Ch. 42: Sera

The eastern entrance to the city of Wa-Kia could be called busy. Though busy wasn’t quite the word to describe a place where an army of chaos soldiers had decided to make their camp. A motley jumble of tents made the road leading up to Wa-Kia impassable, 13 Lord of Chaos flags fluttering in the breeze above the pointed roofs, proudly proclaiming the misspellings of their leader, Kobi. Over a hundred soldiers were housed in these tents, though the dozen or so officers were housed within the city itself. Kobi lounged in the cheap luxury of the finest hotel in eastern Wa-Kia as he ordered his soldiers about. Some delved into the nearby forest to chop down trees for firewood, while others kept guard. Kobi himself was wondering why none of the guards he had sent out earlier had yet to come back to relieve their positions. Not that it mattered. The clan they were to guard against was less than a quarter of the size of the 13 Lord of Chaos, let alone its allies.



Two chaos soldiers went deeper into the forest than the others, axes at the ready as they sought out the thickest trees for battering rams at the insistence of Kobi himself, even though his advisors insisted that they would be unnecessary. One chaos soldier turned to the other as they went about their way, and tried to strike up a conversation.



“What do you think they’re going to use these battering rams for, huh? There’s not many doors big enough to be knocked down with a battering ram.” The soldier’s companion didn’t reply. The chaos infection that gripped all of Kobi’s men had taken an especially strong hold on this soldier, giving him three chaos eyes stitched across his face and rendering him mute. The infection also made the soldier a relentless killer and a slave that took orders without question. Not to mention the chaos eyes, which allowed the soldier to keep watch at all times, even when asleep. A perfect minion. On the other hand, the first soldier was still perfectly normal, other than a slightly purple hue that spoke of the spreading infection. He seemed oblivious to his companion’s inability to speak, and continued to chatter.



“Oh, and did you hear about what happened to our base? A scout reported earlier that it had completely burned to the ground. Do you think Requiem did that? If they did, they’ll pay for it.” A rustle in the bushes. The soldier glanced about him, but didn’t see anything. He went back to talking. “Kobi’s mercenaries scare me. Even the little one that he brought with him all the way here. You know that girl, Sera? Rumor has it that something’s possessing her, following her around. The top brass wants to use her to destroy the Requiem base, seems to think the she alone is good enough. Kobi wants to take the glory himself though, only wants to use Sera to smash up their base good, then walk in to finish them off himse….what was that?” Both soldiers looked up; the more infected one glancing in all directions, chaos eyes spinning in their sockets. The first soldier turned around in the darkness, towards a patch of thick foliage. He saw a pair of eyes.



No chance to scream. There wasn’t even a blur. Saint sheathed both of his reverse-curved daggers and watched as the two chaos soldiers stood there, frozen. Then, both of their heads slid from their perches between their owners’ shoulders, landing with two thumps on the ground. The bodies followed. Saint motioned to the rest of his men, and they emerged from their hiding spots. Seth popped out from behind a tree, his soul scythe stowed, his left hand in fresh bandages. Saint had treated the flesh wound with a bit of potion that helped it regrow faster. Nothing nearly as powerful as Priest’s magic, but it would do. Creed dropped down from the same tree Seth had hid behind. His chest wounds had received the same treatment from Saint’s potion. Then Nathan teleported in, his one eye glinting. He had refused Saint’s treatment for his empty socket, preferring to be left alone. Fire emerged from behind Saint, robes cleaned by a bit of water magic and dried by Creed’s wind. Then Dye and Jacob came fighting their way through the undergrowth. Jacob had a pair of freshly caught salmon to go along with his eel.



“Is it safe?” Jacob shoved the salmon into his belt, where the eel was already stowed.



“No. There are too many soldiers at this entrance, and they’re sending out scouts already to collect information. We have to try a different route.”



“The shortest way would be through the southern entrance. Let’s go!” Fire motioned for everyone to follow him. A few minutes later, as they settled into an easy jog, Saint decided to explain the situation to the others.



“Apparently Priest and the others are already in the city. Remember the fire and fighting we saw earlier? That can’t be good.” A boom resounded across the land, sending birds fluttering from nearby trees. Everyone paused and glanced at each other.



‘That can’t be good…” Jacob echoed.



“We don’t have much time, keep moving!” Saint picked up the pace, dashing past Fire. He paused when he saw Fire’s expression. Everyone stopped. “What’s the matter?”



“Sera.” His voice was a hoarse whisper, his face pale and glistening with sweat. “One of the soldiers mentioned Sera…”



“The one they said was possessed?”



Fire looked as if he might burst. Then the words came tumbling out of his mouth in a torrent. “A few months ago, I was visiting a small village to recruit some members for the Order, my clan. When I got to the village, everyone was silent. The reason? All the villagers were whispering that a girl had been possessed by a demon. An exorcist was in town to take care of her…” Jake made a motion to say something, but Dye silenced him with a hand to his mouth. “I stayed outside the city in a camp with a few other members of the Order. We didn’t sleep well; the villagers’ fear was infectious. Then, in the middle of the night, we heard a loud crash.” As if on cue, another boom resounded from the city of Wa-Kia. Everyone shuddered. “When we got out of our tent, we saw tall flames in the distance. I rushed over to the village, but couldn’t get close. The flames were just too fierce, and they were beginning to spread throughout the forest. But in the heart of the flames, I could see a little girl approaching, wearing thin little rags. She had dirty brown hair, and pale blue eyes that were wide with fear. She was pleading, and I could barely hear her voice above the flames, saying ‘help me…please help me’. Behind her, barely visible through the flames, was a tall, winged shape, its horned head turning from side to side. As it glared about, I think it saw me, and as it did, I could hear its single thought. All it was thinking was ‘destroy’. But then it looked down at the girl in front of it, who had curled up into a ball with fear. I was wondering if she had seen her own parents die before her eyes, destroyed by the same demon that now loomed behind her. But the demon didn’t kill her. Instead, it went for us, speaking one clear thought in my mind as it hunted after us. ‘Sera’.” Fire went deathly silent. “…I never forgot that name.” Another boom, this one louder and closer.



Saint spoke urgently. “If Kobi is truly using this poor girl and the demon possessing her ti fight us, then he has fallen to a new low that I didn’t think was possible. But at the same time, she poses a great threat to our clan. We have to move, now.” Everyone nodded, and began to sprint towards Wa-Kia.