The villagers were not dancing. Instead, the ground was littered with corpses. Bodies lay strewn about, impaled on large sticks, blood pooling around them. Flies buzzed over the scene, their incessant hum adding to the horror. The smell of death and decay filled the air, making Nigel gag.
In the middle of the carnage stood the true form of the Sharma, now revealed as a twisted, grotesque figure. Her skin was a sickly gray, covered in open sores and writhing maggots. Her eyes, all three of them, glowed with a malevolent red light. Blood dripped from her claws, and her mouth was a grotesque maw filled with razor-sharp teeth.
The illusion had been broken, and the Sharma noticed it too, because Nigel's gaze seemed to pierce straight through her. Pausing for a bit, she murmured, "Another Stormweaver?"
Nigel heard her but didn't understand what she said. Looking at Aldrian, his eyes seemed much calmer now, but the look of horror was still present on his face. Trying to think of a possible escape plan, the Sharma spoke loudly this time.
"It must be my lucky day. An undeveloped Stormweaver stumbled upon my hunting grounds. I would like to eat you. I wonder how much more powerful I can get. But at the same time, I can capture you alive and bring you to my master. What do you suggest we do?"
The Sharma's voice was slightly high-pitched and irritating. She stared at the trio, seemingly unsure of what to do. Nigel could see the greed in her eyes.
But then it started to rain. The Sharma stared at him with worry in her gaze. Nigel looked at the sky; the raining sky seemed to resonate with him. He could feel all his emotions being washed away with the rain.
From the corner of his eye, he caught Aldrian's small movements. The man quietly took out his dagger and took a fighting stance. From behind him, a muffled scream - it was Hope, who seemed to have woken up.
The inscriptions on Nigel's face faded, and so did the black lightning arcs. His eye returned to its normal appearance, but he could still feel the connection to the rain.
"What do we do, Aldrian?" he asked slowly.
Aldrian, still staring at the real scene in front of him, shook his head a bit. "We fight," he answered, looking at Nigel.
Nigel nodded and brought his cane forward. "Hope, stay back."
Hope nodded and took several steps back, creating a small distance between her and Nigel.
The Sharma quietly looked on without saying a word, studying each of them silently. Her eye seemed to linger on Aldrian a bit longer before she grinned in a horrific manner.
"You are such an odd group. If I fight with you, my chances of winning are quite low. So, for now, I will retreat. But I will leave you with a little trouble."
The Sharma spoke, moving towards the river. But she first stopped and looked at the direction of Venus for a bit before looking back at Nigel's group.
"They are coming."
With that, she took a step into the river, and her body disintegrated right in front of them. Still on alert, Nigel and Aldrian scanned their surroundings. But then, low growls could be heard coming from the spot where the Sharma's body disintegrated.
From the water, many figures emerged, looking exactly like the transformed villagers from the Sharma's illusion - one-eyed, horrifying creatures covered in bloody hairs, with claws for hands.
Stepping onto the riverbank, their gazes fell on the trio. Without time to blink, the creatures made a dash towards them. Their speed surprised both Nigel and Aldrian.
Within a blink of an eye, the first creature arrived in front of them, its maw opened wide in preparation to chomp down on Nigel. Luckily, he had raised his cane up in time, blocking the maw from biting his head off. Almost immediately, Aldrian acted with fine precision, his dagger slashing the creature's head off, making a fountain of blood spray out from the headless corpse that was falling towards Nigel, who shifted out of the way to let the creature fall.
Nigel and Aldrian then stood back to back as the monstrous creatures emerged from the river, their growls mixing with the falling rain. Every advancement from the beasts was met with Aldrian's swift strikes and Nigel's desperate attempts to block.
Aldrian moved gracefully, his dagger cutting through the creatures with precise, deadly swings. His movements were smooth and fluid. One creature lunged at him, but he dodged and stabbed it, spraying blood.
Nigel struggled to keep up. His cane was clumsy compared to Aldrian's dagger. He swung it desperately, knocking back one creature but getting hit by another. A beast slashed his chest, and pain shot through him. He stumbled back, gasping, trying to fend off another attack with his broken hand. The creature's maw closed in, but Aldrian was there, decapitating it with a swift strike.
"Focus, Nigel!" Aldrian shouted, his voice calm despite the chaos.
Nigel nodded, gritting his teeth against the pain. He raised his cane again, swinging it with renewed effort. He managed to hit another creature, but its claws raked his arm, breaking the bone. He screamed and fell to his knees.
[ This is bad, I might die here.]
While he was reeling in pain Aldrian stepped in front of him, his dagger flashing as he cut down more creatures. Blood splattered on his face, but he didn't waver. He showed great skill, as he tried covering the gaps Nigel left.
A creature slipped past them, charging at Hope. She screamed in terror, but before it could reach her, Aldrian threw his dagger. The blade struck the back of the creature's head, and it fell at Hope's feet.
Nigel, barely conscious, looked up at Aldrian. The man was unscathed, moving with sharp precision. He fought with a calm resolve, doing his best to protect them all. But he also noticed something else, Aldrian's eyes had a strange glow to them or maybe he was just seeing things.
With the last creature defeated, Aldrian rushed to Nigel's side. He knelt, checking Nigel's wounds.
"You'll be okay," he said, his voice steady. "We need to get you out of here."
Nigel nodded weakly,and noticed that Aldrian's eyes seemed to be normal and then his vision began fading. Hope moved to help, her small hands supported his back and her voice comforting.
"Don't worry we got you."
The rain washed away the bloodas they slowly walked away. The battle was over, but the sense of danger lingered leaving hope and aldrian on edge.
...
A few moments after they left, four men dressed like clergymen appeared. The youngest, who seemed to be in his early twenties, was wearing short-rimmed glasses with raven-black hair and black eyes. He was the most handsome out of the four. The second one was a middle-aged man with a bald head and a goatee, while the other two middle-aged men were twins with the same set of green eyes and dusty brown hair.
The men with the goate spoke first after a round of observation.
"It seems like we are a little bit late," he spoke in a deep voice. The twins both nodded, and one of them added, "Yes, and from the looks of it, the fallen retreated back to the mirror world just before we arrived. From the residual energy, it seems like it was not of a high rank, a blasphemer?"
He asked, looking at the young man with the glasses. The young man's eyes were on a certain object hidden underneath the bodies of the monsters, moving forward quietly, he bent down to retrieve the object, a cane made of darkwood.
After inspecting it for a while, he turned to the twin that had asked him a question.
"No, a demon of the second rank. Her aspect is of illusions."
His voice was soft, almost feminine. The other three all stared at him with different emotions in their eyes.
"And there seemed to be a Stormweaver present here, and two other interesting people."
He added, shocking the other three. The man with the goatee trembled.
"Are you certain, Keith?"
The young man named Keith nodded. The twins exchanged glances with fear evident in their eyes.
"Do not worry, he is still wet behind the ears. I believe that soon enough, we will cross paths with him."
Keith spoke with a lazy smile on his face.
"You are truly blessed by the seven, Keith, to be able to deduce such information in less than a few minutes. I believe in a few years, you will hold a strong position within the Church."
One of the twins, who was quiet, added with admiration.
Keith smiled and circled the symbol on his chest twice, saying, "Praise the seven."
"Steve and Steven, I want you to not reveal this information to anyone else. Let us try to first catch this Stormweaver and bring him in."
The man with the goatee instructed. The twins nodded.
"Of course, Lord Darrel."
They spoke in unison. Lord Darrel turned to Keith.
"Do you mind purifying this land for us?"
Keith shook his head, his smile still on his face.
"Not at all."
Keith placed the cane down and opened both his palms, slowly raising them high in the air before quickly bringing them down again in a swift motion.
"Let the sun shine down and eradicate the darkness."