Chapter 128
The Forest Stirs
With the advent of the ashen clouds, Leo knew that it wouldn't be long before others like Azariel began waking up. As such, he'd asked the man for any locations that he might know of within the forest itself, and he came up with precisely four others.
They were all scattered rather far off from each other, and though Leo wanted to share the burden with others, he didn't feel comfortable with it, especially sending the kids out. As such, he departed with just one person in tow: Azariel himself, deep at night, and headed southward for the first 'post' that was supposedly located around twelve miles deep.
The two made as little noise as possible, blending in with the shadows. Leo hadn't shared either the cultivation method or the arts, not with Lu Yang, and especially not with Azariel. But everyone had their own means in this world, ways in which they struggled and survived.
The reason he brought Azariel along wasn't so much as a helper, but... well, he wasn't precisely certain either. Company? Or perhaps because the young man was the most knowledgeable when it came to their 'mission'? Either way, he had no plans on fighting just yet—he only wanted to scout and map out wherever they came upon the newly awakened Ancient Clans.
Their journey was rather short as, surprisingly, Azariel managed to keep up just fine. Though Leo didn't go all-out, speed-wise, he did go at about 60% of his capacity, which meant that they were able to cross vast distances rather quickly.
He slowed down as Azariel indicated they were approaching where they assumed one of the Clans would be, and the two blended further into darkness, muting themselves wholly, even snuffing out their Qi presence the best they could. Stalking forward, Leo poured even more Qi into his eyes until the dulled colors of the night brightened up as though it were a day. It wasn't long before he saw that the trees began to thin out and could even hear the flickering of fires' embers in the distance.
The two stopped as they came upon a natural 'fence' that was a rather thick shrubbery, separating the forest from the clearing. Except... it was strange. It was bright, and Leo saw smoke arising everywhere. Peeking over, his throat clenched—the entire clearing was burning, and there was a distinct... scent in the air. Though Leo had never smelled burning flesh before, he just... knew.
He stepped out, as did Azariel, and walked forward a bit. It had to have been recent, he garnered, as some of the bodies still had their skins melting off like candle wax, expressions of horror and terror sprawled on all their faces. He felt sick, though he endured; Azariel endured it well, too, standing right by his side, his eyebrows creased into a deep frown.
"You know them?" Leo asked.
"Y-yes, it's... U'tan Clan," he said. "They weren't all that powerful, but still bigger than us, at least. From what I know, they had no enemies. Could someone from the outside have done this?"
"... I doubt it," Leo said. "People don't come here."
"So, it's another of the Awakened Clans?"
"Probably. Why would they do it?"
"... for power?" Azariel frowned even further if at all possible. "There is a reason why we didn't get entombed all in one place. Chances are that whoever did this did it with the intent of sapping them of that tiny iota of intrinsic Primordial Qi."
"Bravo, Azariel," a voice startled the young man as Leo glanced back. He 'felt' the presence already but remained steady, wondering what their plan was. He watched as Azariel's expression distorted and even as the young man stumbled a few steps back, as though he'd seen a ghost. "You always were smarter than you let on, were you not?"
A figure stepped out from the shadows—it was a woman, Leo noted. She shared Azariel's broad-stroke features, though she had wavy, blonde hair curled up into a bun. Her lips were full and stained red, as was her face, while her body was encased in leather armor, a blade hanging loosely from her belt. She was rather tall—six-one, at least—and broad-shouldered, her frame wide and stalwart.
Leo didn't speak, as he was not spoken to.
Just behind the woman, seven other shadows stepped out, all masked though donning similar armor to the woman's.
"Xa--Xaia..." Azariel mumbled.
"I did wonder whether you'd survive," she said. "I was certain Noor Bai would have killed you by now. How did you slither your way out? Did that drooling moron beside you help you somehow?"
"N-N-No..." Leo glanced over at the already pale-faced young man. The latter's knees were shaking as though he were stripped naked in the middle of a frozen mountain; this kind of fear... was almost instinctual.
"The years have given you courage," the woman growled, her expression darkening. "To speak to me so casually."
"No, M-Master Xaia, I--"
"--You must kneel!"
It all happened in the blink of an eye, but Leo saw it, step by step. The woman fluttered forward, crossing some twenty yards of distance between them in a flash. Her leg was extended, her heel aimed at Azariel's shoulder, intending to make him kneel.
Leo casually extended his left arm and grabbed the leg before it made contact; the mere blowback from the wind pushed Azariel back a few paces and prompted the woman to look away from him and toward Leo. Her lips stretched out into a grin suddenly as she tried to yank her leg back, but Leo held firm.
"Does she deserve to live, Aza?" he asked rather coldly, so much so that he shocked even herself.
"Let me go," the woman hissed. "Unless you want the might--"
"--She—she doesn't!!" Azariel screamed from the back, causing Leo to look away from the woman and toward him. He'd, at some point, fallen on his rear, his face glistening under the light of the flames with sweat. "She... she's a monster!"
"Haah, a monster? Time has really changed you, little Aza. You think this hulking nothing can save you? Ha ha, funny. Hey, you. If you kill him, I'll let you serve me." It was strange, Leo felt, how calm the woman was. And stranger still was how much Azariel panicked suddenly but didn't seem capable of saying why. Likely an oath or a vow of some sort, the ilk this world was very much in love with.
The answer came soon as he felt stray tendrils of alien Qi try and swarm his meridians. It almost felt similar to injections that cooled the veins for a moment, if a bit more subtle.
"Really?" he queried, arching a brow.
"Of course. You seem... deserving of servitude."
"I see," he said. "But I have a question, though."
"You don't get to ask questions. Just kill him."
"Did you do all this?"
"What this?"
"Kill everyone here."
"Ah. Yes. They denied my offer to serve, you see," she said. "So, let it be a warning. Stop dancing and obey me."
"There are kids in these flames," Leo said as he suddenly tightened his grip. The woman flinched but bit her lip just in time, stopping herself from screaming. "And there are old."
"Y-y-yes, so... so what?"
"Only the weak and the cowards would do something so vile and pointless," he said. "So, tell me. Why in the world would I ever serve a coward of all things?"
"Y-you... you r-resisted... it? No, that's... no, that's impossible!"
"Is this all of you?" he asked.
"--all--no, of course not! Ha ha, you idiot! There are thousands of us, and many more who are stronger than me! If you do anything to me, they will skin you alive and flay your flesh until you are begging for death!"
"I don't want that."
"Of course not! This, this is your last chance, then!"
"... not only are you a coward," Leo squeezed even tighter, stopping all blood flow to her foot. "You are also just... stupid. She's not the terrifying part, I'm guessing," he glanced back at Azariel, who flinched but didn't say anything. "Haah, damned vows and oaths. If I kill you, will whoever lets you flail wildly like a moron know?"
"You will die! Die!"
"So, they will. Hm," Leo extended his free arm and summoned the sword from the ring. "Which means I have to go there immediately. You hear that, Azariel?"
"I... yes," Azariel gnashed his teeth and lowered his head, hiding away from her gaze, it seemed.
"Forgive me," Leo said, stabbing forward and aiming directly at her heart. "This isn't easy for me, either."
Her eyes widened in the moment of shock, and as she tried to say something, blood blew through her lips, coating her chin in thick red. She endured for a few moments longer before the whites in her eyes rolled over the light, consuming it. Her body went limp, and, as Leo withdrew his sword and let go of her leg, it fell down to the ground with a hollow thump, rolling once. At the same time, all the figures that stood behind the woman did the same--fell to the ground, not a breath to be heard from their lungs.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Leo arched his brows and glanced further south. The scream was so powerful and so inflicted with pain that his guilt grew even thicker. But it was fading and fleeting, and he recovered quickly, putting the sword away.
"Looks like I don't need your help, after all."
"Please, be careful!!" Azariel suddenly called out before Leo had a chance to begin his sprint. "Even if you resisted Xaia, nobody has ever managed to resist Xu. Nobody."
"Hm."
"Don't look him in the eyes," he said. "And, whatever you do, never say 'yes' in his presence. To anything."
"... alright," Leo heeded the warning and took it to heart. Though he knew that the people who woke up were generally weaker than him, he also knew well enough that all it took was one slip-up on his part for his role in all of this to end. Even if, on the off chance, he had the ability to resist the 'allure' as it were, he was not going to risk it if there was a chance to avoid it.