CHAPTER 29: THE WHITE PLAGUE (1)

Whether Aerith had truly become the devil or not, right before their very eyes there was no more Aerith just the aberration that resembled an entity that should not have existed.

The tall grass danced like reeds in a storm. Emilia and Nasha watched, breath frozen, as the thing that had been Aerith became impossibility made flesh.

For a moment they dared to hoped it would stand still or perhaps crawl back to to whatever hell had spat it out but it did something much much worse. It ruined the silence in the most heinous way possible. The thing unhinged its jaw like a trapdoor breaking free, stretching the skin where a mouth ought to be. It’s tendons gave way to force. A scream began somewhere inside the thing, then everything else began to scream too.

The sound of skin tearing soon filled the air, and blood welled and ran down it’s chin in slow ribbons. Strangely enough the blood had a strange colour that seemed very impossible to believe. It was not red as a human’s blood should have been, neither was it black as one would expect a demon’s blood to be but it was silver.

The sight was a gruesome one to behold, a dark entity impaled with billions of white needles tearing its own mouth open. And viscous silver blood flowing down to its side, in a way it made the entity look like it was in pain or suffering.

Seeing it made both their stomachs feel very unsettled, yet for some reason they felt they could not just look away.

The needles along its face chimed faintly as the mouth tore open, a black tunnel lined with a hundred rows of teeth appeared there. It threw its head back and the sound it let loose was a blade to the world: a single, rising note that bent the air, hammered the grass flat, and made every sound in the forest shrink away.

The air rippled visibly showing the wavelength of the cruel shriek swimming in waves and traveling. Spreading out like scars in the wind.

People dropped to their knees. Hands flew to ears. The cry stretched, a single second becoming a minute, a minute a small, living eternity. When it finally snapped off, the silence afterward was worse, they held a breath that everyone knew they would not be allowed to keep.

The black entity impaled by needle started to breath heavily as it peered at the distance, or seemed to. Something strange started to happen shortly afterwards, the ground beneath it started to turn gray like it had been with the rock monster and the tall blades of green grass slowly lost their nature shine. And dried out, the strange drought continued to spread.

"Stop it!" Emilia screamed out in fear as she watched the ground rotting her way, she prayed her friend would hear her. But a question played in her mind, could that thing really he considered her friend anymore?

The black entity turned and looked in their direction, making her and Nasha feel uncomfortable. Their heart strings snapped and their faces darkened by what the had to witness staring right back at them, with needles where his eyes should have been. They could not tell if it was staring at them or if their friend was somewhere inside.

Slowly it turned it’s body and started to walk towards them, it’s form shifting not like how a human should. It moved slow and meticulous like a predator should, on its face was a wide grin, and silver blood still dripping from its maw. Words came out of it without it’s mouth moving and it sounded very much like steel being scraped on a rough, hard surface. It was very distorted and unsettling.

"Feed the hunger, become a predator no one can predict." It’s claws extended slightly, showing the intention that it did not want to be friendly and most certainly was not going to give them a hug.

There was a rustling growing louder, and soon a young man stepped out in between the young ladies and the black entity.

The young man did not look the least bit remarkable but he had a huge spiked battle mace in his hand. And perhaps that boosted his confidence, or maybe stupidity was his driving force. Emilia wanted to send him off but she was too terrified to even speak.

"You two, run! I’ll fight it off." The young man’s body shook violently, his body was covered in blood, a testament to the fact that he had killed at least a few people in the first trial. "What even is that?"

Emilia screamed at the young man, "Don’t fight him, are you that desperate to die?"

The young man scoffed at her and broadened his shoulders. "This arms have fought countless battles and has never lost a single one, a demon such as this will be sure to display my strength."

He took a step forward and charged with righteous enthusiasm, it was then that Emilia was sure that stupidity was his driving force. Because the result not only turned out the way she expected it even played out worse.

The young man did react the entity and swung his spiked mace again it. Surprisingly his movements were not sloppy and he swung his weapon like it was a simple stick he played around with a lot. The mace did connect on the head of the entity smashing it with astonishing force. But the needles drilled little holes in it.

The entity smiled as it ripped of the arm the young man had used to swing the weapon at it with surprisingly little to no effort. It simple tore it out like cardboard.

The man screamed at the top of his voice and foamed in his mouth. His body jerked violently and his skin started to turn snow white, his hair started to fall off but by but and his skin started to dehydrate till his bones were visible.

He looked like he had been touched by an unexplainable disease. The young man that had tried to play the hero simply fell to the ground and went limp. Seeing this Emilia was forced to look away but the stone cold Nasha, gagged and emptied her insides on the ground.

The entity giggled like a thousand bad instruments played at once, it gave the ears of anyone who heard it instant trauma.

As if it had not done enough to show how brutal it could be it spoke, in the same disfigured voice as before. "How foolish, to think you could face me as an insect. The white plague has returned."

Amidst it’s cackling it noticed another figure standing up to it, a little girl with purple hair and smiled. "He cares about you, I’ll kill you next."

Emilia balled her hands into fists and said in a loud commanding tone. "I’ll tear him right out of you if don’t give him back."

The entity faced her direction and said. "I am the plague to now end, the tower’s devourer. To which everything falls."

Emilia hissed at the entity and said. "I have no idea what you just said but I’ll be taking back what’s mine."

The entity seemed pleased. "Dear Em, that’s what he calls you. I am going to enjoy feasting on you lifeforce."

She steeled her resolve and lunged forward with the intent to end it, and the entity leapt forward to meet her with a distorted smile on its face. Meanwhile high in the sky another battle was brewing.