Corvus(1)

Margreth had already given up on convincing Steph to retreat from there; she realized she wouldn't be able to change the man's mind.

'Forgive me, kids, but I can't do anything more for you.' She gave one last look at Allan and Brenda, turned her back, and left the place.

The two young people were left unsure of how to react, but they understood that the woman wasn't exaggerating.

Entering there was truly that dangerous . Obviously, this wasn't only because of their age. Since both had fought for survival their entire lives, even though they hadn't participated in expeditions in the past, they were quite confident about themself, atleast they wouldn't cause any problems for the rest of the group.

Considering that no one else besides Margreth are againts the two joining the group. They rest also believed Allan and Brenda would be more than capable on this mission.

Or rather... Anyone else would contribute in the same way as Allan and Brenda, since the group wasn't made up of soldiers or anything close.

"Well, we'll only do a basic initial expedition. This citadel has a few floors below, but nothing above, giving us sunlight as an advantage!" Not wanting to lose the sunlight, since is a commom sense that the cursed didn't like to be out in the daylight.

Obviously, no one there could know 100% if that was true, but a bit of superstition didn't hurt.

In their case, it might even save their lifes.

"Listen carefully. Even though I think the old woman is exaggerating, I still think it's necessary for us to be cautious. Everyone here knows how to handle a rifle and fend for themselves. I'm not underestimating you in that sense." These words seemed to be directed at everyone in the group, but then he spoke directly to Brenda and Allan.

"Listen carefully. Like it or not, you are the future of the human race. Don't be fooled, I'm not leading you to your deaths. I'm helping both of you become better than me and the others. We need you to be our hope!" Allan heard that and didn't know how to respond. For him, Steph's words couldn't be described in any other way than empty.

'Future of humanity? I was abandoned by the Gods, Steph... I'm the future of nothing.' He lacked the courage to say such things, but Allan certainly wanted to.

"Don't worry about us. We grew up in the same environment as you. We've been shaped by the disasters for a long time. Allan and I understand the importance of this citadel to us." Brenda chose to believe in the motivational speech.

Again, Allan didn't judge. In the end, everyone believes in what will give them strength to survive.

"Alright. Check your equipment and see if there's anything wrong with it. If anything's off, ask someone else for equipment; we have priority on this mission." Steph gave the orders and followed them as well.

Allan checked everything he had:

1 rifle;

4 magazines, 12 bullets each (including the one already in the rifle);

1 knife;

1 flashlight;

1 roll of tape;

1 compass;

1 radio;

After checking that everything was in order, Allan switched the radio channel to one that only the group members would use. That way, if any of them got separated, they would still be able to communicate with each other.

"Alright. Let's go." Seeing that everyone in the group had checked their equipment, Steph was satisfied and led the group to the large gate.

The gate was at least 10 meters tall, and etched into the steel door were several stars aligned in a way that formed a design.

Below the carved stars, something was written: "Corvus."

Steph placed both hands on the gate and began to almost plead for it to open without difficulty.

Getting there and not being able to get inside it would be a wasted trip.

To his surprise, the large gate opened effortlessly, seeming dozens of times lighter than it should have been.

CRACK

With just a single push, the door started to open by itself. It was likely that in the past, there had been stronger security, but the security system must have failed when the city was cursed.

Now, anyone who wanted to could enter, but Allan had the feeling that the group was the first to try their "luck."

"Don't worry, Allan, everything will be fine." Seeing her friend's discomfort, Brenda tried to reassure him.

"You don't need to worry about me. Even if I didn't want to be here, now that I am, I'll do my best to make the most of the situation." This was the almost collective spirit of the group. Everyone worked for the group to prosper and survive.

They passed through the citadel gate and entered the city.

Once inside, Allan felt a sense of nostalgia as he faced the streets of a citadel again. Even though they were different, Andromeda and Corvus citadels shared very similar architectures.

The citadel walls were 15 to 20 meters tall, so most buildings were less than 12 meters, except for one.

Even though they were relatively far from the center of the citadel, the group could already see a large statue in the middle of the city.

The statue was of a woman covered in bandanas around her body, with a sensual figure.

"So, this city used to worship the Goddess of Blood." Everyone there recognized the Goddess Bandarah, known as the goddess of blood, carnage, and war.

Obviously, all cities worshiped all the Gods, receiving blessings from any of them, but in each citadel, one God's blessing was more prominent than the others, causing the citadel to worship that particular God with more devotion.

'In my old city, the God Jah was the most worshiped.' Allan didn't remember how many times he had prayed to the God of wisdom, technology, and enlightenment

"It's been decades since I've entered a citadel. Allan, do you still remember where the town hall is?" As the group passed through the well-paved street, with many abandoned houses and shops, Steph asked the question, looking at Allan.

"Hm? Yes, actually, I still remember well. If Corvus is like Andromeda, then the town hall and the hall of blessings are to the east of the citadel. When they worshiped the heavens, the sanctuaries preferred to place the most important structures in the east, since that's where the sun rises."

Knowing this, the group decided to head towards the center of the citadel.

There, the statue of the Goddess stood atop a circular staircase that descended to the lower levels. In addition, four well-preserved roads, despite the abandonment, led to the four main cardinal points.

Allan took the compass from one of the vests and headed towards the point marked as east.

The group was all armed, prepared for anything that might appear, but the further they walked, the stranger things became.

Since they entered, they hadn't seen any sign of life. Obviously, they didn't want to, nor would they be happy to face a cursed one, but it was at least suspicious not to see any insects or rats scurrying around.

This made the group's suspicions grow, especially Allan, who felt that uneasy feeling in his stomach return.

Even though something felt off about the place, the group continued passing by various shops and residences of the former inhabitants, heading towards the town hall.

Allan was momentarily in the lead, as he had been the last to see a sanctuary citadel.

"The architecture of both places is really unsettling because of how similar they are," Brenda commented to Allan, who was only a few steps ahead of her, being the closest person to him at that moment.

"Yeah, probably the architects ran out of creativity at the end of the world." This small joke got Brenda to laugh heartily.

'To be honest, it wasn't one of my best jokes, but I won't complain about hearing her laugh.' The two visibly got closer to each other, their shoulders nearly touching.

'Youth.' Steph, seeing this, couldn't help but smile slightly. 'It's been a while since I've seen something like this.'

The group continued walking until they reached a large gate. The gate was made of iron, and the mansion on the other side was visible.

A dirt path, with some grassy structures along the sides, led to a large white mansion.

Visibly, the sculptures were not well maintained, as it was impossible to distinguish what the designs were supposed to be.

"The gate is already a bit rusty, but I don't want to draw attention by breaking it. So, let's jump the wall." Steph and the other members of the group jumped first, leaving only Brenda and Allan behind.

"Let's hurry before the old ones leave us behind." Allan approached the wall, crouched slightly, and placed his hands together in a makeshift ladder.

"Thanks." Seeing that Allan wanted to help her climb, Brenda used his hand as support and managed to jump higher, easily crossing the 2-3 meter wall.

Allan followed shortly after without needing any help.

The group approached the mansion with heightened caution, but Allan wasn't feeling the uneasy sensation in his stomach worsen.

'That's a good sign,' he thought, as he aimed the M1903 rifle at the mansion's door.

Although the mansion had worn paint, there were no broken windows or doors. Even the stairs leading up to the door were undamaged.

The rest of the group advanced while Allan provided cover, making sure that any cursed creature that opened that door wouldn't live to tell the tale.

"It seems like everything's fine inside," Claus, one of the men in the group, pointed out while observing the inside of the mansion through a window.

"Okay. I'll open the door on three, be ready!" Steph grabbed the door handle and slowly turned it until the door was unlocked.

Click

The door opened, and Allan aimed inside the mansion, looking for anything that moved to shoot.

Fortunately, it seemed like there was nothing in the main hall.

The group quickly entered and surveyed the surroundings.

As soon as someone entered the main hall, they would see a large staircase leading to the second floor. Behind the stairs, there were two doors, one on each side, but both seemed to lead to the same room: A library.

Additionally, on the right and left of the main hall, there were two doors.

Both were closed.

"Claus, stay here. The rest, come with me!" Steph ordered and began leading the group to the room with the open door behind the stairs.

The room was very dark, as it had no windows. So, the group had to grab the flashlights from their vests.

Ancelot, another man from the expedition team, always used duct tape to attach his flashlight to his weapon.

'This has saved my life countless times,' he would say when someone asked why he carried his flashlight that way.

He crossed the room with the flashlight, revealing what was inside.

All the walls were lined with books from floor to ceiling, and on the opposite wall from where they entered, there was another set of double doors. Additionally, scattered throughout the room were some sofas, tables, and chairs for reading.

"Boss!" Ancelot called the group's attention, pointing his weapon with the attached flashlight toward one of the chairs.

In the chair, the remains of a person rested eternally, holding a letter in their hand.

The corpse seemed like it had been there for a while, as almost nothing was left except the bones in the chair.

The group was slightly shaken by that, but it didn't leave any of them in shock.

Steph moved forward to grab the letter, as no one else wanted to get closer to the dead man.

"Be careful, boss," Ancelot warned.

"I know." Aware of what his old friend was warning, Steph took each step with caution until he reached the chair.

He looked around the chair to see if there was anything else, but only the letter was there, so he took it and brought it with the group to the main hall.

"Allan, could you read it for us?" Steph handed the letter to Allan, as he was one of the few members of the group who knew how to read.

"Hm... Sure!" Even though Allan had seen a corpse before, he was still a bit shaken.

But not wanting to be a burden to the group, he took the letter in his hand and began reading it aloud for the rest of the group.

"Dear Goddess,

I apologize for our gluttony. You, my lady, warned us of the dangers, but we didn't listen.

We were lost by our greed for the power that the blessing given to us provided.

We have relentlessly begged for your forgiveness, but it seems our prayers were not answered.

Why, Goddess!?

Why did you abandon us!!!

Didn't the cries of your sons move you!?"