Witch of the Ruins (3)
Crackle, crackle.
The sound of the bonfire roaring echoed through the ruined village. The darkness that had settled over the wreckage carried an especially eerie chill.
It was late at night. The dozen or so members of the Royal Guard had set up camp around the fire.
Their faces were all set in rigid masks.
They hadn't found the culprit behind the massacre.
Of course, there had been some progress. They'd discovered traces that the perpetrator had been living in the village until recently.
"...It's too quiet."
"Don't drop your guard. The enemy might be close."
Enemy. Its true nature was still unknown. But one thing was certain: it wasn't ordinary.
Anyone could tell that just from seeing the village's devastation—and recalling the strange presence they'd felt in the forest.
Adelaide trusted her instincts. At the same time, her sharpened senses kept blaring warnings.
Someone's watching us right now.
Where...?
She heightened all five senses, straining not to miss even the whisper of dust stirred by the wind.
But she felt nothing. An unnaturally perfect silence blanketed the village.
"...">
"...">
And so they all held their breath, suppressing every sound for what felt like ages.
Swish—a faint noise. Adelaide sensed something that hadn't fooled her instincts.
"Who's there!"
Adelaide shouted, drawing her sword. Her knights did the same—everyone except one on the outermost edge of the formation.
"Huh...?"
He stared blankly down at his chest.
A crimson flower bloomed over his silver armor. Then, with a gurgle—
Blood sprayed from the knight's mouth as he collapsed.
Thud. The heavy armor hitting the ground was the signal flare.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack—!"
"Defensive formation! Back to back!"
Led by Zenon bellowing at the top of his lungs, the knights moved with disciplined precision.
But the shadows were much faster.
Whoosh—!
This time from above. Fragments rained down like a storm.
"Block it! Raise shields!"
"Argh—!"
The knights lifted their shields, channeling mana. Colors flared around each one.
Clang! Claaang!
Countless shards bounced off. Thanks to their rigorous training, they handled the ambush perfectly.
...Or they should have.
"Over here! It's coming from— Aaaagh!"
A shadow coiled around a knight's ankle as he tried to reform the line. He toppled and was dragged into the darkness, vanishing in an instant—like sinking into a swamp.
"What the hell...!"
"Damn it! I can't see it! Where is it!"
The enemy was invisible. But its attacks poured in from everywhere.
Above, below, the sides. Anywhere there was shadow became a weapon.
Adelaide gritted her teeth. She'd never faced an assault like this.
Magic? No, no chanting from a mage. Spirit arts? Impossible—spirits don't aid the wicked.
No matter how she racked her brain, she knew nothing of this mysterious power.
And besides.
No time to think.
Their lives hung by a thread. If they couldn't break through this moment, the future was obvious.
Adelaide poured aura into her sword. The realm reached by only three in the kingdom: Swordmaster.
Rooooar—!
Her swing cleaved the air, a blinding flash splitting the dark. A fierce gust scattered the encircling shadows. The bonfire flames whipped wildly, securing a five-meter radius of light around her.
"Everyone, to me! Scatter and you die!"
"Huff... huff...!"
"Vice-Captain..."
The knights rushed to her side in desperation.
Ten survivors. Two gone in seconds.
No time to recover bodies. Terror spread silently.
The kingdom's elite Royal Guard—top-tier fighters—were being toyed with by an unseen foe.
"...Calm down. Don't panic. It's a coward that hides in the dark. It can't enter the light."
She was right. The lingering aura's intense glow kept the shadows at bay.
The knights steadied themselves bit by bit.
"As expected... of the Vice-Captain."
"You coward! Show yourself!"
One knight mustered courage and yelled into the void.
"Kyahahahaha!"
A clear, bell-like laugh burst from the darkness.
A girl's voice. Innocent, utterly mismatched with the horror—sending chills across the knights' skin. Like some inhuman thing mimicking humanity.
"Coward? You lot invaded first."
"...!"
"Trampling through someone else's village without permission, muddying everything. No manners, knights."
The voice echoed from all directions, impossible to pinpoint. Adelaide narrowed her eyes.
"Show yourself. Stop skulking like a rat."
"Rat? Hmm, wrong."
Thud. Something flew from the dark.
It rolled to Adelaide's feet.
"...Gasp!"
Zenon swallowed hard. It was the head of the knight dragged away moments ago.
Frozen in terror, the neck ragged like it'd been mauled by a beast.
"I'm human. Not like you fakes."
More flew: an arm, a leg, a torso.
Plop, thud. The knights' dismembered corpses piled at Adelaide's feet.
The metallic stench assaulted their noses. For the weaker-willed, it was the breaking point.
Comrades' mangled remains. The horror that this could be their fate.
"U... uwaaaah—!"
"Stop, Paul! Damn it—!"
Knight Paul charged into the dark, sword raised.
Silence. He vanished into the abyss.
Gulp. Dry swallows echoed in the tense hush.
Only when sweat poured did the darkness part. Someone stood atop ruined debris. Moonlight pierced the clouds, illuminating her.
A girl in a bloodstained dress. Silver hair to her waist, eyes glowing red.
"Busted?"
Seeing Ailin, Adelaide's breath caught.
So alien. This frail girl did this? Created this hellscape?
"You're... the culprit?"
"Culprit? Harsh. I just did some cleaning."
"Cleaning...? You killed people and call it cleaning?"
"Huh? What're you talking about."
"...?"
"You lot aren't people, are you?"
Ailin tilted her head. No guilt in those eyes.
Adelaide's hands trembled. Rage boiled uncontrollably.
Demon. A demon in human skin.
"I can't forgive you..."
"Mad? Why? Your men died? Or..."
Ailin grinned, crooking a finger. Corpse chunks twitched on the ground.
Shadows lifted them like puppets, limbs twisting grotesquely in the air.
"This?"
Using the dead as shields.
Zenon snapped, kicking off the ground.
"You demon bitch! I'll kill you!"
"Zenon! Stop!"
Too late. He'd already surged forward, mana raging.
"Die—!"
He aimed for Ailin's throat.
But she just yawned lazily, unperturbed.
Splat—!
A dull impact halted his sword. Right before her neck—blocked by something.
A corpse. The headless torso had intercepted the blade.
"Huh...?"
Zenon's eyes shook. Realizing he'd struck a comrade's body, he froze.
Ailin wouldn't miss the opening.
"Gap."
Her murmur unleashed a whip-like shadow. A black streak grazed his arm.
Clang—!
Zenon stared at his trembling hand.
Why's it empty?
The thought hit just as agony exploded.
"Gaaaaah! Aaaagh—!"
"Zenon!"
His sword hand rolled on the ground.
He clutched the stump, screaming. Adelaide leaped forward, unleashing a white sword beam.
Boom—!
Ailin's spot erupted, debris pulverized to dust.
But she was gone—appearing behind Zenon instead.
"Don't move."
Her hand gripped his nape.
Slender fingers. But the grip was inhumanly strong.
Zenon's face turned blue as he choked.
"...!"
"What do you think? My strategy."
"...Tch."
"Choose. Watch him die? Or—"
"What do you want...?"
"No fun if I say it."
Adelaide glanced back instinctively.
Seven left besides her. All frozen in terror.
I have to save them somehow.
For now, play her game. Get back alive, call for backup.
Adelaide squeezed her eyes shut.