Valeria stumbled down the stairs, his leg still weak from the prior attack. He grunted and sniffled as he walked down the stairs.
Vari was laying on the floor, his skin still looked raw from taking the full brunt of the force from the loud bell 2 days before, he refused bandages and treatment because the beautiful women in the nun outfits were fully under the control of Valeria. He felt uncomfortable having Valeria essentially feel him up with the hands of a small group of people.
Kaiser saw Valeria coming down the stairs out of the corner of his eye. He had a basket of small red berries that he seemed to have freshly picked. He tossed it down on the floor, in the middle of the group.
Adam lunged for the Berries as he stuffed his mouth full. Gnashing down as red juices spilled down the sides of his mouth.
"Woah there, jester. Leave some for us." Vari yelled out, his ears still completely dead because of his venture.
"That's for the next day of two." Valeria said and caught the attention of Adam and Kaiser.
"What?" Adam asked as he struggled to force down the berries he had shoved into his mouth.
"The men I sent out with you are yet to return." Valeria responded. As he limped up towards the altar, his monotone voice remaining the same volume despite his distance increasing.
"I already told you, They got attacked by Plague disciples." Adam said, confidently.
Valeria and Kaiser looked at Adam out the corner of their eyes, as if they both could see through his lies, while vari simply looked at the ceiling, oblivious to the conversation.
"I know what happened." Valeria announced. three voices projecting his voice walking down the stairs after a loud bang from what Adam assumed to be the sleeping area for the massive party that Valeria had ammased.
All three of them were female, one of them a child, no older than 13, one looked horribly aged and over the age of 50 and one of them seemed to be about the same age as Adam.
Their eyes were all blank, and their bodies moved in perfect unison as they scaled down the 3 rows of stairs.
The little girl had shabby short black hair that covered her eyes and the girl that looked around Adams age had Long white hair, Adam immediately assumed she was related to Valeria. The old lady was bald and wrinkly.
They seemed all well fed and healthy, wearing flowy white robes and moving gracefully, like everyone they had seen in this cathedral.
'Crowd Control. Scary.' Adam thought to himself as the three coming down the stairs drifted in front of them in unison and when they're irises returned they slumped on the floor. The younger girl shrieked loudly like a wild animal, then stood up before her counterparts.
"Hello." She said calmly and extended her hand to Adam trying to be formal. Adam looking down at his wet and drippy hands, looked at her and responded by shaking his head.
"Oh that's fine." She said as she went to help up the little girl with the black hair slumped on the floor, completely ignoring the granny who was rubbing her back and wailing in pain.
"They will be your entourage now." Valeria's voice echoed through the cathedral.
"They're capable enough to keep you in check" He completed.
"Was that what the two dead men were." Kaiser said, the smile on his face extending a t the question like he was about to burst out laughing.
"No, I sent them out to Put Down the kid, so we could put the Bell back up." Valeria confessed as he started to walk back and forth the massive altar, setting things up.
"Hm. I have no idea what you mean. I thought you had no qualms with us." Kaiser responded as he tapped Vari on the back with his finger in a hidden gesture Valeria wouldn't be able to see.
"I don't. But I'm sure You and The bald one surely wont die anytime soon." Valeria said, as he lifted a massive cross but he felt his ankle give out so he just sat on a seat beside it to continue his address.
"And a while back I was sure myself and my Men were not going to die." Vaal completed.
"Im sure you see now that you were wrong." Valeria responded.
"All six died yesterday gathering Berries. Unfortunate. Too many Zombies in the forest." Valeria clarified, calling the Plague disciples Zombies because they technically were that. Adam felt the Stress wash away when Valeria said that. More at ease now, it seemed he didn't know that they died weirdly because of him.
"So all that ringing couldn't have possibly been just for them?" Kaiser asked as Vari sat up, grabbing his Axe.
"A ring per death. The Bell never stopped ringing till it was cut down." Valeria explained and it all started to make sense to Kaiser and he gestured to Vari to stand down again.
"Oh. Okay. That's understandable." Kaiser said as Valeria closed his eyes and began to mumble to himself.
Adam and the girl from before were already having a conversation, Vari staring blankly towards Valeria, his Axe still in hand and Kaiser putting his head back down on one of the long chairs to keep sleeping.
"My name is Valery. Spelt with a Y, Used to be Spelt with a IE but when I started playing the game, I used a Y." Valery explained.
"Are you his daughter?" Adam asked as he wiped his wet hands on his clothes and extended his hand for a handshake.
"Nope, Im his niece. Was named after him, he used to have stage 4 cancer in the real world, we were sure he would die, so my parents named me after him, But he chose to shut down most of his bodily processes and be kept plugged in to an OVR so he could have a virtual life." Valery explained as she shook Adams hand.
"Oh. So..." Adam said counting on his fingers then Valery clarified.
"Yes, he's been playing this game in particular for, 17 years. WAAAYYY Before any of the updates too, he's a pro." Valery said as she pushed the little black haired girl forward.
"Oh and this is Five." Valery said succinctly.
"Five... How, Creative. Your parents must have been very... brave." Adam said, pausing multiple times trying to find the nice words.
"Your name is Adam, Yours weren't very creative either." Five said as she kicked Adam in the shin and walked off towards Kaiser.
Adam was distraught as he expected the kid to be mute for whatever reason, and then the pain from getting kicked in the shin hit and he fell to the floor gripping his leg in pain.
"You'll be fine." Valery said as she looked behind Adam to see Five jump and attack Kaiser as he squirmed and tried to get her off his face.
"That granny over there is, idk. we just call her granny I suppose. She doesn't talk." Valery said, pointing to the old lady on the floor as she sat up and stared at Adam with pitch black eyes. Even where her eyes should be white they were pitch black.
Adam looked over their heads and the names checked out except for the Granny. She had no Status bar. Or rather she did have one but there was nothing on it, simply a blank slate.
'Weird.' Adam thought.
"You know what's weird? You sacrificing our people to escape the zombies outside. Unc said you used them as meat shields even though you had the weapon made for taking them out." Valery said, in response, almost like she could read Adams mind.
"What?" Adam said, his eyes widening as Valery revealed what Valeria really thought.
"Uncle can't see out of the crowds eyes, but he can feel what they feel, hear what they hear, speak and move for them. He said before they died it felt like a parasite crept into their souls. He likens this to the Plague being spread." Valery clarified.
Adam sighed a long sigh of relief. For the first time in ever he was happy for a misunderstanding to stand.
"I was terrified, They tried to kill me. I wouldnt help them even if my life was on the line." Adam said in response as he suppressed the will to ask Valery if she coud read minds.
"Don't hold any ill feelings toward the party, Uncle said he asked them to put you down because soon your misery will be infinite... Whatever that means." Valery said as she walked over to grab Five off of Kaiser who she was terrorizing.
"He cant make those decisions." Adam sneered.
"I see that now." Valerias voice emanated from Five, Valery and Granny as they drifted to their designated seats in the congregation and the rest of the people in white robes began drifting down the stairs, the sound of their footsteps like a drumming ovation.
"Time for Mass" Valerias Voice echoed from all the people as they took their seats. Then his control over them was lifted but they were all glued to their seats as most of them squirmed and cried in place.
'Cruel.' Adam thought. Crowd Control seemed to be a dangerous ordeal. He didn't want to ever feel like them.
As Valeria began the Mass with a prayer, Everything went silent for a second.
Adam felt a crushing aura and he spun around towards the doors of the cathedral, as he staggered back in fear.
"If This Cathedral Falls, We will surely all die. All the other Capable Men are dead now. May their souls be at rest. Thank the lord for his continued care." Adam heard Valeria say as four long black fingers pierced through the gap of the massive doors and slowly pushed the door open.
"Kaiser... Kaiser. It's the-" Adam tried to say but was interrupted by a loud bang as the doors were kicked open by an insanely tall figure with pin straight hair and one arm.
"The Lesser king of Plague." Valeria said through the mouths of the entire congregation who he had now forced to to look away from the Devil at the door.
Resheph bent his back as he crawled through the massive door, a testament to his titanic size despite his stocky build.
[Hello, Hello. Everyone seems so Happy to see me] Resheph said, the stench from his mouth defiled the entire cathedral, Adam immediately noticed the lavender scent of the church die and the smell of corpses and fecal matter filled the room.
Reshephs head descended down towards Adam who was petrified at the sight of him. His head, shaped like a humans, but his mouth a massive gaping hole with rows of razor sharp teeth connected in what should be a smile, his eyes just deep holes with a green flickering flame dancing inside of them. And no other facial features on his pitch black face.
His Long stocky legs walking in through the door as the loincloth wrapped around his waist flailed from the wind coming in through the door.
[Oh my, Its you. Really real guy.] Resheph said, his voice echoing through the cathedral, his voice pulsating through everyone's heads. It was so powerful that everyone in the cathedral was lifted instantly