At the Nazar camp outside the Light Town, the atmosphere was very nice, the delicious aroma of steak meat was on every tent. This was one of the best things to be in the army, and that was to have a good time with the brothers and sisters.
Some of the Nazar's told stories, some jokes, and some just talked about random stuff. The more time they spend together, the stronger the brotherhood gets and great memories will stay with them to the end.
"Cheers!"
Neia, Joker, Çikly, Paladin, Goba, Scavenger, Snowball, Paw, Panda, Orcidea, and Helen were sitting around the campfire eating sausage and drinking.
"Man, this town is boring as fuck." said Orcidea, a pale orc female.
"Not just boring, but stupid too." said Paw while eating the sausage, like he was tearing apart an animal.
"We are wasting time with this town while the others are in the shit." said Helen, a wood elf female with short blonde hair.
"Enough with your bullshit, y'all sound like children. I don't want to hear any more of this. Orders are orders and we must follow them. These people are pissing me off too, but I have to endure it, so you will too. I'm I clear?"
"Yes, lieutenant."
None of them said a word for a minute and just stared at the fire. Paladin took two potatoes from his bag and threw them into the ember. Paladin boy rolled them for a few minutes till they were ready.
He took them back and started to peel them with a knife. While he was doing that, the others were watching him with interest, especially the demihumans who were unable to eat vegetables.
Paladin finished and cut one of them in two, then he started to eat it.
"Does that taste good, Paladin?" asked Paw.
Paladin cut a small piece of the potato and gave it to Paw so he can tell how that potato tastes. Paw threw the potato in his mouth and chewed it. He kept it on his mouth for a moment but he couldn't swallow it so he threw it out of his mouth.
"Puh~ Well, guess I can't eat human food."
"It's not human food, Paw. It's just you being a carnivore. Joker and Orcidea can eat it, even Panda boy can, right?"
"Yeah."
Paw took another sausage and ate it to remove the taste of the potato. His body can't take this kind of food, it needs to consume meat at all costs so he can function normally.
"Hey, Paladin, was Yetmir right about your girlfriend, or was he just teasing you?"
"Ah, that…"
Paladin scrapes his hairs looking down at his feet. It was a sudden change in the conversion and he did not expect this question.
"Well, that motherfucker was right, that bitch really cheated on me."
"Damn..."
"Man, that's sad."
"So, how did you find out?" asked Neia."
"I sent a letter to her about the date of my arrival, It was a false report. I reached the city of Hoburns, it had changed a lot since the time I left it but anyway, I went to her neighborhood and... I saw them kissing each other and leaving the house."
"Man, that's messed up. Did you follow them?"
"Yeah, I followed them for the entire day like a fucking dog. Bastards, they looked like a happily married couple."
"Now I feel bad for you. But who was that guy?"
"He was a friend of mine."
"Your friend did that to you?! Holy shit, this is getting worse." said the surprised Snowball.
"When it was getting dark, they returned again back to her home. I use my item to make myself invisible just to hear the conversation.
"Margarita, will this be the last time we go out together?" he asked
"Yeah, I guess, but he will leave again so…"
The invisible Paladin looked at his girlfriend with disgust mixed with hatred.
"But… I will also join the Nazar Army soon. He grabbed her hand softly and spoke. "Margarita, leave him and be mine."
'I-I can't."
"Wh-Why? You told me, these two months have been the best moments of your life."
Slut! Paladin screamed inside from what he was hearing. All those days and nights together and she has said those words to him.
"I still love him… I promised him that we will marry as soon as he returns. I'm sorry Roberto, but I have to leave my lust behind and become a proper wife."
She betrayed me just because she couldn't control her lust?! Paladin was shocked was couldn't believe what he was witnessing. This slut is about to become his wife…
"Is-Is that so… If this is the last night, let's make lost of sex like never before."
"Yes, I will have to seduce him tomorrow to have sex because you might impregnate me…"
"Tell me something, who is better in bed, me or him?"
"Him of course, he is like a beast."
That hurt a little bit, but I think tonight you will change your mi...
Clap... clap... clap... clap... clap
Suddenly the two of them noticed some slow claps and looked around to see who was making them.
Out of thin air, a person in dark armor appeared. Shock captured both of them because they know well who this person was.
"Thanks for the compliment… Rita."
"Ma-Mateo… when did you… the latter said…"
"Yeah, I wanted to make you a surprise but…"
Paladin turned his eyes at Roberto who had lowered his head in shame.
"Mateo please I can explain!"
"What do you want to explain to me, Rita, hm? That you wanted to have a fire night with him, get impregnated, lie to me that is my child, and raise a damn bastard child! Living my entire life in a fucking lie!"
He was always there, he had heard everything she had said, she had nothing to help herself in this situation. But the young man Roberto stepped before Mateo to protect the girl.
"Mateo I understand how you feel right now…
Paladin grabbed Roberto by his shirt.
"You know nothing about how I feel because if you knew, you wouldn't have done this. I thought you were a good friend but It turns out you are just a little piece of shit."
"Mateo please hear me out, I…"
"I wanna hear none of your bullshit! I should have let you get devoured by those Octamen long ago, you fucking ungrateful scum!"
Out of anger, Paladin punched Roberto on the lower jaw. Paladin was super stronger compared to this little man. Margarita covered her mouth in shock as Roberto fell on the ground.
"Mateo, please stop!"
"Protecting your boyfriend, huh?"
"No, no, no, I swear that you are the only one that I love Mateo."
What the fuck?! He wanted to punch her too, he really wished that. He wanted to see her face covered in blood. But beating such a lowly slut was not worthy at all and It would give him problems. He has just become a Nazar and getting arrested now would be unpleasant.
"Save those words for him, now it's over between us."
Paladin turned to leave them but Margarita quickly grabbed his arm.
"Mateo, my love, please don't leave me! I won't make any more mistakes, please stay!
"Get off me!"
Paladin used his force to push her away and her fragile body fell on the ground. The angry Nazar turned his face at her.
"What has been done, cannot be undone! Don't you dare to show your face before me again or I will end you!"
The Nazar disappeared in the darkness, leaving both the scum and the cheater on the ground, one crying and the other one unconscious with blood over his face. What will she do now? Her parents are waiting for her to marry Mateo. She won't be able to confront her parents because of her mistakes. All because of this man that appeared two weeks after Mateo went to boot camp. She wanted a soldier guy but… she messed up everything.
"And that is how it ended. I sent a message back to Yetmir to thank him. Because of him, I became more careful when trusting someone."
His voice told the others that this man was still suffering from breaking up with his girlfriend. He must have really loved her and seeing his woman going with someone else really turned him into a different person, a more cold one.
"Gosh, human society is weird." said Paw.
"It is what it is, can't help it."
"If we want a woman that has a partner, we call the male to have a fight and who wins gets the woman."
"That's ridiculous." expressed Helen with disgust. "What if the female doesn't want to be a prize and wants to stay with her partner?"
"Well… I've never seen that happen. Our females want strong males so they always choose them."
Strong males, strong children, strong family, victorious, proud, and respected by everyone. That was the way for almost all the beastman tribes.
"We elves never cheat. In the dark age, the elf king took elf females by force, even those who were married. Only he was like a black sheep among us. I lived in a rural area and fought with humans of the Slane Theocracy once, but we managed to drove them out of our territory. What about you Joker? Did you take part in the war?"
"No." answered Joker to Helen.
"So you lived south-west deep in the forest, right?"
"No, I was born in Grad Town, Slane Theocracy."
All of them froze and stared at Joker with wide-open eyes and food stuck on their mouth.
"You are making another joke, right?"
"Not at all Helen, I was born a slave and lived like one for almost one hundred years. It's been three years since our King saved us from the whips of the Slane Theocracy. I also have two half-elf sisters that live in the Supreme City."
"Damn, that must have been a horrible time. What about your mother?
"Mother…"
It was Joker himself that ended her sufferings. His mother was going crazy because the last master they had was torturing everyone like punching bags and his mother was being tortured a lot until one day she snapped and wanted to end it all.
Joker couldn't see his mother like that. She begged him to kill her so Joker with a stolen knife killed his own mother and he made it look like a suicide… Five days later, the order from the cardinals arrived and all the elves were returned back to their lands.
Five days… If they would have waited for five days, his mother would have been alive today. Joker will never forgive himself for what he has done. For an entire year, Joker was not able to recover from the regret and had fallen into a deep depression.
But he was not the only depressed elf. Many others had it worse, especially the females that got gang-raped every day and night breeding a large number of half-elves. Being a half-human and half-elf was like a curse in this nation because they were beaten and shamed in the middle of the city for just being a disgusting breed in the eyes of the human supremacist.
While Joker was in his own world of memories, the others were concerned with his silence, they even saw a teardrop falling.
"Mother is dead… Now I think it is my turn to guard, good night."
Joker got up and turned to go near the forest where they had built a wooden tower. His comrades watched him as he left until he disappeared through the darkness of the night.
"I wonder what happened?" asked Scavenger.
"He said that he has two sisters that are half-elves. His mother must have been through a lot of nasty torture." said Orcidea.
Neia was silent the whole time on this topic. She had no right to speak because it is the humans that have caused all this suffering to the other races, to the mother of Joker.
"Filthy damn Niguns! Worry not fellas, one day the wrath of the Supreme Being will burn that damned shithole." declared Paladin to turn up the gloomy moment, he was a bit drunk too.
"It would be great if only the Nazar army would be ordered to destroy the Slane Theocracy." said Helen.
"Hmm, that would be a piece of good news for my ears." followed Paw.
It would be an epic experience for the Nazar Army to fight the strongest human nation in the history of this continent. The end of the Slane Theocracy means the end of an era and the start of a new one. How would the world look after that?
"Nya, imagine how many songs would be sung by the bards or how many epic stories would be written, nya." said Çikly looking at the sky.
"Hey now! Come on, I'm gonna have so many good dreams tonight about those." the dreamful Goba turned at Çikly.
"Well, I don't mind if it is us that will destroy it, but let's be real guys, you know his majesty does not like to see us dying, so I'm sure that he will send the Immortal Army to crush them. Maybe our purpose will be to invade villages, towns or small cities, so we won't get that much attention, I guess."
"But every kind of undead is somehow the same, expect the vampires. All the mortals see us the Nazars as heroes. Look at Billy's uncle Buser for example, that guy is known in the whole kingdom for his brutal strength, and the human female Gagaran that can crush the enemy flat with her war-pick, Fel Iron.
"Well, some people are just born special, we can't do anything about it. Fate, lead them to the path of glory." said Neia while staring at the fire.
At a very young age, some people start to train hard because they have a dream and they want to achieve that dream no matter how hard the road is to reach it. Or it's just luck…
"But why should we be famous? Too much attention is a bit embarrassing." said Panda boy.
"It is wrong for our names to be remembered by the people of the kingdom after your bones are turned to ashes?" asked Goba.
"I'm talking about now, not after we die."
"Haha, if you are famous now, you'd get any girl you want and free drinks every night, gahahaha." said Paladin with enthusiasm.
The dude had a bottle on his hand and was getting drunk. Now that he broke up with his girlfriend, he was able to talk freely about getting laid and do other shit.
"Paladin, go to sleep." ordered Neia.
"Nah, Nah, Madeye. Listen, I got a joke for y'all, wanna hear it?"
All of them stared at each other and then turned to Paladin. "Alright, go on, we are listening." allowed Neia.
"Okay, long ago there was a king, a human king. Some days ago, his army crushed an enemy army that wanted to invade his lands and captured a lot of prisoners of war. But he can't keep a large number of prisoners so he had to do something. Killing them would be very easy, but he was a merciful king, so he gave them a chance. He took all the prisoners near a river, there, he told them that if they want to be free again, they have to pass through this river but... without getting their dicks wet."
The Nazar's started to giggle because that was an impossible challenge but it was getting interesting and it didn't sound like a joke.
"The prisoners thought and thought how to make it into the other side without getting their dicks wet in the river but they had no idea. They felt that death was near because the soldiers had their swords ready to execute them. But one of the prisoners had an idea and the others heard him. He told them that there is one way to get out of this and save their lives. All they had to do was to stick their dick inside each other's ass."
"What the fuck?! Hahaha, that's nasty." said Paw.
"I know it was an unpleasant idea but that was the only way. Beheading or dick. All the prisoners agreed with this plan and after that, they walked like a human centipede through the river. They were free again."
"That's so fucked up but effective thought." said Goba
"Disgusting, I'd choose death." for Paw that would be a shame and he wouldn't be able to live long after doing something like that. He would even choose to get executed than doing that unmanly act.
"Wa-wait a second man!" it was the dark elf Snowball that spoke.
"Eh, what is it?" asked Paladin.
"What about the first one? Where did he stick his dick?"
"In your ass."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"PFFFFFHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
All of the group fell on their spine holding their stomach because of laughing hard like the soul was getting out of the body. Snowball was still clueless and looking at others with confusing eyes.
"What is it?! What did I say?"
"That was the joke, ha ha hahaha! You fell for it, you got fucked, hahaha!"
"Oh, fuck you, Paladin! You said all that shit just to put one of us in a trap!"
"Worth it, hahaha!"
Neia had covered her mouth and was trying to not let out loud hilarity because she had a higher position than these guys so she had to be a bit serious, but still, the joke was funny as hell.
"Ugh, fuck all of you!"
The angry dark elf got up and left the group to go to his tent to sleep.
"Aye Snowball my man, where're you going? It's just a joke."
"Fuck off!" he shouted without turning his face and going forward.
"Leave him Paladin and all of you, let's spread."
"Aye, sir."
Neia walked out of the camp in the wide field to take some fresh air away from the voices of her comrades.
"Ah, so nice."
The warm wind from the west hit her face but that felt very good like she could fly into the night sky. There was no moon these days so the area was dark and she literally saw nothing but the stars that shined.
The forest was near the camp and she could hear countless animals doing their nightlife. Suddenly her ears heard a long scream that came far away from the camp, on the other side of the town where those two sisters sent their farm animals.
"Huh…"
She couldn't tell if that scream came from an animal or from a human witch it would be impossible because no human will go inside the forest at night.
"It might be a fox looking for her cubs maybe."
"Lieutenant, is that you?" spoke one of the Nazar's that was patrolling.
"Yeah."
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Just taking some fresh air. Good night."
"Good night Lieutenant."
In the morning, Neia and her garrison put their gear on their body and went to the town again to start their patrolling. Another day in this degenerated town was like a tourture for everyone but orders were orders and they had to obey.
When they entered the town, the Nazar's were welcomed by silence. There were no people in the entrance of the town, so they went deeper but still, they didn't find anyone.
"Are they still sleeping?" said Joker looking at the buildings.
Well, thinking like that would be easy but in this world, villagers, townsfolk, citizens have to wake up very early to work because of the hard life and this town was no exception.
"It feels like a plague has fallen here but there are no bodies around." said Scavenger.
"Well, that would be great." said Paw with no remorse.
"Hey, don't say that, we'd be in big troubles." said Paladin, worried.
"What troubles? Plague is a disease, we can't kill it with swords."
"Would you two shut that crap." the wood elf Joker turned at the human and the beastman.
"Shhh…"
The lieutenant Neia gestured with her finger. Her ears heard some voices far away and they were not stopping, but that told Neia what direction she should go.
"Joker, are you elf ears hearing those voices?" asked Neia the wood elf.
"Clearly. Follow me!"
All the Nazars marched through the Light Town and went north to find out the reason why there were no people in the center of the town. This small town had only one main road and somehow Neia felt like she knew where they were heading. Joker led them to where the house of those two shepherd sisters was.
"There they are."
Neia saw that all the people of the town had gathered at this house. Things did not look good because the women were crying.
"Did someone die?"
"Yeah I guess…"
One of the townsfolk noticed the Nazar's approaching and told the others.
"Aha, look who arrived, the heroes, our protectors." said the mayor.
Neia narrowed her eyes in confusion. All these people were looking at the Nazar forces with disgusted hatred like her soldiers had committed a crime.
"What happened here?" asked Neia.
"The eldest daughter of Theolo, was attacked by a monster last night, and it cost her life."
Theolo was near and had lowered his face in sadness while trying to hold his wife that was crying
"The scream..."
She remembered the weird scream last night that she thought it was a fox, but in reality, it was the shepherd girl. A wave of regret hit her, the young that girl she spoke for a short time was dead. How things might have gone if she decided to go in the direction of that scream last night? Could have prevented her death?
"Where did you find her?"
"She was lying lifeless on the fields. We thought that you protected the area around but it seems you lack in that field. Because of your uselessness, we lost a life."
"Tch!"
This really made her bite her tongue. Sure these people hate them and will call the Nazar's all the bad words they know.
"May I see the girl?" asked Neia.
"The hell are you saying?!" Theolo shouted, raising his angry face at Neia.
"Sir I need to examine her body and find out what creature took her life."
"No! Don't you dare to touch my daughter, you demon!"
The mother this time exploded at Neia. Her face was full of tears and looked like she wanted to jump at Neia.
"Miss, we just want…"
"Leave my daughter alone. You promised us protection! You are nothing but kids with sticks! Get away from my house, you damnable servants of the undead!"
The enraged woman took a stone from the ground and threw it at Neia. The stone didn't do much but hit Neia's breastplate. That was not all, the townsfolk started to shout at the Nazar's and hit them with stones.
"Leave our town you demons!"
"Go to hell!"
"Get lost!
"The gods will punish you and your king!"
The rain of stones hit the Nazar forces but they did not even flinch. Such plebs were nothing but a joke, it will be a shame to step back from such an angry mob.
"What a disaster…"
The young lieutenant thought that it would be difficult to convince these fools so her decision was…
"Let's leave them for now, so they can calm."
"Are you sure?" asked Joker.
Neia looked at Joker and remembered the words she had told him about the need of being harsher with the residents of this town when they don't behave. But this was not the time to be harsh because it was a delicate moment.
"Yeah let's go and check the fields and the forest."
As soon as they saw the Nazar forces turning and leaving, the people stopped screaming and were relieved like they had won a battle.
Only one of them was not okay about how the Nazar's were treated. This person was Mela, the little sister of Mana, now the only daughter in the house of Theolo.
Her parents told her that her sister had died and they did not let her see her body for the last time. Manna's body was still inside the house in her bedroom and she was not allowed to enter there.
She turned to see her parents…
"Father… Mother…"
The reason why Mela was confused was because her parents did not look any more like they were in pain caused by the death of Manna.
"What's going on?! Why does mother and father look like that?"
This was just abnormal, Mela saw them smirking at each other and the mayor. Only those girls who had the same age as Manna was crying for real because they were friends of Manna. Seeing the adults that did not look sad at all, like this was not a mourning day made things suspicious.
"Mother what's wrong with everyone?" she asked.
Her mother gestured to keep her mouth shut. All the people that were on the yard of the house-made a path because the priest arrived. Mela did not like this person, he had that grin on his face that made him look like a person with a dirty mind.
"May the light of the gods bless you all!"
Everyone took a knee and bowed their heads for the holy man. Mela also kneeled, she did not want to but was forced by her parents. She kept her eyes on the priest's face.
"Theolo."
"Yes."
"I'm really sorry for your loss, son." with both his hands he grabbed the hands of Theolo to give him strength in this grim day.
Again Mela was confused by the way they were looking at each other. It shouldn't be like that, especially from her father's side, his daughter has died, he should be in deep pain falling on the priest's legs. But no… they looked like they were doing business.
"Alright, we need to proceed with the ritual quickly or the poor girl will never see the gates of heaven. After me you, and take some of the boys, we won't live forever so they need to learn."
"Yes, follow me, my lord."
Theolo led them to the room where the body of Manna was lying. The people outside stood on their knees, facing the ground, and started to pray, her father also joined and started to pray with his eyes closed.
Mela did not pray because she did not know how to do that. She turned her eyes at the window that covered the room of Manna and wondered what those people would do with her sister.
The bedroom was small and Manna's lifeless body was there. The priest, the mayor, five men that worked for him and five 14 years boys entered the bedroom.
"Close the door."
One of the men did as he ordered and closed and locked the door with the key so nobody would disturb them.
The mayor and the priest observed the dead girl with their lustful eyes. They both smiled sadistly.
"I'm lucky that I am surrounded by stupid peasants, fufu." said the mayor sarcastly
"And I'm lucky that I left the Slane Theocracy for this forgotten trash town."
"Tear her clothes."
There was no ritual…
There was no tradition…
The mayor of the town with his henchman and the priest were nothing but disgusting people that were using these people for their dark lust.
And they had done this for fifteen years…
All the adults of this town know how this "ritual" works and they still believe the priest. If it brings good fortunes then so be it, they all went with it and have participated in this "ritual" just so they can keep their mouth shut.
The men removed the sheet and tore Manna's white robe exposing her pale cold body. The boys gulped while seeing the work of those adults.
"Watch and learn, my children. This is how the ritual works. You all will have your turn after us."
All of them started to undress, the boys too as they were said. So it was simply, this girl can't go to heaven while being a virgin. They have to impure her so she can fall upon god's hands. This is how they lied to an entire town…
"Let's have some fun shall we, Manna."
Mela could not bear it anymore, she wanted to know what was happening in the bedroom, what those people were doing to her sister. But if she asks again, she will be scolded by her parents.
So the brave girl decided to rise. Nobody noticed her approaching the window because they were saying their prayers with their eyes close.
Mela walked smoothly until she reached the window of the house. She couldn't see at the beginning because the window was covered by red curtains.
But luck was on her side this time. The family of Theolo was poor and all the things in his house were old, so were these curtains. They had a hole and Mela used it to see what was happening inside the bedroom.
"What is this ritual…"
She was able to see her sister… naked. Then someone touched her breast and started to lick them. That was the moment when a feeling like a heavy thunder made an impact on her body.
"Oh, my god!"
Her blue eyes went wide open from seeing this scene and covered her mouth in shock. She wanted to know what this ritual was, but it was not a ritual at all. These men were about to defile the dead body of Manna.
"No… no way! This should not happen. This… this is..."
Seeing how they were licking her body like animals was so disgusting that she was about to throw up.
What can she do? Should she tell her parents or will they scold her in front of these people? The big question was… Are they even aware that something like this was happening? Do they know what these men were doing?"
So many questions were hitting her brain, she was going crazy. She did not have faith in her parents anymore, and the other might be the same as them.
"Wait."
Someone showed up in her mind.
"Big sister…"
That's right, the commander of the soldiers that guard the Light Town, only her image was in her mind. If she tells her about this, she might believe her. But Mela has to run away from this place first.
All the people around were praying in unison, so Mela did her steps smoothly, and it worked. These stupid people didn't hear anything while Mela was passing through them.
As she passed them, Mela started to walk faster. When she was away from her house, she started to run as fast as she could. The people of this village were the true enemies and the Nazar's were the only ones she can trust.
Neia was very angry about how she and soldiers were being treated in this place. It's not her fault that someone would decide to go out at night knowing well what danger lies there. She even was sad that such an energetic young girl would die like that alone in the darkness.
She did not deserve to die like that, but this town is located in a dangerous point so people dying like that wouldn't be a rare thing. Still, deep in her heart, she blamed herself for not going after that scream last night. She might have saved her from death.
"Don't worry Madeye, It's not your fault that she stood so long in the fields."
"I know… It's just…"
"Hey lieutenant, someone is coming this way."
"Huh."
Neia turned back and saw that girl again, the sister of Manna. She was running very fast, it was expected from a kid that has run in the fields after the farm animals.
"What does she want?"
"Big sister!"
"Hey, hey, hey, slow your horse before you hurt yourself."
Mela was stopped by Neia, the face of this girl was all red and purple dropping oceans of tears from her eyes.
"Mela, why are you running like that?"
She took a handkerchief and began to wipe her tears but the girl was still crying and the tears did not stop.
"Tell me, Mela, what's wrong?"
"Pl-Please, come and help my sister!"
That was weird, isn't she dead, that's what Neia thought.
"Alright but why? You know the people there will be very angry if they see us again."
"The priest and the mayor with his men are doing dirty things to my sister's body! I saw them, I swear, please believe big sister."
Everyone was confused at the part "dirty things". It did not sound good.
"M-Mela… what do you mean by "dirty things"?"
She did not want that to be the case. She prayed for the girl to be wrong and she had seen illusions.
"Dirty things! Dirty things! Like grabbing her chest like monsters, spreading her legs and…"
"Stop, stop, stop!"
Immediately Neia hugged Mela tight and she started to cry on her shoulder. Those words should not be recited by a child until she reaches the right age. She should not see or hear that kind of stuff in the first place.
Now it was all the lieutenant's decision of what actions the Nazar's should take. She has to do it. She had a feeling that something was wrong with this town and this might be her chance to find out the problem.
"Everyone listen up! Six of us will storm inside the house. The others will surround the area and deal with the townsfolk. Do not hurt them too much, just show them their place. Are we clear?"
"Yes, Lieutenant!"
Like the wind, the Nazar's ran again in the same direction they were before. Neia caressed Mela's head and smiled.
"Don't worry dear, we will take care of this."
This girl was not very beautiful and her eyes were kinda scary but for Mela, she was like a hero or an angel that answered her beg for salvation.
Theolo with the others were still praying and he was eagerly waiting for this boring "ritual" to end. He knows well what the priest is doing there because he has participated before in such a thing.
It was a weird "ritual" at the beginning but it was necessary so the soul would reach the light of eternity.
"I'm sorry for doing this to you Manna, but I had no other choice. Money brings food on the table while you don't. But I swerve after this, I will treat Mela better and work harder. I'll even try to make another child hoping this time to be a boy. Mela would love a little brother right?"
Theolo opened his eyes to see the form of his little daughter but he saw that Mela was missing. He looked around if she might have changed position but no, Mela was nowhere to be found.
"Mela?"
His wife heard him and decided to raise her head to see Theolo, who was looking around worried.
"Dear what is it?"
"I can't find Mela."
"Huh, but she was with me a moment ago."
But something unexpected was happening. Theolo saw them again and they were coming in different directions.
"E-Everyone! The-they came back."
All those people stopped praying and raised on their feet. They got confused about the situation that was occurring.
"What is this?"
The Nazar's surrounded the people of the Light Town and they had nowhere to escape. The only thing they did was to use the act of the angry civilian.
"What is the meaning of this? Can't you just let us pray in peace? Why are you here again?"
At that moment Theolo stopped shouting like an idiot because he saw his daughter walking behind the undead follower. He has been looking for his daughter in the middle of these people but never thought that she would follow the soldiers. Why did she do that anyway?
M-Mela what are you doing with them? Get back here!"
The girl was scared a bit by her father's words and moved to hide behind the soldiers' backs. What was wrong with his daughter? He wanted to bring her back and spank her face for disobeying her father.
Now the woman with the terrible eyes stepped forward. She was right in front of him staring menacingly like a monster. The sweat began to run over his face making his body shiver like it was a cold night.
"What-what do you want with u-us?"
"Get lost."
Neia pushed him from her path and Theolo fell over the people. One of them decided to punch Neia from the right side but she was faster and hit the man with her elbow on the nose. Of course, it was more painful because of the armor. His nose was crushed and was spilling blood over his face.
Everyone backed away from her. Neia pulled her sword and pointed at Theolo. "I'm tired of your bullshit. Try to leave this place, you die! Try to do something funny, you die!"
"HIII!"
Theolo pushed himself backward from fear because of this woman. Her threats were serious, making him put his tale under his legs.
The path was opened for Neia and nothing was able to stop her. Six Nazar's followed her and walked to the house direction. It was time to know what this town was up to. They entered the house and checked the rooms but nothing was there. Neia turned to the last room and approached her hand at the door handle. She tried to open it, but it was locked.
"The ritual is not over! Get out!"
The voice of the priest was heard from this room. He did not know about the Nazar's coming here again. Neia told the soldiers to give her some space and turned at the door again.
Neia raised her leg and kicked the door. The door broke into pieces and dust rose inside the room, there was no need to use a lot of force, she could have opened it by just pushing it with her hand but wanted to enter like a storm, capturing them in surprise.
"What?! What just happened?! Who is there…"
The mayor, the priest, and his men turned their faces at the door that was not connected anymore with the wall. The dust faded away and some figures entered inside the room. When they revealed themselves, Ciris and the others froze in place.
Neia stared at these naked people that were around the room. Why were they naked? Then she looked at the bed and saw the lifeless body of Manna. The priest had spread her legs and was about to insert his thing inside her.
"Scum…"
"What-What are the undead followers doing here?"
"Tch! You fucking filth! Get them!"
The soldiers grabbed all of them wildly, even the kids, and threw them out of the house flying like bundles. From fear, they began to crawl on the ground like maggots. Neia went and the mayor and the priest by the neck, separating them from the others.
"Agh! Stop! Why are… Agh!"
"Oh god stop!"
Neia dropped them on the ground like sacks. She had two robes and threw those at them to cover their lower body.
"Now you motherfuckers, ALL OF YOU FUCKS! Tell me what's the meaning of this! Why were these scumbags raping the dead body of Manna?!
Nobody was giving her an answer and kept their heads low in fear. Neia watched them and was shocked about the fact that they knew what these people were doing in that room except the girls and kids that were 16-17 13-12 and below.
"Ma-Mama, what is she saying? What rape?"
A girl asked shockingly but the mother tried to shut the mouth of her daughter from asking that question. All the Nazar's drew out their swords, they were angry at these people but Neia raised her hand to stop them.
"Mayor, I ask for the last time. Why were you people doing that?!"
He did not have the balls to say anything so the priest decided to talk for him.
"This is an old tradition of the Light Town. If the girl stays pure, she will never see the gates of heaven and will fall in hell for eternity. We have to do it…"
"Nonsense! This is madness! Who in the fucking world will believe this kind of bullshit?!"
"Gods demand it!"
"FUCK YOUR GODS!"
Because of anger, Neia kicked him on the face breaking his nose just like she did with Theolo.
Truly she said that who would believe this disgusting lie, but there were people who believed it. And those people were the residents of the Light Town. This was just disgusting. Why? Why does she have to deal with something like this?
"How can you… How can you people allow this to happen to your children?"
Again nobody gave a response.
"ANSWER ME GOD DAMN IT!"
"It's useless Madeye, they are full of regrets now that someone exposed them.
Neia turned around thinking about what she should do first. Most of these people for sure will get executed and she will need to report all this madness. Her eyes went to the hill near the town while thinking and then her eyes met the shrine that was on top of the hill surrounded by walls and trees.
"That damn shrine."
She was about to turn again but her eyes again stared at the shrine.
"The shrine… What's in that shrine?"
The mayor began shivering like a birch when he heard that question. If they find out about the shrine, this town is doomed.
"What do you hide in that shrine that you so much protect, mayor?"
"N-Nothing."
"I should not put in consideration to believe you or any of these people."
Neia went and opened the gate of the sheepfold and scared all the animals outside. Theolo and his wife saw all their wealth leaving in front of their eyes because of this woman.
"All of you, get inside!"
There were no movements for a short time. Neia did not want to waste time anymore and gave a sign to one of the magic casters.
[Fireball] !
The 3rd tire spell was launched at a tree that was near and it exploded burning it. This scared the villagers to death because they had never seen such magic in their life.
"The next spell will fall upon you, so get in!"
They were forced to obey and entered inside the sheepfold. It was funny now because it was they who looked like farm animals this time.
"You will come with me."
Neia went and grabbed the mayor and took him with her to climb the hill and enter the shrine. She had eight Nazar's following and looked for any danger. They all reached the gate of the shrine and Neia decided to knock on it.
"Open the gate!"
No one was giving a response. Maybe this place was truly empty but Neia decided to hit the wooden gate again.
"Open the gate!"
"Yes, yes mayor, I'm here."
The voice of a man was heard and was coming to open the gate. Neia felt that she was approaching the truth of madness. There were people inside while she was deceived by the mayor that no one went there.
A man in priest robe wearing a red devilish mask opened the gate.
"Did you bring the body…"
The man froze when he saw the Nazar's waiting outside to enter the shrine with the naked mayor.
"Who are…"
Out of nowhere, Neia punched the man breaking his red mask. Behind that mask was a middle-aged man. Suddenly Neia saw another man wearing the same clothes and mask as the man she punched.
Seeing how the mayor was beaten, naked and the other guy on the ground, he stood shocked for a moment and then decided to run inside the shrine to save himself.
"STOP!"
Neia and the others ran after him and entered inside the shrine. With all that training she had done on the island, she was fast like wind and reached the man very easily. She jumped upon him and was able to stop this rabbit.
"Quickly, get him!"
Neia gave the order to her soldiers but they were not coming. She turned her face to them and they had stopped at the entrance of the shrine.
"What's wrong? Why are you not coming?"
Joker, Helen, Paladin had faces of shock and disgust while looking at the sides of the grand room. Neia was confused for a moment and decided to find out what her comrades were looking at.
When she saw it…
"AAAAAAAHHH!"
Screaming Neia back off on the left side of the room scared. But then she hit something with her back and it cracked like bones. While shivering, she slowly turned her head and...
"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
The scared Neia fell on the floor and turned to see the entire grand room.
"Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh God help us"
In front of Neia was the true horror that she has never seen before. On both sides of the room in line were many embalmed bodies of young girls that were the same age as Manna. They were hanged on wooden pillars without their lower bodies. A candle was below their ribs to light the body on the inside, that's why their eye socket glazed. But that made it look terrifying like a nightmare.
"Bgh!"
Helen has been holding her stomach for the moment but she couldn't resist it anymore and went outside to throw up.
"Oh gosh, why is this happening?! In what kind of hell have we stepped into?!"
"Madeye, Madeye, calm please, hold yourself!"
"Look at them, Joker! Look at them! Why are those poor souls like that?! What did they do to deserve such cruelty?! This-This is not a nightmare! THIS IS HELL! Humans do this to each other! We are a cursed race!
"Lieutenant Neia Baraja!" shouted Joker.
"Huh!"
This time, Neia came to her senses again and stared at Joker's eyes for a short moment.
"I-I'm really sorry."
"Why are you saying that?"
"I'm not doing my job right."
She blamed herself because she wasn't acting like a lieder but a coward. She did not deserve to have this title. Joker was the one who deserved it more than her. These were her thoughts.
"You need to wash your face with very cold water, Lieutenant. Maybe that will normalize you."
"I'll definitely do that."
Joker, like a brother, smiled and helped Neia to rise on her feet. She was so glad to have someone like Joker near her. He truly was a good person that cared very much about the others.
Painfully, Neia watches the hanged corpses again. This was so terrible beyond imagination. This image will stick in her head to the last day of her life.
"Hey Lieutenant, do you remember the words of Yetmir?"
"Which ones?"
[You will see many things that will terrify the heart of a person. But you will not fall in despair.]
"I guess he was talking about something like this, right?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"So Lieutenant, what actions should we take?"
"Joker, I hope you don't mind, please get their corpses out here. I need some minutes to stay alone."
"Yeah sure, as your order, Lieutenant."
"Thank you very much."
Neia went out of the shrine and entered into the forest. She found a nice wide area with soft green grass and she fell upon it. Then, Neia started to cry again because of the horrors that she saw inside that shrine.
"Oh god, I can't get it out of my head. Those corpses… all those poor girls dying because of the madness of their parents. Oh god why?!"
This was a terrifying experience and she did not want to have nightmares when she goes to sleep.
Humans… Only humans would do something like this to their own kind. When they treat their fellow humans like garbage, of course, they will see the other races like rats that need to be crushed.
Why should humanity be like this? Such lowly beings that multiply like nettles, act so superior to other beings. There are demihumans like hyenamen that eat their dead fellows when food shortage is low, but that is just survival. Humans would rape dead bodies because they have a disgusting fetish.
"Trash, filth, scum! Curse them! Curse them all!"
Enraged, Neia hit the grass with fist. She was very angry with her own kind because of the crimes they have committed.
"What are you doing child?"
Neia paused immediately what she was doing. There was a great shadow covering her. She slowly lifted her head and saw him.
"Y-Your Majesty!"
It was him, her idol, her king, her God. The mighty overlord covered with a magnificent godly gear crafted only for him. This was the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown. The only thing that Neia could do as a worshiper was to kneel in front of her God.
"Raise your head, child."
"Yes."
Neia obeys his words. Her body was shivering in excitement just by looking at him.
"I've been observing you these days, Neia. It seems you are in great misery."
"No almighty one! As soon as I saw you, I only felt happiness! It's just the thing that is happening in this town that is troubling me."
"Terrible isn't it?"
"Your Majesty?"
"The actions of humans. Tell me Neia, what are humans to you."
"...Lower life forms."
She said that with no regrets.
"What else?"
"Greedy?"
"Yes, that's right. Greed is something that poisons the human society, It weakens them without knowing what is happening. Can you imagine a world that has only humans?"
"...No."
"I've been in a world like that. It was called Earth. The humans did not have much difficulty spreading in that world because it did not have other intelligent life forms that could pose threats to their path. As soon as they learned how to create weapons, there was only war and it went like that for thousands of years. Magic for them existed only in children's fantasies, they created weapons of mass destruction that can wipe out whole countries. They did that to their own kind… Their greed knew no limit. They used all the resources that the world could give and they turned it into a pile of garbage. You see how beautiful the sky is here? In that world, you couldn't see the sun and the blue sky because of the poisoned clouds full of acid rain that humans had created with their industries. Rich people lived in their comfortable homes using those who were poor as they saw fit. If someone was homeless or lost the job, it was a death sentence. They knew what they had done to their world but they couldn't stop it. It was too late to restore the world as it was in the past. This is what humans are… the most dangerous monsters in the universe. Greedy and corrupt."
Neia was lost in her imagination. If humans turn it like that, it must be very sad to live in such a grim world.
"The humans… the humans here can also turn this world like Earth."
It was the same here. The nobles and the kings treat the peasants like trash and order them to go fight with other nations like it is a game for them. Strong nations like the Slane Theocracy that fight for human supremacy exterminate other races just because they exist. What would happen if they found out how to create new terrifying weapons. All other races would be wiped out from existence or turn into slaves for the humans. The future of this world will be the same as Earth's if humans are allowed to dominate.
"Thank you very much for opening my eyes, your Majesty. Humanity must never be allowed to rule over the world. There are times when evil demons come to destroy everything and that is a moment when races unite even if they are enemies to eliminate the common danger. But when there is no more danger, they turn at each other's throat again."
"Very clever."
"I think the world does not need heroes or human kings… What this world need is a God… It is you... your Majesty."
"Why am I imagining the floor guardians applauding right now?"
Ainz reached the head of Neia and gave her a pat. "Now I remember. You were that little girl in the refugee camp right? I can tell it from your eyes."
Unbelievable… To remember someone unimportant like her… He was amazing. The respect that Neia had for this mighty king was unmatchable and can match those of the floor guardians.
"Your Majesty, this servant of your shall be loyal to the end of her life. I will do what I must to end the foolishness of humanity and put it where it belongs."
"I... didn't say that but ok."
This girl was starting to change.
"I'm glad that you are a brave woman of the Sorcerer Kingdom. Now Neia, I will let the fate of those people in your hands. Do you need anything?"
Some short of grim aura was enveloping this girl. That was not a good thing. With a straight face, she said…
"I need some undead and a lot of crosses… your Majesty."
The Nazar troops that came to invade the shrine were placing the corpses of the many young girls outside. Joker looked at them with sorrowful eyes. It was heartbreaking for these poor girls to have a fate like this.
Then Joker looked around to see if Neia returned back but she was nowhere to be seen. He was starting to feel worried about her safety.
"Helen, I'm going to find Madeye…
There was no need to do that. Neia came out of the forest but behind her appeared a small army of Death Warriors and Vampires that were pulling long wooden crosses. On Neias right side was Arche Eeb Rile Furt and on the left side was a maid that had a dog head.
"Lieutenant Madeye, all the corpses are in one place."
Joker did not ask about where these undead came from. He was kinda scared of her facial expression. It's like she has no more feelings.
"Good job, the Death Warriors will open a grave for them later. Is anyone inside there?"
"N-No, we are done with this place. Those two people that lived here, were the last of a death cult and paid the mayor and the priest to bring young girls here."
"I see, everything is clear now. Lady Arche, can you use a spell and burn the shrine."
"Yes."
Arched raised her staff and cast the spell.
[Napalm] !
A column of flame appeared near the shrine and engulfed it in fire. The flames were very hot and turned everything to ashes in a short time.
"Magnificent Lady Arche. Now everyone, let's head to the town."
"What happened?"
Joker looked at Neia's profile with curiosity. She was definitely turned into a different person. She did not have that anxiety look on her face anymore but a serious face. But there was more than Joker could not see.
Her blood was boiling with wrath and hatred…
The people of the Light Town were still inside the circle of the sheepfold. They could not bear it anymore and wanted to go home to eat something and go on with their life.
But they were captured by the Nazar forces, as a traditional word that says "with leek on their hands". Meaning that they had been doing a bad thing and were found out unexpectedly in surprise.
What should they do? How can they explain this to those who don't know it yet?
"They are here." spoke one of the soldiers.
All the townsfolk got up and saw the angry lieutenant with a new army on her back. Those soldiers were different, inhuman, and dangerous. Their death aura inserted fear into everyone's heart.
The other strange thing was those crosses that the undead forces dropped on the ground. Those were not good news.
Lieutenant Madeye approached the sheepfold with a maid and another girl with blonde hair.
"The girls that are 18 years old and below, get out. The same goes for the children, 13 and below."
Nobody was moving for a moment. The parents had grabbed their children and we're not letting them go.
"HURRY UP AND GET OUT!"
Like a thunder, that shout struck the townsfolk and were able to release the children. The girls and the children went out from the sheepfold.
The dog maid walked near the children and tried to unite them close to each other.
"Good, we are leaving now.
[Greater Teleportation] !
In an instant, the children, the young girls disappeared from the town. Shocked by this, the people inside the sheepfold began to panic.
"What do you want to do with our children?!"
"Saving them from their own parents."
They could not respond to that because they know what she was talking about. The young mothers started to cry from the disappearance of their children.
"Why are you crying? Huh? Do you think crying will save you from punishment?"
The situation was starting to get very scary. This woman with those demonic eyes was something else for sure.
"His Majesty, the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown, gave me the right to decide about your fate. For all the crimes you have committed for 15 years. I sentence all of you to death.
"What did you say?"
"Is she serious?"
"You can't do this to us!"
"No, I don't want to die."
This was the shocking news that all of them were not expecting. Despair fell upon the people and they remembered all the bad things they had done to those girls. Can they save themselves…. No, it was impossible.
"First, get the priest."
"What?!"
Two death warriors went to get the priest like a sack. He tried to fight back but with no result. The death warriors pulled him without care.
"Unhand me, unhand me now, you demons!"
"I give the orders now, filth."
The undead laid his body upon one of the crosses and started to tie his arms and legs.
"What are you trying to do to me?"
"Oh you will like it. Check your hand."
The priest turned his head and there was a nail in the middle of his right hand. That was the moment when the priest changed his altitude.
"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! DON'T DO THAT!"
"Hit it!"
The undead hit the metal spike with a hammer and it penetrated his hand.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
The criminal priest screamed in agony as the metal spike went deeper until it penetrated everything and was stuck in the cross.
"GHHYYYYAAAAAHHHAAAAA! STOOOOOOP! IT HURTS! I HUUUUUURTS!"
A devilish grin appeared on Neia's face when she saw the man that called her all those vile words days ago. She stepped near the left hand of the priest and took the hammer and the metal spike from the undead.
"Hold his hand Sir Death Warrior."
"No! No! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't do it!"
"This is for Manna and everyone!"
With full force, Neia hit the metal spike and again the screams of the priest echoed in the entire Light Town giving all the people in the sheepfold a horrifying image. His cries of agony gave them the shivers because they are going to receive the same punishment.
"Hold his feet together like that."
"NAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWW! SHTAPH!"
The right foot was upon the left foot, Neia hit the long metal spike and connected both his feet.
"You like how I penetrate you, huh?!"
The priest's body was in full pain. If he tried to move his limb just a little bit, the greater was the pain. Neia stared at his ugly face with passion. Taking out the "trash" was so much fun.
The Death Warriors dragged the cross with the priest crucified on it and sent it to the middle of the town.
"Next."
This time the Death Warriors dragged the mayor. He always tried to resist but with no effort.
"You can't do this to me! I'm a noble! I have money! I'll give them all to you! Please don't kill me."
"You have nothing… You are not a noble but a filthy scumbag. Crucify him!"
"NOOOOOOO...
Meanwhile, the Nazar's were shocked by Neia. Sure, these people deserve to be crucified but they had never seen the lieutenant acting so barbaric. This town might have killed her old self and created a new Madeye, a more dangerous one. The blood on her face gave her an image of a brutal fanatical warrior.
The undead being finished with the mayor, now they brought another one. He was someone that Neia knew.
"Leave this one to me."
They forcibly put the man on his knees in front of Neia.
"Baluk… I thought you were a good man! Seems like you were just aching like that."
"I've never done what the others did."
"Did you know about it?"
"...Yes… I did."
"Then why didn't you tell me?! We could have ended this madness days ago and Manna would still be alive!"
"I-I couldn't do it, I was afraid. My property would have been burned if I told anyone about the ritual."
This man was weak and a coward. A man that not worthy to live
"Is that so… You cared more about your property and let those girls have a terrible fate, huh. You are a disgusting human being Baluk."
The male of the town had offered him to participate in that "ritual" but he never accepted. The mayor doubted him and ordered his man to threaten him. If he tells anyone, they will do the same thing to his daughter and burn his property.
Neia drew her sword and walked behind Baluk. Every step she took meant that the death was coming for Baluk. She was like a grim reaper that has come to punish all the residents of this town for their crimes.
Baluk knew that begging for mercy was not an option. So he had to accept what Neia had for him.
The iron sound of the sword slash was heard in the air and Baluk's head started to fly. He was still conscious because the blade of the sword was really fast. The world revolves as the head rotates on the ground until it stops. That was the moment when Baluk's vision started to fade and… die.
"Death is mercy."
There was no mercy in her eyes. She just wanted to see these kinds of people suffer for their sins. She watched one by one all the men getting crucified by the undead and never moved her head in sickening. The old men and old women were sent inside their houses with their hands and legs tied up so they could not move.
"Hmm, now the young women of the town."
They all were horrified by the mass execution that happened to their husbands. Their eyes were full of tears and wanted to scream for mercy but they are not going to receive that… not from someone like this woman. This… monster.
"The women will get a different punishment far away from here." said Arche.
"Alright, do what you want with them. The screams of those men are enough."
The girl with the crimson eyes entered inside the sheepfold when the young women were still. She used [Greater Teleportation] and disappeared from this cursed land.
"What are we going to do now lieutenant?" asked Joker.
Neia did not respond and went inside the house. She covered Manna's naked body with a white sheet and took the girl on her arms, then she went outside. Before coming, she had ordered one of the undead to open a grave some meters away from her house. Neia walked slowly to the grave and put Manna's body inside to rest forever.
"Fill the grave."
"Yes."
The soldiers took the shovels and started working. Neia turned and Joker went after her.
"Sorry to ask you again lieutenant but what are we gonna do with this town?"
"Burn it! I want this cursed town whipped out from the map."
She truly has changed and didn't care anymore. Her mind now was very strong and could take action with full confidence. This is how a lieder should be. But still, Joker will miss the old naive Neia.
The undead and the Nazar's lit their torches. They visited every house just to start a fire. The houses were caught in fire very fast because they were old and there was a lot of sawdust that was burned easily.
For the first time, the Nazar army marched in this town peacefully and wanted to help these people. But now, it looked like they were marching through in hell. The crosses were lined up on the left and the right side just like those poor girls in the shrine.
The men were still alive screaming, crying, and begging for mercy or for a swift death. But they will not get that, because the butcher of this town ignored their cries.
The image of a dark army in a brining town and a fearsome woman on the front leading them was ultra terrifying. The news will spread all over the kingdom and the people will know what happened here.
Will the citizens of the Nazartick Kingdom feel sorry, or be happy? That does not matter to Neia. She was the one who committed this execution and felt nothing because what she did was duty.
Neia Baraja did nothing wrong...