Sanya got off of her horse and approached one of the corpses on the ground. She looked at it from up close by going down on her knees and reaching out her hand on the decayed torso. She rubbed her fingers on the wound in the torso and then smelled her fingers closely without hesitation.
"They died at least 2 days ago," Sanya pointed out as she put her hand on the torso again, but this time she put her hand inside the body.
Everyone looked at Sanya's actions with a mix of disgust and shock written on their faces. They could hear the wetness in the sound Sanya made when she tried to reach something in that corpse's chest. They were amazed that she didn't feel disgusted or even disturbed by what she was doing.
"Hmm..." Sanya raised her eyebrows as she retracted her hand. "Still young..." she said as she stood up and flicked her hand that was covered in black liquid. Her hand became clean in an instant because of how fast she flicked her hand.
"So these are the Corrupted?" Novia approached one of the dead bodies as she covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief. "They look nothing like a human..." she narrowed her eyes when she saw the anatomy of the corpse where it had 3 arms, 4 legs, and weird-looking bones that she had never seen before.
"They were," Sanya answered as she approached Novia. "You can say that they failed to evolve. Not everyone is blessed enough to perfect the corruption process," she explained.
Nobody in the group had seen a Corrupted before, so they had so little knowledge about them. The records about Corrupted were destroyed, missing, or stolen. The reason behind it was that the Demon Worshipers tried to minimize knowledge about demons and their brethren.
"Aren't they supposed to be immortal?" Arthor looked at Sanya with his brows furrowed.
"Only the perfect ones are. These are not greater than demonic beasts. Or you can say they're basically demonic beasts, but humans," Sanya answered as she looked around, making sure there were no Corrupted around that were alive. "If we follow the corpses, we should be safe because my sisters might have created a safe route for us," she said and realized they were safe.
"Is it really safe, Lady Sanya? Based on what you said, they were here 2 days ago, so there's a chance those Corrupted are near because they might get attracted by these corpses," Archelaus was a bit skeptical by Sanya's suggestion.
"Compare your route with the corpses," Sanya turned around to look at Archelaus. "If it matched, there shouldn't be any problem, right?" She raised her eyebrows with a stoic expression.
Archelaus grabbed the map and checked the route that he had made for the expedition. He knew that he had zero experience with the situation he was in, but his instincts were the only reason he could become the greatest and prevent various disasters.
"So far, the corpses and the route are aligning, but are we really safe around these corpses?" Archelaus asked with a worried expression because the responsibility for everyone's safety was in his hands.
"If I say it's safe, do you trust me or are you going to question my answer again and again and again?" Sanya asked back. "I'm here for the same reason as yours, so why are you so distrustful around me?' She added.
Archelaus wanted to say something, but Moriganne gently put her hand on his shoulder.
"All we have to do is be cautious. If something bad happens, she will take responsibility for it," Moriganne assured. "Isn't that right, Lady Sanya?" She stared into Sanya's eyes with a serious expression.
"Of course," Sanya put a cold smile on her face.
Everyone followed Sanya from behind as she rode her horse and didn't pay any attention to her surroundings. No matter how Lenin tried to suppress the strong pungent smell with her spell, it made everyone cough and hold their gags.
Archelaus looked at his map and the route that Sanya took, and they were still aligned as if her sisters knew exactly the right path for them to take. He realized that the sisters' experiences were similar to his instincts which made him feel a bit proud of himself.
"How far are we from the city?" Nior asked as she looked at Archelaus.
"6 hours at most. There's a small village 2 hours from here, so we can take a breather there for a moment?" Archelaus looked at everyone behind him, wondering if everyone had the same thought as him.
Everyone nodded in agreement because the upset stomach was bothering them and slowing them down.
The journey went smoothly without any sign of the Corrupted, and they realized Sanya's decision was right. They admitted that they misjudged her because of her detached and cold personality which made them suspicious of her.
"The village is up head. Be ready," Archelaus warned as he put his map away and grabbed his bow.
Sanya suddenly stopped her horse and stared at something in the distance. Everyone held their breath and stopped moving as they stared at her anxiously.
"Lord Archelaus. There's one imperfect Corrupted near the entrance of the village. Can you climb that tree and kill it?" Sanya asked quietly as she pointed at the tree on her right. "Hit it right in the throat. It would be great if you could decapitate it in one shot," she pointed out.
Archelaus didn't say a word and immediately ran toward the tree and climbed it without making a single noise. His movements were like defying gravity because it almost looked like he was floating as he jumped and climbed the branches.
Archelaus narrowed his eyes and spotted the Corrupted aimlessly moving around near the entrance. He quietly pulled an arrow from his quiver and aimed it at the Corrupted's neck.
The bow and arrow were coated in Mana and Archelaus released the arrow with confidence. The arrow didn't make any noise and it hit right in the Corrupted's neck, detaching it from the body. He looked down at Sanya as he nodded his head, telling her that he had killed the Corrupted.
"How did you know there was a Corrupted there? We can't see the entrance from here..." Archelaus asked as soon as he landed.
"My ears are sensitive," Sanya answered.
Lenin glanced at Sanya, shocked that Sanya could hear it even though Lenin had the ability to see and hear things from far away with Mana. She realized that the Orthias were indeed a superior race and she wondered how could humankind have massacred them back then.
"The village is safe now. Get some rest," Sanya said as her horse began to advance.
Once they reached the entrance, they were petrified when they saw a massive pile of Corrupted corpses in the distance. They couldn't count how many corpses were in the pile, but they could roughly guess that there were at least a few hundred of them.
"Novia, isolate the pile..." Lenin ordered.
Novia created a barrier around the pile and isolated them so the pungent smell wouldn't bother everyone. At the same time, Lenin released wind magic to send the remaining pungent smells out of the village so everyone could rest at ease.
Everyone made sure the village was safe and the Templars were patrolling the area so Arthor and the others could rest. Sanya was standing in front of the pile of corpses and stared at it nonstop.
"Can they come back to live?" Moriganne approached Sanya with Astrea.
"Definitely. They're dead, but not the essence of the demonic energy inside them," Sanya answered as she crossed her arms.
"Then we should cleanse the energy. There are hundreds of them and we should eliminate them before they become future threats," Moriganne said as she pressed her hands.
"Do you know what happens to moths when they see a bright light? You're releasing divine energy and it will only attract the Corrupted even from behind the mountains. Or worse, something more powerful might come," Sanya glanced at Moriganne. "What you're trying to do is only putting everyone in life-threatening danger," she warned.
Everyone gathered after they heard what Sanya said. They looked at the pile of corpses and knew if they didn't erase them, it would be dangerous, but at the same time, they didn't want to risk their lives for this.
"We can do nothing, and we should do nothing," Sanya stared coldly at Moriganne.
Moriganne didn't want to let this opportunity go, but her hands were trying to separate themselves. She exhaled deeply as she put her hands away.
"Rest. Don't waste your precious time on something unnecessary," Sanya said as she walked away.
Everyone understood Moriganne's decision to cleanse the corpses, but in a world of survival, it was the best choice to look away.