RISE OF THE SWARM

In another forest 3 people could be seen hurriedly riding through the forest, their destination unknown. Two of them wore deep brown hoods, while one was clad in heavy armour. Its silver surface glowed in the midday sun, its edges etched with golden highlights. On the chest, a large golden cross was beautifully embroidered. A symbol of the church of light.

"I hope we aren't too late," he said, as he urged his horse even faster. The two figures behind stared at him, not uttering a word, quietly rushing their horses to keep pace with the knight.

The three rode on for a while till they burst through a clearing. What they saw shocked them to no end. In front of them rotting corpses filled the area, the knight in silver descended from his horse his face in a grimace. He in fact, was to late.

Blood was spilled everywhere in the surroundings, and body parts littered everywhere, bodies clad in red robes. But something didn't add up. The heretic didn't usually leave bodies laying around.

He walked over to one of the corpses, this one had its head severed from the rest of it's body. He turned the body facing upwards. He unsheathed a silver sword from his waist, using it to cut the red fabric that draped over the corpse.

He covered his nose as the stench hit him like a carriage. But his suspicions were true. On the body's chest a tatoo was carved into the flesh, although now roting and faded, one could still discern its shape. It was an eight edged star shape encased in a circle, and in the middle the image of a wolf. This was the symbol of the church of fangs. A heretic group that he had been tasked by the church to seek and eradicate, but that task had proven difficult, he always appeared to late finding them already gone, leaving villages empty and devoid of life. Using the villagers in their horrid rituals where they would sacrifice lives in order to rapidly increase their strengths.

He turned to the two robed figures.

"It seems that something had attacked these heretics after finishing their ritual. My thoughts are a beast, as the work was too rough to be any human or anything else." He said, sheathing his sword.

One of the robed figures removed their hood covering their face, revealing an elderly face one etched with wrinkles amplifying his age, he had white hair as well as white beard. A scar ran from his right eye up to his lip. Through his bright blue eyes.

"It had to have been a powerful beast to take down this group. But there shouldnt be any mana beast in this area to be ae to accomplish such a feat." The man said placing a hand on his chin.

"It might have been a wondering beast. Based on my knowledge there shouldnt be anyone in the village that would be capable of taking down this group. The beast must've been at least a tier 4 beast." The knight responded.

"I'm sorry for employing you kind adventurers on this useless quest, but fret not i will do my due diligence and pay you according to our contract, i'm just disappointed that i couldn't bring these monsters to justice." The knight said with a smile, placing his hand on his chest and taking a bow before the adventurers.

The elderly man nodded before turning his head towards a certain spot his brows raised in curiosity. A boy lay there, dried blood on his clothes. Flies buzzed around him, but that wasn't the shocking part. His chest moved up and down; he was....breathing. He was alive.

"Maybe the heretics didn't kill everyone." He said with a smile, walking towards the figure.

The knight looked on in curiosity, he had scanned this area with his mana, and there was no one who was alive. But then he saw it, amid the corpses, a figure was breathing, showing that he still had life within him. His eyes widened in surprise he was sure he had scanned this are so why couldn't he sense him.

The elderly man knelt, turning over the boy. He was covered in blood but he was still alive. But strangley he had no visible wounds on his body where the blood should have been originating from.

Hmmmm, a null body, the man thought, but there was something else about the boy he couldn't discern. The boy didn't just have a null body no there was something else. Normally, a null body couldn't interact with mana at all, yet his was different he was repelling mana itself, creating a sort of null-field around him. Interesting the old man thought.

"He needs help, let's get him to Cavora city, he needs a healer." The old man said, lifting the boy placing him on his shoulder.

The knight quickly nodded, slightly ashamed at his carelessness. He was about to abandon a person.

"It's weird is as if he doesn't have any mana in him, that why i couldn't sense him." The knight said.

"He has a null body." The elderly man replied.

The knight's eyes widened in understanding thats why he couldn't sense him. But he had heard null bodies were quite rare how could one be this far out in the empire.

"If that the case then whatever beast it was that attacked might not have noticed him due to his mana-less nature." A new voice came from the other hooded figure. This one although was female soft and sweet.

The old man nodded. "Agreed. If whatever did this is still nearby, we don't want to be here when it returns."

As they mounted their horses, the knight cast one last glance at the slaughtered heretics. The Church of Fangs had been a blight upon the land, conducting vile rituals in the name of their twisted faith. Yet, seeing them torn apart like this didn't bring him satisfaction, only unease