Julian wiped his blade clean, eyes cold.
"Let's move in."
They advanced as a unit, stepping over the broken remains of the gate, and forced the massive wooden doors open with a resounding crack. What waited inside was not a base, nor a fortress of warriors.
It was a graveyard.
A twisted, living nightmare.
What seemed like a village stood within, wooden huts, scorched earth, and the sickening stench of decay. Piles of bones lay scattered around the open square, skulls of adults, and horrifyingly, of children. Silent witnesses to unimaginable horrors.
Dozens of people milled about, their movements twitchy, their faces slack with madness. Sunken eyes. Dried blood on their mouths. Murmured laughter. They stared at Julian's group with blank, deranged expressions.
"Everyone... don't look. Step back. This isn't something you need to see."
"I'm fine, Julian," Celestia said, though her voice trembled faintly.
Then he saw him.
The one they came for.
