Beneath him, there were hundreds, if not thousands of bodies. The majority of them were of those barbarians in Eldritch Morr, however, sparkled into the mesh of bodies were regular civilians ranging from all ages.
This caused Yves to feel nauseous, remembering the events of Donar Street.
Looking closely at the city walls. They all saw small holes being filled by workers as guards watched intently.
"Just what the hell happened…!?"
—••••••••••—
BEYOND THE VEIL:
THE GREAT SHIFT
CHAPTER 35:
HARDSHIP THROUGH THE LAND
—••••••••••—
Sighing softly, Yoel could only look forward at the plain and rocky road stained in blood. To the left, a massive cliffside overlooked his hometown. Right beneath it, all the bodies were piled on.
"What's wrong…?" Yoel could only look at his partner in crime since elementary and sigh, "Man… I don't know what's wrong. Our hometown is attacked, and Eldritch Morr is completely in ruins with no sort of response from his Holy Radiance about the situation. I'd not be surprised if this realm falls by the New Year."
Joel, looking forwards as Yoel went on and one could only puff a swig of his cigarette and sigh as well.
"This world is going to shit because of some random attack by random people from this faraway land. Is this Fate's way of kicking us in the nuts?" Yoel could only chuckle softly, "Perhaps…"
Joel sighed deeply and muttered so their other teammate behind them couldn't hear, "Have you heard of the rumors of his Holy Radiance… getting assassinated." Yoel instantly covered Joel's mouth as he looked around.
"Cognizant Eye! If they heard us, we would've been thrown in the hole… or worse!" Joel pulled away from Yoel's hands and rubbed his chin.
"Sorry. But those rumors have been traveling through the rounds and even casinos." Yoel was about to respond. However, they heard an all too familiar whistle reverberating through the high wall.
"A trespasser!" Immediately, Yoel and Joel gripped their swords as they looked forward.
Ahead of them, about 10 to 15 dozen feet away were about 15 individuals. "Nine male, six females! No common barbarian traits!" The archers on top of the hall wall yelled out.
"Could it be messengers from other cities?" Yoel muttered as Joel shook his head. "Doubt it. There's no reason as to why 15 people would be messengers. It is most likely a group of survivors from far-off cities like Eldritch Morr or Ebrieats."
Yoel could only nod at Joel's assessment as it was certainly possible for that to happen. Coughing softly, Yoel stepped forward, and as he yelled in a deep and loud voice: "HOLD! STATE YOUR NAME AND PURPOSE!"
In their vision, they saw two figures approach ahead of the group. One was a tall male with the other being a small female.
The small female was adorned in an intricate black classical dress, with a loosely tied waist strap that was in line with the current fashion trend for women. Instead of the usual two thin straps for the chest, she wore a tight white undershirt, with a rope wrapped around her chest which was concealed by her dress.
Draped over her shoulders, connected by the rope, was a long black coat that resembled a robe. From the outside, it appeared black, but the inside was a vibrant red, complemented by a red ribbon on her left hand. Around her neck hung a regular cross, with smaller crosses embedded into her black classical dress.
The taller male had bronze-colored skin. His hair was parted in the middle with the loose ends being tied up with a blue ribbon around his neck. He adorned a large robe that went to his knees with black gloves. On his shoulder, a white kitten played with its claws as a wooden box was strapped to its back.
Both figures slightly motioned for the group as they stood put. They walked closer and closer and Yoel grew increasingly nervous.
"STATE YOUR PURPOSE! OTHERWISE, LETHAL FORCE WILL BE USED!" The taller man didn't seem to care as he'd raised his hand. Yoel was about to order the archers to shoot, however, he was stopped by the tall man's words.
"Calm yourself, gentlemen. We and our companions bring no harm. I've assumed you've heard of the events at Eldritch Morr?" Yoel instinctively looked at Joel.
They saw the taller man slightly gesturing to the smaller woman as she walked. "We are survivors of that horrible accident. Our purpose here is to simply find shelter within safety." Joel looked at the archers above him as he gestured with his head. The archer immediately ran inside the walls.
"We understand. However, is it our job to protect this town with our lives? You all must undertake tests to ensure that you're not a danger to our community." The taller man nodded, however, he did not move and Yoel approached step by step, sword at hand.
"Please state your names, then we can situate you all." The taller man smiled as he looked at the smaller woman. "I am Daemon Eggers."
"I am Archbishop Aryanna Eggers of the Church of the Barren of Knowledge and Insight." Yoel nodded as he patted down Daemon and Aryanna for any weapons.
"Does he not realize who he is patting down?" Joel muttered, immediately recognizing the last names and titles of these individuals. Behind him, Joel saw the gates open as he muttered to the archer.
Once hearing the words, the archer paled and immediately ran inwards towards the town.
…
…
…
Matthew sighed as he looked at the open gate being protected by the two guards. He, Selena, Augustus, and Elijah were all sitting down as they waited for confirmation to enter.
"This sucks! By the time they allow us to enter, daylight will end and everything will be cold!" Selena muttered as Augustus agreed with her statement.
Five days and nights in the wilderness, they all grow to seek shelter during the night as the environment becomes increasingly colder by the hour until daylight.
Eventually, their salvation came as both Daemon and Aryanna came from the gate. They had been taken in for questioning nearly half an hour ago, and now, they had returned.
This caused everyone in the group to stand up and pat themselves down as both husband and wife walked closer and closer.
Aryanna was first to speak: "Sorry for the delay. We've had trouble booking rooms for the night, but all of that is behind us now."
With everyone standing up, Daemon spoke up: "There's one slight issue staying here." These words caused everyone's attention to be placed on him, it didn't help that Yoel and Joel, the gate guards, were behind Daemon.
"All weapons must be brought in and sealed within their armory. That includes anything as small and big as knives, wires, axes, and swords." No one made a move as Daemon announced the slight issue they might have.
First to move was Yves, who walked to Yoel and Joel, who were carrying large trays. With black gloves at hand, he carefully placed the protruding bronze wire on the tray, along with a normal blade.
"Would you like to save these weapons for later on, Sir?" Yves shook his head instinctively as he muttered: "Discard them, use them, it's all the same to me. As long as they aren't in my possession."
Yoel nodded, understanding the significance of Yves' words. Atlas then stood forward and placed his massive broadsword on the tray. The sword barely fit with the handle and tip of the blade sticking out.
"Please save this!" Atlas hurdly asked and Yoel nodded. "Your name and the name of this weapon for safety?"
"Atlas Zephyr. The name of the blade is Marion." Yoel wrote the owner and name of the blade on a sheet of paper as he examined the group for any more volunteers.
From the group, a tiny woman approached with her young son next to her. In her arms was this golden pistol with reddish bullets.
Hana, along with her son, extended the pistol and bullets. "Could you please save this under the name — Auden Sato." Joel stepped in and grabbed the pistol and bullets from her hands with a small small.
"Of course ma'am, I'll be happy too."
…
…
…
All was silent for a while as Daemon escorted them all within the walls of Vorgas and into the city itself.
Seemingly, none had noticed the absence of one individual with short blonde hair wielding a double-ended axe.
Walking through the gates, it slowly closed as they fully escaped the City of Dreams and entered salvation.
…—…
End of Volume 1:
Shift of the Times
…—…