The dragon's fire had vanished, leaving behind clumps of hot smoke and blackened earth. The air seemed to stop circulating, as if all creatures around—human and fungal alike—were holding their breath.
Adriana stood upright. Her shoulders rose and fell, her body still trembling from adrenaline.
Marek raised his shield, on guard. "Is it over? Did we succeed?"
Before an answer could come out—
CRAAAKK!!
A cracking sound, like rotten wood being stepped on. But this wasn't wood. All eyes turned to the center of the field—where a figure sat hunched over, wearing a long robe with the emblem of Beysolun Town Hall.
"Councilor Harlan…?" Velan whispered, his face pale.
The senior official tried to stand. But his body trembled violently. His robe was tattered, and the skin on his hands… began to change. Small lumps like blooming boils emerged from his arms—silvery fungi, pulsing slowly as if alive.
"No… impossible…" Harlan's voice was heavy, trying to suppress the pain. "I… was just standing too close…"
"NO ONE IS 'JUST CLOSE' AROUND THAT THING!" Marek yelled, trying to run towards him.
Too late.
BWUOOOOOM!!
Something within Harlan's body swelled—bursting through his chest and back. Fungi and blood came out together. His body lifted momentarily, then slammed hard to the ground. But the most terrifying part—the fungus moved on its own. As if conscious. As if absorbing the last remnants of the official's life to grow something even more horrifying.
"BACK!! EVERYONE, FALL BACK!!" Adriana screamed.
The ground around Harlan cracked, forming small fissures emitting thin smoke. Velan immediately erected a magic shield—a trembling blue dome encircling the area around the corpse.
Yet from within the mist—a hand emerged.
A hand with black nails and bulging veins. Then another. Then a head. A body. Human…? No. Not quite.
They were like remnant bodies. Corpses from beneath the city. From the ruins. From forgotten graves.
Now risen.
Walking.
Grinning… without a sound.
Reynard remained still. His gaze was calm, too calm. But his right hand already glowed softly, forming a complex Etherium symbol—not an offensive spell, but an information-gathering one.
At the corner of his lips, nearly invisible—a murmur emerged.
"It's a summons."
Edric turned quickly. "Huh?! What do you mean?!"
Reynard stared at the mist now glowing softly, like a curtain hiding something greater.
"It—is calling for more."
DOOOM. DOOM. DOOM.
The ground began to tremble. Footsteps. Foreign bodies appeared on the edge of the mist, shapes not entirely human, yet not quite monsters either.
Velan swallowed hard. "I swear by the skies… this is more than just infection. This is some kind of—rebirth ritual…"
Adriana gripped her two daggers tighter, and answered softly but firmly:
"If this is a birth… then we are the midwives who will cut its umbilical cord—with fire."
---
The dragon fire smoke began to fade, leaving the scent of char and burnt fungus. The ground around the field was blackened. Amidst the ruins of the town hall podium, the figure of Councilor Harlan—the city official who had earlier assisted in the evacuation and led some volunteers—suddenly staggered.
"GHHHHKHH—!!"
A rough, deep cough, almost like a voice from two throats at once.
"Harlan?" one of the council staff ran closer, face panicked. "Sir Harlan, what's wrong?!"
But Harlan's body was already hunched. His robe bulged strangely. His skin writhed. From behind his collar… a purplish-red lump emerged, slowly growing and splitting the skin.
"Aether above… Sir, that's fungus!" his staff member yelled, immediately trying to pull him away.
Too late.
"CRAACKKK—!!"
Harlan's neck snapped. A sound like brittle wood breaking in one jolt. His body stiffened—then vibrated rapidly like a seizure… and rose.
His eyes were empty, but full of red veins. Fungus grew from inside his mouth.
The staff member helping him still tried to hold on, "W-Wait! This can be healed—"
"GRRRKHH—!!"
Harlan's teeth sank into his staff member's shoulder! Blood spurted. The staff member screamed in horror, thrashing, but Harlan held on tight, the fungus from his hands also attaching to the victim's skin.
A scream shattered the night.
"Defensive positions!!" Adriana shouted, immediately running toward the incident.
Velan, the shield mage, spread a seal in the air, but another zombie—a former city guard—leaped from the opposite direction.
Marek swung his shield, knocking it back. But his face began to pale. "Damn, this isn't infection… this is already like… a ritual!!"
And by the time Adriana arrived—Councilor Harlan was unrecognizable. Half his face was rotting. Fungus protruded from his eyes. His staff member lay lifeless, his body beginning to show the same signs.
"...Councilor… Harlan?" Adriana murmured.
The creature turned its head. But it was no longer human. No longer an official.
Just… part of the network.
Reynard, from a distance, watched without emotion. "...A new signal connected. The hive is expanding."
---
Beysolun Field – When Death Calls Without Warning
"BOOMMM!!"
The podium ruins exploded sideways, not from magic or fire—but because someone smashed through the stone wall from inside, destroying it mercilessly.
A tall figure, its body pitch black like charcoal, fungal roots wrapped around its form, and a pair of glowing purple eyes piercing through the smoke.
It stood still. Then walked slowly.
Its steps… dragged the sound of cracking earth. Not heavy—but powerful. As if every movement could make the ground tremble.
"Combat formation!" Adriana shouted.
Velan spread a protection symbol, but his hands trembled.
And before they could move—
"SREEEETT!!"
The figure vanished from sight in an instant. Only a spray of black mist and fungal fragments remained.
"IT'S ON THE RIGHT!!" Marek screamed.
Too late.
BRAKKK!!
Three volunteers were thrown simultaneously. Two hit a house wall, another was dragged across the ground with his arm bone twisted unnaturally.
The creature charged forward like a shadow of death—not using magic, only brutal strength and supernatural speed.
It shot from one body to another, grabbing, punching, tearing. Every impact made the sound of breaking bones clear. Even light armor crumbled like biscuits.
They were no match.
"SPLIT RIGHT!!" Adriana called, moving left to feint.
But as if the creature could read her intent.
"FWOOOSHH—!!" It reversed direction mid-air, then slammed a mage's body into the ground until it shattered and lay twitching motionless.
Reynard tried to restrain it, spreading Etherium symbols, but before the form was complete—
CLAAAK!!
The creature was already behind him, smashing his symbol and exploding it into Reynard's face!
"YOU ARE AN INTERESTING PAWN," the creature whispered. Its voice… two tones at once. An adult male's voice, and a teenager's… in one frequency.
One massive impact silenced everything.
The creature looked at everyone… then turned away.
It stamped the ground, and with one leap, charged directly toward the main town hall building.
"BOOOMMM!!!"
The front stone pillar exploded, the wooden door flew two meters away, and the creature entered like a bloodthirsty storm.
The volunteers could only stare… panting, wounded, and one question hanging in the air:
"What kind of creature is that…?"
And Velan—with blood flowing from his temple—could only stare at the shadow disappearing into the building while whispering:
"That… is not just a killer. That's… the manifestation of a will."
---
Beysolun Town Hall – Main Hall
The air vibrated.
Not from explosions, but from a silence too heavy. The air carried the scent of blood and charred fungus, like bad news too lazy to knock.
THUD.
Heavy steps echoed in the main hallway.
THUD.
Dust fell from the ceiling. Some paintings swayed slowly, as if afraid to fall just from the sound.
The large oak door opened on its own, its hinges creaking softly. Not forced open. Not destroyed.
Opened.
Someone—or something—entered without haste. Without fear.
Eldain Corvus didn't look up. His pen continued dancing across the paper. His hands didn't tremble. He didn't even pause at a period.
The creature stood there.
Black, shrouded in fungal roots, sharp glowing purple eyes piercing the room's darkness.
Silence.
One breath was heard—but not from a human.
Only then did Eldain raise his head.
His gaze met the creature's. No surprise. No protective magic. Only a look that was too… prepared.
A faint smile split his face.
"Right on time."
The creature didn't answer.
But it didn't attack.
And for a moment—time stopped.
Then… Eldain looked back down, signing his final document.
As if the visit had long been scheduled.
-------