All four of us ate the dishes silently on the table. It was awkward as the two, Vassil and Amila more than once, shuffled uncomfortably as though they felt they were being scrutinized.

I feel like a father who found out that some delinquent is dating her daughter and barged into one of their date, bringing along the mother.

“Why are you chuckling suddenly?”

“I just thought of something funny.”

Katarinova who was eating beside me, stopped as she was slightly surprised that I let out a chuckle to myself.

Vassil frowned to himself while Amila looked increasingly nervously.

I prepared myself to reassure them after seeing them behave as such because I do believe that I need to rectify before this get anymore awkward.

“Relax. We’re all adult here and both Katarinova and I are in no position to chastise you, Vassil, so you should stop being nervous. Instead, let’s pretend we’re on a double date.”

“Double date?”

Both Vassil and Katarinova wondered at the same time.

“It’s like an intimate outing with two pair of lovers.”

I continued eating while hearing a dry chuckle in front of me and a grunt on my left side.

“Well, I thought you guys would be mad because I brought someone else into this room.”

Vassil was relieved as he told us the reason why he was anxious.

“… I don’t think we care that much right, Katarinova?”

“Yup, it’s nothing to be mad about, be at ease, Amila.”

After Katarinova and I had assured both of them, the awkward air had receded.

We ate through our lunch with pleasant chatter. Apparently, Amila was stationed here one week ago so she wasn't part of the girls who fell victims to Vassil's special ability disaster at that time. If she did, she wouldn't be in the same room as us right now.

After a while, outside of the room, we heard a commotion.

Luckily we were about to finished when we did.

As I was the closest to the door, I opened it and saw that most of the border regiment members were leaving in a hurry.

I stopped one of them that had passed by the door.

“What’s happening?”

“There’s an incursion of smaller Mal’eurs going on right now, honoured summoned!”

“It’s a minor incursion isn’t it? Why the need to mobilize the resting force? Shouldn’t the one that was patrolling would handle them?”

“A messenger received a report from the patrol that it’s beyond what they can handle. It’s a large swarm of them apparently, honoured summoned!”

After our conversation, the warrior saluted and hurried out.

Katarinova came out and stood beside me. She probably heard of our conversation and was looking at me with glittering eyes, waiting for an affirmation.

I sighed. I can already feel the heat of her passionate flame after weeks of inactivity.

“Vassil and Katarinova, it’s time to move.”

--

The sound of fighting was ceaseless and the smell of putrid, colourless blood of Mal’eur was seeping into the ground. Here used to be a forest but it was cut down in preparation of the battle. It was not far from our lines of bunkers.

As of now, I am standing in the thick of the battle. Warriors and Guards all around were battling with the numerous Mal’eurs. These small Mal’eurs were no danger to any soldier here but the odd thing was that they had come in such a large number that it could overwhelm a patrol. Is this perhaps one of the chain reactions of the incoming Cloud of Disharmony?

And some would find it odd for me, a man who is not fit to be in the frontline, am currently standing in what could be call a frontline but I was dragged here by a certain Katarinova for some reason as she refuse to be parted away from me.

Before we came here, I’d assigned Vassil, Katarinova and myself separately to take charge in sections but Katarinova refused and decided stick with me. Firstly, I didn’t have the authority to give any of the summoned orders or even the regiment but they all regarded me as the highest in the chain of authority but still…

Anyway, I haven’t even participated in the battle, in fact, I came empty-handed without any kill because...

“Ruigne, you’re not fighting?”

“I figured that if I joined in, you’ll get upset that I would deprive you of the enemies.”

After putting the final thrusting blow to a head of a wolf-like mal’eur with her bloodied spear; she turned to look at me with an indifferent expression and asked me that.

“… I don’t mind.”

“I think you would because at the rate you’re killing them, you’ll run out of enemies.”

She had already killed about dozens of Mal’eur ever since we arrived here in the last two hours. Most of them didn’t even make her serious enough to use her Special ability and the few that did have died after exchanging several blows. From the rabid behaviour that they were fighting, it felt like they were desperate.

Her indifferent expression signified that it was nothing challenging for her. I guess the thrill of such battle had dulled down due to the repetition.

A snake-like Mal’eur suddenly flashed in right in the air and towards her.

“The first incursion had sated me but this is just… it’s like fighting with mindless beasts.”

As she said that, she batted the Mal’eur away with the spearhead and quickly dashed, stabbing or rather smashing it’s head on the ground.

Regarding her statement, it was mostly true as I remembered our time handling the incursion almost a month ago.

The Mal’eur although small, were cunning and vicious with enough intelligence and poise when fighting but the Mal’eurs that are attacking us right now were fighting frantically with no regards to their own life and after observing some of them, I noticed they looked gaunt and weakened.

I knew that there were armies of them hovering near the clouds but I didn’t calculated that all the small, low-class Mal’eur would attacked earlier in a drove.

The snake-like Mal’eur had finally ceased to struggle as the spearhead went further, impaling into its skull.

“I think they’re desperate but usually desperate rats fight with even more ferocity. They’re just rabbles at this point, not even worth fighting. It’s a quick death for all then.”

She muttered to herself. It was then I stopped as I realized something was off with the air. I sniffed several times and it hit me.

“… Katarinova, convey this to the unit on the right side and tell them to pass it: Retreat until there is no dead Mal’eur.”

“Eh? Why?”

“The air seems poisoned.”

Katarinova sniffed several times then her face went frown, She nodded towards me and she quickly ran to our right side.

“The air is poisoned by the dead Mal’eurs, retreat back until we steered clear of them!!”

I barked orders to the men surrounding us. Like organized soldiers, they understood quickly and retreated.

(‘Eo, Luxaer, Ventus, Quo’)

I used a light blue Eomancy 'Wind Friend' that reduce the friction with the air to increase my speed.

With this, I quickly reached to the nearby unit. I conveyed the same message and asked them to pass it by.

Afterward, the whole soldiers on the field retreated at full haste. While retreating, some Mal’eurs gave chase after while others were stumbling like they were on their last leg. As expected, each and every one of them was at near the death’s door.

In front of me, Katarinova and I saw the place where the soldiers had gathered and the smell of refreshing, clean air was near.

Thankfully all of the Mal’eurs that had gave chase was killed along the way.

After we reached that place, I turned to the nearest person next to me on both side.

“Use the light blue Eomancy spell to buffet the poisoned air away from here.”

The two persons on each side nodded and informed the person next to them.

Afterward, with several combinations of Eomancy Circles, we made a barrier of wind that pushes the air opposite our side away from us.

I saw Amila and several Healers were using White Eomancy spells to cleanse the soldiers of the poison. As I was not versed enough in the White Eomancy, I stood by checking the situation around me. Thankfully, everyone here was trained and everything was conduct in an orderly manner.

From what I can hypothesize, they appeared to be a slow acting one and it doesn’t seem potent but looking at all the Mal’eur earlier, the effect on them was devastating. Also-

“That was unexpected. No wonder, they were weak, to think that all of them were on the brink of death. How despicable, what sort of a creature would do this?”

Katarinova showed a disgusted frown.

“It’s not poison, they are spores. There was a Mal’eur called Plague-Luster or Frhaekaghur in the index of ‘Rare Beasts beyond the Border’ that I’d read. It seems to cultivate spores inside the pores of its skin and when the spores matured, the Mal’eur burst out the spores via an explosion. Usually, when it does that, it would be in amidst of a pack of smaller Mal’eur. The spores itself would only be able to grow on wounds and exposed areas such as the eyes or mouth but in the initial stage, it can get treated. I speculated that the low-class Mal’eur’s were fighting with each other on the edge of the clouds and the Plague-Luster or Plague-Lusters, took advantage of it. The winner’s get to be the carriers and from what we see, it seems that once the spores matured, it would take control of the host, asexually reproduced itself and after the host died, it then contaminated the air with the newly-multiplied spores. These zombies Mal’eurs must had run from there without stopping, it’s no wonder why they were weak and gaunt.”

“That’s quite a detail information.”

After my long-winded explanation, Katarinova had listened on to every word with an amused expression.

“Still, what’s the benefit for the Plague-Lusters?”

“I think it’s the foods. I mean, if it contaminated them with spores, other Mal’eurs would steered cleared of the spores-laden dead and perhaps in a way, it enhance the dead bodies more to their liking? Who knows?”

When Katarinova wondered of that, I gave my opinions and thought of our several casualties left behind. I shuddered at the thoughts that they would be one of the preserved foods for those monsters. I never thought I would experience a biological attack on a fantasy world.

“Let’s get ourselves treated, the thought of these spores inside of me, creeps me out.”

“Aye.”

And so the night of the first wave of assault ended.