Chapter 33 - The Invasion of the Monsters
"Anna!" he shouted to the girl.
Luke and Anna were being surrounded by monsters emerging from all sides of the forest.
"We've lost our camp…" she said.
"We need to run!" he shouted.
The girl looked at him with a sad face, holding her trembling bow.
"Run where? There's no place left…" she murmured.
"We can find another one, there are houses around."
"Arrrrgh!" a monster approached, and Luke ran towards it, swinging his hammer. The humanoid creature, which resembled a very thin being, fell back.
"Let's go!" he extended his hand to the girl, and she took it.
They started to run.
We can't go back in the direction of the knight.
They crossed the camp, passing by the lagoon.
"Ahhh!" the creature from inside the cave screamed as it flew away.
From inside the cave came a girl covered in blood.
"Alice!" Anna shouted.
"I went to get our things. Where were you guys?" the bloodied blonde girl asked.
Luke felt a wave of relief wash over him.
"I was attacked in the forest and ran back to you," Alice said.
The monstrous cat started to approach.
Alice positioned herself with her sword in hand.
"AAAAARRRGH!" the knight roared as he emerged from the forest, throwing a tree trunk with one hand.
The three deviants saw it coming and dodged.
The monstrous cat was hit.
Luke fell to the ground, rolling, and Alice jumped on top of Anna to protect her.
"We need to flee," the blonde girl said.
"You're hurt!"
"That's not my blood," she said, standing up.
I thought she was dead from the knight…
Luke and Anna exchanged relieved looks.
Alice stood up, and more monsters were approaching.
"Let's go, we don't have time!" They tried to run, but more monsters emerged from the forest.
The trio of deviants ran in another direction, with the blonde girl in the lead, punching some creatures and clearing a path.
The three entered the forest, and in the background, they saw more creatures.
"Something happened in the veil. The monsters are coming out of it. We have no more safe places," she said.
"There's that house I showed you. We can stay in that area and come up with a plan," Luke said.
They ran as fast as they could, not worrying about making noise. Caution meant death if they delayed and the monsters caught up to them.
As they exited the small forest, Luke could see what was happening.
Those green fields now had various monsters roaming around. Most of the monsters were the same, but there were others, taller ones, that he recognized.
"More hunter knights… we're screwed," he said.
The blonde girl kept running towards the houses.
"We could go to the asylum," Anna said.
They looked in the direction of the asylum, and the entire path was filled with creatures.
"If we go there, we won't be able to get out. The asylum is on a hill, and those monsters will surround us, trapping us in the building if we're lucky enough to reach it," Alice said.
The trio had no options. They kept running towards the area with houses, hoping to hide. The creatures from the forest were slow, but the monstrous knight was a real concern.
They came upon a hole with a stone wall and entered.
In the area of the houses, there was no sign of monster hordes. They began running, but as soon as they reached a house, the three saw a monster lying on the ground.
Luke ran towards it and struck it with his hammer. Alice followed right behind, and before the monster could get up, it was dead.
"We need to hide and think about what to do next," Alice said.
The three prepared to enter a house, but as they stepped onto the porch, golden letters appeared in the air.
[The Bloody Carnival event is beginning]
The trio of deviants looked at each other.
"Did you guys get this message?" Anna asked.
"Yes…" Alice replied.
Event? What the hell is this?
Alice stepped in front of them and opened the door to the house.
"We need to hide," she said, entering.
"Do you know what this is?" Luke asked.
The three entered the house, and Alice locked the door.
That knight can break this door with a punch… locking it won't help much.
"An Event is what it sounds like. It's an anomaly that happens. I thought they were just legends, but it looks like we're screwed," the blonde girl said.
Anna sat down on the floor.
She's still in shock.
"Explain to me what this is," Luke said.
Alice started running through the rooms, checking if there was anything with them.
"It's a damned Event, it's self-explanatory. Just like rain is a natural phenomenon that just happens, events work that way in the Oblique World, especially in corrupted regions. A phenomenon occurs that changes the behavior of creatures, and they say even unique creatures appear. We no longer have a safe place."
"The Event generated those things?" Anna asked.
The blonde girl looked at the two and sighed.
"Yes! The only way to end an event is to kill all the creatures that appear in it."
"Hahaha," Luke sat down, laughing and putting his hand on his face.
I'm so unlucky…
"Won't this ever end? Will those monsters just keep wandering around?" Anna asked.
"Exactly… more creatures will appear from the veil or whatever hellhole they live in. The creatures will become more erratic and violent. There will be no more safe places. The monsters will roam everywhere, and more of them will appear as time goes on. How do you think corrupted regions form? It's like this…"
"What does that mean?" Luke asked.
The blonde girl sat down on the floor.
"The Veil is hungry and is expanding to devour us…" she said.
"What?" Luke asked incredulously.
Alice got up and went to a window.
"Luke and Anna, answer me this. When lightning strikes a tree and it falls… does the tree make a sound?" she asked, keeping her gaze outside.
The two looked at each other.
"I don't understand what you're trying to say…" Anna said.
"Just answer me," Alice said.
Luke and Anna exchanged confused looks.
"Yes, it makes a sound," Luke replied cautiously.
Alice turned to face them, her expression serious. "Exactly. The Veil is like that tree. When it expands and corrupts more of our world, it leaves behind traces—monsters, events, and chaos. We hear and see the aftermath, but we need to understand that it's a sign of something bigger happening."
"So, what do we do?" Anna asked, still shaken.
"We fight. We survive. And we figure out how to push back against the Veil," Alice said with determination.
Luke nodded, gripping his hammer tightly. "Alright. Let's find a way to end this Event and take back some control."
The trio took a deep breath, ready to face whatever horrors the Event would throw at them.
"Yes! The tree makes a sound," Luke said.
Alice turned and looked at them. "How do you know the tree makes a sound?" she asked.
Luke froze, unsure how to respond. Someone had asked him this question in the past.
"Because we hear it, of course," Anna said.
Alice went to another window, observing the surroundings. "Exactly, Anna. The tree makes a sound because someone is there to hear it. There's a theory in physics that says the world and matter only function because someone is observing them. How can you guarantee that the cave we were in still exists? How can you guarantee that a tree would make a sound if it fell now with no one around?"
She turned her gaze back to the two deviants. "That's how Events work in the Oblique World. They only start because, somehow, it knows there's a human nearby. The outside of the Veil stayed calm for years, but now that humans are here…"
"I understand. Things are going to start happening. That includes the Event," Luke said.
"Not just the Event. Unknown things will start coming here. We activated this place with our presence," Alice said.
The trio of deviants stood in the middle of the house.
"What do we do now?" Anna asked.
"We need to find the rest of the expedition in the sewers. We don't have a safe place to stay, and more strange things will start happening. Something must have happened with the others to trigger an Event. Maybe they got close to a bonfire or found the location of one. Either way, we'll be dead if we stay still," Alice said.