10 A Demure Sin: Peeling the Persona

Moving two and a half dozen dead bodies could be, without a doubt, a pain in one's shoulders. The weight of one's dead body was still the same as when it was living, yet felt heavier for the rigor mortis was already outspreading into the joints, and any form of living spirit that came in handy to balance its flabby body was too absent. A soulless body it remained, which would let gravity take full control of its flesh as if lusting for the earth's soil for it was the origin of all creations… animals, humans, trees… all of them would eventually devoured by the earthen ground to feed a new seed. Hence the said reason, to lift a dead body would feel heavier because it simply yearned for its original home. Moreover if the numbers were close to thirty, coupled with the heavy metal armor they wore… moving the steel-armored bodies was nearly impossible to do with the strength of a man without external support.

And that external support came in the form of a magic circle created by the one-horned devil who was standing steadily in the middle of the village. Without cryptic incantation nor any uncanny physical gesture, using only a blink of an eye and a small tilt of the head… using an effort and energy as little as she could… a huge magic circle was formed all across the barren soil of Kasala Village, amazed anyone who witnessed it happening. Even the sun shine abruptly felt threatened by the presence of its azure glimmer; the zephyr of Jaderural Meadow stopped its soft gentle gust before the presence of the azure supernatural fingerprint, watching all the green color of the trees and grass field around the radius slowly faded… devoured by the strong color and smeared them into it.

It was nearly impossible for such a scene not to be able to hook anyone who witnessed it happening. They simply didn't want to miss the firsthand experience—standing right above the magical circle which was still alien for most Kasala folks, more so it was also announced directly from Erynew's mouth, regarding this public execution soon enough.

One peculiar reaction was shown by two kids who stood with strangely less anxious faces compared to the rest of the gathering crowd which was less than twenty villagers. One kid was more fascinated by the Arcane Art, and the other kid was more interested in the execution… both of those actions were done by one specific individual.

"This is my first time, standing right above this huge magic circle." said the little girl in question, Maya, intuitively standing in the front line of the crowd, so that she could catch a clear view of the back of the one-horned devil doing her magical thing.

"So you've seen it before?" right standing beside her was a boy of the same age as hers, a boy named Gizado who quietly asked her without even having a need to look her in the eye. His main focus was what this glowing circle would do… feeling like today's execution was more than a mere public execution… there was something more personal behind it.

"A portrait from a book, yes. But not this huge."

"Oh…"

After receiving his answer however, he had never once averted his gaze from the one-horned devil as he had never bothered to look around himself even for a split second. He was waiting patiently for what this huge magic circle would do, especially what the one-horned devil going to do with the marauder, what kind of execution he would behold…

"Why not Erynew just kill 'em in the first place if she decided to execute them in the end." expressing his annoyance inside his mind, yet later found relief after realizing that his gloomy and somewhat dark desire would eventually get granted no matter the time. Watching the damned marauders get their bodies doomed, the boy put a little grin on his face…

Suffering changes one's reality after all,

That was what most people would always say, and such aphorism was no longer a mere ethos. Because one tragedy brought an unsatisfying life… felt their gods had abandoned them, it was like Parents of Nature enjoyed watching the suffering for a half year and had no intention to bother saving them.

Sure, by standing above a huge magic circle itself alone was still enough to make them anxious, let alone knowing something eerie was about to happen. Their imaginations couldn't help but to go wild after hearing word of execution… could it be beheading, hung, strung, quartered, burning, crushing, impalement… anything disturbing, twisted inhumane execution they could imagine of, yet there was no desire to skip this whole process however. Willingly they were coming, to see the deed being executed moreover it was a request from their savior as well as their executioner.

A demure sin, trying to hide itself behind the terrified faces… the impotence of oneself honesty… waiting anxiously for the execution to be happened as their excitement was clashing with the faith they believed in since born. Their feet were shaking, bearing the chilling ambience emitted from beneath their soles, despite the absence of the surrounding cold breeze.

When everything appeared to be ready, a gentle sound of finger snapping could be heard by the attendees. Followed later by a cracking sound that came from beneath the attendance feet, more specifically from the huge magic circle. Just like a shattered mirror, this azure magic circle broke into many pieces and scattered into the thin air before eventually fading into nothingness. The azure glimmer was no more. The greenish meadow slowly resurrected from its inadequate color as the distinctive light air came to greet,

The atmosphere of Jaderual had eventually returned, but with additional seasonings on top of its peacefulness,

A tense situation was coming at once, overwhelming the inhabitants while the magic release was used for distraction… they were startled by the sudden presence of thirty steel-armored cadavers, mingled with each other, forming a lump of human flesh in the middle of the village before their very own eyes,

"H-here we come…"

As the attendee who stood in the front line, and was capable of catching a clear view, Gizado was sweating nervously and waiting avidly for the near future as he already could catch a glimpse of questionable images where the dead marauders became the main lead.

"Is that a phase-jump magic? Erynew uses it to jump them."

A little girl beside him however, Maya seemed more interested in the way of Arcane Art… still again. With her broad arcane-based knowledge, she was very observant with everything related to enigmatic anomaly… whether it was magic, witchcraft, or sorcery… especially when something magical happened before her eyes, "Is it really, though? If that was a phase-jump magic, why I couldn't notice its unique characteristic features? Or maybe… that was another kind of spatial magic?"

Busying herself by observing the magical occurrence, to the point a young single mother and her little son apparently had already walked passing the front line of the crowd without even Maya realizing nor feeling their presence. In a scene where the circumstance forced anyone who was involved in it, to use all of their senses at the highest… it was quite a bizarre experience for her especially, being late to feel the presence of a mother and her little son, more so being unable to feel any aura coming from them. When every attendance was trying to keep themselves at least inside the undetermined safe zone… but these two—the mother and her son—chose to accentuate themselves by standing the farthest and foremost from the rest of the unsuspecting Kasala folks.

Maya could see the mother's brown long hair, covering her back, stepping forward while holding her son's hand very tightly without any visible trembling nor anxiety. Their faces however, and both the mother and son's articulation showed otherwise an oddly calm demeanor. Even though Maya could barely see it, she was so sure if those weren't faces full of nervousness nor anxiety for staring at a foreign scene… but more like a concern and worrying regarding something.

A gasping sound out of astonishment eventually broke her curiosity. Nearly all of the attendees gasped their mouths open before yet another magical rune floating above the lump of dead flesh of dead marauders. Dark red in color, this rotating magic circle emitted a much more different aura than the first one—it was dismay, misery, destruction, the combination of chaos and emotion merged into one authenticity. Beyond question, the privilege of execution would be given through that blood-hued magical rune… even the most ignorant, illiterate, unlettered, less experienced and less knowledgeable person could tell such.

Every mouth was shut, and every single gaze fixed on the crimson circle which began to rotate… slowly yet surely the rotation getting faster and faster as the gloomy air thickened around it, creating a warm and gentle whirlwind and bringing the antipathetic feeling impulse to move from where they stood on. They simply wanted to admire, blown away by that.

"Kinna, where are you going? Come back here!"

A cry of a young woman split the gentle crimson breeze and broke the silence. A cry of an alarmed mother whose son boldly yet foolishly ran toward Erynew who was on alert in preparation for casting one of her most destructive spells. An innocent-looking face as his impenetrable armor, and his small weak body as his blade. A persona owned by someone like Erynew, sure wouldn't dare to harm, let alone to let her own spell injure that kid who already stood right a step behind her.

Erynew turned around, as a result the crimson magic circle slowly faded and the meadow breeze once again filled the same atmosphere,

Same… but something for sure felt different,

"What's the matter, child?" Erynew kneeled and smiled, equalizing her height with the little boy who was staring deeply at her into those lemon-yellow eyes. It took only a glimpse of his innocent and pure-looking facial expression for her to recognize that little boy, "So, your name is Kinna… I'm glad your spirit full of excitement has now fully restored after that horrible thing."

Her memory was more than strong enough to keep any information provided… memories of events, places, names, sketches of a person's physics, black and white reminiscence… everything and everyone were treasured safe and sound inside her infinite metaphysic storage. Noted one picosecond, for her brain to recognize if the little boy was the toddler she saved from the marauders when she first arrived in the village.

"It's dangerous here, you know." Erynew continued, trying to cajole the little kid, "If you want to see the excitement, why don't you take a step back keeping a safe distance?"

However the kid remained silent, his perplexed gaze kept staring at her without a single blink,

"Alright… where's your mom? We're going to—"

Didn't have a chance to finish her sentence, the kid finally had something to say, and it was one simple interrogative word,

"Why?" the kid asked, tilting his head a few degrees to his right, "Mom told Kinna you going to burn them. Why? Why you going to burn them? Won't they feel pain?"

A drastic change of ambience could be sensed almost instantly, right after that bold little kid asked such a thoughtful question which made the inhabitants of Kasala Village question their own faith and belief. The marauders' mortal bodies might be dead, but their souls remained immortal, waiting to be returned home to their Parents… yet here they are, dancing on their inhuman graves.

Regardless of a strong faith that bonded within the souls of Kasala folks, Erynew wouldn't and didn't get bonded with such faith – for she's the Devil here after all. The little kid's musing question formed a sudden smirk on her face instead.

"Eh… is that so? I didn't know about that." Erynew switched her smirk into her an obvious snide, "So it's no less painful than being sucked their blood alive."

The little kid straightened his head as well as his gaze, while the innocent look of his slowly dwindled, "Kinna doesn't know what big sis said."

Finally, Erynew's little snide was exposed wholly, replacing her previous gentle smile. She clearly perceived something she always tried to conceal at least until the time was right… and the right time was now, "Big sis too wants to know how your mother knew if I'm going to burn them. Because they told only that today there is a public execution, and I believe no method of execution was being told. So the rest of you should have no idea what to expect. Unless… your mother eavesdropped on our little conversation back in the warehouse. And you're afraid there's nothing left to be buried so you can taint the soil. Big sis ain't wrong, right child?"

Checkmate. The little kid has nothing to say but the widened eyes speak for his shocked expression. His little pure and innocent face, later, was being torn apart, showing his insidious gaze for it seemed like the supposedly sinless body of a little child wouldn't work anymore. All self-images of child-like traits soon were ruined by simply opening his little mouth, exposing rows of triangular-shaped teeth as he spoke, "Tch… finally got busted, huh?"

A long, hollow tongue almost caught Erynew off guard. That sharp tongue stuck out of the kid's mouth in a blitz, aiming for Erynew's skull which she barely dodged. An instant death was that monstrous-looking kid hoping for. Admitting that Erynew was his biggest and most dangerous threat, a sudden and an unforeseen attack was a necessary. But he too underestimated her, because she was already on alert mode since the beginning,

Moved her whole to the left in an instant, giving her a visible gap to launch a counterattack utilizing that monstrous kid's advantage by grabbing his blade-like tongue and then simply overpowering him… throwing his small body far from Kasala folks who were now being dismayed by the sudden horror.

"What… what the hell is that thing? He ain't just a child?!"

"So that… thing always been in the village?" 

"How come we ain't notice it?!"

The disturbance shout of the native inhabitants was soon echoed in the air. A sudden blow that felt more painful than the marauders ever gave. Felt like suffering from being backstabbed and betrayed might be the only words that could explain what they felt right now… when they thought they already knew that kid well since he and his mother had been living in the village for a year… it was all proven to be a fake persona.

"O-oi Maya… you know what that child is?" Baffled and trembled, Gizado turned himself looking at Maya who also felt the same as him… thinking she might know the answer.

Maya shook her head out of fear, "Kinna, I spoke and even played together with him and her mother a few times in the past. But… his mother being like that… never once crossed my mind," she was scared, but the main source of her fear was more from the monstrous kid's mother instead. After watching the mother-son from behind, axiomatic speaking… suggested there was a chance that his mother was also a monstrous being.

Her intuition, unfortunately, was right,

"Maya! Giza!"

An extremely loud shout startled those who owned the names, out of their bewildered mind. The source of the loud voice came from the village chief who stood at the distance corner of the wobbly panicked crowd, trying to escape from something. Sadly though, his left leg couldn't support his will to save them both, for his feet simply froze in place… witnessing Maya's intuition that came true.

No more a young beautiful mother, for her son was also a monster, and so was her. Stood facing them both, there was only an empty gaze… and the lacerated abdomen. It was torn so deeply that her intestines were dangling out and swinging around her bloody legs due to bleeding from the hollowed stomach, creating a crimson pool around her feet and immobilizing anyone who didn't have a strong stomach to bear the stench of blood… the stench of blood that suffocated the air, creating vasovagal reactions and starting to feel nauseated that leading into the activation of the abnormal contraction within the intestinal wall, pushing the semi-fluid mass of partly digested food out of the stomach.

Heavy feeling struck some of them thenceforth. Wanted to escape from the scene, yet their energy seemed to have been sucked dry by the dreadful-looking mother. What an atrocious situation, they screamed so inside their heads. The dangling intestines of the mother were not a mere ornament, not only the intestines were horror stuff to show off, but they also served as her many extra arms. The tentacle-like intestines began to twitch and move around, targeting its victims who were unable to run away fast enough.

And that meant a bad thing for the two kids who already stood in the front line all along,

"Maya! Giza!"

A yelling voice was heard once again, but this time came from Maya's sister, Reya. Boldly running forward to the way the monster came, she managed to grab them both in her arms right in time. Tightly hiding them both with her slim back, blocking the intestines tentacles from catching her two little sister and brother at the cost of her back… maybe even her life.

At least that was what Reya thought, since nothing happened after she closed her eyes to welcome her death. Slowly opened her eyes just to find that both intestines tentacles and the monster movement had been secured and snared by glowing tendrils coming out of the ground. Once the glowing tendrils had completely locked its prey, it proceeded to drag the monstrous mother to where it came from, fully obliterating the mother's monstrous form from the surface level.

"Don't worry. Tell anyone to stick together in place. Do not hide inside the houses and do not run far away from me."

A friendly, familiar voice was then heard to calm the panicked masses. Reya knew whose voice it was. Looking for the source of the voice, Reya looked around yet didn't manage to find it and had no idea where the voice came from. Until a hint of direction was given through her little sister's observant eyes. Because after being calmed by the alluring voice Maya really recognized, finding its source only took a second for her.

"Erynew. She's right above."

Standing a hundred feet above, Maya's sharp-eyed vision was right, accurately told Erynew's location just by her first impression of her… the way she might think, the way she took action carefully after an unexpected thing occurred. 

As if placing her feet on a seemingly unseeable surface. At an altitude where the breeze was blown fiercer as her white hair voluntarily being drifted by its invisible flow, such a place gave Erynew a better view of Jaderural Plain. A vast and green with some uneven ground despite being called a plain of lowland, due to several hills embedded as far as her eye could see, only blocked by a mountain chain of Eterna Nieve. Before such an eye-pleasing scenery, only one thing mattered to her however, 

'The child… he's still in there.'

It was the monstrous child whom Erynew tried to throw as far as possible from Kasala folks. Yet at this moment when she was talking to herself, the monster already stood on his own small feet without any visible injury but dust on his tiny body. After watching the son getting back up, she doubted her glowing tendrils could get rid of his weird-looking mother.

'Everything went as I anticipated so far. But if things went south…'

The mother-son persona had been peeled now. Dancing happily amidst the breeze, revealing their naked bodies full of sinful scars. The mother-son had reached the point of no return after the mask fell off the twisted faces of theirs, wanting to take the lives of any watchers and eyewitnesses. Yet it was such an impossible weight the twisted mother-son must bear… for there was a Devil who was looking down at them with her lemon-yellow eyes,