The air was thick with the scent of blood. Victor covered his nose with a handkerchief as he followed Kira deeper into the tunnel. Their footsteps echoed, the sound bounced from the walls along the tunnel. Whoever was in there was probably aware of their arrival.

The tunnel took several sharp turns before suddenly opening into a large cavern.

Victor’s heart sank as he looked at the cavern – once sacred burial grounds that had been defiled. There were too many bodies to count.

Kira stepped into the cavern. Slightly dried blood crunched under her soft boots as she bent down and took a piece of cut rope from the ground. “I think there were survivors.” She then walked to the nearest dead body – a cloaked man, laying face down – and rolled it over.

She visibly recoiled as soon as she saw the gaping hole in the man’s chest. “One of her followers.” She stated after breathing out.

Victor reluctantly stepped inside the cavern as well. He hated the crunch of dried blood under his boots. The blood in the air made it difficult to breathe. He walked past Kira, towards a smaller body near the sarcophagus on the ground. After a moment’s hesitation, he crouched next to it and lifted the cloth covering its face.

It was the innocent face of a young girl, perhaps seventeen years of age. There was a small cut on her cheek, and a deep cut on her throat.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then once again forced himself to look at her. He knew that uniform she was wearing under her cloak. It belonged to the first years of the Military Academy of Magic.

“They were sacrificed.” Kira calmly said. She climbed the steps towards the sarcophagus at the centre of the chamber. “We must find the Apostle, and whatever she woke-“ She drew a sharp breath. “Victor,” She hissed, grasping the hilt of her blade.

He started on his feet and rushed towards her. His fingers tingled as his mana swirled around his right hand, ready to strike or defend. Leaping over the steps leading to the sarcophagus, he looked inside the stone casket.

A handful of ash was all that was left in there. “What-“ He looked at Kira, then followed her gaze with his.

A woman’s body lay at the foot of the sarcophagus. Her face was covered in black-grey scar tissue. There was a porcelain mask laying on the ground next to her, broken in half.

Victor clenched his fist. The Apostle was dead. Her followers were dead. His gaze turned back to the sarcophagus. What evil had they unleashed upon the world?

“Kira… Whose grave was this?”

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Sat up against the trunk of a tree, he forced himself to breathe slower. His heart continued to race for a while, his body begged for more air. Despite the burning sensation in his chest, he slowly breathed in and out, until his heart began to calm down.

Once his panic began to subside, Ash opened his eyes to the vibrant world.

He could smell wet dirt, and he could faintly hear the sound of water. The lake where they fought the gigantic creature was nearby. He looked at his hands, which he carefully kept away from his face. They were red with blood, just like his clothes and his boots.

There was so much blood. As the vivid sights of the burial grounds resurfaced in his mind, his stomach churned. Blood drained from his face as cold sweat ran down his neck. He heaved, then pushed himself up on his hands and knees before vomiting.

Still feeling somewhat nauseous, he pushed himself up on his feet and stumbled away from the tree he was sitting against. Water – that was what he needed. He dragged his feet towards the lake, ignoring the numerous spots hurting across his body.

The Shimmering Woods were as bright at night as they were during the day, which Ash was thankful for. He couldn’t even imagine what he would do had it been too dark to see.

A short while later, he arrived at the shore of the lake. The dead body of the gigantic snake-creature was gone, all that remained were the spots where the grass had been trampled and the earth crushed. Under the light of numerous plants and animals, Ash could see where dried blood was.

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He circled around those spots, not trusting his stomach at all. When he reached the edge of the water, he fell on his knees, and dipped his bloody hands into the ice cold lake. As he slowly began washing off the blood from his hands, his mind began to drift.

Once his hands were clean, he washed his face, then moved a little further away before drinking a handful of water. He then sat back and looked at his hands and arms. Now that the blood was gone, he could see the numerous cuts and bruises. They all hurt, and he didn’t remember how he even got any of these.

After a few moments, he shook his head. This was the least of his problems right now. His gaze turned southwest. He needed to hurry back to the camp. He needed to alert the guards there of what happened.

He just needed to rest for a few minutes…

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“In groups of three, start a thorough search of the woods.” Kira’s sharp voice reached his ears as he sat in the tent, looking over the map of the Shimmering Woods. He and Kira and arrived at the Academy’s camp just shortly before the Spire lit up once more.

“The students and the Academy instructors split into two groups.” The guard explained. “From what you told us, the group that you found was the one headed east, led by Sir Daghan. He was a mage of the fourth rank, Inquisitor sir.”

Victor scowled. Fourth rank – he wasn’t weak, clearly, but he wasn’t a match for the Apostle. If she attacked the group directly…

“Have your scouts spotted anyone else in the vicinity?” He knew it was a futile attempt, but it was still worth a try.

The guard shook his head. “No, sir.” He pointed at the map. “None of us have been trained in magic, so we were instructed not to enter the woods, no matter what.” He bit his lips and averted his gaze in shame.

Victor nodded. “Your presence would have made no difference, do not blame yourselves for this.” He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “The enemy was a cult that worship the Duskborn. They were all magic users and were led by a sixth rank mage who utilized soul magic.”

The guard drew a sharp breath.

“I want you to send a messenger to the Northern Gate, to Lord Galor. Have them deliver this to them.” He gave the guard a sealed letter. He would have sent one to the High Tower as well, but it was too far away, and with the Howling Valley on their path, it would be too risky and take too much time for reinforcements to arrive.

The guard took the letter, bowed, then hurried out the tent. Once he was gone, Victor leaned back and massaged his eyes. Once reinforcements from the Northern Gate arrived, they could go back to the burial grounds to recover the bodies of the students. After that, he needed to contact their families, to inform them of the passing of their children.

A lump settled in his throat as he clenched his fists. He couldn’t imagine how he would feel if it happened to him. If he lost Maya…

He shook his head. Because of him, dozens, if not more, parents had lost their children. Had he not been too late... Had he chosen differently…

A memory of a pair of blue eyes, and a small hand gripping his robes surfaced in his mind. He had been selfish – had he killed the Apostle at the Auction hall, all those students would have been alive now.

He was no better than her. Just like her, he had sacrificed the lives of many to save a single person. His nails dug into his skin as he clenched his fist.

“Victor.” Maya’s voice startled him. He lifted his gaze, waiting for her to continue. “You need to come,” She said, pointing outside, the scowled. “You look like shit. Pull yourself together, Inquisitor.”

A young girl, same age as Maya, was sitting on a bench. She had a blank look on her face as Kira cleaned her hands and face with a warm, wet towel.

“Are you hurt anywhere?” She gently asked as she gently pulled her hair back to look for wounds on her face or neck. The girl’s eyes were red, with black circles underneath. They were swollen, as if she had cried a lot. Her face was pale as a sheet of paper otherwise.

Kira gave her a cup of water, helping her drink it. She shot Victor a meaningful glance. They couldn’t expect any information from her. Not in her current state.

“Keep patrolling the perimeter.” Victor spoke in a low voice to the guards standing next to him. “If she survived, so must have others. Make sure to find them when they leave the woods.”

“As you wish, sir.”

As the guards left in a hurry, Victor glanced towards the forest. If only he could send these people into the forest, but their lack of magical ability made that a suicide mission. Magical creatures could sense a person’s power – they wouldn’t attack most students, even if they were wounded or exhausted. But a person with no mana whatsoever… even the smallest critters would be after them.

“Does anywhere hurt?” Kira tried again, with a gentle tone of voice. The girl didn’t respond for a while, then slowly shook her head.

“Can you tell me your name?” Kira asked with a hopeful voice but got no response.

Victor let out a sigh. This wasn’t going to get them anywhere. Even if they learned her name, she was in no state to give any reliable information. “Kira, we should search for other survivors.” He softly said.

Kira nodded. “You’re safe now. We’ll try and look for your friends and your instructor, so stay here and rest, ok?”

The girl flinched. “Instructor…” She whispered. “Instructor Daghan is gone.” Tears rolled down her eyes. “She killed him and let his body sink.” Her voice cracked. “She killed all of them. They’re all gone.” Her hands trembled as she clenched the towel Kira was using to clean her arms.

Victor scowled. The instructor’s body had sunk? There were several lakes in the Shimmering Woods, was she talking about one of them? As he noticed her breathe in to speak more, he focused his attention on her. Every word was valuable information.

“She pushed them, bled them, then killed them…” Her voice trembled. “I thought he lived but…” She snivelled, then tried to wipe her tears. “He wasn’t the same… He’s gone too. She killed Ash too.”