The storm that felt like a rumour all day was now starting to deliver the offset of casualties. For a second, like a knife catching a glint of light and refracting it in multitude, everything gleamed in white. The lightning split the whole sky in half and in that moment, it was brighter than the daylight.
Families being ruined and destitute, forced to move away from home wandered on the streets. Everything that one painstakingly struggles for, was erased without a trace.
Water levels rose, and everything was engulfed by it.
Casualties piled up, and food resources were destroyed due to the terrific storm.
The high-speed wind tore away everything in its way. Farmlands were disrupted and a greater part of the southern part of the Cyprus Empire was affected.
The Mangalore Ocean, at the Southern end of Cyprus, almost swallowed a chunk of coastal land.
The calamity lingered for a few days, after which clouds started to move away letting the bright light of the sunlight fall over the destitute land that had undergone great suffering, making many helpless.
In a small village near the coast, that had been flooded.
Kneeling in front of many packages, two children stared at the long thin man smiling at them. The smile was filled with warmth, making one oddly comfortable despite the dangers that a stranger might possess.
Shrouded in darkness, the man's facial features were not visible fully but his voice laid out his inner feelings.
It was soothing and had a calming effect, that forced one to lighten his guard and put one trust in him.
The man extending both of his hands ruffled their hair and caressed their dirt-stricken faces.
"Children, you look hungry so why don't you take this to your parents to share with them?"
A soft pleasant voice echoed.
The children, not being fed for a few days, brightened after hearing the man's words.
"But Mama said not to accept anything from the strangers."One of the children grumbled.
Ruffling the boy's hair, the man let out a hearty laughter.
He then pinched his cheek and muttered.
"What an intelligent boy! It seems you have been taught well."
"But this uncle is not a stranger. I am an official who is on relief duty. I am in the Disaster Management Force that helps people who are suffering from disasters, so this food is all from the Empire. You can take it."
"You can trust me. Just take this, and give it to your mother."
"Your Mama will be proud of you and sing your praises."
"Really!"The two boys' eyes lit up.
The kids asked, admiring the man.
"Yes! Now take this to your parents and ask them to distribute it properly."
The kid took a few packets each and ran away quickly.
The man dusted his hands and walked away but stopped hearing a call from behind.
"Sir, thank you for your kindness."
The man turned back towards an old middle-aged man.
"I am just doing my job."He replied with a smile and waved his head.
"As the Chief, just distribute everything properly and make sure everyone has their fill."
The old man thanked God for sending someone. Their village had been quite pitiful. Being far away from other settlements, and all their crops and food being destroyed by flood, they have nowhere to run except for looking for a temporary residence.
...….
NEEIGGHHHH!
The sound of the clattering of grooves resounded along with the mad bellow of horses, as they got whipped to increase their speed.
"Quick...We need to finish the relief work quicker than others to prove our efficiency and get better rewards compared to others."A man with an arrogant expression spoke.
"Yes, Captain!"The Knights accompanying him shouted.
"Tsk!"The man clicked his tongue seeing the muddy soil up ahead.
"Captain, the horses can't run in this mud. We need to walk by ourselves to the spot."
A subtle annoyance flashed over his eyes.
"Filthy!"
"You want me to walk on this filthy layer of mud? Take the things and deliver them to the village. I will wait here."
The knights shook their heads in dismay since they already knew their captain's temper.
"Captain, you need to present on the scene. It will increase your prestige. We have got an Imperial decree to help in relief work. Why don't we do this, we will carry you on the cart over your shoulders."
The man after slight deliberation decided to accept the suggestion.
Placing the things over the cart, they carried it over the shoulder.
Coming closer to the village, one of them observing the surroundings muttered.
"Something seemed out of place here."
His words made everyone frown. Startled by the man's sudden mumbling, they asked him the reason.
"Don't you find it odd that still now we haven't encountered any living soul?"
"Maybe they are hiding in their home?"
"Maybe!"The Captain muttered, unfazed by the current situation.
After stepping inside the town unable to spot anyone. A cavernous spot of emptiness prevailed accompanying a gloomy atmosphere.
The knights separating from the squad searched for people. As they went deeper, they heard a soft whistling sound.
Carried by a gentle breeze, it rang like a sonorous melody. Looking for the source of the sound, they tried to follow it.
Entering the inner zone, one of them knocked on the door from where the sound was coming.
CRICK!
The door fell with a slight knock. The Knight was alarmed and before he could look down, a small horrifying shriek resounded from inside.
Something pounced on him, biting like an animal.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Before he could shake away the things, his nose and the flesh of his cheeks were beaten off making him stumble on the back.
A loud noise echoed which was followed by erupting screams all over the place.
The Captain stood up in surprise, hearing all the screams.
Jumping off the cart, he dashed inside the place.
"Whattttttt?"
His body froze like a statue and his eye popped out from his socket seeing the scene.
Surrounded by hundreds of bloody pale wrinkled skin humans with cruel sinister expressions, walking on their four limbs and roaring like animals, people dashed towards his knights.
"Captain run!"
"These humans are crazy, their number is huge. We will guard you."
As soon as the call fell, hundreds of wrinkled-scaled humans appeared and dashed towards them.
The man panicked seeing such a scene. Drawing out his sword, without a second thought, the man ran away unaware of the shadows lurking around the place.
.............
CLINKKKKK!
"Hooooo!Everyone except me is already here."A man with a gaudy smile stepped inside a room.
The room was bleak, cold, and completely dark. It was quiet and sombre in there giving one a feeling of chilling as the darkness slowly started to engulf one.
The Darkness was not a mere darkness that came out due to the absence of well-endowed light; rather it was more sinister, and something more vicious than that.
The pitch-dark atmosphere was impenetrable and the man stood rooted to the place, trying to stretch his eyes as wide as possible. He gave out the feeble-looking stretch of eight individuals sitting there, a non-chant look.
"Azrail, how come you are always late?
"I was just enjoying myself out there."
"Ohhh! Whom did you mess up this time?"A seductive voice sounded.
Azrail stared at the woman licking her lips hungrily and smiled"Just someone unimportant?"
"However, it seems you haven't had your fill," Azrail asked
"Tsk...Those perverts were too weak to handle me. Leaving a poor woman unsatisfied."
"Lisa...behave properly," Andras shouted.
A loud bang reverberated which drew everyone's attention to the long-bearded man.
A momentary silence prevailed for a moment.
Pfttttttttttt
Then everyone burst into laughter.
"Behave properly...You expect us to behave properly. This is the funniest joke."
"By the way, how did the operation proceed?"
"Useless...Failed to kidnap anyone of the targeted individuals."
Voices echoed one after another.
"Did you expect them to accomplish the task?"Azrail spoke, blinking his eyes in surprise.
"Since when did you harbour such delusions?"
Dusty, who oversaw the things, felt his face slapped.
"Azrail, it's not good to be blunt."A childish voice emerged from a short-stature person.
"We expected them to still fail, at least we should respect the dead," Shana spoke with a soft pout.
"What did you expect from them? They are already failures. They are just discarded tools. Isn't this mission about proving their incompetence?"Damian muttered, raising his head above the table meekly.
"And Shana, you respect the dead too much for a mere dw… puppeteer."
Damian changed his words in the middle.
The others wanted to laugh at Shana who was a loli but all of them knew mentioning her height was taboo and might make her go crazy.
She is a crazy bitch who after killing, uses the corpses as dolls to play house tea party games.
"We have managed to kidnap a few good fellows?"Andreas, seeing everyone doubting, gazed at them and gave the kidnapped individuals identity.
He clicked the switch and various images appeared on the screen.
Seeing the images, a gentle smile crept over Azrail's lips. Those who noticed this shook their heads.
Knowing him, they were sure he was going to implement another sinister plan.