Chapter 14 ~ Once Beloved, Now Enemies
Staring at the town turned inferno, Tillysha seemed lost in thought, finally piecing together what ignited the flames. It wasn’t invaders or peasant uprisings, but townsfolk turning into monsters who then attacked the guards. Hence why most casualties were guards, with civilians more often dying from collateral damage.
Of course, some transformed monsters indiscriminately attacked all, regardless of who was who.
As for what turned these common folk into monsters, it wasn’t the root cause; the Corpse Flowers merely manifest the resentment bubbling beneath the surface. Pure grudges, could they truly transform civilians into monsters?
Tillysha believed there was a missing catalyst. Gazing at the city ablaze, something eerily familiar crossed her mind but then vanished like a stone sinking into the sea without a trace.
Heart-wrenching screams still rang through the burning city, with monsters relentlessly hunting down the guards. These creatures clearly retained their consciousness and intelligence, executing an organized takeover of the city center, advancing methodically towards the inner city.
Their target? The inner city mansion. Tillysha had a pretty good guess about their intentions. Justice demands a master and repayment of debts—these citizen-turned-monsters hadn’t lost all their memories; at least their hatred burned stronger than ever. The transformation into monsters had magnified their negative emotions, consuming all rational intentions, leaving them bent on releasing long-held resentments.
For them, the guards were merely appetizers. The real target—they aimed to dismember the city lord who long oppressed them like animals.
As Tillysha surveyed the desolate Furnace City, contrasting it with her first impression, it seemed the only differences were the blaze, significant deaths, and demolished structures; otherwise, it remained the same. For the suffering commoners, this place was a prison, a hell. Freed from the bonds of “family” and “humanity,” their first act would obviously be to break free.
The sea of fire might appear hellish, but it symbolized liberty to these once imprisoned souls. They had never celebrated like they did today.
Maybe they had always dreamed of this day, hindered only by moral restraints and lack of power. But the Corpse Flowers had granted them the opportunity. The chance to overthrow their oppressors.
Understanding all this, Tillysha didn’t know what she was supposed to do now.
Just as someone once questioned her, “Are you going to help the oppressors quell the rebellion or assist the oppressed in creating unrest?”
Regardless of whether the transformed commoners succeeded or failed, it was all part of the natural order. To forcibly alter it with human power would be disrespectful to nature.
Whichever path she chose, it would be ultimately meaningless.
As she pondered, a soft, delicate finger prodded her waist.
Looking down, Yimi stared silently with her big, expressionless eyes.
“How long do you plan to daydream?”
Only then did Tillysha remember she needed to relocate all the wounded to safer areas.
On the other side, the siege battle was in full swing. After becoming monsters, these zealots wielded incredible strength, far superior to their previous capabilities. Furnace City, being relatively young, less than a century old with no significant history of warfare, its walls were built carelessly with little fortitude. Especially since the Imperial treasury had been strained post-Demon Race wars, the city walls crumbled like paper before their monstrous might.
The defending forces of the inner city suffered significant losses as the walls offered little resistance. However, thanks to a decent number of mages and a handful of holy warriors stationed inside, the city still held out.
Tillysha noticed then the reason there were so few guards defending the outer walls earlier: the city lord, prioritizing survival, had relocated the majority of his forces, mages, and holy warriors to the inner city.
As for the outer city’s suffering civilians? Unimportant. How could they be more significant than the ruler’s survival?
She briefly glanced towards the city and turned her eyes away. Tillysha continued to evacuate the wounded alongside Yimi, having no interest or ability to intervene with the inner city’s battle.
“Good sir, are you alright?” With the situation dire, Tillysha had done her best to escort any surviving civilians outside the city, treating the grievous injuries with her medicinal supplies.
“Cough… cough….” The rescued people were in shock, many still unconscious. Those who regained awareness were trembling with fear, unable to verbalize responses. Their pale lips quivered as they repeatedly mouthed prayers like ‘Kalito, protect us.’
Tillysha frowned slightly and sighed. Without security, people clung to the intangible gods for hope. This was a simple dream of the people living here—a vision of protection, even if they received no divine boon, they’d still place their trust in an imaginary protector.
“Should we go help in the city?”
Shaking her head, Tillysha remained silent.
She had no idea what to do, what the right action was, nor how to save the humans now transformed into monsters.
Noticing Tillysha’s hesitation, Yimi didn’t press further. She kept working diligently, distributing the medicines to other wounded survivors.
“Out of supplies.” Yimi reported to Tillysha bluntly. “Your portable alchemical remedies have been depleted.”
This world, alas, bore no magic rings to carry endless supplies.
“Curse… it’s a curse…” An old lady swaddled in blankets started coming to her senses but remained dazed, muttering words incomprehensible to the others.
“They turned their backs on Kalito and embraced the heretical creed… they turned into horrifying monsters!” The old lady’s voice was sharp, startling those nearby who shook with fear.
“Old lady? Are you alright?”
“…” Yimi stood beside Tillysha, silently aiding the terrified elder, and couldn’t help but roll her eyes. By age comparison, Tillysha was likely older than the combined years of everyone present, yet still referred to as “elder.”
“Are you… a holy warrior sent from the Capital?” The old lady suddenly grabbed Tillysha’s hands, trembling as she spoke.
“Yes, you can think of me as that. What do you mean by them following heretical teachings?”
“Oh, wonderful! Those beasts inside the city… they’ve embraced evil teachings, their hearts corrupted! They’re devouring people!” The old lady’s voice was hoarse with urgency.
“They’re hidden wolves among the flock, pretenders of piety, but actually spies for the heretics!” She rasped.
“You’re saying these monsters were once followers of the heresy? But weren’t they originally residents of this city?”
“No, they don’t believe in the Seven Saints! They worship the Demon Race’s deities, they deserve what they got!” The old lady stated with conviction.
“From your tone, has something like this happened before?”
“…Miss with the golden hair, you’re new here, aren’t you?” An awakened middle-aged man added, “Heretical transformations have become commonplace within the Empire.”
“Therefore, the empire lives in perpetual fear of such heretics. That’s why the standards to identify them are so harsh—to avoid letting even one slip through the cracks.”
“Letting a single heretic survive can cause unimaginable calamity… the price we pay.”
“These heretics are truly contemptible!”
As more civilians recovered consciousness, they mostly complained about the calamities inflicted on the town by the heretics. No one bothered to thank Tillysha and Yimi for saving their lives.
By their clothing and speech, Tillysha identified many as small-time property owners now outraged over losing their assets to the heretics.
However, despite their fury, none appeared eager to reclaim their property and ventures—they preferred to rage impotently from the sidelines.
Why, she wondered?
These people claimed the transformed were heretics, which conflicted with what her intuition had detected.
Not all saved civilians were wealthy. Several destitute commoners were among the survivors, quiet and subdued. When Tillysha approached them, they glanced momentarily with bewildered expressions before averting their gaze.
Being saved or not made no difference to them. Life carried on, meaningless.
In the eyes of the ragged folks, Tillysha could detect no flicker of hope.
“Hey, aren’t you supposed to be some holy warrior from the Capital? Quit spacing out and call your comrades! Clean up all those heretics in the city right now!!”
“Now you show up when everyone’s business is ruined. What the heck do our taxes pay for??” This outburst garnered many agreeing nods.
“Exactly! Are you trying to freeload off the emperor’s salary without lifting a finger??”
Evidently believing these two women to be easy targets for scorn, the aggrieved citizens vented their fury towards Tillysha and Yimi.
Since these two wouldn’t slaughter them like the heretics, they felt secure in their complaints and insults.
“Silence.” Yimi suddenly spoke up, her tone icy cold. “We’re not here under the emperor’s orders and have no obligation to save you. Should you not be grateful you survived at all?”
“What are you here for then??”
“And how dare you place me, whose father serves as the Viscount’s steward, in such a place alongside these beggars? Do you know nothing of proper conduct towards the noble?” A dapper gentleman sneered, glancing disdainfully at the huddled commoners nearby. These folk dared not protest, merely inching further away.
“Building your so-called superiority on the disdain for your unfortunate kin.” Yimi dismissed them coolly. “How ugly.”
“W-what? Little girl, who are you calling ugly??”
“That’s right, even nobles host banquets to receive me. How dare you lump me with these riff-raff?”
“Clearly you know nothing of proper etiquette.”
Even amidst foreign peril, clan infighting and bickering persisted, disdainfully rejecting one another.
“…” Yimi opened her mouth, but before words could escape, Tillysha collapsed to one knee, clutching her head.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“…” Tillysha remained silent as the haunting scene triggered fragmented, vivid memories.
‘For the entire Elf Clan?? Tillysha, I hope you can speak truly: Is it for all elves, or for the Gold Elves alone??’
‘Pretending all is fine while refusing to stoop that proud head. You haven’t observed the Wood Elves, Sea Elves, or us…’
‘If you always speak of equality, why do the hardest, most dangerous tasks always fall upon us while you Gold Elves do nothing? Is your life more valuable simply because of your rarity??’
‘Tillysha, my former love… It saddens me. I fear we’ll never understand each other.’
The final image was of a wheat-skinned girl with silver hair tinged with gray, forming a stark contrast with her healthy bronze skin. In this moment, her bloodshot eyes pierced Tillysha’s very soul coldly.
“Seems there’s no other way. I must defeat you and force you to see things my way.”
The scene shifted. The golden-haired, pale-skinned girl and the silver-haired, bronze-skinned girl faced each other.
Two childhood friends, once inseparable. Now standing on opposite sides, bound to clash.
Tillysha snapped back to reality, sweat drenching her back as she wiped her clammy palms.
