Free Web NovelChapter 207: Darkness
All across Redwood Town, similar incidents were occurring at random. Supplies, wagons, people, even whole blocks of buildings were silently vanishing into thin air.
A storm was raging, but it was a silent one concealed by the darkness of night, leaving all the town’s inhabitants unaware until it was too late.
Few, if any, noticed anything at all, and those that did, disappeared before they could raise any alarms.
It seemed as though the entire town would soon be devoured by whatever it was that was attacking it, leaving nothing behind except an empty plot of land; however, there were 2 people who, thanks to an extraordinary coincidence, had become particular sensitive to this kind of threat and were soon alerted to its presence.
At the main western barricade, shortly after Charles and his group had left for their impromptu patrol, Anna had dutifully taken over. While she remained alert and wary of her surroundings, even she had to admit that the quiet of the night was causing her guard to slip a bit.
Of course, it wasn’t just Anna who had slackened slightly; most of the others at the barricade were also sitting down or leaning against nearby walls, either chatting, snacking, or dozing off.
As Captain of the Town Guard, Anna would normally have chastised her subordinates for such laxity, but after so many days of intense pressure and fighting, and given how peaceful it currently was, she decided to turn a blind eye for the moment.
The other reason Anna was able to be a bit more accommodating was because of the man and woman who were standing next to her. These 2 were Captains from Celestina’s and Vanessa’s units, and both were still on high alert.
As Sea Establishment soldiers, this pair had much better stamina and training than the Body Tempering and Vein Opening militia around them, so going a day or two without rest wasn’t a big deal to them, much less a single night.
On top of that, there were still 3 Spirit Initiates stationed in town who Anna could call upon if need be, so she wasn’t too worried about being taken by surprise by a pack of beasts.
Just as Anna was thinking it would be alright for her to also grab a bite to eat, though, she felt an unusual chill shoot up her spine as well as a prickling sensation on her skin.
Sweeping her eyes around, Anna didn’t notice anything out of place, and even the Sea Establishment Captains didn’t seem to have detected any kind of anomaly.
If these were ordinary times, Anna might have just shrugged this feeling off, dismissing it as her worrying too much or simply being too tired.
But these weren’t ordinary times.
Danger lurked all around Redwood Town, and even if Anna couldn’t immediately pinpoint what was causing her current unease, her instincts were screaming at her that something was wrong.
Forcing herself to calm down, Anna focused her senses in an attempt to locate the source of her discomfort, but the results of her efforts only confused her more as it felt like the threat was coming from all around her.
It was like there was an odd disturbance in the air that was swirling around her, one that felt vaguely familiar, though she couldn’t remember when or where she had experienced such a sensation before.
Suddenly, Anna felt a particularly strong disturbance coming from her right.
Whipping her head around and holding up the Spirit Lamp in her hands, Anna tried to identify what the threat was, but what she saw vastly exceeded her ability to comprehend.
If Anna was forced to describe it, the only word she could have used would be ’darkness’.
Like the maw of a giant ancient beast, a wave of pure nothingness swept forward, silently devouring everything it touched.
The wave of darkness wasn’t moving particularly fast, only slightly faster than Anna could sprint; but it was massive, spanning at least 100 metres, and it was heading straight towards her.
Given this wave’s size and speed, and all the obstacles around her, there was simply no way for Anna to escape it in time.
As for what would happen if this blackness hit her, Anna didn’t even want to guess.
With no time to hesitate, Anna swiftly judged the wave of darkness’ trajectory and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Everyone get down!"
Saying so, she dove forward and pressed her body as low as possible in hopes that the wave, which seemed to be hovering slightly above the ground, would pass over her harmlessly.
Up until that moment, the night had been peaceful and quiet, with no signs of beasts or other dangers at all, so when Anna’s panicked voice pierced the silent veil, it immediately got everyone’s full attention.
Unfortunately, when these people turned to see what was going on, they saw nothing.
The fact that they saw nothing, instead of the nearby buildings, should have alerted them that something was wrong, but the darkness of the moonless night, coupled with their initial confusion, caused most to fail to realize anything was amiss.
Even the Sea Establishment Captains were confused by the alarm in Anna’s voice, and her subsequent actions of dropping to the dirt. This puzzlement was only amplified when they tried to use their Soul Senses to scan the area and again, found nothing.
Anna was well respected and trusted among the general public of Redwood Town, especially the Town Guard, so several people also laid down when she called for them to, but most just stood in place, wondering what was happening.
However, when the invisible wave of darkness swept over and swallowed up several unsuspecting people, screams of terror immediately rang out and everyone still standing dove for their lives.
The wave of darkness came and went just like a gust of wind; silent, invisible, and practically undetectable. Like a wave crashing against the shore, it washed over the main barricade and then faded from existence; but in its wake, it left only desolation.
A dozen large buildings, the entire makeshift barricade, and any other objects taller than a small child had disappeared.
Worse yet, of the roughly 40 people who had been manning the barricade, half had not gotten down in time and were swept away by the wave.
As the blackness took these people, there were no screams, and no blood was shed; it was like they simply blinked out of existence.
One second, they were there, the next, they were just... gone.
Of everything that had happened over the past few days, from the massive explosion, to the attacks from powerful beasts, this was by far the most bizarre and terrifying incident of all. No one understood what happened, nor could anyone offer a reasonable explanation for it, and it was that eerie sense of mystery that frightened everyone the most.
The first to recover was naturally Anna, who could at least ’see’ the disturbance and thus understand that it had passed. Cautiously getting to her feet, she scanned her surroundings for a moment before calling out, "It’s gone now."
"W-What’s gone?" Captain Justin Cole asked as he too slowly got up. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
He was a member of the Balfour Guard and an officer in the Raging River Legion, a veteran of several bloody battlefields, but he was still quite unnerved by what just happened.
Sweeping her eyes around and realizing the scale of loss her unit just suffered, Anna couldn’t help frowning as she asked back, "None of you could see it? The wave of darkness?"
"Wave of darkness?"
"There was something like that?"
"I-I didn’t see anything, but it felt like something brushed by me when I was lying on the ground..."
A fretful discussion broke out as people began getting up, the first signs of panic beginning to set in.
Seeing the situation beginning to deteriorate, Anna forcefully steadied herself and shouted, "Quiet!"
The sharp rebuke from Anna temporarily silenced the crowd, but it was obvious that everyone was still on edge, their eyes darting around warily as they huddled towards the few remaining sources of light. ƒrēewebnovel.com
"None of us saw anything before... before whatever it was that just happened. But you somehow did," Captain Cassandra Reed of Vanessa’s Golden Wings Legion muttered, "Do you have any idea what that... wave of blackness you saw was, Guard Captain Anna?"
Shaking her head, Anna said with a frown, "I’m not sure what it was. I just... felt some kind of danger approaching, but when I turned to see what it was, all I saw was a darkness blacker than night coming towards us."
"We can figure out what happened later," Captain Cole spoke up after steadying himself, "Right now, we need to send out a warning and then get to somewhere... safe..."
While the first part of Justin Cole’s suggestion was made strongly, his voice trailed off somewhat as he continued, and the reason for that was obvious.
"W-Where exactly is safe?" A frightened militiaman asked.
Silence fell over the crowd again as no one had an answer to this question. With the unknown threat being invisible to everyone but Anna, and with no clue as to when it could strike again, how could anywhere be considered safe?"
Anna knew that she couldn’t let things continue like this, or everyone would start panicking again, so she grit her teeth and shouted, "Pull yourselves together! These past few days, we’ve all faced death countless times! This is no different!"
Many in the crowd winced at this rebuke, but it did help them regain some composure. While this new threat was certainly intimidating, it wasn’t any deadlier than the hordes of beasts which had been trying to rip them limb from limb, so their situation really hadn’t changed much.
Forcing themselves to think that way, most managed to calm down a bit.
Exchanging a glance, Captains Cole and Reed saw a look of admiration in each other’s eyes for this young Guard Captain. It was clear Anna was able to maintain her cool under extreme stress and think rationally under pressure, essential qualities in a good leader.
After their brief exchange, Justin pulled out a Flare Spirit Tool and fired it to alert all of Redwood Town to the new danger.
After launching the red ball of light, Justin and Cassandra both turned to Anna and were about to ask her what they should do next, but when their eyes landed on her, they immediately noticed that the latter was now staring fixedly into the sky, her body shaking as her face completely drained of colour.
The instant the two Captains saw this, they knew that Anna had again ’seen’ something that they could not, and their worries began to increase once more.
Neither of them wanted to ask, but they knew that ignorance wouldn’t help them here, so Cassandra mustered her courage and called out, "Captain Anna, what do you see?"
But Anna didn’t respond to the question; or rather, she didn’t hear it in the first place as all her focus was on the horrifying scene filling her eyes.
It was a moonless night, so the sky was so dark it should have been impossible for Anna to see anything high above her head; but, as soon as the flare was sent up and provided a source of illumination, the full extent of the invisible calamity which had descended upon Redwood Town became apparent to her.
