With the excruciating rumble of the steam engine, a car arrived at the area of commotion, leaving a cloud of smoke in its trail.
The commotion near the area has long died down as people who were capable of causing mayhem had fled the scene a while ago.
The streets around the area were heavily packed but the authorities had already taken control of the initial outburst, pacified the crowd, and guided them to other areas in an orderly fashion.
The car was given a passageway and it dashed toward the epicenter in a hurry.
When the car stopped some distance away from a group of people chanting loudly, a trio of one female and two males stepped out and observed from afar for a moment.
They each had a silver pendant hung from a chain worn around their necks— at the end of which, suspended a small exquisite silver compass—indicating their status and faith in Tempest!
"This is the third case of the day already…" Caroline sighed stretching the gloves over her hands as she extended the collars of her greatcoat, in a bid to mask her growing agitation—caused by the abominations or what the people called "Banes".
Even with her expression being a little annoyed, she appeared extremely enchanting.
Her black hair was tied in a bun giving her an amatory appeal while her black eyes shined like starlight in the night sky.
Her figure, though hidden beneath the cream greatcoat was still enough for men to drool over.
However, knowing her background and affiliations, nobody would dare to tarnish her with their profane eyes.
Elmer didn't comment but instead focused his gaze on the vague figure lying in the middle of "Banes". His pupils shrunk, and he commanded in a low voice, "Carrie, Lewis there is someone other than Banes! We need to act quickly!" His instructions were clear and precise, with no room for maneuvering.
Lewis didn't show any emotion. He replied simply: "Yes."
The team of three approached the place cautiously while looking around to maintain a certain level of vigilance.
Suddenly the shouts entered their ears causing them to be stunned for a brief moment; their expressions turning stiff as if they were about to become puppets.
At this moment, Lewis exhaled slowly, an inaudible murmur escaping his lips, "Mensomora!"
Caroline and Elmer felt a foreign intangible power invading their minds but they didn't resist in the least, putting their trust in their comrade.
The influence of shouts lessened significantly—because of the abilities of an Ascendant specialized in these mind domain spells.
Gaining a foothold, the trio advanced with rapid footfalls.
Elmer suddenly bent down; placed his palms on the ground, and he muttered, "Milcula!"
The ground split open, as thousands of tentacles made up of mud crawled over the Banes.
The creeper-like structures quickly enveloped their mouths in an attempt to pause these bawling Banes through brute force.
On the other hand, Lewis kept chanting a few more spells.
The maddened craze in the eyes of Banes began to lessen, as they slowly lost the will to shout, while their eyes returned to a soulless state with no luster whatsoever.
Meanwhile, Caroline stood on the sideline but didn't interrupt the duo, instead, her eyes were constantly surveying the surroundings in a bid to uncover any hidden dangers.
With the combined efforts of Elmer and Lewis, the so-called Banes plopped on the ground one after another as they remain restrained by mud vines.
Elmer wiped a drop of sweat from his forehead as he subconsciously muttered, "Luckily, they didn't have sentience yet and only shouted on instincts, otherwise, this would've been bloody..."
Lewis kept his mouth shut as he kneeled on the ground, breathing heavily.
It felt like he had just run a marathon.
Elmer concentrated his gaze on the figure lying in the middle, he turned toward Caroline and shot her a glance.
She didn't disappoint him and understood his intentions.
With brisk steps, she carefully stepped past the "Banes" and approached the figure who was sprawled on the ground.
It was a man who appeared to be curled in a fetal position, his back facing Caroline.
For some reason, Caroline felt the back to be extremely familiar.
Her senses were tingling as she paused.
Caroline's heart raced, as a sense of foreboding erupted in the depths of her mind. Her entire body shivered as the cold winds brushed past her, and the single braid of her dark hair near her ear swayed, gently.
She crouched and with trembling fingers, she tugged at his vest.
Knotting her little fists, she pulled him, as the man turned around.
Caroline froze as she witnessed the bloodied appearance of the man. She remained stunned and in a daze.
Elmer and Lewis, who had recovered from their previous magical expenditure, glanced at Caroline, who was kneeling near a body.
Their expression turned strange as they noticed it has been a while since Caroline was just sitting there like a stone statue.
"Carrie?!" Elmer shouted as he straightened himself and rushed over to the scene; Lewis followed in tow.
When they saw the bloodied figure, they wondered what was wrong.
Wasn't it normal for casualties to happen during these incidents? Why was Caroline making a big deal out of it? It is not like she was completely innocent and has not killed people. Then why does she… They paused their neigh synchronized thoughts as they saw tears streaming down her cheeks.
"K-Kole…" Caroline muttered in a slow mumble.
Kole?... Lewis appeared to be confused but Elmer, who racked his brains for information, suddenly found the answer to his question, as he inhaled a sharp breath.
Suddenly, with a shriek that of a banshee, Caroline cried out loud! Her voice echoed in the surrounding, but not just her voice went on a rampage, but her powers as well!
Wisps of black tendrils rose from the body, piercing everything. "Banes"—that were just restrained—were mercilessly impaled by the sharp blades of darkness.
Lewis was about to rush forward to stop such brutality, but a hand gripped his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.
Lewis turned to look at Elmer in confusion.
Yes. Banes were their enemies, but even these Banes had families before they lost themselves.
And those families would certainly request the bodies of loved ones to give them a proper goodbye.
It was one of the reasons why Lewis and Elmer used the gentlest methods to put an end to these Banes and preserve their bodies as much as possible.
However, now Caroline was destroying everything around her without a care in the world.
Elmer just shook his head and pulled him away. Though confused, Lewis didn't resist and followed the instructions without any questions.
Cough! Cough!
Luster returned to Caroline's abnormally dark eyes. The rampaging tendrils suddenly stopped.
Cough!... Kole coughed out a mouthful of blood, as he suddenly breathed deeply.
His mind was in chaos!
Suddenly, Kole's eyes spluttered open.
His vision was tinged with red as the smell of blood wafted in his nose.
What happened? Why is everything so red?... Kole blinked his eyes repeatedly to clear his vision.
Luckily, it seemed to work and the fogginess faded away.
Soon his eyes fell on a beautiful woman in greatcoat, crouching near him, looking at him with teary eyes. Her expressions—full of shock and sheer disbelief.
The dark tendrils around her swayed gently like that of a smitten kitten.
Kole fell into a trance. He felt like he was still in his imagination.
The small shiny tear stains that could invoke the protective instincts of a man; her dark hair with braids falling and her exquisitely sculpted face along with fair skin, made Kole's mind blank.
Although her body was covered in a vintage greatcoat, Kole could tell, she was hiding something that could possibly make men lose control.
He wondered whether he was dreaming or not. Even if this was a dream, he would love to remain here and indulge himself forever!
"You are damn hot!" He muttered.
Though his voice was raspy, it was clear enough to reach Caroline's ears, who froze upon hearing those words.
…
On the other side, Elmer was explaining the relationship between the two to Lewis.
When Lewis heard that, he couldn't help but take a sharp breath through his teeth, despite his usually stoic face.
"So, Kole is her brother…" Lewis sighed.