Kain barely had time to process the horrific scene before another corrupted spiritual creature—a blackened wolf-like beast—lunged at a group of fleeing Elorians. Aegis intercepted, raising a wall of earth to block its path.
"Help them get out of here!" Kain barked at the Vespid Guards, his mind racing.
Serena also did her part, her Elemental Guardian, now in its wind attribute form, helped push the frightened Elorians away from the advancing corrupted creatures with gentle gusts of wind.
But it wasn't enough.
More figures began emerging from the forest. Some were villagers who had likely been out gathering supplies or hunting when the strange phenomenon began. Now, they staggered into view, their bodies twisted and warped, covered in that ominous black smoke.
"They're coming from the north!" A nearby member of the Order shouted in panic.
Kain turned his gaze toward the darkened treeline. The corrupted figures were indeed converging from the north, their numbers steadily growing.
'The dragons flew east… but they are coming from the North,' Kain thought, unease clawing at him. 'Are there perhaps even more of these things in the East? Or did something else draw their attention away?'
"Serena, keep them safe!" he yelled, summoning Queen and Bea to help reinforce their defense. Strangely, once Bea tried to control the advancing contaminated creatures, she felt as though her splits had been cut off from her or assimilated as well.
However, when by accident dozens of threads made contact with a thrashing large contaminated spiritual creature resembling a solid black giant water buffalo, an effect was gradually seen.
It appears as though they were resistant but not immune to her mental control. But each one would require dozen's of splits and several times the amount of energy to seize control. Not to mention with each passing second, she could feel some energy withering away the splits that were present in the buffalo's body.
Fortunately, the Vespid guards were proving to be much more effective. The energy draining capabilities of their stingers has already led to the collapse of several invading creatures. Unfortunately, many of the guards also were preoccupied with protecting and evacuating the Elorians, so the decrease in the enemies' numbers wasn't so severe and seemed to form a strange equilibrium with the quick rate that people and other spiritual creatures were being turned.
In particular, ordinary Elorians who were scratched or bitten were succumbing almost instantly, their bodies twisting into blackened forms as they joined the ranks of their attackers.
Kain gritted his teeth as he watched a young Elorian woman collapse, her screams cutting off abruptly as her skin turned black. The speed of the transformation was horrifying.
However, not everyone was equally affected. A member of the Order—A 6-star beast tamer—was surrounded by a group of corrupted creatures. Though he managed to fend them off for several minutes, the smoke clinging to his wounds eventually overwhelmed him.
Kain watched in horror as the man's body began to change. His contract, a large bear-like spiritual creature, tried to resist the contamination as well but succumbed shortly after its master. Both let out guttural roars as their forms were overtaken by the black smoke, joining the ranks of the corrupted.
"Kain!" Serena's voice cut through his thoughts.
He turned to see her fending off a corrupted bird-like creature, its blackened feathers shimmering with an unnatural sheen. She managed to push it back with a gust of wind, but her expression was grim. "We can't keep this up forever!"
Aegis's deep voice surprisingly rumbled in Kain's mind. "This is familiar." Aegis—ever the strong and silent type—rarely took the initiative to speak.
"What?" Kain asked mentally, even as he directed a Vespid guard to intercept a contaminated black fox rushing at a villager.
"The aura... the black smoke. It resembles the creature I once guarded."
Kain's blood ran cold. Memories flooded back to the relic filled with microorganisms that had a dark dragon-like entity as the final boss but Kain felt an aura similar to a microorganism emanating off of it. Now that he thought about it, it had been capable of corrupting and creating minions like these. However, he didn't recall its corruption abilities being so powerful.
"You think this is connected to that thing?" Kain asked, his chest tightening.
"I cannot be certain," Aegis admitted, its tone grave. "I was created not long after the relic was formed, with the only instruction being to prevent whatever was being imprisoned from escaping. Therefore, I do not know much about its identity, and abilities. But the resemblance is undeniable."
Kain clenched his fists as Aegis's words echoed in his mind. If this black smoke and the corrupted creatures were connected to the entity Aegis once guarded, then they were partly responsible for these people dying.
Perhaps there was something they could have done or some sacrifice they could have made to destroy or reseal it. However, after it escaped, not realizing the substantial threat it could pose, none of the higher-ups of the college was even sent to pursue it.
"Serena," Kain said, his voice low but urgent. He stepped back to where she was holding off another wave of attackers with her Elemental Guardian. "We might have a bigger problem than we thought."
Serena glanced at him, her expression sharp. "What do you mean?"
"Aegis says this smoke is similar to the one we fought in the college's relic."
Serena grew sombre at the memory of the dragon-like creature. It had had its strength suppressed to yellow-grade, but it was practically invincible within the same weight class.
"It does appear similar to some of the creatures we fought in the relic… but we can't be sure. I'm more concerned about the dragons' response. Notice how the dragons didn't seem surprised by this?"
Kain frowned, his gaze flicking between the encroaching creatures and the direction the dragons had flown. "You're saying they expected this? That our actual mission—or whatever deal they made with the Order—has something to do with these things?"
A loud crash interrupted their conversation as a contaminated bear-like creature, likely blue-grade, barreled through a makeshift barricade. Kain quickly directed Aegis to intercept, and walls were raised in its path to slow its advance.
"Focus on staying alive for now," Serena said, her tone sharp but steady. "We can worry about the purpose of the dragons later."