Chapter-2
The captain gave out an evil smile and for some reason the pale young boy felt chills at that sight.
The criminals in front of the general were breathing heavily. Even if some were able to breathe properly, nobody could stand straight.
"If you try to flee, you will be butchered and fed to the hungry people of the outer sector. The same meat you have been eating up until now"
The eyes of every criminal standing there widened. They always questioned in their minds as to why they given meat when it was a luxury even in the inner circle. Were they now cannibals? Of course, there were some who did not even care.
The pale young boy was feeling disgusted at the thought that he might have been eating corrupted meat up until now. Of course he didn't believe that they were actually being fed without purification. Even if they were, the corruption might have swallowed the outskirts way before he was even born.
The pale young boy understood that the captain was just warning them with fear. If they didn't obey, they would receive something worse than death. Though this fact could be understood by anybody with logic, there rarely was anybody sane among those who were brought from the outskirts.
"Let me make a thing clear. You are just expendables to be used for the greater good of the holy empire. You are criminals who rebelled during work and now, you atone for your crimes with your lives. The only chance of redemption for you is to die for your empire. "
The pale young boy wanted to die and was ready to do anything to escape this continent he loathed. He along with others brought here had already lost any hope of living. They only hoped that they didn't get corrupted before blowing themselves up.
This group of hundred was just one of the units brought here from the outer sectors. There were 128 units from 128 outskirts as well who would defend their side of the wall.
The corruption increases every month. During a particular day of a month, the stored up corruption in the corrupted is suddenly released. That particular day is known to be the day of despair.
Today was the day of despair and is also the reason why they were brought here. Today could be considered as the worst day of despair in the entire history of the holy empire.
The general went away after giving his short speech and intimidating the criminals. They were not even given time to recover as they were forcefully brought somewhere. They reached the base of the wall near a large gate.
From a high vantage point of the wall, one could see thousands of cannon fodders disguised as paladin soldiers marching towards their death. As they approached the wall, a soldier captain blew his horn to signal something. After his signal, the large door opened. The pale young boy expected a loud noise, but the door opened rather silently.
Honestly, the pale young boy did not understand how they predicted when the day of despair would come and why they had be cannon fodders when they had such a mighty wall to protect them from the corrupted outside.
The pale young boy could only sneak out far enough to encounter the corrupted twice in his life during work hours. He obviously wanted to die during those times, but he could not due to the curse placed upon him.
Both the corrupted he encountered were mostly bones with barely any flesh on them. Today, he was going to witness what a true ancient horror looked like.
Dark clouds loomed and all they could see was darkness thicker than they were used to in the perpetual night of outskirts. The pale young boy along with others stepped outside the wall while feeling the wet mud on the ground through the metallic shoes they were wearing.
Everybody formed a line parallel to the wall as they were instructed and had to start marching forward when the horn was blown. The pale young boy held a large transparent shield made of condensed 'will' which could be retracted. He also held a large flamethrower which could emit a large quantity of fire at the front if pressed its handle.
The pale boy was a little tensed because he initially thought that he wouldn't be able to lift the flamethrower along with the transparent shield through his lean physique and thin hands.
The entire set of armor along with all the accessories was much lighter. The only thing that he felt bad about was the cold he felt in metal armor due to the sharp winds. Though, the cold might become warm when the flame throwers are used.
All around him, he could hear the sound of gulping and incoherent mutterings that told him how scared they all were of the abominations outside. The pale young boy had an unreadable expression as he looked ahead. Behind him, paladins rushed out to form a defensive formation.
Ahead of him, a thick darkness nestled. If he turned back now, he would be caught by the paladins and paralyzed. Just when everybody was waiting for something to happen, they heard a loud voice.
It was a loud horn that was blown by a paladin. The cannon fodders took hesitant steps in disorderly fashion and marched towards the thick darkness when they heard the sound of horn. Now, they had crossed the line which the corrupted hesitated to cross.
That is when he saw 'it'. No, everybody saw 'it'. 'It' rose from the muddy ground and looking at them with hollow eye sockets. 'It' had countless small holes in its body that looked like a labyrinthine ground.
It was as if countless holes had been drilled into the corrupted creature. The most revolting part of it all was that countless maggots were writhing in those labyrinthine holes of its body extending to the ground like roots of a plant.
It opened its maw wide and let out an ear piercing shriek while revealing countless uneven teeth which were growing inside its maw. Following the shriek, countless other corrupted beings rose from the bloody mud and let out a shriek of their own while running towards the wall.
The entire zone descended into chaos as everybody lit their flame throwers while some intercepting those unholy beings in flesh. These corrupted beings were a little different from what the pale boy had seen before. They looked mutated beyond recognition.
The pale young boy and countless others felt fear for the first time when they encountered those beings. Their dread multiplied when they saw that not all of them were completely humanoid.
There was a creature which looked like twisted fusion between a human and a tree. There were some that were too big to look at in the distance. Some were an amalgamation twisted vines and flesh. Even if their size and shape were distinct, all had labyrinthine holes with countless maggots in them.
…
In the large opulent hall of the ancient cathedral, a paladin had betrayed his faith and was questioning the 'purple saintess of mysteries'.
"To understand the second reason behind this madness, you must know some things about how the faith of our religion came to be."
The paladin narrowed his eyes and explained the words he read from the cursed texts.
"A few centuries ago, there was no such thing as god in our continent. There was no faith and no 'will' to be used. Everything changed when the three continents split apart due to the movement of tectonic plates. That is when 'will' came in existence when '!@#$%^&*' appeared on our continent."
The paladin felt confused for a moment and spat a mouthful of blood. He had uttered something he shouldn't have.
Not just the paladin, but the 'purple saintess of mysteries' along with all those who heard the word had their ears burst.
The assassins waiting in the shadows for an attack too had their ears burst due to what the paladin had said.
The saintess healed herself with her 'will' and smiled at him.
"Some things are not meant to be said out loud"
"What the hell was that?" The paladin said with blood in his mouth.
"You are just a mortal talking about the matters of gods. You even dare to spell out the true name of our god! Do you know what you have donnn…"
The saintess suddenly stopped and her eyes became dazed. Everything about their previous conversation had been forgotten as if some phenomenon had erased their memories. Even the blood and injuries of those who heard it somehow disappeared.
After a moment when everything calmed down, the paladin dug his dagger a little deeper into the pope's throat. He was threatening the saintess to answer her questions.
The saintess was a little confused and felt like something was wrong, but she forgot what it was. She eventually answered with an evil smile on her face.
"The second reason is simply the prophecy we got centuries ago along with the use of 'will'."
She looked outside the hall and at the countless stars. She had a mysterious light in her purple eyes.
"Just for a prophecy huh…"
The paladin lowered his head. His breathing stopped as well. He fell down while suddenly, his skin turned purple. Behind them, a second 'saintess of mysteries' could be seen with a purple dagger. The dagger had the blood of the paladin that fell down.
…
Another corrupted fell due to an arrow being pierced down its throat. I could see nothing but darkness ahead that was being pushed back by the light of flame throwers.
It seemed as if the horde of these corrupted beings was endless. The more they killed, the more they spawned from the infinite darkness ahead.
I could feel my muscles paining. I had killed around 4 of them. They were rather easy to kill with the flame throwers we were given. Though, the question still remains in my mind. Why was I struggling when I finally had the opportunity to die? Why was I trembling so much?
I questioned myself again and again. Was there really a reason worth living a life in this shitty continent? What crime did I commit in this life to be given such a punishment?
I was just another child without any speck of corruption. I had been thrown in the outskirts just for a simple reason as possibility. Though I survived in the outskirts as it was not possible for anybody to kill another human due to the curse, I also couldn't kill myself.
These thoughts ran through my head for just a fraction of second before I intercepted another abomination. This one was more like a dog than a human. The flame thrower did its job burning he creature.
Suddenly, my foot slipped in the mud and I fell down. The burning creature lunched at me to sink its sharp teeth in my soft flesh. Though, it never happened as I was able to utilize my transparent shield.
This time, I saw the creature up close with the help of light coming from flamethrowers nearby. The hideous abomination was biting the shield, while its tongue held countless holes with maggots in them.
The sight stirred something in my stomach. I was feeling disgusted right now and my head was spinning. I was breathing heavily while my muscles were in pain.
Suddenly, the abomination was sent flying and I looked around only to find the old man holding his shield. The old man didn't get to celebrate his small victory though.
It was because another abomination with a hideously humanoid appearance appeared from the gap left behind by the old man and pierced its claws in one of the cracks of his armor in a sickening crunch.
I didn't think much and reacted as I brought out my sword from its hilt and severed the abomination's neck in a swift arc while it was busy in its target.
At the same time, there was a loud noise and a blinding flash. One of the criminals was blown as he was corrupted by them. A beat later, I had to divert my attention at the ones coming for me.
Only a few minutes had passed since the chaos began and I was already at my limit. Suddenly, I heard the old man who was dying speaking.
"I never asked for your name boy."
"I never had a name."
He glanced at me for a moment before closing his eyes and saying.
"I am Floris"
"Nice to meet you damn it!"
I couldn't help but curse at the antics of this mad old man. Who even says their name to somebody they had interacted for years at the end of their life. I did not know but I felt a pain in my heart for some reason.
Another abomination as large as the cathedral they got food from was dealt by a cannon fired by the paladin soldiers stationed on the walls. The march was still progressing when another loud roar was heard just like the one they heard it first.
Just after the roar was heard, the number of corrupted monsters incoming doubled. Did they just awaken another nest of corrupted abominations?
I smelled the acrid smell of burnt rotting flesh. As we marched, I stepped on the remains of the abominations I had slain. Through those remains, white yellowish maggots crawled up my armor.
I couldn't hold back as I spewed a mouthful of vomit on the ground which brought a chance for another abomination to lunge on me.
The abomination was sent flying back again. This time though, there was no old man to protect him. The soldiers behind had used their 'will' to punch the creature back. I would have been thankful if not for them to trample on my shield and move on.
I wanted to get up, but I was stuck by the weight their bodies. If not for the shield, I would have been dead. Though, I felt like I wanted to sleep really badly.
I could feel my back pressing deeper in the wet soil due to the pressure of footsteps on my shield. I was getting buried alive right now. Was this how I die?
'Being buried by the same army of the empire that I had to sacrifice my life to protect? All I wanted was a proper death if not, at the very least, a proper name for others to call me. How pathetic of me and my life to die like that. Maybe if I had another chance…'
I lost consciousness in the middle of my thoughts…
…
As the pale young boy got buried alive in the chaos, the general standing on the wall looked at the far end. He could see things that normal people could not. The horde of corrupted they were dealing now was just an appetizer.
The real horrors were coming their way and it made his blood run cold. His eyes flickered to the battle below. If everything went like they had planned, they would lose this battle in a one sided slaughter.
There was no other choice but to enter the fray himself and change the situation. He looked down and jumped from the majestic 100 meters wall. He had a shitty luck because the corrupted he was facing were not only the worst in history, but their intensity was the most compared to all sectors.
Only 10 minutes after the battle started, all cannon fodders were dead. There were more of those corrupted sirens waking up the slumbering corrupted. The number of corrupted was increasing exponentially and more and more paladin soldiers were required to fill in the gaps left behind by the dead every minute.
The soldiers were losing morale. They understood that if it continued like this, the will all be wiped out in just a few hours. It was when suddenly a meteor stuck in the middle of the darkness where the corrupted nestled and created a 10 meters deep crater all the while killing one of the 'siren' like abomination.
The paladins were shocked and all the corrupted beings were attracted to the anomaly like moths would to flames. They abandoned everything and moved towards the light in the middle of the battlefield.
The anomaly raised its arms and slashed in a horizontal arc towards the horde of corrupted beings ahead. The corrupted beings within 200 meters ahead were cleaved in multiple pieces in the next moment.
One of the paladin soldiers narrowed his eyes and looked a little closer, when suddenly his eyes widened. He shouted in a loud voice towards his fellow soldiers.
"Its general Austin! He descended to fight himself!"
The other soldiers regained clarity as they noticed the general cleave the abominations into several pieces. They could only marvel in awe at the powers displayed by him.
Where they were having difficulties dispatching a few of those corrupted abominations, their general just killed a thousand in a single move of his hands.
Of course it wasn't as easy as it looked. General Austin had to use a lot of his 'will' to pull out a stunt like that. Though, this turned the tide of the battle as the soldiers quickly started dispatching more of these creatures.
That is when more of those siren monsters were killed and the abominations were being killed. Whenever the general found more of those siren creatures, he would dispatch of them before they could shriek.
This gave the soldiers morale and confidence. Later, the corrupted creatures started falling on their own due to sleep and it gave the soldiers to end them in silence.
The operation went on for a few more hours when all the corrupted creatures that mutated in their sector were killed. It was when the bloodied general noticed something strange in his vision that could see dozens of miles.
He spotted a strange white spherical object in the distance. He was just about to search it when he sensed something. He sensed the spherical mass of object gazing at him. Sensing the danger, the general used his 'will' to cover his body and moved towards his target.
The white spherical object vibrated and suddenly, two large ethereal wings that were dozens of meters emerged from behind 'it'.
The general sensed the giant sphere with ethereal wings and raised his guard. He could feel a danger unlike anything he felt in his life. His eyes widened and turned to projected his voice and warn his army for the danger, but it was too late.
The giant sphere was an eye and 'it' opened 'its' eyes and gazed at them. The general closed his eyes in time, but the people behind him were not so lucky.
Everybody the eye gazed started corrupting. The corruption spread like a wildfire and all people behind the general were turned into mindless distortions of their previous selves.
Some abominations were a mixture of multiple paladin soldiers. Their flesh rotten and their blood fell down countless holes that appeared in them.
The general could sense things even if he closed his eyes. He could sense his soldiers he trained turn into mindless abominations. He was angry at the unknown thing that corrupted them. Right now, the corruption had spread to him from the air and he was slowly but surely losing his mind.
He lunged at the eye in rage and punched it with all he could. His attack connected nothing as if there was an invisible barrier surrounding it.
He poured all the will he could gather and punched the creature. The punch did shatter a part of the shield, but the creature was rather safe.
In a last ditch attempt, he turned all his life force in a titanic amount of 'will' and attacked the creature. The creature's eye closed when the barrier shattered and the force of the punch sent it flying back.
Due to the force of the punch, the creature landed near the wall and lost consciousness. The creature was bleeding and looked to be heavily injured. Though, the general was dead from the punch he gave to the creature.
That was when a hand rose from the ground near the creature. The hand belonged to the pale young boy who was buried alive. He was barely alive when he was jolted awake from the force of the creature landing beside him.
He somehow crawled out of the wet ground and looked around. He was a little surprised to find a large white stone near his vicinity. Maybe it is a part of the wall that fell down. He was a little confused as to how he could be alive when he should be dead.
He raised his hands and covered his head while crying and laughing at the same time. He could not even die it seems. Suddenly, he turned and saw a large number of monsters coming his way. They were far away, but they were coming never the less.
He turned and walked towards the large stone marble. He started banging his head hard. He wanted to die before he was turned into those corrupted mindless beings.
Though what he didn't know was that he was already corrupted due to the corruption present in the air. Suddenly, the surface of the white sphere moved and opened like an arm.
Before he could think anything, the shackle in his neck exploded killing the creature and him in the process…