Judecca, one year ago.
"General?!"
Juwan has tried to find Prince Vrag among the debris of the fallen building of Judecca City Hall.
"General Vrag!!"
The wound on his left eyelid has given him limited eyesight. He has been searching with only one eye. He knew the wound is not deep, he won't lose an eye but the blood has blocked his view.
Desperate he start wondering deeper to the chambers in the City Hall. They said Prince Vrag has last been seen here.
Judecca is a small city behind the mountains between Arethea and Slothia. The mountain terrain is not favorable for Slothia so they didn't think of taking over it. But then rumours started to circulate about the city carrying a secret that can make Arethea win the war. Prince Vrag didn't believe on it until someone sent him a silver coloured dagger crafted from an unknown metal. It's lighter but stronger than their sword steels. The sender is unknown.
Prince Vrag has decided to capture Judecca to investigate the existence of this unknown metal. The mission is kept a secret and they deployed only enough man. They managed to capture the city but suddenly children of the city started to attack them. Among them they found the same small dagger making Juwan think that it's a trap.
Pince Vrag has gone with Vice General Eder to the City Hall to interrogate the mayor. Now he has to find where they are.
"ARGHHH!!"
Some screams can be heard and Juwan run through the halls, the screaming came from the main hall behind. He reached to a blond figure staring at lifeless body of a small girl. A strangling mark can be seen on her neck, her eyes are wide open.
"General!" Juwan is so relieved to see Prince Vrag is still alive.
"Juwan..." his voice seems to bring him back, but Vrag seems still in shocked.
"I'm glad you are all right, General..."
Juwan almost puked when he saw a lifeless bloody fat guy body laying at the fireplace. His face and body are full of holes with some knives still erected from his faces. The blood dripping from the freshly made wounds...
"What in the world..."
"The children started to attack him when he said he will tell me everything..."
Juwan looked at the other children dead bodies.
"I thought they are orphans...and he is hiding here with them... "
"General, we are attacked by them too..."
"Is everyone all right?"
"We can fend them off..." Juwan remembered the ferocious army that attacked them earlier. "But they all look like they are possessed... They will not stop until they are dead..."
"Ya...you can see what they did to the Mayor..." Vrag look at the horrible state of the dead Mayor.
"General, is Vice General Eder not with you?"
"We decided to split on the way. He should be around here..."
"Are you all right, Your Highness?" Juwan realized that Vrag's uniform has been stained by blood.
"This is not my blood." Vrag took out his fallen sword on the floor. "Let's find Eder and get your eye treated."
They suddenly heard breaking glass sound from the other chamber.
"That must be Eder." Vrag readied his sword and hurried to the source of the sounds. Juwan followed him closely behind.
From the opened door they can see a small shadow jumped on a tall figure they recognized as Eder. A scream can be heard as Eder fallen to the floor. Juwan and Vrag barge in and Vrag stabbed the small boy on top of Eder with his sword. A child scream can be heard and the boy lie motionless on top of Eder. Vrag stabbed the heart from behind but careful enough not to hurt Eder underneath.
Juwan helped Vrag to remove the body after he pulled out his sword. Eder's pained voice can be heard but he is still in state of shock.
"Dear Lord..." Juwan saw the hole on Eder's right eye as he inspect him. As Juwan saw the bloody hand of the lifeless boy, he realized that the boy attacked Eder without any weapons.
"Did he just do this with his bare hands?" Horror has crept over him, the boy has just dig out Eder's eye with his bare hands.
"Let's get him treated..."
Vrag and Juwan both carried Eder by his left and right. Eder is a big man, it need the two of them to carry him. They can heard Eder pained grunt when they lift him.
They walked slowly to exit the City Hall building. Sometimes they will check on Eder's breathing.
"Where are the rest?" Vrag ask Juwan to guide them to where their soldiers are.
"They are at the Academy. I came here to check on you, General. After suddenly the children went berserk."
They are surprised with the number of children they found at the Academy. It didn't match the information they got. They looks like orphans so they have gathered them there to evade them getting hurt on their confrontation.
"This way then..." Vrag and Juwan turned to a slightly narrow road, carrying Eder they need the fastest route available.
That is when they met a group of those children. Seven of them.
"Damn it. Where did they come from?"
Slowly Vrag put Eder down and draw his sword.
"Juwan, stay with him."
Juwan unsheath his sword too.
"General, let me handle this..."
"You have limited view, Juwan. Stay back."
Juwan felt irritated with his eye wound but he has no choice. Prince Vrag is correct. He can't fight effectively now. Vrag stand between the children and him now.
"Back off. We don't want to hurt you, children." Vrag tried to communicate with them, he didn't want to add more children to the death list.
The children started to growl now. They sound like an animal, no words spoken. Vrag knew somehow that words didn't get through them anymore. He remembered the little girl he have to strangle to death to stop her from attacking him.
The first boy started to jumped on Vrag suddenly and Vrag slashed his sword through the boy's face. It's an unfair fight. Vrag easily slashed every child that jumped on him. While Vrag tried to defend himself with the last two of the pack, a girl slipped away from him and straight away dashing on her feet and hands to where Eder and Juwan stay.
Vrag got distracted by the girl, didn't realize when another children jumped on him from behind. He grabbed Vrag's head with his two hands and start to bite his right ear.
"General!!" Juwan is too late to warn him and he readied himself to face the girl dashing to him and Eder.
"Damn you!" Vrag start to feel the pain as blood draws out from his ear and he use his sword to stab the child behind him. Blood splurged out to his white uniform jacket as the sword go to the child's chest throughout the back.
"Juwan!"
Vrag called to Juwan to check on him and he saw Juwan has stabbed the girl and a shrieking voice can be heard.
"Are you okay, Your Highness?" Juwan asked as Vrag approached him. Juwan can see blood dripping from his right ear.
"I'm fine." Vrag then take off his blood soaked jacket and throw it on the ground. He and Juwan supported Eder and they started to walk to the Academy ground to meet their men.
Both of them are not ready on what they saw next. A pile of dead children bodies is arranged on the open ground. They can see the lifeless face of their soldiers too. Some of them are tending to their wounded friends.
"General! You are save!" one of the soldier has noticed them.
"Get treatment for Vice General, please."
Vrag and Juwan released Eder as other soldiers came to secure Eder for the treatment. They carry him since the emergency stretchers will not hold his weight.
"Juwan, you too."
"General, I'm fine."
"Juwan, that's an order."
"Yes, General." Juwan can't say anything and follow the group that carry Eder.
Vrag saw the pile or dead bodies, they are just children. What are they doing here actually? They are slaughtering them like animals.
"General..." one of the soldiers has approached him. "What should we do about this?"
"Gather the soldier that is able, let some take care of the wounded." Vrag started to give instructions. "The rest will follow me and dig graves for them."
***
They have spent few days digging the graves. They are waiting for reinforcement but the terrain and the weather is not to their favor. The reinforcement has stuck on the narrow mountain road where a landslide occurred.
"General, please let us do all this. This is not appropriate for you." Juwan has tried to persuade Vrag to stop joining the grave digging squad. They are low on soldiers and the digging is not proceeding as fast as they want. The children bodies has started to bloat from the heat and the smell is so unbearable some of the soldiers actually fall sick because of it. They have been covering their face with cloth but it didn't help to cover the strong smell much.
"Juwan, this is the best we can gave these orphans after what we did."
Juwan understand. He understand that guilt has occupied Vrag's mind since the day he strangle the young girl. He is grateful that Vrag is not hurt but he worried on what is going on his mind. Prince Vrag has started to get restless at night, he noticed.
On that night is when Juwan run to Vrag's chamber as he is screaming in his sleep. What he is afraid of is here... Prince Vrag has started to see the dead people.