The vilge elder led them toward a modest hall at the ter of the square, its wooden beams ed by age aher. The air inside carried the st of damp earth and old part. A long wooden table stretched across the room, dim nterns flickering overhead.

  Rael and Gale took their seats as the elder settled across from them. A few vilgers lingered he entraheir faces lined with fatigue and something deeper—fear.

  Rael leaned forward, fiapping idly against the wooden surface. "Start from the beginning. I need every detail."

  The elder let out a weary sigh.. "It began three weeks ago. At first, it was only the livestock—goats, chis, even a hone missing. No blood, no sign of struggle. We thought it was bandits. But then—" His voice wavered. "Then it eople."

  A woman clutched her hands together. "We lost our neighbor, Edric, just five nights ago. He left his house to che his fields after dusk… and he never came back."

  Another vilger, a wiry man with a scruffy beard, muttered, "It ain't just the vanishings. It's the sounds."

  "The whispers," Gale said ftly.

  The man nodded. "Aye. They e at night. Soft, like wind through the trees. But it ain't the wind. They call names. Sometimes they call for folk who are already goher times…" His throat bobbed. "Other times, they call for those still here."

  Rael's gaze sharpened. "And those who hear their own names?"

  Silence.

  "They don't st long," the elder admitted finally.

  Rael frowhe pattern was strange—unusual even for demonic activity. Most demoher killed indiscriminately or fed on fear. This was deliberate. Intelligent.

  "If this started three weeks ago," he said, "then why did your request at the Adventurers' Guild only mention livestock?"

  A brief pause.

  The elder lowered his gaze. "ere afraid."

  "Afraid?" Gale scoffed. "Of what? Getting help?"

  "No." The elder's hands tightened into fists. "Of attrag the Order's judgment."

  Rael stayed quiet. That was enough expnation. The Order was effit, but they had no patience for uainty. If they deemed a vilge promised, they wouldn't waste time iigating. They would burn it down and erase any potential threat.

  "We needed help, but we had to be careful. If we were wrong—if it was just a wild beast or a stray sorcerer—we couldn't risk bringing the full weight of the Order upon us."

  Rael leaned back. He uood.

  "This isn't a simple demonifestation," he finally said. "Demons don't usually take their time pig off victims. And the whispering—if it's real—suggests something capable of targeted manipution."

  Gale shot him a look. "You think it's a named entity?"

  "Possibly." Rael gnced back at the vilgers. "But we won't know until we iigate."

  The elder hesitated. "The st pyone vanished was the forest path beyond the eastern fields."

  Rael nodded. "Then that's where we go."

  * * *

  Night had settled over the vilge by the time Rael and Gale stepped out of the hall. A cold wind swept through the empty square, rustling the banners hanging limply from wooden poles. The vilge was eerily silent—no idle chatter, n dogs, no sounds of livestock.

  "They're scared out of their minds," Gale muttered, adjusting the grip on his sword.

  Rael said nothing at first. He had been thinking over the details of the elder's at, matg it against the guild's quest briefing. The discrepancies weren't small—one described routine demonic disturbahe kind that could be handled by a couple of petent adventurers. But the elder's words painted a different picture, one of disappearances, fear, and something lurking in the dark.

  "This isn't just fear," Rael finally said. "It's restraint. They're holding something back."

  Gale exhaled sharply. "Then why even bother requesting help? Doesn't make sense."

  "Maybe they didn't," Rael replied. "Or maybe they thought sending half the truth was enough."

  Gale frowned but didn't argue. If there was ohing they had learned about the world of Ast, it was that NPCs weren't scripted. They had motives, fears, as—just like real people.

  "Either way," Rael tinued, "we're here. We find out what's really happening."

  Their path led them eastward, toward the outskirts of the vilge. The dirt road stretched between patches of farmnd, fnked by crude wooden fences. Most fields were barren, save for a few signs of withered crops—perhaps abandoned wheroubles began.

  The deeper they walked, the heavier the air became. It wasn't just the cold—it was the weight of sileno is, no rustling from noal animals. Just the wind.

  Then, in the distahe first real clue.

  A scarecrow stood at the edge of ay field, arms outstretched, its head tilted at an unnatural aorn fabric fpped limply in the breeze, and something about its posture made Rael uneasy.

  "Look at that," Gale muttered, nodding toward it. "Why the hell does it feel like it's watg us?"

  Rael didn't reply, but the thought had crossed his mind too. He kept walking, but this time, his fingers brushed against his sword's hilt.

  Then they reached the tree line.

  The forest beyond was thick with shadows, trees clustered so tightly together that only slivers of moonlight pierced through the gaps. The vilge elder had mentiohe disappearances happenihe woods—but something was wrong.

  There were no tracks. No signs of a struggle.

  Rael crouched, running his fingers over the dirt. "No footprints. No blood. Nothing."

  Gale sed the area. "So where the hell did they go?"

  Then, a rustling.

  Rael's head snapped up.

  At the forest's edge, just beyond where the light reached, something moved. A slow, deliberate shift in the darkness.

  Not an animal. Not a vilger.

  Something else.

  A presence.

  Gale's hand tightened on his sword. "You seeing this?"

  "Yeah."

  The thing in the dark remaiill. Watg. Waiting.

  Then, without a sound, it vanished deeper into the forest.

  Rael exhaled slowly.

  "Looks like we're going in," he said.

  Gale sighed. "Of course we are."

  * * *

  The moment Rael and Gale crossed into the forest, the air thied. Not in the way of mist or humidity—this was different. It was like stepping into a pce where the world itself had grown heavier, where sound was muffled, and the space between trees stretched unnaturally.

  The dirt beh their boots was soft, but no footprints remained after they stepped forward. The silence deepened. Even the wind had died.

  Gale let out a breath sharply. “I hate this.”

  Rael didn’t answer. He had already drawn his sword, keeping it low but ready. His instincts screamed that something wasn’t right.

  Then—movement.

  Fast.

  From the trees to their right, something lunged. A blur of bd gray, moving with unnatural speed.

  Rael twisted, his sword fshing in the dark. Steel met resistance—a ch, followed by a shrill, gurgling screech. The thing recoiled, nding several feet away.

  It wasn’t human.

  The creature stood on all fours, its body wiry and elongated, skin stretched thin over bohat jutted at wrong angles. Its face was a mockery of a man’s, hollow-eyed and sck-jawed, a long tongue flickering out between jagged teeth.

  Gale didn’t hesitate. He charged, his swniting with a dull crimson glow—a martial spell, Searing Strike. His bde sshed in an arc, carving through the air—

  The creature dodged. Its body twisted unnaturally, bending backward, bones crag as it torted out of the sword’s path.

  “Fast,” Gale growled, pivoting on his foot.

  Rael had already moved. He activated Soulstep, vanishing from his position and reappearing behind the creature in an instant. His sword came down in a ruthless vertical ssh—

  A hit.

  The bde cut through its spine.

  The creature shrieked, its body jerking violently. A burst of bck mist erupted from the wound, sizzling against Rael’s armor. The thing colpsed, spasming, befoing pletely still.

  For a moment, her of them spoke.

  Then—more movement.

  From the trees.

  From the ground.

  From everywhere.

  The shadows stirred, and more figures emerged. Crawling. Slithering. Dozens of them. Their hollow eyes locked onto the two intruders.

  Rael exhaled. “Of course it wouldn’t be just one.”

  Gale tightened his grip on his sword. “Pn?”

  Rael raised his on.

  “Kill them all.”

  Theiced it.

  A scrap of cloth, ging to the creature’s emaciated body. Torn and dirty, but unmistakable.

  It was a vilger’s tunic.

  Rael’s grip tightened. His gaze flickered across the others. Ms. Some still had belts or shoes barely hanging onto their twisted limbs.

  These weren’t just monsters.

  They were people.

  “Wait,” Rael muttered, stepping forward cautiously.

  Gale frowned. “Wait? Are you seeing the same things I am?”

  Rael ignored him, fog on the creature closest to him. Its mouth twitched, lips peeling back to expose jagged teeth, but its milky eyes—there was something there. Something trapped.

  Something human.

  His mind moved fast. The quest had said demonic activity. Had the vilgers been taken? No—worse. They had been turned.

  Gale’s bde was still alight with Searing Strike, his posture teo attack. “Rael, what the hell are you—”

  “They’re the vilgers,” Rael cut in. His voice was low, trolled. “Look at their clothes.”

  Gale hesitated for a fra of a sed. Then he cursed. “Shit.”

  The creatures didn't charge recklessly like mindless beasts. They closed in with precise, measured steps—movements that felt wrong, like broken marioes being forced into battle stahey shouldn't have known. Their hollow eyes held no hatred, no anger—only a terrible, empty hunger.

  Ahe way they fnked him and Gale wasn't random.

  It was deliberate.

  Rael tightened his grip around his sword. Something's trolling them.

  The thought barely settled before the first creature lunged.

  A blur of twisted limbs and snapping jaws—Rael flicked his wrist, activating Soulstep. His body blurred, leaving an afterimage in his wake as he reappeared three meters away. The creature's cws tore through empty space, its head twisting unnaturally to track him.

  It was fast. But not fast enough.

  Rael's sword was already in motion.

  Ruinous Strike.

  A , diagonal ssh. The bde cut through the thing's torso, bck mist erupting from the wound. But instead of a cry of pain, there was only a wet gurgle as the body vulsed, then colpsed in on itself like a puppet with its strings cut.

  Rael barely had time to process it before three more surged forward.

  Gale met them head-on.

  "Impact Break!"

  A stomp. A swing. The sheer force of the impact sent one of the creatures flying backward, its body smming against a tree with a siing ch. Another lu him, and Gale pivoted mid-motion, smming his shoulder into it before driving his sword through its chest.

  For a brief moment, the two of them stood amidst a field of motionless corpses.

  Rael steadied himself. Too easy.

  And that's wheiced it.

  The bodies weren't bleeding.

  There was no blood. No signs of real wounds, despite their broken forms. Instead, something else leaked from them—thin trails of bck mist, curling into the air like dying embers.

  It didn't disperse.

  It sank—slipping into the dirt, poolih their feet.

  Rael's muscles tensed. "Gale, step back."

  Gale frowned but moved without question.

  And then—

  A pulse.

  The air trembled. The ground vibrated with something sickly, unnatural.

  Then the corpses twitched.

  Bones cracked a. Limbs twisted bato pce.

  They were rising.

  Gale swore. "Oh, e on."

  Rael's mind was already w. No normal monster does this. This isn't a simple corruption. If they had been ordinary creatures tainted by dark magic, they would have stayed dead.

  But this wasn't just corruption.

  This ossession.

  "We o find the source," he said, his voice calm despite the situation. "Whatever's trolling them, it's nearby."

  Gale exhaled sharply. "Right. A me guess—we're not running?"

  "No." Rael's eyes flickered with cold precision. "We cut through."

  He moved before the creatures fully regaiheir footing.

  This time, he didn't hold back.

  Ruinous Strike.

  The energy in his bde fred brighter, and the force of his ssh shattered through three creatures in a siroke. The bck mist within them screamed—this time, the mist didn't sink into the ground. It evaporated.

  Rael's eyes narrowed. Stronger abilities e the possession pletely.

  He adjusted his approastantly. No more half-measures. If they were going to break through, every strike o be decisive.

  Gale caught on quickly.

  His attack wasn't just a simple sword swing—it was a full-powered ability. "Thunderous Cleave!" His bde crackled with energy as it tore through the creatures, their bodies seizing before disiing into mist.

  The creatures hesitated.

  For the first time, they wavered.

  Rael didn't let them regroup.

  He and Gale pushed forward—toward the vilge, toward the source of this corruption.

  Something was waiting for them.

  And it wasn't going to let them leave alive.

  The battle had ended, but the air remained heavy. The st remnants of bck mist curled into the wind before vanishing. The silehat followed wasn't f—it was watchful.

  Gale exhaled, resting his sword on his shoulder. "Well, that was fun. Guessing this wasn't in the quest description?"

  Rael didn't answer immediately. His gaze swept over the area, noting the scattered remains of the creatures they had cut down. Some of them still had scraps of clothing ging to their forms—tattered, but distinct.

  Gale noticed too. His expression darkened. "These were vilgers."

  Rael's grip tightened slightly. "Not just vilgers." His mind worked through the implications. The quest they had accepted described demonic activity nearby, not missing people. Ahese creatures had clearly been human once.

  Did the guild not know? Or did someoer the quest details?

  A sound broke his thoughts—the ch of footsteps.

  Both he and Gale turned sharply.

  The old man from earlier—the vilge elder—approached cautiously, his hands raised slightly in what was meant to be a peaceful gesture. But there was something off about his expression. Not fear. Not relief.

  Something else.

  Rael didn’t lower his sword. "You knew something was wrong."

  The old maated. "Blessed one?"

  "The disappearances," Rael tinued. "You khey weren’t just acts. That something worse was happening."

  A flicker of something passed through the man's weathered features. "We did not wish to burden outsiders with our tragedy."

  "Then what did you wish to do?" Gale's voice was sharp. "Wait and hope they'd e back?"

  The elder didn't answer. Instead, he sighed deeply, shoulders sagging. "e," he said. "There are things you must see."

  Rael exged a gh Gale before following.

  * * *

  The vilge was eerily quiet. Despite the earlier fear, no oopped them. The vilgers still hid behind doors and windows, their gazes like shadows creeping along the edges of Rael's vision.

  The vilge elderled them to a small shri the vilge's ter—a modest storucture, old but well-kept. He stopped before its entrance, pg a hand on the weathered surface.

  "This pce," the elder murmured, "was once a pce of worship."

  Rael frowned. "Once?"

  The old man's hand curled into a fist. "We were abandoned."

  The words carried weight.

  Rael stayed silent, waiting.

  The elder drew in a slow breath. "Years ago, we were devout followers of the Order. We paid tithes, followed the scriptures. A, when hardship came—when our vilge was on the brink—they did nothing." His voice hardened. "No priests came. No knights rode to our aid. Only silence."

  His gaze drifted toward the altar. "But something else listened."

  Gale shifted uneasily. "And this 'other'… what exactly did it ask for?"

  The elder hesitated. Then, with quiet resolve, he stepped aside. "See for yourselves."

  Rael and Gale stepped into the shrine.

  The stone walls were lined with faded carvings—once depig the Order's symbol, now defaced. Deep, jagged markings ran through them, altering their shapes into something unreizable.

  At the shrine’s ter y an altar.

  And on it, something pulsed.

  A dark crystal, ner than a man's fist, embedded in sto seemed to drink the light around it, an abyssal core surrounded by faint whispers.

  Gale muttered a curse. "That's definitely not Order-approved."

  Rael studied the crystal, mind rag. This wasn't ordinary demonic corruption. If the vilgers had been transformed, then the source had to be more than just ambient energy.

  This was an active force.

  His gaze shifted back to the elder. "This power..." he gestured to the altar, "you knew what it was, didn't you?"

  The old man swallowed, his expression heavy with something more tha.

  "I knew," he admitted. "But what choice did I have?" His voice wavered, but there was no plea for fiveness. "My only son—my pride—was branded a heretic for a mistake, a mere misstep in their eyes. I pleaded, I begged, but the Order showed no mercy. They left me with nothing but sorrow and a burning need for retribution."

  His toled into something steadier. "So I sought power in the only pce that would listen."

  Rael exhaled slowly, his grip tightening on his sword. "And what did you expect?" His voice was unreadable. "That this would bring him back? That it would ge anything?"

  The elder didn’t answer immediately. His shoulders sagged, as if the weight of it all had finally settled in.

  "I told myself it would," he said at st. "That if I was strong enough, if I gave enough, I could fix what they had taken from me." A bitter chuckle escaped him. "But in the end, all I did was trade one kind of damnation for another."

  His eyes lifted, hollow but resolute. "And now, I will share in it."

  Before Rael ale could press further, a sudden disturbance shattered the heavy silehe air around the altar rippled, as if a tear had opened iy itself. A ghostly light seeped through the fissure—a swirling portal, dark and pulsating with malevolent energy.

  Out of that flickering vortex, a skeletal hand, ed in shadow, shot forward. It clutched at the elder's wrist with a vice-like grip.

  The elder didn’t resist.

  Rael saw it in his eyes—not terror, not disbelief, but resignation. A man who had long since decided how his story would end.

  Gale cursed under his breath, but the elder only turo them o time. His expression, though filled with regret, held something else as well. Perhaps relief.

  "Wait!" Rael shouted, lunging forward, but it was too te.

  The elder ulled into the abyss without struggle. No screams, no fight. The gateway snapped shut behind him as quickly as it had opened, leaving nothing but an echo in the empty shrine.

  Gale’s voice was low and dangerous. "What in the—?"