Chapter 003. Stories always begin with an introduction (3)
On another part of the area, team B was steadily slaying average level Leviaths after encountering a herd on their way for the high level ones.
It wasn't that taxing, but it was putting them way behind their schedule.
"Why do they look like they aren't dying out any time soon?" A cavalier grumbled, decapitating a Leviath with the body of a scorpion, which horrifyingly possesses a human face and feet with a swift flick of his large imbued mallet.
They were only five cavaliers on the field, but their obvious brilliance in the blunt weapon plus the peculiarity of the aurora's effect to the Leviath already proves their strength.
The other porters could only watch in morbid fascinating at the bloodbath ensuing from the safety of the town's clock tower.
Apart from the organizer of the run, who has a different impression based on the quick glint on her glasses.
Her shoulders even shook slightly in contained excitement. "He he he, I'm so near my babies! I can't wait!" The bespectacled woman giggled while wearing quite a perverted look.
She was even brazenly standing on top of a two story building, leaning half her weight lazily by the hilt of her weapon, which was large machete.
"Chief, please control your expression! You're a lady, lady!" A man exclaimed in exhasperation. Half worried for his superior and half at precarious position they were in.
It was one of the cons of having a superior with a certain death wish.
The white cloaked figure saw a glimpse of the bespectacled woman through the gap of the flaps, grinning maniacally. Probably excited beyond words to finally catch some Leviaths for her nasty experiments.
She rolled her eyes at her crazy wide grin, glancing at the team trailing behind them.
There's the assistant, who always looks eternally exhausted, Leo, followed by another other researcher Vega cajoled to join them from her own division in the R&D department.
She didn't bother to know their names. They would eventually die either by Vega's Leviath experiments or killed by Leviath anyway. Why bother being friendly?
"Miss Ayla?" The porter, who was controlling the wagon earlier, called her timidly. He was hunched over along with Ayla inside the wagon.
"We are now outside the safe radius. You mustn't go outside and engage in battle without the flare's signal." He reminded but wanted to bite his tongue right after.
She scoffed so quietly that it was inaudible, rolling her emerald green eyes. "Of course I know that, I've already done this a million times."
"I wa-was just reminding you." Silence then resumed between the two. He felt like his head will be served in a silver platter if he didn't say anything to ease the tension, but it backfired in the end.
'Oh God, why did I lose that rock-paper-scissors!?' He cried to himself.
It was a grueling and nerve-wracking task to accompany this temperament lady.
She crossed her arms tighter to snuggle closer to her knees, looking blankly at the tall trees that stretches so high you'll have to bend your neck back.
It was one of the well known resources from Keziah.
Now, these variety of sturdy trees are a luxury that only nobles could afford from black market sellers who buys them from illegal parties. It's surprising how the economy completely adjusted in a matter of years by this immense loss.
They were placed in a secluded shrubs just enough to see Vega making a fool of herself and hear the angry screeches of the Leviath along with the crumbling structures.
"Ayla~" They heard Vega's incessantly loud voice called out from the outside.
"The babies are coming!" She squealed followed by Leo's frantic chastise on Vega's noise possibly attracting the Leviaths' attention over there.
"Idiot." She voiced out, laughing drily.
A lock of green hair accidentally escaped the constrains of her hood, appearing in her line of sight after she shifted her head.
Such times like this without anything to occupy her attention makes the memories hoped to bury in the recess of her mind more vivid.
That one particular late afternoon at point during winter solstice is the only part of her childhood that remains constant to her memories like an unending montage to her life.
There's no way she could have forgotten the smell, fear and everything she went through at that time.
Standing at the top of the marble staircase, her small eight years old self opened her eyes, partially disoriented after curiosity got the best of her from the strange commotion, which brought her to here.
Her nanny had placed her behind a stealthy compartment built inside walls of her room, suggesting to play hide and seek with her mother. At that time, her meager age did not comprehend the panic blatantly present in her maid's face as something more.
Mass of dead bodies scattered around the floor of the manor, which was now stained of pools of blood from different people. She just saw the maids cleaned it sparkly clean earlier.
"Mommy, where are you?" She called with her tiny voice, side stepping a dead body of a maid while gripping the balustrade to assist her slow descent down the long staircase.
"I'm sorry." She whispered before helping her close her dead shocked eyes with her trembling hands. Even with her crude cognition, she had perceived that it was the right thing to do at that moment.
"Let me go! You will never get my daughter."
She suddenly heard her mother distress voice at the other part of the house.
'Mommy!'
She gasped and stumbled to the source of the noise which was escalating to chaos with things breaking in between the sound of struggle.
"Tell us where she is before I blow your head off!"
"Then do it. I dare you!"
"Mommy?" She asked, while on the doorway with her hands clenching a fistful of her sleeping garment's hem.
Her mother beaten from head to toe was kneeled on the ground with a masked person pointing a gun to her head.
"What are you doing to my mommy?" She tried to sound brave, but her trembling eyes and legs betray her.
The guy, based on his gruff voice, looked at her in surprise before facing my mother's horrified face, which didn't stray away from her tiny figure.
It didn't take long for him to figure out their significance to each other. "So this is your daughter eh?" He chuckled darkly as he dug his gun deeper in her temple.
"How about we give her something she will never forget? Like...blowing off her mother's head!" The man sneered maliciously, speaking to the woman in his grasp.
"Ayla! Run! Get away from here!" She screamed and tried to reach out for her daughter, but was cut off when the man suddenly kicked her stomach. Her mother heaved in constricting pain, leaving her weak as she coughed out blood.
"No please. Stop!" She cried as tears streamed down her face. Her emotions were all over the place, holding her there frozen.
Her mother gave her a pained helpless smile with tears pooling in her eyes. "Please find happiness for yourself, okay? I love you, Ayla." She barely whispered before closing her eyes.
Then the deafening sound of the gunshot followed after.
"Mommy!"
The man kicked her mother's lifeless body aside without sparing her a glance, stalking toward her.
He caressed her head wistfully, crouching to her eye level. "Little girl, you'll give me a fortune if I sell you with these pretty hair."
He grabbed her hair roughly from behind, causing her to flinch as her scalp tingle from the pain. He pointed the gun under her chin with a sneer. "Don't scream or you'll follow mommy soon."
She whimpered softly as the man carried her by his shoulder. The stench of blood was overwhelming plus the blood rushing fast to her head was making her nauseous.
Unfortunately, it still couldn't distract her from the bodies lying in every hallway they passed by.
It was like a death parade.
"You found their daughter?" A second person appeared, but she couldn't see who.
"Pretty easy since the bitch is stupid enough to call her mother. But the mother was playing tough so I ended up blasting her head off."
"That's fine. I couldn't take all her screaming either. The client wanted to clean this place anyway."
They laughed loudly as if they didn't just cold bloodedly wiped out an entire family, killing innocent lives with their guns.
"Tell the others to hurry up cleaning the stray dogs. Make sure nobody remains alive that's what the client wanted." The person carrying her spoke up.
"What about that kid?"
"Those bastards won't know we sold one person. She'll die at some point anyway."
It was then something inside her began writhing wildly from its long slumber, exhibiting strong bloodlust akin to a trapped predator in a cage.
"Let me go!" She cried out.
She lashed her fingers in a desperate attempt to escape with a surprisingly enormous amount of strength.
"Bitch!" The man throw her down the hard ground, but her hands already created huge lacerations as blood gushed out of his skin.
At the moment, something in her snapped, causing a hollowed chuckle to come out of her mouth far from her age. Her hair suddenly levitated by some unseen force, eyes glowing like molten green flames.
She slowly stood up with an arched back before she trudged as if reaching out for the two.
"What the heck is this demon child?" They stepped back in a startled mess, while aiming their guns at her shakily.
Their terrible aim already reflects their growing fear. They weren't even sure if their guns could go against this creature nor do they have the courage to find out. This ultimately became the final verdict for their life.
She flicked her hand, while at the same time the guns went out of their grip, binding it to her every command and ultimately sailing it right through the concrete wall.
"You bitch! No wonder they want you all dead! You sure are demon's creation! Blasphemous!"
Her emotionless face then twisted in a murderous glare as if triggered by what he said.
They cried out as they tried to move, but her unknown powers prevent them from inching to the discarded gun.
It was foolish anyway.
They remained there stiffly like the pathetic dogs that they are, panic coursing their blood like rapids in their body. But not even their adrenaline could hold out in this position.
"Nobody will escape here alive!" She growled out in anger as the air pressure suddenly shifted unnaturally to a dangerous level, squeezing the life out of the men.
Only Ayla was seemingly unaffected by the oppressive force around her as the two bodies gradually ballooned in size. Their skin terrifying stretched out to their highest capacity.
As if something awoken her, she let out an ear piercing scream as their body simultaneously combust due to the reverse of air pressure. This action ultimately send out chunks of torn up flesh and blood everywhere like a sick confetti.
Her knees immediately cave in after all the stress just dissipate, drenched in human innards. But vanity was the least of Ayla's concern.
Her head began throbbing painfully loud, waking her up from the short disorientation. An extreme wave of fatigue followed after, feeling like a piece of her just died right there.
She couldn't explain what exactly happened. It was like something came and go that momentarily clouded her consciousness.
But no child will be able to remain unfazed while seeing such destruction as tears streamed down her face.
It's been seven long years since then.
Xyra met Keid, Vega, and Sirius moments after as the sole survivor of the horrific massacre during a patrol in the deep countryside of Keren.
It was a big news that was only known by an extremely selective group of people.
The Duke hid the fact that he had a family of two for a long time, and the surviving daughter was just a measly eight years old.
While the Military couldn't find any conclusive reason for keeping it a secret, they reckon it was due to the black propaganda that occurred for decades now as a result from the rising protest against the Peritias by threatened nobles.
The news that entered the high society was that the senile unmarried Duke of the "fallen" duchy of Edenlin finally passed away because of heart failure.
It was a stroke of luck that they found her in that state or god knows how she would survive alone.
The first years made her felt like a fish forcefully drawn out of the water. The new faces frightened her younger self plus the instability of her new ability brought a certain level of anxiety for her.
Most of all, her deep shade of green hair which sets her apart from normal people at first glance evokes undecipherable feelings for her.
There to remind her of how discomfiting she is in this world.
Ever since then, she hadn't stepped foot in that mansion ever again.
It only serves as a concrete reminder of the bodies that perished that day. A life so peaceful yet ignorant to the larger world.
She didn't had to wait that long for the the decision to be made in response to the unique circumstance under a selective of higher ups' jurisdiction.
The aftermath would then let them create a separate "faction" under the guise of research and development as a way to utilize her power in any way, in exchange, they would let her live well.
She sat up abruptly as a huge tremor brought her back to reality. She frowned upon her carelessness, rubbing her temples to clear off the lingering dazedness.
"Miss Ayla, I think they'll take longer than expected." The porter remarked in a wobbly tone, looking pretty ashen in the face.
It did seem to be taking them a long time for some reason.
"How's everything going?" She stood up, dusting off her skirt habitually. Her legs were also starting to get numb staying in that position.
The porter looked through the binoculars discreetly from a small window in the wagon before answering. "Actually, they are fairly handling the Leviaths very well, miss."
Suddenly, the ground began to vibrate dangerously close as a steady pattern of loud footsteps can be felt under the soles of their feet.
The porter let out a terrified shout and scrambled backward as he made the mistake of making an eye contact with the lurking Leviath. Now, the Leviath was crawling up to their place with an crazy shriek.
Ah. He really messed up this time.
The Leviath was even a mad Arachnid one based on the distinctive spider-like legs to move its hulking mass of purple body. It would be nothing but a giant spider, if not for the eerily humanoid face over the usual spider facial feature.
The human-like facial feature is common to all Leviaths. A human-like face devoid of any other emotion and color made up where the Leviath's face is.
No matter how many times they encounter these monsters on runs, seeing one up this close will unnerve anyone. Hence, Ayla doesn't have to guess if the porter is scared out of his wits right now.
"Miss Ayla, an Arachnid class Leviath is heading this way. What should we do?" The porter sputtered.
The porter was shaking in trepidation both by the ghastly appearance of the Leviath and the threat of being killed right now.
Ayla sighed in exasperation. "Who's the idiot who attracted the Leviath again?"
The porter is now too scared to hear Ayla's rebuke, and was babbling uncontrollably. "Should we fall back or fight it? It's a high level Arachnid, the worst kind for our weapons. It might be—"
'Ah. Might as well get the job done myself.' Ayla thought put out of everything by now.
She didn't even let the porter finish speaking as she parted the flaps open and jumped out of the wagon wordlessly.
Right when her feet landed on the ground, the Leviath let out an ear splitting shriek as it leaped high up and straight down to Ayla.
Its large body size made the creature's spider-like jaws look scarily massive as it opened wide, thinking it finally had a prey in its sight.
However, the Leviath's strong attribute backfired after it pierced itself right on its throat with the imbued spear that Ayla conjured.
"Ugh. Out of all classes of Leviaths, it just had to be an Arachnid."
Ayla frowned at the sight of the hot steam coming out of the twitching Leviath—a sign of its monstrous regenerative ability—tugging the hood covering her head further down.
Arachnid-class Leviaths spews the most blood out of all classes of Leviath.
The Leviath was still twitching lively in its position even when Ayla intentionally hit its weakest point.
"Why are you still alive?" She remarked in confusion only to be answered by angry screeches from the Leviath.
She jumped on top of its head and gave it a hard kicked right on the crown, decapitating it with a loud crack.
The Leviath fell on the ground in an instant as the steam became more intense after the body began decomposing around the damage.
Ayla waved her hand as she landed lightly on her feet, causing the huge spear to shimmer and turn into an amorphous blob before solidifying into a light blue ring on her right index finger.
"Hey, let's get out of—...." She paused mid sentence as she glanced back to the porter. All that excitement must have depleted all his energy since there he was...fallen unconscious.
Ayla made a face at the porter's ashen face, rolling her eyes upward to contain her irritation.
"Why did you even become a porter?" She huffed begrudgingly.
She let out a grunt as she settled on carrying the unconscious person in her arms and jumped over small houses using a little of her aurora until she landed near Vega's position.
Staying in that spot no longer serves any purpose anyway plus it would be rude to leave an unconscious person alone over there.
She easily spotted Vega with the other cavalier members engaging in a fight against a fair number of Leviath.
Ayla glanced down just in time to see Leo standing on top of one of the straw houses, analyzing the situation with his own binoculars.
Her landing was quite unstable because of the added weight with her thus creating an even more loud ruckus from the poor foundation of the dilapidated house, frightening the living daylight out of him.
"Hi, Hi~ Nice weather we have here, huh?" She remarked casually.
Leo retracted his twin blade after seeing it was an ally. "Miss Ayla, please don't scare me like that especially outside the barrier." He cried exasperatedly. His face looked even more distress as he placed a hand over his rapid heart rate.
He paused. His expression freezing at the sight of Ayla laying an unconscious person calmly in the middle of a battlefield. "Oh dear. What happened?"
She placed the porter down with slightly aching arms, but she didn't give her expression away. Her endurance has always been slightly behind the average cavalier; as excellent as she is in using her aurora amongst any cavalier. She could only console herself as the world's way to balance her out. It won't be good to be an overpowered being.
She clicked her tongue as she slapped his back repeatedly which earned a grunt from him. "Don't be such a sissy. You'll be a leviath food if you stay like this especially if you're working with a lunatic like Vega."
Vega suddenly appeared near them while slaying a leviath. "Heard that!" She exclaimed in a passing before they heard some consistent slashing noises then a thump, most probably a leviath.
"Oi Leo! Get your ass back here. We need to slay more leviaths." Vega exclaimed happily, but noticed a person lying like a corpse beside their feet. Vega initially wanted to move further, but she abruptly changed her body's orientation to stop in front of them.
"You didn't cause mental trauma right?" Vega stared alternately between Ayla and the passed out porter lying down in bewilderment. She vaguely recognized him as the driver in Ayla's wagon today. With that, she kinda had a vague idea what happened.
"Leo, call some porter to take care of this guy. I think we have to finish this run as soon as possible." Vega's shoulder deflated as she scratched her chin thoughtfully.
'It's fine. This happens every time...'
Vega consoled herself. She could only blame everything on Ayla's anger management issue.
"Understood." Leo nodded without any question. He did not waste any time in signaling over a porter from the other side. As expected of Vega's right hand man.
The poor porter was thankfully brought over to a more safer location along the standby porters without any hitch, while Ayla decided to join Vega in abusing more leviaths.
"Man, these Leviaths are tough! We'll have to stretch our time in catching two later." Vega whined while mulling over their situation, messing up her already wild hair in frustration.
No matter how many they killed, the Leviaths seem to be endlessly appearing in overwhelming numbers. Killing this much Leviaths will eventually tire them out, putting the entire run in jeopardy.
"What bad luck!" Vega exclaimed loudly.
"Chief, don't shout too loud!" Leo chastised almost pleadingly.
It's a well known fact that Leviaths are pretty sensitive to loud sounds and are narrow-minded creatures. They basically only follow live through their fundamental instinct which is to slaughter humans.
But while they are pretty simple creatures. Their strength comes in their number so being surrounded by leviaths won't be fun.
Vega is literally wooing death to them.
Ayla then remembered the other team which was led by Caelum in another part of the village, which was relatively sparse in Leviath activity. If she's not mistaken, the part-timer from Wintermoon is also with them.
"Did you think putting Caelum there with the part-timer is a bright idea?"
"Hey, Cae will cry if you let him hear that." Vega remarked wryly.
"You know it's true. It's better if Sirius came today." Ayla muttered to herself but Vega heard her.
Vega clicked her tongue in disapproval, knowing why Ayla is speaking this way. "You just favour Sirius than Caelum, you insolent child."
Ayla didn't retort anymore, finding no sense in arguing about Caelum. When they should be thinking a solution to this surge of Leviaths.
"They'll be fine. I intentionally put them in an inactive area to not scare away the part-timer." Vega cackled mischievously, looking proud of herself.
Well, they are understaff right now. It's an inconvenience especially in a small party, but large operation. Ayla thought.
"Should I just kill them off myself?" Ayla suggested, crossing her arms over her chest as a cold breeze blew past them.
The cavaliers were evidently slowing down in slaying the Leviaths.
It was then that Ayla noticed something is wrong with Leviaths behavior.
Vega noticed her abrupt change of expression. "What? What's the matter?" Vega inquired.
Ayla hummed. "I just...it's weird. There are a lot of Leviaths just in one area. They were never a bunch who sticks in a pack before. That's beyond their intellect."
"You think so?" Vega muttered thinking over Ayla's words. She personally didn't find anything wrong at the scene below besides the Leviaths strange number in one area. But perhaps it can be because they are in an active area.
"But it's fine. The men seem to handle themselves."
Ayla gave her a 'what-are-you-talking-about' look. "I'm not worried about the cavaliers. The Leviaths are acting strange."
"They aren't Valkyries though." Vega pointed out.
"No. Aside from that," she frowned, thinking carefully how to explain herself. "The Leviaths...are ignoring the cavaliers. Vega, I think they are distracted by something."
Vega became silent after catching on what Ayla was trying to get across. "They're...running away from something." She suddenly pointed westward, noticing the pattern where Leviaths were appearing.
"But could they saw there there's no leviath there..." She trailed off.
Her voice caught on her throat because right that moment, a black flare shoot up to the sky at the exact direction where Vega was pointing.