BXBX NOVEL Chapter 370 369: Huran City Investigation
The entire city was razed to the ground, and the iron scent of blood wafted through the air, but the most notable smell was that of rotting corpses, which were strewn around the roads and splattered against the walls of the city haphazardly.
Each corpses cause of death seemed different, as did the severity.
A woman rested against the side of a broken, crumbling house, her head laying on the ground beside her body, a look of shock and fear clearly written on her pale face.
Across the way sat the remains of an unlucky human, their body broken and mangled from being stomped on aggressively, parts of them flattened and crushed while others were torn away, like something had begun to eat them.
And not something like a vulture or rat.
Something large.
Stepping out of the carriage, the entirety of the Legion that accompanied us was silent, disturbed and disgusted by the sights that lay before them.
Some of the buildings brick foundations had melted slightly under extreme heat, the rest of the building charred, while others were now housing dozens of earthen spikes, some of which had corpses impaled onto them.
The air inside the city was still and silent, and the sounds of us slowly moving through the carnage echoed loudly, making us all wary.
In the distance, the large mansion that oversaw Huran\'s main district remained as a wreckage, half of its walls crumbled like something had charged through them, while the glass was shattered.
Each of us walked through the ghastly city with our weapons drawn and mana circulating, cautiously investigating each and every nook and cranny we could.
I glanced back at Leone, the Vampire staring at the destruction with narrowed eyes, while Iaso and Liga seemed slightly spooked, both constantly looking around like something was near.
Turning towards Mom, I saw her frowning as she stood before the rubble of what looked to be a restaurant, large oven like constructs situated in the back.
Stuffed into the ovens were dozens of burnt corpses, and I shuddered as the line between monster and person began to blur considerably.
What kind of monster would stuff people into ovens and then burn them?
No, that had to be a person doing that...
Looking away, Mom shook her head as she continued forwards, her squad sticking close to her as she walked through the rubble littered road, her claymore resting on her broad shoulders.
Some of the shoulders whispered to one another or muttered prayers to the worst of the deceased humans, and I approached one of the other terrible scenes, unsure of what to think.
A pit had been dug in one of the market squares, and thrown inside were half eaten corpses, but they all had their eyes gouged out and long, jagged cuts down their torsos, so that whatever did this could access their internal organs.
Adelina stared down at the pit with conflicted eyes, before she looked up towards the wrecked mansion.
Leone frowned hard as she knelt beside the pit, and Adelina and I both looked towards the Vampire as she stared intently at the scene.
"Leone..?"
Scooping up some of the dirt, she inspected the rough grains before letting them fall, shaking her head slightly.
"The traces of mana around the entire area is... suffocating, to say the least. Each grain of dirt seems to have been apart of the domain of whatever did this, but... for the effect of the domain to leave a lasting mark on the world instead of fading away is... worrying. Add on the very odd methods of killing, and... this is all just so..."
She trailed off, shaking her head once more as she glanced at me, those crimson eyes of hers filled with confusion.
"The eyes, for example. Few monsters prefer the eyes to the point that they would ignore the meat of their prey to this extent. I mean, some do it, like the Glass Eyed Bats or Panoptes Giants since it enhances their own magics, but... they\'re few and far in-between. Additionally, from what it looks like from here, most of those corpses are missing their Cores as well; just their Cores, not their hearts. The heart is still present in each."
Adelina crouched down beside Leone, looking into the pit before asking "So? What does that mean?"
Shrugging, the Vampire shook her head as she said "I... I just don\'t know. Nothing in there makes sense. The monsters I listed don\'t go after Cores either, nor would they leave behind a perfectly good heart to feast upon. Most monsters actually prefer the heart the most; it provides the most power to them. Yet, here its left behind! Then there was the oven earlier... no monster does that. So does that mean this was a person? But how? How could a person that strong leave no traces of what they actually are, and have ravaged an entire Kingdom to the point that it\'s no longer a populated place? All on their own? Without anyone knowing who they were? Even Mom couldn\'t do that!"
I frowned, before gesturing towards the mansion.
"I think we should continue forwards then. See what happened to the stronger of the humans here. Maybe they died differently from the common rabble? Besides, more... evidence and examples would likely be found along the way to help get something going."
Leone nodded, getting to her feet as she cast her gaze onto the mansion.
"Yeah... This is odd. The air is so still, the entire city permeated in foreign, malign mana... the ways the people died... Iaso, Liga, you both feel that, correct? How... off the entire place feels compared to a normal battlefield?"
I glanced at the Snakekin and Tigerkin, and they both nodded; Iaso was still constantly scanning her surroundings, while Liga\'s fur was standing straight, her eyes wide as she focused on Leone.
Both seemed to feel something, and I took a moment to glance at the rest of the Legion.
The legionnaires themselves seemed weirded out by the sights and scents, but that was it.
They were creeped, but they still had a handle of themselves.
However, the mages and healers were jumpy, constantly looking around, shivering, and making sure they were always in groups of five or more people, seeking comfort in numbers.
"Those more in tune with their mana are definitely more affected by this than the rest of us."
Leone nodded at my words, her eyes narrowed as she added "It\'s just... something off about everything. It\'s all abnormal, unnatural. I might not have been on normal battlefields all that often, but this... this is different."
Sighing, I shrugged as I gestured towards the mansion once more, beckoning them to follow me as we approached the ruined building that overlooked the city.
Thankfully the suns rays were unobscured, because Gods know that I wouldn\'t want to be here in the dark.
And there is no way in hell I am staying here overnight.