Chapter 9

Her Onee-chan had already been gone for two hours, but the little girl did not worry because the beautiful young woman had made her a promise. While waiting for her, she had stayed home to tidy things up, preparing her big sister’s room.

Onee-chan’s chest is a bit too big, she’ll barely not fit into Mom’s clothes. I’ll just have to give everything to the neighbours and order a new batch of clothes from the old Derien… I wonder if she could wear some of dad’s stuff… Someone knocked at the entrance, interrupting the train of thought of the little one. A smile appeared on her face when she opened the door.

“Hello Dzive.” A young boy, just about her age in fact, was standing in the doorway, two little girls of ten or eleven years hidden behind his back. “We were just checking in to see if you were okay.” He said.

“Hello Antoine. That’s nice of you.” She answered in a warm tone. “I’m fine, well, as fine as one can be in the circumstances we know.” She wanted to sound reassuring.

“We know that you were saved by a goddess, that she now lives with you and that you must be very busy for the moment, but we were still wondering if you were, by any chance, not free to come and pick mushrooms with us…?” The two twins agreed in unison, displaying their desire to be with Dzīve. The girl thought about it for two seconds.

She shouldn’t be back for another two hours, and I’m sure my mushroom omelette would please her…

She finally answered him. “You know, she insisted on the fact that she wasn’t a goddess, not exactly. But what I’m sure about is that she’s my Onee-chan.” She explained with a laugh.

”And she’s not here for now, so even if I could prepare the house more, I think I can still go with you guys.” She smiled slightly, a bit of shyness hidden behind it. The young boy displayed a triumphant face when Dzive answered affirmatively. She quickly picked up a wicker basket before joining the group in front of her door.

“Shall we go?” Asked Antoine.

“We shall.” Answered Dzive with a nod of her head, amused by the wording used by the boy. She seemed happy to see her friend, to know that they cared about her. They wouldn’t say it that way, but this was as much a trip to find mushrooms as it was an attempt to cheer her up, however clumsy it seemed to be.

She was sad about her parents, yes, but she was happy too, about her friend, about her Onee-chan, about the village. Feel sad when you need, and be happy the rest of the time, that’s what her parents had told her. For adventurers that had seen lots of their comrades dead, it was the only path they could take…

??? - The Cradle

The miasma rose in the sky, where it mixed with the clouds. Following the whims of the wind, it began to condense on the small dust in suspension. The droplets weighed down until they fell, creating a fine black rain. The majority of it fell on the Dead Plains, feeding the land of the undead of its vigour from beyond the grave.

A small portion of the corrupted smoke managed to pass the Twin Peaks, let lose of this perverted downpour on the Wild Plains. All the animals, as well as the few humans unlucky enough to be caught in the turmoil, saw their flesh melt and rot, dying in excruciating suffering before rising again in search of fresh meat.

And finally, a few drops fell into the forest surrounding Clarity…

Dzīve

They walked peacefully through the woods, picking the edible mushrooms that had sprouted here and there. An external observer might have been surprised to see that the two little girls were the ones who found the most mushrooms, but the two older children seemed accustomed to this situation.

Morgane and Liliana are still as sharp as ever. Thought the girl with a smile.

The twins moved with ease on the rough terrain, their black hair tied in braid swaying to the rhythm of their steps. Their movements had a little mysterious touch, hardly visible and surely not noticed by Dzīve and Antoine or the people of the village. One seemed to move like a stream, the other like a flame.

???

Home of a forgotten battlefield, the forest had grown, over the bones and corpses, grave without burial for the numerous soldiers still dressed in their armour, pierced by the enemy and tarnished by time.

For many years they had rested in peace, enjoying a deserved rest among the roots, sources of new lives. But now, the malevolent substance was twisting the branches of the trees, before seeping deep into the earth.

The forest remained calm, without anything happening for a long time. But if someone had been there, if they had stretched they ears, they might have picked up a slight scratching sound from the ground…

Dzīve

They had been gone a short hour, and their baskets were now full of mushrooms.

“Very good, we can go home!” Antoine exclaimed joyfully, supported by the vigorous nodding of Morgana and those, quieter, of Liliana.

“Yes, it’s time, otherwise I won’t be home when Onee-chan come back.” The young girl then spotted a flash of light, followed by the light noise of a bow whose rope had been released. She suddenly jumped on Antoine to get him down.

“AAAAH!” Dzīve could not help screaming when the pain exploded in her right leg. Antoine and the twins, still in shock, watched arms dangling the arrow stuck in the girl’s skin. Seeing them frozen, Dzive reacted. “Run away NOW!” The scream brought them out of their trance, and the twins let go of their basket before starting to run.

Rising, Antoine, however, was hesitant. “B-but…”

“Go away… Urgh, go get some help!” Doubt faded from the boy’s eyes.

“Understood.”He answered, starting to run as fast as he could.

Dzīve was finally able to stand up, just in time to avoid a second shot. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she smothered a second cry of pain. Focus! Keep going or die! Her survival instinct was keeping her sharp as adrenaline set her blood on fire and reduced pain.

She finally started running, not without dodging another shaky and poorly made shot. She was quickly covered with earth and bruises as she kept falling, but she always got up, as more and more arrows stimulated her to keep a steady pace. I’m nearly out of stamina, I’ve lost a lot of hp… I need to make it to the door!

She suddenly heard the heavy stride of several pursuers. Daring to look back, she saw monsters in black armour, skeletons with burning orbits, zombies of flesh and steel. Her eyes filled with despair as adrenaline gave her a new boost.

Milo, captain of the guards

The sun was slowly disappearing behind the high mountains, heralding the end of another peaceful day. As soon as the children returned, Milo would close the door, thus finishing his watch.

“Ah, at last!” He exclaimed as he saw the twins coming out of the woods, but… No, something is wrong! He thought, seeing them running, noticing the expression of their faces.

“Alert!” Screamed Milo, “Alert!” “DingDingDingDing…” One of the sentries on the lookout started sounding the alarm as the other three were already readying arrow on their bow.

As soon as they arrived at her level, the chief of the guards stopped the twins to ask them some questions, which they answered in turn.

“We got attacked!” cried Morgana. “Someone shot an arrow at Antoine.” says Liliana. “Dzīve managed to protect him…” Continued strongly the first. “...but she was hit in his place.” Calmly ended the second. Antoine then emerged from the forest.

“Someone, help!” You could feel despair washing his words. “Dzīve stayed behind...pfff...she’s hurt...pfff.” He said, out of breath. He finally reached Milo’s level. “Pfff…”

“Catch your breath, calm down and speak clearly!”

“Pfff...pfff...She’s a wound on her leg, she’ll never make it here, you have to help her!” The other sentries had finally arrived, increasing their strength to about fifteen.

“Understood. Go home and take shelter. Danny, Thomas, Lionel and Roger with me! The others keep the door open, prepare to cover for us while we escort a civilian!”

“Understood!” They followed orders at a correct speed but were interrupted by a loud voice.

“CLOSE THE DOOR, NOW!” Dzīve jumped out of the woods but missed her landing because of the arrow stuck in her leg.

“AAAAAH!” The arrow had once again sunk a little deeper into the wound, inflicting unbearable suffering on the girl. However, seeing Milo starting to approach, she forced herself to stand again.”CLOSE THE FUCKING DOOR! GO TO TAKE SHELTER, QUICK!” Under Dzīve’s imperious order, the guards began to retreat, all except Milo, who was still running towards her. He was quickly beside her, supporting her as she pestered him. “But what are you doing, you idiot, go to safety, you will die!”

“No, I was not there for your parents…” His gaze was set aflame by his resolve “...but you, I will not let you die!

Dzīve

The doors were practically closed, leaving just enough room for one person at a time. They were going to make it! Dzīve then looked behind her, and her eyes widened in fear. In a quarter of a second, she made her decision.

She threw herself in front of Milo, preparing to take the sword on his sake. He screamed, trying to pull and protect her, but he had reacted late, too late.

She closed her eyes, ready to be pierced.

She heard the sound of the blade entering flesh, smelled the blood. The pain, however, was absent, as was the cold of steel.

Huh? She reopened her eyes, the shock quickly replaced by tears in front of the horrible vision.

Élet was standing in front of her, impaled by the black sword that now came out of her back. Blood bloomed like a flower on her white garment as she made her stupefied and pain-filled eyes go from Dzīve to Milo, looking at the skeleton knight who had attacked her and the other undead coming out of the woods.

No!

“ONEEEE-CHAN!” The girl’s scream of distress echoed between the rampart and the trees.

Élet

A blade had pierced her heart and immeasurable pain had invaded her mind, quickly repressed by the system’s assistance.

“Critical hit received, hp fell to 25% of maximum. Warning, summoner in critical condition, massive haemorrhage, badly damaged right leg. Warning, critical player status, massive haemorrhage, blood flow cut.”

She saw the horde of undead pouring out from the woods. She saw Dzīve’s wounded leg, her eyes full of despair.

She saw Milo’s gaze, begging for forgiveness as he was dragging the struggling girl behind him, closing the door once he passed them.

She heard the grieving voice of her summoner, her little sister, screaming at the guard to open the door to let her Onee-chan in…

Elet’s eyes filled with fury, a nameless rage that should not have existed in this world.

“Ding...acquisition condition fulfilled… Title -Absolute Fury- awarded. ” Echoed a voice in the young woman’s mind.

Under the shock, the archers who had not yet released any arrows saw their faces turn white.

For a good reason, as they had seen the young woman take a step towards the fiery-eyed skeleton, impaling herself even more deeply on its sword. Reaching its hilt, she extended her arms towards the bare head covered by a lone iron helmet, wrapping her left hand around the nasal wall of the skull through the hollow eye sockets, tearing it apart, bones and steel alike. She then plunged her right hand into it and pulled out a small purple sphere that she crushed viciously in her fist. Like a puppet whose threads had been cut, the undead warrior collapsed into a heap of bones and armour.

“Acquisition condition fulfilled, generation of the ‘Rage’ ability…Warning! Unique Cond’&!§ à$*%/.:= ù $-§! à) ù:*%/.. $’ition fulfilled, evolving the ‘Rage’ ability into ERROR. Special requirements met, enabling ERROR.” The system’s voice said once more in Élet mind.

The young woman, however, did not even seem to hear the announcements, consumed by fury as she was. With one hand, she grabbed the sword that was still piercing her heart, slowly pulling it with a soft hissing sound until it was fully out. She cleaned the blood that covered the blade, her own blood, in one fell swoop, pointing it at the tireless army while roaring a scream full of defiance in an inhuman voice. Even the dead, however fearless, retreated under the pressure…