Doggone Academy-Chapter 5: Abduction (2)

It was still too early for the sun to set, and there seemed to be no issues on the wagon road that cut across the grassland.

Nevertheless, the coachman brought the wagon to a halt.

“Beyond this point lies uncharted territory. I’ve heard all too often of coachmen who met their doom trying to cross this frontier. I’ll go no further. Even if you offer me more money, I cannot continue. I may look old and insignificant, but I know the value of my life.”

I gathered my belongings and descended from the wagon.

“That will do. Take care on your way back.”

“Do you intend to continue?”

I nodded.

“I don’t know what pressing matters you have at such a young age, but I’ll pray that the goddess Acates looks after you.”

“Thank you.”

“Beware, the uncharted land ahead is filled with ghouls. Hide yourself at night. Don’t follow the blue lights you may see blindly—it’s the glow from ghouls; they emit light from their backs to lure in people. That’s all I can tell you.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

I gave the coachman a polite nod and headed down the wagon road.

The further I went, the rougher and more overgrown the path became.

I was officially entering the land of savagery.

Every now and then, along the edges of the path, I came across wheel parts from shattered wagons and the decomposed remains of horses as if an explosion had occurred. The rotten flesh was hanging here and there on the wooden planks and wheels.

I held my nose shut because of the swarms of flies and the stench.

Leaving the half-overgrown wagon path, I headed into the dense forest. I needed to find a place to hide before the sun went down.

I moved along the edge where the forest met the grassland. During my traverse, I found an old tree with exposed roots. Digging around the roots just under the trunk, I unearthed a space big enough for a person to fit into. It seemed sufficient to hide my body.

I had a simple dinner nearby. Then I erased any traces of my meal and crawled under the roots. I blocked the entrance with dirt and stayed there for the night.

At dawn, I heard the dull, rambunctious footfalls of some four-legged creatures. It wasn’t just one; it sounded like a dozen of them roaming together. Being below ground allowed me to feel them more distinctly.

The howls of these quadrupeds did not match any wild animal in my memory. It was the most grotesque and shuddering sound I had ever heard.

As dawn broke, I dug my way out and returned to the surface, then had my usual breakfast of dry bread and jerky.

I questioned my own audacity to walk on two legs in a city with warm stews, only to enter an unexplored land roamed by ghouls and corpses.

Perhaps having my belly ripped open before had caused me to lose all sense of fear.

Once again, I headed northwest into the uncharted wilderness where the star had fallen.

***

“Ghouls are, in a way, mysterious beings.”

The children looked shocked at the words of the priest standing at the lectern. They knew what ghouls were. ‘Mysterious? Those ghouls?’ they seemed to think. To the children, the word ‘mysterious’ belonged to a world of dreams and innocent hearts.

“Ghouls were once people. Even those who lived exceedingly ordinary lives become completely different entities upon transforming into ghouls after death. They possess the same flesh, but spikes grow from their backs, their strength increases four or five times more than in life, and thick fangs grow anew from their gums. All human instincts and memories disappear, and they become monsters with a ferocious hunger for living beings.”

One child raised a hand high.

The priest gestured for the child to speak, and they quickly asked their question.

“Why does that happen?”

“Hmm… Ghouls are relatively common monsters, yet we still don’t know why. Some scholars claim death is part of an evolutionary process, while others call it a curse that robs rest. There’s a wide range of opinions.”

Upon hearing this, one child yelled out.

“I don’t want to become a ghoul.”

The priest laughed and said,

“Then you simply have to die in a fire.”

I drew a deep breath.

“Ugh!”

It was a dream.

A dream with an unpleasant aftertaste. It brought back memories of attending lessons at Loreille Hall during my childhood. However, that horrific phrase about dying in a fire was not part of my memories.

I had been camping in the uncharted land for nearly four days. Perhaps due to the ominous atmosphere, the frequency of strange dreams increased. I took several deep breaths to calm my racing heart.

Carefully, I brushed the leaves covering my upper body to the side.

Dawn was just breaking. To be cautious, I held my breath and listened for any sign of movement around me.

After about five minutes with no discernible sounds, I finished removing the leaves and got up. I tidied up the area and packed my belongings.

Traces of ghouls surrounded the spot I had slept in. I swallowed hard. If I had talked in my sleep while the ghouls passed, I would have been dead.

I realized I needed to be more careful when choosing a place to sleep.

I set off once more.

After crossing the wooded area, I was greeted by a vast expanse of wasteland. This was not good. I needed to traverse this place, but its vastness made it difficult to hide at night. There was also no suitable spot to draw water.

I had no choice but to increase my pace.

I walked continuously until noon.

Checking my water flask, about half of it remained. I couldn’t know how much further I needed to go.

The ground grew hot under the sun, and as the heat haze rose, I took a brief rest in the shadow beside a rock.

The time passed noon, and a couple of hours later, clouds began to gather. If it rained, I had nowhere to shelter. I quickened my pace.

The clouds obscured the sunlight, making it progressively darker, and raindrops began to fall.

I noticed something moving in the distance. Rubbing my eyes, I focused on it.

It was a ghoul. As the sunlight disappeared, ghouls began emerging from their burrows. I had thought ghouls only moved at night, but that was merely my assumption. The ghouls, free of sunlight, were crawling out.

Judging by the movement of the clouds, this was no mere passing shower.

I broke into a sprint. My goal was to reach a small hill ahead and disappear from the ghouls’ sight.

But then, the sound of ghoul howls came from another direction. It seemed there wasn’t only one den of ghouls. Moreover, it was uncomfortably close this time.

The ghouls howled loudly and began to pursue me.

I raced to the crest of the hill. Soon a small hut came into view below. There was no other place to take cover. I sprinted at full speed towards the hut.

About a dozen ghouls were hot on my heels.

I burst into the hut and secured the door fastener. The ghouls that were trailing me started to body slam into the door. I surveyed the hut interior. It appeared to be used for storage.

But the items stored there were odd. Torches soaked in oil, coal, gunpowder, and oil drums were all lined up.

A ghoul hand broke through the door. The ghouls outside were fiercely trying to tear it down in an attempt to get to me.

“Damn it, damn it.”

That’s when it happened—a scene from the dream flashed across my mind.

‘Then you simply have to die in a fire.’

I immediately pulled out a flint. Grabbing a torch, I struck it alight.

As the door gave way entirely, a ghoul invaded the hut.

I threatened it with the blazing torch.

It worked. The ghouls recoiled, screeching in terror at the sight of the fire.

Wielding the torch, I stepped towards the doorway.

Damnit.

Dozens of ghouls had quickly encircled the hut. They stood a few steps away, drooling as they looked at me.

The occasional raindrop grew into a steady shower.

“No… No!”

The torch didn’t go out immediately, but it was weakening. I hurriedly lit another torch. To make matters worse, the neglected hut started to slowly soak the torches and coal as rainwater seeped through the roof.

I wouldn’t be able to survive the night in this condition.

The ghouls swiped at my torch, trying to knock it down, or they stalked their grounds, awaiting an opportunity to pounce.

With one arm, I held a bunch of torches against my side, shielded them with my cloak to keep off the rain, and sprinted out of the hut. The ghouls had already begun to breach the back of the hut.

“Damn it.”

There was no clear way out.

That was when it happened.

Whoom

A muffled shockwave sounded from beyond the northwestern hill. Immediately after, a white pillar of light soared into the heavens from where the noise came. This sight unsettled the ghouls.

I didn’t know what the light was, but I had no other option. I ran directly towards the pillar of light.

The ghouls maintained their encirclement without attacking me due to the torch, but they continued to follow, keeping the ring tight. Their running speed far surpassed mine, making an escape impossible.

I climbed atop the hill’s ridge and looked towards the source of the light.

“What is that?”

Beyond was a vast crater, and at its center lay a large meteorite, partially buried.

“…!”

And in that rock, a sword emitting a blue light was embedded. A column of intense light surrounding the sword pierced the sky.

“…Is that a sword?”

I ran with all my might towards the crater’s center.

The ghouls no longer clung close, seemingly wary of the light emanating from the sword.

In no time, the few dozen ghouls had multiplied into hundreds in the commotion. Within the crater, they were somewhat more cautious in their movements. Like predators stalking prey while keeping low and silent, the ghouls circled me slowly.

Ghouls began to densely fill the crater from all directions.

My heart felt like it would burst.

I reached the center of the crater. As I approached the sword, the pillar of light trembled even more.

I was close enough to touch the sword if I reached out my hand.

There was no other option for me.

I swallowed hard and pushed my hand into the pillar of light. Then I gripped the handle of the sword and pulled it out.

It did not have the typical heaviness of metal. Its shape resembled a long and thin longsword, but it had no weight to it. Despite seeming like something that should require two hands to wield, it felt effortless to hold it with just one hand.

Holding the sword, I examined it. I couldn’t believe it. The sword was made entirely of light, from the blade to the handle.

As I grasped the sword, the pillar of light that had reached up to the sky gradually diminished.

Several ghouls that surrounded me roared fiercely. Soon, like wolves, the rest of the ghouls followed suit in a cacophony of howls.

As the pillar of light vanished, the ghouls closed in their encirclement. I had no time to admire the mysterious beauty of the sword. I clenched my jaw and took up a defensive stance. A standoff persisted for a while with the encircling ghouls.

Suddenly, one drooling beast from the front launched itself at me.

Reflexively, I swung the sword at the body of the ghoul.

Thwack!

Accompanied by the sound of flesh being cleaved, the ghoul was cleanly bisected from its torso and collapsed onto the ground.

“What is this…?”

When I cut the ghoul, I felt no resistance. It was as if I had swiped through air, yet the ghoul’s tough bones and flesh were severed in two. The cutting power was staggering.

Another ghoul leaped at me. I swung the sword in a wide arc.

Whoom!

A white shockwave followed the path of my sword stroke. The impact wave obliterated not only the oncoming ghoul but all other ghouls in its path.

“What? How did I do that?”

A ghoul stomped on the ground behind me.

I immediately turned and swung the sword in another direction.

Once again, the shockwave swept away everything in its path.

The power left my mouth agape. However, every time I unleashed a shockwave, my vitality rapidly drained.

The ghouls started to throw themselves at me more frequently, seemingly wary of the light, primarily aiming for the back where the sword was less visible.

“Damn it.”

I kept swinging the sword purely on reflex, but this was hardly enough to fend off the increasing number of ghouls.

There was another problem.

The longer I held the sword, the blurrier my vision became and dizziness set in.

The sword was consuming my mental energy. As I grew accustomed to the sword, I became certain of it.

I sliced through another ghoul aiming for me and staggered significantly.

“…Damn it.”

Seizing the opportunity, three ghouls simultaneously lunged at me. I stepped back, dodged one, and simultaneously decapitated the heads of the two others.

Then, I regained my posture and thrust the sword into the back of the remaining one.

Rotten blood burst from the ghoul’s back.

Even a slight movement consumed a tremendous amount of energy. It felt as though all blood had drained from my head, leaving me staggeringly dizzy. The mental exhaustion made me nauseous. To regain my composure, I violently shook my head.

The light emanating from the sword was gradually fading. It seemed to react to my mental energy. Less than five minutes had passed since I gripped the sword, and I was near fainting.

“Just a little longer. Just a bit more…”

Taking advantage of my lack of focus, a ghoul leaped forward and slashed at my side with its nails.

A terrible pain assaulted me, as if my flesh was being indiscriminately ripped apart.

Gritting my teeth, I thrust the sword into the mouth of the ghoul that had attacked me.

With my left hand, I clutched my side. Blood oozed out.

The blood loss made me feel like I would pass out immediately.

That’s when it happened.

Kaboom!

An explosion thundered from a corner of the crater. Surprised, I instinctively crouched. The blast caused my ears to ring with deafness.

The ghouls’ attention shifted exclusively to the explosion.

I turned towards the direction of the explosion.

At the site of the blast, flames in the size of a house burned crimson and black smoke billowed up. Ghouls lay in pieces around it, victims of the blast’s force.

And within the flames, a humanoid silhouette quivered.

Was I seeing an illusion?

I closed my eyes tightly and then reopened them. It was not an illusion. As the flames gradually died down, the silhouette became clearer. A figure slowly walked out of the smoke.

As the wind dispersed the smoke, a woman emerged.

With a tall, conical hat and auburn hair that reached her waist, her striking appearance was accentuated by a black dress with one thigh fully exposed.

A small sphere of flame floated above her hand.

The woman flung the sphere casually to the side.

A strong gust blew where the sphere fell, and in an instant, a fiery red whirlwind erupted.

She walked slowly forward and waved her hand.

Then a massive whirlwind of fire roared across the crater, carrying away the ghouls with a deafening noise.

The swarm of ghouls, once numerous as ants, was plunged into complete disarray.

For the first time in my life, I witnessed a scene of such overwhelming magnitude, like a natural disaster unfolding. It was hard to believe that this transcendent power was coming from a single person.

Whatever the reason may be, for now, I had survived.

My legs gave way, and I collapsed right then and there. The sword in my grasp was losing its light, becoming ever more dim. I could no longer maintain consciousness.

I lost my senses and my head struck the dirt floor.