After Gauss and a few of the men left, everyone waited in tense silence. Owain checked his binding and found that his captors had tied it tightly and used difficult knots. Dammit! He needed to get out of here and check on the others. Hopefully, they managed to escape and get help. If not, then they’re in great trouble. Not to mention the fact that they won’t be able to complete their mission.
Finally, after several tries, Owain gave up. He looked at his “sister”, who was looking out the window and decided on another method. “You ask me where I got this talisman,” he said aloud, which startled everyone and woke them up from their daze. “Well, I’ll tell you if you answer some of my questions.”
The demons glanced at each other uncertainly before Tristé said, “All right. It might help keep the nerves down. It’s a deal, but you can’t ask us about our mission. Agreed?” He nodded so she walked toward him until she was standing face-to-face. “Well then, what is your first question?”
“First, who are you guys? Based on what you said so far, I’m guessing you’re connected to the Idilarian royal family.”
“You’re correct. Some of us are the personal bodyguards for Prince Lukan Cissa while the rest are members of the royal army, and he requested that we go on a personal secret mission for him.”
“Since it seems like the men look up to you, I’m guessing you’re in charge of the mission?”
She nodded. “I’m the head of his bodyguards. Next question?”
“How did you come here? I thought the Mermian Way is the only route between Ongera and Illica.”
“It used to be but not anymore. When the Aerians were decimated several centuries ago, a few of the blasts created new pathways, which my men and I used to cross over here.”
That made sense. If Owain remembered the story correctly, the Aerians were destroyed by the gods because of their arrogance. Apparently they thought they were at the same level as the gods so the All-Mother and the others decided to punish them for that obnoxious belief.
“Why did you decide to possess the people in this town? Were you trying to blend in so that it would easy for you to complete your mission?”
“No, that wasn’t our intention at all,” she denied vehemently. “We didn’t have any choice. While we were crossing the mountain passage, we were attacked by a group of exorcists. We tried to explain why we were there, but they refused to listen. Those pompous bastards believed that we’re trying to spread our ‘poison’ to Ongera and accused us of breaking the Tenya-Acesta Treaty. Typical self-righteous pricks!” She spat on the ground and the others did the same. “Anyway, we managed to delay them by causing a rockslide, but several of us got injured pretty badly. We desperately needed new bodies so I ordered a few of the men to search for the nearest village while we waited in a safe location. As soon as the scouts reached Wellsborough, they came back and told us the good news. We immediately hurried over here and seized control of the town. Unfortunately, there still weren’t enough people so we decided that those who were severely injured should have first dibs while the others waited until another potential host arrived.”
“And when did you arrive here?” he inquired.
“Around two months ago.”
He felt a lump in his throat as he began to ask softly, “Does that mean…?”
She nodded. “Yes, your sister and her colleagues arrived in this town a few days later.”
“How… how did Adalynn get possessed?” Owain didn’t want to ask that question, but he wanted to know. Was his big sister terrified? Did she put up a fight or beg for her life?
Tristé hesitated because she knew why he asked. “We didn’t possess their bodies immediately. We observed them at first to see if there was anything wrong with them and determined that they were healthy. Then we decided who will claim which body. I wanted your sister because it had been a long time since I was in a woman’s body and she seemed to be my type. She was young and seemed to have a lot of knowledge of the world, which would be useful in our mission.
“Anyway, we did what I did to you just now: we lured your sister and her research team members here one by one. Her professor was the first one and after he got possessed, he asked to see his students one at a time. I don’t think any of them noticed anything suspicious because they were too busy interviewing the villagers and thought nothing about it.
“Adalynn was one of the last people to be sent here. As soon as she entered the room, we immediately held her down on that table. At first, she was confused by what was going on and thought we were pulling a cruel joke on her. However, she realized what was going on especially when she saw that everyone in the room had glowing red eyes. She began to struggle, but when she realized it was futile, she begged us to let her and the remaining of her colleagues go.
“I told her unfortunately that we could not allow that but reassured her that she was going to help a great cause. That was when I left my old body and entered her. Your sister tried to resist so I used my magic to make her more compliant. The rest of the process was a breeze after that, and when I woke up in my new body, I tested it out a bit so I can get used to it. And now, here I am. Any more questions?”
“How did you know that I was her brother?” Honestly, Owain felt devastated. If he had known that Adalynn was going to be possessed or that the All-Mother’s pendant would have prevented it, he would have given it to her the last time he saw her. Now her body was being used to do who-knows-what, and she couldn’t do anything about it.
She bit her lips, which was Adalynn’s nervous habit. “I’m not sure if I should tell you this, but when we possess a person’s body, we also absorb their memories and habits. That way, no one would notice anything odd about them and we can easily pretend to be that person. However, when we switch to another person’s body, we decide which memories and habits we will keep and discard the rest.” She glanced down at her whip, which was attached to her belt. “As you can see, I kept my memories of being an excellent whip user because I considered it beneficial for me. Now, if you’re finished, you need to answer my quest-”
The front door suddenly burst opened, and a wounded Gauss stormed into the room. “They’re here!” he shouted with fright. “Those bloody exorcists have found us! We need to leave right now! They already killed the others in town and are coming here at this very…”
Before he could even say another word, an explosion behind him occurred, which destroyed the front of the house and killed those unfortunate to stand near the area. The destruction also weakened the wooden supports, and the rocky ceiling began to shake dangerously, which caused everyone to panic. They were trapped in there; the exorcists were blocking their only exit and if they stayed in there, they would most likely be killed by the rocks above.
“Everyone, calm down!” Tristé shouted as she desperately tried to maintain order. “We need to regroup and think of a plan.”
Unfortunately, no one was paying any attention to her. Some tried to escape while others decided to fight. All of them met the same fate – they were immediately killed by the exorcists. Before long, she and Owain were the only ones left. Realizing that it was too late, she turned to Owain and cut him free. “You better stay away from the front,” she warned him. “Otherwise, those exorcists will believe that you’re one of my comrades and kill you. They don’t listen to reason. Hopefully, the attacks will stop soon enough.”
Owain nodded and did as he was told. “And what are you going to do?” he inquired.
She took a deep breath. “Surrender if they allowed me to do that. If not…” She gave him a weak smile as if trying to reassure him. “Anyway, we should expect to stay here for a long time so be prepared for anything…” All of a sudden, she looked up at the ceiling with her eyes widen with alarm. “Watch out, brother!”
Before he could do anything, she wrapped her arms around him and pushed him on the ground as the rocks fell on top of them. As he drifted toward unconsciousness, Owain felt his sister’s warm body on top of him and was relieved to find out that she was still breathing. Closing his eyes, he thought he heard approaching footsteps and people’s shouts before he fell unconscious.
Finally, after several tries, Owain gave up. He looked at his “sister”, who was looking out the window and decided on another method. “You ask me where I got this talisman,” he said aloud, which startled everyone and woke them up from their daze. “Well, I’ll tell you if you answer some of my questions.”
The demons glanced at each other uncertainly before Tristé said, “All right. It might help keep the nerves down. It’s a deal, but you can’t ask us about our mission. Agreed?” He nodded so she walked toward him until she was standing face-to-face. “Well then, what is your first question?”
“First, who are you guys? Based on what you said so far, I’m guessing you’re connected to the Idilarian royal family.”
“You’re correct. Some of us are the personal bodyguards for Prince Lukan Cissa while the rest are members of the royal army, and he requested that we go on a personal secret mission for him.”
“Since it seems like the men look up to you, I’m guessing you’re in charge of the mission?”
She nodded. “I’m the head of his bodyguards. Next question?”
“How did you come here? I thought the Mermian Way is the only route between Ongera and Illica.”
“It used to be but not anymore. When the Aerians were decimated several centuries ago, a few of the blasts created new pathways, which my men and I used to cross over here.”
That made sense. If Owain remembered the story correctly, the Aerians were destroyed by the gods because of their arrogance. Apparently they thought they were at the same level as the gods so the All-Mother and the others decided to punish them for that obnoxious belief.
“Why did you decide to possess the people in this town? Were you trying to blend in so that it would easy for you to complete your mission?”
“No, that wasn’t our intention at all,” she denied vehemently. “We didn’t have any choice. While we were crossing the mountain passage, we were attacked by a group of exorcists. We tried to explain why we were there, but they refused to listen. Those pompous bastards believed that we’re trying to spread our ‘poison’ to Ongera and accused us of breaking the Tenya-Acesta Treaty. Typical self-righteous pricks!” She spat on the ground and the others did the same. “Anyway, we managed to delay them by causing a rockslide, but several of us got injured pretty badly. We desperately needed new bodies so I ordered a few of the men to search for the nearest village while we waited in a safe location. As soon as the scouts reached Wellsborough, they came back and told us the good news. We immediately hurried over here and seized control of the town. Unfortunately, there still weren’t enough people so we decided that those who were severely injured should have first dibs while the others waited until another potential host arrived.”
“And when did you arrive here?” he inquired.
“Around two months ago.”
He felt a lump in his throat as he began to ask softly, “Does that mean…?”
She nodded. “Yes, your sister and her colleagues arrived in this town a few days later.”
“How… how did Adalynn get possessed?” Owain didn’t want to ask that question, but he wanted to know. Was his big sister terrified? Did she put up a fight or beg for her life?
Tristé hesitated because she knew why he asked. “We didn’t possess their bodies immediately. We observed them at first to see if there was anything wrong with them and determined that they were healthy. Then we decided who will claim which body. I wanted your sister because it had been a long time since I was in a woman’s body and she seemed to be my type. She was young and seemed to have a lot of knowledge of the world, which would be useful in our mission.
“Anyway, we did what I did to you just now: we lured your sister and her research team members here one by one. Her professor was the first one and after he got possessed, he asked to see his students one at a time. I don’t think any of them noticed anything suspicious because they were too busy interviewing the villagers and thought nothing about it.
“Adalynn was one of the last people to be sent here. As soon as she entered the room, we immediately held her down on that table. At first, she was confused by what was going on and thought we were pulling a cruel joke on her. However, she realized what was going on especially when she saw that everyone in the room had glowing red eyes. She began to struggle, but when she realized it was futile, she begged us to let her and the remaining of her colleagues go.
“I told her unfortunately that we could not allow that but reassured her that she was going to help a great cause. That was when I left my old body and entered her. Your sister tried to resist so I used my magic to make her more compliant. The rest of the process was a breeze after that, and when I woke up in my new body, I tested it out a bit so I can get used to it. And now, here I am. Any more questions?”
“How did you know that I was her brother?” Honestly, Owain felt devastated. If he had known that Adalynn was going to be possessed or that the All-Mother’s pendant would have prevented it, he would have given it to her the last time he saw her. Now her body was being used to do who-knows-what, and she couldn’t do anything about it.
She bit her lips, which was Adalynn’s nervous habit. “I’m not sure if I should tell you this, but when we possess a person’s body, we also absorb their memories and habits. That way, no one would notice anything odd about them and we can easily pretend to be that person. However, when we switch to another person’s body, we decide which memories and habits we will keep and discard the rest.” She glanced down at her whip, which was attached to her belt. “As you can see, I kept my memories of being an excellent whip user because I considered it beneficial for me. Now, if you’re finished, you need to answer my quest-”
The front door suddenly burst opened, and a wounded Gauss stormed into the room. “They’re here!” he shouted with fright. “Those bloody exorcists have found us! We need to leave right now! They already killed the others in town and are coming here at this very…”
Before he could even say another word, an explosion behind him occurred, which destroyed the front of the house and killed those unfortunate to stand near the area. The destruction also weakened the wooden supports, and the rocky ceiling began to shake dangerously, which caused everyone to panic. They were trapped in there; the exorcists were blocking their only exit and if they stayed in there, they would most likely be killed by the rocks above.
“Everyone, calm down!” Tristé shouted as she desperately tried to maintain order. “We need to regroup and think of a plan.”
Unfortunately, no one was paying any attention to her. Some tried to escape while others decided to fight. All of them met the same fate – they were immediately killed by the exorcists. Before long, she and Owain were the only ones left. Realizing that it was too late, she turned to Owain and cut him free. “You better stay away from the front,” she warned him. “Otherwise, those exorcists will believe that you’re one of my comrades and kill you. They don’t listen to reason. Hopefully, the attacks will stop soon enough.”
Owain nodded and did as he was told. “And what are you going to do?” he inquired.
She took a deep breath. “Surrender if they allowed me to do that. If not…” She gave him a weak smile as if trying to reassure him. “Anyway, we should expect to stay here for a long time so be prepared for anything…” All of a sudden, she looked up at the ceiling with her eyes widen with alarm. “Watch out, brother!”
Before he could do anything, she wrapped her arms around him and pushed him on the ground as the rocks fell on top of them. As he drifted toward unconsciousness, Owain felt his sister’s warm body on top of him and was relieved to find out that she was still breathing. Closing his eyes, he thought he heard approaching footsteps and people’s shouts before he fell unconscious.