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Monster.

It was a monster.

A headless body lay a metre or so away from him, its sword still firm in its grasp. As if it didn't know it had died. Blood spurted out with endless abandon, forming a pool of red where the head had once been. 

His line of sight moved from the corpse to the monster holding his comrade's head, its expression unmoved by its actions. Faint murmurs could be heard from the monster, though he only managed to catch a few words.

"-wanted to test the viral trait"

"-seemed to work well"

"-lucked out with Mind Break"

Mind Break?

The monster's words stirred the memories of the guard as he thought back to the fight - no, the execution. Understanding rippled through the goblin's eyes as a particular moment suddenly made sense, which only served to frighten him more than he already was.

"I thought you would follow suit, but I guess I was wrong"

It took a moment for the guard to realise that the words were directed at him, snapping him of his thoughts. 

"W-what d-do you want with the c-chief?"

He barely managed to force out a sentence, afraid his words would be cut short along with his head. But it would seem the monster's earlier words were the truth, it really wasn't after their lives. A faint trace of interest flicked in the creature's eyes as it discarded the head before addressing the terrified guard standing before it with a grand smile. 

"Finally! Someone who wants to keep their head. Fantastic!"

It looked wrong. Very wrong. The relief it wore on its face looked so genuine that the guard almost forgot his comrade's swift death. Almost. The evergrowing pool of blood was a stark reminder of the ruthlessness of the being before him. It made him realise the absurdity of the situation he was currently in. A monster was relieved that it didn't have to kill? After killing three without even batting an eyelid? It hadn't shown even an ounce of remorse for their deaths as if they were nothing more than stains that it was ridding the world of. 

"You see, I'm here to invite your tribe to the religion of our saviour, the glorious Lord of Corruption, and I believe it would be best if I spoke with your chief first"

Hearing the words of the monster, the guard's expression contorted slightly, as if he was suffering from a deep internal struggle. For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence which unnerved the goblin but also sparked a realisation. Silence. Why was there silence? Casting his gaze around the surroundings, he saw the tents and the mud huts but no goblins. Their lively town had become a ghost town, and he hadn't even realised it. When? And why hadn't he noticed? 

A soft snicker drew his attention back towards the monster, towards its eyes looking at him with mockery.

"It would probably be a good idea to tell you that we won't be taking no for an answer."

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"I'LL KILL YOU"

A wave of flames surged through the village as a grey-skinned goblin let out all his frustrations, seeking to destroy the cause of his anguish. Unperturbed, Carnelius quickly planted a giant shield into the ground before him whilst Carnelia hid behind him. A purple glow spread across the shield's surface just as the fiery wave crashed against it. 

Sensing that his attack failed to get through to his enemy, the goblin raised his arms into the air as his expression transformed into one of deep focus. Orange motes of energy began to gather towards a single point in his hands, slowly condensing into a ball of scorching heat. He intended to dump every last bit of his mana into this attack, and with it, he would blast his foes to the very depths of hell. 

A maniacal grin streaked across his face as he thought about the screams they would let out as they turned to ashes. For the slaughter they delivered upon his tribe, such a death could be considered a form of mercy. How he wished to peel the very skin from their bodies before tearing them apart limb by limb. But their sheer strength rendered his wish impossible, he could only grant them a quick taste of where he would be sending them. However, the Scorchskin chief would soon find out that even this desire of his wouldn't come to fruition.

"Counter"

A flash of purple light momentarily blinded the goblin, prompting him to hurl the growing fireball in the enemy's general direction whilst simultaneously backpedalling to move out of the range of his attack. When his vision returned, he first saw a pair of hands sailing through the air; the next was his own arms, missing a pair of hands. It took a moment for the reality of his situation to sink but when the pain came, he realised it was over. The cold steel pressed against his neck further beating in this realisation.

"Submit or die"

Before he could come up with grand words of standing firm in his belief till death, the swordswoman dowsed his fiery passion with the cold truth.

"We'll be taking your tribe either way, I just think it would be quite unfortunate if we lost such a capable warrior"

"Carnelia's right, Scorchskin. I would suggest you accept the Corruption, salvation and glory await you if you do"

Joining his sister in one last attempt at converting the Scorchskin chief, Carnelius stood next to her whilst leaning against his shield. Though he made it look easy, blocking the fire-wielding goblin's attack had taken a lot out of him even with the use of his Shield Node. He was lucky Carnelia used Counter when she did, otherwise, he was sure that fireball the goblin was charging would have destroyed them along with the rest of the tribe. The unique connection between his Node and his sister's Sword Node filled the young goblin with excitement for their future growth. But that wasn't important right now.

Carnelius returned his attention to the handless goblin, whose countenance told that he had made up his mind. And he had. 

"I...I submit"

With a tone of defeat and acceptance, the Scorchskin chief bowed his head to the twins and his new Lord. Though he did not want to betray Ignacio, the God of Boundless Flames, Azar was well aware that his death would be pointless. His people would be assimilated into the forces of Corruption regardless of whether he lived or died. So he may as well join them. But that wasn't the only reason. A part of him was interested to see if this Lord of Corruption responded to the prayers of His followers unlike Ignacio, whose last appearance had been generations ago. 

Years of rituals, prayers and devotion produced not even the faintest spark of response, yet he kept hope in his heart; one day, during their darkest times the fire of their god would comfort them. Where was He now? His believers had been brought to their knees and forced to pay allegiances to other being yet not even His wrath came crashing down. Azar was sure of it now. They had been forsaken by their great god. 

The cold touch of his neck vanished as Carnelia sheathed her sword, her expression filled with pride and joy. Her brother shared these same emotions, after all, they had managed to bring over a powerful combatant to their side. The twins were sure that their godde- the apostle would be very pleased with their contribution to the faith. 

Carnelius turned away from their new brother in faith, seemingly searching for something amidst the burning ruins before he trained his eyes upon a group of figures hidden in the dense smoke. 

"Boys! It's safe to come out, place it in the centre. The sooner we get this done the better."

A group of four goblins burst out of the smoke carrying a giant wooden pole, similar to the one used in the Territory ritual, upon hearing the words of their recently appointed commander. Tilting his head to the side, Azar watched with great rapture as the four goblins moved towards the statue of their now-former god, which still stood despite the battle. 

"Come, we're going to need you for the ritual"

Despite her words, the swordswoman's demeanour told the Scorchskin all that he needed to know, it wasn't a request, it was an order. Sighing in resignation at the new future that awaited him, the goblin followed Carnelia to the chosen site of the Territory totem. The statue, where he once worshipped his former god with great fervour, now lay in crumbles, whilst the person responsible stood beside the rubble, wiping the dust from his shield. 

The totem carriers cleared the site of all the stone fragments before planting the totem into its rightful place. A few moments later, on the earth surrounding the totem was a ritual circle slightly different to the one used in the first Territory ritual. From what the apostle explained to them, it would appear that this ritual would create a lesser totem which unlike the main totem wasn't directly connected to their Lord rather it formed a connection to the main totem. Surviving the tests of time would eventually lead to the lesser totem forming a direct connection with their Lord, strengthening the effects it would have on the surrounding land and inhabitants. 

"The blood from your wounds, streak some of it onto the totem, and then...we can begin the ritual"

At the same time, another ritual was taking place. One that would birth a monstrosity that would be cursed by all existence, a nightmare that would plague even the gods.