The Village's Taboo (4)

After seemingly an eternity of running—as well as avoiding being discovered by the villagers—they soon had reached their desired location. A small, shabby stable with two horses; one white and one black.

"I'll take the black horse. The rest of you will ride the white horse." The village elder declared.

"Hold on. None of us knows how to ride a-"

"Miss Elena knows how to." He interrupted Andre before he could finish his sentence.

"I-I see…" Andre mumbled.

"Let us cease this meaningless conversation, and hasten our departure. Or else we may become a part of this horrendous experiment ourselves." Elena suggested.

All of them nodded in an union as the village elder and Elena mounted their respective horses. Andre on the other hand aided Tain and Alice onto the white horse.

"Andre. Hurry up." The village elder commanded as he gestured to ride with him.

However, unknown to everyone currently presented—Andre had another plan in mind. There was something he desperately needed to inspect.

"...I'm sorry. But, I have to go. I'll be back soon." He stated.

Just as the village elder could inquire as to the meaning of his words—Andre abruptly left the stable as he rushed towards the mindlessly wandering residents.

"Andre! Don't act rashly!" The village elder shouted.

The village elder tried his best to keep his eyes on Andre—wanting to retrieve him as soon as possible. However, it was far too late. Andre had already vanished not only from his sight—but also Tain's, Alice's, as well as Elena's.

"Dammi…!" The village elder howled.

…

'Come on… I'm almost there…!'

Far too much time had passed since Andre fled away from his group. Somehow, despite his large physique—he was able to stealthily avoid being seen by the inhabitants. With each minute that passed by—he continued striding towards the direction he was headed.

Soon enough, his eyes widened as a grin slowly crept onto his face. Joy filled his entire being as the sight of his humble abode was just a meter away from him.

A sigh of relief escaped from Andre's throat. Slowly, he opened the door—expecting for none other than his beloved wife to greet him per usual—with her lovely, bewitching voice. Contrary to what Andre has anticipated—it was not his wife.

"Honey, I'm hom-" Andre's jaw dropped to the floor before he could announce his arrival.

His pupils dilated—unable to comprehend what stood before him. This…'entity' was indefinitely his wife based on the features it possessed…but it wasn't human.

It had a deformed, elongated neck—a grotesque, malformed body shape was simply impossible for a human being to have—and a pair of long, crooked fingers bending unnaturally.

"Oh? Welcome back, honey. I was waiting for you." The creature in front of him answered.

Andre's consciousnesses desperately tried to deny the controversial existence that appeared before him—but it was simply impossible. The voice of the monster bore an uncanny resemblance to that of his wife.

As if that was not enough proof—the beautiful, untainted head of his wife was conjoined with the neck.

His mind raced—incapable of coping with his circumstances. Anxiety scrawled over his face—all Andre yearned as of this moment was to close his eyes—wishing that this was a momentary nightmare he had undergone.

Regrettably, fate was not on Andre's side today. The next thing he knew—Andre found himself laughing at the downfall of his once, joyful life. Tears trickled down his chin—yet the sound of his laughter became increasingly louder.

The chains of events that had transpired into something beyond his wildest dream—finally took a toll on him mentally—his sanity crumbling away along with the tears that streamed down his cheeks.

Eventually, Andre collapsed on his knees. His eyes that used to exude kindness, warmth and optimism—now replaced with anguished, despaired, and hopelessness—with marginally any signs of desiring to continue his pointless life.

After all, what was the point of continuing—if everything he had built up was just a lie? For the first time ever—Andre felt genuinely lost. The people he had known all of these years…were nothing more than puppets, he himself included.

All of the effort he had put into building a family with his wife—was just an act to further deceive him into believing this fake reality of his was the actual reality everyone else was living within.

Seeing the defeated look etched on Andre's face caused a feeling of pity to emerge from inside of the monster that was once called his beloved wife. Leisurely, she marched towards him—as if endeavoring to comfort him.

As her hand nearly made contact with his head—out of the blue, he was suddenly snatched away from a woman with orange hair—mounting a graceful, white horse with two childlike figures sitting behind her. A black horse soon followed the white horse—baffling the monster greatly.

"Do not act carelessly again, Andre." The woman scolded him as he pulled him up onto her horse.

Andre kept his lips sealed despite the scolding—unsure whether this too was a ploy created by the devil, or is the actual reality he had always imagined living in.

Mindless natives continued to relentlessly chase after the survivors—a few of them managing to latch onto the horse but were quickly disposed of.

After a lengthy period of time—the entrance of the village could now be seen within their limited range of sight. A sense of relief washed over everyone—for their exit was now within their grasp.

In the spur of the moment—a figure encompassed in darkness emerged from the shadows of the horses—carrying a colossal broadsword that was far too large in size for an average human being to carry.

"What the…" Elena muttered beneath her breath.

Unable to assess the person's unforeseen advent—he suddenly swung his blade towards the village elder—killing the black horse, while the village elder narrowly dodge his attack.

"Elena! Go now!" The village elder screamed.

Without hesitation—Elena left the village elder behind to save the others.

"That's annoying… I'll have to chase them later. But right now-" as he forced his broadsword into the ground—a glint of anger could be perceived within his eyes. "You'll have to pay the price of defying your orders…Arthes."

…