Begin Anew - 1

[??? pov]

"Knight Sabrina" She spoke, that same tone within and throughout her voice. Speaking such terrible things with only a single uttered sentence. Barely even that.

But as she spoke of such things, her tone such an utter nightmare to the ears of those recruits of theirs. Black blood fell from the ceiling. The panic that ensued something of a nightmare as those without sense scratched.

Their eyes turning white as they fell to the ground. Writhing in pain. A death not so painless. As for those with training, they tore that sludge from their body, veiling it with that aura of theirs. Protecting themselves from the tainted influence.

A chuckle echoed through the room as a throat was slammed to the ground. A sword to their heart. Pierced almost as quickly as they were found. I could feel the echo of my own heart as I searched the eyes of the dead.

Barely even knowing of life before they were plucked from the garden of eve. Placed once more within the goddess' embrace. Only to be judged unworthy.

A nervous chuckle escaped my lips as that same glare held true to my own gaze. A downcast gaze that fell even further as I was forced alongside her.

"He disappeared, under your eyes?" 

No change in tone, no underlying threat. A mere echo of disbelief as I nodded my head in shame.

"Yes, even under watch… it was as if some spell had been cast, but we have already checked for any influence of mana."

"And…" She beckoned forth. For me to continue.

"None. There was none."

She frowned. Her face set within that same impassive silence of hers.

"Any druidic influence. A plant of unknown make or seed spread through the boards."

I shook my head once more.

"What could it be then…?" 

I did not respond. Clear to me and those forced within proximity that she was not looking for an answer, merely speaking her thoughts to the world.

And as we approached the inner chamber, another mad cultist approached. Yet this time they held something within their hand. A book that seemed to be written with the flesh and blood of another being.

Not human, the druids in proximity would have been less touchy if it was something as simple as that.

But with the growls and bared fangs they showed within their responses. It was clear that this was of some ancient make. Some taboo that only those druids could feel.

He clapped. 

Surprising the captain and the druids that held back behind me. It even surprised me too.

Not for the brazen confidence, if we were surprised by such a lackluster thing then I would be hesitant to even be called a task force. But it was the gender.

A protected class, weaker both on average and in the higher order of such power. That the manic glint within his eyes, as he showed off a considerable amount of chest.

Enough to turn those behind us, with absolutely zero experience into a blushing mess. Certainly that was calculated.

But as he read through a passage, a red light echoing through the underground chamber we found ourselves within. The druids once more found their rage. Chanting their own spells, coaxing the seeds within their pockets into growth.

The various creatures they brought with them growling and yelping in ferocious rage.

But even with every response, as fast as could be possible, it still wasn't enough. For with that last verse of his the boy burst open. His chest exploding into gore.

Enough to make even the most experienced of us grimace at the brutality.

We could not be distracted by such a trivial thing though. As the resulting explosion, knocking all of us to our backs, to the stone wall. Revealing a monstrosity.

A plague given form. With red bones and inky substances that seemed to form a body. One that rushed towards the nearest druid. Killed before even her tamed could respond.

Howls of anguish echoing from their mouths before they were burst into bubbles of nothing but red. That same plague devouring them with a touch.

And so it came to me, the captain and a dozen other druids to contain this monstrosity.

I looked back, for a single moment… I would swear later that it was only that.

But it came to bite me in the ass. For the moment I let go of that plague from my sight to take stock of my surrounding allies. I found them pulverized, in the midst of retreating. Terror within their gazes.

And the only reason I was even alive to tell such a tale was the captain. Her shield carrying the limb towards the ceiling. Collapsing it upon ourselves and retreating in that very moment of weakness.

Watching as it was buried under two tons of brick and stone.

I knew though, that such a monstrosity would not be solved with simple weight.

And I was right… oh how I was right… only I wished I had never made such a conclusion. Never provoked that boy into doing such a thing. For with a vision of the future, of the day to come. It was only with that insight that I knew of the horrors to come.

And so, as my body stiffly walked through the streets, knowing… oh so knowing, of the threat to come. Of the monstrosity that hid. Lurking below their very feet.

Only the reassurance of the captain, as she cleverly hid our little scuffle, the dead and all those who questioned under a veil of red tape. Only speculation was left. Who but the most deluded and specialized would find time to unveil what would, to others, be seen as another screw up of that academy.

Of those who hazarded the city, and by proxy the citizens, all by their mere existence.

It would take a special kind of madness to dig deeper within secrets all but buried deep by red tape and certainty. Knowing that this was one of dozens of other incidents.

But as I glared up to the sky, feeling the broken limp. A mere graze and someone of my caliber was down for the count. Druids, they had a mere year of experience, but even that was formidable.

So I knew that this was merely a beginning. That those mad enough to dig within, deeper than that common occurrence, they would shape this disaster. Would it be spread and shown to the wider consciousness? Or would it be discreetly handled?

I chuckled… with either I still had work to do. And so I rushed back, through the sewers and rubble. Following the steady gaze of my captain as she went to work dismantling the creature, spawned from the chest of man.