Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead

Although he announced his wish to travel to another realm, Griar did not immediately leave after receiving his mother's blessing, he realised that this could not be done rashly and without some thoughts put into it, the youth had merely wanted to get that off his chest…

Another year passed as he prepared to leave, Griar could feel it in his bones, it had probably been an oversight, but when Arzt had created the means for someone who had ended up in the wrong realm to travel to the right one, he had not thought to sever the link that attached them to the realm, Griar could feel that if he emitted a pulse of mana and willed it, that he would actually be transported to the realm where he had met Flor.

But the realm she resided in was not a simple one, something had clearly been wrong back then, the realms were supposed to be safe, but something had happened to this one, leading to a young girl living all alone in a big house, and having to barricade herself in every week as a group of people passed by and often attempt to get in, only to give up as though incapable of forcing their way in despite being seemingly so interested in checking what was happening inside.

Griar did not know why Flor had left such a deep impression in his mind, but he could not stop thinking about her, that kind girl as thin as sticks…

So everyday, he practised in the view that he might have to fight to protect her, Griar, despite his young age, was physically gifted and was already taller and bigger than most adults, not only that, but he had also inherited his mother's affinity for wind magic, which he became greatly proficient with under Helena's guidance.

Once he turned fifteen, he felt ready to take on whatever challenge waited on the other side, and after bidding goodbye to everyone, channelled energy within himself, and willing himself to appear in the other realm, his eyes opened to the inside of Flor's house, appearing in the exact same spot he had left all those years ago.

The house was even more sinister than he remembered, but it still looked inhabited, making him heave a sigh of relief, he had feared that he would arrive too late and that something would have happened to Flor, but it seemed like the young woman was still living here.

He took a step forward and approached a door that was just barely open, this door would lead to the living room, kitchen and give a direct view onto the entrance of the house, before he could even peer, he heard an unfamiliar voice, and a gust of wind reached him.

The front door was open.

"Flor, you have not changed one bit since I last saw you, truly, it seems like the water has had a great effect upon you unlike most…" the voice was strong and commanded respect despite the rather soft tone the person speaking employed.

"Yes…" then, he heard Flor's voice, who responded with a single word, clearly nervous, if not outright scared.

"Do not fear, Flor… When the Lady blesses you with the right to submerge in the holy water, you shall transcend, say goodbye to weakness and hunger, you'll be reborn, it might seem intimidating now, but once you submerge, you'll understand" the other voice responded, curious, Griar crept closer, positioning himself to get a good look at the stranger, and what he saw was somewhat surprising.

It was a blonde woman dressed in a dark trench coat with a capelet sewn atop the shoulders, giving her an even more imposing look, which was wholly unnecessary as this person as the tallest woman Griar had even seen, even taller than his mother who was rightfully called an amazonian sometimes.

Dressed in an ample coat, wearing a galero hat and rather lacking in the prominent attributes one would associate with the fairer sex, one might actually think that she was a big man at a glance, but her voice and face were undoubtedly feminine, even if rough around the edges.

"I-I know… It's just that… What if it doesn't go well?" Flor didn't actually seem to be specifically scared of her interlocutor, not fearing to look up and meet the unknown woman's gaze.

"It is natural to be afraid, but if that is the will of holy water then it is the will of our great saint, whatever happens, you'll be in a better place, I can guarantee- Now, let us not waste too much time, follow me" after a second, Flor stepped outside of the house, the door shutting directly afterwards, Griar immediately rushed out of his hiding spot, looking at what was happening outside through a dirty window.

Apart from Flor and the tall woman, there were two other people, dressed in robes and wearing steel masks that crudely imitated the appearance of skulls, those two had the back of their heads exposed however, revealing only a few strands of hair and deeply yellowed skin.

'What the hell is happening here?' Griar would not call himself a genius, but he could tell that everything that was going on was more than just a little fishy, it looked like this place had been overtaken by people who definitely had nothing to do with any official government.

After a little while, the tall woman suddenly stopped walking.

"You two, accompany Miss Flor to the High Priestess, there is something I need to check" Griar did not understand every single word that was uttered by these people, as he had only learned a small amount of the language all those years ago, but seeing the stranger turn back and move toward the house whilst the two robed figures pressed forward with Flor, he knew that he should be worried.

He stepped back from the window and looked around, grabbing a kitchen knife from the counter before finding a place to hide himself, managing to do that just before the front door was pushed open again, the tall woman crouching to step inside of the house, her blonde hair cut just above the shoulder slightly swayed as she glanced around, her expression only showing mild focus, clearly not a very expressive person, Griar thought.

He clenched the knife's handle, prepared to channel mana right through it if needed.

The woman took a few steps around, but did not venture into any other room, ending up just shrugging before turning back to the front door.

And then flinging back, punching straight through a closet and the wall behind it, nearly hitting Griar straight in the face, the boy did not budge for now, technically, the woman would not see him with her own two eyes yet, and since he punch had been off, he betted that she did actually know for sure…

"Huh…" opened the closet she just smashed, the woman found nothing or no one whatsoever.

"Here I thought that someone was staring at my back…" waving her arm through the closet, she shrugged for real this time and left the house, catching up to Flor and the two robed figures.