Those Seeking Attention

Night Thirteen

'My goal... I want to surpass him... No matter what... I'll surpass him and be better than him. I won't fail. I can't fail. I have to surpass his level no matter what... I will stand beyond both of them, and once I'm at the top I'll kill them all. The Bestia Macht must die.'

The village of Calendulas

Humanity struggled to survive the freezing cold ever since age 10. However, it wasn't until age 91 that humanity was forced to face their real adversaries... The Bestia Macht. Natures killers. They were monsters. Every single one of them was forced to evolve in order to kill humanity. These monsters were grouped into royal categories ranging from Baron all the way to the mighty Prince.

Thanks to the Bestia Macht every day can be a persons last.

And those who live in a village can agree with that notion more than any other person...

The Villages are not technically a part of the Red Government. They are simply a group of people who lived out in the wasteland and came together in an attempt to set up safety walls. They lacked any kind of protection other than the lucky person with an Equation. Most places are lucky to have one or two people with an Equation. But Calendulas was rare.

Unlike other Villages it had eight people with powers...

Age 1981

"I'm so... So sorry..." A voice croaked out.

Within a cabin a man with blonde hair, and light icy blue eyes could be seen lying back on a bed. Small shards of ice covered his body and slowly began to spread up his arms as he shivered. His breath came out in a fine mist and he couldn't stop shaking.

"S... So... Sorry..." He groaned out again. "I'm so... Sorry..."

"Shh... You should save your strength dad..." A sad voice said. Within the room several young kids could all be seen. They all had the same kind of blonde hair, and icy blue eyes as the man who was in the bed. They were all different ages but the oldest two were a girl, and boy, who were both eight years old. "You need to save your strength..." The girl said quietly.

"I'm so sorry..." The man said again. It seemed he couldn't hear the kids, many of which were sobbing. "I don't think... I'm gonna..." The ice slowly began to spread up his body again as his skin slowly changed into ice. "We never meant to leave you all alone... We were supposed to... Your mother and I. We weren't supposed to die..."

The ice began to spread even faster getting larger and larger as cracks started to slowly appear across his body.

"It's okay dad..." The oldest blonde haired girl said slowly her voice nearly breaking as she spoke. The crying got louder as the oldest boy next to her began to slowly break down as well. "I'll keep them safe... I'll make sure they are all safe. I'll make sure the Bestia Macht never hurt them again..."

The man's shivering slowly stopped as the smallest hint of a smile crossed onto his face. "Irene... My sweet princess... Please... Keep them all safe-"

The man shattered into shards of tiny white ice as the room lit up from his tiny shards of glass. His body broke away more and more leaving nothing but tiny fragments.

And just like that he was gone.

Nothing let behind but some sparkles. Just like mother...

The Bestia Macht once again took something away from them...

"I... Irene?" The oldest boy said looking at his twin sister.

Irene's sad look was gone as her body seemed to shake. her fist were clenched and there was no longer a sad look in her eyes. "I'll... I'll kill them all-"

"Irene?"

"I'll kill them all! I'll kill all the Bestia Macht!" She yelled.

***

Age 1990

A Random Shack That Some Might Call A House...

Irene let out a quiet sigh as she stared down at the wooden table. Once again there was barely enough food to feed even a single one of them, much less the eight people who crowded around the table all of whom eyed the food hungrily. All of them wanted to pounce on the food but managed to hold themselves back.

Irene glanced at her seven siblings for a moment. A frown on her lips as they stared at her waiting on her orders. Like her they all had long blonde hair and icy blue eyes, as well as cold white skin. Her, and her twin brother North were the oldest with the rest being pretty young. Despite that though they've all seen far more than anyone else. "Okay..." She said in a calm and orderly voice. "Who got the most kills yesterday?" She questioned in a demanding tone as she folded her arms. "And don't lie... I can tell."

Everyone around the table all let out loud groans when she said that. Seemed they didn't really like that.

"Damn it... I hate it when we do kill rules..." Snow, Irene's youngest sister said. She rolled her eyes for a moment. "We all know North got the most... Again..."

"Damn right I did!" North boasted. "You slackers put up those dumb defenses while I was out there turning them monsters into frozen limbs." He announced proudly. "I'm the coolest. And that isn't a pun about my powers it's a-"

"Yeah, but what was your exact number?" Lucia asked curiously. She raised an eyebrow at her older sibling who always seemed to be the best at whatever he would do. Lucia was the second youngest girl.

"I don't know... I was so busy being a massive badass, that I didn't bother to count. I'd say maybe... Fifty?" North said embarrassed. "I... Wasn't really counting... Sorry..." He laughed sheepishly and scratched his head.

"It was seventy-five..." Irene said finally letting out a sigh. "Honestly North do you even pay attention to anything... And don't say fighting! That doesn't count. We all have to do that!"

"Sorry, Sissy..." The boy said frowning slightly as he turned his head down. "Does food count?"

Irene rolled her eyes as she looked out at her siblings. A smile crossed its way onto her face. No matter how much they bugged her she knew she would always love her seven siblings. Even if they were a total pain in the ass... "Well, I guess it's decided. North since you got the most kills you get-"

A loud bell rang out as everyone froze up. It dinged once, then twice, then a third time. The group stayed completely silent as the bell finally stopped. Nobody moved as the room seemed to go dead silent.

"Aww come on... We were just about to eat!" North whined out. "Alright let's do this quickly okay? I really wanna eat. Let's do this!" He announced.

The other kids all also let out nervous sighs and all jumped at the sounds of the loud bells that some villager was ringing. They all knew what that ringing bell meant. It had been a year since they last heard it...

"Three rings..." Snow said gulping slightly as she nervously looked around. "That means-"

Irene stood up quickly and grabbed her white fur coat. "Alright people. We've been preparing for this for about a year now... We need to get serious now! Last year when this happened the village was almost destroyed..." She stated. She flipped her long blonde hair back as her icy blue eyes stared out at her siblings with slight worry. 'Are we really ready for this... Last time we fought a three bell ring horde we almost died...' She thought as she bit her lip. "This is no time for any of us to worry. We need to go out and protect this village..."

Her siblings nodded as they all stood up. They all knew what this meant. Three rings meant that they were dealing with a massive horde. The Bestia Macht were here. Yesterday's battle might have been a hard one but, this would be far worse. Who knew how many Baron's their would be...

The door to their cabin burst open as they ran out into the snow. The pitch blackness was only destroyed by the brief flickers of the many torches that surrounded the village... As they stepped out into the freezing cold many civilians stepped back inside. None of them would he be fighting. Only the eight Glacious family members. The eight of them were the sole protectors of this village.

They had no Enforcers, or Red Sisters out here. No artificial lights. No machinery at all. Just them. It was up to them to protect the entire village. No guards, no wall, no help. Nothing but the human will to survive.

Irene faced the shabby wooden gate that she had put up yesterday with the help of North... It was clear that it likely wouldn't hold out for very long. She tried to think of a plan as she crossed her arms. "Flake! How many of them are outside?" She questioned. Her little brother Flake, as he placed his hands on the ground. The boy took a deep breath as a white glow appeared under him. Then slowly a pillar of ice lifted him up. The snow moved up, bringing the boy up higher and higher as he used his Cursed Life Technique.

He stood on his tiptoes as he looked out over the top of the wooden gate. "Ohh... There's a lot of them..." He trailed off. He shook his head as he shrugged. "Like... More than a hundred of them... This is gonna suck..." He remained for a few more seconds before letting out a brief sigh of relief. "None of them look insanely strong. I don't think any of them are above Baron level."

"Alright!" Irene nodding her head. She folded her arms as she closed her eyes and began to come up with countless strategies... "North! Snow! Eira! You guys are with me." She announced taking her twin brother and her two younger sisters. "We're gonna go off and fight them. Flake, Lucia, Holly, and Juniper! You guys guard the village. Place up ice walls. Don't let any of them inside. There are a few bows and arrows lying around. Give them to any of the villagers who think they can help. Bows likely won't do anything but it will at least help slow a few down."

"Right!" Everyone announced agreeing to the plan. They all ran to their spots as Irene threw her arm out. Suddenly in a flash of ice, a stairway of ice was created allowing them to scale over the gate.

They all got ready for what might be their last battle. This was not going to be easy...