In the summer of year 390 of the Markov calendar, a man with purplish-black hair could be seen sitting on an medieval office, surrounded by a heap of documents, scattered all over his table. His attire suggested for him to be an aristocrat. He frowned after reading the urgent report, he received this morning.
I received a report stating that an entire town in the northern part of my territory, was totally isolated. It was out of reach. The town acted as a trade hub in the north. It was an important place connected directly with the livelihoods of all the surrounding villages, considering the scarcity to get daily necessities. The only reason people even live in the harsh coldness of the north is due to the availability of manastones, known to form only in extreme climates.
Based on the report, all attempts to get in contact either by messenger birds or by people has resulted in no progress. Those who were sent to investigate by me earlier a week before, have also not returned. There was no information about the villagers or even the traders who frequented Elverine. It was as if the place was erased from existence, itself. Considering the matter to be of atmost importance, I summoned the Knight Commander.
Based on my orders, The Knight Commander formed a squad of the most skilled seven people of my army and left for Elverine. It was arranged that communications are to be made every two hours, considering the of the situation. After two days of travel to reach Elverine, all communications with the special squad was lost.
I realized that delaying any further would only allow the situation to become even worse. I decided to go there for myself. I was going to be accompanied by a few of my knights and mercenaries that I hired. It didn't matter if the expenditure was huge. I already had a bad premonition on what was going on. So, it was better to be safe than sorry, even if I am strong myself.
We left on horseback, going by carriage was only going to increase travel time unnecessarily. So, after armoring ourselves and packing even necessities, we left for the town.
The town of Elverine is situated directly on the path that connects the territory's capital and the Munidla Mountain range, the place were manastones are mined. Even though it is the place closest to the capital from the north, it is considerably distant even from the nearby villages and towns in the region.
Reaching the gate of Elverine on the third day of travel, we noticed something weird as soon as we entered the place. Though there were no guards at the gate, weirdly enough, the townspeople inside the gate were going about their lives, as usual.
Questioning them, there was nothing weird about their demeanor and they acted as if nothing was strange about their surroundings and the missing people. To gather more information, we left to see the mayor of the town.
The mayor's mansion and surroundings was shining, stark contrast to the dull atmosphere over the town. As if to appear safe and welcoming to anyone who wanted to visit. To give them a false sense of security, implying everything was normal. Entering, we were greeted by the mayor and his servants with the utmost respect. When questioned, he smiled and answered as if there were no problems.
When I questioned about the arrival of my soldiers, he answered that no such people had come.
So after a few more obligatory questions, I simply came out of the building without much change in my expression. For I had already confirmed that this whole place was just an illusion.
Upon entering the town gate, I realized a shift in the manaflow present in the air. It had become stagnant. It felt like some veil or dome was covering over the place, so that the mana wouldn't disappear and break the illusion.
I checked at the mansion for I had a felt particularly ominous presence of a being upon entering, something that I only had felt in my previous world. Something that shouldn't exist in this world. Searching the place, it seemed that revolting thing had already left the place, only the trace of its presence left behind.
I ordered everyone to gather at the town square, after asking the mercenaries and my soldiers to prepare for battle. Soon all the townspeople gathered in the town square. Taking a low breath, I swung my sword with mana, towards the sky to break the veil casting the illusion. Soon the veil collapsed and the illusion dispersed.
The sight that greeted us was beyond anything horrific. The people, no the animated corpses, were pecked all over their body, as if they were the leftovers of someone's hurried meal.
Mangled organs, blood and either missing or hanging organs and having countless small bites, likely bird pecks all over their body. They had their tongues and eyes gouged out, the only things left intact were their teeth and bones.
The surroundings were no different. Ruined, burnt and collapsed buildings with blood smeared all over the place. A stench that would make even a person working in the burial grounds flinch wafted in the air. It was as if a disaster had passed through the area.
The mercenaries and myself gagged at the gruesome sight before us. Quickly gaining composure, I ordered to put the corpses to rest. After cutting them up, we buried them under a huge pit. After all, it is difficult to separate all the mixed organs lying around. After hearing someone groaning under a rubble, the mercenaries cleared out the place. Under the rubble, there was a boy. Probably seven or eight, injured gravely. After getting him healed with herbal medicine and the healer's continual efforts for hours, we set up camp near the gate that we passed through earlier for the night.
As moonlight shined brightly, the kid woke up gasping. Letting him drink some water and have some food after calming him down, I asked about what had transpired during all this time.
It seemed the strange things around the town had started one month ago, way earlier than any of us could have known and reacted. It had started the day, a stray chicken known for regular aggressive pecking on people killed and ate a baby.