Chapter 47: Rusted Roots

Beyond the plague that is currently undergoing in the Victorian Continent, many cities and kingdoms fell. Currently, to my investigations, only 5 forces remains strong and firm, fighting against the disease in their own ways. The most notorious would be the fortress of Arkvem. I once went to Arkvem, though albeit hiding from the people they call Hunters. Arkvem was a complicated city, filled with all kinds of weaponry and buildings all designed to kill any beast that either came within or from outside. The whole place felt like a large labyrinth filled with all kinds of traps and other killing machines. The people in Arkvem are also good at close combat, something that their leader, a monarch they call Crown had made them train when they were little.

Arkvem is divided into 5 territories, their names are of the cardinal directions, North, East, South, West and finally, the Center. Each had their own forces that protects and fights against the Monsters and Beasts. To me, however, the Royal Army and Hunters are the most dangerous one. Hunters are insane people who fill their body with the cursed blood, God's blood, enabling them to fight against the monsters and beasts with the risk of becoming one. These people disregard themselves to fight for the common. How the city came to be was also a mystery and from what i could gather, it was through the First Hunter, did the city was created.

I would like to meet with this man, if he has not gone insane somewhere. Arkvem is a death trap for anything and everything that comes within or from outside, though i could feel the corruption starting to take its place in this city. It is unfortunate but corruption is everywhere where people resides, none can cast it away so easily. Im currently living in Arkvem, a wonderful place if you ignore the constant sounds of gunshots and screaming outside your home.

Im going to continue to study and learn about this city and their culture. Send regards to Vethel for me.

—Excerpt from a letter for Mathew Grits from Ingraf Bellper—

Nothing much really happened in the Grave Site. They ransacked the entire place only to find rusty shovels and other digging equipment.

Though they managed to discover something weird about the corpses. They were all standing still, as if something had ordered them to do that. Each mannequin was also facing the same direction, to the west.

Which was a coincidence considering they were travelling to the Weapons Cache, which was located somewhere west.

That was not the only thing they managed to discover. The corpsewalkers were emitting body heat, something impossible for corpses, even if it had God's blood injected through their blood organ.

God's Blood was something that could heal probably anything, even bring something back to life.

But if the soul of that being had gone somewhere else, only leaving the body behind that is still alive, would the being itself be alive? Or dead?

They found the corpsewalkers special and left them alone, considering that these beings didn't attack them. They respected the dead very much though they would rob them if they could.

Well, there was no use thinking of discovering the secrets of this place. Their goal was to leave this labyrinth alive, nothing more, nothing less.

"If we continue down this path, it should lead us straight to the cache. Hopefully its still there."

Gwynne looked to the darkness, only the torch giving off the light as they tread the darkness swiftly.

Nodding his head, he continued to toil away.

Gwynne softly sighed and took out a notebook and started writing.

***

"Monster! You have created a monster!"

The Marquis screamed, stabbing a sharp object towards the large tube with a deformed child within.

The insane woman screamed and tackled him, then started hitting him before getting smacked on the back of her head.

She fell down to the floor in a plop as blood oozed put from the back of her head.

She couldn't believe it, where had she gone wrong?

How did they know? She was the only one inside this damnable laboratory so no one could've snitched on her.

She couldn't understand how.

How did the Marquis come to know of her most secret project?

As she looked at the people smashing the glass tube, she gritted her teeth. Her vision already turning dark, she tried pushing herself up to save her child.

Yet she failed miserably.

The people screamed everywhere, all hitting the glass tube.

She looked at the face of her child and softly cried.

'Im sorry, Shavus. You couldn't be born into this world sooner...'

Then her vision turned to black.

....

...

..

.

Then she opened her eyes, fire was everywhere within the lab. The whole place was a burning hell, a hellscape.

She looked around in shock as she found countless Hunters and Royal Knights dead on the floor with many of their limbs gone.

She couldn't understand what was happening.

She was dying, she was sure of that fact.

So why, why was she still alive?

Though she suddenly looked behind her and found the glass tube broken, the fluids inside were all over the floor, mixing with the blood, evaporating everywhere.

"Shavus!"

She screamed, as she started looking for her child.

Before she felt a throbbing pain, then a spear like object pierced through her stomach, blood gushed out. She coughed out blood and looked behind her shoulders, there, she found her child.

Clinging to her back, its skin almost merging with hers. She fell down to the floor as the sharp object drilled inside her, she convulsed and coughed out countless liters of blood.

She looked around the landscape and saw a large container, a container filled with God's blood. She crawled her way to it, through the fires.

Though it was weird how the container had not burned from the fires around them, she had no time to care for such things. She grabbed and placed a connector beneath it, before stabbing herself on the leg with its pointy front.

Her stomach began to heal, as with her inside.

The child convulses before the speed of it merging into her body became faster, she moaned and lied down on the floor.

"Ahn... Hahh..."

Somewhere in Arkvem, a laboratory was burning. The people who did it was glad that they had burned the monstrosity inside and left the lab alone.

Not knowing they unknowingly had created a monster that would come back to haunt them.

***

Somewhere deep within the void.

Something too complex to describe was disturbed, it turned its "Head" around, and peered through the dimension of time and space with ease.

Then it began moving towards that direction.

To what we humans could describe, a God was perturbed with curiosity, with childlike curiosity.

It body so small yet so humongous at the same time, to what we could describe as "Tentacles" littered around its heart, its body had no shape, no form and could disturb anything that stared at it to death.

God had moved.

And so has its other kins.

***

Rueben and Gwynne finally arrived at their designated location. Putting down the cart somewhere they deemed safe, they walked towards the Weapons Cache.

It was a big tree.

A big tree with a rusty surface. Rueben touched the bark and felt cold metal.

"Its a sculpture of a tree made from some kind of mineral. Presumably iron or steel, probably both."

Gwynne said as she touched the rusty surface of the tree.

"Who got the time to build this thing?"

Rueben confusedly asked.

Shrugging her shoulder, she walked towards the entrance while Rueben followed after her.

Gwynne pushed the steel door and it opened with a loud thud. She pushed away the dust by swinging her hand over her nose and looked around.

It was dark inside, very dark. She couldn't even see an inch infront of her due to how dark it was.

Then Rueben came up behind her with the torch in hand.

"Did you find anything?"

Gwynne softly shook her head side to side and turned to him, "You think i can see anything without any light in here?" She pointed to the darkness and rolled her eyes.

Rueben looked at her, then softly shook his head then pushed the torch to her hand.

"If you've got the time to chide me, might as well lead the way."

He then walked forward, leaving her behind.

Gwynne clicked her tongue and followed after him, holding the torch on her left hand, a knife on the other.

***

Rivera convulsed awake and sat up with great difficulty, she held her head and hoped that this headache would ease atleast a little if she did that but instead of it diminishing, it increased in intensity instead.

She cursed softly under her breath and got up to her feet.

She tried walking forward only to stumble on her toe and fell face down.

She stayed still for a few moments, before stirring up and looked around. The whole place was filled with ash, the entire area was burnt as if something had caught fire. The grey world infront of her felt numb and desolate.

Rivera then looked down and saw her hands. 5 fingers and a large hole on her palm, from the hole was squiggling piece of flesh that spread their blood sticky goo on her skin.

She then looked towards the moon, and let out a screech.

She wailed to the moon, her howl reaching the heavens above.

As she wept, someone took one step forward and took out his sword.

Rivera looked towards the man.

His red eyes glowing in the ashy place, a mechanical arm running through steam clanked and made noises while the man stared at her, brandishing his sword.

Arshavin stood before the newly created monster, and aimed his sword towards her.

Rivera looked at him, then stood up.

The two looked at each other, before they clashed, they spoke a few words.

"Good evening, general."

"Good evening, scientist."

"How is the night? Is it wonderful?"

"No, it wasn't." Arshavin glared at her, "Thanks to you, the night became troublesome."

"Wonderful."

Rivera smiled and turned behind her, she took a few looks before saying, "Im gonna escape. Im leaving this hell hole."

Arshavin looked at her, then chuckled. "Is that so?" He smiled cruelly and swiftly dashed forward.

Rivera found his sword nearing her neck.

"I'd like to see you try."

Arshavin grinned as his red eyes looked at her savagely.

A clash between a newly born monster and a powerful hunter has began.