The bandits were shaking in fear of the unknown. With their weapons out, they looked around them, in search of their enemy, however, all they could see were their companions and town turned into ash. The silence was almost deafening, and almost everyone was able to hear their own heart beating into their ears. Some had drunk too much, their bodies unable to even stand in their intoxication, and many were swaying like a grass in the wind.
They were the first to fall. There were no visible wounds on their bodies, they just fell down, as if overcome by a very deep sleep. However, everyone there knew, that they were not going to wake up again. The tension continued to rise in the air, and everyone stood there like a stone statue, waiting for someone to move. As the tension was rising, one bandit was about to run in the last gamble of his life, when he heard something.
"..d.....ren.....Guide those that have strayed from the path to yourself....."
It was a prayer directed to god. Specifically, it was a prayer that people usually sung when they prayed for the souls of their departed. There was not much to prayers of God, you just had to remember him, and you request may be granted. As he heard the low mumbling of the prayer, gradually, more and more voices continued to gather together and it became a chorus. He too, at some point, had started singing the prayer. While singing, he started running towards the gate, and seeing him, the others soon followed.
It was common sense that ghosts could be purified by prayers. It needed a dedicated priest, but there were more than a thousand people praying right now, even if they had never prayed before. It was possible that the ghost would be purified by the collective prayer. As the man was running, he suddenly fell down. On looking back instinctively, he saw that there were two stumps in the place where his legs should have been.
"Aaaa..AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
He cried out, and saw that there were swords flying about in the air, cutting all of the people around him. Seeing this, a despair began to set in the man's heart, and soon a sword came and impaled him. But, he was not alone, all those who had felt that they could run away had the same despair in their hearts. The swords were cutting anyone who was near. When they were thinking about giving up, a voice called out to them.
"ALL OF YOU! FOCUS ON THE PRAYER IF YOU WANT TO LIVE!!"
It was one of the leaders that was shouting. And his voice filled people with a desire to live. Those who had seen him knew of his hardships. His face had been burned in a house fire, and he had been driven out of his village, but he survived and now was the leader of a decent bandit group. He usually covered his face with a mask so that his own people would not fear him in night. Under his orders, bandits began to pray more fervently that before.
"""OH GOD! WE ARE YOUR CHILDREN, OUR SOULS A PART OF YOU THAT SEEK TO RETURN! WE DO NOT KNOW GOOD, WE DO NOT KNOW EVIL! WE FOLLOW YOUR ORDERS, YOU ARE OUR LEADER! YOU DWELL IN US, YOU ARE THE DOER! ALL US SINNERS AND SAINTS BESEECH YOU! CALL US TO YOUR PLACE AND GUIDE THOSE WHO HAVE STRAYED!"""
The sounds of prayers began to rise, and gradually, the speed of the swords began to fall. Now it was possible to deflect them. Seeing this, the bandits grew more hopeful of their survival. Light started returning to the eyes of those who had despaired and some even joined their hands. Two such bandits were standing side by side in such a space. In front of them, the ghost appeared again. Seeing her, they flinched for a moment, but did not stop praying.
The ghost turned towards them, and looked at them with icy cold gaze. In the next moment, the ghost was in front of one of them, and it swung its arms. Its claws passed by in front of his eyes, but did not pierce him. In the next moment, there was blood on the side of his face. It was not his blood, but of the bandit standing on his side. However, he did something he should not have done. He stopped his prayer feeling death close to him, and the ghost possessed him.
A ghost or any malevolent spirit cannot possess someone praying, no matter how weak the prayer is. However, in front of the weak prayer, it can attack them. Now that the ghost had a body in mortal realm, the effect of prayer visibly weakened. What before was equivalent to needles piercing the skin repeatedly was now nothing more than a bedlam of noises.
The speed and accuracy of swords improved and more and more people started dying. Among the death cries of bandits, the shout of the leader resounded, "KILL THAT GUY! A DEAD POSSESSED BODY IS SAME AS NOT HAVING ONE!". At that shout, many of the bandits drew their swords and started charging towards the ghost's temporary body.
The ghost, which had been standing with his head down, looked ahead. The eyes, which showed that the person had been possessed had black sclera and a white pupil without irises. In the next instant, she disappeared.<<I'm using the ghost's gender, not the body's.>> No, she moved with speed untraceable by the eye. There was a vivid sound of bones breaking. When a bandit looked to his left, he saw that the ghost had kicked another man in his chest, breaking his ribs. And in the next instant, he was blown away.
The leg which had blown away a full grown person, came at him in a round house kick. In the next instant, blood and spit came out of his mouth, his teeth flew with his field of view shifting and he saw bandits standing there, facing towards him. All of them had there weapons drawn and a look of awe and fear on their faces. And after a few moments, his consciousness cut off. His head had been turned around with a kick.
She continued to kick and punch the nearby bandits. Some died in a few moments after getting hit in vulnerable places with overwhelming strength, and many became unable to fight due to serious internal injuries, waiting for their death. Only about one in ten people were able to stand back up after getting hit by her attack, but they too would go down in second or third. However, their attacks were not in vain. As she continued to fight, it took toll on the body.
The muscles ruptured, the bones broke. Soon after, the body hit its limits. As she looked around, she jumped at a nearby bandit. Punching him on the cheek with a reasonable strength, she stopped his prayers, and in the same moment she transferred to his body. The body might be suffering from a concussion, but with a little healing magic, it returned to normal and the dance continued. Changing bodies when they got too damaged to display overwhelming power, she continued to kill the bandits.
heheheHEHEH Good chapter!
And yea Altier Tanaka is disheartening/disappointing sometimes