Ep. 78 A Demons Mask Part 2

I've never run faster in my life. Every muscle in my legs burned as I exploded off the ground with each stride. Maya and Rowan sprinted alongside me, our ragged breathing matching our desperate pace through the darkened streets of Eldor, illuminated only by moonlight cutting through.

The monster thundered behind us, gaining with each second. It didn't navigate the streets—it plowed through them, smashing stalls, upending carts, and charging through frozen townspeople. When we rounded corners, it leapt onto walls, using them to propel itself forward with horrifying agility.

"We can't outrun it!" Maya gasped.

"Take as many turns as possible!" I shouted. "Break its line of sight!"

We zigzagged through the streets of Eldor, turning corner after corner, but the creature remained relentlessly on our trail. It would catch us eventually, and I dreaded what would happen then.

Rounding another corner onto an open street, Rowan suddenly grabbed Maya and me by our sleeves.

"In here!" he hissed, pulling us into a darkened building before slamming the door shut.

Inside, near-total darkness engulfed us. Rowan pressed a finger to his lips, then gestured toward the window. We crouched beneath it, holding our breath as the monster's footsteps approached.

The beast skidded around the corner, stopping when it found the street empty. It rose onto its hind legs, sniffed the air, and began turning its malformed head in all directions.

My heart hammered so loudly I feared the sound alone would give us away. Maya's fingernails dug into her palms, while Rowan's jaw clenched tight.

With sudden violence, the monster threw back its head and released that horrible scream we'd heard before—not simply loud, but somehow wrong. Pain lanced through my skull as my ears began to bleed. We pressed our hands against our ears, fighting to remain silent.

When the scream ended, the monster surveyed the street once more before continuing past our hiding place with agonizing slowness.

Only when its footsteps faded did we breathe again, slumping against the wall in exhaustion.

"W-what the hell is that thing?" Maya whispered, her usual confidence shattered.

"I've never seen or heard of anything like it," Rowan replied, wiping blood from his ears. 

"I don't know either," I admitted. "But this is too much for us. We need to get out of Eldor and notify the guild in the next town."

They nodded in agreement just as a soft creak of floorboards froze us in place.

We leapt up,standing ready to fight whatever was hiding in the darkness. But it wasn't the monster that emerged from the darkness. It was a man—an ordinary civilian—shuffling forward with vacant eyes.

"S-sir, are you okay?" Rowan asked cautiously.

The man didn't answer. He simply stared with a blank expression, then took one step closer, then another.

"Don't come any closer," I warned, raising my sword.

He didn't heed my warning. As he approached, moonlight revealed a knife clutched in his right hand.

My blood ran cold. I glanced from the weapon to his face, searching for humanity, finding only that same blank stare.

Without warning, he charged.

The man swung the knife at my head in a clumsy arc. I could have severed his arm, but instinct told me this wasn't someone acting of his own will. Instead, I caught his wrist with my left hand, slammed the hilt of my sword into his temple, twisted the knife from his grasp, and swept his legs from under him.

I pressed my sword against his throat as he lay there, staring up with empty eyes.

"Kai, are you okay?" Maya asked, rushing to my side.

"I'm fine," I replied. "I think he's being controlled somehow."

Rowan crouched beside the fallen man, examining him closely. "His eyes," he whispered. "They look so lifeless."

The man's pupils were dull and gray, as if clouded by ash—no light behind them, no spark of consciousness.

Then I spotted an orange glow—a spark, then a flame forming in the man's palm beside Rowan's knee.

He can use magic?!

Rowan noticed too, quickly summoning wind magic to disperse the flame. But while we focused on the magical threat, we missed the physical one. The man's other hand moved with sudden purpose, drawing a second knife from behind his back and lunging toward Rowan's exposed back.

I saw the movement and realized Rowan wouldn't notice in time. The man was too close, the attack too sudden.

With a cry, I drove my sword through the man's neck.

The blade slid through with horrifying ease. The man's attack faltered, the knife dropping as his body went limp. Those gray eyes met mine for a final moment—and just before the light faded, I thought I saw something flicker there.

As I withdrew my blade, the man collapsed, blood pooling beneath him. I stared down at what I had done, my sword dripping a steady rhythm of crimson as I stood there silently shaking at the sight in front of me.

"Kai..." Maya's voice was soft, her hand on my shoulder. "You had no choice. He would have killed Rowan."

"She's right," Rowan added hoarsely. "You saved my life. Thank you."

I nodded numbly, knowing they were right but finding little comfort in it. This was a human after all, not a monster but a human. I killed a human once before in my past life but that man was less of a human then most monsters. This man however had no choice, he was a innocent, simply a victim and I killed him in cold blood. 

"We need to move," Maya said, breaking through my distressed thoughts. "That thing could return, and if one civilian has been... awakened, there could be others."

"You're right," I agreed, wiping my blade clean and clearing my mind. "We need to get out of Eldor, warn the guild."

"Do you think they'll believe us?" Rowan asked. "A monster no one's ever seen before, controlling civilians, the entire town frozen?"

I met his gaze. "They'll have to. Because if they don't, and that thing spreads beyond Eldor..."

The unfinished thought hung between us. Whatever was happening in this town couldn't be allowed to reach anywhere else.