A few minutes earlier, just when the cultists dyed the sky with black and reddish sorcery.

“Oohhh, look, daughter. Isn’t it beautiful?

Benjamin Styra, the one who orchestrated this day, gazed upon the blackened sky with joy. From the belfry he stood, taking in the sights of a town under assault from his forces. Behind him, stood one of his daughters, but Farley was bound with a magical item.

“…”

Farley didn’t answer. Her hands were chained together at the wrists and her Victa was sealed. Her face was gloomy.

“Now for the next step,” Benjamin took out a statue the size of a palm from his inventory ring. It was a woman statue with the wings of an angel and devil. The much older looking man activated the magic item and the statue started to float in the air. It pulsed a couple of times before making another beam of light that shot up to the sky, but unlike the first eight, this pillar of light was a milky white color.

“With this, the angels won’t be able to notice what is happening here for a few hours. Other than the Faith Water, quite a lot of precious materials were needed to make one of these. Expensive, but worth it.” Benjamin stroked his thin beard.

“…”

“Mmm, there they are. Can you see it, daughter? Those wispy things floating around like little fireflies?”

Farley looked to the distance, at the town that was currently burning. Sounds of battles were heard from all over the place but the area she saw was where the most intense conflict was happening. At first Farley didn’t know what her father was talking about but not long after, she saw something floating to the sky. There were only a few at first but as time passed, the numbers were gradually increasing.

“Those, are souls. Souls of those whose life was lost inside the isolation field. Normally, we can’t even see them but we can now because of the field’s side effects.”

Farley watched without making a sound. There were already about a hundred souls floating around the sky aimlessly, whilst the massacre still continued.

“Those souls should be taken to Heaven. The angels were responsible for guiding them to a place where they would receive final judgment… But this barrier was made for containing the souls inside. Now, they are mine,” Benjamin’s smile bloomed into a wolfish grin.

“…”

Farley kept her silence. Benjamin was seemingly unconcerned about his daughter’s attitude and was observing the raging battles.

“Hmn, the opposition is higher than I thought. Our forces dominate but not as high as I expected. There are also cultists who have second thoughts, amateurs. No matter, they will contribute to our cause all the same.”

***

“Arte — Blood Burst!”

Monica killed a level 1 priest from the church while reducing him to a puddle of blood and flesh.

“Arte — Steel Cleave!”

Head priest Ativan also killed another level 1 cultist by creating a metal sword from the ground. It stabbed the cultist in his gut and he died instantly.

“Hahaha, Darkness Blast!”

Bernard also let loose after recovering for several months. Ativan managed to defend from the bullet of condensed darkness even though Monica and Bernard were ganging up on him.

The battle between the church and the cult exploded very soon as the sky turned black. Ghouls were rampaging, killers ran rampant through the streets. The warriors of the church came out in force from their monastery, trying to protect the civilians as best as they could. But they were caught flat-footed by the sudden strike from the cultists so things weren’t looking good.

“Cultists of Dumuzin, you people… have done the unforgivable!” Ativan was livid, his kind countenance was nowhere to be seen. “Those people were innocent!”

“Not my problem. It’s a shame that the Silver Legion bitch isn't around anymore. I would have loved to kill her today,” Bernard weaved shadows after shadows and threw them at Ativan.

The forces of the cult of Dumuzin and the church branch of Luxore town were almost equal but the church’s forces were currently at the back foot. The main reason was that the cult unleashed the full might they had accumulated over decades on this day.

“This barrier prevents the souls of the fallen from returning to the embrace of the Goddess, what are you planning, villains?” As a level 2 and having deep knowledge, how could Ativan have missed the purpose of the barrier covering the town.

“They are offerings for Lord Dumuzin, so shall you and your followers join them,” Bernard sneered.

“You have already wronged them in life, now you want to wrong them in death? I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!!!” Ativan screamed with furry.

“We don’t need your permission. Stop us if you can, die if you can’t,” Monica resumed the offensive.

“Don’t think you’re the only one with a trump card. Lady of Light, full of mercy and benevolence. This humble servant beseeches you, hear the saddened pleas of your children. Let the sinners taste the burning sword of your wrath!”

In the main church, there was a statue of the goddess. The place where hundreds of people attended mass every week. That statue glowed with golden light and emitted otherworldly power.

Between the brows of Head priest Ativan appeared a mark, a rune of power. Not only him, everyone sworn to the Goddess received the holy blessing. Their bodies also glowed with faint golden light, power was coursing through their veins. There were four church buildings in Luxore and a monastery at the town’s edge. All of them glowed, like fire in the night.

People felt the light’s warmth and flocked towards the buildings for refuge.

“Servants of darkness, the light of the Goddess is with us! We will deliver your souls to face her justice!” Ativan announced.

“Heh, you can try,” Bernard was unamused.

Suddenly, the cultists seemed to writhe in pain. Accompanied with wailing and screams, the cultists were turning into abominations. Some cursed, some begged, but their fate was the same. The priests paused seeing the grotesque transformations. Dozens of meat monstrosities emerged from the once to be cultists. Some of the monsters still had the resemblance of a human face. They were all filled with faces of torment and regret, blood oozing from their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

Only Monica and Bernard didn’t change.

“…Dumuzin’s Mutant Soldier Potion, you’re throwing away the lives of your men.” Ativan spoke, his face was grim.

“They will not retreat, nor do we. We will fight until the bitter end, old priest. All of our lives shall be an offering to the Dark God!” Bernard laughed maniacally.

“Madness!” Ativan scoffed.

The opening act was done, the slaughter between the forces of good and evil continued. With every passing moment, lives were lost on both sides. Pale blue souls were coming out from the dead and swirling into the sky.

***

Benjamin stayed at the belfry, the highest place in town. Observing the town he turned into a warzone.

“Ativan has activated the protection array around the churches. No matter, they will break after the Ghouls hit them for an hour or so. All of the cultists have also been transformed into the Meat Mutants, they will raise our war potential even more. The remaining Ghouls would deal with the adventurers and other Path-seekers. The boars had successfully reduced their Victa reserves, they had time to recover it but so did we. As long as there is no level 3 in town, our victory is assured.” Benjamin slowly spoke the ugly fate of thousands of lives like it was nothing.

“…Our? You mean ‘my’, isn’t that right, father?” Farley said coldly.

“Hahah, finally want to talk, hmn? August seems to be joining the fight against the church so we just need to wait for the conclusion. Very well, let’s have a father and daughter moment,” the older man kindly spoke to her daughter behind him without turning around.

“I know you’ve been snooping around, searching for clues about Alicia’s death. You have never believed she died from a sickness. I know, dear daughter.”

His voice was kind, the same tone a father used when they talked with family at dinner. But to Farley, it was the hisses of a poisonous viper wearing human skin.

“I know, you have been plotting for my death. However, you never set your plan in motion. Perhaps it’s because I was so close to death back then. But fate has given me a boon. A miraculous pill that restored quite a bit of my flickering embers of life. The medical pill from the eastern continent was truly marvelous,” Benjamin softly laughed.

“…Why… did you kill my mother?” Farley let out the question he shouldered for years.

Benjamin didn’t answer for a while, then he slowly turned facing Farley. Much to Farley’s surprise, he was crying.

“Alicia… she was too good of a woman for me. Far more than I deserved… I can see her shadow in you,” Benjamin caressed Farley’s cheek softly with a bony hand. “You have become truly beautiful, Farley.”

“…” Farley didn’t answer, she didn’t know what to say.

“My death was approaching, for my selfish ambition of not wanting to die, I had no choice but to sacrifice Alicia. Farley, do you despise me?” Benjamin smiled weakly while in tears.

“You bast-”

“No need to say anymore, I know how vile my actions was… Using the secret Arte of the cult, I sacrificed her life to Lord Dumuzin. The stronger your sentiment, the stronger your love for the person, the better the life-extending effect would be. My current life, is thanks to Alicia.”

Farley gnashed her teeth so hard in her anger. “You’ll pay for what you’ve done!”

“Perhaps, we’ll see. I won’t ask for your forgiveness, my daughter. Resent me, hate me, curse me, I will bear it all. Me, you, Gwen, and Alicia, the four of us shall be together forever.” Benjamin continued speaking while sobbing a bit.

“…What?”

“At first, my plan was to sacrifice you and Gwen, just like Alicia to extend my life. But because of a stroke of luck, it was no longer required. My life should be able to hold on for some time yet despite my old appearance. Instead, I will sacrifice both of your lives to ask for a boon from Lord Dumuzin. Afraid not, daughter… we will always be together… as family.”

“Why? How could you do this to your own children!?” Farley grimaced, then she remembered something. “Ah, what did you do to my older siblings?”

“They are not really your siblings Farley, not only because you have a different mother than them, but because I 'own' them.”

Farley’s face turned sour. She expected this, she had suspicions but they were never clear.

“In this moment of truth, I will not hide anything from you. I have dual affinities, fire and soul. My soul affinity, despite rare and powerful sounding, is only a tier 1. While the cult can raise the common affinity such as the four elements, the very rare affinities such as soul is beyond our reach of meddling. Throughout the years, I hid my dual attributes and secretly honed the soul part. But there were many limitations in the end. Such as controlling people with my soul can only be done to someone with blood ties to me and had to be done when they’re still babies who still haven’t developed their ego.”

Benjamin continued to speak without changing his tone.

"My marriage with their mother was only a political marriage. I have never loved her. I took over her family’s wealth in the years after. When she got pregnant with your siblings, I used a forbidden Arte to grant the children a rare affinity… at the cost of their mother’s life. Your three older siblings are my greatest weapons, Farley. They will never betray me and they will lay down their own life for me. The reason I didn’t put a sliver of my soul into your body, is because three people is my limit, and I have another plan for you and Gwen."

Farley didn’t even know what face she should make.

“You use August, Monica, and Bernard as puppets. You want to use me and Gwen as sacrificial animals… You, you’re a monster!”

“I am,” he didn’t deny. “The Path of Power is long, my young daughter, and I’m only forty-five years old. I refuse to accept Luxore town as my grave. I will gift thousands of souls to Lord Dumuzin… and your sisters’ life. With those great gifts, becoming a high priest of the main cult is a dream no longer!”

During the explanation, the battlefield raged on. Gradually, it became more and more silent. The Ghouls had broken the church’s protective barrier. The cultists had killed the priests at a great cost to their own, although they were no longer human. The Ghoul continued killing every human they found. Most people tried to run out of the town from the start but the Isolation Field was like a dome that prevented anyone from getting in or out. The townsfolk gradually fell prey to the human-created monsters.

And then, there was silence. A town filled with human corpses while thousands of souls were swirling in the black sky. Benjamin Styra massacred a town in a span of two hours.

“It seems they are done,” Benjamin looked downwards from the bell tower to the snow-covered plaza. August was there, alongside the little Gwen. The cultist was bloodied and injured, proof of the deadly battle he had fought.

“Monica and Bernard didn’t survive, what a pity. Although I can make other children, the loss of time and resources needed to raise them is staggering, what a waste,” he said uncaringly. “Come, let us finish the final act of Luxore town.”

While Benjamin started to descend the tower, Farley stayed on the tower a few moments more. She looked at Gwen, her hand was held by the blood-splattered August. The ten-year-old didn’t know what was happening, she voiced her concern to her heavily injured sibling.

I’m sorry, I’ve failed to save you.

Farley shed a tear of sorrow. She knew the fate her mother prophesied was coming soon. Her Victa was sealed and Gwen was in the hands of her father’s puppet. Farley started to descend the tower.

“You have been spending time with a new recruit since summer, even doing things behind his back to make things convenient for him secretly. And the wine business was flourishing, the Red Fairy was truly marvelous. I thought you were recruiting him to kill me. What a pity he ignored you these past months, he even disappeared a week ago. Perhaps he ran away from Luxore because he felt something dangerous was coming? I must say he made an excellent choice. I think you already gave him the cure to the mutant potion so I bet he’s still alive. I might have to hunt him in the future.” Benjamin spoke as they were taking the tower’s steps downwards.

They reached the bottom, Benjamin looked to the side, to his daughter’s face.

“I thought you would try to poison me at last night’s dinner but I’ve checked the food and drink thoroughly. They weren’t poisoned. I don’t know why you tried to run away with Gwen all of a sudden last night. I don’t think my true plan could be revealed, so why the sudden act?”

Farley didn’t answer.

“No matter, even if by some chance the fat boy tried to save you, as long as he is inside the isolation barrier he won’t survive.”

Farley flinched faintly.

“Ah, still having some hope he would save you, hmn? I don’t know what relationship you two have but he won’t be able to save you. The Demonic Soul Isolation Arte is very powerful and it still hides a trick.”

“Sis!”

Gwen ran to Farley and hugged her tight.

“It was scary, people are screaming everywhere. I was scared, I missed you.”

Gwen said while sobbing.

“Brother August is hurt, can father heal him? Why are you crying, big sis? Why you got tied up? Father?” Gwen was confused.

“Gwen, hug me and don’t let go. And close your eyes and ears, okay? No matter what, don’t open them.” Farley tearfully said.

“But…”

“Just do it. I love you,” Gwen said, as she fell to her knees, hugging her sister on the same eye level.

“Okay, I love you too sis.” Gwen did as she was told although she didn't quite understand what was going on.

“Ahh, how beautiful… do not worry, the least I can do is to not make you both suffer. The act of killing a deeply loved one was the thing the Arte required, not the soul. Both of your souls shall be with me and Alicia. I will bring you all to the peak of this world. Goodbye, my daughters.”

Benjamin opened a bottle he took from his inventory ring. He opened it and let the fragrance be inhaled by the pair of sisters. They both fell asleep in seconds, on the snow-covered plaza, hugging each other.

“Mm, no attack or interference so far. It seems I thought too much. August, you have done well.”

“All is for you, father.” August bowed slightly.

The older man observed his son’s deep wound on his chest.

“Mm… your injury is fatal, I’m afraid this is it for you, son… then let this be the end. I will part with my family today. This too is fate.”

Benjamin created a red translucent barrier covering his whole body like an eggshell.

“The next phase of this Arte is to take the souls of those trapped inside the barrier. There must be some survivors hiding like rats. Too bad, this Arte is a deathtrap to all caught inside. Unless they are stronger than me, they won’t be able to resist the separation of their soul.”

Benjamin raised his hand to the sky.

“Arte — Demonic Soul Absorption Field!”

***

With that Arte, Benjamin killed the lucky ones able to survive the wanton massacre. All living beings were affected by the Arte. People felt light-headed, sharp pain for an instant, then lost consciousness as if they fell asleep.

Including August.

Including Farley and Gwen.

Other than Benjamin Styra, there was no other person alive in Luxore town.

And yet, despite that, at that moment, someone was observing.

Finally!