Toxins

There were some occasions where a shuriken flew across the sky and hit a monster once a monster jumped towards the small group of people fighting them.

The shields protecting them were not unlimited in supply and depended on how many talismans they had in their possession.

The more they used up in a single battle and the battles ahead, the more Mallory would have to make once again.

Although she had the magic power to make a lot of talismans or some higher quality ones, there would be a limit to the amount of time she could spend making them all and there was a limit to the supplies she brought with her.

The Excelia rewards that she gained in the past day was a very large amount and the more she killed the monsters to assist her allies, the less of a threat they were under during the battle.

It was not long before they were going deeper into the forest and were locked in battle once again with a small group of imps.

Their tiny bodies and sneaky nature made them sinister enemies to face as they attempted to sneak up on those wandering the forest and surrounded them.

Almura, Franco and Swaine were ambushed without warning then began to fight back under the protection on the white glowing shield that surrounded each of them.

Franco turned to the side and stabbed out a dagger suddenly then it pierced into the body of an imp that jumped up to claw at the side of his upper body.

It dispersed into a black mist before disappearing and a dark coloured magic stone fell to the ground afterwards.

Just as Swaine was about to be scratched at from behind, the white glowing barrier protected him and Almura followed up with an attack that killed it.

An imp ran below her and scratched towards the back of her leg, upon seeing it failed to harm her, it tried to wrap its arms around one leg and tried to bite down onto the barrier. "Ikii."

Other imps were making use of some sticks or other landforms to be used as sharp or blunt weapons but their attacks did not hit their targets.

It continued to repeat as the forest was being cleared out as much as possible and Mallory assisted when it was needed.

Darkness started to approach and Mallory kept a close on on the compass in her possession to check for signs of danger or misfortune present in the forest and nearby.

Back at the village, the darkness and silence filled the lands inside the walls but the peace within would soon be disturbed.

A couple of shadowed figures wearing cloaks to hide their appearances had wandered towards a part of the village then began talking among themselves.

"Are you certain we should make a move now?"

"Yes. The previous plan has failed so it is time to resort to these methods."

"So basically, if we cannot have it then nobody can?"

"You really get me. Ahaha."

"It would have been nice to have the village be slowly cut off from the city so we can run it from the shadows but now we have lost the very family we have been cultivating all this time."

"The higher ups will not be happy with our failures."

"Mm.. hopefully this will make up for that."

"To the downfall of Visa City."

"I cannot wait for that day to come."

They split up and headed towards the nearby water sources that were in different places around the village.

Each of the watering holes had buckets placed nearby and ropes so the water below could be collected by the villagers.

The shadowed figures did not remain for long after they reached inside their clothes and took out a small pouch.

The pouch was opened up then was poured down into the water below.

A cruel look appeared on each of their faces as they finished their task before turning away to leave.

Just as they were a couple of steps away, a strange thing happened in each of those locations that they had missed after they looked away from the water below.

The deadly toxins mixed into the water that could kill many that drank from it but it looked no different from ordinary water so it would slowly kill off the villagers over a short time.

They relied on the water to drink, bathe and water their crops when it was not raining so they would make use of it the next day without fail.

The few moments later that those people had looked away, a glow surrounded the water and some talismans broke apart near the top of the water.

The toxins were quickly removed and far away, Mallory felt a strong increase in Excelia which came as a warning and confirmation of what was one of the things she had found wrong with the village and some people she suspected but could not call out for it without any kind of proof.

The water sources had a faint aura of misfortune lingering around them that only grew stronger once she had come to the village and once she had caught those involved in the problems happening in the village, the aura grow even stronger while being surrounded in a strong deathly aura.

Many villagers had the aura of death on them that signalled that they did not have that long left to live so Mallory placed talismans in key locations to combat those dangers.

Many villagers slept not knowing the dangers they were in and how their deaths had been avoided thanks to Mallory acting quickly before she left the village.

She may have gone quite far into the forest but once night came and she got the warning, Mallory came running back towards the village with a compass leading her the way.

Those involved had made their way to meet up after they had left the village and did not know what awaited them and how their plan had been ruined.