The scene shifts to the upstairs room where Hiori and Yhera were resting. Silence cloaked the small space, broken only by the soft rhythm of rain drumming against the rooftop like a somber lullaby.
Hiori lay on her bed, eyes open, staring at the ceiling. Her breathing was calm, but her mind was anything but. Slowly, she turned her head to glance at Yhera—already asleep, her face peaceful, utterly exhausted. So different from the turmoil boiling in Hiori's chest.
"You must be really tired, huh… Yhera," Hiori whispered, her voice barely audible—more a thought spoken aloud than a conversation.
She sat up and quietly moved to the window. Raindrops streaked down the glass, tracing patterns like wounds that refused to heal.
"I can't sleep…" she murmured to herself, clutching the fabric over her heart. Her eyes narrowed as she stared into the darkness beyond the glass.
"Leon…"
The name left her lips like a stone dropped into a deep well—heavy, and filled with longing.
"Wait for me… I'll save you. No matter what it takes."
She turned from the window and began to head back toward the bed—but then—
BOOOM!!!
An explosion shattered the stillness of the night!
"What the hell was that?!" Hiori gasped, her body tensing instinctively.
Metal clanged, glass shattered, and faint screams rose from outside. A crimson light flickered in the distance, casting fiery glows across the black sky. The tavern trembled as hurried footsteps thundered below.
"Are we under attack?!" Hiori whipped her gaze toward Yhera, still asleep, and rushed to her side, patting her cheek gently.
"Yhera! Wake up! Something's happening outside!"
Yhera slowly opened her eyes, groggy and confused.
"W-What's going on…?"
Hiori was already throwing on her cloak and reaching for her sword.
"I don't know who it is… but this isn't just some random explosion. Something's happening, and I'm not going to sit back and do nothing."
Yhera jolted fully awake, startled by the tone in Hiori's voice—sharper, colder than usual. She scrambled out of bed, still groggy, but her body moved quickly, instinctively following Hiori, who was already striding out of the room with purpose.
"What's going on?" Yhera asked, voice tinged with panic. But Hiori didn't answer—her eyes were laser-focused, her steps firm, and her expression carved from stone.
"Barnard…" she muttered under her breath. She made her way swiftly down the hallway toward the room she had booked for the old dwarf.
"Hey! Wake up, you stubborn old man!" Hiori banged on the door, her fist loud and urgent.
No response.
Silence.
No footsteps. No movement. Not even the sound of breathing from behind the wood.
"Barnard! This isn't funny—this is not the time!" she shouted, louder this time. But still… nothing.
Her hand clenched into a fist, her face tensed. Then—
BANG!!
With one powerful kick, the door slammed open, crashing into the wall. Yhera flinched behind her, startled—but Hiori didn't even blink.
Her eyes scanned the room.
Empty.
The bed was neatly made. No gear. No bags. No signs of someone having stayed there.
"What…?" Hiori stepped inside, checking every corner. Even the window was shut tight. No signs of struggle. No blood. But also… no Barnard.
"He's gone…?" Yhera muttered, confused.
"But why… at a time like this?"
Hiori stood still in the center of the room, head bowed. Her eyes darkened, and her hand slowly curled into a tight fist.
"Something's wrong…" she said quietly, though her voice was laced with tension.
From outside, another explosion echoed—followed by distant screams and the flicker of firelight through the windows.
Hiori turned to Yhera, her gaze sharp and resolute.
"We have to get out there. Barnard… he might be in danger."
Yhera nodded quickly.
"Let's go… before something worse happens!"
With heavy breaths and hurried steps, the two of them dashed out of the room, down the stairs, and threw open the inn's front door—only to be met by the cold night wind, thick with smoke… and the rising sound of chaos tearing through the heart of the village.
The night sky was swallowed by pitch-black darkness, and the moon—normally a pale shade of silver—now glowed a deep, blood red, as if it were glaring down at the world with furious, watching eyes.
"What the hell… the moon's red…" Hiori muttered hoarsely, her eyes widening in disbelief.
The night wind carried a sharp, metallic stench.
"This… this is the smell of blood…" she whispered, scanning left and right with quick, precise movements. The atmosphere had shifted. An unnatural silence hung in the air like a suffocating fog.
"Yhera," she said sharply, "stay close to me. No matter what happens, don't get separated."
Yhera nodded, her face beginning to tense. "Right… But this is weird, isn't it? The moon changed color, the air feels heavy, and—" she swallowed hard, "there's not a single villager outside. No one checking. No voices. Nothing. It's like… the entire town's been abandoned."
She turned to Hiori, panic creeping into her expression. "Are we… really still on Earth…?"
But before Hiori could answer—
WHOOSH!
A dark figure lunged from the shadows, streaking toward Yhera like a living wraith!
"Yhera, LOOK OUT!!"
But Yhera reacted instantly, her instincts kicking in. She twisted her body, raised her right hand, and—
"Barrier Pulse!"
A pulse of invisible energy burst out from her, slamming the creature backward with tremendous force.
CRASH!
The figure smashed into a stone wall, cracking it on impact.
"What the hell was that!?" Yhera gasped, her hand still trembling.
The figure began to rise slowly. The red glow of the moon illuminated its face—human… but not. Its skin was a pale, bluish hue, its eyes vacant, and its mouth twisted into a grin full of jagged, inhuman teeth.
"This… isn't a normal human…" Hiori muttered, drawing her sword, her pupils narrowing.
"Yhera, this isn't just a weird village. We've stepped into something darker than we imagined."
The creature let out a guttural snarl—and from the shadows, more appeared… two, three… five of them. Crawling along the walls, slithering like rats pouring out of hidden tunnels.
"We need to get out of here!" Hiori shouted, readying herself for a fight.
"Or we burn this place down until everything hiding in the dark comes out to face us," she growled coldly, her eyes gleaming with fury.
"They're like... undead..." Yhera whispered, her voice trembling but trying to stay composed.
Hiori nodded slowly, her eyes locked on the swarm of creatures now crawling closer.
"Yeah… I think so too. But there's something different."
She tightened her grip on her sword. "They're… not just dead. They're being controlled."
The creatures made no sound, yet their bodies moved with an unnatural rhythm—like invisible strings were pulling them, puppets possessed by something unseen.
"Yhera," Hiori said quietly but firmly, "don't waste your magic. Watch their patterns—we can use that against them."
Yhera nodded, her blue eyes briefly glowing as she drew arcane energy from the air around her.
GRRRRRKKK!!
One of the undead lunged forward, mouth wide open as if to rip their faces apart.
CLANG!!
Hiori slashed it from the side with deadly precision. The creature split in two, but there was no blood—only thick black fluid that hissed as it hit the ground.
"Tch… That's not blood. That's… rotten essence."
"There's more of them!" Yhera cried out, raising her hand. "Arcane Flare!"
A burst of blue light exploded from her palm, striking two of the creatures and turning them to ash. But more kept coming—crawling, leaping, rolling through the dirt.
"We need to get out of this open space!" Hiori shouted. "Find higher ground or a narrow room—they'll have trouble moving there!"
They sprinted toward a narrow alley beside the tavern, their bodies lit by the crimson moonlight and flashes of magic slicing through the darkness. The howls of the undead echoed, as if the entire village had become a cursed nest awakened by the night.
"If this village really is part of that flesh cult Barnard suspected…" Hiori muttered,
"Then we're standing on cursed ground."