Chương 82: Escalation

"Well, that can't be good..." remarked Angil, his and everyone else's gazes focused on the plumes of blackened smoke rising into the sky, emanating from the direction they were headed.

"I'm beginning to think someone has it out for us..." muttered Aelius, his gaze shifting to Will, causing the latter to blink and raise his brows. Truth be told, a similar thought had crossed his mind, so without hesitation, he adopted a smile and responded, "I'll go ahead. If it turns out that this has something to do with my background, I'll resolve it myself."

Speaking even before Allyson, Kris asserted, "We're going," in a firm tone, adding, "The virtuous do not turn their backs on those in need..."

Without waiting for a response, Kris began walking ahead, shedding his pack and supplies to lighten his load before taking off at full speed. Angil smacked his forehead and rubbed his face in response to this, but Aelius and Allyson were of a similar mind, the former supplying a curt nod as he said, "We'll do what we can to help and figure out the rest later."

"I don't like running into things blindly, but if someone set fire to the city, we don't have time to stand around chatting," affirmed Allyson, shedding her own equipment and flashing a look at Will before she and Aelius took off together.

"Some people never outgrow playing hero..." sighed Angil, walking up to Will and patting his shoulder as he added, "I'll make sure our gear is safe and sound before catching up. Do a fellow a favor and look after Allyson's backside for me, okay?"

"Sure," responded Will, exhaling from his nose and shaking his head with a smile. Ohta could easily stow all their equipment, but since Angil was still recovering from what happened back in the Tomb of the Jackal King, Will left the man to his own devices and hurried to catch up to the other Silver Cats...

...

While not as populated or as popular as a city like Tempahsta, Bhiran Fortress and the city that had popped up around it had been fixtures in Deisceart since The Great Defiance. As such, its outer walls were at least thirty meters tall, twenty thick, and comprised of a magic-resistant stone with a metal substructure. This wasn't insurmountable by any means, but if you approached too close or tried to leap over it, you would be repelled and shocked by an invisible barrier strong enough to take down a mature Gryphon.

"This is even worse than I thought..." remarked Aelius, frowning as he, Allyson, Kris, and Will stood alongside a growing group of people near the Bhiran's northernmost gate. Black smoke filled the sky above the burning city, and to make matters infinitely worse, the city's nearly indestructible city gates had been lowered, preventing the city's inhabitants from fleeing and outsiders from entering to assist.

'How is it...?' asked Will, using Subvocalization Magic to communicate with Ohta after the latter's presence returned.

'I can get us inside, but the mechanism to raise and lower the gates has been destroyed,' responded Ohta, his voice low and shaking slightly as he added, 'Also...I'm not sure we should go inside. The people inside...it's like they've lost their minds and become zombies. If what they have turns out to be contagious, it could spread like wildfire...'

'Hmmm...I've never experienced a zombie apocalypse...' thought Will, his expression fixed in a frown but his mind largely calm. Nothing happened without reason, and even the most hopeless situation could be reversed if you understood how it came about. Thus, after a moment of deliberation, he calmly stated, "Ohta can get us inside..." in a measured voice that only the members of Silver Cat could hear.

"Do we know what the situation is...?" asked Aelius, controlling his own voice as he, Allyson, and Kris gathered around Will to hear what he had to say.

"We're not sure if it's related to a pathogen or the effects of a Curse, but there appears to be something causing the people inside to rampage and attack one another..." explained Will. "If it's the former, then closing the gates and setting fire to the city may have been a last-ditch effort of the people in charge to prevent the pathogen from spreading..."

As an archeologist and an avid scholar, Allyson's expression became even more serious as she hypothesized, "If the symptoms are as you describe, the most likely candidate is the Curse of Savaging Madness. If this were the result of a pathogen, it would take weeks or even months for things to devolve to this extent."

"The Curse of Savage Madness...?" repeated Will, adding inflection near the end to make it clear he was asking for an explanation.

"It's a vicious Curse developed by Eldara LeFay, a High Priestess turned Draíolach that served the Creator God, Plænər..." explained Allyson, her frown deepening as she appended, "Eldara and those like her believed it was madness to oppose the Creator, so they created numerous Curses to weaken the Grand Coalition and sow as much discord as possible through their ranks..."

"Okay...and how do we use this information?" asked Will, feeling it wasn't the best time for a history lesson but choosing to hear Allyson out as her knowledge might provide the solution they needed.

"Eldara and her followers were defeated by the wielder of the Camhanaí na Ophiuchus, the Serpent Staff of Purification..." revealed Allyson, her expression cramping into a sheepish and slightly apologetic smile as she knew what she was saying wouldn't be helpful to their predicament.

"Then we only have one option..." said Kris, his expression grim but firm as he gripped his right fist with his left hand and asserted, "We need to kill or incapacitate the infected to prevent it from spreading..."

"And what if that's what the person who spread the Curse wants us to do...?" asked Ohta, appearing from Will's shadow, effectively placing himself in the center of the group as he contended, "It's too much of a coincidence that something like this happened right as we were nearing the city. If we charge in without a plan and just start killing people, what happens when those tailing us arrive and the Curse miraculously clears up?"

"If that's your concern, can't we just open the gate and let the rest of these people inside?" asked Aelius, gesturing to the sizeable crowd of travelers, Adventurers, Sellswords, and Merchants, which was in the process of organizing into multiple groups, one to find a way into the city from the northern gate and several others to scout the remaining gates or seek assistance abroad.

Crossing his arms and sporting a half-lidded glower, Ohta asked, "Are you touched in the head? Most of these people are First Grade, with only a handful being Second Grade or higher. A fortress city like this one would have at least one or two people at the Fourth or Fifth Grade to protect it but just look at the situation. If we open the gate and let these people in, they're more likely to die than be of any assistance. It would be one thing if they could follow orders and focus on extinguishing fires, but I'd bet my left foot at least a third of these people want to pillage or take advantage of the situation..."

"As we stand here chatting, people are dying..." reminded Will, his hazel eyes exuding a faint shimmer as he declared, "This is what we'll do. Ohta and I will enter inside to see if we can locate the source of the Curse and eliminate it. The three of you will take charge here and set up a station to receive and treat the rescued..."

Plopping his hand down on Ohta's head, Will added, "That will be your job when we get inside. I want you to go around and save as many people as you can. I'll be fine on my own."

"You..." growled Ohta, clearly taking issue with Will's plan, but when he turned and saw how serious that latter was, his brain failed to process an argument, even more so when Will whispered, "Please..." before offering a faint smile and caressing his head.

Before Ohta could collect himself, Kris interjected to state, "I want to go with you..."

Shaking his head, Will met the vermillion-haired man's gaze and calmly stated, "Aelius's size and appearance don't exactly inspire confidence, so he'll need you to help him establish and maintain order. And if this truly is a setup, Ohta and I will have a much easier time escaping than the three of you."

"Are you saying I'd be a liability...?" asked Kris, his frown deepening and the muscles in his jaw flexing as he clenched his teeth.

"Now isn't the time, Kris..." countered Will, his expression hardening as he added, "But you're ultimately an adult and capable of deciding things for yourself...if you're able to get inside the city of your own accord, feel free to do as you please..."

Understanding what Will was implying, Kris's expression soured. Since he couldn't enter the city without Ohta's assistance, he also wouldn't be able to leave freely. In other words, he would be entirely dependent on Ohta to escape if the situation deteriorated further, simultaneously preventing him from focusing purely on rescuing as many people as possible...

Though he quickly realized he was out of line, Kris didn't get the chance to express it as Ohta, prompted by Will, exhaled an annoyed sigh before causing them to disappear into the shadow beneath them. In their wake, Aelius gently slapped his friend's back as Kris was too tall for him to reach his shoulder, saying, "Come on. There isn't much daylight left, so we need to get things organized and procure food as quickly as possible. It would be a tragedy if those we rescued succumbed to their injuries or starved to death because we were focused on other things..."

"Right..." muttered Kris, feeling frustrated and slightly ashamed by his lack of forethought. Fortunately, Aelius and Allyson were much better at using their heads than he was, so he just needed to follow their instructions and beat up anyone who refused to get in line...

...

"Are you sure about this...?" asked Ohta, depositing Will near the fortress city's central square, a large clearing with a destroyed fountain that once supported the statue of a local hero.

"More importantly, hold still..." said Will, pulling out his final Talisman of Cicade Skinshed and plastering it across Ohta's exposed abdomen. The latter observed him with a look of incredulity, but since he mostly trusted him at that point, he didn't resist and instead asked, "And what the hell is this?" as he watched the talisman disappear.

"It's what saved me back in the Tomb of the Jackal King," explained Will, smiling as he elaborated, "It prevents damage and teleports the wearer to safety if they receive an otherwise fatal hit. It won't trigger in response to bleeding or poisoning, though, so take care..."

"You're worried about me...?" asked Ohta, crossing his arms and frowning deeply. In response, Will caused him to tense, his eyes widening to their absolute limits as the latter cupped his chin, his thumb just below Ohta's lower lip as he answered, "Of course, I'm worried..." while thinking, 'You're my main source of transportation, and Sarah would murder me if anything happened to you...'

Unaware of Will's true thoughts, Ohta's cheeks flushed a darker hue as he averted his eyes and mumbled something about his lips. Then, before Will could ask what he had said, he appeared to blink out of existence, sinking into his shadow in the blink of an eye.

'That's my cue to get a move on...' thought Will, his smile fading into a look of severity as he took stock of his surroundings. The square looked like an explosion had been detonated at its center, and there were remnants from powerful Aura abilities and Magic Spells littering the area and permeating the atmosphere. One building, in particular, had been horizontally sliced at a thirty-degree angle, causing its upper half to slough off and collapse, so while he wasn't sure what level they were at, it was apparent that two or more powerful people had traded blows in the area...

...