Loki frowned and his hands curled into fists as he recalled the events of that day.
"We searched the house and even the entire area for corpses or anything that could have created the stench, but we found none. It was just inside the closed house, like it was trapped inside and the lycans living there disappeared. "
"We search further, closer to the boundary and there we found our first clue. An amputated arm."
He glanced at his right arm.
"It was an arm of a lycan. It was just lying there where the forest meet the dessert which was the boundary of our territory to the humans. We tried to sniff out the area for some other clue but besides the trail of rotting flesh on the ground, there was nothing else."
"We sent a message to father that we will be crossing the boundary to look for our brethren. There were five of us that crossed the boundary, including me and my brother. We were all considered strong. Stronger than humans with abilities. We were confident that we could bring our brethren back, even with just the five of us. We were so wrong."
He chuckled in self ridicule.
"We travelled for days, only stopping to eat and drink. We only slept for two to four hours and started travelling again. When we arrived at the village, following the putrid smell, we were met with silence. The village was like a ghost town, no signs of life could be found. So, we decided to continue running to the next village."
"Oh. Did I mention we were in wolf form? It was easier for us to move and hunt food in that form so we used it."
He smiled.
"We arrived at the next town and changed into human form. It was a weird town. The air was filled with the smell of all things rotten. Wolves have very sensitive nose, but even when we transformed into human form, our noses are still highly sensitive. Thinking that there was something wrong with the village, we started asking people about wolves, whether they have seen wolves or wolf pups around."
"At first, no one answered, but a thin boy came to us and said he saw a lot of wolves being caged inside a huge house. We asked him to lead us there and paid him after. We were sure that our brethren were there because we could smell them even from the outside."
"We were confident in entering the house where our brethren were kept and saw a horrifying scene."
He stared at us.
"There were hundreds of corpses inside the house. The rotten smell across the entire village came from there."
"We immediately started looking for our brethren and saw them in cages. But there were not only lycans but other races as well, demon kind, mermaids, fairies and even humans. They were all cramped inside small cages."
He tried to describe how small the cages are by pointing from one side of the room to another.
"We freed everyone there and tried to take them to the exit. Unfortunately, the guards in that house noticed us and alerted their superiors."
"A fight broke out and we were actually winning, until they came out."
"What did?" Uriel asked gaining a sharp look from Athy.
Loki took in a deep breath.
"Undead."
"Hordes of them."
"It is easy to defeat living creatures, but a dead one is another story. They are resilient to most abilities and mine, which is electricity, have absolutely no effect on them."
"With no other choice, we decided to let the other three guide the captives outside while I and my brother fought with the undead."
"My ability may be ineffective on them but I still have my physical strength. We fought for what seems to be a long time until we heard some fighting noises outside. The others were also being attacked by the undead outside and were having a hard time."
He stared at his hands.
"My brother, Bismo, told me to go and support the others while he holds back the ones we were currently fighting. I didn't want to but he convinced me to. Bismo, like me was an ability user. He had the ability to control wind. He sounded so confident that he convinced me to leave him and help the others outside."
He looked at us.
"I left my brother inside a house full of undead."
I stared at him. His face was filled with agony.
"I was able to hold the undead outside long enough for the others to escape. When I knew that they were safe, I ran back into the house to fight with Bismo but he wasn't when I left him. I tried looking for him by following his scent which led me to the back of the house."
He looked up straight, but his eyes were in a daze.
"There, in the middle of the garden, I saw an open portal. A black hole where the undead were walking into, and in the middle of the sea of the undead was a man in black hood."
His eyes quivered.
"I wasn't able to see his face completely but I saw him carry the motionless body of my brother."
His voice cracked.
"When that hooded man saw me, he grinned menacingly before turning his back and disappearing into the portal with my brother. I tried to go after them, making my way in the midst of all the undead, but before I could even get close to the portal, it disappeared. Taking my brother with it. The undead left all dropped to the ground, unmoving. Like cutting the thread of a puppet. I was left there staring into space."
He looked at me.
"I did not return to our territory with my brethren and spent four hundred years roaming round, trying to find a single clue to where my brother is. Five years ago, I found a clue about the necromancer who was living in Elleveire Kingdom. So I came here and wandered around looking for clues."
"I found a group of undead demon beasts in the forest just outside the royal capital and observed them for days. Until one day, a portal appeared and the undead started pouring into it. Not knowing where the portal led, I jumped in and arrived in front of you. That is how I got here."