4 Prelude to Genocide

The village elder was a young woman with golden blond hair and sky-blue eyes.

She wore a silky white dress bounded by golden metallic rings, barely covering her chest and private area. Her curly blond hair ran down along both side of her naked shoulder, over her enormous pair of breasts, reaching all the way down to her knees.

Despite her youthful appearance, she was extremely old thanked to the longevity of her race as well as the blessing from her Goddess. She held the position of elder for well over a thousand years due to her unwavering faith.

"Galadriel."

A veteran ranger addressed her courteously along with a dozen of his comrades as soon as they have entered the chamber.

They were wearing padded leather armor over light chainmail. As customary, each ranger had a steel dagger holstered around their waist and a bow on their back.

"We have investigated the source of the fire that had burn down the eastern forest several days ago. From the testimony of Elune, it appears that a metal Golem and another party is the cause. When we got there, the Golem is nowhere to be seen. However, it appears that Sasha survived the confrontation with the Golem. The others weren't so lucky."

The ranger moved to the side as several of his comrades brought three headless corpses and Sasha forwards for the village elder and everyone else to see.

The villagers gasped at the sight. Several women shouted and tried to get closer to their husband from the doorway. However, they were held back by the guards.

Galadriel examined the three corpses first, finding that they were likely to be killed by a magical beam of intense heat. Their flesh was cauterized instantly. They didn't even have a chance to draw their bow and retaliate.

As for Sasha, the high-ranking ranger didn't have a single injury on her body. Not even a speck of dust could be found on her clothing. She was an excellent ranger, but this was extremely suspicious.

"Did Elune not say that Sasha gave her life in her service?"

Galadriel asked and looked at Sasha intensively. She sensed something was very wrong, but she was unable to pinpoint exactly what it was without physical contact. She moved closer to Sasha and placed her palm upon her body to attempt to feel her spirit.

"Perhaps Elune is mistaken. She was visibly shaken and did not make much sense when she'd returned to the village."

The ranger explained as Galadriel's eyes glowed mystically. Images flashed within those sky-blue eyes of hers before she was forced to remove her hand from Sasha.

Galadriel exhaled and quickly recollected herself. Something had tried to possess her through physical contact. If she hadn't remove her hand, it would have succeed.

"Lady Galadriel. Please do not exert yourself."

One of the druids hurried to her side and helped straightened herself.

The druid noticed her hand, seeing the faint silvery lines spreading up her arm like a disease. Her magic was fighting back against the infection, but it only managed to slow down the spread.

"I am fine. Borrowing the Goddess' power and seeing what had past is taxing on my mind."

Galadriel assured and gestured at unresponsive Sasha, laying on the wooden floor.

"Her spirit is trap inside her body. Her mind is being suppressed. An evil spirit is possessing her. We must find way to expel this evil and free her from its torture."

Everyone discussed among themselves for a solution. No one doubted her assessment. This is because being possessed by an evil spirit was not a rare occurrence. The dense forest that their ancestors had built their home upon was filled with spirit, both malevolent and benevolent.

"Should we not allow Sasha expel this evil on her own will? She is an experienced ranger."

One of the villagers voiced his opinion. Several people agreed. If the will of a person is strong enough, the spirit will eventually be forced to leave.

Sasha was not weak. In fact, she had slain several orcs by herself.

"If only this great evil is a normal spirit. I fear that if we are to delay any longer, the more dangerous she is in."

Galadriel shook her head and recalled the dreadful image she saw. The spirit came out from the Golem before possessing Sasha. What it did after to one of the corpses in order to heal itself horrifying her to no end.

"We should take precaution to ensure that –

One of the villagers pointed at Sasha. "Look, she's waking up!"

Galadriel immediately looked at Sasha, noticing her unnatural and unblinking eyes.

"Genome Mapped. 12 Options Available."

Sasha stated before scanning the surrounding. There were countless people staring at her, questioning what she had just said.

"1 Option Within Acceptable Parameters."

With so much genetic materials available at arm's length, the nanites within Sasha quickly narrowed down all the available options. Morality was not within one of the compulsory parameters.

Its mission was to safeguard and protect humanity at any cost. If humanity rebirth is from the ashes of this species – then so be it.

"Sasha! Fight it! You must not allow it to win!"

One of the rangers crouched down and grabbed her hand tightly. His name is Lionel. He was her fiancé, and they were to be married in 7 more moons.

While the machine could understand the language used by the native of this world, it did not bother to speak it. It continued to speak English, the language of its creator. However, this is one of the rare moments that it did speak in the native tongue.

"Resistance is Futile."