Chapter 8

I'm free. 

After weeks of captivity I'm finally free! If anyone had told me that I'd go any of this a while ago, I would have laughed in their face. For now, I'm just glad I'm out of there. 

A giant rat is too conspicuous so I had to eventually shrink Nezu back to his smaller size to slip into the crowd. Shameful as it was to say, I blended in nicely with all the homeless people in the corners of the city. 

Despite my escape, I couldn't help but notice the impact of escape. The streets looked even gloomier and were less filled than the last time I was here. That was no doubt due to the venom that Nezu's clones had passed around. 

The look on the faces of mourning lovers and mothers filled me with guilt. I forced myself to look away, to not empathize with them. 

It was for my own survival, I don't know who I'm trying to convince. If there was another way, the situation's long past that. 

Soldiering on, I soon left the city of Vale, moving into the forest where a horde of rats awaited me. With my escape already made, there was no need for them to cause further damage.

Xx-Xx-Xx

I spent quite a while merging the clones back into Nezu. Leaving them unchecked and roaming around wasn't something to mess around with. 

After that, Nezu and I began our journey once more. We're days away from the village but it couldn't be helped, I needed rest. 

That is how we found ourselves sitting at the foot of a tree. Along the way, I stopped a few times to pick some fruits and berries, using my semblance to produce a plentiful amount for both of us.

Though the issue of food was solved, that was not all that worried me. We'd been in the forest for two days and I had seen numerous footprints. 

Grimm footprints, or paw prints if that's more accurate. All of them were facing the direction of the city. 

The fact that I had yet to encounter one should mean that either someone already took care of them or they moved away. 

A low growl caught my attention, causing me to freeze in place. I spoke too soon. 

A few meters away from me, a beowolf stood, hungrily stalking closer. Scampering for the bone in my pocket, I shaped it into the familiar hammer form. 

The beowolf picked then to strike, lunging at me. Fortunately, I had the hammer out, repeating what I did with Igor, the hammer suddenly lengthening and smashing through its head. 

Only when it started dissolving did I realize that I was panting loudly. I'd seen grimm in passing when being escorted by the knights but this was my first time actually facing one myself. 

Nezu was of no help, the rat tired after the prolonged journey. I can't blame him, he's done more than enough already. 

Taking a few moments to calm myself down, I remain wide awake. I do not relish the thought of what would have happened had I been asleep. 

Nezu is faster than the knights' horses so judging by the pace we're going at, we should arrive at the village by noon tomorrow. 

It'll soon be over, I remind myself. 

Xx-Xx-Xx

Our journey continued with us barely encountering any Grimm. The ones we did encounter were handled either by my hammer or by Nezu's razor sharp teeth. 

My fear of the weaker class of Grimm slowly subsided but it would likely return should I encounter a Goliath or one like the dragon type Grimm that destroyed Beacon. 

As we trailed close to the village I had a bad feeling. It was quiet, too quiet. By this time, some of the children should be screaming their heads off and running around having fun. 

Only when I reached a hill where it would be visible did I see the village. To be more precise, what was left of it. 

"No." I mutter under my breath. 

From this distance I could see the once firm buildings broken and the structures fallen. I don't believe my eyes. 

"Let's go." I patted Nezu, urging him to go forward. 

Judging by how he sped up, he seemed to feel my urgency. It didn't take long for us to get to the edge of the village. 

The buildings were destroyed, holes in the walls and barely standing structures. A common theme I recognized was the occasional claw marks. 

Venturing further into the village, I had to hold my mouth to stop my throwing up. 

Bodies. Bodies everywhere. Some had parts of them missing, ripped off. Chewed off, I corrected, noticing the grimm prints on the ground. 

Blood had dried up, giving the entire village a metallic smell. Every building I entered was filled with dead bodies or dried up blood. 

This can't be happening.

Rushing home, I was faced with the sight of the house I was raised in, destroyed by the beasts that laid waste to the rest of the village. 

Carefully moving through the wreckage, I saw something that gave me pause. The bloody bottom half of a corpse. I knew the shoes all too well, I had gotten them for him a long time ago. 

I emptied my stomach, it finally hit me. 

The only reason the village warriors were able to go on frequent patrols to clear the Grimm around was because I always fixed them up afterwards. 

With me gone for a few weeks, they probably had to reduce how frequently they go on patrol, needing time to recuperate after each one should they get injured. 

Kairo, for all his skills, wouldn't be able to do what I do. But just that wouldn't be enough to cause this, no. 

The plague that I inflicted in Vale, the deaths, the mourning and, most importantly, the negativity. All of that drew the Grimm towards the city. That's why there were so many Grimm tracks leading there. 

The scene of a horde of Grimm attacking Beacon flashed through my mind. 

I didn't see much Grimm on the way here meaning that the knights or someone else must have dealt with them. But a small village like this wouldn't be able to handle that much Grimm. 

On their way there, they laid waste to this place, killed everyone.

No, I did this. I killed everyone here. This is all my fault, I realized. The entire village is dead and it's all because of me.

The heat in my eyes drew my attention to the tears streaming down my face. Only then did I also notice my aura, which I always kept under control, spiking. 

At that moment, I did the only thing that came to my mind. I screamed, ignoring the fact that my body felt like it was on fire, my nails lengthening and my hair falling down to cover my face. 

I just screamed. After all, the blood of the innocent didn't lay on the king's hand. 

They're on my hands.