In a small town that had turned into an outpost, the walls were fortified with stone and wood. The town was inhabited by people and various creatures who trained and fought among themselves. In the largest house located in the center of the town lived a young man resembling a lion. He was the son...

He held a sword in his hands and admired it while contemplating something. In the corner by the table sat the Fallen Monk, quietly sipping tea and enjoying its aroma with closed eyes. Occasionally, he made faint sounds resembling meditation.

A young lad burst into the room, approaching the young Lion.

"Commander Allur, we've found the heretic's temple!" he exclaimed.

Allur, upon hearing his subordinate's words, couldn't remain calm. In recent days, he had been thinking only of Lia and how she had helped the boy. Reflecting on his father's decision, he learned that someone was killing his subordinates and devouring their souls. Only one question remained: why were the bodies of the slain not found? Most of the information they had obtained came from the Fallen Monk.

"Are you sure?" Allur asked.

"Yes, based on the information we've gathered, we found a temple that can move like a ghost. Two groups are currently observing it. We've also created some medicines and potions for healing wounds. Unfortunately, they are not as effective as we would like. Allow us to create more or develop more efficient ones, though they may spoil quickly," the youth declared.

"I advise against fighting immediately," spoke the Monk, who had been silent until now.

Allur turned to the Monk, looking at him questioningly, expecting an explanation. Why not go to the enemy and kill him? The old Monk shook his head and placed the teacup on the table. Then, approaching Allur, he spoke.

"Are you sure you can kill him? Are you sure you have enough strength to confront him? Are you ready to sacrifice your people for victory? I know you, and I know you are weak. Your strength is not enough to kill the enemy."

"But you can help, right? You can kill him and capture his soul. He has already killed and eaten so many of my people that their numbers have halved. From their original number."

"Sighing, it seems you don't want to listen to an old man. Fine, I'll help, but don't expect support if something goes wrong. Prepare the corpses, which will soon fall under the control of the Fallen, to attract his attention. Hopefully, he has ceased to be reasonable."

Hearing the Monk's words, Allur nodded and ordered preparations for the campaign. The soldiers quickly left, executing his orders with bright eyes, dreaming of the destruction of the soul of their hated enemy.

"Let's put the mysterious boy aside for a while. We must make this demon with a 'holy face' answer for everything."

"I hope it will be so... I would add 'Amitabha' at the end, but after the war, I renounced my teachings."

"Did you renounce because of the betrayal of your supreme teacher or to save all other monks from becoming slaves? Allur recalled the moment when one of the Gods associated with Buddhist teachings tried to subjugate all monks. But this monk stopped the God, who had become fallen.

"It doesn't matter why I became what I am. I made my choice and follow the path I chose. This path slowly darkens my soul," said the old monk, shaking his head, and headed towards the exit. Along the way, he picked up his staff, which he had recently crafted from the bone of a beast.

***

"Here it is," said the scout, pointing to the wooden temple in front of Allur and the Monk. The temple stood in an empty space where there was only black sand. Fortunately, not everything here was as smooth as in the clearing; there were hills behind which they could hide.

"Don't rush," warned the Monk, sensing Allur boiling with anger and ready to jump and run to the temple at any moment. The Monk understood that foolishness needed to be prevented.

"I know... Prepare for action. And do what we discussed on the way here," ordered Allur to everyone, using magic to avoid shouting and attracting attention.

Soldiers brought corpses to the Monk, and those on whom the monk had applied manipulation techniques took them back. A spell of magic was used to hide them, so that enemies would not notice.

When the bodies were placed in different locations, the Fallen Monk looked at Allur, awaiting confirmation. Allur caught his gaze and nodded, indicating that they could proceed.

The Monk slowly nodded in response, activating the applied spell. Immediately, all the bodies rose and headed toward the temple. An army of corpses of various creatures moved with wooden movements and surrounded the temple. With each movement, their actions became smoother.

Those who moved more smoothly stopped and began to survey the surroundings. For a few seconds, they looked at the other creatures heading to the temple, and then, losing interest, turned and walked away. Some of them headed toward the place where the soldiers were hiding.

"What a disaster! These poor souls took control of the bodies earlier than planned. And now, some of them can..."

"Send a few of your dolls straight into the temple," interrupted Allur, giving orders to the Monk.

The Monk silently nodded and, closing his eyes, lifted several bodies that moved slowly, as if animated by fallen souls, and threw them straight into the temple.

The bodies flew straight to the temple, then stopped and soared into the air. The large doors of the temple opened, and the bodies flew inside. The remaining corpses, which were already under the influence of the spell and moved like robots, rose into the air and followed them.

Only those who were still under the control of the Monk and those bodies that had moved away from the temple remained. They would soon meet with the hidden soldiers.

From the temple slowly emerged a creature that no one could recognize. This monster was a fusion of different body parts, forming 21 heads of men, women, and children. It moved on hands and paws, like a beast. From its body emanated a crack that grew larger. Then, something resembling a centipede emerged from the crack, where instead of legs, there were elongated hairs flying straight toward the creature moving on hands and paws. The threads pierced it and threw it into the temple.

Seeing this monster, Allur couldn't contain his anger. Several heads of this chimera belonged to his friends, and he felt rage. Another thing troubled him: this monster consisted of flesh, could move and think independently, and for this, souls were required.

Everyone understood that the soul of this monster consisted of parts of different beings, including a part of the souls of their friends.

"This is a disaster," the Monk whispered.

Allur looked at the Monk with incomprehension. He realized he was not alone in his anger, looking at his people. Several soldiers were slowly approaching the chimera.

He wanted to stop them, but how? Shouting was not an option, and mental messages through magic could attract the enemy's attention.

The chimera slowly halted its movement, and all 21 heads turned towards the attackers.

"What? How? Why wasn't he injured?" shouted one of the soldiers who dared to attack the monster.

"He has magic protection at the dragon level, as well as high regeneration. He repelled the blow and didn't let any harm befall the enemy," the Monk replied, watching as the soldiers tried to attack with swords but couldn't penetrate the monster's defense.

"Damn!" whispered Allur, unable to watch his friends die. He rushed at the chimera but was thrown back. The chimera pierced the abdomen of the one who attacked it with one of its hands and threw the body into the temple.

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Other soldiers, seeing the failure of their comrades, began to create protective domes of magic and black sand. But these domes were destroyed by one thread from the centipede. The thread pierced the domes and threw them into the temple.

"No!!!" Allur screamed, rushing at the chimera, but it proved too fast for him.

Allur, raising his swords, attacked the monster, causing it to fly several meters. However, it still managed to catch the remaining warriors and throw them into the temple. Allur angrily launched another attack when he heard a strange sound from the temple. Looking at the source, he saw a monster similar to the one he fought but created from the soldiers who had just been thrown.

This new monster emitted an ugly laugh, then lunged at Allur. Using his swords, Allur defended himself from the attack and the second attack from the second enemy. But he was pierced in the back.

Looking at the source, he saw a third monster emerging from the black sand. Raising his swords to cut the tongue that pierced his chest, he was thrown into the temple.

"What a curse," thought the Fallen Monk, watching what was happening. He wanted to help and save this fool, but for some reason, instinct told him to stay silent and hide. But as soon as Allur flew into the temple and the doors closed, the sense of mortal danger disappeared.

Rising, the Monk looked at the remaining warriors who stared with open mouths at their leader being easily captured.

"I warned you. Why do the youngsters have such hot blood? Get up and help save your leader," said the Monk.

Upon hearing the Monk's order, everyone rose and began to carry out his instructions.

***

Allur quickly got up from the floor and began to look around to understand where he was. The enormous empty room had massive gates. And on the opposite side of the gates, there was a structure with steps and a platform where a cushion was placed. And all of this had its roof. It was a small temple without walls.

While he was looking around and trying to figure out what to do, candles were lit at this altar. And on the cushion appeared a man dressed in a kimono, holding a fan in his hand and using it to hide his face, leaving only his eyes visible to Allur.

"I am honored by your visit!" the man spoke, assessing Allur with a look.

Allur, frozen, looked at the man, not knowing what to do. Is he still alive? No, is he still rational? The fear that slowly enveloped him quickly turned into anger as he recalled those monsters.

"What have you done to my friends?" Allur asked.

"Friends? Do you have friends? Who are they?" the man asked in surprise and looked skeptically at Allur.

"I'm talking about the people who just arrived here," Allur replied.

"Ahh! You mean those miserable beings. I would never have thought that the great son of Alexander would be friends with such nobodies. The one who trained for years, wishing to surpass his father. The one who hated his younger brother, considering him a disgrace, befriended with garbage," the man said.

"Answer!" Allur ordered in a commanding tone, not wanting to listen to the words of this scoundrel.

"You so desperately want to know? I did them a great favor. To become one with the son of God," the man replied. Allur couldn't see the eyes of this monster, but only from his eyes, he could understand that he was genuinely smiling.

"What have you done?" Allur asked.

"Mmm? Has this difficult time dulled your senses? Oh, don't worry; you will soon meet your friends again," the man said and stood up, closing his fan.

Allur finally managed to see the face of this man who called himself the Son of God. Allur, looking at his handsome face, noticed how the Son of God's mouth was stained with blood. And his lips, innocently smiling, became redder.

Allur watched as the Son of God approached and wanted to raise his sword to attack. But some unknown sense of threat restrained him. Instincts screamed at him to do something. Could this Son of God be the source? If not for the blood on his lips, he would have looked like a saint who wanted to help a poor soul become whole.

The Son of God raised the fan, abruptly opening it and attacking Allur. A trail of blood appeared behind the fan, quickly solidifying into a semicircular shape and flying behind the fan. Allur raised his swords to block the fan, but the semicircle still flew and was supposed to pierce him.

Jumping backward, Allur tried to dodge. However, the Son of God silently appeared behind Allur.

Hitting him with the fan, the Son of God threw Allur right onto the bloody semicircle. Allur summoned a massive wind that moved him sideways, avoiding the blow. Getting up, he looked at the Son of God, who remained motionless after the strike and just watched.

"Weak, I expected more from you, son of Alexander. But you don't interest me... I'm intrigued by this unusual boy everyone has been talking about lately, your 'friends'," the Son of God said.

"What have you done with their souls?" Allur tried to restrain his emotions of fear and anger. He realized that the bodies of his subordinates had turned into these chimeras, but the fate of their souls was unclear.

"Mmm! I ate them!" replied the Son of God with a pure and innocent smile. "I honored them by becoming part of me. I wonder if I use you as bait, will your father come along with that guy?"

"What?" Allur was momentarily surprised, then a smirk appeared on his face. "Unfortunately, my father won't come to rescue me. So your dreams won't come true."

"Are you sure? Leaving his blood? No matter how spoiled the fruit is. Parents will always protect their children," smiling, said the Son of God, slowly approaching Allur.

The sensation of invisible pressure and danger enveloped Allur again. As the Son of God approached him, the doors of the room swung open, and an old monk entered.

The Son of God narrowed his eyes and attacked the Old Monk, but the latter blocked the strike with his staff. Quickly approaching Allur, the monk said:

"He hasn't lost his mind."

"I know..." The Monk quickly touched Allur and began chanting a spell.

"Sorry, but teleportation using magic is impossible here! So, you will stay," said the Son of God, shaking his head, as he waved his hands.

The Monk began to slowly disappear along with Allur. The Son of God watched them, expecting the monk's plan to fail. But instead of them, two soldiers appeared.

Seeing the Son of God, they said nothing and rushed at him. However, before they could take three steps, they collided with an invisible barrier. They fell to the floor, and chimeras began to emerge from them. This creation began to separate the soldiers' bodies and tear their souls apart, causing screams of pain and agony that filled the temple.

The blood of the two unfortunate ones dripped onto the floor, coloring it red. But this color quickly disappeared as fast as it appeared.

The Son of God shook his head back and forth, moving around, looking at the spot where Allur and the Old Monk had just been.

"Technique that deceives reality and changes the location of two targets? I didn't know it works here!... Ah, missed!" the Son of God whispered regretfully, looking at the place where they were supposed to be. "I spent so much time deceiving the others that I lost my mind. But everything didn't go as I wanted... Maybe it's worth sitting down with them for tea?" he thought with a smile, contemplating meeting old acquaintances and the opportunity to repeat what he did with the boy, freeing him from this heavy fate... by consuming him.

Turning around, he looked at the small chimera created from the two brave soldiers. Approaching it, the Son of God tore off one limb and began to chew it while blood dripped onto the floor. The walls and the temple floor were gently moving, creating small waves.

At the same time, he tasted the souls of the poor soldiers. Gradually, he headed towards the small temple in the room, where he settled on a cushion and was absorbed.

"Escaped?" Allur, looking around, saw a pentagram on the sand surrounded by soldiers who were defending the circle from enemies. From the bodies on the sand, he understood that many had fallen, eager to devour flesh and soul.

"We must leave!" The Monk stood up and quickly gave the order. The soldiers began to gather their belongings and prepare to return to the base.

Allur sighed, rising and recalling the recent battle. It wasn't a battle; it was beating the weak. And he was a punching bag.

"Who would have thought that the Son of God was deceiving everyone all this time. But why?" the Old Monk began to speak, looking at Allur and expecting an answer from him. He thought that during this time, Allur could learn the truth.

"I don't know why he did it. But I know one thing: he targeted a boy named Vallynor."

"That's how it is. We must return and relocate our home."

Allur silently nodded, agreeing with the old man's words. At the same time, he had already noticed that, apart from those idiots who rushed at the chimera, there were no two soldiers. This made him ponder what happened. But what?

A futile expedition where he lost his people, whom he personally trained and taught, turning them into real soldiers and his friends.

***

"Enough for today," Alexander said, sticking his swords into the ground and looking at Nefan, who had fallen to the ground and was catching his breath with all his might.

"Has it been 9 hours already?" Vallynor asked, currently reconnecting his limbs to his body. Fortunately, he felt no pain and, using necrotic energy, reattached his limbs to his body.

Ashley had been watching the training with interest all this time. She had few memories of how a newcomer trained.

Meanwhile, Gavriil spent most of the time watching his daughter's face, which changed from joy to fear and so on. Was she in love with this nobody? What did she see in him?

"Father! The artifact is working perfectly. I didn't notice any deviations. And you?"

"I!... I didn't notice anything!" Gavriil didn't immediately understand what his daughter was asking, thinking about what he needed to do to avoid any conflicts. He couldn't bear it.

"Shall we go?" Ashley said cheerfully.

"Where?" Gavriil instinctively asked, not understanding where he was supposed to go.

"Of course, after Vallynor!"

"What?" Gavriil almost shouted, imagining how his daughter would marry Vallynor, have children, and leave him. "NOOO!" he screamed in hysterics.

"Why are you yelling? We just need to check the artifact for functionality. Or maybe you want to go to your old ladies?" Ashley wanted to hit her father to make him shut up because she might lose her hearing. But luckily, his eardrums survived this time because his scream wasn't prolonged.

Gavriil looked at his daughter, who asked him threateningly and somehow menacingly looked at his groin. Quickly hiding his assets, he remembered how he had been castrated several times, each time in a painful manner. In those moments, he regretted not having a body like Vallynor's.

"Come on, Vallynor is about to start his blacksmithing lesson," Ashley said.

"Yes..., yes," Gavriil replied.

***

"So... let me get this straight. You're here to observe the functionality of this thing, not because you're babysitters for this boy?" asked Horkim, looking at Gavriil and occasionally at Ashley. Every time he looked at Ashley, Horkim felt fear for his bravery.