Dawn- An age of Darkness
Chapter 61 - Is That Hope I Smell? Nope, Just Rot

We hurried in the opposite direction to escape the forest. We had to reach the city as fast as possible. The effects of Panora water and Lianne's fire were effective. Therefore the undead wasn't that much of a concern anymore. And more importantly, they didn't pay much attention to us in the first place. But who or what was she referring to when she left?

One threat remained in my mind. That woman had mentioned something to stop us, but there wasn't anything here besides us and the undead. She couldn't have meant the undead, could she? And then there was that 'he' she'd mentioned about. Was she referring to the emperor or someone else? My head hurt just by thinking about all this mess.

With each step we got closer to the statue, and upon reaching the statue, I felt a faint aura. The elf finally spoke.

"Stop here," elf-boy said while writhing in pain.

I stopped. He closed his eyes and began to mumble. I couldn't get what he was saying. He opened his eyes and looked at the statue. The glow in his eyes increased.

"Astral revocation!" he shouted while coughing up blood.

"Hey! Don't speak."

He passed out afterward.

"Hey! Hey!"

Lianne's eyes became teary but she didn't say anything. While I was concerned with him, I saw a faint glow in the broken pieces of the statue. The glow spiraled to a single point and a golden-haired woman with wings appeared. She was glowing and wearing a light, semi-transparent dress. The rotting smell of the air vanished. It was replaced by a fresh smell of leaves.

"I assume you are the angel?"

"Yes. I am Sisrael. I was placed here…" Her voice was just like Misrael's but unlike her, this one had a moving mouth. In fact, it looked too humane apart from the wings. She was also probably the most beautiful woman I'd seen ever in my life. But beauty was of little importance.

Her wings dripped feather fragments that vanished before hitting the ground. She didn't have much time left.

I didn't have time for a chat either. So I got down to business. "I've already heard about that from Misrael. Can you explain the situation to me instead?" I might have been a little rude. But I really didn't care all that much about courtesy at this point.

"What are you talking about? And that language you are speaking without any artifacts!" Lianne seemed confused.

Shouldn't you be more confused to see an angel than me talking to her? "You can't understand her?"

Lianne nodded. "But with this, I can." She pointed at her earring.

It was surprising but I didn't have time to explain things to her or demand an explanation from her either. I already knew that a lot of shit was still unexplainable in this world.

The angel wore a wry smile. "So you've met her. Very well. A possessed human destroyed my dwelling and in turn the undead became free. I believe you know of whom I speak."

Suddenly my mind got bombarded with questions. But why would she? And possessed human? Then something was controlling her?

I had a lot of questions but honestly they didn't matter anymore. Knowing her reasons didn't interest me. I was more interested in stopping her and to do that I needed help. "Anyway, can you heal these two?"

"I'm afraid my powers are too weak. I have only materialized for a short amount of time because of this youth's magic. He collected my soul fragments before they could fully disperse. I don't have much time left."

"If that's the case, then how would we stop the undead, without you?" Lianne cried out. She was awfully quiet this whole time but she couldn't stop her worries. I didn't fault her, I couldn't either.

"At this stage they are unstoppable. They are being controlled by that woman and a higher being. Since the spell is already cast, even killing her won't stop their march." The angel wore a wry smile. Things weren't looking good for us.

My heart which was calm just a second ago suddenly started pounding rapidly.

A higher being? A Monarch? My mouth became salty and my hands trembled. The thought of an entire city being wiped out was heart wrenching. And a higher being capable of doing something like this must be a Monarch- at least that's what came to my mind.

"Is their nothing we can do?" I couldn't think of a resolution. If she couldn't either, then that would mean the end of the city and its inhabitants.

"I'm afraid, not many options remain." The angel's body was becoming more and more transparent as we spoke.

"That's not something you'd want to hear." I grunted.

Damn it! I hit a tree. Lianne stared at me in silence.

If the undead kept marching on, they would inevitably wreak havoc and thousands would lose their lives.

Sisrael's body started to became very transparent and let out a fading glow.

"Hey, you?" We were out of time.

"My ten thousand year life is finally coming to its end." She looked content. If the angel died then what would happen to the city? Things looked more and grimmer if not impossible.

"No…" Lianne bit her lips.

I didn't reply to her.

"But don't worry. I will fulfill my last duty to the people of this land," Sisrael said.

"What do you mean?" I didn't understand where she was coming from. She suffered for ten thousand years and yet, why did she have to look so damn content?

"I shall put my faith in you, wanderer as my little sister had done before. After thousands of years of torment I would meet her again and reunite with our lord," she said as she closed her eyes and had a content smile. "Live well and be free." Her last words were loud and clear.

"What are you saying?" I shouted.

She didn't reply. She vanished with a bright glow. However, the glow didn't immediately disappear. It came towards me and engulfed me with warmth, as though her soul itself lent me the powers to overcome destiny. The darkness came cowering as the last shred of the light disappeared, with it came the rotting smell of flesh. My eyes became a little wet.

"Let's get out of here," I whispered.

Lianne nodded. I carried the elf-boy and Lianne acted as our guard. She could still walk. She really was a strong person. No, she had to be strong. To live in this world, one just had to be strong, so strong that nothing would be able to harm them. I glared and marched ahead.

Halfway through the forest, elf-boy regained consciousness. He wasn't healed but still got on his feet. He didn't seem surprised to the least. The undead kept their distance as usual. Never thought I'd be able to walk around in a place like this!

The Panora water must have really been effective. But its effects were intensified because of Lianne's fire. If she wasn't here, then who knew what might have happened. Although we moved rather slowly, we still got out of the forest. We reached the place where my horse was. But the horse was no longer alive. It was butchered. Its head was severed, so even if it did turn into undead, we wouldn't have much trouble with it.

"Judging by the looks, this must have been the goblin's doing," said the elf boy.

"You could tell? Even in this darkness?" I couldn't see much outside the range of the torch.

"I was born with the gift of miraculous sight. But now is not the time for talking about that. Shouldn't we start running?"

As he said that, hordes of undead kept on passing through the fields towards the city. Their pace was slower than a child walking around. But they'd reach the city eventually.

"You're right. Let's run!"

He was injured but we had no choice. I drank one of my potions and gave the elf boy a sip as well. Lianne couldn't be healed so we had no choice but to clean her wounds and dress them up as fast as possible. I was no expert but these past few weeks had taught me to do at least this much.

Is that hope I smell? Nope, just rot.....