Chapter 24 – Alpha Monsters

Bel felt a wave of relief when he saw Korgan making his way up the street with the other survivors. He had not known the dwarf long but he felt like a good man. Also, Bel had precious few people willing to trust him as it was.

He turned from the sight and yanked his sword out of the dead creature made out of wood. His Identify told him it was a tin-ranked monster called a Lesser Leshen. The thing was vile. At first, it looked like a humanoid creature made out of wood but as you cut it to pieces its blood turned out to be some sort of black tar smelling of sulfur. It was also incredibly sticky as his sword had noticed, he tried cleaning it off with a rag but it only spread the substance across the blade even more.

In the back of his mind, he felt the presence of his summons around the town. Many had died but there were still several alive, fighting and killing the monsters spread around the town. He could feel the time bomb that was his Imbue skill and they would soon run out. He had already suffered several minor backlashes as his zombies died, he wasn’t looking forward to when the rest self-destructed from the strain of the skill.

He also sensed Solomon and Ignatius approaching with impressive speed. He still wasn’t good enough to exactly pinpoint their location but they were closing, he could sense as much. They were still some distance away though.

Bel looked up from the corpse before him and examined the alley he stood in. He was alone for the moment, the others fighting close by. They had it under control though so he took a moment to examine the dead here.

There were townspeople in the alley, all dead. They had been cut down as they ran for their lives. Most were wearing nothing else but their sleepwear the others looked to be tradesmen and workers. All had wounds from Wendigo claws and some had puncture wounds from the Leshen. The Leshen killed by sending out part of their bodies as spears. Their strength was immense and the wood easily punctured metal.

The other corpses belonged to the Wendigos and Leshen Bel had killed. He quickly examined the monsters; he didn’t know what he was looking for but he could feel something pulling at his mind again. The answer to everything that was going on was right in front of him. The dead didn’t give up their secrets that easily and he was too inexperienced to see anything out of the ordinary. Not that anything happening here was ordinary to him, not yet at least. That sad thought brought his eyes back to the dead elven child at his feet.

Anger swelled inside him again and he could feel his eyes burn brighter as he sent more mana into his Deathless Gaze. His mana was still low but with each breath and cycling of Battle Meditation, it ticked up. He could draw much more mana again and it didn’t feel like he was gasping for it anymore. Bel knew why and that thought only added oil to the fire in his chest. There was a lot of death in Linchester, it was enough to tip the balance of mana toward Death already.

He hated it, but he would use it.

Several breaths later he looked away from the child's eyes, locked in a fearful expression forever.

“Get me something else to kill. The largest concentration of monsters you can find.” He turned his gaze to the wraith hovering next to him. The silent creature didn’t respond, of course, it only flew through the closest wall, obeying its master's command.

Bel stomped his foot again and a wave of mana drained from his core, almost everything he gathered. The dead shuffled to their feet, their mindless gaze looking at Bel. Perhaps he was imagining it but he thought he could see something in their bearing and eyes, a need for revenge.

He turned around and marched toward the center of the town, a vengeful horde at his back. In the alley, only the dead creatures remained, and the corpse of a single child.

---

“Watch out!” Bull ducked when he heard Sarah’s shout. The claws of the Wendigo passed harmlessly above his head. With a twist, he brought his kite shield around and punched the creature in the throat. It tried to scream but all that came out of its mangled throat was a wet gurgling as it collapsed.

He nodded toward the lithe woman before getting back to protecting the civilians.

Sarah was standing on a makeshift barrier with her halberd ready. She was the only one in the group to still use the weapon they had been initiated in during their training. The inquisitors fought as a group, halberds and spears were their bread and butter. After losing their divine Classes both she and John became regular Knights so their training could still be applied and their new skills worked well with the weapon. John was still conflicted about everything that had happened to him. To still have faith after all that had happened to him. Sarah felt a deep respect for the man. But she could never follow in his footsteps.

A thrust and a dead monster slid back the barricade landing at the feet of Bull and John. Both men were outside the alley fending off a group of Wendigos and Leshen. Several other types of monsters had been reported by survivors but not yet encountered by Bel’s group. Sarah was dreading the fact that this looked like it might be a prelude to a monster horde. A horde no one had seen coming or at least none had warned the authorities of Linchester.

Sarah gripped the halberd with two hands and slammed the butt end down on the barricade releasing her Warcry skill. Mana streamed from her and the fighter's fatigue vanished and they renewed their fighting.

The woman looked over her shoulder at the gathered civilians. They were all huddled behind the planks and crates of the makeshift barricade, terror written on their faces.

Sarah wanted nothing else but to run back to the church and hide. She was no warrior, she was a dungeon checker for Dawn's sake. Everything changed when that damn insufferable good man came along. She knew in her heart he had saved her and something within her stirred, a bloodlust she had never felt before. She could feel something in the air as well, mana she’d never felt before. It felt good.

With a cry louder than the skill she just unleashed she threw herself from the crate she was standing on and brought the Halberd down on a Wendigo's head. It split like a watermelon, brain, and blood splattering everywhere.

She looked at her two team members with a savage grin. Bull responded with a grin almost as savage but John looked more shaken than anything else.

“Let's kill these things and get the Normies back to the church. We’ve got leveling to do.” Sarah screamed over the sound of the approaching monsters. The others nodded and charged the enemy.

Sarah looked at her notifications for a split second, before following them.

Affinity Re-awakened

Death 55%

You have leveled up x4

Your Class has evolved – You are now a Death Knight

She bared her teeth before throwing herself into the fray.

---

Bel felt free. Freer than he had in a long time. Fighting was all that mattered at the moment. He knew in the back of his mind that those feelings, that battle lust was due to the monsters he had drained of Life in the dungeon. But right now he didn’t care because the feeling aligned with what he felt was right. These creatures had killed and ravaged this small town, flashes of corpses inside houses flickered before his mind and he recoiled from the images.

He ducked a wooden spear of a Leshen and brought his blade up splitting the creature in two. He quickly sidestepped so he didn’t get any of its blood on him again.

The narrow road between houses was clear and took a moment to catch his breath and draw in more mana with his Battle Meditation. He had been using it constantly since the battle began and he had been rewarded several times over.

Death Strike has leveled up x2

Deathless Gaze has leveled up x7

Bone Storm has leveled up x1

Summon Undead has leveled up x2

Necrotic Bolt has leveled up x3

Imbue Undead has leveled up x1

Mana Mastery has leveled up x2

Identify has leveled up x4

Battle Meditation has leveled up – Bronze Rank

You have leveled up x3

A wave of energy swept through him and his fatigue diminished as his attributes rose and his skills settled in. As the euphoria of his leveling subsided a wave of nausea and pain assaulted his head as the remaining imbued zombies exploded. They took something with them at least as he felt small amounts of what he would describe as experience points, trickled in. It felt different when his minions killed something, especially at this distance, otherwise, he might not have noticed it.

As he wobbled he steadied himself on the broken ruins of a house, once belonging to a family of five. He could still see the corpses underneath the rubble.

A cold sweat broke out on his back as a thought came to him. His zombies and their task were to protect the unascended of the town and to kill as many monsters as they could. They all died in a shower of explosive mana just now and he quickly opened his notifications, scanning through them.

You have killed a Wendigo x43

You have killed a Lesser Leshen x78

You have killed an Ulv x56

You have killed a Gnoll x12

You have killed a Trader x1

You have killed a Non-Combatant x2

The notifications ended and Bel kept staring at the last two lines. Cold dread spread from his stomach and he threw up against the ruins. His legs failed him and he hit the ground hard. Everything was spinning and he couldn’t concentrate. He had made a mistake, his actions had killed three people. Three people without powers, no way to protect themselves or fight back. Three people were dead because he didn’t use these damn powers responsibly. He had sent those ticking timebombs out to save people and he had gotten three of them killed because of it. His remaining minions stood around him, watching him silently, judging him with their glowing green eyes. Bel felt revulsion with himself and he cut the skill off. The zombies dropped like they had their strings cut, which they in a way had.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“No. No. I didn’t mean to. I'm sorry.” Bel was muttering to himself, he didn’t care if anyone heard. He didn’t care if a horde of monsters descended on him now. The pain was so strong, the guilt was eating at him. He had killed and fought since he got here but he had never killed innocents before. His will had made him push through obstacle after obstacle and he had endured pain on so many levels. The dead children almost broke him but this was too much.

He lay there crying for what felt like hours but was probably only minutes when two pairs of boots approached him.

“My god, what happened here.” Liara's voice was coming from far away.

“I don’t know. He’s still alive though. He must have canceled the skill or something, they are all regular corpses again.” Francis answered in a concerned voice.

"He gave us a real fright when all his minions just dropped or turned to dust." He continued.

“Bel, can you hear me?” Liara kneeled next to him and with great care turned him on his back. He didn’t fight her, tears were streaming down his face and he just stared up at the stars that covered the entire sky. They were so alien yet so familiar.

“He’s in shock I think.” Francis whispered as he helped Liara to prop Bel up against the wall.

“Yes but there’s something else. He’s in distress. I can feel his soul screaming in pain.” She winched as the pain seared her mind. Her skills as a priestess tended toward nurturing and helping and she, like many before her, had learned to sense on a deeper level.

Compassion for the Sufferer has leveled up x3

She flinched again, three levels in one go. That had never happened before. Something else was wrong here.

“Bel... listen to me.” The young man didn’t respond. Liara had dealt with battle shock and similar conditions before but this was different. She felt... something stirring inside. A feeling she buried long ago, back when Erkan... no. She brought her focus back to the present.

“Bel... Belmont.” She whispered his name and something changed in his eyes.

“Tell me what happened Belmont. I can help you.” Liara held the near-catatonic boy's hand, squeezing it hard and she felt him squeeze back.

“I... killed them... They’re dead because of me.” Bel’s voice was weak.

The monsters? Liara thought, no something else.

“Three people are dead because of me and I grew stronger from their deaths. I am a leech, I feed on death. Everyone was right, I don’t deserve to live.” What was he talking about? Liara thought, her feelings rolling with his. He was right she realized. The people of Linchester would have been alive if not for them. They brought this horde down upon this town. They...

Liara snapped to the right and faster than she ever had she formed a Light Bolt. The crackling white light of her Holy mana lit the area and she saw a shadow in the middle of the road. The Bolt connected a moment later and a screech echoed loud enough to hurt their ears. Francis flinched but reacted as his training had taught him and he flung his daggers both hitting something with a wet thump.

A creature appeared suddenly, two daggers in its guts and half its face missing. The thing was small only about a meter in height, with dark red skin and tattered cloth wrapped around its genitals and face. Its body was thin and skeletal. A Djinkar was a lesser Djinn, weak physically but their hunting tactics were more insidious than that. They hunted with illusions and mind-afflicting abilities. Worming inside their prey's mind until the prey either killed themselves or died from strokes or heart attacks.

The white light of Liara's Reveal skill told her it was a bronze-ranked creature.

Djinkar level 27 – Dead

Only the weak constitution and surprise allowed them to kill it so quickly. She looked down at Bel whose face had changed from despair to fury and realized the man must have taken much of the creature's attention as well.

“What happened?” Bel asked as he got to his feet, the fury still there and behind it, grief.

“Your mind was attacked by a creature known as a Djinkar, a lesser Djinn. They find something in your mind to latch onto, a weakness or exploit. Then they force you to suffer until you either die or give up.” Liara explained.

“They broke through my Willpower and my Unstoppable Will, how?” Bel still felt great shame at his actions but now the anger was helping him recover. He felt violated and unsure about reality. The despair was so real like he couldn’t ever forgive himself for what he did and he couldn’t find any other way out than death. He hadn’t gotten that far in the illusion though.

“They are strong and this one was bronze tiered. I’ve seen your stats and I know how strong your Will is. It must have been trying for a long time to affect you but it probably couldn’t get in until something happened that affected your mind. Did something happen?” Liara’s tone was gentle and there was real concern in her eyes.

“Yes... Something did.” Bel thought about lying or avoiding the question at first. But he had already told them what happened, even if they thought it was part of the attack on his mind. He changed his mind quickly as he realized he didn’t want to get away with what he’d done. He was responsible and he needed to take responsibility for his actions.

“I imbued the first batch of minions. The priests I mean. I am sorry for that Liara. I know how your people feel about me. There was no other way.” He looked the priestess in the eyes, and he saw the concealed anger wink out and replaced with sadness and maybe a little guilt, he wasn’t sure.

“You did what you had to do. Desperate times call for desperate measures as the saying goes.” Bel was about to continue his explanation when her words made him flinch. That saying was too similar to Earth's to be coincident. He had to prod deeper on that subject some other time.

“The skill I used enhances the summons several times over, the consequence is that when it runs out the minions burn up due to the increased mana in their system. At this level, it appears they also explode, although I can't say by how much. I couldn’t see what was happening, but...” When he got to the end he choked, biting back bile and his visions swam.

“It’s okay, I understand what happened." She remembered his words then.

"You need to hear this though, even if you don’t want to. You made a mistake, they died because of that yes. But their deaths are not on you. How many people would have died if you didn’t intervene, if you didn’t send your minions out? Learn from this, and in the future be better.” Her tone was firm but warm as well. She knew the regret some ascended felt when their powers affected those without, at least those that cared, like Bel.

That revelation hit her hard. She wanted him to be the apocalyptic being she always figured someone marked by Death would be. Bel was not like that though. Even from the beginning before his action spoke volumes, had she felt that this was a good man. It felt like a weight leaving her shoulders but another one took its place. If he was a good man, what would they do when the church eventually caught up to them? Her faith had sustained her for years. She had abandoned her people because of her faith. Doubt and anxiety war within her, but this was not the time for that. Shoving the emotion deep inside, she focused on the present.

“You’re right.” Bel didn’t notice the struggles within the Elf. He heard her words and realized the truth. Even if he badly wanted to wallow in his self-pity.

Bel picked up his sword and shield reading himself for the next part of the night. This was far from over. The screams had died down, but occasional sounds of struggle and death could be heard around them.

“Each second we dawdle here someone is hurt. We take the fight to the monsters. I’ve noticed they all seem to be coming from the eastern part of town so that’s where we’re heading. Any objections?” Liara shook her head no and the silent Francis readied his weapons.

The trio started running toward the eastern part of town. A monster appeared from a ruined house or was caught devouring some poor civilian in an alley from time to time. None survived for more than a second. As they ran, Bel allocated his free stats. He needed more physical power as the low mana made his skills cost much more in the long run. He allocated six points to strength and six points to dexterity, bringing them up to 70 and 60 respectively. Then he kept going, feeling the power settling in his body. As he ran, he drew in as much mana as possible for the fights to come.

He remembered his thoughts from before, the death around him was spawning more and more death mana.

His mana regeneration had increased significantly since the killings began and he first thought about it. Bel felt a great sadness at that. It made him stronger but at the cost of innocent people's lives. Perhaps he was an avenging angel, sent to punish those that had done wrong. He didn’t want that role though, because that would mean that he would always be too late.

Bel ignored the temptation of self-pity again and steeled his heart. This time he would embrace that role. He would bring death upon the monsters and whoever or whatever sent them here. He didn’t notice but the others did as mana swirled around him, visibly entering his body and his eyes turned alight with emerald fire. They chose to remain silent, feeling the same eagerness for a fight.

The trio made their way eastward and as they ran fewer and fewer houses remained; the beast had broken down the eastern palisade. Liara wondered why they had been attacked at the church since that structure was located in the western part of the town. The answers she came up with were all very troubling.

Suddenly the group cleared a bend in the road and a large creature was hunched down eating from a pile of corpses. The monster was similar to a wolf in appearance but not size. This wolf was the size of a car. Bel sent a quick Identify. As he got the information, he knew what his zombies had been encountering across the town, this one was probably more powerful though.

Ulv Beta (Healthy) - level 28

It looked like a demented wolf. The thing had a snout, fur, and four legs, that is where the similarities with a wolf stopped though. The creature had broad hunched back shoulders and red glowing eyes. Its jaw was short, almost like a hyena, with black drool dripping from the corner of its mouth.

Bel didn’t stop to ask any questions instead he barreled forward as quickly but silently as possible. The thing hadn’t noticed them yet. That changed quickly as Bel stepped on a piece of broken brick. Faster than any creature he’d encountered so far.

The Ulv lunged forward like an arrow. Bel cursed and steadied his feet and braced his shield. The thing hit like a freight train and Bel was pushed back several meters. His strength was not to scoff at and the creature seemed surprised. It growled and pushed with its shoulder trying to move the annoying human enough for it to sink its teeth into him. Bel only needed to hold its attention for a moment though and it worked.

From the right, a glowing mace hit the Ulv in the shoulder crushing bone and sizzling its fur and flesh. From the left a pair of daggers sliced into the creature's right leg, hamstringing it and sending it sprawling onto the wrecked road. Bel quickly put his foot down upon the creature's nose and drove his blade straight into its brain. The Ulv twitched for a moment then feel still. It didn’t even have time to call for help or warn its pack.

The fight was over within a few seconds only because of the trio's teamwork. They knew that the fights coming would be harder.

Bel looked around but no threats could be seen at the moment.

“Let’s take a minute to rest. I can feel a large concentration of death a hundred meters down this road. Something awful must have happened there.” In the back of his mind, Bel could feel Solomon and Ignatius getting closer by the second as well. They must have been running or floating his way at their maximum speed since the moment they sensed his emotions spike.

“What the hell are these creatures doing, working together?” Francis asked as he examined the giant wolf creature.

“I’ve never heard of different types of monsters doing this. They usually kill each other before they kill us.”

“Something strange is going on. This can’t be a horde because then we would be buried by their sheer numbers. If it was a horde a Seer or Prophet would have sensed it and sent the army or at least sent a warning for the Norms to flee. I don’t like this, Bel. Keep your wits about you.” Liara said as she drank some water from her waterskin. She held it toward Bel who gratefully took a few deep gulps. He was parched and hungry he realized. He hadn’t eaten in a while and the nonstop exertion had brought up an appetite.

He felt like a fool when Liara offered him some dried meat. He took it with a blush and ignored her smirk. He was still new at this he thought as he looked away.

A few minutes later he signaled the others, and they resumed their run. This time at a slower and steadier pace. Their caution turned out to be a good thing. As the trio scaled a broken wagon their realized they had arrived at the easter palisade. The entire thing had been shattered, like a giant stepping on it. Logs and splinters had flown everywhere as something large hard crashed through the wall.

That large thing was currently squatting in the middle of the large open area. The thing was large than the Ulv by a huge margin. It also wasn’t alone. Three other beings stood around it and they all seemed to be speaking to each other. Liara waved franticly and they all dove down behind an upturned cart.

Bel looked at his friends and saw the fear in their eyes. He didn’t know what was so scary about the four monsters, even if they seemed more intelligent and chattier than their counterparts. He took a quick peek from behind the cart and cast Identify on the large creature. His face paled somewhat then as he understood. He quickly identified the other three and his stomach fell. This was not good. Especially the last one.

Wittikka – Wendigo Alpha (Elite) - level 46

Vir’ava - Leshen Matriarch (Elite) - Level 48

Skoli – Father Ulv (Elite) - Level 54

Gorban – Wildcaller – level 74

It was a damn Orc and almost an Iron rank as well. He was almost forty levels higher than Bel and he seemed to be in control of the monsters. This was bad, really bad. Then it got worse.