His head felt like it was going to split into two, while the unrelenting force of suppressed, muddled memories flooded into his mind in the form of incohesive fragments. Over and over again, these fragments play simultaneously like mixed-up tapes from a film scroll.
The series of memories became a blurry mess and the sound inside his head became white noises, Deki tried to open his eyes only to be met with a distorted landscape made from those unrecognizable fragments.
Standing in the middle was a figure of a boy, he could only make out the outline of the person as everything else was pitch black. The sound subsided as he could vaguely make out the movement on the figure’s face.
“You can hear me, can’t you?” Deki nodded lightly to the question, standing on guard but curious.” We are going to remain here for sometime while the others are dealing with the mess you made so make yourself at home, let us witness the crimes that the sinners laid out for the foundation of their home.” The small boy pointed toward two holes of what appeared to be the eyes of Tsuguru, looking down at the panicking Acacia shaking the unconscious Deki, she was checking his pulse and magical circuit.
As she rushed to grab the ingredients in her basket, a soldier was flung down the cave entrance. “Ahhh! W-who are you?!” Acacia frantically asked, gripping tightly to the basket and returning to Deki’s side. The soldier had lost his lower half as he desperately crawled toward her, his face was painted in blood and terror as he pleaded
“P-please! You have to help me! That monster is coming, you have to-” The soldier’s head was crushed by a stomp of the boot of a tall man with dark jeans, a purple shirt, and a white jacket. He raised his hand to his curly purple hair, scratching his head and sighing.
“Ah schize, so much for clean killing, gotta take a day or two to wash off this one.” He brushed off the brutal murder as if it was just an accidental stomp on an oversized bug, trying to shake off the blood on his boot, and flung his head to the wall.
His face changed from a slight annoyance to a playful smirk as he looked at the horrified Acacia standing her ground, her face expressed calm and conscious but it was only a feeble attempt for had it not been for her unconscious companion on the side. Her legs would’ve long given in to the fear.
He wore a wide smug as he drew closer to her saying. “You saw what I did~? I’m a bad bad guy~” His menacing grin widened as he saw her resolution remained absolute.
Acacia started to observe her surroundings as various questions appeared in her mind. ‘Who is he? Why doesn’t Tsuguru become enraged by his presence? What can I do to signal for help?’ She had to make a move now if she wanted to have even a glimpse of hope of getting out of it alive.
As soon as he got into her range, she made a mad lunge with her closed palm toward his chest while leaving behind traces of Sakti. Instead of dodging the simple attack, he stood still with his arms wide open, letting her plunge her hand into his chest with a wide grin. Shocked,Acacia tried to retract her hand but was grabbed by him.
“You should’ve put more force into it, love~. You were so close to piercing my heart~just a little more~” he pushed her hand deeper, causing it to burst out of his back. She panicked to retaliate with a kick only to be grabbed again.
With a brutal twist, Orochi slammed her back to the cave wall, her body scraping against the rough terrain, sending jolts of pain through her limbs. Instinctively, she summoned a protective barrier just before impact, the magic absorbing the worst of the fall but leaving her still shaken and vulnerable.
Acacia could feel her pulse pounding in her ears, the pain from her twisted ankle nearly unbearable. But she couldn’t stop. Not now.
Her fingers twitched as she reached for the shattered rocks around her, channeling Sakti into them and transforming them into golden projectiles. They launched toward Orochi like bullets, but he didn’t even flinch. Instead, he tilted his head, eyes gleaming with amusement. Then, with a wave of his hand, he snapped his fingers. The bullets, vibrating violently, shattered from within, their energy dissipating before they could reach him.
“You never learn, do you?” Orochi laughed, voice high and manic, as though every second of her struggle was a game to him. His aura was a twisted mix of menace and amusement, like a predator toying with its prey. “Go ahead. Do your worst.”
Acacia gritted her teeth, her heart pounding with fury. She couldn’t let this monster mock her. She couldn’t let him win.
She advanced again, this time closer, using her injured leg to spring forward with the force of desperation. Her fists and feet, wrapped in layers of barriers, connected with Orochi’s body in rapid succession. Each strike carried the force of her frustration, her desperation. But it was like hitting a stone. He barely seemed to feel it, the blows dissipating off his skin as if he were immune to them.
Then, she saw it. The momentary shift in his posture, the brief flicker of surprise as she drew her right fist back, weaving a complex magical circle in the air. The magic hummed with power, feeding into the circle, feeding into the strike. A flash of light erupted from her hand as she thrust her fist forward, a blinding burst of energy pouring into the hole she had torn in his chest.
For a split second, Orochi’s grin faltered. A hole—no, a gaping wound—had opened in his torso, the flesh charred and smoking. His body trembled, but the injury didn’t seem to bother him in the way it should have.
“I’m not done yet!” Acacia shouted, her voice cracking with defiance. She stomped the ground with all the strength she could muster, activating the embedded spell she had prepared earlier. The earth responded, cracking and shifting as light spears burst from the ground, impaling Orochi in a brutal barrage.
Acacia panted heavily, sweat drenching her brow as she stood, watching her assault unfold. For a moment, there was silence, an eerie stillness as the spears of light pierced the air, and Orochi remained motionless. But then, without warning, his body began to twitch and tremble.
Before Acacia could even react, the sound of snapping bone and stretching muscle filled the air as his body rapidly began to repair itself. Flesh and organs surged back into place with a sickeningly unnatural speed, as though his body were stitching itself together in real-time. Within mere seconds, his form was fully restored—like a living nightmare healing from the deepest of wounds, his body warping and mutating as though untouched by time.
Acacia’s stomach churned. She stared in disbelief as Orochi looked at her, still holding that sickening grin. "For a doctor, you sure know how to hurt me good~" he purred, his voice low and honeyed, tinged with madness.
She struggled in his grip, eyes wide with panic, but his hand tightened around her throat again, lifting her off the ground as if she weighed nothing.
“How?” she gasped, barely able to speak as the crushing pressure on her throat intensified. Her hands scrabbled at his wrist, but she couldn’t break free.
“Oh, love…” Orochi’s voice was soft, almost teasing, as he watched her struggle. “It’s simple, really. You’re not the only one who’s learned to manipulate life and death.” He chuckled darkly. “I’ve been experimenting. And let’s just say… you can’t kill what’s already dead.”
“Your amber eyes are enthralling to look at, your soft skin with light pinkish cheeks and gorgeous gray hair. All of it combined with iron-willed determination and clear aspiration radiated an elegant yet familiar beauty behind the mundane things~.” he lightly brushed his hand on her hair as she was stunned by fear and disgust toward his compliment.
With a sickening sound, Acacia’s world went black, her vision fading as Orochi’s words echoed in her mind.
Deki, who had been watching the entire time, turned toward the boy as he begged. “We can’t just sit here! Do something!” the boy sighed at his plea before walking toward Deki. He gave him a sudden push as Deki felt something pull him out of the chaotic static plane.
Deki was forced to wake up from his knockout as he saw Tsuguru having a firm grasp on the man and Acacia on her knees watching things unfold. The man remains unfazed as he greets the beast that was crushing him in his palm.
“Greetings there, “brother”. What a pitiful state you have found yourself in, The Forsaken Beast Of Famine, manifested forcefully in response to a boy’s dying wish.” Tsuguru let out an annoyed growl as various blades shot out of his palm and impaled the man. He laughed it off as nothing more than pokes from needles as he continued on. “Relax, kid. I won’t be so mean as to kick a dog when it is down. I am only here on behalf of my master to clean up some moving trash that the Alae dumped in your cave.”
Tsuguru slammed the man onto the ground, squashing him under its palm like crushing an annoying pest. Despite being splattered on the floor, he got up completely naked having his clothes torn to shreds by the squash.
“Aggressive as ever~i like the way you hurt me~” Deki tried to stay out of the Man’s sight as he inspected Acacia’s wound before standing between her and the opposing threat who was chatting casually with Tsuguru.
The man turned to him with a chuckle and a smile. “Don’t be so serious, my leafy friend, I mean no harm~I am just on the same boat as you all~” he claimed, making both confused and speechless. They looked at each other wondering who this man was, he chuckled before continuing as his clothes started to stitch itself together. ” Where are my manners~? My name is Orochi. Reiya’s first and most loyal student.”
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
***
Confusion was written all over the two teenagers as they looked at this supposed “ally” who was eager to start a fight. Deki was befuddled by his claim while Acacia stood up with clear frustration.
“Cut this bullshit! Are you taking me as a lunatic to be taking such an absurd lie blowing out of your arse?!” Orochi showed genuine surprise toward her outrage, looking away and around the cave while scratching his head and with a blank expression on his face as he tried to piece together a response.
“Strange, normally people would be ecstatic to hear that name,” He sighs disappointedly, scratching his chin before brushing it off with a smile. “Ah well, I can’t blame your blissful ignorance. After all, that is one of the beauties of a country gal~ their adorable innocence~.”
Her eyes widened in awe at his response, she froze in place trying to process his words, her body tensed up with light cramps.
Then, Acacia was struck by the pangs of anger and disappointment as she realized what he was implying, she gritted her teeth and furrowed her eyes. With her anger boiling, she clenched her fists to the point that her nails punctured the skin on each of her palms, causing Orochi’s face to turn upside down. “Oh dear, you shouldn’t be ruining such delicate beauties like that-”
Suddenly, Orochi bit his tongue when Acacia’s fist collided with his chin, launching him upward and falling on the floor. A faint color of cherry red splattered on the floor with his bitten-off tongue squirming around and began to crawl back to him.
Deki rushed over, standing in front of Acacia with a flustered face as he tried to stop her from attacking him. “You saw what he is! Why would you ever trust a cold-blooded reptile?!” she shouted at him, trying to move him aside when she saw the absence of Orochi’s fallen body.
“Thanks for the help, my leafy friend~. I wouldn’t want her adorable grumpiness to hinder my treatment.” Both of them look behind Acacia’s back to see him pouring blood from the palm he cut open with his nail onto her ankle. Acacia felt a gentle warmth on her wound as her body seemingly healed itself, regenerating on its own.
“Did you know that if you let a charming, purple snake gently bite on your lips, it can cure all sickness, disease and grant eternal youth~?”
he playfully teased Acacia, who heaved and gave him the side eyes.
“No one in their right mind would ever let a snake come even remotely close, let alone allow it to bite on their lips.”
She scowled, going through her basket and ignoring his sly smirk.
“That dusty grimoire won’t do you any good, sweetheart.” Orochi walked toward the confused-looking Deki who was still trying to make head-to-toe of the
current situation.
At that moment, something hard hit his head causing him to fall off his feet as dust flew from the back of his head onto him. Deki gazed aside to see Acacia already holding the basket and now pulling his hand, ushering him to leave the cave with her.
“We’re telling Reiya about this.” She scorned while leading Deki to the insurmountable pile of corpses towering outside of the cave. Before Deki could even react to the horror, he felt a gentle hand cover his face entirely. “You’ll get used to it, but now is not the time to grieve for strangers.”
Deki can faintly sniff out the rusted scent of blood but it is mostly covered by Acacia’s soft hand with the smell of herbs. As much as it terrified him, he could feel a pleasant calmness as he stepped forward alongside her back to the village.
But when they arrived at the entrance, they were met with anxious expressions from the folks and various questions from Mrs.Julian as she frantically examined their bodies for cuts and wounds. “ Are you two ok?! Did something happen?! Did you see the men in iron armor?!”
“We’re ok, you don’t need to worry about us, Mrs.Julian” Acacia reassures her. Julian picked up Acacia’s arms and held her head to face her frightened face before hugging her tightly and gently patting her head.
“Thank the goddess you are all ok…” She kept on stroking her hair to relieve her worries. Deki looked around to see the others had similar caution and unease as Julian. Gossip rose from among the crowd while they avoided making eye contact and doubtful glares brushed by his face as the air grew thicker by the second.
A slow, audible clapping noise broke the tension between them followed by Reiya’s declaration. “Are you all done staring at your guest, dear children of Alnerwick? He's not that much of an eye candy for you to ruffle your feathers over.”
Her taunting words provoked the villagers as one retorted. “How dare you mock our hospitality when you caught a stray to our Lady’s land?!” He made his way through the crowd to show her his vexed expression with arms crossed in front of his chest.
Reiya turned her head to the side to suggest an eye-rolling motion as she let out an annoyed sigh. She made her way toward the dissatisfied man before bringing her face closer to him,taking off her glasses to reveal her glowing purple eyes, locking her gaze onto him as she answered his remark. “How dare i? You don’t get to tell me what to do in MY land.”
Her threat caused the man to take a step back, stuttering in his words before response. “What nonsense! Alnerwick is safeguarded by Her Majesty's faithful followers, the Ravager Claws has warned us about the scoundrel that you brought in. All you are doing is polluting the love and trust she has blessed us with!”
“Me? Polluting your blessings?” She laughed mocking before grabbing him by his neck collar,twisting it to tighten around his neck before pulling him up to stare straight into her eyes. “Said the dogs that ripped apart the hand that fed them.”
The man grunted and struggled against her grasp, folks were paralyzed with fear while perplexity filled their minds. Then, Aron intervened with a plea. “Please,let sinners be sinners. The children needn't endure the punishment of our crime.”
Reiya scoffed, throwing the man to the side causing him to fall onto his back and grunt in pain. “Sinners be damned until the blood has been paid.”
She crossed her arms as she watched Aron squirming around to help the man to stand, the angry man shouted. “What in the goodness is going on?! Can anyone explain to me what is happening right now?!”
“Yes Aron,go on. Fill us in what dirty paws your puppies have.” she said in disgust as Aron let out a heavy sigh,first turning to the confused and scared young couple. Acacia stood in front of Deki putting hand to the side to protect him but her face was conflicted, he then stood up with a heavy shoulder to confess.
“In the days of old, when blood still stains the very ground we walk. Children of Alnerwick fled from the death and destruction that was unfolding. But as they did, another disaster was creeping under their skins. It was Famine who drove them all mad, tearing apart loved ones to make a dent in their stomachs.” Aron briefly paused as he looked around the horrific looks on the folk’s faces as they were trying to comprehend the truth being revealed.
Acacia had retracted her arm to look down as she recounted the stories she had heard when she was a child, She retorted in disbelief. “That couldn’t be true! The Lord blessed our land with Alnerime. You and the elders told me that it was the salvation The Lord offered for our starvation!” Aron stared into her fierce conviction with his weighted eyes.
Seeing his pained look, she tried to continue but was interrupted by Reiya with a hand gesture, placing her finger onto her lip. Deki took a step up to hold Acacia’s shaking hand and looked at her with a concerned face, telling her to stop.
“Continue,Aron. The first step on repentance is the confession of one’s sin.” Reiya said with her arms still crossed,looking down on the conflicted Aron, he gave into the pressure with a low sobering tone.
“Indeed, His beloved companion whom he granted taught us how to breathe life into each seedling. But the hounds scarred by pain ravaged in his kindness,rather than learning to care for the divine fruit. They betrayed The Sacred Beast and used its blood to water the land.” When Aron finished his piece, he could see the light fading in her eyes.
The air was becoming heavier by the second, folks looking at each other in terror and confusion before a familiar voice emerged among the chaos. “Then what does it have to do with the stray you brought in?! as far as i am concerned. You are the one who tricked us to take in a piece of log that rotted our homes!”
“Your blathering mouth is going to get you killed someday.” Reiya countered,wiping her glasses clean.
“You-”
“Hey buddy, when my teacher went out of her way to give you advice for life. Bite your damn tongue and swallow it down,yea?” Orochi wrapped his arm over the man's shoulders, cutting him short. Everyone scattered with a horrified look,wondering how he was able to appear on the scene without getting noticed.
His wide grin radiates a murderous aura that froze everyone around them. He took a side glance at Reiya to see her slight smirk before letting out a chuckle while she turned around and went on her way. “Now that I have everyone’s attention, let’s turn the frown upside down and start over.Kay?”
He patted the man’s shoulder, chuckling and turning over to the distressing crowd while having a firm grasp on the man. He turned his head over to the young couple standing on guard at his present to give them the signal to go away.
After confirming their departure, Orochi directed his attention to the matter at hand. “Now I know we are starting off the wrong foot right now. So why don’t we address the stumped foot?” He laughed, shaking the uncomfortable man in his grasp. The tightness became unbearable as he pushed Orochi’s arm off his shoulder.
“Enough of this nonsense! Who are you? And tell me why we shouldn’t have you staked for intruding this village?!”
“Hold your horses, my lad. I explained myself as much,no? I’m here to provide you all a solution and a reassurance to your difficult situation.” Orochi’s claim caught the suspicious eyes of the scattered folks. Gossips stir among the crowd with some willing to hear him out while others believe he speaks of nonsense.
“Now, I understand that master Reiya might have rubbed you all the wrong way, but believe me when I say she wants what is best for both parties. So,why don’t we do it like this?” He stopped to search around his shirt before taking out an old pocket watch with the image of a snake eating its own tail, he showed the clock time pointing at exactly 6 o’ clock in the afternoon.
Folks peeked their heads over each other's shoulders to have a glance at his watch. “The so-called ‘scoundrel’ as you call him, I prefer ‘leafy friend’ to express hospitality.Either way, he has one week to prevent the Beast Awakening. Else, you can stake him up and cry to your mommy. Sounds good?”
Taunting as his words were, the villagers silently nod in agreement. Words of spite and hatred echoed within the crowd.But at last,all they could do were bite their lips and spit words of spite behind his back.
