Chapter 48: Turned

Ned traversed the forest going back to the orphanage. His hunter jacket wasn't enough to shield him from the freezing rain.

On the way, Ned found a Rabbi, took its core, and gained a 'Leap' skill, which he can use for 16 times.

"ICE, how's my status?" Ned muttered.

[Warning. Energy level is critically low.]

[Use of Overclock may make you immovable.]

[Mana Points available 13/610.]

[Leap skill can be used 16 times.]

ICE prompted one after the other, bad news Ned thought. "The only thing I have is the Butterfly."

Every time Ned thought of giving up, the ring on his left hand, gave him the courage to continue what life had thrown at him. Although long gone, Kamma and Calahir were the people who gave Ned a chance of a new life. And that chance has intertwined with faith and met his Master.

Now alone, Ned couldn't bear the thought of leaving his Master. Taking all the burden by himself! Ned cursed his self.

Halfway back to the orphanage, Ned heard the branches split to half when an air current blasted its way through the maze of forests.

Seconds later, a figure flew away from the orphanage. The Devourer swung its wings, then a current of purple and black energy formed beneath its wings, and shot out towards the orphanage before leaving. "Master." Uneasiness punctured his skin. Making his breath rapid.

Ned used leap to double his speed. Making him closer and closer to the orphanage.

Using leap for the third time. Ned jumped a creek, making him glide from one edge to the other. Making the distance between him and the orphanage, closer. Ned's path was cut mid-air when a ghoul jumped below the water. Surprising itself underwater.

With reflexes, those of an agile beast, combined with the force of the ghoul's ascending. Ned draws his sword mid-air, spread his legs, and sliced the ghoul.

The ghoul twitched when it was hit in the neck down to its chest. Granting it an instant death.

Rolling then sliding, mud flew and scattered when Ned arrived on the other side of the creek.

Ned continued to travel the forest with the speed even his peer Hollows couldn't catch up with him. All this time, Ned used his raw strength to survive.

Droplets of rain obscured Ned's vision, coupled with the rugged and muddy terrain, traveling was getting harder.

Glancing the trees one after the other. Ned peeked a figure not far from him. He stopped and walked towards the figure lying on the ground.

The body was shielded under a massive tree, along with some random bushes and rocks, Ned saw the figure to be familiar. He was the lifeless kid, who was supposed to be with them embarking the Vellarus Dusk.

As faith played its cards again, the lifeless kid, was now...lifeless. Lying on the ground, Ned saw that the kid's neck was half bitten, flesh and some bones were covered with a foam of bubbles. His eyes were open, showing an unimaginable pain before he died.

Ned closed the gap between them, moonlight struck the kid's face. Stream of water ran across them. Making the dead body colder. No life remained within the kid's eyes.

Ned wanted to close the dead kid's eyes. When his chest let out a white to green light, uncontrollably lighting the surroundings, together with the sound of the bone-cracking, he twitched. The kid's stiff body loosened up, he rolled and growled. He stood with saliva drolling out his hungry mouth. Dark blood crawled out of every aperture he had. The smell of the mud oozed and mixed up with the dark-blood.

"They're turning to one of those mindless beasts," Ned grumbled. Knitting his eyebrows.

The turned kid screamed and growled. Turning his head towards Ned, his bloodshot eyes screamed of pain and hunger and the kid lunged with an open mouth.

Ned jolted, and dropkicked the kid, throwing the lifeless kids almost a meter apart. Hitting his body in the tree.

The human ghoul growled when his food fought back. Unknowingly to him, without raising his hands, light shot out from his hands. Then a blaze of fire coiled around his hands up to his shoulder, then to his neck, burning his self in the process.

To end his agony, Ned draws his sword. Under the moonlight shine, the Butterfly passed to the kid's neck, eventually killing him in the process.

"Even the turned can use magic, but it's uncontrollable since they're dead," Ned muttered.

With the smell of the burning flesh faded out, Ned moved forward.

Arriving at the orphanage, or what was left of it. Ned discovered that his Master wasn't there anymore. Under the heavy rain, dark clouds, and thunder from time to time. Ned saw footprints going far beyond the forest.

After discovering he was a clone, a first of his kind. Ned was struck with different emotions. He can now laugh when things are worth laughing for, smile with his friends, angry when he needed to be. Aside from an unknown feeling towards Toni, Ned felt other strange emotions within him. Ned couldn't breath when that feeling surged his entire body. He was worried, angry, and excited all at the same time. Mixed emotions even he couldn't define well.

Half an hour has passed, and Ned saw not far from him a light that made the forests turned blue, sometimes, purple, then green. The light dances together with an unknown booming from the distance.

Following the footprints towards the dancing light, Ned was stopped when a group of ghoul blocked his way.

Three ghouls screeched and rushed adjacent to Ned. Surprised by the sudden arrival, Ned sprung back using the skill leap. With twelve left, Ned used another leap to counter the upcoming ghouls.

Ned draws his sword, position himself to ease his attack. He leaned forward and pulled his waist back, making a horseback position, he divided his weight into his feet, his waist, and his hands. Without using the Predictive Combat Emulator, and with the help of the skill leap, Ned bolted forward. Cutting the first ghoul in half, horizontally. He then twisted his waist, circled his body then slice the second ghoul from the top up to its chest, stopping in the middle, when the Butterfly was stuck in the part of the ghoul's ribs.

With the third ghoul incoming, Ned lifted the dead ghoul with his strength traveling to the sword. With his left hand sunk into the chest of the lifeless ghoul, and the right gripping the Butterfly, Ned moves to his right, using the mindless beasts as a meat shield.

Colliding with the attacking ghoul, Ned rolled around together with the dead ghoul. The three rolled on the mud, eventually stopping into a tree. Ned was stuck at the bottom, while the two ghouls were skewered in the middle with the Butterfly.

Ned forced the two dead ghouls to roll on his side.

With the three ghouls, dead. Ned continues to where the booming sound was. The booming stopped when the dancing light turned dark.

The surrounding fell to silence, moments later, ghouls revealed themselves out of nowhere. From the forest's edges, rivers, some moved along the trees, and above the trees, jumping from branch to branch. Growling, howling, and screeching, the ghouls turned towards where the booming was before.

Ned prepared his sword. But no ghouls attracted Ned's attention. Mindless beasts passed through Ned without knowing his presence. One ghoul grazed Ned but continue to move along.

Ned tried to kill one of the ghouls, but they still move along. It doesn't matter if one of them died. As long as they keep ongoing. Eventually, the last ghoul passed Ned and vanished into the dark forest.

"Someone's controlling them," Ned muttered his mind out. "Wait...the Mage." Ned stopped his track, the space between his eyebrows narrowed. He put the Butterfly back to its scabbard, stood unmoving, and jagged his memories.

"The mage, the mage," Ned kept on muttering. Besides him was a rock almost the same height as him. He leaned with his back on the rock and kept on muttering. "The device,

The mage used the device to control the Devourer, it's not an ordinary device, but if he could control the Devourer, then his the one controlling the ghouls. That's too obvious, of course, but what's his goal. I'm missing something here, no, what's their goal. The gate, the device, the mage, wait, the mage wasn't alone. That's it, he's not alone, all this time! The Knight! Sir Edwin! Now his with my Master, no THEY'RE with Master. No!"

Ned used leap and dashed forward, following the horde of ghouls. "If I'm correct, then the ghouls had one objective in mind. It's my Master, Master is the only one standing between them and their goal."

Ned leaped meters and meters apart, forcing his legs to his limits. Eventually, he caught up with the horde, at the same moment, the horde stopped moving, frozen on their ground, unmoving. Not far from him, he could hear voices, swords clashing, and hissing sound. Ned probed his surroundings, he then stopped when he heard a shout. The shout was now obvious, it was the Mage, whom he thought had died when he fell from the Devourer's back. The mage kept on shouting. But with the last shout, Ned stopped, gripped his sword, essentially drawing it.

The horde who remained unmoving screamed and dashed forward when they heard the Mage shout. "Kill!"