P E S T I L E N C E

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THEY ONLY ARRIVED at the village when dusk dyed the lands in shades of vermilion and amber. The souls scattered off, each assigned to a cottage with a few others as roommates. Wilhelm worked hard to ensure everyone had a place to rest their heads for the night. Fabian, on the other hand, went around checking on the supplies they've ordered to be made during the last roundup.

"These are ready for battle?" he asked, picking up a sword before swinging it a couple of times to test its weight.

Raw materials were, thankfully, not difficult to find even in Hell. The previous few times the four brothers had visited the village, they commissioned the souls that were once blacksmiths to help forge swords, shields, and other weaponry that might be useful for the war.

"Counting it with the previous batches made, I'd say we've made about seven thousand or so, sir. It would be enough for each man to bring to battle with some to spare," the blacksmith replied.

He reached his hands out, taking the sword carefully from Fabian as the latter picked up another weapon. This time, a dagger.

"Not bad. We need a few more long-range weapons for defense and stealth. I think bows and arrows should do the trick. Archery is easy enough of a skill to teach the women and children in the village. They'll need something to protect themselves if our location is compromised." Fabian muttered under his breath, admiring the dagger under the glint of the dying sun. Eyes scanning over the selection laid in front of him, Fabian picked up the only bow and arrow set in the array of weapons displayed. "Keep at it and great work so far. I'm going to test these out."

The blacksmith nodded, bowing his head once before rushing off to spread the instructions Fabian had left.

♔ ♔ ♔

There came a rustle of leaves in the wind, various sounds of fauna echoing in the forest where Fabian had stepped into. Trees surrounded the village, hiding the settlement away from the prying eyes of Lucifer's demons in the central location of Hell near where the castle was located. Deep within the woods, demons hardly dared to venture in fear of their leader's wrath should he find out.

The newly acquired dagger was tucked in a sheath by Fabian's waist, the bow in his hand and arrows slung on his back. Beneath the soles of his feet, a small twig cracked under his weight, the snap echoing into the night sky. The disturbance caused a few crows built from nothing but bones to soar from the branches, taking flight just as Fabian reached for an arrow behind him. They would serve well as target practice.

Just as Fabian had pulled at the string, aiming at the wild demonic beasts, he heard a voice behind him, muttering softly. What followed was the crack of a twig and a swish of fabric. Not caring if the noise was from a wandering villager or a demonic intruder, Fabian spun on his heel, aiming the arrow in the direction of the sound.

"Who goes there?" He asked, fingers tightly gripping the arrow, ready to let it fly at any second.

"Woah!" A familiar voice called out, "Don't shoot! It's just me, Qiu Xia."

From the shadows, the young woman appeared with a basket hanging casually from her elbow. She had a bunch of leaves in her hands, all differing in shapes and sizes. When Fabian squinted, he noticed that the basket, too, was filled with plants.

"Oh." Relaxing the tension on the bow, Fabian kept the arrow safely behind him. "What are you doing out here in the middle of the night? You should be in the village where it is safe."

"Didn't I introduce myself as a general's daughter? I can take care of myself just fine." The young lady scoffed, closing the distance between her and Fabian. She delicately stowed the flora she had in her hands into the basket, tucking them in neatly. "Besides, I saw quite a few interesting species of plant life on the way here and thought they would make good medicine."

Fabian eyed the basket in her hands curiously, eyebrows furrowed and angled.

"And how did you recognize these herbs? We merely passed by for no more than a few seconds on our way to the village."

Qiu Xia opened her mouth, lips parted and ready to reply something haughty when she noticed movement behind Fabian. There was a flash of red, a glint of menacing light, and the glow of amber when she realized something was not right with these woods. She then moved her gaze to the bow and arrow that Fabian brought along with him and within a second, she had reached for the bow and pulled out an arrow, stabbing the metal tip with a bunch of herbs she had collected.

It took her another second to aim and draw but time stood to a still in Fabian's perspective. He didn't quite understand why the peaceful conversation had just taken a violent turn with an arrow aimed at his head. It wasn't until Qiu Xia had released the arrow, sending it soaring past him and nearly grazing his cheek had he thought to check what was behind him.

The creature previously hidden by the bushes and shrubs had pounced, leaping high into the air with elongated claws outstretched and ready to kill its prey. There was a flash of silver moonlight followed by a hiss of pain and a sizzle that could only originate from flesh searing. As soon as the creature had shown itself, it was down on the ground, flat on its face with an arrow through its heart.

Fabian jerked away instinctively, taking a few steps backward until his back touched Qiu Xia's palm. She held him in place, glaring down at the demon with murderous intent.

"I hope these aren't your friends," she offhandedly commented before yanking the dagger out of its sheath by Fabian's side.

Picking a few more herbs from her collection, she rubbed the plants against the blade before walking towards the demon that was still violently quaking with pain on the ground. She held it up by a single horn so that its neck was exposed to the blade. She then looked back at Fabian, nodding at the demon.

"Well? Can I kill it?"

Fabian barely even managed a nod before Qiu Xia swiped her blade across its neck. The demon's head came off easily, the blade of the dagger running through its cursed flesh like a knife through a block of butter under the hot blazing sun. The tortured sounds coming from the demon immediately ceased and Fabian knew for sure that all life had already left it.

When Fabian finally tore his eyes away from the demon and landed on Qiu Xia's figure, his breath was caught in his throat in shock.

He had seen that very same scene before.

There were slight tears in the fabric of her dress from venturing in the woods. Though it was not severely torn nor was there much dirt, bits and parts of her arm were exposed, particularly her forearm area. The thin fabric had not sustained very well in the forest and the beautiful clothing had not survived such a rough encounter of dying and reviving as a spirit in Hell.

Through these holes — and even through the sheerer parts of her dress —Fabian could see a glow emanating from Qiu Xia's porcelain skin. White lines on fair skin, it made Qiu Xia look like a deity, glowing even brighter than the silver of the moon in the night sky. There was a slight purplish hue to the white, just enough to spot if Fabian squinted his eyes and focused on the glowing lines hard enough.

When she turned, Fabian noticed that the lines on her body were slightly different than the ones he had seen on Dimitri's after they first fell from Heaven. Not only was the color different, Qiu Xia's glowing lines reached above her neck and only stopped right under her eyes, curling around the apples of her cheeks. They were like branches of a great tree, reaching and soaring for new heights with twists and turns along the way.

As soon as it came, however, the lines started to fade. The light dimmed until it eventually faded, returning Qiu Xia to her original look of mortality, stripping away the deity-like presence of the glow.

The young girl, however, did not quite understand what the lines meant. Instead, she simply breathed out a long breath of air, blinking blankly at Fabian.

Nevertheless, Fabian understood the significance of the glow. Those were similar to the tattoos that Fabian had seen on Dimitri when he had turned into the spirit of death. Adding on to the fact that Qiu Xia, unlike the rest of the deceased, did not possess a ghastly pale skin that was translucent and ashen, Fabian knew that there were higher forces in play.

The conversation he had with the old man during their journey to the village started to ring in his ears. If what he said was true, and that there were spirits that governed over the apocalypse, Qiu Xia might be one. Death was an ashen pale while Conquest and Pestilence were colored white.

White lines had appeared on Qiu Xia's skin after she had taken down the demon that wanted to make Fabian its prey. Hence, Fabian knew without a doubt that he had just witnessed the birth of either the spirit of conquest or the spirit of pestilence.

Whichever Qiu Xia was, it was best for her to be kept under tight surveillance and away from Lucifer's eyes. To do that, there was no better way than to hide her in plain sight.

In the castle.

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