The Devil's Blade

𝟸𝟷 || 𝙼𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝙾𝚗𝚎: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚅𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝙳𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚗

I've spent the rest of the week contemplating Simon's words, but no matter how much I think about it, I can't grasp the fact that my own blood cells are attacking each other. Simon said it could have been anything that triggered this self-destruction. He mentioned viruses, infected substances, illnesses, and all the other factors that could have caused a mutation, but all of them seem unlikely to me. I feel that it's something else, something darker and inhuman.

Among the many assumptions and theories I've come up with at night, training at Mavis continued mercilessly. By the end of the week, I was unable to recognize my own body. I'd grown muscle in places I had never had any, I had bruises that painted my body in traces, and I was no longer afraid. I felt like I could handle the world.

The following days, forces 1 and 2 were sent on a mission to Deamunt in Muton. Apparently, there has been a report of an inhuman being haunting the residents.

Everyone gathered in front of the gate, weapons ready, next to their assigned vehicles. It was the first time all the members of Force 1 had come together. There were people loading ammunition into our truck who I'd maybe seen once or twice during training. One of them was a woman with incredible strength, dumping the tents into the trunk all at once. I don't really know her, but I picked up her name once; I believe she's called Jill.

As I approach our truck, I lock eyes with Liam, who greets me with a gentle smile.

"Ready for your first mission?" Liam asks me as he loads his bag into the truck.

"I am, surprisingly" I reply.

"Good, because you're going to need it," Erik interjects. "The district we are heading towards might be less of a wreck than you're used to, but it's soulless."

"Soulless?" I ask.

"Yes soulless. You'll understand that very soon," Erik says as he slams down the door of the trunk.

Driving to Deamunt went much faster than I thought it would. The advantages of vehicles is truly impressive. It would have been very helpful during our escape from Prestonville; we could have saved many lives. But it's too late to overthink these things now.

When we arrived, Deamunt didn't appear as 'soulless' as Erik had described. In fact, it looked as if nothing had happened. Every house was perfect condition, and the people were living their lives normally. I saw two kids running around and playing with a kite, a farmer watering his crops with a bucket of clear water, and mothers taking down the dried laundry from the washing line. There was nothing soulless about this town; in fact, I believed it was more alive than anywhere.

"Okay soldiers, gather around," Vince ordered as forces 1 and 2 assembled. "We are here to gather information and exterminate the evil force that is lingering in these grounds. Stay with your force at all times. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" we all replied in unison before splitting up.

As we went around to interrogate the people, I finally understood what Erik meant when he said the town was 'soulless.' Every resident refused to speak about the tragedy or the evil that haunted the town. Some even avoided us.

We made another attempt to gather information by splitting into smaller groups. I went with Jill, Calissa, and Erik, but we had no luck. Every door slammed shut as soon as we introduced ourselves.

My patience with the residents was wearing thin, especially since something had caught my attention ever since I entered the town. The town seemed obsessed with the Lord. There was a large church at the center of the town, and many people wore crosses around their necks or had them adorned on their houses. I was determined to find out what the reason behind this was, though I could probably guess it.

I approach the church, the large golden cross on top growing more intimidating as I get closer. I'm about to knock on the door when I noticed a plate on the door inscribed with the words: "God protects those who do good, and punish those who mean evil."  I trace the words with my fingers, and a sudden urge to rip the plate off and crumble it to pieces grows. My nails dig into the wooden door as the words awaken a buried anger I didn't know I had.

"What are you doing?" a female voice calls from behind me.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I say, flustered. "I was just looking around. I'm with the North."

She looks me up and down skeptically. "What are you looking for?"

"I want to know what they mean by 'the evil'," I say, pointing to the plate. "Can you tell me?"

She hesitates for a moment, swallowing and checking our surroundigs before she answers. "They say the tragedy was caused by a greater a evil."

"A greater evil?" I question.

"Yes," she says pausing for a moment. "A demon."

"A demon?" I repeat, surprised. "Why would they think that?"

"When the tragedy first occurred in Preston ville, the people of Muton were desperate, praying for it to go away. That's when a wounded soldier of Mavis stumbled into Deamunt, begging for help. A shadow appeared behind him and killed him. The shadow loomed over the city and soon people started to turn into creatures. But before it could escalate, the priest prayed and locked the creatures away inside the church," she explains.

"You say it was a shadow? What did this shadow look like?" I ask.

"It was a woman's. I remember her hair was long and dancing wildly around her."

"And when the priest locked the creatures away, did the shadow disappear?"

She shakes her head. "It lurks around every night," she says, her eyes widening with fear. "They say it's out for revenge.""

"Revenge?"

"On the North, because their ancestors sinned and angered the spirits," she says, tears welling up in her eyes. "They say evil follows the Northern people everywhere."

"That's why no one wants to speak to us..." I mumble to myself.

"And the priest? Where is the priest now?" I ask.

She points to the church with a shaky hand.

I nod. "Thank you for your help."

As I'm about to walk away, she grabs my wrists to stop me. 

"You," she begins, "You're a sinner as well."

"What?" I reply, confused.

"There's an evil that lives inside you," she says staring into my eyes.

"How d—" I begin, but I stop when I notice the slight shimmer of a blade appearing behind her back.

There's something wrong here. Very wrong.

Uncomfortable, I try pulling my wrists from her grasp, but they won't budge. She strong, way too strong, and her eyes still glued to mine. Everything inside me is telling me to run, that this is a trap, that we're being deceived. But it's too late.

She pulls the blade from behind her and smashes the hilt hard against my temple.