บท 230: Suicide Soldiers

"The day of reckoning is upon us! There is still time to renounce the old gods and turn to Beliar the Merciful!" a dirty old man shouted at the people passing by.

"His love knows no bounds, he can purge your sins and give you power! For we were created in his image…"

"Shut up already, old man!"

A citizen, sick of listening to their constant rambling, kicked the guy to the ground. "Every day is the same, Beliar this, Beliar that… Are you looking for a beating?!"

The old man slowly stood back up and simply dusted himself off, completely ignoring his attacker.

He turned his unfocused gaze towards the sky with opened arms and continued shouting, "Forgive me, my Lord, for their hearts are cold, and their sins too heavy! But your loyal servant is ready…"

"Will you shut it already?!" The guy made an angry fist and approached the old man.

Dong!

The city bell struck, and the sound traveled through the city, signaling midday.

"Ah~" The old man kneeled on the floor with a joyous sigh and clasped his hands, "The time has finally come for your servant to prove his piety, my Lord!" His eyes were closed as he prayed, but then he suddenly opened them, and they were black!

"For the sinners will be purged from this world so that the new order…"

BOOM!

"What's happening?!"

"An explosion?"

The angry man turned away from the crazy mumbling old man, towards the sound of the explosion.

The buildings blocked his view so he couldn't see, but he could hear screams coming from there. A column of black smoke was also soon visible above the city, and the guards quickly hurried along the road towards the incident.

BOOM!

Another explosion disrupted the peace, this one somewhere farther away and in the opposite direction.

"What is- Ugh!" The question was suddenly cut off as fresh blood sprayed on the stone road.

The man looked down and saw a bloody hand coming out of his chest. His still-beating heart was pulsing in the hand's grasp.

He turned his head around with difficulty and his eyes opened wide in shock and he died.

As his body went limp, the old man, the Beliar's apostate pulled out his hand and squashed the heart.

"His soul was full of sin, and his heart was corrupted, for he prayed to the god of flames!"

The old man's eyes were like a dark abyss, and black lines were slowly spreading across his face and body.

As the dark tattoo-like lines reached his hands, cracking sounds could be heard, and bones grew from the tips of his fingers, turning to black claws covered in blood.

He threw back his head and howled like an animal as his body continued to crack and grow.

"Your loyal servant… is ready, take my body, MY LORD!"

***

"We're under attack!"

"Fire! The brewery is burning! We need help!"

"My son! Has anyone seen my son?!"

The capital was in chaos.

In a matter of minutes, hundreds of Beliar's worshipers transformed into some sort of disgusting creatures and started attacking indiscriminately.

Their hands grew claws, their backs curved forward, and their legs became elongated and thin. The jaw and nose morphed into a sort of snout and their hair fell off.

With those long legs, they became extremely mobile and fast, jumping from person to person while attacking mercilessly. No matter if it was a woman or man, young or old, they jumped and bit the neck, tearing the flesh and cracking the bones.

A river of blood was left in their wake, and before the guards could even react, hundreds already lost their lives.

Panic quickly ensued, and that was more dangerous than the monsters themselves.

People shouted and ran in panic like headless chickens, climbing over each other to escape the massacre.

However, in their fear, they ran over those weaker and old, stomping them to death.

The Royal soldiers quickly arrived and meanwhile the guards were already trying to establish order.

Despite their monstrous appearance, quick movements, and high lethality, the Beliar's worshipers were surprisingly fragile.

Their bones broke from just a half-assed strike, and they collapsed with just a few wounds. It quickly became clear that they were more of simple throwaway suicide soldiers than an actual combat force.

And that was not all.

Before the hour was over, the monsters all collapsed on their own while emitting a lot of steam and a powerful burnt stench. They were scorching to the touch, and it was quite clear that whatever magic they used to transform was also quickly killing them.

Meanwhile, somewhere underground…

"Here it is, Headmaster! We captured this… whatever this thing is… It broke into the Academy and tried to harm our students. Luckily the fifth-years were the first to stumble upon it and quickly took care of it!"

The one talking was a guard with a distinct blue attire of the Magic Academy. They were currently in an underground dungeon standing before a big ice cube where a Beliar's worshiper was trapped.

"Hmm," Headmaster Errgan stroked his beard calmly as he took casual steps around the ice cube.

He carefully observed the peculiar modifications on the human, as well as the interesting tattoos all over its body.

"Why is it trapped in ice? Any particular reason?" he turned to his apprentice Vurra who was standing there in silence.

"Yes!" Vurra immediately responded, "This abomination seems to be drawing a lot of Mana for some reason, and with the frail human body it cannot sustain itself. It is dying."

"Is that so?" Headmaster Errgan waved his hand, and the ice around the head of the worshiper melted.

GrOwL!

The thing inside was still alive, although it appeared somewhat listless.

The cold made it sluggish and weak, but still, it tried to bite the Headmaster nonetheless. Too bad it couldn't move.

"Interesting…" The Headmaster murmured as he watched the ice slowly melt around the beast and evaporate.

He turned to the guard, "Go and call Elder Balin here. I think he's going to enjoy this…"

The guard quickly saluted and ran out of the dungeon.

Errgan Glacis looked at the exposed back of the Beliar's worshiper and quietly chuckled, "Hehe, Runes for gathering Mana, huh? That's going to be interesting…"

He stroked his beard slowly with half-closed eyes as a thin smile started to form on his lips.