Meanwhile, on the other side of the village, which had crumbled into a labyrinth of despair...
Caine limped along, his steps heavy. The sight surrounding him made him hold his breath.
Caine:
"This place..."
This was no longer the village he knew. Once-sturdy wooden houses were now obliterated, their walls gaping with massive holes or split in two as if torn asunder by giant claws. And the cause was everywhere: repulsive, pitch-black giant tree roots. They had erupted from the earth, strangling building beams, crushing roofs, and blocking the streets like the veins of a planet infected with cancer. The scent of freshly turned wet soil mingled with the copper tang of blood.
*Squelch-Squelch-Squelch!*
The sound of boots trudging through mud broke the silence. Amidst the ruins of a small square now besieged by the giant roots, Caine spotted her.
Caine:
"Danica!"
Danica stood there, her back to Caine. Her posture was stiff, her shoulders rising and falling with an irregular rhythm of breath. Without her horse mask, her limp brown hair obscured part of her face. She looked restless, furious, and deeply unstable. Her arms, smeared with black blood, were clenched tight at her sides, trembling as she suppressed a rage ready to explode.
Danica:
"...."
She did not turn, but her voice sliced through the cold air with the sharpness of a razor.
Danica:
"What are you doing here? Didn't I order you all to find that girl?"
Caine froze in place. The aura of intimidation radiating from Danica felt suffocating. He swallowed hard, a little afraid, yet a sense of blind loyalty pushed him to step forward, trying to calm his leader who seemed on the brink of a mental collapse.
Caine:
"D-Danica... please calm down, we are trying—"
Suddenly, Danica tensed. Her head tilted slightly upward, her nostrils flaring as if smelling danger.
Danica:
"(Hm?! This... someone is coming...)"
*SHATTER—SPLASH!!*
From the roof of a half-ruined building, a glass bottle spiraled down, rotating in the air before smashing into the muddy ground right between Caine and Danica.
*WOOOOSH!!*
The liquid inside erupted into a ferocious wall of orange flame. The heat instantly slapped their faces, separating them with a curtain of hellfire. Caine shouted in surprise and jumped back, barely avoiding being scorched.
Caine:
"What the hell is this?!"
*THUD!*
From behind the smoke and fire, a shadow plunged from the roof. A jet-black furred cloak billowed as the figure landed heavily and steadily in front of Danica, cutting off her line of sight to Caine. Eldrum. He stood tall, shotgun in hand, staring at Danica with pure hatred.
Caine:
"B-Brother?!"
Danica took a step back, her eyes narrowing from the glare of the fire and the shock.
Danica:
"What kind of nonsense is this? Eldrum? You dare attack me?"
Eldrum did not flinch. He stepped forward through the heat, his eyes locked on the woman.
Eldrum:
"I have come to take what is mine. My honor... and my little brother."
Danica snorted, a sound of harsh disgust.
Danica:
"Nonsense! Ungrateful savage!"
Danica wasted no time arguing with Eldrum. She knew her priorities. She glanced at Caine over her shoulder, her gaze piercing through the roaring flames, staring directly into Caine's wavering eyes.
Danica:
"Begone, White Goat! Do not waste my time! Go and find that little bitch right now! BRING HER TO ME!"
The command was not merely words. It was a mental whip. Caine's body reacted before his brain could process it. The fear implanted over years took control.
Caine:
"Y-Yes!"
With spontaneity and obedience, Caine turned and scrambled away from the fire, away from his brother, running back into the darkness to hunt Nu'al, leaving Eldrum alone.
Eldrum watched his brother's disappearing back with a pained gaze, before turning back to stare at Danica. His jaw hardened.
*KLAK-KLIK!*
Eldrum cocked his double-barreled shotgun. He raised the weapon, its black barrels aiming straight at Danica's sweating forehead.
Eldrum:
"Heh... Quite sophisticated, isn't it? You've succeeded in turning a person into something like an organic robot. No thoughts, only obedience."
Danica did not blink, even as the gun barrel stared her down. She smiled cynically, black blood drying at the corners of her lips.
Danica:
"I let you live for too long, Agurr's brother. I should have let the villagers hang you that day."
Eldrum:
"Ahh, you are right. Too long..."
Eldrum's index finger tightened on the trigger.
Eldrum:
"...Too long for me to realize that the humiliation I swallowed and Agurr's death were in vain. You never protected us, Danica. You were only protecting the living corpse inside that tree."
Danica trembled slightly, and thin lines appeared on her body before she split in two vertically, revealing her organs, nerves, and bones. The organs, brain, and nerves then began to separate from her bones before forming a body from the roots and creating a wooden puppet of herself (her organs). Using her long veins, she controlled her skeleton and skin (with muscles underneath) as they scattered like two puppets.
Eldrum felt a little disgusted, shocked, and nauseous.
Eldrum: "Dafuk is that?!"
Danica: "Heh, let's see. It's been a waste of time for you tonight, too."