Madam Vanya had her hand full of vegetables. All to feed the white rabbit. Gently grazing its head as it munches on them. A bell ringing, a customer… not.

“Siola? You’re back.”

Though she notices her gloomy expression.

“What’s wrong? Hey, you okay?”

“Mm. I got my citizenship. I was thinking about leaving town, Madam Vanya. There is this place I’d like to visit called Hikanda Town.”

“Oh, then, what about Ms. Rabbit over here?”

“You can keep it.”

Shudder.

“Sorry, but I need to lie down.”

Nodding as she looks back to the white rabbit.

Siola returns to her room and rested.

‘I’m weak.’

The memory of her magic spells not doing anything against the doppelganger, the memory of her being stabbed to death by the dark creature in the cliff, her face disfigured after once punch.

*Sob*

“Rakuri…”

“Kurira…”

*Hic *Hic

She turns to the side, curling.

It doesn’t take long for the sun to set. For one Priest to walk under the moonlight, gazing upon her reflection in the water of the canal. She dives in.

No movement for whole minute.

She then swims across, towards the docks. Following the split current, lies a pathway, and there is a door, unlocked.

A torch lighting up her path.

“Welcome, child of man.”

Red hooded woman with horns.

“This way.”

She guided her towards the other red hoods. They’re praying upon a mark, larger but the very same symbol of which she found with the corpse on the wall.

On the platform lies the woman she met before, crossing her leg as a chubby man licks her foot with fear in his eyes. The man previously sent three of his subordinates to subjugate Siola, but she isn’t aware of it yet.

She stood, “You’re here. Good.”

“Brothers, sisters. Welcome our newest member, she is a proud noble who has earned her citizenship here in the city after acting as a guard. She has killed three of Boram’s men, four if we include Garan. God rests her bloody soul.”

“As part of our initiation, Siola Mithra will perform the Rite of Mad Dead.”

“Now. Little lady, step on to platform and remove your clothes.”

Siola, her eyes dilate. Lifelessly, she steps onto the platform.

“Now, remove your clothes.”

“…”

The redhooded people look at themselves unsure.

“I said, OFF WITH YOUR CLOTHES!”

Violent burst of wind gushes over the décor making mess of things, but Siola stood there. Still unmoving, until she looks up.

“Just kill them, me.”

“Huh? Bwahahahaha! What did you just say? Kill us? You, Siola Mithra?”

Lifelessly she mumbled, “Mage Shift.”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Her irises dilate completely, and the color of her eyes disappears completely.

“Hey, I’m talking to you!”

The lady looks at the crowd being rowdy, agitated.

She teleported right to Siola and choke her neck as she lifts her up, “You dare.”

“You think I’m messing around, huh?”

But then Siola looks up to her, and she sees the new color of Siola’s eye.

Siola grips the wrist of the hand that is choking her and suddenly, violent wind push her as Siola shoves her hand straight to the woman’s body.

*BOOM*

Crashing into wall.

“Gahk?!”

Struggling to stand as she looks at Siola, but notices that she has a decapitated arm with her. The woman looks at her own arm and it’s missing. Her eyes widened in shock.

“That’s the third one.”

Turning her attention back to Siola, she tosses the arm aside. The crowd witness it and they started to scatter. Some fell on their back.

“Heheh, how fun will it have with that thing.”

“M-Magic Arrow!”

Spectral bolt of light flying towards her only to passed through her. Like dust, yet it reformed to its original look. She looks at the man who cast the spell, and then sees the others preparing theirs.

“Magic Javelin!”

“Ignis Shard!”

“Fuming Bolt!”

“Dark Aura!”

“Ice Storm!”

“Wind Cutter!”

All kinds of spell were thrown at her, but none hits. Although her body transform like dust when it made contact, it does not follow the same rule as dust itself where it would be swept away. Her body returns to normal.

The woman teleported to her missing arm, but before she teleports again, she looks at Siola casting a sign that the woman is familiar with, “Law of the Mad Dead.”

“Plague.”

Her fingers coated with drenched blood as the skin peels, she raised it at the crowd and black substance disperse and solidified into black nails, piercing every single person’s head she sees. Soon, it turns into mist as every single person fell.

“Y-You, who are you?”

Siola notices a voice, and she turned to see the woman holding her decapitated arm.

“Hrmm…” glancing at the marking in the wall, “I see now.”

“You wanted this one join your little gathering, becoming your…” breathing in, “Hmm.”

She starts giggling to herself with the woman looking distraught.

“To worship such pathetic being. How amusing.”

Eyes peeled burning with rage, she drew her dagger and threw it at her. Though, it ends the same way as the projectiles that came before it.

“Tsk.”

She backs away and cast a sign herself, “Art of the Mad Dead, Cru—” her eyes widened when she notices that the people Siola whom she just killed went back up. But now, mindlessly walking in random directions.

“You… what did you do?”

“What, you didn’t know of this? Plague. One of the few bright ideas of your pathetic lord.”

“Just tell me what happened to them!”

“I turned them immortal.”

“Isn’t that why you all followed the Mad Dead? To defy death.”

She looks at them, but the crowd clearly has a hole in their head.

“Soon, they will seek the comfort of flesh.”

Siola teleported in front of her.

“With a little bite,” Siola aims her hand at the woman’s arm, reattaching it, “They too will join the parade.”

The unnerving smile of Siola, quickly, she decided to teleport. But she remains in place.

“Huh?”

A kick to the face.

*BOOM*

Crashing the wall behind.

A knee to the stomach.

“Bwofghk?!”

A punch to the chest, three times.

*BOOM *BOOM *BOOM

“Gahahk?!”

A kick to her side. Eyes popped as blood and saliva came out of her mouth. Siola stomps her again and again and again again again again.

Grabbing her by the hair, eyes rolling up full of pain.

“How sturdy. But that’s good, I can’t have you die yet.”

“Hoghhkoghf…”

Leaning to her ears, “I want to pummel every part of your muscle, I want to twist every limb you have, and I want to crush every single one of your bones.”

Trembling, shaking, the ground wet as yellow water mixed with blood dripping.

In the pitch dark, there lies Siola standing lifelessly.

“…”

“…”

And then light. Shining her in a cone. Black things, creatures, scatter when the light shows up and one small dark creature tries to enter the light. It’s the shape of that of a fish.

A koi fish.

It tries its best to stuck onto her toe. Soon, more coming until every single part of light disappears and only darkness remains.

{Deessspaaaaaiiiiiir}

Light shines once again. The koi fishes scattered further and further, more and more light brightened her surroundings.

The sound she heard opened her eyes, as she looks up. She sees the wonderful sky full of cosmic colors but enormously large silhouette of mountain forest blocked her view. But then, those trees silhouette started moving oddly, and at the top of the mountain, large and terrifying eye appear. It’s not a mountain, but a creature.

“What a beautiful vessel.”

From behind her. Turning around, she sees an everchanging head, sometime a woman, a man, a human, a beast, even trees and other indescribable things. Its body is like a flying dragon swimming in the water except without the majestic shape of that of a dragon. No, it is like an insect, a larva. It has two sticks of arm, sharps and has similar anatomy to that of a finger.

“Lost another, yet here comes another.”

“More beautiful, more ehehehehe… perfect.”

“But you are weak.”

The echoing sound of its ear-shattering voice, like a mix of many creatures talking at the same time right beside her ears.

“Heheheheh, so young… so… full of potential… My potential… Eheheheheh.”

“Go now… become stronger… I will wait.”

All turns to black.

! {Blessing Received}

* Abyssal Touch / Tier 5 / Cast to absorb HP, MP, SP of the target

* Black Nova / Tier 4 / Cast to release hex flame to the caster’s surrounding

Siola opens her eyes, only to see the doppelganger face. She quickly retracted but her back is blocked by a wall. Panting excessively, she looks around to see that it’s a familiar room. It’s hers. Back in the Poilteyre Goods. Vanya’s store.

Shifting back her attention, she sees the doppelganger is in her undies. But her body is torn and damaged in all sorts of ways.

“H… H… elp… m…”

Siola, frightened by her voices turned towards the door in a hurry.

“P… pw… ee…. ell… s…”

Her heart racing, her legs tremble, she grinds her teeth. Face, grimace as she cries once more. The broken woman on her bed, suddenly feel warmth as golden light shines her face.