Veritas witnessed the helpless knights trying to fight back against the Faceless. The peculiar thing is, instead of the initial single Faceless that the girl mentioned, there were six!
He watched as the knights get massacred by the abominations, now.. no one will know that there is a group of Faceless banding together in a singular house.
Veritas pondered.
'Did that girl lie? Why did she close the door on the knights?'
Veritas himself saw the girl place a heavy stone in front of the door. In an attempt to trap them inside, she desperately did so and struggled in the process.
But why? What were her motives for doing such a thing?
With his illusory body, Veritas phased through the wall and stared at the girl that was standing outside.
She merely gazed at the door and her eyes anxious and fearful
Suddenly, she smiled ear to ear and laughed.
"Serves you right! Goddamn knights!" Then, she fell on the ground and landed on her rear, "Hah- I actually did it! I killed three knights!"
Veritas looked at her with contempt and asked, 'How could such malice exist within a person?'
His eyes were wry and pitiful, judging the girl's evil actions.
But what he saw was a sudden figure appearing behind her.
It was a knight, wearing the same steel armor but his helmet was not present. He had long light-golden curly hair and blue eyes, looking majestic and graceful.
"You.. killed my knights?"
His voice was soft and silent but it was enough for the girl to hear it clearly.
She turned around in surprise, her eyes widened at the sudden sight of the man behind her.
"H-head Knight Lancelot! I.. It's a mistake! You must've misheard haha."
"That's the thing, girl."
He leaned closer to her.
"I hear everything. Do you think that a person like me could ever mishear what you said, loud and clear?"
She panicked and then jumped back, screaming:
"Y-you!"
Then, the white-haired knight slowly unsheathed a blade from his scabbard. It was not a standard sword but rather.. he unsheathed a rapier from his waist.
It was elastic and pulsated a dim light, one look at it could tell that it was swift and powerful.
"No matter.. You conspired with the Curse, the enemy, and the faceless. That in itself is punishable by death."
"W-Wait! I can-"
In a flash, Head Knight Lancelot stood behind her and there were hundreds of holes that formed on the girl's body.
She bled out as the liquid of her body flowed out from the hundreds of holes. Then, she fell and could not even react to the utter speed of the Head Knight.
Head Knight Lancelot stared at the door in front of him and carefully assessed the situation inside.
"3 dead bodies, one succumbing to the Curse, and 5 others are already Faceless. In total, 6 enemies to vanquish and all are Impure."
He twisted the door and entered, suddenly meeting with the gruesome and bloodied sight of the knight's mangled corpses.
"My knights.."
Head Knight Lancelot pressed his hand to his chest, the rapier facing upward to the ceiling.
"May all of you rest in peace."
Upon closing his eyes to show respect, 6 Faceless abominations suddenly showed up after lurking in the shadows.
They wasted no time and jumped straight at him with overwhelming speed, but..!
As the first Faceless arrived near the Head Knight, it was immediately filled with hundreds of holes, eventually throwing it onto the wall!
"And I apologize that I had been tardy.. I shall avenge you all"
Two Faceless abominations were already upon him but with a swing of his rapier, slashes and cuts resounded across the room and the Faceless were cut in 6 pieces.
He rushed towards the next three, his footsteps were light and it seemed as if he was floating in the air!
He ducked down one Faceless and performed an upward slash, causing it to be sliced in half immediately!
Then, in a step, he appeared quickly on the second Faceless' side and pierced it with a hundred holes!
Lastly, Head Lancelot saw the former Knight of his with a gaping hole on his chest. He cut through him like paper and sliced the abomination in half, vertically.
All of that transpired within a measly second.
For a normal human's eye, it would seem like the Head Knight was teleporting and suddenly cut three abominations at once!
Although it was progressive in nature, the quick succession of the strikes had been so fast that it could be said to be simultaneous.
Runes appeared in front of him, announcing his success against the enemies.
[You have felled an Impure Soul.]
[You have felled an Impure Soul.]
[You have felled an Impure Soul.]
[You have felled an Impure Soul.]
[You have felled an Impure Soul.]
[You have felled an Impure Soul.]
The fast strikes and attacks didn't even stain the Head Knight's rapier! It was still clean and shiny! As if the instantaneous cuts were so fast that the physical properties of the world couldn't keep up with it.
"I have avenged the three of you."
He paid his respects once more and left through the entrance door.
Then, he stood still for a second and fell through the shadows.
With that, the Head Knight had a quick in and out subjugation.
All of that happened within a span of 2 minutes! His respect-paying was longer than the initial battle itself!
Veritas was amazed by the Head Knight.
'Was the figures in the past this strong?'
Indeed they were, most of the knights were already Pure-ranked and there was no shortage of Impure Souls. That's why their subsidiary group that subjugated Facelesses consisted of an Impure and 2 other normal human knights.
This was the best and most efficient way to cleansing the city from the Faceless. However, it still couldn't keep up with the rapid growth of the Curse.
With each passing day, at least hundreds if not thousands of people succumb to the Curse.
And many more normal humans die because of this.
It had gotten so bad that people often tended to keep themselves indoors, turning the streets into a barren and empty land, a remembrance of what was once a glorious city.
Additionally, with the absence of the Queen, the political aspect of the Central City had diminished. Corrupt officials persuaded the consort of the Queen to do many things that were... not ideal to say the least.
Normally, consorts could not hold any power within a political system, but in Elrod.. the value of connections and support were much more emphasized.
The consort of the Queen is deemed by her as an important figure that guided her mentally and advised her on a daily basis. Although there was not a King at this age yet, and the Prince had already fallen in battle, the consort was the only one left in the royal family to inherit the throne.
Thus, even though he is inexperienced, he was still the formal leader of the kingdom itself. That is until the Queen, or a member with royal blood returns.
The latter would be very unlikely as the entire kingdom was facing a crisis right now.
Veritas wandered the streets for hours upon hours until the sun had finally introduced darkness once more to the world.
It was eerie, as if it had been a scene from a horror play.
The silence was too loud for Veritas, no one batted a single sound nor did they even dare to.
The fear for the Faceless was that rampant.
Many families and people were already lost due to these abominations, so the people was naturally terrified of them.
Still, fear that was invoked in their hearts could very well turn itself into the Curse.
Such is the power of the Seraphim of Feelings.
Veritas wanted to do something to help but he was useless.
As an incorporeal body, all he could do was observe and watch as things transpire in their own way.
He could physically manifest like he did once in that accursed tree but that was only limited to that scenario alone. It was due to the tree's and the feathered-serpent's unique behavior that he could be in touch with reality once more.
Night finally passed, and the morning sun struck once more.
'Another day of peril.' Veritas thought.
Faceless upon Faceless hid within society and corrupted everything it can! It would not take that long for the entire city to be overrun by a horde of them.
And on this day.. that particular scenario happened.
As dawn approached, Veritas stood at the gates of the City, it was locked of course..
But in the corner of his eye, Veritas saw a peculiar creature standing atop the walls of the city or much better stated.. climbing atop of it.
Suddenly, many more fingertips appeared and figures stood atop the walls. It could be said that there are hundreds, maybe thousands of them!
It was suspenseful, Veritas saw the Facelesses standing menacingly at the top but they were unmoved. It was as if they were waiting for something, or someone to command them.
Veritas floated up to get a better view of his surroundings. But... his eyes became as wide as an owl.
'Th-This... They cannot survive this..'
What he saw was an army, no.. a legion of Faceless abominations, standing outside the city walls as their numbers stretched towards the visible horizon.
There were at least a hundred thousand or even millions of them!
'The entire city is going to be desolated..'