Earth spirit village. This was this town’s name and only a hundred or so families lived here. Most of these people were ordinary folks without a hint of mana in their bodies.
Only the first male offspring of a generation from the Riggalton family would have the potential to become a mage. Hence, naturally, the Riggalton family became the town’s leader.
Everyone obeyed and respected them and the Riggalton family also didn’t grow arrogant just because they were the strongest in the town and had mages. They would do their best to assist the town’s folk and protect the town, although there weren’t many dangers thanks to the isolated location of the town.
There was another peculiar thing about the Riggalton family.
All the male offspring apart from the first one would succumb to death within a week after they were born and the one who didn’t and would become the mage in the future could only awaken the Earth Element.
In this generation, the Riggalton family only had a son and a daughter. Unfortunately, the son, Leo Riggalton, didn’t want to stay cooped up in the town and wanted to explore the world instead.
(A/N: Does anyone remember the name Leo Riggalton?)
But his parents, grandparents and the rest of the villagers were strictly against it because anyone who left town never returned. This was the curse placed upon them, especially the Riggalton family, that stopped them from leaving the town.
Leo, however, didn’t believe this and on one fateful night, with his sister’s help, he sneaked out of the town with no one noticing. He also left a letter for his parents in which he said,
[Don’t worry, father, mother. I’ll return after seeing the outer world and when I do, I promise I will be very strong. I will protect and make the town flourish. -Your son.]
When his parents found out about this, they were angry and sad but couldn’t do anything about it. Despite knowing the chances of him returning were very slim because of the curse placed upon their town, especially on their family, they could only hope he will return safe and sound.
But half a year later, instead of their son, this demon calamity arrived.
Currently, in the Riggalton house, a middle-aged man, woman, a young girl and a few ordinary villagers were hiding in the basement.
“Chief. What’s happening? Who are these monsters and why are they attacking us?” A man asked as he hugged his five-year-old son.
The middle-aged man took a deep breath. With a grim look on his face, he said, “If my family’s ancestral records aren’t wrong, then these monsters outside should be demons.”
“Demons? Those from the legends?” The man asked, frowning. He only ever heard of the term ‘demon’ in the stories.
“Yes.” The middle-aged man, the chief, nodded, “However, as you can see, they are not just legends but real living beings.”
Everyone shivered when they heard this. From the stories they heard from their parents as kids, they had a rough idea that demons were cruel and liked to kill and feed on humans.
There was silence in the basement before one of them asked, “Chief, what should we do? We can’t stay here and hope that they will leave, right? Once they find out we are here, we will be killed and eaten like the rest of the villagers.”
Middle-aged man’s expression turned grimmer when he heard this, but just as he was about to reply, a wild laughter resounded.
“Kekeke! Find you? We already know where you are. Don’t worry, we’ll come to you when we are done with the people outside.”
Everyone paled when they heard this.
The man who spoke just now stammered in fear. “T-They already know about us. H-How?”
“We are doomed.”
“No! Why is this happening?”
“Damn it! If that brat Leo was here, maybe with his and chief’s help, we could have fought our way out.”
“Yeah. Why did he have to leave? What would he achieve if he saw the outside world? Haven’t we stayed in the village all our lives?”
“Such an ungrateful bastard!”
As fear overwhelmed their heart, the town’s folk started cursing Leo. Upon hearing this, the middle-aged chief, the middle-aged women and the young girl’s expression turned ugly.
She glanced at her father and mother and, seeing they didn’t say anything, she shouted, “Shut up! What will you achieve by cursing my big brother? Do really believe if he was here, we wouldn’t be in this situation?”
Her outburst, however, didn’t have the effect she was hoping for and the town’s folk became more aggressive with their curses.
“You damned girl! Who are you shouting at for? Did we say anything wrong?”
“It’s all because of your family.”
“If your family hadn’t been arrogant all those years ago and didn’t piss off someone they shouldn’t have, would our town be cursed?”
The middle-aged chief couldn’t endure it any longer when he heard this.
Swoosh!
He released his mana, making them go quiet, and shouted, “I know you are afraid, but you shouldn’t cross certain limits. Piss off someone we shouldn’t have? If not for our family’s sacrifice back then, this town would have been razed to the ground and none of you would be here to curse at our family. If you don’t shut up, you won’t have to wait for the demons because I’ll kill you myself.”
This time, everyone quietened down.
Just then,
Boom!
The gate to the basement was destroyed, and a group of four demons appeared in front of them.
Each had a different body type. One was tall, one was, one was short and one was muscular. However, the thing in common between them was their gray skin color and their hideous, slimy faces. The skin on their faces and chests was wiggling as if many worms were moving under it.
The taller one looked at their fearful faces and revealed a nasty smile. Then he spoke in human language, “Let’s divide them equally among ourselves. We’ll first enjoy these women and then eat them all.”
“Kekeke. That’s what I was thinking.” The short demon cackled evilly.
The middle-aged chief clenched his teeth and glanced at his wife. “Take Naira and escape.”
Tear welled up in her eyes when she heard this, but nodded, “Yes.”
He then rubbed the ring on his finger and a black beast hide that had some inscriptions written with blood appeared in his hand.
As soon as it appeared, the expression of the four demons changed and immediately they lunged at him, wanting to stop before he could activate it.
The chief, however, had already expected this and way before taking it out, he had mobilized his mana and once the talisman appeared in his hand; he infused his mana into it.
At the same time, the earth behind him shifted, and his wife and daughter disappeared. The expression of the town’s folk changed when they witnessed this.
However, before they could say anything or the demons could reach the chief, the talisman emitted an ominous black light, which reduced him to dust within a split second and then it expanded in all directions, enveloping everyone in the basement.
The 10 Bonus Chapter Mass release between 10-15 November!
