Festival of Darkness Part 1

Eliz stared at it, stunned, before grabbing her head with one hand. "Shit!" She didn't understand how this could have happened. This was so much worse than the original story! What had happened? Was it because Selene was gone? Weren't things supposed to be better?

Unless...

Eliz looked at the blue-haired man floating in the air, a big smile on his face while he tossed the severed head of the slain man from one hand to the other like it was a ball.

Unless, of course, Selene had been working in a group the whole time. Why hadn't Eliz thought of that? After all, Dark Mages weren't limited in numbers. In fact, that was pretty much the entire function of the Religion of Light.

"Uhh, I'm so stupid!" Eliz cursed to herself. She should have known the story wouldn't just leave her changes alone.

Those thoughts flashed through Eliz's mind in seconds, but even that was enough to turn the entire Festival of Light into a chaotic apocalypse. People started screaming and running away. Many Mana Auras shone in the crowd and went to fight the attacking monsters that looked... wrong. They were all black as if covered in sticky, black slime, and their expressions looked mad and hungry. However, only some people with a mana aura fought; most used their abilities to escape. They were probably the weak ones or simply those who used the prestige of Enhanced Humans but didn't actually fight.

Eliz was somewhat relieved that there were warriors who went to fight the monsters and...

"Huh?" Eliz suddenly yelped as her gaze tilted to the side and her nose hit something hard. A second later, she realized that Alarr had lifted her onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and while he held her under her ass with his left hand, he was clutching his two-handed sword in the other. He began to run away with her.

Eliz braced her hands to raise her head but did not protest Alarr's solution. She was indeed defenseless, and the likelihood of being trampled by the mob was high. She saw Holm rushing to their side and Raiana with Haidi seating her back. She was about to look for Miel, but he was hurrying away with them, a soft glow of mana around him as well.

"Holm, protect the right side; Raiana, the left... young lord, you stay with us," Alarr said in his harsh commanding voice. "I can fight too, you know?" Eliz heard Miel say, a little hurt.

"Then fight if you have to," Alarr replied adamantly. "But our priority is protecting Lady Elizabeth, not you."

Eliz looked around, worried about her parents, who should also be here somewhere. She knew her father was a good fighter, but she wasn't sure about her mother. Indeed her father would protect her, but what if?

Eliz pursed her lips as she watched the frog-like beast leap onto the house's roof and shoot several tentacles that attacked the fleeing crowd. Once the tentacles found a victim, they stuck to it and shot into the air with their victims. People screamed in terror and tried to break free. The first victim quickly ended up in the beast's mouth. But some brave warriors jumped into the air, slashing the tentacles and attacking the beast. The beast began jumping from rooftop to rooftop as the warriors chased it.

"Look out!" She heard Raiana warn. From the side, the beast darted into the crowd before them, much like a wild boar. It also resembled one, but it had more of the body of a lion than a wild boar, although it had the same tusks.

Alarr gripped his sword tighter. The muscles in his right arm bulged as he had to put more force into handling the two-handed weapon. The blade of his black sword glowed blue. Eliz had to contort her head to see the tiny electric flashes streak across the blade of the sword before Alarr raised the sword above his head and cut through the space in front of them.

A wave of mana shot out from the sword, crackling with an electric charge, and swept through the bodies of the people in front of them before crashing into the black beast. The beast roared as the electric charge tore through its body and split it cleanly. However, this was also true for the people in the attack's path. The three humans ended up just as cut in half as the beast.

Alarr didn't hesitate for a moment and hurried on. Eliz turned and watched the retreating dead beast twitch, but the black matter moved and began to rejoin the two halves of the body. The Dark Ones. Eliz knew those convolutions couldn't kill them.

Eliz thought of the people they had killed. Alarr was rather ruthless, but she couldn't argue against that. Their safety above all. She glanced at Miel, who, though he didn't have a pleasant expression, also didn't say anything about what had happened.

Right. None of them here were heroes who felt the need to save everyone. It was different than senseless killing. Alarr couldn't wait for these people to move or get eaten by the beasts. Still, it left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Shit," Eliz muttered as she saw the frog-like beast return and settle on the roof again. Did it kill the warrior? Or did he think he killed it and moved on, only for the frog beast to heal itself again? It shot out more tentacles. "Raiana, behind you!" Eliz called out quickly when she saw one of the tentacles dart in her direction.

Raiana did a pirouette as she ran and swung her weapon at the tentacle, deflecting it. But she didn't put up another fight and followed their group. The frog beast didn't pursue them either; why would it when it had enough fish to catch? The next victim ended up in its mouth, and Eliz was glad she couldn't hear the bones breaking over the screams and sounds of the fight.

Eliz's heart pounded, and her stomach clenched with anxiety, but she didn't panic. Things weren't looking too bad for them so far. She was more worried about her parents than herself. But what could she do? Eliz could only let herself be carried and protected. Yes, it was what she had hired the Boulder team for, but it was frustrating that she could do nothing. Eliz was useless in a fight for now. All she had was information.

Yes... information... that's her only weapon. She looked back at the others.

"Pay attention. These are the Dark Ones. You can't really kill them. You need the Power of Light to do that!" Eliz called out to the others.

"'Crap, what?" groaned Holm.

"These creatures... it's infected with Dark Magic. You can't kill them. At most, you'll stall them," she responded, explaining. Eliz certainly wasn't going to keep this information to herself when their lives were on the line. They would be in even more danger if she didn't tell them.

"Black Magic?" She heard Alarr ask.

"No. Dark Magic. That's different from Black Magic. Don't think about it now. You just need to know that you won't kill them." Now wasn't quite the time for a detailed explanation.

"Right, as if things weren't bad enough already," Alarr growled irritably.

Eliz looked around at the chaos surrounding her. People were panicking, some taking advantage of the rooftops as best they could, some helping others. She saw a few people carrying children to safety. Behind them, another person was hopping across the rooftops, carrying three elderly people. But these displays of human kindness were outnumbered by crowds of people trying to get away, jostling, and probably many people ending up trampled. She even saw a man throw someone else toward the beast to save himself.

Kindness and selfishness. There was plenty of both.

Alarr suddenly stopped abruptly, and Eliz slammed her nose into his back again before finding support and looking back to see what was happening.

At that moment, the building wall to their left exploded, and a beast flew out with a thunderous roar. This one, however, was different. It was a five-meter bear with red evil eyes. Its body looked a little different from the other beasts. The black substance on its body seemed to have hardened and resembled hardened asphalt.

The beast slammed into a group of people, sending them flying to the sides with the impact, but the bear quickly opened its jaws and bit into some unfortunate person. Judging by the cracking of the bones, at least he didn't suffer too much. People screamed even louder, trying to escape the giant beast, some trying to slip past, others attempting to escape through the side streets, and some turning around to flee in the opposite direction.

The sudden change pushed Their group sideways, but fortunately, they were not knocked down. Eliz froze when she suddenly heard a laugh from the bear that was too much like a human's, and it slapped the giant paw of a man who tried to walk past it, thinking the beast was engaged with its victim. This was no ordinary beast.

"Yummy," the bear growled in satisfaction, and Eliz bristled at the hairs on her neck. "This... is... bad," Eliz whispered, looking for another way. "Let's go over the rooftops," Eliz suggested, wanting them to avoid confronting the thing.

At that moment, she was thrown.

"!!!" Eliz held back a surprised cry, but she landed without a problem. Suddenly, she was sitting on something soft. She looked down and saw that she was sitting on another bear. This one was smaller, though, only three meters, which was still a lot, but it still looked small compared to the five-meter bear. Plus, this bear had red fur.

"Holm?" Eliz asked.

"Yes. Hold on to me tightly, my lady. Don't be afraid to pull my fur," Holm replied in his animal form.

Haidi was also planted on Holm's back, and Miel, looking somewhat puzzled, was forced to sit there by Raiana. "What are you going to do?" Eliz asked, frowning at Alarr and Raiana.

Alarr returned her look with firm confidence. "We'll get his attention before you can slip away. Even if we go over the rooftops, he'll notice us. We'll keep him busy before you get past him."

Eliz glanced again at the beast, who was still busy feasting. There were still quite a few people around who hadn't gotten away, some he held in place. Eliz really had no idea how strong the thing was, but Alarr was Rank 3; he should be able to handle it.

She quickly raised her hand and opened the storage compartment in the ring, fishing out the weapon she had bought for Alarr.

"Take it," she said to him, letting the sword fall to the ground as she couldn't handle it.

"I don't need..." Alarr refused, but Eliz interrupted him.

"Just for now. Give it back to me later. I know your black sword is a good weapon, but...." Alarr picked up the sword and thrust it back into her storage compartment.

"My weapon is better than this." He refused firmly, and Eliz fell silent in surprise before looking at his black sword. She didn't really know much about weapons.

"Alright." That was why she didn't resist. Alarr had to know what was best for him, and when he said his weapon was better than what she was giving him, she just had to believe him.

"Don't hurt yourself." Eliz finally said, and Holm got moving. He made his way across the street, throwing people to the side with his large body when they got in his way. He needed to get some running in before jumping up onto the rooftops. Alarr and Raiana made their way toward the bear beast.

Eliz grabbed tightly onto Holm's fur, feeling Haidi behind her cling to her back. Eliz would have preferred she didn't. She wasn't sure she could hold on to herself. Holm took off running before bouncing and leaping into the air. It jerked Eliz, and she narrowed her eyes in fear, but they landed safely on the roof. Holm dug his claws into the roof, paws cracking, but he didn't slip an inch, holding on tight. Then he took off running.

Eliz looked down in concern, where Alarr and Raiana also made their move, seeing that Holm was already on the roof.

*****

Alarr scowled at the beast before him. He nodded to Raiana, who became partially invisible and set herself in motion. He got as close as he could and raised his sword with both hands.

Lady Elizabeth meant well, but she could not know that his weapon was something that could not be replaced. After all, it was his family heirloom, and this weapon had grown with him. Evolving weapons were rare and hard to make; they required special raw materials and a Master Maker. Also, this weapon was bonded to him by blood. No other weapon was more suitable for him.

This wasn't a good situation. For someone to attack on such a large scale in the capital. Moreover, it seemed that the crown prince had been assassinated. It was quite a mess. Alarr didn't understand how the protection could be so lax. They had even been warned that an attack would occur, but it almost seemed like the King hadn't taken any proper precautions.

"Tsk. Nobility." He growled disdainfully but quickly dismissed the thought. Not that it was any of his business. He couldn't care less. All he cared about was what he was being paid to do, which was protecting Lady Elizabeth.

Alarr reached into his mana pool and began to feed mana into the weapon, which glowed blue, and electric currents began to flow around the blade, sizzling and flavoring the air with ozone.

Alarr then swung his sword with all his might, from which a stream of crackling electricity shot out, forming into the shape of an eel that struck the body of the bear beast. Alarr wasn't sure how effective their attacks would be; he couldn't tell how strong the beast was, and there was also that Dark Magic thing he knew nothing about. Luckily, his plan wasn't to kill the beast, just to distract it.

The bear froze, and its body shook with shock until it fell to the ground with a thud. A wide gash in its side where the blow had struck him, around which streams of dark matter flowed. Raiana appeared near the fallen beast and attacked as well, shooting forward and driving the blade of her sword into the wound. There was a muffled groan, and the air around her blade rippled momentarily. Raiana sent compressed air into the beast's body, attacking its internal organs.

Raiana immediately retreated again, and Alarr ran forward while his blade sizzled with electricity. The bear beast shook its head and began to rise. She turned her head to look at her attackers, but Alarr again slashed his sword into the open wound. The bear's body twitched in shock when the sword jammed into the tar wound.

"Let's go!" Alarr called to Raiana, and they moved quickly around the beast to catch up with Holm and the others. They managed to escape, only a few yards away, when Alarr sensed danger.

"Defense!" He yelled to warn Raiana and shielded himself with his two-handed sword, his body glowing blue. A large stack struck the blade of his sword, sending his body flying backward a few meters.

Alarr gritted his teeth with the effort but took no damage. He looked at the new beast that had appeared. It walked on twos, but it had an unpleasantly large upper body with a head that seemed to combine a wolf and a reptile. Like the bear beast, its body was black and hardened.

"Hehehehe." It chuckled. "You played with him nicely. That's what he gets for only being interested in eating." It is said in human language. "Now, let's play together! You're the strongest I've met so far. I bet your bone marrow will taste delicious." It stuck out its black tongue, which licked almost all over its face.

Alarr was unfazed by the monster and straightened up. He gripped his sword tightly. "You talk too much, you ugly thing."

The monster seemed offended. "Me, ugly? I'm the prettiest of the group!" It raised its arms, and its claws grew even longer. "When I'm done with you, even your mother won't recognize you!"

Alarr grinned at the words. "Ha. I hope so. Then try hard." He wouldn't be delayed by any more nonsense and ran towards the beast. He swung his sword and struck; though he was using a two-handed sword, the heavy weapon did not restrict his movements. He struck fast and hard, and the beast tried to block the blow with its claws, but they couldn't withstand the force of the strike, and the blade sliced through the beast's claws.

The beast didn't back down and instead slammed into Alarr with its other hand, but at that moment, Raiana assisted him, sending a rain of mana missiles at the beast from the side in the form of swallows.

The beast raised a hand to shield its eyes and backed away, but it wasn't under any pressure. Alarr, meanwhile, quickly sent Mana into his sword again and charged at the monster with the blade crackling electrically. He lunged for the monster's large head but only hit the air as the monster's head suddenly retracted into its body like the eyes of a snail and emerged from the side of its torso. Alarr was unprepared for this outcome, and it was only by the timely intervention of Raiana, who deflected the beast's claws with her sword, that he avoided injury.

Alarr backed away, frowning. Though the thing's body looked solid, it was malleable. That was not good. What was it made of?

A roar echoed behind them. Alarr glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye and saw that the Bear Beast was standing again, and there seemed to be no sign of the injuries they had inflicted. And it glared in their direction. "Damn..." Alarr muttered. Now they had two immortal beasts.

Alarr wasn't worried, but he was beginning to wonder if this would be his last job after all. "Hey, bro! Watch your food! These are mine!" The beast called to the bear mockingly.

The bear stomped angrily on the spot, but strangely enough, he actually turned away from them. Alarr returned his full attention to the beast before him. He hadn't quite expected this, but it was a better outcome for them. Dealing with one beast was a better chance than facing two immortal beasts. Their chances were bad enough as it was. They wouldn't be able to handle both creatures. But with only one beast, there were good chances.

*****

Eliz was nervous as she held tightly to Holm's coat, and he moved forward over the roofs of the houses at a decent speed. She observed the chaotic scene in the streets below. Thankfully, there weren't as many black beasts as it first seemed, but still enough to cause significant damage and casualties. However, for every beast, there seemed to be a fighter, giving people a chance to escape.

She also noticed two warriors with similar armor, and Eliz wondered if they were guards. There were very few of them. "Where are all the soldiers?" she pondered. But then, at one point, she saw a flash of gold from one of the warriors, and the beast fell, dissipating into thin air.

Eliz turned her head as much as she could to see more. Could it have been the Power of Light?

"Hey, kitty~" Eliz heard a call, and all the hairs on her body immediately stood on end.

She looked around and saw a huge black cat with orange eyes sitting behind them on the chimney they had passed a moment ago. The feline monster smiled, revealing a set of sharp teeth. "We meet again~" He sounded satisfied, deliberately stretching out the words.

Eliz opened her mouth in surprise and quickly put things together. She couldn't help but exclaim, "That's so... cliché!"

Eliz couldn't believe her eyes. The kinky catman she had encountered before was one of the bad guys? How could this be a bloody coincidence?!

Miel looked back and frowned at the feline creature watching them. It was twice the size of a normal animal form of the cat race. The black body looked like it was fused from some unnatural material, and the bright orange eyes resembled two horned pans. "Mr. Holm. The beast is following us," he announced gravely.

"Hmp. Hold on. I can't outrun the cat. I'll find a suitable place for us," Holm declared grimly, his eyes scanning for a good place to fight. However, there were people everywhere, and fighting on rooftops would be disadvantageous for him. He growled in frustration and descended from the rooftop back into the street.

The feline beast, meanwhile, had taken to moving gracefully behind them. "Ohooo. Kitty, you still don't want to get involved with me? I swear I'll make you scream~," he taunted, but it sent shivers down Eliz's spine. She had a feeling that he didn't mean it in a pleasant way.