At the same time that Adam was talking to Magus Stratford, trying to buy enough time for his squad members to tie up all loose ends, Adam's students were breaking into all the houses, looking for residents who hadn't taken the antidote yet.
Aiden kicked the door of the underground bunker and barged in. His gaze landed on a family of four huddled together in a corner, looking at him in fear.
"W-Who are you?!" The father and husband shielded his family from Aiden. "Get away from here!"
Aiden pounced on the man and slammed him to the ground. Then, he shoved the antidote in his mouth.
Following that, he looked at the rest of the people and apologized before doing the same.
"Sorry! But I don't have time!"
Eleiney restrained a family of three with thick vines. She uncorked the vial and fed them the antidote as gently as she could.
"Please forgive me!" She said as she made the woman drink the liquid.
After taking care of this family, she ran back upstairs and approached the next house, planning to do the same with the people there.
But this house was empty!
Panic consumed her being as she ran toward the next house. But like the previous one, this one was empty as well.
"This town is too big! How am I supposed to find those people who've locked themselves in their bunkers?" She muttered in desperation.
The crimson glow of the blood moons illuminated her panic-stricken face as she ran toward the next house. Although this approach was highly inefficient, she had no other choice.
Meanwhile, Art was given the responsibility of gathering the townsfolk who had already consumed the antidote and guiding them to the southern gates.
"Everyone, please stay calm!" He loudly stated. "We have two Rank 2 Magi with us! There is nothing to fear!"
Despite his assurance, the townsfolk couldn't help but intensely panic.
The moment the blood moons had come into view, the weeping trees surrounding the town had gone into an uproar. They began flailing their branches and breaking the town wall.
However, that's all they did. None of the trees stepped foot inside the town.
"W-We're doomed!" A man screamed in fear, clutching at his hair. The next moment, he ran away toward the town square. "We're doomed! Run for your lives!"
"No, don't go that way!" Art roared.
But the man didn't listen. As if by a chain reaction, more and more people started to run away from the group.
"Please, just stay here! It's dangerous out there!" Art screamed at the top of his lungs, but his words fell on deaf ears.
In a secluded alleyway, five Magi knelt on the ground, their faces riddled with anxiety and fear. Their hands and feet were tied, making it difficult for them to escape.
One of them looked up and asked with teary eyes, "K-Kenley… why? Why are you doing this? We've known each other for so many years."
Kenley's hand holding the sword trembled and he faltered. "Shut up!"
"Kenley! Wagner! D-Don't do this!"
"Please, just let us go!"
"We're innocent! You know we are!"
"Why are you doing this?!"
The two Acolytes of the Brotherhood, Kenley and Wagner, were instructed by their direct superior, Adam, to kill these Magi.
These five Magi were local residents of the town. They had the blood and venom of Magus Stratford running through their veins!
Kenley had vehemently argued against killing these Magi. He had countered that the antidote could be used on them.
However, Adam had created the antidote based on the fact that they would be used on the mortal residents of the city.
Thus, if the antidote were to be used on these Magi instead, it would never work. The effects of the antidote would be simply too weak to resist the venom in their bodies.
That is why Adam had instructed Kenley and Wagner to kill these Magi instead. The consequences of letting them live would be extremely dire.
Wagner glanced at his friend and nervously gulped, "W-We're doing this… right?"
Kenley hesitated for a few moments before resolving himself. "We're mere Acolytes… The orders of an Agent cannot be disobeyed!"
His grip around the sword tightened and he raised his arms, intending to swing the weapon.
"Kill them!" He roared.
"Kenley, did you forget?! Did you forget all those times I invited you and your wife for dinner?" Said an old Magus.
"Please, let us go! I know you don't want to do this! Just let us go and we won't tell a soul!"
Kenley's eyes reddened and tears threatened to fall. He remembered the times he had spent with all these people kneeling before him.
There was no other way!
He grit his teeth and whispered, "Forgive me…"
However, before he could swing the sword downward, the street lit up in a blinding crimson light. Not just the street they were on, but every street in town was enveloped in this ominous light.
When the light receded, the spell cast by Magus Stratford was complete!
Kenley and Wagner were momentarily stunned by the sudden development. When they opened their eyes, the scene that greeted them caused them to shudder.
The five Magi, bound by their hands and feet, struggled against their restraints. Their eyes widened in terror as the blood moons cast their sinister light upon them.
Their blood roiled and the venom coursing through their veins erupted in a frenzy!
Tremors covered their bodies, muscles contorting painfully as bones cracked and shifted. They screamed at the top of their lungs, but their voices turned guttural, morphing into bestial howls.
Dark fur sprouted from their skin and their faces elongated. The transformation was violent and relentless, their human minds drowned by the surge of primal hunger.
Fear lingered in their eyes which had now turned crimson. The emotions shifted from unwillingness to confusion, to finally unbridled madness and bloodlust.
As they lost their last shreds of humanity, they furiously glared at Kenley and Wagner, the people who had just tried to kill them.