Chapter 585: Empire's Invasion [3]

The crack of dawn, 12th of April rose upon the bodies filled bridge of Ect. The Empire's forces gathered. A temporary headquarters erected under Captain Ursela's command of the advance recon unit. Counting among their Company was four platoons. Two of which were sent as scouts in the prior sieges. After the defeat of the first platoon at the hand of Count Sebath, the second platoon split into staged attacks of 4 squads. A strategy to buy time, the remainder followed behind, once the Inquisitor joined, the rest was history.

The Empiric flag flowed majestically atop the conquered fort. Hostages were treated as slaves, chained and bound for the capital. Transport would arrive later in the afternoon. Currently, the third and fourth platoon remained at a hundred strong. Those dispatched to Hect were yet to be heard from. Three inquisitors on a single mission was overkill, a thought share amongst Captain Ursela's men. 

Blood on the clothes, burnt flesh, ripped out hair, broken teeth, swollen face and cheek, a walk inside the dungeon blasted the repugnant smell innate to decomposing bodies. "Igna," waved Gophy, "-what time is it?"

"Good morning," said he, "-quite an artwork," a comment to the naked unconscious body of the priestess. Her pink hair awry off the table, metal cuffs bound her upright, scars layered about the stomach. At some point, the goddess forcefully ripped out the lass's fingers. The crest of the king laid in between the breasts. "Just look at the state she's in," he watched closely. "-Seriously," a worm-like beast wiggled about her ribs, "-Orwal, really, where did you even find them?"

"A lady shan't reveal all her secrets," a coy aversion. 

'Orwal, the name of an insect monster that thrives in the darkest reaches of dungeons. They have a habit of infiltrating living beings to survive, the pain's reportedly the worst a human can experience. The hotter and more active the host is, the better the chance of survival.' 

"I'm not done," said she, "-let's wake her up," freezing water slammed onto the lass's face. The right eye barely opened, her jaws shivered, the right hand trembled. 

'Hh-help m-me.'

"Why not pray to your god?" wondered Igna, "-here, have some hot coffee." *AHHH,* "-her scream sure is satisfying. Anyway, where's Intherna and Miira?" 

"Two cells away," said she, "-I'm returning to the Shadow Realm. I need a shower, the battle isn't won yet."

"What about information?"

"Already reported to Éclair," they hugged, "-see you in a bit," said she.

"Thanks for the help," replied Igna.

"Don't mention it."

"H-help m-me," begged she, "-I-I'll d-do a-anything y-you w-want."

"No thanks," a kind rejection, "-looking at the aftermath of Gophy's invasion. There's no way you'll survive the week. She's replaced the blessing of Lucifer with the Curse of Akina, the princess of Balone. As a woman of God, thee must know, Balone is the mythical realm of fallen demons, Akina's their goddess, a lady killed by nonother than the god of Kreston."

"W-What?" the eyelid forced open to no avail.

"Sorry, the wrong name, she's known as Akina the whore princess of Balone in the holy scriptures." Unable to properly display her emotions, the dulled glimmer in the eyes said all. "-You understand now, don't you. The Curse of Akina, the defiled princess, is for the victim to endure her pain and bear the seed of countless demons. You're now a breeding ground for Balone. Enjoy the week, I'll be expecting great things," stood at the gateway, "-here's a little present for keeping my friend company. *Mana Control: Healing Element Variant: Full body Restoration.* By the restful green hue, the priestess's face returned to its prior angered self. The psychotic expression seemed to be engraved deep in her soul.

"T-the c-curse of A-Akina t-the whore. I-it c-can't be real?" she cackled, "-i-impossible. I'm a child of God, he will never allow one of his to be sullied."

"You're right, he'll save you, at least that's my hope." The ground rumbled, "-because, the curse's activated," malevolent and crazed energy spawned off the ceiling, walls, and floor. 

"D-don't," despair engrained the prior look of supremacy, "-g-g-get off ME!" claws dug into her hips, the following scene was one not for the faint of hearts. Stomach turning screams cried for mercy between violent grunts. Through the narrow passageway of moist bricks, other ungodly muffled yelps escaped two opposing cells. "Intherna and Miira," he stood at the center, "-how are the esteemed guests?"

"To be frank," said Intherna, "-for humans," her head lifted amidst the den of screeching rats, "-they're weak." No tell to her state of mind nor current mood. "-I'm heading back," two steps and she melted into his back, "-they're weak, too weak, information's been sent to Éclair. I'm off to rinse my hair."

"Sorry for the unsightly order."

"Don't worry," said she, "-I had fun. Anyway, I'm off, see you."

'Rats and a metal bucket laid bare on the muscled man's stomach. She added heat – forced the survive, the pest dug down. Did she burnt him alive then asked Miira to turn back time… ok, y-yeah, I better not disturb her work.' 

"Igna!" waved Miira, "-how's the morning."

"Good," glanced inside, "-what about you, what of the boy?"

"Nothing much really, I toyed with the psyche instead. Enough of that, what about the monster-army, you met Vesper?"

"Correct, I'm supposed to be the next ruler of monsters."

"I see. She's competent enough. The boy should wake in a few minutes. I'll head to the Shadow Realm." 

"Thanks for the assistance."

"Don't mention it," a fist bump and off she was. 

*Drip, drip, drip,* '-time to get ready for battle. Should have enough power to conjure onto the immortal army. I've managed to make 96 ghouls from the bodies, low-level undead. More useful as food for stronger foes. The 200 fighters from the AN-U will come in handy. Each one of their auras borders around Tier-3 Silver. I can't believe I have 26,000 immortal ghouls from Jei Lo's army, a total of about 28,300 fighters at my disposal. Numbers alone aren't going to do much. I can summon 200 at the moment. My dream of an immortal army's coming to fruition.' The priestess' screams amplified on the way out, a glance forced him to avert the gaze. 'Pathetic,' thought he climbing the stairs. 

"Young master," hailed Count Sebath, "-a very good morning to you."

"Good morning, Count. How are the people feeling today?"

"More or less the same, morale is low – we've suffered a lot of losses. I doubt the garrison could hold off a surprise attack."

"No need to fret," they stood under an arching overpass, "-we'll launch an attack soon."

"Alone?" he asked sincerely 

"No, there are a few tricks up my sleeve. We can still play the hostage card. The inquisitors are respected figures in the army, they're like nobility."

"…" he scanned about, "-surely you refer to what is left of said nobles."

"Ha-ha, very well, Count, I'll take my leave, do give the townsfolk my best wishes in such trying times."

'A hundred soldiers currently stationed at Ect. They've lost two platoon's worth of fighters. From what the interrogation gathered, after seizing control of the castle-towns, troops stationed in neighboring towns and villages would gather and reinforce until the next campaign. They have nothing to lose in defending Ect, the advance party's only here to die and gather information. Should make my job easier.'

"Éclair, what's the status on backup?" he strolled outside.

"Should be here at noon. I heard a Baron's coming to personally guard Ect."

Down the rear gate, a pair of lights drove with Julius at the helm, "-did you sleep well?" inquired Igna.

"Yeah, slept just fine. Today's the day we face off against Ect?"

"Up to the challenge?" wondered Igna.

"I'm excited, the battle doesn't feel important. I don't have any particular attachment to the town."

"I get it," replied Igna, "-we came here on orders of Lady Elvira."

"Seeing the relieved faces of the townsmen sure felt nice."

"That it did, we can't share their pain, but we can share their brief moment of bliss. It's a weird situation." 

An hour later, after restocking ammunition, ration for the trip, and guests at the back, "-Count Sebath," said Igna, "-stay strong for both you and the people. The smiling faces even after such a tragic event show their trust. Tales will speak of the generous Count Sebath in the ages to come." The jeep headed on for a suicide mission; so thought the people and the Count. Off the path and onto rocky terrain; a smoking pile of rubble reflected against the mirror. 

"Priestess," said Igna, "-how was it, the pain endured by Akina, did the curse give a perspective on reality?"

"D-don't t-talk to m-me," her gaze lowered, "-I w-was d-defiled and toyed with by t-those d-demon. H-how d-d-dare you, d-d-damned h-heretic." 

"My dear," he held her chin, "-look at me in the eye, the pain you suffered was only a trailer, the worse is yet to come. The demons whomst had their way are servants of Satan, one of the four princes of hell. Guess what, the god of Kreston is part of said family. In other words, the pain is directly related to him. Go on and pray – Hidros's suffered enough at the hands of your god."

"Igna," said Julius, "-look ahead, it's Ect." 

"You'll never win," said the boy, "-the king is stronger than anyone I've ever seen. We, inquisitors, are nothing more than pawns. We were sent to gauge the strength of the enemy – the real inquisition will be upon Arda soon, ha-ha-ha-ha. YOU'LL ALL DIE PAINFUL DEATHS!" 

"Don't worry kid," he replied smugly, "-they've yet to face the wrath of my companions. Watch and learn."

"What's the plan, Igna?" 

"Pull into the tree-line and wear the uniform," nature provided ample cover. "Come with me," two kicks sent the inquisitors off the jeep. "MY ARMS!" cried Elan, "-I-its b-broken."

"Shut your mouth else I'll sow it shut."

"Cousin," breathed Julius, "-where's your humanity?"

"Lost it a long time ago."

Four figures struggled up the rear exit, guards were quick to call onto Captain Ursela. The latter rushed out with a perplexed squint, "-Master Elan and Lady Malley, what happened?" 

"I'm sorry Captain," added Igna, "-we were defeated by a monster. The vampires kept their forces hidden. We barely escaped the slaughter; Lord Elan broke his arm trying to shield us."

"I've never seen you before," he glared, the guards gathered with trigger happy fingers.

"Private First Class, Connery Hamond, squad four," saluted Igna.

"Private First Class, Johns Snitch, squad four," saluted Julius.

"What happened to the sergeant?" 

"Killed in action. We were lucky to guard the inquisitors. Please, sir, I beg, Lord Elan and Lady Malley are seriously wounded."

"Take them to the medical camp. You two, come with me, we ought to debrief." 

Stood in one of the watchtowers, the captain watched the rear exit with much seriousness. Any sterner and the eyes would pop off their socket. "Tell me, Connery, who are you actually?" 

"We've been found out," said Igna, "-what gave it away?"

"The mannerism," returned the Captain, "-privates would never have the guts to stare an officer in the face. I'm quite impressed, making it here is an accomplishment of itself."

"Actually, Captain," he smirked, "-the objective was never to cleanly infiltrate. As long as we were inside the castle, nothing else mattered." *Woosh,* a gust spun about the room, *clink,* "-nice ambush, if only it worked," the sword resheathed.

*Ding, ding, ding,* the alarm rang.

"Captain," said Igna, "-please take a seat, we haven't been debriefed yet."

"How foolish," said he, "-giving me orders, how cocky can a person be?"

"It's not cockiness, tis confidence," he smirked, "-as we speak, a platoon of elite gunmen is slaying thy forces." 

"We have the advantage," snickered the captain, "-getting inside will be hard without cover."

"Wrong-" 

*Souls of the dead, thee who've sworn to serve me in life and death, come to my side. Blood-Arts: Ghouls Requiem.*

"-here's another platoon from within the walls."