Find any info, if you're lucky track their headquarters or something. This is not a mission I usually do at school, stealing some Dutch documents. At least I know some basics but in case I have to catch someone, I might stand no chance. Come on Airlangga, thing is impossible. We went to a weeping fig forest, near the palace. It's the place where the intel picked up a strange cultist activity. Even Hinduists wouldn't dare say that it's some rituals told in their teachings. Herjuna told me that the plague is not contagious at all, he speculated that people actually 'consent' to some extent... like a price to something.

  "The intel is true..." Herjuna said while he got down from his horse.

  A huge weeping fig tree caught our attention. A ritual was held here. The thing is it looks foreign for both of us. Silver candelabras, the blood of a creature, and a goat skeleton. If it was some rituals done by the royal servants it would be tri-coloured flowers, some incense, and even some food as offerings. Eerie, that's the general view of a weeping fig. Locals believe that this tree is home to many spirits, bad or good. The strange thing is that I do not see any spirits in this forest, it should be bustling but why is it so quiet?

  "You know the basics, blood sacrificial means dark magic. Foreign or local, all kinds of sacrificial ritual without Royal supervision is considered illegal"

  "This is more like European paganism..." I said to him.

  "Notice anything?"

  "Too quiet, not even spirits. What do you think?"

  "Clearly... there is a manifestation here. The ground zero is 20 minutes away from this place so I'm not surprised"

  That might explain the eerie-ness despite being a very 'clean' place. We venture deeper into the forest, trying to find any other lead or signs indicating cult activity. Split seconds later we heard some kind of splashing, as if something wet or a large body of water was around us. Mind that this place is hours away from the sea by horse. Weeping fig does not grow on salt water and on top of that, there is no lake nearby.

  "Boy, would you look at that..." Banaspati spotted a rotting corpse down a huge tree, with black necrosis on the limbs. The corpse's face is still somewhat 'fresh', it's probably about 2-3 days since his death time.

  "His decay shouldn't be that fast," I said

  "Funny considering that the first organ to decompose after death is the genital," Herjuna continued while examining the decay.

  Around the corpse are the same ritual ornaments and relics,

  "Doesn't that mean the first site is reserved for a new sacrifice?"

  "Bingo"

  The air grew humid all of a sudden as if somehow the whole forest was soaked in water. Herjuna noticed what was wrong with this place, the presence that suddenly grew stronger as time passed. The man took off his belt and his close-range weapon. He wrapped the sharp steel with the belt before holding it in the opposite way of normal common sense. We gazed upon each other, knowing that this thing was abnormal yet something told me that even Herjuna did not know such an event could happen.

  "Try to not get wounded," he said to me while looking for other anomalies.

  "Shall we split up?"

  "Stay close. The last thing I want is you being another sacrifice for the Kraken"

  We ventured deeper, the sunlight was dimmer than before as the forest grew thicker. These sacrifices were getting more often and I wondered why the Palace hadn't put any restrictions or barriers in this place. Not to mention that the first site was not that far into the entrance. I know that there isn't much knowledge about this manifestation but-

  "Hear that?" the man stopped for a split second after hearing a cry.

  "Should we check it out? If anything I don't think it's a wandering spirit... they wouldn't touch invaded areas like this," I asked him, concerned.

  "In and out"

  "Affirmative"

  The cries get loud as the distance close. No difficulties in searching the source whatsoever. The voices came from a young lady, with long hair and improper yet dirty clothing. Her limbs experienced necrosis just like the previous victims. What's more gut-wrenching is that her hands are nailed down to the tree.

  "STAY AWAY! PLEASE... I DON'T WANNA DIE..." she cried out.

  I rushed to her as she still showed signs of consciousness, Herjuna followed as he might be the main reason for the woman's hysterical response.

  "Miss, everything is going to be fine. We will get you out of here..." I checked her vitals. The man behind used his bare hand to pull out the nails that impaled her hands into the tree. Just how strong is this guy could be? Even with a hammer, you still need somewhat strength to pull a nail out. On top of that, didn't I unconsciously hurt his right arm? This man is an ABSOLUTE unit.

  The woman looks stable, no open wounds were visible and only the necrosis on her limbs is the only visible concern for now. I carried her on my shoulder. As I'm ready to walk back, Herjuna's gaze is so fixed on something. Another tree, I could feel some immense power coming from it. I finally joined him in observing the suspicious tree. A cracking noise came from that exact place and somehow a crack appeared in the middle split of it.

  "Do not look back... just run..." the older man said.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  The crack profusely spreads upwards and downwards. Black water seeps out from the bark along with black smoke that slowly fo

  "RUN!!"

  Whatever it is Herjuna sounded very serious about running away from this wicked place. With the woman on my shoulder, I sprinted as fast as I could. No, she's not heavy at all, she's as light as a feather and it's certainly not a huge trouble for me to carry her into safety. After all, my job is to make sure that civilians are free from threats and danger. Fuck it stop being cringe! Just move your damn legs! It's kind of stressful when suddenly your steps are making splashing noises while somehow the humidity makes it harder to breathe. I could see the end of the forest, so close yet so far away from reach. Could this be an illusion created by the Kraken? The ground began to shake, I did not dare to look past my back and it was probably for the greater good. The distance might be lying but my legs would never lie, they're screaming in pain begging for me to stop. But if I give up, not only me but this woman will also die.

  Survive..

  Survive...

  Survive!!!!!

  A ray of sunlight blinds my eyes. Have we managed to escape? I hope so. I tried to open my eyes despite the blinding light the sun emitted. The bustling main road and some people staring in our direction. They make whispers regarding us and the woman on my shoulder, probably a bad one. Herjuna whistled, calling the horses, and shortly after two black horses approached.

  "I'll take her to the University," Herjuna said while hopping onto his horse.

  "Not the sanctuary?"

  "As weak as she is, I don't trust her. That was too fucking close"

  "I trust your judgement," I helped the woman to sit on the horse, in front of the grumpy old man.

  "Like I said, you can join me tonight if you have nothing to do. It's good to have a backup anyway"

  "So you now believe that I'm not stupid?"

  "Sort of. Meet me and Taksaka at the Bathhouse at 10 pm if you agree to join. I'll let the Lieutenant grant you a bonus"

  He left,

  My legs are killing me. I hope they won't be ultra sore in the next morning, I need them to go home. I need to return the horse to the stable first. Man, if only Father agrees on me having my own horse. But for now, all I have is the old bicycle he used to ride for school and stuff. I mean I get it it's a Dutch built but I know for sure we're not poor and why am I thinking like a spoiled brat?

  It doesn't matter. I gazed towards the forest for one last time before returning to the palace. Everything looks as if nothing ever happened inside the forest. That was indeed way too close, who knows what would happen if we get 'devoured'. I didn't get the chance to see its actual form, in the flesh, but I guess ignorance is bliss. Eventually, I will get to see a real Kraken with my eyes. The horse nudged me on the shoulder, I gave him a pat before jumping onto the saddle. Return to normal state might be the best choice for now, to cover up our activities especially when it's very close to a Dutch fortress. I rushed back to the palace, in order to make a report to the Lieutenant. The horse walked herself through the main road as if she knew her way home

  I have a hunch that Herjuna's hypothesis on this plague might be correct. People have been suffering, they would do everything even anything to have a mortal possession and power in this colonized ecosystem. The cult leader is most likely connected to this invasion. I mean I don't think people are that illiterate nowadays, even Father did a census back then, how are they somehow accepting a rumour without any salt or doubt? I guess people would do anything when they're in a pickle.

  If Sasmita were here, it would probably be easier. She hasn't been in touch for a few days. Did Father finally let her go for good?

  The post office is busy as usual, post bicycles and even horses are parked almost next to each other. Letters, packages, telegrams, small animals, all sorts of things you could ever think of. The horse galloped past the Central Post Office to the main town square where the democracy took place. Some people would come here for a peaceful protest in front of the Palace's main entrance. The peak of the crowd is during public executions for sure, but even public shaming has its own charm within society. At some point, bullying is needed to rewake criminals' moral sense, diamonds are made from black dust getting tons of pressure after all. Past the square and the main gate is the garage for the carriages, alongside the horse stable. I slowed down and two stable boys approached me.

  "Did she trouble you?" One of them asked.

  "No, not at all. Just a very clever girl," I answered while getting off from the saddle.

  "Weird... this girl always makes a fuss with other horses so we have to put her in a separate cage"

  "Why did you... put her on duty then?" The curiosity got the best of me.

  "Eh, sometimes just to annoy soldiers. They can't differentiate horses at first sight anyway, only stable boys can do such a thing"

  That pretty much explains. Lowkey evil, however.

  "Don't you think it's a little bit dangerous? I'll report you to your supe-"

  "The second reason is we're looking for someone who can finally handle her strong attitude. We're going to assign her to whoever she... 'picks', and it looks like she likes you, so we're gonna assign here to you from now on"

  "Do you consider yourself as one of those womanator, sir?"

  "You guys know this kind of flattery does not work on me right?"

  "FINE! REPORT IT!! What are they going to do anyway? Fire us?? This place is always underemployment and we are always underpaid just like every other Royal Servant. If we don't find a suitable rider they'll put a bullet on her head!! It's not about us being emotional but we poured so much time onto her so you better start putting some respect on child labour because we're pretty much orphans adopted by- AHHHH!!!" before finishing his protest, a man came up to one of the kid and started pulling his ears out. Not long after, another stable man took care of the horse I borrowed.

  The stable master smiled at me and led the boys to do something else aside from protesting at me. But somehow whatever he's saying is correct, It takes me back to Herjuna's statement on rumours and things happening around the lower society. I don't think people are that stupid, they're just under pressure and Dutch colonialism isn't helping the economy because they monopolize everything. I should go home, and read something. I walked to my bicycle which was parked close to the stable entrance. I cycled past the stable, away from the palace, the square, and finally away from the post office. Today was okay, close, but in the end nobody died. I need to think about Herjuna's offer on today's mission. On the other hand, I would like to tag along, since I'm a new member of the squad and certainly, I haven't yet seen everyone else.

  I'll go. I don't know, I feel like I have to. Maybe the nightmare will finally end if I find out my purpose tonight. Expectations are high but at least-

  BANG! BANG!

  Two shots of a gun can be heard miles away. Pain began to strike my chest as my white shirt turned red in a matter of seconds. Have I been shot by someone?? I looked around, the people, the trees, and things around me froze in time as if a greater power had come to directly intervene in whatever bad omen wanted me to die. Or is it just me having the last flashback of my life, whatever it is...

  I slowly fell to the ground as I lost control of my own body. I feel myself floating away, pretty sure that this is the end of my journey. However, something is holding me back, like an anchor to a reef. They say that's how it feels like when your duty in this world is left unfinished. I... I'll just accept whatever fate is dictating me at this point. Blood gushes out from my chest, yet everything and everyone else is frozen in time leaving me invisible to normal eyes. I just wish... that this one is one last sleep before the world

  "The Son must pay the price of his sins"

  I don't know...

  Haven't I done enough to be labelled as good?

  God...

  I am not your strongest knight, but by your will, let me be the one who brings justice to those who dare to step their feet on the weak.