Volume 1 Chapter 19 Famine

Chapter 19 Famine

I

Aislina woke up and found herself in the forest of Blightess once again.

“ᛆᛆᛡ, ᚴᚮᛉ ᚿᚢ! ᛚᛆᛆᛐ ᛉᛁᚵ ᚡᛆᚱᛆ, ᛒᛚᛂᚴᚿᛆᛐ!” [Oh, come on! Leave me alone, Blightess!] complaint Aislina.

Blightess showed up from nowhere and stared at Aislina.

“ᛑᛂᛐ ᛅᚱ ᛂᚿ Ĭᛅᚡᛚᛆ ᛉᛆᚱᛑᚱᚯᛉ ᚮᛡ Ĭᛆᚵ ᛒᛂᛡᚯᚡᛂᚱ ᛚᛅᛉᚿᛆ ᛡᛅᚱ!” [This is a damn nightmare and I need to leave here!] breathed Aislina.

“ᛑᚢ ᛅᚱ ᛁᚿᛐᛂ ᛁ ᛂᚿ ᛑᚱᚯᛉ, ᛆᛁᛌᛚᛁᚿᛆ. ᚠᛆᚴᛐᛁᚵᛐ, ᛑᚢ ᛅᚱ ᛁ ᚴᚮᛉᛆ ᚮᛍᛡ ᛑᚢ ᛡᛆᚱ ᚠᛆᛆᚿᚵᛆᛐᛌ ᛡᛅᚱ, ᚠᚯᚱ ᛑᚢ ᛡᛆᚱ ᚠᚯᚱᚵᛁᚠᛐᛆᛐᛌ ᛆᚡ ᛑᛂᚿᚿᛆ ᚵᚱᛅᛌᛡᚮᛔᛔᚮᚱ ᚮᛍᛡ ᚵᛁᚠᛐᛂᛐ ᛁᚿᚿᛂ ᛁ ᛑᛁᛐᛐ ᛒᛚᚮᛑ ᛌᛐᚮᛔᛔᛆᚱ ᛑᛁᚵ ᚠᚱᛆᛆᛉ ᚡᛂᚴᛆ. ᛑᛂᛐ ᛂᚿᛑᛆ ᛌᛅᛐᛐᛂᛐ ᛆᛐᛐ ᚡᛂᚴᛆ ᛅᚱ ᛐᛆ ᛉᛁᚿ ᚴᚱᛆᚠᛐ ᚮᛍᛡ ᛒᛚᛁ ᚴᚱᛆᚠᛐᚠᚢᛚᛚ,” [You’re not in a dream, Aislina. In fact, you’re in a coma and you’re trapped here, because you’ve been poisoned by those locusts and the venom running inside your blood is stopping you from waking up. The only way to wake up is taking my power and becoming powerful …] explained Blightess.

“ᛉᛁᚿᛆ ᚡᛅᚿᚿᛂᚱ ᛌᚴᛆᛚᛚ ᚱᛅᛑᛑᛆ ᛉᛁᚵ,” [My friends will save me,] Aislina smiled.

“ᛑᛁᚿᛆ ᛔᛆᛐᛂᛐᛁᛌᚴᛆ ᚡᛅᚿᚿᛂᚱ ᛌᚴᛆᛚᛚ ᛆᛚᛑᚱᛁᚵ ᚮᚱᚴᛆ ᚱᛅᛑᛑᛆ ᛑᛁᚵ. ᚠᛆᚴᛐᚵᛐ, ᛑᛅᚱ ᛅᚱ ᛒᛆᚱᛆ ᛂᛐᛐ ᛌᛆᛐᛐ ᛆᛐᛐ ᚱᛅᛑᛑᛆ ᛌᛁᚵ. ᛐᛆ ᛉᛁᚿ ᚴᚱᛆᚠᛐ!” [your pathetic friends will never be able to save you. In fact, there is only one way to save yourself. Take my power!] intoned Blightess.

“.Ĭᛆᚵ ᛐᛁᛐᛐᛆᚱ ᛔᛆᛆ ᛑᛂᛉ ᚮᛍᛡ Ĭᛆᚵ ᚴᛅᚿᚿᛆᚱ ᛆᛐᛐ ᛑᛂ ᛌᚴᛆᛚᛚ ᚵᚯᚱᛆ ᛌᛁᛐᛐ ᛒᛅᛌᛐᛆ ᛆᛐᛐ ᚱᛅᛑᛑᛆ ᛉᛁᚵ. Ĭᚢᛌᛐ ᚡᛅᚿᚴᛆ ᚮᛍᛡ ᛌᛂ, ᛒᛚᛁᚴᚿᛂᚱᛌᚴᛆ!” [I trust them and I know they will try their best to save me. Just wait and see, Blightess!] insisted Aislina.

Suddenly, the whole world began to shake and this forest of Blightess started to decompose into smithereens. Aislina could feel that the venom of locusts inside he blood was being cleansed and her head didn’t ache anymore.

The scene of this murky forest of Blightess began to fade, replacing which was the blurry images that belonged to the reality. She knew that her friends had succeeded and they had gotten something to save her. Soon, she would wake up and left this unpleasant world of Blightess.

“Ĭᚮ, ᛐᛁᛚᛚ ᛌᚤᚿᛂᛌ ᛉᛁᚿᛆ ᚡᛅᚿᚿᛂᚱ ᛡᛆᚱ ᛚᚤᛍᚴᛆᛐᛌ. ᛡᛂĬᛑᛆᛆ, ᛒᛚᛁᚴᚿᛂᚱᛌᚴᛆ” [Well, seemingly my friends have succeeded. Byebye, Blightess,] purred Aislina.

She closed her eyes, preparing to wake up.

“ᛆᛁᛌᛚᛁᚿᛆ! ᛑᚢ ᛅᚱ ᚠᚯᚱ ᚡᛂᚴ! ᛑᚢ ᛌᚴᛆᛚᛚ ᛁᚿᛐᛂ ᛒᛂᛌᛂᚵᚱᛆ ᛉᛆᛌᛐᛂᚱ ᛉᚮᚱᛐᛁᛌ ᛔᛆᛆ ᛂᚵᛂᚿ ᛡᛆᚿᛑ!” [Aislina! You’re too weak! You will not defeat Master Mortis on your own!] Blightess called to her.

“ᛑᛂᛐ ᛅᚱ ᛌᛆᚿᚴᛐ ᛆᛐᛐ Ĭᛆᚵ ᛅᚱ ᛁᚿᛐᛂ ᛉᛆᛐᛍᛡ ᚠᚯᚱ ᛉᛆᛌᛐᛂᚱ ᛉᚮᚱᛐᛁᛌ, ᛉᛂᚿ Ĭᛆᚵ ᛡᛆᚱ ᚡᛅᚿᚿᛂᚱ ᚮᛍᛡ ᛑᛂ ᛌᚴᛆᛚᛚ ᛡĬᛅᛚᛔᛆ ᛉᛁᚵ ᛆᛐᛐ ᛌᛚᛆᛆ ᛡᚮᚿᚮᛉ,” [It’s true that I am no match for Master Mortis, but I have friends and they will help me beat him,] retorted Aislina.

The scene of the shadowy forest had fully disappeared with only some barely audible voice of Blightess was echoing weakly in her brain.

She was lying on a islet on the centre of the reservoir. Beside her were her friends and a weird old man …

II

On the city square lay the corpses of the patrols of the city. They used to be the guardian of Scuropolis, but now all their flesh had been swallowed by the raging swarms, which were hovering above the city square right now.

A crowd of mysterious people wearing white robes were chanting in the city square, and standing at the centre of the crowd was Luke Fames, son of Professor Fames.

Luke’s skin had been covered by the exoskeleton right now. Obviously, he had injected himself with his father’s necrovirus and now he had controlled this entire city with his mutant power.

The filthy smell of decaying corpses were filling the air, but the cultists were still chanting their sacred hymn.

“This is a corrupted world, and with an ulcer done by so-called civilization, the blood of fighters has dyed our sacred land scarlet. The city is a virus that infects the grand wilderness and all viruses must be cleansed!” intoned Luke.

“Cleanse the virus, my lord! Cleanse the virus!” repeated the cultists.

“The serum that I’ve injected myself with is created by the necrologists and it is an obscene stuff, but sometimes, we must wield the power of evilness to fight against the evilness, because the light in this world is fading. Let us bring lights to this world again!” announced Luke.

“Bring the light back to this world! Bring the light back to this world!” drawled the cultists.

“The ruler of this city is Professor Fames, he is the source of all evil in this Scuropolis. Under his rule, those who reject to be obedient keep suffering from hunger and famine. We’ll end this, destroy this city of famine and embrace a brave new world,” declared Luke.

“A brave new world! A brave new world!” sang the cultists.

“What will the new world be like?” asked the drowned girl saved by Luke. She was now one of Luke’s cultists.

“In the new world, humans will be humans. Everyone will be able to breathe the fresh air and wander in the prosperous wilderness carefreely. However, before living in the paradise of the new world, we shall turn the old world into a hell of locusts! Our locusts will eat the whole city! All those necrological bricks and mortars will be eaten by the swarm!” explained Luke.

“Feed the swarm! Feed the swarm!” yelled the cultists.

“And I, the chosen one, the bringer of the apocalypse, will destroy all those thrones in this world. In our new world, there will be no kings. No one will be a slave anymore! Everyone will be able to feed themselves!” roared Luke.

The whole square was drowned in the ocean of madness with locusts dancing irregularly in the air. Everyone was chanting mindlessly and enjoying the craziness in their hearts.

To them, the madness wasn’t corrupting their hearts. On the contrary, it was purifying and emancipating their hearts. Their souls had been oppressed by this sapless city for long, and now, they wanted to release themselves.

They would release the deepest desire hidden at the bottom of their hearts right now!

Some of the cultists commenced to take off all of their clothes.

They started to mate publicly in the city square. Soon the gathering of the cult became an public orgy that everyone could join. People ran into the ocean of flesh and sexiness without knowing who the hell they were actually mating with.

Locusts were singing in the sky, their wings flapped into a whacky symphony of insanity. Rationality was dying, because the whole world shall have been chaotic and madness.

The whole city was joining the gathering of Luke’s cult, which he built this cult within an hour with his mutant power.

However, there were still some people wandering on the street like zombies, trashy storybook held in their hands.

Those people would be sentenced to death by the locusts of Luke Fames, the bringer of the apocalypse.

III

“Aislina, thank heavens, you wake up!” exclaimed Yanni.

Floria gave Aislina a hug.

“Umm, by the way, who is this old guy?” asked Aislina.

“He is Professor Fames, the deputy of Master Mortis. We promised that if he gave us the anti-venom, we would spare his life,” answered Floria.

“Now fulfil your promise please,” urged Professor Fames.

“Well, you’re free, Professor Fames. You can go anywhere you want now!” announced Floria.

“I … I cannot swim,” stuttered Professor Fames.

They were now standing on the islet at the centre of the reservoir. Since Professor Fames cannot swim, it was impossible for him to leave here on his own.

Aislina snapped her finger and vines commenced to grow from under her feet and assembled into a bridge across the reservoir.

“That’s fantastic!” muttered Professor Fames.

“Let’s go,” commanded Floria.

They walked across the magical bridge made by Aislina and arrived at the main urban area. However, to their surprise, the city had become some sort of hell on earth.

All kinds of corpses are lying on the ground with their flesh fully eaten up by something, perhaps locusts. The obscene smell of decaying bodies were filling the air and there were smelly ponds of blood everywhere in the city.

There were swarms of locusts flying high on the sky, patrolling the city. Without a shadow of doubt, it was those locusts that had massacred this city.

Beside those corpses, there were survivors too. However, those survivors were not afraid at all. On the contrary, they were dancing in extreme happiness and singing unnameable hymns for those dirty locusts.

Not only did those locusts ate people that they thought didn’t worth surviving, but they also ate buildings with high efficiency.

Houses and castles were falling to the ground and fracturing into fragments of stones. Within seconds, a whole district in the city turned into ruins.

At this speed, the entire city would be devoured by those insane locusts soon.

When a building fell, those mad survivors, also enthusiastic dancers and singers, would hail those locusts and their new master whom they worshipped.

In the past, this city functioned in perfect order but now chaos commenced to rule as if this city had had enough of disciplines, and now only desires, joy and craziness could save this city.

“Oh man! What is going on in my city!!” roared Professor Fames, “Master Mortis is going to kill me!”

“Seemingly, your locusts are out of control,” purred Starsha.

“How to stop this, Professor Fames?” demanded Yanni.

“I don’t know? OK?!” yelled Professor Famest.

“How do you actually control those locusts?” probed Floria.

“It’s the gamma variant of necrovirus! Twenty years ago, our Grey Factory commenced to develop some super soldiers for the kingdom. We invented the alpha variant of necrovirus which could make humans stronger at first, and we tested it on one thousand persons, but only Sir Bellum survived and evolved into a superhuman while others became crazy and aggressive,” narrated Professor Fames.

“Doctor Plague realized that the virus which could drive people crazy would be a perfect bioweapon, so he developed the beta variant of necrovirus and use it to cleanse the dwarf. After that, I invented gamma variant of necrovirus which make me become the dominator the hive mind of locusts while Master Mortis invented the delta variant,” continued Professor Fames.

As those words were spoken, Professor Fames noticed that some survivors were running towards the city square.

“Where are you going?” Professor Fames inquired one of the survivors.

“There’s a celebration in the city square!! We’re going to celebrate the ascension of Luke, the Lord of Locusts!” replied the survivor.

“Luke! F**k! He has stolen my serum which contains the gamma variant of necrovirus after I opened my safety deposit box! Shit! His genes are similar to mine and that’s why he can mutate successfully too. I’ll go to talk to him in the city square!” growled Professor Fames.

“Will he really listen to you?” questioned Starsha.

“I am his father!” shouted Professor Fames.

Following those mad survivors, Professor Fames and the adventurers arrived at the city square, on the centre of which stood Luke Fames with mutant insectoid exoskeleton.

“Luke, stop!” commanded Professor Fames.

“Hey, dad!” greeted Luke.

“What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?” scolded Professor Fames.

“I’m creating a new world, father. Look at your city, it is now turning into ruins and out of the ruins a new world will be born,” intoned Luke.

“Hail Luke’s dad! hail Luke’s dad!” chanted the cultists.

“Look, they’re worshiping you because of me, dad. You shall be proud of me!” smirked Luke.

“I’m proud of you, son, but please bring the order back to this city,” begged Professor Fames.

“Chaos is the order, father, those mindless trashy people have been cleansed by me, and those who have survived still have souls inside them. The Grey Factory has taken out the souls of people but I am going to restore their souls. When this gathering ends, their lives will go on. Look, since those trashes have been neutralized, this city will contain fewer people, which means that there will be more resources per person. I am clever, ain’t I?” drawled Luke.

“Yes, you’re clever,” muttered Professor Fames.

“You never approve me before, but now you’re approving me, but why? Do I really deserve your approval?” demanded Luke.

“For sure you deserve it! You have killed people and ruled this city. You’re brave boy. I always looked down upon you because I thought you were a coward, but now you have …” Professor Fames praised.

“Stop, Professor Fames, you’re making thing worse!” complaint Starsha.

“You’re Professor Fames? You’re the centre of the unholiness and you have to been neutralized!” shouted the cultists.

“What, Luke? In your religion, I am the ‘centre of unholiness’?” screamed Professor Fames. The cultists had already rushed towards Professor Fames.

“Stop, guys! He is my father!” roared Luke. However, it was too late. When the cultists heard Luke’s command, Professor Fames had already been torn into pieces of corpses.

“No, no, no!” Luke cried, pointing his finger at Starsha, “You!!”

“Me? I … uh … I …” stuttered Starsha.

“If you didn’t say that name, father wouldn’t die!” growled Luke.

“But you hate your father? Don’t you?” murmured Starsha.

“HE IS MY FATHER!!” howled Luke, “you go die!”

Luke flew to the air, flapping the wings on his exoskeleton. Holding out his hand, he summoned a swarm of locusts, which then flew towards Starsha fiercely.

Starsha indicated Yanni with her eyes and the latter held her up, throwing her towards Luke.

Dodging the swarm, Starsha flew in the air towards Luke, but Luke shot green liquid out of his insectoid arms and two pillars of deadly acidic solution began to fly towards Starsha. Luckily, Yanni tossed his shield up to the sky, by stepping on which, Starsha used some of the dance steps that she had learnt as a bard to dart out of the way.

Finally, Starsha’s jumped on Luke and stabbed his insectoid wings with her lunarite daggers. The wings were soon destroyed by Starsha. Both she and Luke commenced to fall to the ground.

Luke summoned some locust, which wrapped him around and lowered his falling speed, while Aislina conjured a soft flower to serve as a cushioned pads for Starsha. The conjured flower was so soft that Starsha didn’t hurt at all when falling onto it.

Irritated by Aislina, Luke manipulated the locusts wrapping him to attack Aislina. Vibrating, Aislina began to release green gases again, which killed all the locusts that were trying to devour her.

Aiming at Aislina, Luke shot those acidic liquid out of his insectoid arm once again, but Yanni put himself between Aislina and Luke, parrying his attack.

While Starsha, Yanni and Aislina were fighting drastically with Luke, Floria was loading her bow, waiting for a critical shot. Now it was the time. Floria unbent her fingers, and an arrow flew towards the Luke’s head at sonic speed.

Hit by the arrow, the exoskeleton on his head exploded. Moaning in agony, Luke fell to the ground, his face disfigured.