The trio went to the poorer part of the town. Houses were visibly more decrepit and built by cheap materials as they went on and the footpaths below their feet were ridden with cracks. They didn't wear a mask as they went out to the streets, being hooded gave enough anonymity since a lot of people still wandering about at dusk. Wesk led the way but he seemed to be unsure of the way himself in Viers’s eyes.
After some time, he stopped after meeting a man sleeping on a remote alley. Viers couldn't see anything else than a typical homeless person. Middle-aged, dirty, thin, and sleeping on the streets.
“This one would do and this place is deserted enough, put on your mask now. Abe, guard the area. Viers, just watch for now.”
Wesk approached the man after ordering his subordinates. Abe did as he was told without question while Viers was watching Wesk intently.
“...Who the hell are you guys? Fuck off.” The homeless man woke when Wesk approached him.
“We are the garbage recycle guys. Rejoice, your worthless life shall now serve a greater purpose.” Wesk said with a cold voice.
Perhaps feeling something amiss, the man started to stutter. “W-wait, I’m just-” The man was unable to finish his sentences. Wesk pierced the man’s chest with his hand, killing the guy instantly. When Wesk pulled out his arm, Viers saw that his right arm had turned into stone from the elbow to the tip of his fingers. The tips were sharp and pointy, covered with red blood.
Viers winced by the act of murder in front of him but didn’t voice any disapproval, the homeless man was nobody to him. He was prepared to witness more killing after the five kids sacrifice.
Wesk took out some kind of flask. The glass flask contained a purple solution and he poured it into the gaping hole of the homeless man’s chest. He made some distance with the corpse and stood near Viers’s side.
“What do you know about Ghouls?” He asked Viers while activating a magic item. The magic item was similar to what Farley had used on Viers’s room before, it blocked sounds coming out to a certain radius.
“Not much, if a body isn't properly blessed by the church before being buried, it might rise again as a monster that hungers for human flesh… so one must always contact the church for the funeral service. There were several Ghoul incidents even in the small town where I came from.”
“And the church gets paid in terms of donations, yes, that's the propaganda. Corpse turn into undead only happened on Mana rich regions, or when other external factors were involved, like necromancers.”
“Normal people only thought that Ghouls are just another kind of undead monster but it wasn’t so simple. You see, only the cults of the seven Greater Devils can create a Ghoul.”
While Wesk was explaining, the corpse started to writhe uncontrollably. It was as if the lifeless body was doing an ugly breakdance on the floor. Groans were coming out from its mouth, it was more like the sound of beasts rather than men.
“Ghouls are humans that were dead but came back to life while being dead, Ghouls have a beating heart and flowing blood, just like humans. If controlled, they could integrate into human societies, even back to their old lives. They had a stronger physique and could use abilities similar to Artes. However, it came with a drawback, they could only eat human flesh from then on. They had an uncontrollable hunger for it… if the ghoulification is successful.”
Well now, there are some differences but this world Ghouls are almost similar to their cousins in Tokyo.
“Oh? Interesting, so the cult had ways to control the Ghouls they created then?” Viers asked.
“Yes, they have their memories but their soul is no more. Basically Ghouls are moving flesh that moves on instinct. They are dead, through and through.”
Interesting, so the people in this world think someone who is biologically alive and have their memories, is dead. Soul… the concept is a bit vague on Earth, maybe in this world I could uncover more things about souls.
“But the cult can control Ghouls, they would make excellent sleeper agents. Ready to be mobilized if the need arises, how terrifying…” Viers said while watching the soon to be Ghoul.
“Not so terrifying, the solution for making Ghouls are hard to make and the full success is hard to come by, most of them only achieved partial success… and it looks like this useless man also only have partial success on his ghoulification.”
The homeless man’s appearances were changing. His body grew bigger to almost three meters in height, bursting out from his worn-out clothes as he increased in size. The skin changed into demonic red color, teeth become sharp like sharks, two scaly lizard-like tails came out from his tail bone. If there was an expression of a hungry demon, this former man was wearing it.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“What’s going on now?” Viers asked.
“Now we run, hurry!” Wesk bolted from the scene, Abe and Viers followed.
Wesk’s sound blocker was no longer in effect. Before long, Viers could hear a long roar of the Ghoul coming from behind him. Wesk and Abe jumped to a rooftop, as level 1 Path-seekers, they reached the roof easily with a single jump. Viers, however, was not yet capable of such a feat. Viers grumbled and climbed using the traditional way, assassin’s style.
The three of them watched as the Ghoul rampaged through the slums, eating other people. The screams of the victims reached Viers’s ears.
“Partial success in ghoulification turned them into that, a mindless beast that only cares about satisfying its craving for human flesh,” Wesk explained.
Viers heard a sound of a bell from the distance, an emergency signal.
“This is the Ghoul outbreak that you heard in the past, the partial success. The town’s guards are mostly regular humans and not Path-seekers, therefore they won’t be able to stop the Ghoul. The people from the church should be coming soon. Our job when a Ghoul outbreak occurred, is to fight the church’s forces, slow them down, to let the Ghoul rampage as long as possible.” Wesk explained while looking at Viers.
So in essence, I become a terrorist? Viers thought as he witnessed the destruction by the Ghoul’s violence. Wooden houses broken down, men and women were screaming and running, limbs and entrails of the unfortunate victims were scattered on the ground.
“What’s the purpose of all of this? It seems to be just a useless massacre in my opinion. What could we possibly gain?” Viers asked the dog masked Wesk.
“If the Ghoul is a full success, he would become a great pawn and none of this would’ve happened. But since it have come to this, we must make the most of it… Tragedies, Jor, tragedies. Chaos easily come with tragedies.” Viers could tell Wesk was smiling under that mask even though he couldn’t see it.
The bell’s sound informed all the residents of the emergency so most people returned to their home. In minutes, the streets of Luxore became devoid of people. Only three sounds hanged on the air, the bestial roar of the Ghoul, the deep metal sound of the bell, and the victims’ scream of agony. Viers felt as if the air became thick with tension and turmoil.
“Here they come… six people, huh? Looks like they also got some new recruits. We will each take one, let the Ghoul take care of the rest. Let’s go.” Wesk was going to jump down but Viers interrupted him.
“Wait, how strong are they? I can’t fight a level 1 yet.” Viers voiced his concern.
“Don’t worry, the Ghoul is the bigger threat than us, almost have the power of level 2, so the strong ones from their six would go to the Ghoul. We just need to injure and slow them down. Besides, only six people came and two of them are level 0 just like you. The other cult members must have succeeded in dividing their forces.”
So multiple strike teams other than us three are mobilized tonight? Reasonable, how could a town with a few thousand population only have six people came out to oppose the Ghoul.
From the distance, Viers saw flashes of lights on several places. Battles were breaking out on multiple parts of the town. Viers could now see the six that Wesk was talking about, they made a beeline to the Ghoul. None of them wore high-quality armor like Ciel’s but their gear was quite good, mostly white in color.
“Can I kill my opponent?” Viers said.
“If you can, feel free. As long as their level 2s don’t die, it won’t affect the power balance between us. The rank and file aren’t so important. Both the cult and the church use this kind of skirmish to train our new blood in the fires of combat. If they die, that means they aren’t good enough… prove yourself.” Wesk’s voice was as hard as iron.
A town-wide conflict for my first mission, I would’ve preferred killing slimes and get a few level-ups first but alas, I’ve no choice.
“…Got it, let’s welcome the guests from the church.” Viers nodded.
They waited for the six’s arrival by standing in front of their path. Viers would’ve ambushed them than standing around like a villain but Wesk was in command so he could only follow. Beneath the wailing night sky, the forces of the church met the masked cultist.
“Gravestone Wesk! You people from the cult of seven devils are a blight upon this world!” A man carrying a broadsword on his back spoke.
“Good evening, Angelo and his company. Fancy meeting you here. Why the rush?” Wesk replied.
“Enough! Tonight will be the day you finally die by my sword,” Angelo took the broadsword from his back. “Levi, the one with the snake mask is Poison Viper Abe, the one who melted the face of your older sister. Avenge your sister if you can but don’t be suicidal. Edward, Bach, Rose, you three go to the Ghoul. Slow the monster down, protect the civilians. Leon, take care of the new guy, you are both level 0 and I know your strength but don’t underestimate your enemy.”
The battle broke out immediately, Artes were invoked and the air was filled with the Mana pressure from the combatants. Among all of them, only Viers, Leon, and Rose were level 0, the rest were level 1. Viers ran, he moved away from the others. He didn’t want to die because of some stray Arte hit him, which would be a very lame way to die.
After moving a few streets over, Viers judged it was enough distance from the others so he stopped. His opponent followed him, Leon, was a handsome golden-haired lad, one or two years older than him. He wielded a sword with his two hands, he seemed angry.
“…Why? Why are you doing this? Do you understand how many lives were lost because of your actions? Those people were innocent!” Leon roared.
“To be honest, I don’t want to do this either. I just got rolled up in this good versus evil thing. I just want to get stronger step by step then go adventuring, see the beauty of the world. Life really won’t go the way you want it to be... haaahhh.” Viers unsheathed his sword while letting out a deep audible breath.
“Bullshit! There’s always a choice! You chose to be a person that spreads suffering to others! You-”
Viers dashed and swung his sword down, interrupting Leon’s pre-fight speech. Leon blocked it easily, then he heard Viers’s voice, “Are we going to fight or talk? Let’s rumble.”
Leon knocked Viers back, “I will defeat you and the Ghoul. So no one will suffer as I did... For justice!” Leon made an offensive stance.
Eeuugh, a hero with a tragic past… why must every hero have a tragic past? Viers rolled his eyes behind the mask before making his own stance.
“Come, justice boy. Defeat me first before talking about justice.”