centuries, HalForge had been crushed by its isolation from the rest of the Empire and despite that, the city still had to pay taxes and shipping fees for the goods it imported. Countless times, the different ruler fo the city had attempted to lower taxes or find compromises with the passing generations of Southern Dukes. The results were still the same. Sometimes, the taxes even rose.
Despite its excellent craftsmanship and skills in the art of metals, despite importing some of the best equipements of the Empire, the town was barely able to sustain itself economically. Rumors said that the Emperor had found better lands with even better metals and better smiths... But there was no way, right ? This whole town had Dwarf blood flowing through in its veins...
The city was on its knees but a month ago... This strange demon, accompagnied with his elf companion appeared. Initally fearful of the man, the populace began to trust the duo as the two got rid of beasts, took quests and showed impressive knowledge and abilities. They helped, a lot. Some people were still wary of the demon man but kept a neutral stance towards the matter.
The only point where HalForge and the demon clashed was on the usage of slaves. He wanted to free them and to stop the town from exploiting them. The governer retorted that they were the only cheap workforce halForge could afford. Work, food and shelter were already enough of a compensation and that the slaves deserved to be here.
The two parties had clashed for almost two weeks before an agreement was made. The slaves that would take part into the upcoming rebellion would be rebranded as common criminals and until then, the town had to treat them a little better.
The deal was way too in favor of the demon's ideals but the head of the city could do nothing. Even if he was friendly, the demon was still very strong can could impose anything he wanted if the idea surged in his mind.
The Paladins... the townsfolks just had to show an impeccable behavior and everything would be fine. The Paladins would see nothing suspicous at all and the village would just have to give some random weapons.
Just a few more days... In just a few more days the town's warriors would be able to march towards the Duchy...
"Julie. Send a notice. I want everyone in the townhall's underground tonight. You lover warned be about potential traitors among us, we'll have to search for any sign of hostility there. He sadly won't be able to be here in person but we'll aslo have to store any high-quality equipment he made in a sotrage room. Can you gather it ?"
"Understood. I will." a maid in the office answered back. She exited the room via a hidden backdoor and the governor went back to gaze at the faraway Paladins.
He didn't notice the faint green glow in the maid's robes nor her smirking to herself.
...
"Lord Paladin. Lord Inquisitor. I believe this is enough intelligence for you to condemn these traitors and heretics."
"Just wait a little more, little Julie. While we could catch everyone involved in this upcoming uprising...we would not catch their backer and his companion. We have to find an opportunity to strike the demon all at the same time. Not necessarily at the same place, but at the same time... yes. Otherwise, he may be able to teleport to aid the villagers. Besides, I already messed up by trying to locate him. He won't show himself unless something threatens him or the woman directly."
"Very well. Should I relay more infromation in the meantime ?"
That time, another voice resonated in the CommuStone.
"Yes. Tru to find a good spot or a situation we could take advantage of. Do you still have the emergency scroll of teleportation we gave you ?"
"Yes !" the maid paused for an instant. "Lord Paladin. I believe we could use the demon's elf against him. Some of your men already encountered her. You could barge in again under the pretense that a weapon with demon energy has been found yesterday while rummaging through the worskshop's shelves. You would have a valid reason to intercept and arrest the woman as she is the supposed 'creator' of the gear sold there."
"Good plan. That would force the demon to come out of his hiding place... Captain. You're in charge of the arrest. I'll handle it after that. When he comes... burnt to ashes."
"Hm ! You did well, informant. As promised, the Papal States will offer you shelter and education. It will be up to you to decide if you want to enroll at Staillon Academy, become a Paladin, or even a nun or a priest."
"Yeah, thanks for the hard work."
And the CommuStone's light dimmed. The call had ended. Julie stayed silent for a few seconds and then fastened her pace. She had to set everything up nicely now.
She remembered.
A little crying girl among debris, with her family and long-forgotten villagers comforting her among the corpses of grotesque beasts.
A long, arduous march towards the unknow, enduring the cold, the sun, the elements, diseases...
A village, being build from nothing, filling the exiled's hearts with hope and pride.
She remembered.
The call to arms of a long-deseased father and the marching of soldiers, men, women and even teens, agains the creatures in a faraway land.
The loneliness of another departure.
The teachings of a kind man wearing shiny armor and a cross. His fall to the very same creatures of decades ago... In pain, yet still smiling.
She remembered.
Fire... Fire that descended from the skies this kind man always revered.
Fire, repelling the abominations, like a scorching rempart protecting the village.
Fire, scales and fury. A Red Savior.
She remembered.
Feelings of awe.
Feelings of safeness.
Feelings of gratefulness.
But other memories, far from pleasant surged too.
A man, foreign to these lands and customs... who desecrated the Red Savior's legacy. Bringing down the savior's statue with his unfair powers that came out of nowhere. Imposing his views even though he was an unwanted outsider.
Slowly, the girl grew and so did the town her fallen parents built. But this wasn't HalForge, the city of WyrmFlame, recognized by the ruler of would-be Akwa Empire, this was... HalForge, playground of the otherworldy hero.
The city was growing, but its fundations and souls were rotting. At some point, even the flames of the savior of old were not enough to purify the minds. She remembered that little by little, the people who shared her ideals were disappearing more and more.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
The girl remembered an old lion-man coming to HalForge. A Prideful. He defied the otherworlder for the control of this town. The little girl remembered her shock when she realized that most were hoping for the Prideful's death.
She remembered the Prideful, on one knee, trembling, sweating. bust still not wielding. Because he was... Prideful !
She remembered watching him from far away, hoping for his victory.
She remembered rushing to heal him when he got send flying near her.
The otherworlder's murderous gaze. His true visage under that cursed facade of benevolence and care.
The Prideful's last stand and his roar to the heavens, as he plunged his claws in the bastard.
The pain she felt as she was branded as a traitor with red hot iron...
Years of being mind-controlled to be a servant of the passing governors of this now disgusting, rotted city.
Years of despair.
Years where she wished she had died along with the Prideful.
She remembered.
A vow to honor the Red Savior and the Prideful.
A vow, not forgotten even after two centuries.
A vow to the Sins of Marka.
And then... a gentle flame that erased the mark of treason.
She remembered all, once again.
Memories Julie would not forget.
As she stepped into the darkness, Julie saw a light and hurried. On a altar of modest dimensions, the cranium of a lion-man whose mane never decayed.
On another altar, far larger, drapped in red fabric, a roaring flame in the form of the Savior of old, looking straight at her soul. The two relics had awakened days ago. The first one had sent a roar to the heavens only her could hear. A roar she heard long ago.
The second, previously a simple, formless ember, had flared up as a majestic Wyvern.
She bowed and turned around. Under the remaining brightness, she took out a small page of a religious tome and read.
"As life becomes sinful,
Wrath rages on.
Despairing for an end,
It wishes to burn Life and Existence,
For it merely wants to live in a sinless world."
"Life... must be purged. To wash away sins. Thank you, Immolators. Thank you for relaying my plead to the Pope..."
The red tunic atop of the altar did not respond. The Immolator had already carried out the mission of her life and returned to ashes. Her robes, that would normally have turned to ashes with her, stayed there to nest the little ember and to become a memento. Another relic.
"Alright..." Julie sighed. Now she had to act like the perfect maid. Just a little bit more and this town would be free again.
----------------------------------------
"In the name of Her Holiness ! You are under arrest, elf !"
Ruia cursed. She had just entered her shop after an errand and now here she was, surrounded by blades and arrows that emitted holy energy from this world. The holy knights of yesterday were nowhere to be seen, they had been replaced by stern, sober ones. Where was everyone ? Couldn't someone help her distract these guys ?
No, the streets were empty. Not a single soul. Why was that ?
... Master Murgoth talked about a secret reunion to weed out potential traitors. But fuck this !
Two Paladins roughly shoved her in the center of the formation and two other put heavy restrains on her. She tugged on the chains and her eyes widened when they didn't crack. How ?! She was a level eighty NPC !
"Ahahaha ! Are you relying on your so-called systems and levels, dog of reincarnator ?"
Ruia froze and stared a the leader of the troupe.
"H- what ?!" she shrieked, much to the Paladins' displeasure.
"Tsk tsk tsk... It's always like this with you guys. You arrive in Marka, acting all high and mighty with your 'stats' and 'skills'... But these numbers on a 'status screen'. Reality is often as hard as a mountain, as crushing as a hammer. Experience cannot be completely erased by false techniques, no matter how brutal and powerful they are.
You think of this world like it is a story, but it's none of that. Not at all. Everything you bring, everytime you cross worlds, every fiber of your being...brings more taint and sins."
"I'll take it from there. Time to catch those heretics now." an overly sweet but terrifyingly sharp voice sounded from the street.
Ruia's throat turned dry. Literally. The towering figure of the dragon woman was in front of her. Glowing red eyes, raging fiery hair and scorching heat around here. She was... Hell. The wood of the workshop cracked from the drying air and some weapons she took melted in her... limbs ?
"So... pathetic... Reincarnators. Transmigrators. The cause of all sins in this world. You, who hold unfair powers you never got by training, enduring hardships, or paying a price... You arrive and plunder resources, opportunities, talent, trust... All under the Divine's nose."
"I ! We're not li- hmmmmhf ?!" Ruia tried to protest before getting silenced by a piece of cloth and shoved to the ground. She tried to struggle but the sounds of bones breaking and roars stopped her.
The dangerous woman's body was twisting, forming unnatural angles as it stretched in lenght, height and width. The arms' bones extended, tearing through flesh, skin was being pulled apart to form wing membrane, leaving raw muscles and scales. Her legs thickened, just like her neck and there too, scales replaced skin.
The pair of horns twisted slighly before flames engulfed the appendages and a roar resonated.
The head suffered the greatest change. The jawbones and skull near the neck widened, the rest pushed forward as teeths bigger than any knife pierced through gum and cartilage.
The newly formed jaws closed on the elf's helpless body. She screamed in agony as teeth tore through metal and lodged themsleves in her flesh. Ruia was pretty sure at least one of her arms had been cut off, she couldn't feel magic flowing in it.
The monster took off under the deceiptive holy knights' watchful gazes and pressed on the elf with its tongue, earing more agonizing screams.
"Let's go guys. More heretics to arrest. And before I forget... Bomb fast-forward detonation. Activate."
The Paladin crushed a red stone and the group began to run.
A mace on a shelf beeped and the mana stone deep inside it began to concentrate the mana in the air.
Beep...
Beep...
Beep...
---
Not receiving updates from Ruia... She should be at the meeting. We said she'd give me reports about the situation but this...
Murgoth abruptly stood up. His detection skill sensed a... powerful presence approaching, fast. And with... Ruia ?! The demon rummaged through his inventory and took out his spear. The Sky Piercer. The fastest weapon of Tainted Soul, Shattered Blade. While it was not a powerful weapon back then, this spear was very useful now. In the game, fast but weak attacks were almost useless, but there, where monsters weren't very resistant, the weapon worked wonders. Murgoth could wipe out hordes of monsters in a few instants.
He waited, and waited and waited and launched the spear. It was so fast that the trees swayed back and forth from the air vaccum effect.
His sensitive ears caught a CLANK and when he turned around, he was met with a pair of gaping jaws that dragged him on the ground for a good hundred meters. The creaking of metal managed to snap the demon out if his dazed state an looked at the armor he was wearing. Joints were bending left and right. A part of his chestplate was already torn to shreds and he felt heat arriving from behind him.
He delivered a powerful kich in the flesh prison. A small gap formed between the rows of teeth and he slipped through. The jaws closed and Murgoth screamed. A foot...
"Fucking dra- A wyvern ? How dare a wyvern hurt me like that ? Hu- ?!"
The demon dodged a fireball and faceplanted in the dirt. Next, a wing struck his head, then his back. The jaws picked him up one more time but now, they weren't budging. No matter how he struggled, no matter the force he put in his fists, the jaws were closing.
"Aaaaaargh !"
Murgoth panicked. He could not use his skills for some reason. And where was Ruia ? What did this thing do to her ?
"Mas... ter."
He turned around to see the elf barely hanging on the creature's glotis. Judging from the smell of burnt flesh, the insides were absudrly hot. The two were in a state of shock. Never they'd have thought a creature this powerful would appear one day. They... weren't prepared at all. An air current ahipped their faces and the air in the wyvern's mouth began to fizzle. That was not good.
With their current strengh, they wouldn't be able to get out. Unless...
"Ruia ! I've got a teleportation item ! Cast a magic barrier to stall the fire, the strongest you have !"
As soon as she heard the order, the elf created a bubble around the pair. An instant later, the flames rushed out of the depth of the wyvenr's throat. Much to the otherworlders' horror, they phased right through the barrier and touched them lightly.
"Done !"
They disappeared in a vortex, leaving emptiness in the creature's mouth.
...
Raya didn't react. She was already nearing the limits of her sanity and the itch to burn down HalForge was getting stronger. She began to thrash the demon's stuff, eating and destroying everything she could find. His clothes, his money, his gear... everything that could burn, burnt.
Then, an explosion rang out and shook the trees near the village.
Raya's pupils thinned, only leaving an almost unnoticeable black line on her eyes and she rushed forward.
Roaring madly, gouging at the earth and scorching everything in her wake, she didn't even slow down as she approached the town's gate. She just smashed through the rempart, leaving charred wood beams and molten bricks hanging. Buildings collapsed one by one and were being engulfed in black and red flames seconds later, to the townsfolks' horror. Regularily, heat pulses came from the place where the destruction was happening. The pulses were getting stronger, louder and the delay between each one of them shortened.
It was as if...
"A... heartbeat ?" muttered the governor before hoping to get an answer from the palaldins, protected by their holy aura. Some were chanting while others were taking out teleportation scrolls from their pouches.
"Yes. The Fallen Patience has graced us with Her presence ! Her Heart of Wrath resonates with our will ! And like Her avatar two centuries ago, She will deliver this town from evil."
The old man turned around and furiously glared at his attendant, who was smiling behind the leader of these acursed paladins.
"You ready miss Julie ?"
"Yes !"
In a flash, the knights were gone. Surely far away in their nation's capital.
The frightened villagers began to hear stomps along with the strange heartbeat of moments before. They looked around. Everything was flaming ruins and crushed rocks. A mass of red stood out in the fire. It went closer and the villagers began to struggle even more in their restrains. Some peed on the spot, their urine vaporizing instantly from the impossible heat. So how... ?
How are you... alive ? Is that your question ?
It is because I allow you to stay in your tainted bodies, sinful and traitorous souls ! Hell will welcome you with open arms !
The hellish creature, the wyvern propelled itslef in the air and a cross-shaped light shone from its chest, just above the pleading HalForgians.
"Where did it... go wrong ?"
The governor recalled the memories of the past two days. Ah... They were dead from the start, weren't they ? They had no chance. But how did Julie... ?
They were holding the meeting... just half an hour ago. No-one was suspicious. And then Julie arrived with a big smile, with how many ? Fifteen ? Twenty ? A horde of Paladins who swarmed the defenseless townsfolks. They rushed in the masses and started to cut tendons, fingers and arms. Then they tied up everyone in the town's central place. And now...
The light expanded and blinded everyone.
SCREEEEEEEEEE-
On the eight day of this last week of the year, the world stopped.
The world stopped to hear the soul-piercing screech of an unknown entity.
The world stopped to stare at the sky turning red for an instant.
The world stopped to witnesss the vision of a ruined realm, set ablaze.
The world stopped to gaze at Their hand, descending from heavens, to touch this tainted realm.
Far away, seals cracked.
Far away, powers awoke from their slumber.
Far away, followers gathered.
Far away, some prayed.
Far away, someone smiled, for the city of- no... For the ruins of WyrmFlame were finally free.
----------------------------------------
"Destruction is flame,
For Destruction erases without care,
Not even for the self.
Flame consumes madly.
As it feeds on Existence, it destroys,
Even the craddle
That nested it."
Unknown wandering prophet