Trial XIV

hey Author, here, I just wanna say, please comment on chaps to tell me where I am wrong or which area I need to improve, As you all know, I am a newbie Author, so all help and guidance are appreciated.

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Brian stared at his son, who was now far beyond anything human. The bandages wrapped around his body had torn apart, causing blood to ooze from his wounds and lower body. The sight was grotesque, too much for Brian to bear. He bent over, vomiting violently as he tried to make sense of what was happening.

"What… what is this?" he stuttered, his voice trembling with confusion and fear. He couldn't comprehend what had befallen his son.

Or what and how he did it???

Suddenly, a disturbing sound echoed in the room.

Kekeek…

A horrific laugh pierced the silence, and Brian's head snapped toward the source. His eyes landed on the maid, the very one he had slapped earlier. She was standing now, but her posture was unnatural, like a broken doll. Her arms flailed awkwardly, and then—horrifyingly—her head rotated a full 180 degrees to face him. Her once-beautiful face was now mangled and deformed, staring at him with empty, haunting eyes.

Ehhhhh...

A primal scream ripped from Brian's throat as he stumbled back in terror. His heart pounded wildly as he tried to get to his feet. Panic surged through him, but it quickly turned to anger.

"A zombie dares to scare me?!" he roared, fury blazing in his eyes. With a shout, he activated his Tier III strength, preparing to strike. But just as quickly, his expression shifted from rage to shock. His eyes widened in disbelief.

His strength—it was gone. He felt nothing but weakness, as if his power had been drained entirely. Frantically, he reached for his neck, feeling the spot where his Arune Key once pulsed with energy. His fingers touched only broken skin.

"No… this can't be…"

"How did this HAPPEN?!" Brian screamed in rage, frantically looking around as the zombie maid slowly staggered toward him. He stood up, his body trembling with a mix of fear and fury, and dashed to a nearby cabinet, pulling out an exquisite, glowing dagger. "At least this is still here," he muttered under his breath, clinging to the weapon like a lifeline.

With the dagger in hand, he aimed it at the approaching undead maid and shouted, "Aqua Barrage!"

The dagger lit up with a brilliant blue glow, and water beads formed around it. In an instant, they shot toward the zombie, each water bullet piercing her body and leaving gaping holes in her flesh. Her form was riddled with holes, collapsing to the floor, lifeless.

"Humph," Brian snorted in grim satisfaction, but his victory was short-lived. His eyes widened in horror as he saw the maid's mangled body begin to stir. Dark energy swirled around her, pulling her broken limbs back into place. Slowly, she stood again, her eyes locked on him with a terrifying, vacant stare. Worse still, she made her way toward his son.

Brian watched in horror as the maid bent over his son's body and, without hesitation, began to devour him.

"Stop it!" Brian screamed, hurling the dagger toward her. "Aqua Barrage! Aqua Barrage!" He cast the spell again and again, but the magic seemed to fizzle, the once-powerful dagger now useless in his hand. Panic clawed at his chest as he threw the weapon aside in frustration, realizing it had lost its power.

But, the zombie maid was also dead now, no longer gnawing at his son.

Desperate, Brian stumbled toward his son, eyes filled with terror as he saw the zombie maid gnawed flesh.

He hurriedly checked him, "He's still alive!" he mumbled in disbelief. Despite the gruesome scene, his son still clung to life.

Acting quickly, Brian snatched a red healing potion from another drawer and poured it over his son's wounds. The potion worked immediately, sealing his son's torn flesh and stopping the bleeding. As the wounds fully healed, Brian drenched his son's entire body with the potion to ensure his recovery.

Breathing heavily, Brian stepped back, shaken but relieved, as his son began to stir again. "Thank the heavens," he whispered, watching his son's chest rise and fall with renewed life. However, the lurking fear of what had caused this horror still haunted him, and the maid's unnatural resurrection filled him with dread.

"That dark aura… it was definitely the work of a necromancer," Brian thought angrily, his mind racing as he tried to identify who could be responsible for such dark magic. His hands clenched into fists, fury simmering beneath his skin as he wondered which necromancer had dared to interfere with his son.

"I should call back Rex," he muttered to himself, recalling his trusted powerhouse, Rex—an adept who specialized in combat and had never failed him in dangerous situations like this. Rex was the only one Brian could rely on to deal with such sinister threats.

Without wasting time, Brian reached for his communication crystal, channeling his energy into it...

"Damn it," Brian mumbled angrily, the weight of his broken Arune Key sinking in. Without it, he was cut off from mana entirely, unable to harness even a single tendril of magical energy. It was the fate of anyone whose Arune Key was shattered—complete powerlessness.

Behind him, his son stirred. "Great, my son, now...," Brian began, his tone almost hopeful. But the words died in his throat as he saw his son staring at him with lifeless eyes.

Noooooooo!

Brian's scream echoed through the room as his son lunged at him, sinking his teeth into his neck. Brian fought back, but against a Tier II zombie, he was no match. His broken Arcane Key left him defenseless. In moments, the son he once loved brutally tore him apart, the grotesque sound of flesh and bone tearing apart filling the room as Brian met his grisly end at the hands of his own child.

From the shadows, Roselia watched, her dark magic fueling the entire scene. She gazed at Brian's demise with contempt in her eyes, a slight smirk on her lips.

"Fatty bastard," she muttered, her voice dripping with disdain.

After her encounter with Asmodeus, her disgust for people like Brian—those who indulged in depravity and corruption—had reached its peak. There was no longer any hesitation in her. She felt nothing when ending lives such as his. They were beyond redemption, and she was more than willing to cleanse them from existence.

Unexpectedly, her actions had a profound impact. Though she had been moving in the shadows, intent on her own mission, the death of Brian triggered a wave of cleansing within the city. A "Cleanse of Corruption" quest—something she hadn't actively sought—was now 50% complete. With Brian's death, a significant part of the corruption in Blue Wind City had been purged.

Now, only one obstacle remained: Rex, the final remnant of the corruption that still tainted the city.

Leon who was back in slums was also stunned when he saw his quest of cleaning corruption was completed by 50%.

"how did this happen?" he thought not knowing it was Roselia.