The sun was already starting his climb when the storm passed the town.

Its sunlight shone upon the house situated in the middle of big open lot, inside it on top of the long table that was placed in the hall, laid down the group's loots from their last night's hunt.

”So how's the harvest?” Damian asked as he inspects the blade of a sword.

“Not good not bad, there was a few magic tools but they have less coins in them than I thought they have.” Lance said as he put down a short sword back at the pile.

Ezekiel with a sparkling smile while his eyes screams for adventure looked towards him and said, “They must've hideout somewhere near these place Captain!”

“We don't have time for that, selling these weapons will do.” Lance looked at the pile before turning his attention towards a man that was devotedly praying on the corner, “Heretic can you purify those that died near this house.”

Purifying was not something to cleanse them from their sins instead its the body or rather carcass as even though the dead could not move—maybe, they could affect others and humans learned it from many bitter parts of history.

“That's what I was about to do.”

Heretic stood up but just he was about to cast a spell the Witch whose face still covered by the darkness of her hood came down the stairs.

“Wait.”

Was it because she rarely spoke? Her voice broke a little and all the people downstairs glanced at her, blocked by the hood they sadly couldn't see her reddened face.

She continued her descent before opening her mouth, “Umm...corpse…ten.”

“What? Speak clearly.” Ezekiel said while he cusped his hand towards one of his ears.

“You want ten corpses?” Damian guessed which made the Witch hood bobbed up and down following the rhythm of her head.

Lance asked in confusion, “What for?”

“Weapon...experiment.” her soft voice that came from inside the darkness of her hood turned a little bit cold.

They didn't really get it but they still agreed and followed her towards the back.

She then passed the door and exited in the backyard where the corpses from the last night hid beneath the earth.

While everybody was looking at her with curiosity and anticipation, she spread open her thin arms which caused the sleeves of her robes to flap, then a dark ethereal fog spread out from those two hands slowly crawling down before it seeped into the wide open backyard's soil.

Alexis who just woked up opened the curtains on his room looking for the sun that will greet him a good morning brightly but just as he opened the window a trembling sound came, he looked over the window and saw the others gazes were pointed at the ground, then suddenly the shaking stopped it was then that pale white hands came out one after another looking like how a flower was as it sprouts from the seed.

He couldn't help but reeled back in surprise but his curiosity helped him not to fall and focus on the corpses that slowly climbed up their resting place.

If one did not look closely they would all agree that they are humans who just have a very pale skin and had a glassy eyes.

This barely-looking humans walked like a drunkard before they gathered in front of the Witch who had her hands already lowered, they then all kneeled solemnly in front of her like what the knights do when face by their king.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The creepy spectacle of turning a dead human to a dead human that walks made her audiences show different level of surprise and awe.

Ezekiel went close to her with a blooming smile and curious eyes.

“Awesome! Is that your blessing witch?”

“Ellena.” the witch said in a tiny voice.

“Huh?” Ezekiel cocked his head to the side.

“Her name is Ellena.” Damian said with certainty, it warranted another nod from the witch, Ellena.

“How did you know what she's saying?”

Are they cooperating or something? Is what written on Ezekiel's face as he eyed him with suspicion.

“Did you forget who am I? I have a lot of experience interacting with different people.” Damian shrugged.

“So what are you going to do with that? We don't have enough space to carry that many of your corpses.” Lance looked towards Ellena.

Instead of answering his question she waved her right hand and the black fog looking that it hid a lot of mysteries, appeared again it then proceeded to envelop the ten corpses before it slowly retracted back in her robes then it entered the small bag tied in her left waist.

The corpses that kneeling then all vanished like they where illusion, if not for the marks they left behind when they climbed back up Alexis would surely think that he was still in a dream.

Ellena then turned around towards Lance after receiving his nod she went back inside the house while the Heretic casted his purifying spell shortly after the fiasco.

The group did not stay to watch him as they go back the hall, when Alexis climbed down they already had started their breakfast.

After their meal everyone left to prepare themselves for their depart, meanwhile Alexis was looking at one corner of the room with pile of weapons gathered like a trash.

He picked a weapon out of it, it was a sword with chipped edges but still retained some of its sharpness on one side of the double-edge blade, curiously Alexis ran his finger across the steel.

“Do you want it?”

He almost let his gripped of its handle go from surprise, he turned back and saw Lance watching him.

“No I do—” He paused leaving his words incomplete before changing it, “…Yes.”

Lance nodded before pointing at where it came from, “There’s a sheath somewhere in those pile.”

Alexis eyes followed Lance's back who left after he said that, when he saw him vanished towards the backyard he looked down at his sword.

It was good that his face was covered in bandages so that no one could see how creepy he looks now.

“My first weapon…”

He raised it up high as the light reflected towards his eye.

...

Only after they organized things that needed to be sold and kept did the party left the incomplete mansion.

Unlike the time Alexis has been with them where the group mostly wore robes with hood and linen clothes that was what average townsmen wear, except for Kyrille who was in a hunter's outfit, now they looked like a ragtag mercenaries as they wore leather armor while carrying their weapons.

They didn't look like heroes that would save the empire from its throes but well they are really not.

As they neared the gates of the town, Alexis took a peek outside the wagon then he saw the townsmen with a wide smile and it was the same for their eyes.

‘The town was not creepy anymore.’

That's what he thought as they passed the gates leaving the unnamed town as they continued their journey towards the north.

Their horses galloped until not a trace of the town was left on the horizon.

Damian catch up Lance's horse before he asked something he was curious about, “What about the mayor?”

“I leaved it to Ezekiel.”

Hearing his name being called, Ezekiel sped up his horse catching up to the two.

“What is it Captain!?”

Damian glanced at him and asked the same question.

Ezekiel tilted his head for a while like he was trying to remember before smiling towards the two.

“Oh! After I finished rescuing the townsmen I heard them throw curses towards the mayor, so I offered them the chance to guide them towards his room and they all agreed, well a little to thankful even.” Ezekiel paused his recount as he scratched his head before once again smile, this time it was closer to a grin, “So I guided them to where his room and when I opened it, surprise! Surprise!”

The two watched Ezekiel crazily laugh until he finally stopped, he waved his hand towards them, “Sorry…pft…its too funny! You see that bastard was still enjoying his time while without knowing that his house was attacked! He was humping like beast with a girl! Hahaha.”

Ezekiel laughed again while shaking his head.

“So what happened?” Damian asked a little irritated from his pauses.

Ezekiel look towards him as he shook his head, “Sadly I closed the door for them so I didn't saw what happened but I am sure I heard a beast being butchered inside.”

“So he really was the traitor.”

Damian looked ahead, the seemingly never ending road stretched in front of him.

“I wonder how much laugh would I get after telling that prisoners of the empire saved one of its town from the bandits?”

Ezekiel looked towards Damian with a wide smile and joyful expression written on his face.

“I already laughed so count me as one!”