Esmeria

“Damn it, I can’t believe he still has this much strength!” Aladiah exclaimed, surprise flickering across her features.

Without wasting a moment, she cast a shimmering [Light Barrier] around herself and the entranced Kelda.

As the winds swirling around the village intensified, they morphed into a raging hailstorm, the air thick with ice and fury.

Barbartos, meanwhile, was channeling his immense [Ice Barrier]. His body began to take on a pale blue hue, and deep cracks slowly spread across his limbs and face, a grotesque testament to the toll his magic exacted. With a sickening sound, his arms broke off, falling away in shattered fragments.

“The least I can do... is to encase the remaining villagers in ice, preserving them from this nightmare,” Barbartos thought, the burden of his resolve pressing heavily on his heart. His final act of protection, even as the storm raged around him, would ensure their safety.

With his body faltering, he focused the last remnants of his strength. The magic coursing through him came at a terrible price, but it was the only way to ensure their survival.

“You will not take her with you!” Barbartos roared with fierce defiance, his voice echoing into the storm. As he uttered those final words, his body continued to splinter, cracks spreading across his form until, at last, he crumbled into dust—his sacrifice complete.

"Curse you, demon!" Aladiah snarled, stomping furiously on the shattered fragments of what had once been Barbartos. Her rage surged, unable to accept his final defiance.

"This [Ice Barrier]... it's immense," she muttered, surveying the wall of hailstorm surrounding her. "I won’t be able to escape. Is his plan for us to die together in here?!" Aladiah bit her lip, frustration and panic flickering across her usually calm face.

Her breath hitched as the reality dawned on her. "I don’t have enough mana to survive this."

Then, she turned, her eyes falling on the hypnotized Kelda, still standing behind her—an unwitting vessel.

"As much as I despise the thought... I’ll have to discard this body and possess her for now."

A soft glow emanated from Aladiah as her form began to shimmer. A white sphere with ethereal, glowing wings slowly detached from her body and drifted toward Kelda. Without hesitation, the sphere entered the girl's body, merging with her essence.

“Ugh... I’ll have to use what’s left of my mana to set up a purifying zone,” Kelda—or rather, Aladiah inside Kelda—grumbled. “Those damned wolves won’t be able to materialize inside this village.”

She raised her hand, her voice steady despite the exhaustion weighing on her. “[Light Field].”

A radiant glow spread from her palm, illuminating the ground beneath her. The light expanded outward, covering the entire village in a shimmering protective barrier.

"This [Light Field] should prevent any low-tier evil spirits from manifesting," she murmured, watching as the purifying glow settled into the earth. "Now that I’m completely drained of mana, I have no choice but to slumber. I’ll bide my time and wait for the right moment to escape this wretched place—bringing this girl to the Almighty Lord when I do."

With that, she closed her eyes, preparing to let her consciousness sink deep into Kelda's body, conserving her strength for the inevitable escape.

The scene shifted back to Kelda as she slowly awoke from her rest.

“Ugh, my head hurts more every day,” she muttered, gently tapping the side of her head in a futile attempt to ease the throbbing pain.

Confusion clouded her thoughts as she surveyed the frozen landscape around her. "Why am I trapped here? Why are Mutti and Vatti frozen... and why am I the only one still moving in this entire village?" Kelda's voice trembled with a mixture of fear and frustration.

She glanced at her parents, their forms encased in thick layers of ice, preserved like statues. The weight of it all was crushing, yet her mind was a blur, unable to piece together the moments that led her to this frozen prison.

"I can’t remember anything… not before the hailstorm came," Kelda whispered, her heart sinking as the cold reality began to settle in.

“The elder… someone told me to avoid somebody, I think... but I can’t remember who…” she muttered, straining to recall the vague warning. Her thoughts remained murky, lost beneath the pounding headache.

“Ahhh! The pain in my head isn’t going away!” Kelda groaned, clutching her temples as the throbbing intensified. Her vision blurred, and a wave of dizziness washed over her, threatening to drag her into unconsciousness.

Fighting to stay upright, she stumbled toward the door. “Ugh... I still need to gather the potatoes and carrots... or I’ll starve to death…”

Despite the nausea swirling in her head, Kelda forced herself outside. Her steps were unsteady, her vision swimming, but she pushed forward, determined to reach the field. With each faltering step, the world spun around her, yet she carried on, desperate to survive.

Particles of light began to dance in Kelda's vision, faint but growing brighter with every step she took. “Am I seeing things now?” she murmured, blinking hard to clear her head. “I must persevere… I can’t faint now…”

Leaning heavily on a wooden stick as a makeshift crutch, she trudged forward, the dizziness threatening to topple her at any moment. Her body ached, the weight of exhaustion pulling her down, but she pressed on, each step heavier than the last.

As she neared the field, a strange sight caught her eye—an area dense with those same shimmering particles of light. They hovered in the air, swirling like fireflies, casting an ethereal glow over the barren land. Confusion flickered across her face.

“What… is this?” she whispered, gripping the stick tighter, her heart pounding with both fear and curiosity as she approached the glowing area.

Kelda moved cautiously toward the glowing spot, her heart pounding in her chest. She knelt down and began to dig, her fingers trembling as they brushed against something soft. A piece of fabric emerged from the dirt, weathered and torn but unmistakably familiar.

"Doesn’t this… belong to…" she muttered, her head aching as she struggled to place the memory. "Ugh, who does it belong to?"

She stared at the cloth for a moment, the faded colors stirring something deep in her mind. Then, like a jolt, it hit her.

"It’s the elder’s!" she exclaimed, her breath catching. "This piece of clothing belonged to the elder! But… where is he? Is he dead…?" Her thoughts raced, panic swelling in her chest as she tried to recall any sign of him. "I couldn’t find him anywhere in the village… What happened to him?"

A cold chill crept up her spine, as the reality of the elder's disappearance—and possibly his fate—began to settle in.

Determined, Kelda began to dig deeper, her hands moving frantically through the snow-covered earth. The pain in her head throbbed relentlessly, but she pushed it aside, driven by the need to uncover the elder’s fate.

"I have to know..." she whispered to herself, her breaths coming in ragged gasps as she clawed at the frozen ground. Each handful of snow and dirt seemed to weigh heavier, but her resolve was unshaken. The crops could wait—finding the elder was more important.

Her fingers grew numb from the cold, but she didn’t stop, even as exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her. "I need to be sure... he has to be here..." she muttered, her heart pounding faster with every inch she dug.

As Kelda dug deeper, her fingers finally grazed something soft and strange. The moment the ashes of the elder mixed with the snow made contact with her skin, a searing pain surged through her body.

“GYAH!” she screamed, collapsing to her knees, clutching her hand as if it were on fire. The pain shot through her like lightning, spreading from her fingers to her entire body, leaving her trembling in agony. Tears welled up in her eyes, but no one was there to hear her cry for help—she was utterly alone.

Her vision blurred further, and for a moment, she could see flashes of something—images, memories, perhaps—but they vanished just as quickly, leaving her gasping for breath.

“What... is this?” she groaned through clenched teeth, her body trembling as she struggled against the pain. "Why is this happening?"

“Was the elder fighting someone…ugh…?” Fragments of memories flooded back to her—images of chaos, of her being hypnotized, and a figure looming over her, twisted and malevolent.

Suddenly, the wall of hail that had encased the village dissipated, as if it had never existed. The oppressive silence was shattered by ominous howls echoing throughout the village, sending chills racing down her spine.

Kelda's heart raced. "What now?" she thought, her instinct urging her to flee. But she couldn't shake the feeling that something was deeply wrong, and she couldn’t leave without knowing the fate of the elder.

Determined, she pushed herself up, shaking off the dizziness that threatened to overwhelm her. With her heart pounding, she steadied herself and looked around. The air crackled with tension, and the howls grew louder, drawing closer.

A pack of Snaegulvars emerged from the shadows, their eyes gleaming with predatory hunger as they fixated on her.

“Eeek! Was the elder fighting these wolves?!” Kelda thought, her pulse quickening. As she squinted at the approaching creatures, the truth hit her like a cold wave: these were no ordinary wolves, but fearsome monsters, their forms twisted and grotesque.

Panic surged through her veins, but she couldn't back away now. The chilling reality of her situation gripped her, yet deep down, an inexplicable connection to the elder’s fate urged her forward.

Unbeknownst to her, the moment she made contact with Barbartos’ ashes, the lingering effects of his [Ice Barrier] and Aladiah’s [Light Zone] collided and canceled each other out, allowing the Snaegulvars to enter the village without restraint. The monsters advanced with deadly intent, fixated on killing Aladiah, who resided within Kelda’s body without her knowledge.

Kelda glanced around frantically, her heart pounding as she searched for an escape route. To her surprise, the oppressive wall of hailstorm had vanished, leaving a chilling silence in its wake. With a surge of adrenaline, she pushed through the pain in her head and sprinted away.

The Snaegulvars pursued her with a relentless hunger, their howls echoing through the village like a death knell. Desperate, she dashed into a nearby villager's house, slamming the door shut behind her. The thick wooden walls provided a fleeting sense of security, but the Snaegulvars were undeterred. They hurled themselves against the door, their snarls reverberating through the wood as they attempted to break through and reach Aladiah.

“Please, hold on!” Kelda whispered to herself, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She frantically scanned the room for anything she could use to fortify her makeshift barricade. The air crackled with tension as she braced herself, knowing the monsters were just outside, eager to tear through the last remnants of safety.

“Why are they after me?! Am I going to be their next meal?!” Kelda cried out in terror, pressing her back against the door with all her strength. The relentless pounding of the Snaegulvars echoed in her ears, each thud a reminder of her impending doom.

“Please, God, if you’re out there, save me!” she prayed fervently, her voice trembling as she pushed against the door with her entire weight. The wood creaked ominously under the strain, and she could feel her resolve wavering with each violent impact.

With desperation clawing at her heart, Kelda took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. “I can’t give up now!” she whispered fiercely, summoning the last remnants of her courage. The shadows of doubt crept in, but she fought them back, determined to hold her ground against the onslaught.

She quickly scanned the room for anything she could use, but a wave of despair washed over her as she remembered she had already taken all the metal and hard materials back to her house to create makeshift armor for crossing the hailstorm. The only objects within reach were the flimsy table and chairs.

“Is this really the end for me?” Kelda wailed, her grip on the door tightening as the Snaegulvars continued to batter against it. Her heart raced, the sound of her own pulse drowning out the chaos outside.

In that moment of desperation, she grabbed a nearby chair, lifting it above her head as if it could somehow shield her from the impending danger. “I won’t go down without a fight!” she shouted defiantly, though uncertainty gnawed at her resolve.