Shadowbane

The sound of two men laughing to my left startled me awake. I opened my eyes, and the first thing I noticed is that I was inside a jail cell. The men who woke me up are sitting next to a small table outside of the cell playing cards.

What the hell...? Where is this? The last thing I remember is being crushed by a massive amount of rubble...

"I'm telling you, this turned out way better than I was expecting." One man said.

"Don't let the others hear you saying that, they're already freaking out over what we did earlier. The last thing they'll want to hear is how much you're enjoying this." The other replied.

"Idiot, their eyes still work, they saw what we did back there. Despite what those pussies said at first, none of them had the balls to go through with it in the end. They were forced to rely on us to finish it, the only logical ones in the group."

"Logical...? Can't believe you just said that with a straight face."

... No time to think about my situation it seems. That conversation had all sorts of red flags in it. It's not the first time I've been captured, so that's not what worries me. The real problem is something else entirely.

I'm weak.

I can't even remember the last time I felt this pathetic... Probably back when I was a child.

But then what does that leave me with? I apparently lost all of my abilities too, I can't sense a single one of them. There's no way I'll break open those thick-looking bars as I am now. All that leaves me with is turning invisible and hope they'll come in to investigate after they see me missing. That also has complications though...

I looked around with my eyes barely open, making sure not to move my head at all.

Torches... Damnable light everywhere.

I could stay invisible where I am for maybe a minute, but that's nowhere near enough. If I create a sound to make them look in my direction so no time is wasted, it's still too risky. Between the initial surprise, the fumbling of that massive keyring, and entering the room far enough to leave me space to sneak out; a minute just isn't enough. In that scenario I'll be forced to fight them barehanded with my pittance of mana. Barehanded wouldn't be a problem if I had the strength to enhance myself right now...

I see one last option in the corner. I'd recognize that red strip signifying a barrel of oil paints anywhere. When in doubt, just light everything on fire. I'll survive, and thanks to the fire being natural they won't be able to guard against it with their barriers.

That in itself comes with problems... The time to heal is going to be way too long with how weak I am right now. I'll need to find a very dark area to hide in before I lose the ability to move.

The man on the right looked back at me.

"Alright... I'm dying to know what this thing is." He threw down his cards and stood up.

"You out of your mind asshole? Sit back down, you got enough of that earlier with the beastmen. And of all things to cut up, why the hell do you want to touch that... Thing?

"What can I say, I've always wanted to see an Elf. Think about it, when is the last time an Elf has even been seen in our world?" The man responded.

"That ain't no Elf you fool! Pointy ears it has, but look at that creepy pale skin and pure white hair. We lifted her lids earlier, the thing has red eyes. Never seen red eyes in my life... I'm pleading here Gaz, leave it be."

"Was that supposed to deter me? Idiot, all you did was make me more interested!"

The other man stood up, drawing his sword.

Gaz looked him up and down, "... Looks like you're the one who lost their damned mind. Since when were you in a position to tell me what to do? More than that, SINCE WHEN DID YOU THINK YOU COULD BEAT ME?!"

"I-It ain't right, that thing... Leave it in there, please Gaz..." The man responded as his teeth began to chatter.

Now there is a surprise... It's been a while since I've seen someone freak out like that around me. In very rare cases my aura strongly afflicts people with one particular emotion.

Fear.

Unless he leaves, he'll die before he lets the man known as Gaz into my cell. Which is rather annoying, Gaz coming to dissect me was the biggest possible gift to me in this situation. If I can get his head within reaching distance while he's still unwary of me...

Gaz seemed taken aback by his friend's condition. Eventually, he relaxed his shoulders and sighed.

"Gods damnit all Peter..."

A long silence drifted between them.

Gaz finally said, "Peter, can't you go do something else for now? Come on brother, there's nobody left but this girl now. The rest are gone!"

Gone?

Another long pause ensued.

"... You changed after picking up that sword. All you ever want to do is cut people up now." Peter sighed, "Fine. I'll wait on the other side of the door." Peter said, sheathing his sword.

"Good man! It won't take me long, then we'll go join up with the others."

"What? We can't just leave the creature unattended."

From thing to creature. I can't tell if he upgraded or downgraded me.

"You planned on actually watching this thing? Get a grip moron, it's dead already. No way in hell we're going to sit here guarding this body because Keith said the Demon wants it for later."

Demon...

I could hear Peter walking towards the door, followed by the sound of a door opening and closing.

"That was one hell of a smile he had after I mentioned leaving here. He really wants nothing to do with you, eh girl?" Gaz said.

I could hear the jingling of keys as Gaz tried to figure out which one worked on the cell. There was a small click followed by the sound of rusty hinges grinding soon after. Gaz walked to the side of the bed, leaning down close to my face.

"Bah, I don't see what he's so scared abo--"

I reached up with both my hands, my right hand on his chin and left on the top of his head. I quickly snapped his head to the right with all the force I could muster. A loud pop followed as his body went limp on top of me.

'Luck is a skill too' a friend told me long ago. Moments like this make me feel like he was right.

I crawled out from underneath his body, gently laying him down to not make too much noise. Peter is going to get suspicious if he doesn't start hearing a lot of noise soon, so I need to make this quick.

I stood up from the side of the bed and surveyed the small room I had skimmed earlier. This has to be the smallest damned room I've ever seen. Only one way out, and Peter is diligently standing on the other side of it.

Alright... What's the plan? Slam the door open and try to catch him off guard with Gaz's weapon? Too risky. I don't know what abilities Peter has nor his reaction time.

Douse the torches and turn invisible by the door? Same plan as earlier in a way. I'd make a loud noise to get him to enter and either sneak past him or attack him from behind with Gaz's sword.

... But I really want to make sure Peter is dead before I leave here. He'll let the others know about me if I leave him alive. Plus, more than anything, I need his soul. As I am now, a regular guard could probably kill me. Not that human souls will make a massive difference, but any boost is necessary right now. The sword is still not an option though. Any veteran would activate his barrier when he feels something is off. Very few can deflect physical attacks with it, but if that slight possibility comes true, then there is a one hundred percent chance I'll die after my initial blow bounces off of him.

That leaves...

I looked back at the barrel.

... Even I feel a little bad for what I'm about to do.

I walked over to the barrel and peered inside the already open lid. About one-fourth left, more than enough.

I picked the barrel up and carried it over to the door before dropping it down silently. After that I took a moment to steady myself before turning the handle and slamming the door open.

Peter yelled "The fuck?!" as he fell forward. He barely caught himself with his elbows and knees. I grabbed the handles of the barrel on one side and quickly emptied it onto him just as he flipped over. It only drenched him from the chest down, but that was more than enough.

I had planned to grab one of the many torches lining the walls, but in his initial panic Peter had lowered the torch in his right hand toward his stomach to see what I threw on him. Which rang the death knell for him. He went up like a bonfire. Screams erupted as he flailed around trying to put the fire out. I could see his barrier flickering on and off as he pointlessly tried to protect himself with it. It's too late to stop the screams from alerting the others, but at the very least I can put the man out of his misery. Plus, I need to eat.

I plunged the sword directly into his heart while his barrier was up.

As expected, a stealth kill would've been possible, but I don't regret taking the safer option. On another note, it's a little strange that he had a torch in his hand... This wretched place is already lined with them after all. Maybe it was because of the fear he felt from me? Carrying some personal light of his own probably made him feel better. Regardless, I need to eat these two and get the hell out of here. I don't hear boots stomping this way yet, but it's probably only a matter of time.

I placed my hand over his chest and reached deep inside with part of my own soul. I could feel the erratic pulse of his soul severing from his body now that he was dead. I slowly pulled at it, gathering it into the central part of his chest before it eventually formed into a sphere in my hand.

Don't worry Peter, you never had any chance of reincarnating to begin with. If I didn't eat your soul, she would have. At least with me, you won't be trapped in a literal living hell for all of eternity.

After I placed the beautiful blue sphere into my mouth, an unnatural force hungrily sucked it down into my core.

Oh my god...

Souls have always been the most delicious thing in the universe ever since I became... this. But eating one when I'm this weak... This starved? I wish I could lay here and savor this feeling until it goes away...

Sadly, there's no time for that. Gaz the creep is next, and then it's time to get the hell out of this place.

~Nisha's POV~

... I was completely stunned. It was already surprising enough when Gaz's soul started decoupling itself from his body, which meant that he had died, but soon after that Peter died as well just as I was asking him why Gaz was dead. However, what shook me the most, was when his soul was ripped out of his body. I could feel my mark disappear into something deep... something dark. It sent shivers down my spine at how gross and disturbing it felt.

I reached out to all of my marks, readying communications.

"Keith, we have a problem! Both Gaz and Peter are dead! Also, Peter had his soul eaten soon aft... Ah, I can feel Gaz's soul being ripped out right now as well."

"What?! What the hell is happening over there?! Jason, are you still near the both of them?" Keith said.

"Yes boss, I heard screams off in the direction of the jail. I've been waiting for orders."

"Good, hold your position for now, keep watch and tell us when you see or hear anything. Nisha, keep communications open between you two and your brother's group and inform us immediately if anything happens. Me and Lindon are watching the spider right now so we can't move. Brian and Albel, you two stay near the gate and prepare to assist Jason in case anything happens. Nisha, if it's necessary, bring Jason to you. We can always reclaim the arena later on from any monsters that arrived in our absence."

"Okay, will do."

Everyone but Jason cut off.

... I understand why he did that. Even Keith would need a long time to break through Jason's shield, but I'm still worried. There's only one way out from where Jason is, and it exits to the same hallway that leads to the jail.

Wait... the jail. Didn't they put that weird Elven girl in there? Earlier Gaz and Peter fell into a hole in the woods and found her at the bottom of it. With everything going on it probably slipped Keith's mind. Well, everyone's mind apparently... After all, the girl was clearly dead. She had no heartbeat or anything. We figured someone was trying to bury her before the blackout started and wasn't able to finish in time. The only reason they brought her back and jailed her was because that's what the Demon wanted us to do. It was very interested in her after Gaz described her appearance... It wanted to make sure no monsters ate her.

"Anything Jason?"

"Nothing. I've got my barrier on full guard in front of me. Not even the Demon could hurt me right now." Jason replied.

"Still, please be careful, I think it's the girl they put in the jail," I said.

"The dead Elf? Normally I wouldn't consider it, but.... Right, there's really nobody else it could be. If there was an intruder, I or Albel's group would've been the first to be attacked. Also, you've got your surveillance net up, right? The problem is that I checked her myself, and she was definitely dead. So if it really is her..." Jason trailed off, clearly unsure of how to even finish that sentence.

"Don't worry, my brother's group will take care of her. I've already placed traps in their area as a precaution. Want me to place one in front and behind you as well, just in case?"

Jason sighed, "Please do. Gaz and Peter were the weakest among us, but they weren't weak in a general sense. I'd like to be more safe than sorry."

I chuckled, "No worries, I got you. It will only take a few minutes."

I feel like I should be sad that Gaz and Peter died... But I'm not. Absolutely vile human beings, the both of them. Thinking about what they did earlier makes me sick. Not that we're any better now... none of us stopped what happened. If anything, this was our idea.

I could hear Jason sniffling again.

... We really shouldn't have brought him. He's barely an adult and honestly a really sweet kid. And now we forced him to take part in something so messed up that I'm still having a hard time believing that it actually happened.

... All those Kitsune wanted was a home to belong to, and we promised to protect them while they rebuilt their old abandoned villages. Instead, we sacrificed them like cattle. When I agreed to this plan I thought it would be maybe fifteen people tops. Instead, the whole damned village got sacrificed. There were at least five hundred people...

Brian and I looked on in abject horror when Keith suggested the idea to us. Gaz and Peter didn't believe him until it got to the point where all the villagers were trapped in the seal, and my brother just stood there making no comment at all. I don't know what he was thinking, but my mind was a complete mess. I get that Keith is trying to save the group, but surely there was a better wa---

I screamed in surprise as a sword pierced through the back of Jason's neck, exiting cleanly through the front. After the sword was pulled out, Jason's body crumpled to the floor lifelessly.

~Reimia's POV~

Well, that was unfortunate... For him anyway. When I peeked around the corner, my initial thought was to run away. The barrier he was projecting in front of him was ridiculous, and I'd bet anything that it also deflected physical attacks.

However, the barrier was a bit too strong. I had an idea as to why that might be, so I circled around him, and that's when I saw his unguarded back. I had a really hard time not laughing when I saw that. After he heard the screaming, he apparently responded by concentrating his barrier forward, which normally would be the best course of action. But doing that against me? He ended up turning an impossible battle into a free victory. Still though, it's hard to blame him for such a natural response... After all, I've yet to meet anything else that could turn invisible like me. In this realm anyway...

With that said, there is now one other thing bothering me. The only reason I even came down this way is because of the mana line I saw going in this direction. I thought I was seeing things with Peter when I spotted a small line of mana poking through the wall towards his side. After all, in the heat of the moment, it's not rare to see things that don't actually exist or to remember things wrong. However, that clearly wasn't the case here, since this man also had one connected to his soul shortly before I showed up. I've seen it before in cursed victims but... This guy sure as hell didn't look cursed.

I reached down and pulled this man's soul out too. As delicious as these are, I really need monsters or Eldritch souls right now.

... Hmm. Those mana lines were both coming from the same direction, I should be able to find the source if I want to. For now though, I want to see what this guy was guarding.

After walking for about a minute down a steep hallway, I entered an arena that was at least four hundred meters in circumference. The top was also completely open. It revealed a pitch-black sky that I've only seen in one other location before now.

...It can't be for the same reasons the sky was blotted out over there. But if it is, then this moon is done for. This does however explain why they went overboard with the torches, even the arena is well-lit. On top of how comforting it must be for them, there is no way these humans can see anything with how dark it currently is.

The wall at the far end of the arena was completely collapsed. That was probably the main entrance?

The last thing I noticed was a large pattern painted on the ground. A very familiar pattern that I could never forget even if I wanted to.

"... The fuckers summoned a Satyr," I mumbled.

Merely saying the name of that creature was filling me with an indescribable amount of disgust. I was debating whether to follow those mana lines or leave and take my time figuring out where the hell I am. Not anymore. Now I'm only interested in killing the people who conducted the ritual here.