An Aura of Bloodshed

Chapter 5: Like Veins Beneath the Town

"Oh.... My god..."

Kitsune mumbled in horror, as her and Jesse took in the gruesome scene that surrounded them. The room was just... red. Trees with jagged, almost bone-like branches grew from the ceiling. Their roots were thin, rubbery looking as they drooped down- some of which had humans hanging from them like morbid nooses. Corpses of women were impaled over sharp rocks scattered all of the room, the roots of the trees sinking into them... It looked like they were sucking something out of these poor souls. It was evident some of them were struggling- making their injuries worsen.

"What... What is this..?!" Jesse questioned, stumbling back a bit. Despite everything he had seen in his five years as a Chastiser, this... This was absolutely mortifying. Nothing- nothing he had ever seen, in neither the institution, or his other cases, had ever disturbed him quite like this.

"Doctor... I-I think... I think the trees are sucking the blood out of them..." Kitsune stuttered, looking at Jesse in complete and total shock.

"I think you're right..." Jesse looked back, noticing strange. "...They're... They're missing slabs of skin and limbs... I think these are what was used on those so-called dolls." He looked further, his eyes widening a bit as he gritted his teeth. He recognized a familiar face amongst the corpses- one that he'd never get to meet.

"And there's Laura- just up ahead! Great- now I get to tell Mr. Maigata all about her miserable death!" He smacked his hand on the side of his head, gripping his dark hair. "I was too late for all of them. AGAIN." He tilted his head down.

He took a deep breath, lifting his head back of with a glint of murderous intent in his blood red eyes. "That murderer can't be far now... I'll make them pay for every last one of these lives they cut short...!" He hissed, stomping forward as Kitsune followed after in silence.

Already he was unsheathing his scythe. Kitsune decided to do the same- pulling out her tomahawk. It was her weapon of choice- and she loved the damned thing. She made it herself, after all. As they walked into the next room, they found the culprit.

He was more human looking- most likely another human getting taken over or driven mad by the Forest. He had rotten green skin- and it obviously wasn't his given how it was stitched together. He wore a "dress" of sorts of non-rotted human skin. He smelled as awful as he looked- and the scent of blood wasn't at all helping.

"There you are!" Jesse snapped.

The now-monster smirked a bit, speaking in a voice that sounded like it hasn't been used in years. "What's this? You're that man earlier who tried to keep her from me. Ah, and you have a friend too. How lovely!" They mused.

"Why are you dragging women through grates?!" Jesse asked, gripping his scythe tightly in his hands.

"You saw them out there, I'm sure. My beautiful creations!" The monster replied.

"...Is that what he calls it?" Kitsune muttered under her breath.

"Once I make them beautiful, the spirits of the forest come into them. They whisper things to me, and you can hear them too if you listen! For years, I've been trying to perfect myself- rid myself of such a pathetic body and become more like them!" The monster started.

"I cut off strips of my skin, and replaced it with doll skin. But it keeps rotting away, so I have to get new skins. But I'm slowly becoming more and more like them- closer to such beauty and perfection! I will transcend this hollow vessel and become something so magnificent- just like them!" The monster monologued, his voice sounding more and more on the brink of insanity. (...I can't believe I remembered all that- holy shit.)

"What are you talking about?!" Jesse asked before sighing in irritation. "You know what- nevermind. I don't want to hear anymore of your nonsense! Kitsune and I are going to make you pay in blood for everything you did to them-"

"Ah, a pair of Chastisers! All the way down here? Persistent, aren't you?" The monster mused, chuckling. "None of the others made it this far. The Forest got to them first! You know those roots in this room and the last one? The trees aren't just taking their blood for water." He explained.

"They're taking their essence making them apart of the forest itself-!" The monster raised their arms up to his sides. "What an honor!"

"And since you made it so far, I'll make it quick and let the forest take you as well. My dolls told me you were coming, they told me about how much they dearly wanted you both! The forest is so eager, why not just-"

Jesse cut in, his eyes blazing with fury. "Stop acting like it's sentient! It's just a bunch of trees! Everyone around here is so superstitious that way, and I'm SICK OF HEARING IT!!" He snapped.

"...Christ on a bike-" Kitsune muttered in shock, not expecting Jesse to blow up like that.

"You should know better, considering those marks writhing around on your skin. Take off those constricting shirts of yours! Let me see them!" The monster stated.

Kitsune shuddered a bit. "Ok, yeah, no- let's just kill this fucking creep already."

"Indeed, let's. This ends now." Jesse nodded, as him and Kitsune charged forward.

This monster was tricky- its long arms just narrowly missing the pair of Chastisers. After a long and tough battle, they were finally able to decapitate this monster. Of course though, they had a share of injuries. By the end of the fight, they were absolutely exhausted. They couldn't save the women, but they got the job done. After giving the victims proper burials, they could give the rest of the village the news.

Then, finally, they could go to their homes and rest.