Chapter 149 – Imposter
Milla rushed out of the cover of the forest followed by Mark and the rest of the ex-adventurers team. As she approached the building she threw her hands forward murmuring some words and a white circle with intricate patterns appeared in front of her palm before moving away toward the kirk. A moment later the circle stopped, seeming to hit some invisible wall just outside the Kirk's garden producing a sound of shattered glass with many echoes at the impact. Then the magic circle broke apart and disappeared with mana particles scattering in all directions.
But that did not stop the angry mage woman. With another hand gesture, a larger circle appeared at her hands and this one slammed at the now barely visible barrier that showed itself as the small cracks from the hit of the first circle spread through it.
The second circle produced not just a crack but a tremble in the air and unlike the first circle, it did not disappear immediately. Milla poured her mana into it, strengthening it and the magic circle seemed to challenge the kirk's barrier pushing at it with its magic force and in the middle of the large circle a large crack appeared that led through the faintly visible barrier into the kirk's garden.
Just as a crack in the barrier appeared Mark flashed through it getting to the inner perimeter of the barrier and immediately slashed his sword seemingly aiming at nothing.
The barrier was easy to break if you could spot an energy concentration spot and destroy it. Mark lived here for years and knew this place in and out, so he didn't need to search for it. The problem was that the barrier would attack you once you penetrate it so once he slashed at a concentration spot with a beam of energy he covered himself with a shield.
Just the moment after he hid behind the shield bolts of thunder started to fall from the clear sky above the kirk hitting his shield in quick succession, making it go red from heat almost instantly. However, after just a few seconds bolts of thunder ceased to strike.
Mark immediately threw away the shield making it fall on the ground with a hiss, burning to ashes the grass around it. He gazed at his hand and the burnt armor piece covering it with traces of pain on his face, before standing up and moving toward the kirk with the sword in hand as his team joined him from behind passing through the disappearing barrier that started to disintegrate as soon as Mark's energy beam slashed through one of the small obelisks standing in the garden, separating it into two pieces right in the middle. The trick of every barrier was to mask the concentration point or protect it so that it would not be easily broken. This obelisk was one of the crucial parts of the barrier system that made the magic break apart as soon as it was damaged.
"Wow." Said Noah gazing at how seemingly effortlessly the ex-adventurer's team trashed the barrier.
"Don't be surprised. It's no doubt they know this barrier's weak spot, plus it never counterattacked when they attacked it, because it is set to counter monsters and evil beings and not humans. Had it been your girlfriend here attacking it, she would have got herself a bolt even before she got near it." Said Kate.
"That might have stung a bit." Said Brianna smiling at Kate in return, seeming unimpressed by the barrier's force.
"Alright, let's go." Said Samantha standing up from her crouching position.
"Hold on." Whispered Noah grabbing her hand to stop her.
*****
As the ex-adventurers entered the kirk through the main door, a bishop with a worried face ran out of the inner rooms looking around and staring at them with surprise.
"Mark? Milla? What brought you here at such a time? Why did you destroy the barrier? The church…"
"Where are the kids?" Said Milla, interrupting the bishop's words.
"Kids? They are training inside. Why? What is going on?" Asked back bishop.
"I want to see them." Said Milla moving forward.
"Wait! Before that, explain to me what in God's name is going on. What possessed you to attack the church's building in such a manner in the middle of the night?" Said, Father Benedict.
"Who's carriage is it outside?" Asked Mark moving through the room with his sword still on the ready, gazing around the walls and ceiling trying to spot the slightest presence.
"Who's? Some noble passed by, they took my carriage as theirs was broken and went on on their road."
"You did not let them in?"
"No, they just passed by, they were in a hurry."
"Did they try to get in? Did they leave someone here?" Asked Mark gazing at the bishop with squinted eyes.
"No, no, Mark, they just took my cart and were on their way immediately. Did you come here because of them?" Said, Father Benedict.
"Grandma?" Said a child's voice interrupting their discussion as a kid came out of the same room that the father Benedict stood in front of.
One after another kids of different ages left the room standing behind the bishop with only one small girl coming forward smiling at Milla.
"Grandma? Why are you here?" A young girl asked.
"Oh, hey dear. Grandma missed you!" Said Milla excitedly. "Happy pumpkin, come here, let gramma hug you." Said Milla spreading her hands but not moving from the spot.
Mark turned to look at his teammates behind him and saw one of them slightly scratch his nose. Mark blinked at him once and then turned back to look at Milla.
"Gramma, come here, I'll show you my sleeping spot." Said the girl beckoning her grandma to come after her.
Milla straightened her back and her hands hung down as if she was relieved, but her face went grim.
"Kids are fine, as you can see, Milla. Why don't you come inside and take a look around yourself, but please put away these weapons, you are scaring the kids." Said father Benedict stretching his hands beckoning them to come inside.
"I would have believed you if only this place did not reek of death so much, Benedict." Said Mark.
"And my Emily knows what to do if I call her Happy pumpkin. Whoever this girl is, she is not my granddaughter." Said Milla.
At these words, Father Benedict's hands lowered down.
"I see. Guess high-level adventurer's senses are too good to miss the smell of blood in the closed-off space, even after I forcefully ventilated it with magic." Answered father Benedict changing in face, his expression taking a grim and sinister shade. "Well too bad. I did not wish to dirty my hands."
"What is going on Benedict?" Asked Mark with a serious face pointing his sword in the father's direction. "Are the vampires inside? Are they taking kids as hostages? Are the kids under hypnosis?"
*Huuu. Sighed heavily, Father Benedict.
"You know this is unfortunate, you all did not have to die. If only that idiot followed instructions. Oh well. Kill them, Benedict." Said bishop and turned back to walk away.
As he started to walk away the group of kids started to change in appearance as if an illusion shattered around them turning them to adults that had white eyes and emotionless faces. All of these people were dressed in clerics' battle armor.
Mark looked at these newly appearing adults and his face changed to horror as he recognized one of them "What the hell! Is that father Aravi that retired? Why is he here? What is going on, Benedict?!" Screamed Mark at the bishop.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Said father Benedict, stopping for a moment and turning his head to look at the adventurers. "You already know Father Aravi. To tell you the truth, his retirement was a lie. He was just in my way. Also, say hello to real father Benedict. He was the unlucky guy that was sent to work here when Aravi was gone." Said the bishop with a grin pointing at another cleric. "Too bad for him, I wanted that spot more." He added in a sinister voice.
"Real father Benedict? Who the fuck are you then?" Asked Mark in shock, but never received an answer as the imposter bishop walked out of the room leaving the team of strange people with white pupils to face the group of adventurers.
"Enough chit-chat. We get to the kids then decide what to do with their corpses." Said Milla, not wanting to talk anymore. She raised her magic wand and pointed at the people blocking her way. But a moment later her eyes grew wide.
"What the hell?" She asked with a shocked face looking at her own wand that did not produce any magic.
A moment later all the strange empty-eyed clerics raised their hands and white light shone in the room.
*****
"Shit, something keeps blocking me from seeing the inside of the building." Said Noah
"The barrier is definitely down." Said Kate.
"So there should be something else inside the building." Said Brianna thoughtfully. "Something that even those adventurers don't know.
"They are going into a trap." Said Samantha.
"Ok, let's figure out what is blocking you and…" Started to say, Kate.
"There is another problem." Said, Noah, interrupting her.
"Huh? What problem?" Asked Samantha.
"Villagers. They are coming here." Said Noah turning back to look into the forest.
"What villagers?" Asked the girls, surprised "From where?".
"All of them. All people living in the nearby villages are coming here in a uniform way from all sides. Men, women, children. They all come here as if possessed."
"Holy shit." Said Samantha. "How many are there?"
"A few hundred people." Said Noah.
"Well, what's the problem? They are just normal people with low levels, right? We can deal with them no problem." Said Brianna with a calm face.
"Deal how? Turn this place into a bloodbath? If you do that, tomorrow the whole country will be on your tail. No one's going to sort out who was wrong and who was right. Royal investigators will send their worst hounds after you. And believe me, there will be no place to hide." Said Kate.
Brianna opened her mouth to answer then closed it, not finding anything to refute it.
"Alright, so we need to stop them without killing anyone, until we figure out how to end whatever spell that is possessing them, right?"
"Did you hear the part where he said there are hundreds of them?" Asked Kate raising an eyebrow.
"Did you hear the part where I am not just a noble lady?" Answered back Brianna as her body started to change. Her figure grew in size and a huge spider abdomen started to appear from behind her, giant spider legs stepping on the ground, lifting her human body up so that her beautiful human legs did not reach the ground anymore.
Silent gulps were heard from the two women gazing at this metamorphosis with wide eyes.
"And, the forest is the best hunting ground for a spider." Finished her words Brianna with an eerie tone that came from the mouth that split apart at her lower jaw, turning to a huge monstrous mow with sharp fangs, sending chills down the two shocked women's backs.
"Alright. Hold them back Bri, but no killing." Said Noah with a calm and unbothered tone.
"No problem, love, but may I borrow a medallion? They may harm themselves if they struggle too much in my threads. Getting Dahlia, Zinnia, and Aster to put them all to sleep would be more reasonable." Said the huge spider with a woman's torso gazing at Noah with her two pairs of eyes.
"Yes. You are right. Let's ask the girls for help. And call a few more spiders if you need them, but use medallion sparingly, please, to preserve my mana. I might need it in a fight." Said Noah, taking out a medallion that they used in the Black Market dungeon and handing it to Brianna. His mates could use it to transfer others thanks to their connection with Noah, but it is his mana that was used to make the transfers.
Samantha looked in amazement and shock at the two of them as they conversed, seeing a totally calm and unbothered expression on Noah's face as he stood in front of one of the most dangerous and notorious of monsters roaming this world, Arachna, also known as Spider Monster Queens. As Samantha watched them in silence Brianna turned her face looking back at her with her four eyes and smiled with her monstrous grin that made cold sweat stream down Samantha's back.