Their broken bodies were stained in red and their blood soaked the dry earth with the same stench. They were both battered and sustained heavy injuries, but only one remained unbeaten. The fiend struggled onto its feet with what seemed like the last ounce of its strength. The spark in its eyes was fading, but it stood tall and faced its other foe. Just like when the druid was about to sentence the fiend to death, it refused to fall without a fight.

“At ease, fiend,” Rana said as she walked towards the fallen druid. He was still alive, but suffering such a critical damage meant he could do nothing except wait until his health bled out. They were all so fragile, human or fiend, and it seemed like the only purpose of the mark was to delay the inevitable.

She rummaged through the druid’s belt and found a couple of pouches containing healing herbs and potions. She removed the potions and tossed those pouches in front of the fiend.

“Use the herbs. ” Rana said to the staring fiend. It was hesitant, unsure of what to make of the situation. However, it soon discarded whatever objection sit had with the situation. Survival was of a higher priority. It took off its mask and began to chew on the herbs eagerly. “Chew slower, or else the herbs won’t be as effective.”

The fiend did as it was instructed. It groaned and grit its teeth, revealing its sharp fangs, as cuts closed and bruises became less swelled. Herbs could only patch up minor wounds and halt the continuous loss of health related to the more serious critical injuries. Unlike potions, herbs did not heal but simply prevented health from reaching zero. Potions on the other hand were herb extracts infused with runic essences. A marked one could recover health and heal injuries with potions, and that was why Rana did not want the fiend to drink them. She knew she could not win in a fight against one right now.

She inspected the fiend's face wincing in pain. She wondered why it was so similar to a human’s. Its faces were no doubt feral, even without the wounds, and their eyes were clear evidence that they were not human. However, without the sharp fangs and antlers, the fiend looked like a woman no older than her. It was a mystery for later. When she confirmed that the fiend was in no danger of dying, she told it to wait and then turned her attention to the druid. The fiend would not be hostile, not yet, as it was clear it too wanted to know what was going on.

Rana knelt in front of Emery. There was a hole in the middle of his chest and she could see he was missing parts of his lungs. He should’ve been dead, but it was no doubt thanks to the ascended mark that he was still alive. An ascended marked one had access to tier two Talents and one of them was Unyielding, which gave the user boosts in VIT and SKL depending on their missing health. The VIT stat increased endurance, and the SKL stat reduced critical damage. Emery must’ve managed to push his stats high enough so that the healing mana he was converting in his body sustained his life for the time being.

Good. It meant he would stay alive during their conversation.

“How, did you hide it,” Emery croaked, coughing out blood with each syllable.

“The zombie state is not difficult to hide,” Rana replied. She decided to answer the dying druid’s question as he needed some time to stabilize his mana generation. It also gave her an opportunity to gather her thoughts. “I was able to stop the degeneration effects with the help of curses, and the inherent dread an undead gives off could be warded with runes. Of course, ascribing runes onto just bandages is not possible, but since a zombie does not suffer mana-induced necrosis, I filled my body with mana and was able to anchor the wards by allowing them to make contact with my skin under the cloth.”

“Are you with the fiend?” Emery asked.

“No,” Rana said after a pause. “I have my own reason for being here.”

“Then save me,” Emery coughed out. She sensed the fiend stiffen and could almost hear its silent panic when Emery pleaded for his life. “The fiend must’ve tricked you, just like it did Liken. I do not know what it offered but I can guarantee you that they are lies. It slaughtered the village and our allies. It is our enemy. Together we should kill it and avenge those that are slain.”

“You truly have no shame. Were you not the one who slaughtered the settlement and killed your other two party members?” Rana ignored his plea. She peered into his eyes, cutting off whatever objection the druid was about to give. “The reason you did not claim the Quest was because you cannot. You were the objective, after all. You were also quick to agree to Liken claiming it because you knew his greed would no doubt lead to him withhold information so that he can hoard the achievement on top of the claimed merits. You then planted the scroll, to convince us to continue our contract so that you can get rid of us and the fiend. You chose a formation that left us separated so I would not notice your roots tangle Kent. Thanks to your specialization, your wards could help you sense the mana around the battlefield. You most likely activated your runes the moment when the fiend was about to deliver a fatal blow to Kent, the same trap you used against me.”

“Don’t you see? This is a trap,” Emery said as he began to strewn together another lie. This time, he also addressed the fiend “The Church is making us work against each other. We should let go of our differences and not let their scheme succeed. I have connections, I can help us get to the bottom of this. You were there, you heard what Kent read.”

“Unfortunately for you, I am an inquisitor. I know that unless they have the corresponding ward, a Church missive could not be read by anyone. All Church missives were to be destroyed upon acknowledgement by the receiver. Whatever Kent read, it was something you forged. So tell me, why are you truly here?”

“You are an inquisitor, but they were,” Emery muttered. His eyes then widened, realizing what was going on. Inquisitors should still be known as the most loyal order of the Church, perished while fighting against the traitor paladin a century ago. They also had access to magics unknown to anyone but themselves. Rana smiled to herself. He took the bait. “Then you must help me. I am an agent of the Church, sent to root out corruption and hunt down a traitor. The traitor was studying forbidden texts and traced him to the settlement. However, once I realized what he was up to, I had no choice but to burn everything down just so there are no loose ends. Kent was the assassin he hired to get rid of me.”

Rana turned to the fiend, who tensed and tried to stand back up, but one glare was enough to dissuade her action.

“Yes, the traitor was collaborating with the fiend. In exchange for aiding their conquest, they would help him decipher the text,” Emery continued, emboldened by Rana’s animosity. “Truly, I didn’t know you were one of us. Please accept my apology and save me. I can guarantee you that the Church would welcome you back. You are simply a human suffering from a terrible curse. We can help.”

Rana looked at the man before her. He had said something she wished she has heard when she first awoke to her accursed existence. She knew that if she heard those words several months ago, she would’ve definitely made a mistake that costed her life. Now, there was only apathy. However, that was not entirely accurate.

“I harbor no ill will towards you,” Rana said after contemplating for some time. “However, I know that in my heart, my sister loathes you and what you represent.”

Emery’s eyes widened. He wanted to protest. With a slam of her staff, Rana crushed his skull and the druid slumped to the ground.

“What idiot would tell an inquisitor that someone else had the information she needed,” Rana mused with a small chuckle. She then turned to the fiend, still clutching its broken arms and preparing for a fight.“I am not an enemy and I do not wish harm upon you. I am the one that called you here, and if you have not attacked me we might’ve been able to avoid a lot of fighting. ”

The fiend glared at her, but she could tell it was not a hostile one. It was an accusatory one. Yep, she deserved it. For now, she should introduce herself.

“I am Rana. You can consider me a zombie magus.”