Creeping Evil

Azreal took a breath and readied himself. ‘Almost time.’ Any minute now, they were going to commence the mission.

Two days ago, Cryph had laid out the shockingly simple plan. From what Scath had initially told him, Azreal had been expecting some sort of grand enemy stronghold. In reality, there were 30-40 men at a hidden camp in a forested canyon. A concerning number of enemy spies to have around, but barely a light workout as far as the mercenaries were concerned. When the moon was in the right position, they’d ambush the intruders and that would be that. The canyon was deceptive. It seemed like a concealed place to hide but was just a giant pit trap, with only one way out. They'd  blocked the only exit with rocks. Azreal and Scath would come from one direction; Sariel and the other two men from the other. Cryph had hidden himself in a high spot outside the canyon and would be using his observation magic to monitor everything. ‘Just kill the intruders and ransack their stuff to figure out how they got here and what Tempest is planning to do.’ Azreal assured himself as he crouched in a tree, looking out at the sky. ‘I’ll be home before the others return from their trip.’

“Almost time.” Scath grumbled from his hiding spot. Azreal said a silent prayer and crossed himself as the adrenaline began pumping. Scath let out a quiet, yet passionate curse. “Stop that shit! It creeps me out when I see you praying.” Azreal ignored him, mentally counting down in his head.

‘Five. Four.’

“Just stay out of my way.”

‘Three. Two.’

“If you get injured, don’t expect any help from me.”

‘...one.’ The two immediately shot off towards their prey.

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“Hmm...still not what I’m looking for.” Mari sighed. “This isn’t as easy as I thought it would be.”

“What are you looking for, anyway?” Tetra inquired. It was the third day of their trip, and Mari had taken Tetra and Sori to visit the shops on the side of the mountain.

“I want to get a gift for Azreal. Something small. I was thinking some sort of jewelry or charm but...” She groaned. “Nothing feels right! Maybe I shouldn’t have told Nanny that she could have a day to herself.”

The two women looked over at Sori, who was admiring a locked case of enchanted weapons in a shop winow. “It’s pointless to ask Sori. He’ll just use it as an excuse to get me to bring some rare and dangerous artifact home.”

The two leisurely made their way down the downward inclining street; careful not to trip on the cobblestones. “I think you’re trying too hard." Tetra offered. " Just grab a little crystal or carving or something. Azreal doesn’t seem the materialistic sort and would be delighted just to get something from you.”

Mari shook her head. “You don’t get it. I know he’ll be happy just to get something! But...he’s done so much for me, and he’s been anxious lately. I want to make him happy. Besides, on my third day living with him, he already knew me well enough to buy me the perfect outfit as an apology gift!”

“Ah, you felt like you were seen and understood. There was a deeper meaning that it just being an enjoyable gift.” Tetra realized. “You want to convey that same feeling to him now, yes?” Mari nodded.

“I see. Excuse me for speaking like an idiot.” She linked her arm with Mari’s. “Let’s keep looking then!”

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As Azreal and Scath ran silently, they were suddenly hit by a feeling as powerful as a canon discharge, causing the two to stumble to a stop.

“W-what is this-?” Scath clawed at his neck in horror.

Azreal tried to move, but his body was frozen in place. A sudden, uncomprehensible fear; strong enough to make their vision swim and their stomachs feel nauseous. A sudden sense of pure, unadulterated evil and oppression washed over them. Instantly, the forest around them seemed sinister. Azreal could almost tangibly feel the oppressive, encroaching sense of death bearing down on them.

Fighting against the screaming instincts of his body, Azreal slowly covered his mouth with one hand. With effort, he was finally able to draw one of his knives with the other.

“A toxin of some sort...?” Azreal wondered. “No... Oh Shit!” His eyes went wide. “Scath, fall back, now!”

“Like hell I’ll-”

“Scath!” Azreal screamed desperately, knowing that being quiet was useless now. “There was a barrier up! A presence and evil concealing barrier!” He turned frantically to his companion. “You should know what this feeling is! Think!”

Scaths irate face suddenly went limp. “Dark magic. Fuck! You don’t mean-!” The two men slowly backed away. Even though they couldn't see or hear anything, every fiber of their being was screaming that something was surrounding them, tracking them to close in for the kill. They’d just walked right into its trap.

Azreal was in full internal panic now. “Whatever these soldiers are, they aren’t human! They were using magic to mask their presence because otherwise everyone would know that demonic beings were on the lose!”

“W-what do we do?” Scath clenched his fist, no longer caring that Azreal was taking the lead.

Azreal forced himself to speak as calmly as possible. “To beat this level of demon, we need a high-ranking wizard at the least. And there’s at least thirty of them and we have no clue what their powers are. Stay calm. We need retreat and report to the King. Now. Whatever Tempest is doing isn’t normal and is too big for us to handle on our own.”

As the two men continued backed away, dark figures emerged from the haze in front of them. Scath looked ready to vomit.

“God help us.” Azreal whispered under his breath.