The curtain covering our tent is suddenly opened. Several female figures are standing outside.
Kurotsuchi and Luca rushes in with panicked face.
"Kyaaa!" Lucy raises her upper body while I lazily sit facing the two girls.
"You still have time for this. Huh.." Amber peeks in, sighs before turning her face to the side.
Clementine nonchalantly pulls up her pant, ignoring the love juice flowing down her thighs.
"Calm down, girls. What happen?" I take my pant and putting it on while still sitting.
"Nina I caught, taken away.." Luca says while holding my legs.
"Huh. Huh..Soraya and Lyla were abducted by templars." Kurotsuchi says after drinking water in one gulp.
I can't believe what I am listening.
"What? What they did? I can't believe both of them could get taken easily."
"There are zombies and even a weird orc in the cave. Both of them got exhausted killing them!"
"Zombies? What are you talking about?" I grab black haired kunoichi's shoulders.
"I don't know the details. Soraya said there was a weird flying monster that bit the refugees and that turned them into man eating folks. The orc was bitten and became super fast monster, unlike we fought before!"
My black mind is still find it hard to grasp these sudden unbelievable things but the three girls have been captured; that's the fact.
"They were captured but Kurotsuchi escaped with her ability." Sekrit speaks from the tent's entrance. Myla is behind her, looking anxious.
Various things come to my mind but zombies are the most dangerous thing so I have to ask about them.
"Zombies? Are they really.."
"They weren't as mindless and slow as zombies but they indeed bit flesh. Another weird thing is unlike zombies, they are burnt by sunlight." Kurotsuchi explains and that is a shock.
Myla and Amber who haven't encountered zombies and orcs seem oblivious. Sekrit adds,
"Maybe they were not zombies, something like zombies but actually different creatures. The key is it was originated from the flying monster."
Silence envelopes the interior of our tent for a while.
"We are intruding the tower. Kurotsuchi, I leave it to you to open the door from inside. Lucy and Pepe, take these. Escape as far as possible from Albion." I throw several bags filled with food and weapons to Lucy.
"But.."
I put my index finger into Lucy's lips,
"Listen, Lucy. Something really terrible will happen. Staying with such large crowd is very risky."
"We follow you!" Pepe and Lucy please simultaneously but Sekrit firmly rejects them,
"Listen, your slow legs will only get in our way when we escape."
"I follow. I am the only one who had entered several times. I can be the guidance."
"Luca!!" Lucy yells.
"It's decided. Luca leads the way. Lucy and Pepe escape from Albion." I command in stern tone.
Looking down, the two refugees reluctantly picks up the bags.
"Listen. Go as far as possible and hide. In the morning, we will go to the exit of Albion. We will meet there."
***
Looking up at the tower of Albion standing before us, our group of seven swallow our respective breaths. Luca is at the forefront, followed by Kurotsuchi, Myla and Amber. Sekrit and Clementine are holding both of my hands.
“So this is…the legend…”
“Incredible…”
Myla and Amber, both who grew up within trinity church are especially astonished: seeing a legendary tale come true before their eyes have left them almost starstruck.
I feel my share of surprise, of course, but there is something more concerning. Sekrit notices the same and pulls my sleeve.
“Hiro-sama, the surrounding is too quiet.”
“Yeah. Even if we’re ravished by war, it can’t be this dead.”
“I will go inspect the ground floor. Please wait a moment.”
Kurotsuchi then vanishes.
In the meantime, take a better look around the large tower. Walking around the tower supposedly leads to the guard posts but they are unnaturally empty. It feels like the whole city is suppressing its breath, its sounds — it is a funeral’s atmosphere.
"What this land needs is not a fake religion, but a rebellion.”
“...Your majesty."
Myla turns backward and comes closer to me. I could have touched her angelic face just by stretching a hand.
"As the devout believer, it probably is not my place to say such a thing…but…please, pass judgment on the church."
“That’s what I came for.”
I forcefully embrace Myla. The beautiful noble lady falls into my arms without resistance.
“Myla! How shameful!”
“Oh please, try to read the mood…”
Sekrit and Amber both interjected, but Myla does not seem to notice: she presses her face against my chest, an ecstatic look in her eyes.
I would have loved to enjoy the moment of bliss a little more, but it ends rather abruptly.
“I have returned, Hiro-sama."
Kurotsuchi returns from her inspection of the court. Her expression is sterner than ever: clearly, she has no good news to bear.
“The ground floor is in a terrible state. The interior doors are thrown open, with templars walking aimlessly. Their eyes look like the bitten heretics in the cave."
We look at each other.
“In any case, it would be difficult to enter the tower from the front. Despite their quality, the quantity of troops is too large.”
Half dead soldiers wouldn’t be able to stop us, but, if we cause a commotion, half zombies might start swarming from above.
"But still, does it mean the bitten knights then attack others in the tower?" Sekrit ponders loudly.
We just look at each other worryingly as that might he the case.
I had not seen the bitten men' ability with my own eyes, but it was like the zombies : I could not afford to underestimate it.
“We should use the secret passage, then.”
Luca turns her head away and proposes an alternative.
“There is a secret passage at the other side, to let the priests escape in case of emergency. Only the priests know about it, so there shouldn’t be any guards.”
“Right…”
“Let’s use that to get in, then. Lead the way.”
“Certainly.”
I follow Luca through the the secret entrance. We manage to reach our destination without encountering even one person.
***
Sore and Jic are walking in the middle of the night after relieving themselves in the woods. There is no proper toilet in the refugees settlement after all. Walking past the dim light and many people sitting on the ground outside their tents, the brother and sister ignore them and continue towards the other part of the settlement where their tent is located.
After several minutes, the reach their tent tent that is hidden in between other tents with little space for walking.
However, behind their tent, there is a spacious space before one other tent, owned by an old man, known as Ben.
"Let's go inside, I don't feel good."
Jic urges his sister, Sore but just before entering their tent, the girl stops as there are sounds from the spacious area.
"What? Come in !"
"There's something behind our tent."
Both exit their tent and peek towards their backyard.
There is a torch, so the surrounding is still viewable despite being dim.
They see three legs lying on the ground.
After looking at each other and nod, they slowly walk to the side.
Two women and one man who are their neighbours are lying down trembling with blood covering their upper bodies.
Further there is a woman struggling with a man on top of her. His face is on her neck.
"Old man, Ben!" Sore says in hushed voice.
Jic covers his sister's mouth but is is too late.
Ben stops his action and turns toward them.
Surprised, he stands up. The two siblings retreat.
"It's fine. Nothing happens, really." Ben approaches them while being persuasive.
"Ben, your mouth.."
There are bloods on his mouth and chin.
"What's happening?"
Two of them women lying on the ground suddenly rise.
"Damn, geezers. Why did you suddenly but us. Are you demon?"
Everyone look at Ben.
"No. No. I don't know what I did. Trust me!" Ben himself looked confused.
"Are you all right, Miss Pen?" The woman, Pen walks with shaky legs towards Jic.
Suddenly, she jumps at Jic and bite him.
"Aaaa!! What are you doing?"
"Sorry, I don't know but suddenly I feel hungry and your body smells nice."
Sore stumbles down. The other woman jumps at her.
"I am sorry. We don't know why we are doing this."
***
