A/N: Nothing really. Thanks for reading! Much love.
A crowd of people dressed in typical townsfolk fashion was gathered. Their clothing was mixed with dull colors of gray and white, a drastic difference from the nobles. They were all ushering quietly, an anxious tension filled the air, yet no one dared to raise their voice. It was probably due to the dozens of knights that surrounded them.
The King had called for an audience with his people, but it was difficult for citizens who live far from the capital, Central City, to arrive in time for the announcement. Only a fraction of the human population was present at the center of the city.
A trumpet interrupted everyone's thoughts, announcing the arrival of the King. A handsome man walked to the front of veranda causing heads to look up. His hair was shade mix with scarlet and brown, with a few spare grays here and there. Although he must be in his 40s, King Ackerman didn't look a day over 30. Many housewives were swooning internally at the sight of their King, causing many husbands to roll their eyes.
King Ackerman had a presence that causes people to become quiet and remain quiet. As crown prince, he led the human army to many successes, making him popular throughout the kingdom. This was no exception.
"My dear citizens," he began, a deep voice that people can't help but pay attention to. "It is with great sadness that I announce that our great kingdom is in turmoil. Evil beasts have stormed in our home and many of our family have died because of these monsters. First, I want to give my condolences to those people." A few villagers let out a quiet sob at his words.
"But we must not fall into fear. Second, our kingdom is currently in a state of emergency. I have called the army to surround the entire continent, preventing any more of these beasts from appearing. We do not know where these monsters are coming from and if any person is found cooperating with another race, they will be brought in for questioning." A few murmurs about the last statement came up, and the knights' shoulders were raised about another inch.
"Finally, as experienced at the Bluebell Academy tournament, only magicians and warriors combined can defeat these monsters. As I speak, the principal of Bluebell Academy is dispatching a group of students to defeat the beasts. I am calling these beasts Inanima, meaning soulless."
Meanwhile...
Inanima, huh? It looks like the King knows a little bit more than he's letting on. I was currently in the gymnasium of Bluebell Academy, which again, I didn't even know existed. Principal Ciel, a fitting name for his blue eyes, began outlining the plan that the King was announcing.
"Based on what we witnessed a few days ago, these beasts can only appear when there is no sun. Otherwise, they will possess a human vessel to be able to withstand the light. Fortunately enough, with the help of student Camille Calvert," he nodded towards me, "we have found a way to defeat these Inanima. So far, these creatures seem to be mindless, without the ability to think. It is also easy to tell when someone's possessed. Their eyes are completely black and their bodies have been obviously injured because they're, you know, dead," the principal explained.
I was itching for the diary-slash-ancient text hidden in my room. This was probably a good time to reread the book and search for any clues to expunge the creatures and prevent them from returning. Alas, that would be suspicious and I would probably be arrested and executed for just having the book in possession. Not to mention, I was still in a bit of pain from my injuries. Luckily, Alice has been healing me every day, quickening the pace of the reforming of my skin cells. Probably going to leave a scar though.
The principal continued, "You will be divided into groups. Each group will be in charge of saving a village and remove the Inanima. Kill anyone who has been possessed on sight. In this situation, it is to kill or be killed," he finished in a grave tone. Coincidentally, Alice, Alex, Michael, and I were arranged into a single group. We will be exploring a nearby village. From the patterns of attacks, the beasts appeared within the capital, then started dispersing from there. Which means, the closer we are to the capital, the higher the number of attacks and casualties.
"The higher level agents have already been sent off to prevent any more casualties. Remember, everyone here is still a student, so whenever things get rough, it's ok to run away. It is your choice on whether or not you want to risk your life. Most of you probably didn't expect to engage so early on in your life but we don't have a choice. I wish you all luck and remember, I am very proud of each and one of you." With that, we were dismissed.
"Are you sure you can go on this mission?" Alice asked. The four of us will be traveling on foot, as the village was quite close. Although my injuries kept me from walking as I wanted to, they weren't too bad. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Michael glanced over as if he was worried aw well.
I gave Alice a smile.
"I feel great! It's thanks to you magic, Alice. My injuries were terrible a few days ago, but they're quickly closing up!" Alice looked embarrassed.
"It's the least I can do, knowing the injuries were my fault."
I rolled my eyes. "How many times do we need to discuss this. What happened was not your fault," I said exasperatedly.
She sighed. "I know. But every time I see your scars, I can't help but feel guilty." I rubbed her arm in an attempt to comfort my friend.
"She already said it's not your fault, Alice," Alex added in helpfully. Not really. "You just need to relax, she'll get better in no time." My lips twitched at his response. Beside Alex, Michael merely nodded. I expected the two to fight by just seeing each other, but they seemed to get along quite well. Perhaps not well, they mostly just ignored one another.
It was a good mix. A strong magic user, a healer, and a strong warrior. From an outsider's perspective, I was the odd one in the bunch. Actually, the other three should be looking down on me, yet all of them treated me as an equal, leaving a warm feeling in my chest. With that, we headed to our first mission ever.
XXXXX
The town was a wreck.
And that was to put it nicely. Very few houses were left standing. Some were burnt down, others were torn apart. Perhaps the worst thing was the pile of corpses laying around, leaving an unavoidable stench that made me want to gag. A few young men were busy piling up the bodies onto wagons, no doubt attempting to prevent the Inanima from taking over the bodies.
"This is horrible," Alice whispered. The rest of us nodded in agreement.
"Alright, we don't have time to be traumatized by all the dead bodies. We're here for a reason. There shouldn't be any more people in this village as everyone has either evacuated or were killed in the attack. You should assume that any other person is an Inanima," advised Alex. We nodded our heads in response.
"Let's get this over with. We'll be able to finish faster if we split up. Search the perimeter for any survivors or non-survivors. Michael, you head south, Alice you can go west, Camille north, and I'll remain here. Also, don't be afraid to call for help," he said eyeing me. Hey, don't look at me like I'm a dumb child! You get seriously injured one time and suddenly you're doomed for death. Although I have got to admit, death and I are pretty much besties by now.
With that, I moved ahead, keeping my awareness as high as I could muster. My hand rested on the sheath of my sword. Luckily, we were distributed weapons or there's no way I could have defended myself. At least without exposing my powers anyway. Funny how I wanted to live a peaceful life but it all backfired. Great.
As I continued walking, I heard a rattle from a cottage to the left. I internally groaned. I swear, if I died from some horror movie crap, I am going to be so freaking pissed. I slowly began to navigate towards the origin of the sound, my eyes moving frantically around the area surrounding me.
Breathe Camille. It's nothing you haven't faced before. I slowly reached for the door, twisting the knob with a cringy sound. Stepping in I hesitantly called out, "Hello?"
I began walking slowly, eyes scanning the house.
"Is anyone home?" For a house made entirely of wood, it's holding itself up pretty well. Another creak came from what looked like the kitchen, causing me to jump a little.
"If you're human, you might want to speak up. Like right now. Because I'm probably going to kill you if you don't," I tried again. Why? Because I really don't have much energy to kill a monster. So please be human.
I walked closer to the sound when I spotted a human body. It wasn't a corpse as it was shaking. The human looked to be a male? I can't really tell in the darkness. I gently slipped out my sword, keeping it to the side of my body. I raised my sword as soon as I was close enough, intending to poke at the body to determine if he really was alive.
An icy chill flew down my back as I suddenly spun around, only to see a blade pointing at my forehead. I quicly flew to my left before the the weapon came into contact. Looking up, I immediately became confused.
"What are you doing, Alice?"