After consoling the kid until no more tears left his body, Astaroth promised him he would handle the village as long as he handled the portal. Silent Light had weakly nodded, no longer motivated to do his task.
But it still needed to be done.
"Alright. When we get near the center of the village, I will run forward. I will clear the path for you, and you get to the portal. It looks like it's underground, so I'm guessing at the bottom of their well. Just jump down, it's not too deep. Can you do that?"
Silent looked at Astaroth, his eyes still puffy, and nodded meekly. The latter didn't like seeing him like this.
'I guess I should tell Morticia to talk with him when he logs out. Good thing his sister is a shrink.'
The teenager and the man both left the small hill they had been on and walked cautiously toward the deserted village outskirts. As soon as they walked into the thick miasma, Astaroth could feel they were being observed.
This was strange, as it was the first time he felt like this while inside some miasma.
'It's like it has a mind of its own and is wary of us…'
Raising his hand, he signalled Silent to slow down even more. Their pace slowed to a crawl, as Astaroth looked inside every open door, every alley, and every window, trying to see from where they were being observed.
It was all for naught, as he found nothing. But it at least reassured him about a possible ambush.
As they stepped closer and closer to the village center, Astaroth finally gave the signal to Silent to stop and wait. He looked into the town square, and there he saw it.
The population of villagers, all amassed around a small stone well. They were all facing the well, rocking from left to right, like some mindless zombies.
It brought a pang of sadness to Astaroth's heart, to see his fellow race members looking like this. It especially hurt him to know he couldn't do anything to help them.
The bodies of every Ash Elf present showed clear signs of starvation, bones apparent through the skin, as well as signs of dehydration.
Even if he cured them of the corruption, they would assuredly drop dead on the spot, or be in critical condition.
Even Silent Light looked discomfited at their state. In the few trainings he received as a priest when he joined the church of Solaris, they taught him a few things about patient states.
And what he was looking at was a far cry from a healthy state. Even he could tell they were already dead, being held up only by the constant manipulation of the corruption miasma.
He felt sad for Astaroth, who was looking at them like they were his kin. The man's compassion touched his heart.
Walking up to Astaroth, he pulled on his sleeve. The Elf turned his head, eyes hurting, and looked at Silent.
"Astaroth. You shouldn't feel bad if you need to kill them. The original inhabitants of these bodies are already dead. Only the miasma seems to be controlling them now."
Smiling sadly, Astaroth nodded his head once.
"I know. But I feel like this is my fault. If I had come sooner, they might still be saveable. Now, all that's left is bodies kept alive by demonic mana."
It was comical how their situations had flipped, and now Astaroth looked down, rather than Silent Light. But instead of consoling him, Silent offered respite.
"You said you had a way to purge the corruption of their bodies earlier when we talked. Could you do it on all of them?"
"I could. But I fear it would be useless now."
"Do it. I will try to ease their passage into the afterlife. And for those who are still holding on to life, I will make sure they feel nothing as they take their ultimate step."
Astaroth wasn't sure what Silent could do in this situation, but he trusted him.
"Thank you."
Closing his eyes, he focused on gathering mana from himself and changing it into Aether, as he pushed his senses outward. Making sure he was in range to hit every corrupted villager, Astaroth whispered his incantation.
"Ignite; Flaming Cleanse."
A pulse of Aether left his body, rushing outward as it burned the demonic essence around him, burning away even the lingering miasma. When it washed over the villagers, a deluge of pained screams echoed, making Astaroth wince.
But it was too late. The spell had taken effect.
Every villager shook as their bodies writhed in agony from the demonic miasma burning inside them, before collapsing to the ground, as a cloud of pure black smoke rose over the well.
Silent Light already had his hands clasped in a praying fashion, as he murmured to himself, offering up the souls of the villagers to Solaris, god of the sun, asking him to grant them peace and eternal rest with their loved ones.
He could already feel his prayers answered, as he saw shimmers of divine essence escape from the villagers as they dropped to the ground, their faces suddenly at peace. Astaroth was grateful for it, but his mind was already focused on the black cloud forming over the village.
'This one is much larger than the first time. I have a bad feeling about this.'
I took some time before the last villager stopped writhing in pain and the smoke stopped rising from their body. But once it did, a heavy presence descended upon the two players.
"Mortals! You dare take away from me my new servants?! Who are you, to take what is mine?!"
The high-pitched voice came from above them amidst the cloud of black smoke, sounding almost childish.
Astaroth's eyes were squinted as he already sensed the mana inside the cloud condensing. It wasn't like last time.
This time, the demonic essence in this cloud was thicker and seemed to contain something else. As it swirled and shrunk, it took the form of a child-like humanoid, looking no older than ten years of age.
But the two long black horns on its head were more than enough to convince both players that this was no ordinary child. And if that hadn't been enough, the heavy pressure and demonic aura around it were the cherry on top of this very dangerous cake.
When Astaroth tried scanning him, that was when he knew things were serious.
*Miasma Manifestation Demon*
Level: ???
Grade: ???
HP: ???
MP: ???
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