The Infinite Bk. 05 Ch. 13

Legion

Noah tackled Shannon, forcing her to the ground as the gargantuan mass that was Kaisen exploded. Mana surged out in all directions like flames, and black blood flooded the streets of Welindar, washing over buildings, people, and fiends. The entire city was saturated with malevolence. Noah and Shannon ran for cover while holding their breath. The mana burned their skin and made them feel sick. They ducked into the palace, searching for a place free of contamination.

In the city, Valia and Tysinger saw the approaching wave of darkness coming like a volcanic ash cloud. "Not quite according to plan, but this should still get things moving," said Tysinger, then turning to Valia. "If you manage to survive, think about my offer. I'm sure we'll meet again. For now, I suggest you start running." Valia took his advice and took off in a sprint, using her super speed to outrun the wave, while Tysinger calmly let himself be enveloped.

As the darkness spread, what were originally screams of terror from the public became monstrous snarls. Men, women, and children exposed to the contamination began to transform. Inside their bodies, countless microscopic parasites were waking from their dormancy and beginning to release their venom. For weeks, the Pack had been spiking the local wells with parasites, each lying in wait for the signal to activate and bond with their hosts.

Kaisen's mana served as the trigger that awoke them, acting like the generator from Carthace's prison. Only those who drank from the royal wells, routinely sanctified by Nell, were free of the parasites, while everyone else took on monstrous shapes. Their bodies swelled as their muscles grew, and their skeletons changed form, deforming and mutating as the entire population of Welindar, from infant to elder, was turned into fiends.

The power changing their bodies also ravaged their minds, stripping away their personalities and thoughts. In their place was the will of Kaisen. It was not a conscious sentience, but an order ingrained into their gray matter: destroy Uther. Moving as one, the army of fiends filled the streets as a rabid mob, shaking the city with their combined footfalls. They swarmed out of Welindar, joined by the fiends Kaisen brought with him, all heading south. The Profane were on the move.

With the city emptied of its inhabitants, all was quiet, save for the crackling of flames as countless buildings burned. Everything had been painted black by the explosion, saturated with dark mana. The air was thick with smoke and caustic energy, but a voice still cried out. "Noah! Shannon!" It was Valia, walking to the streets. "Noah! Shannon!" she hollered again, receiving no response. She hurried towards the castle, hoping they were there and also that they weren't. The castle had been at the explosion's epicenter, and fear gripped her heart as she fought not to imagine them dead. "Noah! Shannon!"

She tried to pick up the pace, but it was difficult. The city was heavily polluted with Profane energy, attacking her body like radiation. She had reinforced her body with magic, but her muscles hurt, and every breath was a wheeze. There was no way an average person could survive this level of exposure.

"Noah! Shannon!" she tearfully shouted as she reached the palace.

With every step she took, every moment of silence, her terror grew exponentially. What if they were no longer in the city, having joined the armies of the Profane? She had seen Utheric soldiers among their ranks as they stampeded out of Welindar, corrupted and turned into ravenous abominations. If they had been infected and become mindless horrors like all the others, they might as well be dead, and she had lost them. First Valon and now Noah and Shannon. What more could be taken away from her?

"Noah! Shannon!"

"Valia!" she heard, making her heart soar.

She rushed inside, meeting Noah and Shannon halfway to the great hall, with the two wearing decontamination suits from Noah's operations. The three hugged each other tightly, each filled with relief.

"I can't believe you're alive! How did you survive?" Valia asked.

"We sealed ourselves up in the original lab. It's airtight, so it kept the mana out, and most of the surviving equipment and supplies were stored there," said Shannon.

"Come on, I've whipped up a cleaning solution. We need to wash all that residue off," added Noah.

They brought her to the former evidence room, where Valia was scrubbed from head to toe with a special potion that removed all of the dark energy clinging to her and her clothes.

"What going on outside?" Shannon asked.

"The entire city has been emptied. That explosion turned every single person in Welindar into a fiend, and they've swarmed out of the city."

"By the spirts, no! This can't be happening! All those people!" Shannon exclaimed.

"Which direction did they go?" Noah asked,

"They appeared to be heading south."

"Towards Colbrand. It's just as the Liege requested of the Profane, an army that would destroy Uther. He's gotten his wish."

"Noah, Uther must be warned. An army that size composed entirely of fiends? Everything will be destroyed. It would take every single soldier and knight in the country just to try and hold them back!"

"It's too dangerous out there to do anything right now. You barely survived returning to the castle. We need to wait for the sun to rise and burn away some of the contamination."

"What about Prince Lupin?"

"He's either dead, with the Profane, or hiding somewhere safe. Either way, his options are the same as ours. I don't like it either, but all we can do is wait."

They remained in the evidence room for the rest of the night, patching themselves up and waiting for dawn. While they waited, Noah wrote a magic formula to clean the air and help maintain their quarantine. Outside, Welindar was a sea of flames. The fires were spreading unchallenged, and as the contaminated wood burned, it released more toxic mana into the air. By first light, most of the city was reduced to ash. Finally, the sun started to rise, and much of the lingering mana disintegrated. The ground and rubble remained tainted and would stay that way for a long time, but the sunlight sterilized the air and made it breathable.

Eventually, the trio dared to step out of their bunker. The inner palace was still contaminated, so they quickly got outside under the sun's rays. What waited for them was a scene of darkness and destruction. All of Welindar was now cursed earth and devoid of life. Even the weeds growing in the street, if not outright killed by Kaisen's mana, were left twisted and evil.

"How? How did this all go so wrong?" said Valia, walking past the destroyed buildings. "We came here to stop the Profane, to save these people. How did we fail? How did we lose everything? Even when we win, we lose."

Nearby, Shannon dropped to her knees, staring at a footprint in the ashes. It was small, made by a child, probably still growing all their baby teeth. The toe marks were spiked from the child's claws, grown as their body became a tool of the Profane. "I thought I had avenged my tribe and made things right, but all I did was doom this city and everyone in it. That arrow might as well have pierced the heart of every man, woman, and child in Welindar, and I'm the one who shot it."

"It wasn't your fault," said Noah. "It wasn't any of our faults. This was always their plan, it's what they do. They corrupt and destroy. We can either sit around and mope or do something. We still need to find Lupin and warn Uther about what's coming."

"All the messenger birds are dead, and I can't outrun an army of fiends," said Shannon.

"I can," Valia replied.

"It would take you at least a month to reach Colbrand on foot, even as an elf."

"But I'm no ordinary elf. If I enhance my body with the power of Zodiac, I should be able to reach Colbrand with enough time to spare for them to mount a defense. I just need every potion you have."

"Just the run could kill you, let alone facing an army of those monsters once you reach Colbrand."

"Handent is already overrun, and if we lose Uther, so too will we lose any hope of defeating the Profane. Besides, I am still a knight, we both are. We do not abandon our people when they need us."

"Very well, do it. Shannon and I will stay here and try to find Lupin, then make our way down to you. If the country survives, it will need its king." Noah gave her all of his potions, and she stashed them in her ring.

"There is a chance we may never see each other again," said Valia.

"If I had a coin for every time I heard that...."

"Oh hush."

"I'm serious. I have done a lot of these goodbyes. If anything, you've probably just doomed us all by saving that."

"This isn't goodbye, it's good luck."

"See, now we're really jinxed."

Valia tried to keep a straight face, but broke into laughter, and the two gazed at each other. "I love you, you know?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I love you too."

"I'm surprised, I expected you say something depressing like 'I don't know what love is anymore.'"

In reply, Noah pulled her close and kissed her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as they let their tongues dance before finally separating. "I'd say I know what love is better than most."

"My Lady, Valia," Shannon tearfully murmured, standing beside them.

Valia turned and hugged her. "You and I will meet again in Colbrand, I promise. Until then, take care of Noah. But while I'm gone, don't even think of trying to take position of Queen Bee."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Valia kissed Shannon on the forehead and Noah again on the lips, then pulled away. She turned south and crouched down in a runner's sprint. "Zodiac: Udan!" Magic swept through her, and she took off, shooting like a bullet and leaving Noah and Shannon alone.

"Do you really think she'll make it in time? Even she has to rest eventually," Shannon asked.

"She has a power to help with that: Zhanga. It allows her brother to heal wounds, and for Valia to turn mana into physical stamina. She told me she once fought in a great battle for five days straight without any food or sleep."

"Why haven't I ever seen her use it?'

"We've never had a fight last that long."

"I meant in the bedroom. You've left her unable to walk plenty of times, so why not use that spell to go for another round?"

"I asked her that before. The main reason is because I'm still only human. Even if she can go forever, my stamina has limits. The other reason is, and I quote, 'by that point in the night, I'm just ready to go to sleep.'"

Shannon couldn't help but giggle, which then spread to Noah. The two laughed their fears away, then fell silent. "Come on, let's find Lupin and Nell."

"Yes, My Lord."

As Noah and Shannon scoured the city, Valia chased after the Profane army, following their path of destruction. They had a significant head start on her and were moving fast, propelled by the unholy power coursing through their veins. Granted, most of them were on the lower end of the strength spectrum, but that combat weakness had its advantages, such as letting them move in daylight and sprint without tiring. It took days just to catch up with them.

When she finally did see the dark army on the horizon, she altered her direction, having to go around them without letting them detect her. It wasn't enough to follow them to Colbrand; she had to get there before they did. She kept up the pace for as long as she could, burning through mana to boost her speed. When her mana ran out, she'd slow down and run with her normal physical stamina. When all of her strength left her, she'd drink potions and start the process over. If her legs tired before she lost her mana, she'd cast Zhanga and recharge her body.

Even when she overtook the army, she didn't dare slow down, and continued running day and night, whether it rained, snowed, or shined. Every so often, she'd pause to hunt, but whatever she caught, she ate raw like a feral creature to save time. More than once, she collapsed from exhaustion, drained of mana and stamina, and unable to digest more potions. Sleep would come as soon as her head hit the ground, but the monster army was always in her nightmares, and eventually, the shaking of the earth from their footfalls would wake her up.

Whenever she passed a village, she'd stop just long enough to warn the people about what was coming and buy any potions they had. She'd tell them to flee, that only death awaited those who ignored her, but ultimately, she didn't have time to do anything more for them. She could only hope they took her words to heart and fled.

Unfortunately, plenty of citizens didn't listen to the mysterious dark elf. Whether it was skepticism of her claim, distrust of her character, denial of the threat, or fear of losing their home and livelihood, countless people stayed behind. They ended up as food for the Profane, with every village between Welindar and Colbrand being trampled flat.

Part of why she pushed herself so hard wasn't simply fear of the dark army or concern for Colbrand; it was to drown out the doubts in her mind. She had to distract herself from thinking about Tysinger's offer. Even now, while risking her life trying to stop the Profane, some part of her pondered the potential benefits of their power.

She kept telling herself that it was a bad idea, that no good would come of it, but that part of her kept coming up with excuses, thinking of ways she could make it work, that it was possible to become a ghoul and still have a happy ending. Maybe Noah and Valon could come up with a cure. Maybe she could learn to live with the power, and Sylphtoria and Uther would allow her to remain on their side. That voice in her head kept whispering honeyed words, no matter how many times she brushed them aside.

Finally, after three weeks of almost nonstop running, she arrived in Colbrand. Her clothes were wet, dirty, and torn, and her boots had long since deteriorated into leather scraps, leaving her barefoot. Her whole body ached from torn muscles and frayed ligaments, and she was severely malnourished. She had drunk so many potions that it was like she had undergone chemotherapy. Not only had they poisoned her blood and made her sick, but her hair was even starting to come out.

Despite her condition, she limped through the city to the palace. The guards stopped her, but she waved her gold emblem, and they reluctantly let her pass. She entered the throne room, expecting to find General Delta, but was face to face with the last person she expected.

"Prince Galvin?" she gasped, seeing him sitting on the throne.

"It's king now," he replied, pointing to the crown on his head and looking at her with eyes he shouldn't have had. "Lady Zodiac, what in the world is going on?" he asked, surprised by her sudden appearance and sickly condition.

She panted with split lips and a dry throat, with just enough strength to utter a few words. "An army from Welindar.... The Profane... are coming." She then collapsed.

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Stomping feet.

Gnashing teeth.

Sharp claws.

Deranged howls.

"They're coming!" Valia screamed, waking up from her nightmare.

Hands grabbed her and pushed her back down, and though she tried to fight back, her body was drained of strength. "Lady Zodiac, you're safe! It's ok!"

She opened her eyes, recognizing the room around her as the palace infirmary, and beside her were two familiar faces. "Veres? Rosege?" she panted.

Alexis and Sophia sat beside her, on the verge of crying tears of joy. "Thank the gods you're alive, I was so worried about you," said Alexis, drying her eyes.

"I'm the one who should be grateful. Listen to me, an army of fiends is on its way from Welindar."

"We know," said Sophia. "After you arrived, messages were sent to every base and village between here and Welindar, trying to find out what's going on. The army is due to arrive in three days."

"Then we need to prepare to face them!" said Valia, trying to get out of bed.

Alexis and Sophia once more forced her back down.

"You're in no condition to fight!" Alexis exclaimed.

"She's right, you were on death's door when you arrived here. No elf can do what you did and jump right out of bed, ready for war."

"You might be right. The room is spinning. I think I'm going to... gonna...." Valia covered her mouth with one hand and waved at them with the other. They got the message and handed her a bucket. She turned away and emptied the contents of her stomach, then laid back and groaned. "That only helped a little bit."

"You need to stay in bed and rest."

"Lady Valia, what happened? Where's Noah?" Sophia asked.

"Sir Aithorn told us about what happened in Sylphtoria, but what were you doing in Welindar?"

"Noah's fine, don't worry. Prince Lupin recruited me and Noah to help him fight the Profane menace in Handent. A group of beastman insurgents had been using these special parasites to gain the powers of the Profane and turn into giant, hulking monsters. We spent months out there, crushing their bases and labs, but there was just no end to them.

Finally, the leader of the group, as well as an army of fiends, attacked Welindar. The battle ended with a massive explosion that shrouded the city in darkness and turned everyone into monsters. Men, women, and children; they were all mutated and became pawns of the Profane, and now they're marching to destroy Uther.

Noah and I split up after the battle. I went ahead to warn Colbrand while he and Shannon searched for the prince. They're probably racing here as we speak."

"Who's Shannon?" Alexis asked.

Valia gave a pained chuckle. "You'll like her, she's a big sweetheart. She was a member of the Petosic horse tribe, but her village was destroyed and her kin enslaved by the Profane. We took her with us and she became our companion. We three have fought a lot of battles together. What about you two? What's happened here in Colbrand since Noah and I left?"

"Sophia and I were expelled from the knighthood for being associated with Noah, but Madam Cyrilo at the Knight's Sheath took us in and gave us jobs. I serve drinks and beat down rowdy customers, and Sophia heals anyone injured and serves as Cyrilo's magical assistant. We ended up getting into a big fight with the church over a book-publishing project, but came out on top. We revealed a huge conspiracy of corruption and assassination in the clergy, including the use of church spies in the knighthood. The upper clergy has been disbanded and most of them arrested, and we regained our knight status."

"I'm gone for less than a year, and you two bring down the church. I knew you had greatness in you. Well done. But what happened to the king? All we heard was that he was assassinated by a member of the Profane."

Both women averted their eyes, overcome by shame and lingering fear. "The woman who killed the king was someone from the Knight's Sheath," said Sophia. "Bella, you could say she was Noah's favorite. After you two left, Noah's absence drove her insane. She ended up being exposed to Profane venom and became one of them. She went on a bloody rampage and got it in her head that since the king marked Noah as a criminal, if she killed him, then Noah would be able to return."

"It was a bloody nightmare," Alexis hissed, staring at her trembling fists. "We threw everything we had at her, but she just wouldn't die! We stabbed her, shot her with arrows, incinerated her, drowned her, crushed her, ripped off her limbs, and she still left a path of death and horror stretching from here to the Knight's Sheath! We fought with everything we had, and she just laughed us off! How is it possible for someone to be that strong?!"

"She killed the king and disappeared. She's been on the run since."