Chapter 196 - The Last Sparks Of Hope

As the bald husk shook off the blast, the many books occupying the shelf began to fall onto its body; knocking it in the head repeatedly as it didn't seem to care much for the pain, only releasing an ear-trembling howl. 

Momentarily distracted by the display of magic from the mysterious visitor, Abraham countered the incoming strike from the husk, evading its grasp as he stuck the dagger he held into its jaw. 

Shit, I missed! The man thought. 

It seemed piercing any non-fatal section of the husk's body resulted in zero damage done, the rotten ex-human lunging towards Abraham once again. Though it threw its fists through the air without any grace of form, it was clear that a single clean, direct hit would deal heavy damage to the man who had no assistance of magic for himself. 

The speed and ferocity it possessed got the better of the man in their brief exchange, wrapping its clammy fingers around his throat before shoving him back against the wall with a sharp dash--knocking the breath and saliva from his mouth. 

"Old man!"

Lucas called out, turning his sight away from the opponent he was up against. Even in his precarious position, Abraham didn't lose any of his hot-headed attitude, still just as beet-red as he grabbed onto the arm of the husk. 

"Focus on your own battle, kid! I've got this covered!"

Slamming his balled-up fist against the arm of the rotten husk, it hardly budged in the slightest, baring its rows of sharpened teeth once again as a deathly air came from its maw. Despite the sheer difference in size between the tank of a man and the thin, decaying husk--the disparity in raw strength was an entirely different subject. It felt as if he was crashing his fist against unmoving steel, only serving to make the man-eating creature angrier. 

I mainly specialize in wide-area attacks...Not much of an option with him near me. I was trying not to destroy their furniture, but I don't have much of a choice, Lucas thought. 

"Luft: Bore."

The whispered incantation sent from the tip of his finger a ball of condensed air, flying through the husk's skull as it charged towards him with its arms extended forward. Having its brain shredded by the malicious air, the charging reanimated creature crashed to the ground without any resistance. 

"...Now, onto the other--"

As Lucas turned to help Abraham from his perilous situation, the sight was the opposite of what he had expected. 

"...Gyah!"

Abraham had his large, bulky hands wrapped around the head of the husk, his iron-grip scraping the loose flesh from its skull as he squeezed as tightly as he could from both sides. The man's entire complexion had shifted to crimson from the pure exertion, salivating as he strained himself beyond one-hundred percent. 

In response, the husk had tightened its grip around his neck, cutting off the man's air as he continued to close his hands around its head. With the pressure continuing to increase, the glazed-over eyes of the revived creature popped out of its socket, forcing a mixture of blood and pus to evacuate the many pores of its decaying form. 

"Rrrrah!"

One last exertion caused the husk's skull to be completely squashed, sending chunks of its brain to fly across the basement floor. 

"...You're insane."

Lucas caught Abraham as the man nearly fell over, likely completely light-headed from the prolonged exposure to being choked. The man only laughed weakly at this, standing himself back up as he caressed his neck--the clear handprint of the husk temporarily ingrained into his flesh. 

"...You're still not off the hook, kid. Who the hell are you? I've never seen you around Lemasdale before."

Asked this once again, Lucas paused for a moment as he swiped the chunk of brain matter off of his blouse. 

Well, I'm not about to tell him the truth...That's an easy way to make things even more difficult than they already are, he thought. 

"A passing adventurer; nothing more nothing less."

"Huh. Why the hell did you come in here then? You saw what it's like out there, right?...No merit in a town like this now."

Crossing its bulky arms across his just as muscular chest, Abraham seemed just fine despite the close-call battle fought with the husk. Despite the blood and matter staining his head of messy, black hair--his appearance wasn't all that frightening in spite of his build. He had kind, grayish-blue eyes and a beard as scruffy as they come. 

"To be honest...I don't know the answer to that exactly…"

Looking down at his own hands, they had become drenched in grime and blood--clenching them shut as he looked back up at the towering man. 

"Feh. Well, I'd be a real dumbass to send away someone with strength like yours...Honestly, we need all the help we can get."

"I came here to get you all out of here."

"Huh? I assumed you heard our call so you came here for shelter. You're serious?...Huh."

Abraham seemed honestly perplexed by this statement from Lucas, scratching his scruffy beard as he began to stomp up the staircase. 

"What exactly is your plan here?"

"What?"

"You said you came here to "save us", so you had some sort of plan, right?"

Asked this, Lucas scratched his head as he followed close behind Abraham. Noticing this suspicious lack of an answer, the gorilla of a man let out a heavy sigh. A knock on the wooden door occupying the summit of this staircase led to it quickly being swung open by the wide-eyed townsfolk, still shakily wielding their weapons. 

"You made it…"

The young, broom-knife-wielding peasant let out a sigh of relief as his eyes, peeled-open by fear, finally settled to a calm. 

"All thanks to…"

Abraham trailed off as he glanced back at the short, lithe boy that he wasn't even completely sure was a boy by the feminine features he possessed naturally.

"Lucas. I didn't do much; only as much as you did."

"Well, be that as it may--you took out a husk without much trouble."

"..He did?"

Looking at the slim of build, almost malnutritioned looking boy, now wearing dirty clothes with a rag tied around his head--the surrounding townsfolk all held the same look of doubt and shock in their eyes. It was a look he was all too familiar with--the underestimation. 

"You're welcome."

Letting out a heated, perturbed sigh, Lucas' cold, emerald gaze immediately caused the spear-wielding young man to slowly nod his head, "Thank you!...Oh, my name is Ben. I'm a cheesemaker."

"...A cheesemaker, eh?"

Lucas raised an eyebrow, looking at the extended hand of Ben, reaching out as his stomach let out a less than confident growl. Silence filled the room before Abraham let out a hearty laugh--the rest soon followed as if waiting to see if it was appropriate to laugh with the new guest. 

"Ben, go get the boy something. He earned his keep tonight."

"R-right!"

Ben scurried off down the lavish hallway; the sight of the luxurious but still modest abode was a welcoming scenery in contrast to the dreary, blood-soaked streets just beyond the walls. 

"How long has it been? Since the husks took Lemasdale."

Asking this as he took a bite out of the aged cheddar; the potent richness of the cheese hit Lucas' tongue like a firework of taste, swallowing it whole. 

"Husks? Is that what those damn things are called? Honestly, I've kind of lost count…"

"...A few days now."

The woman answered in place of Abraham, sitting across from Lucas as they resided in one of the lounge rooms of the mayor's manor. 

"Anna", huh? She seems like the anchor of this group. Level-headed, rational--human. Probably the only thing keeping Abraham from going haywire, Lucas thought as he looked at the lady. 

"Only a few?...It makes sense, but the damage done to the town out there…"

Mentioning this, a guilt-ridden, pained look came over Ben, who ran his hand over his face as he leaned against the sturdy bookshelf behind him. 

"It's that bad, is it?...Dammit…"

"You don't know?"

Lucas asked genuinely, trying to get a firm understanding of the situation and what information the townspeople might have. 

"...Since those of us lucky enough to get in arrived, there hasn't been a single peep from anyone outside...Nobody has dared leave, either. It's just been...dark."

As the cheese-maker spoke, it sounded as if any slip up in his voice would result in a fit of tears leaving his eyes. 

"Yeah, frankly--just seeing an outsider like you is quite relieving, Lucas."

Anna placed her hands over her chest thoughtfully as her magenta irises came over with a slight bit of water. Looking down for a moment, Lucas began to lament his earlier thoughts on the carriage ride over--the selfish thoughts of leaving behind Lemasdale. 

Suddenly, he felt the makeshift bandage wrapped around his head come loose, looking up to see Anna untying it. 

"Don't worry; I'm just going to take a look at your wound. I imagine it's not too wild of a guess to assume you didn't treat it yourself yet, did you?"

Shaking his head, Lucas responded quietly, "You're a doctor?"

"No, but my father...was." 

Not knowing how to respond to something like that, Lucas simply replied with a "Sorry", allowing the girl to check his head injury. It was something he had mainly forgotten about in his stupor of self-centered heroism; now that he was finally relaxed, the throbbing in his head returned to maximum capacity--feeling as if a hammer was driving a nail through the wound. 

Her touch was gentle; still, as careful as her supple fingers were to examine his wound, the slightest touch sent through his nerves the fires of hell. 

"Agh!..."

"...Sorry."

Anna apologized, taking further caution as she parted his silky, hazel hair to get a better look at the wound. That isolated section of his head was drenched in thickened crimson, seeing this, Anna quickly shot a glance to Abraham who had a pinky lodged up his nasal tunnel.

"Sage's Bosom--grab me a bottle of it."

The sudden shift from a meek, kind tone to a commanding, respect-earning voice from Anna was jarring; Abraham jumped up from his seat, stretching his arms as he began to head out of the lounge room before stopping in place.

"...And that is?"

"Look for the vial with an orange liquid in it."

"Gotcha."

Given his task befit for a gorilla, Abraham's booming footsteps could be heard traversing the steps back down to the basement. By the way Ben was shrinking, huddled up in the corner as he cleaned his spear with a rag for no particular reason other than to seem busy--he was trying to avoid Anna's bossy attitude. 

"Ben."

"Y-yes?"

Jumping as if startled somehow, Ben adjusted his circular-rimmed glasses before looking at Anna, standing himself up straight. 

"Grab a new set of bandages; they should be in the drawer over there."

"Alright…"

Ben nearly dropped his spear as he began to search the drawer at his side, catching it with zero elegance to his movements before rummaging through the cabinet--pulling out a roll of beige bandages as if retrieving the sword from the stone. 

"Thank you."

Just in time, Abraham came back through the door with his massive frame barely squeezing through, holding a bottle so small in comparison to his meaty hands that Lucas feared he'd shatter the glass with that monstrous grip of his.