"A dead Winterbeast!" David looked at the monster. Cold sweat started pouring down his head.
"A dead Winterbeast?" A man behind David slowly crept closer, his legs shaking and mouth going dry.
"Hmm." David looked at another and nodded.
"Is it more dangerous?" another man asked.
"Not even close. An awakened or living Winterbeast is walking chaos. They are lone monsters, often eating other Winterbeasts. It's the dead that are more problematic—these are animals who have eaten or gotten corrupted by awakened Winterbeasts."
The other guards rounded up—all of them who came to the village from the capital. They gathered around the beasts: the men with shields at the front, archers on the roofs of houses, and spearmen behind the shields.
Two healers immediately went to look for the injured but only found dead bodies.
"Even so, it doesn't seem like a better option, boss," one guard said.
"That's true. Looking at it now, I don't even know whether it was an awakened Winterbeast that killed its herd or this one that did it by itself." David raised his hands, and two mages attacked with fireball spells.
The monster (Reindeer-Winterbeast) jumped high and faced its antlers toward the mages. In the blink of an eye, the antlers grew like thorns and pierced their armor like paper.
Blood gushed out on the snow and nine men fell. It all happened in the blink of an eye.
"Fuck! Everyone get away! This fucker is no joke!" The remaining men stepped back.
"What was that?"
"It all happened so fast!"
"Oh God, is this a curse upon us?"
The men inside were screaming to run, but abandoning meant the death of their families and the destruction of everything they worked for.
The monster looked them in the eyes.
Its eyes were bloodshot; its skin was white with black markings.
The neck that maybe was once adorned with thick fur was replaced by swelling flesh.
The lower jaw of the reindeer was torn apart; instead, there was a tongue-like organ with thousands of hook-like teeth.
The hooves themselves were changing into limbs with fingers coming out of them, and its back arched with the spine protruding.
Its appearance was enough to send a chill down the spine.
"Please save us, God and Goddess, for what we deserve!" the men cried, until David saw something that sent him spiraling.
The hind legs of the monster were broken. The bones were sticking out and blood was pouring.
It wasn't that much good news, but rather the question it raised brought far worse fear.
"If it's this strong with an injury like that, what is this beast actually capable of?" David clicked his tongue and poured his aura into his sword. The sword started burning with flames.
"Guards, go all out! It seems like the monster can use affliction. Whatever you do, don't approach it recklessly!" David exclaimed and then swung his sword.
(FIRE SLASH!)
The slash materialized in flames, enraged at the monster, but it jumped. Following him, the other guards used their skills and techniques to attack it.
But the agility of the monster was far greater than the speed of their attacks. One by one, it dodged all of them, and then it was its turn again.
It screeched, and its tongue extended out of its mouth. In a flash, it took the limbs of several men and grabbed one. It sucked him into its mouth and gnawed—slowly the man vanished down its neck.
After that, it was clear. Death was looking over them like clouds in a rainstorm.
**
Before the attack on the watch-post, Garrett visited his family in the cottage.
Garrett's POV
It seems like another peaceful evening. Even though it's peaceful, the sense of danger never made it easy.
Every day I had to make sure to sleep enough so I didn't feel tired without actually resting much. I was not able to spend much time with them, but it was necessary.
I haven't gone hunting or fishing for a while, but it didn't change much.
The chief sent food daily for us.
Violet seems happy nowadays too.
The kids have accepted her and started playing with her, although there is one boy that gets especially close to her.
I don't know what goes on in the minds of boys these days, but we weren't like this in childhood.
Even so, as long as she is happy, it's all good.
Garrett chopped the meat, preparing for tonight's meal. Maria, on his side, was cutting vegetables.
On the other hand, Violet was playing with a little horse and a little bear close to the fireplace.
"What are you thinking?" Maria said, putting the pot on the stove.
"Nothing," I answered. Even though I said that, she always understood everything without me saying much.
Just like the old days.
"I was thinking, in a few months summer will start. The danger of Winterbeasts will be gone by then; they don't approach in the summer.
After that, we shall go to the north." I spoke about what had been on my mind for a while.
Maria's hands stopped and she looked at Garrett.
"North?" Her eyes gaped and mouth opened like a lid.
"Yeah." I looked at Violet and realized this isn't what she should hear.
"Little bird!" I called her. She slowly walked toward me. Every time I saw her little steps, I realized how weak I was.
This flesh and bone are just abominations if I can't help her at all.
I gave her another book, pulling it out of my cabinet.
"Here, go read this in your room. I'm bringing some pie."
Should I smile? Wouldn't she get scared?
"A new book!" She jumped into my arms and started giggling.
She dropped the toys that had flowers on them now.
I wrapped my hands around her hesitantly. I am always afraid that I might crush this little thing. I took her to her room and laid her on the bed. She pulled up her sheets and started reading.
I got out and closed the door behind me.
"Garrett! Are you serious? North? Leaving Calla? What about Violet?" Maria walked up to me as I entered the kitchen again.
I started kneading the dough. "She'll go with us."
Maria looked at me, stunned.
"What are you saying, Garrett! Calla will never let us cross the border with Violet! And why would she? Violet is her daughter!
Taking her daughter like this wouldn't be less than kidnapping!" She started chopping again, but this time her hands were faster and her voice shaky.
She knew deep down what my words actually carried.
I sighed. I knew I wasn't prepared to talk about this, but these past months I had gathered enough courage and time to look into the past.
"She might be her daughter, but I have never seen the same love in her eyes when she looks at Violet—the same love I see in your eyes.
The same pain, empathy, and desperation.
Every time she comes here, she is far more worried about dyeing her hair and feeding her that damn medicine!" I struck my cleaver so hard that the chopping board was cut in half along with the meat.
"Damn medicine? What are you talking about?" Maria's eyes froze on me. Maybe the thoughts she had been refusing to believe for so long had finally found a leg to stand on.
"You know very well what I am talking about, Maria. I had a talk with David in the past months. We have continuously discussed Mana Deterioration.
He had sent his birds to find answers to some questions, and every time, the answer came the same.
Mana Deterioration isn't curable," I spoke, my throat getting heavy.
Maria fell to her knees, but I caught her. Her legs didn't have any strength to stand.
I held her close and took her to the armchair.
"What are you saying! Are you telling me—are you telling me that my baby will die? She would die! There is no hope! My little child!" The tears started pouring out. She was trembling even under many layers.
She grabbed my arms and brought her face close, maybe not wanting Violet to hear her cry.
"Listen to me carefully, Maria." I gently pulled her back. I knelt close to her face and spoke. Something great would shift, and whatever she believed about her sister might change forever.
But she had to know the truth.
"Violet doesn't have Mana Deterioration," I spoke, and her tears stopped.
"What do you mean?" She looked at me with weary eyes.
"What David has found is that any child with Mana Deterioration doesn't survive after a few years of life—almost five years.
There isn't any medicine. As mana is generated from the soul, it is a disease that slowly rots the soul circuits.
There is no medicine in this world that can cure a broken, lost, rotting, or damaged soul.
The soul isn't something that can be fixed with medicine. Mana Deterioration often happens when a child is born without a part of their soul because of a curse or corrupted mana.
They can't use aura or mana; it's just a husk of their body that is left.
In Violet's case, if she had Mana Deterioration, she wouldn't have been able to use those toys." I pulled a toy and gave it to Maria.
"This wooden toy?" Maria looked surprised.
"Yes, this toy is made of special wood. It blooms when it comes in contact with mana."
**
The silence after this carried more questions than answers. But Garrett had made a mistake.
His care for his family made him vulnerable. With the monster approaching his village, there was something else too.
The ears sent by the gold.