Cier Journeys: Path Of Corruption

Chap 16: Sudden Strike.

"You.. you're dead! Stop haunting me!" Jasper said, seems like he lost his mind upon entering the veil, The veil is a dangerous place because the mysterious mist gives whoever enters it hallucinations, something like seeing a lost loved one afar then tricks them into running behind him just to fall into their doom, many have lost their lives in The Veil and not many made it out when they go too far into the forest. 

"WHO THE HECK ARE YOU CALLING FAAAAKE??!?!" Flif grabbed his shirt and shook him, yelling at his face that he is real. 

"I, AM ALIVE! ALIVEE! STANDING IN FRONT OF YOU, WHO YOU CALLING FAAAAKE?!" 

Jasper was shook too hard, he vomited and passed out.
"Uhhghgh aaahhh.." 

"Woops.. seems like i overdid." Flif pulled Jasper and handed him to the guards. Right when another familiar figure ran outside calling out for Jasper. 

"Jasper, please! I cant keep up with you, you gotta stop going ou-" It was Helios, he looked a Flif and took him a second narrowing his eyes to see if he was hallucinating or not. Flif looked back with hesitation, not sure what to say but then Helios made the first move running in and hugged him hard. 

"Ahh! It really is you!" Helios squeezed him hard, Flif then taps on his back violently. 

"Dude..i'm glad to see you too but can.. you put me d..down?! I can't.. breathe.." Flif said, Helios finally dropped him and laughed. 

"Jasper is in bad shape, he.. uh.. beat the Fifth, his alternate self. A person almost the same as him, and he was led here by them, he saw someone called.. Pastel,i think.. and he started running after it and almost fell into a hole." Helios pointed at Jasper. 

"Wow, he got the Fifth already, thats good, how many are left?" Flif questioned him.

"Well.. There are 4 left.. but the army is getting stronger so i dont think they wont have good replacements for the minions..Have you heard? They can now corrupt normal people." Helios replied hesitantly. 

Flif couldn't hold himself upon hearing that the corrupted can now corrupt civillians and harm the innocence for the purpose of building their army. He clenched his fist and managed to stay calm. 

"Innocent people.. have you faced Jamezu again? Or heard of anything about him?" Flif asked, his attitude slightly a bit more irritated. 

"There are some news in the village, a scout team all gone missing. It seems that they met Jamezu, or a high rank in the seven minions. There are trails of blood and anathema.." Helios rubbed his chin, it was not great news either. The corrupted are not only getting more power but also building a bigger army, this worried him and the people of Children Of Eirene as well. When things were getting a bit serious Hillina interrupted them with her daydreaming, leaning onto a tree and laying her hand on her forehead as if she was in love. 

"Ohh Lord Jamezu.. my beloved, my dearest.. ohhh.." Hillina was daydreaming and mumbling great things about Jamezu as she leaned against the tree in an uncomfortable position. Flif facepalmed and hid his face behind his hand in embarrassment. 

"What's wrong with her?" Helios pointed and narrowed his eyes, weirded out. 

Flif started to explain that she shouldn't have been here if Jamezu didn't appear and become the world's biggest fear. Hillina admire Jamezu so much that she planned on attacking Flif in Coquo Dessert but her plan failed due to ridicilous , then ended up following him but still remain her role-model, Jamezu. 

"If i could choose what to have for my very last dinner, i would choose Jamezu's brunt dead flesh." Flif grunted. 

"Well.. i guess we have another threat more than just The Cierious fairies..anyway, where are we heading to get the two fairies?" Helios asked, Flif then thought for a moment before remembering that probably Jasper brought it with him when he thought Flif was dead in the explosion inside the facility. 

"Didnt you guys bring my Cierious book? Where is it?" Flif scratched his head, confused.

"Oh, right.. Jasper has it." Helios chuckled, shrugging. "Same old Jasper."

"Speaking of Jasper, who's the lady that he was speaking of?" Flif questioned, he was sure that he heard something like 'i saw her' or 'she was there' that Jasper was shouting when Flif arrived outside and saw him making a scene. 

"Poor Jasper, he saw the hallucinations of someone he lost inside the woods. He cried alot too, thats not like him at all." Helios explained, looking down feeling bad for his friend, and for himself too. Even though he hasn't gone crazy like Jasper, Helios did see some people he lost. Mostly his grandparents who passed away many years ago. 

"A zombie could love as well? I didnt know that! Hahaha! I only knew that zombies liked eating raw flesh, never knew they could love.. Hahahah!" Flif couldn't help it but laugh, even though indeed it wasn't something to laugh about. Flif soon stopped laughing as he stared into the mist, it reminded him of his first trip here. 

"This place is beautiful and nice.. wait no, forget it. Its just sad, and dangerous too." Flif crossed his arm, not lowering his guard and making himself hallucinate. 

"Well, whatever you do don't go into the forest, no matter what you see.. Who knows? Maybe you wont come out when you come deep into the forest." Helios said, also looking into the mist. 

"Roger that!" 

The three rested well that night in the village, it was one strangely peaceful night that they got to sleep in beds and even slept soundly, dreamings of different things. Even Jasper had to admit that it was indeed a good sleep. 

The next morning, Jasper opened his eyes, waken up by the sound of the blacksmiths hammering steel to make blades. He got out of his blanket and stood up, upon going out of his room he sees Helios and Ellie, helping the blacksmiths make swords and weapons. On the other side of the village he could see Flif and Hillina along with the rest of Flif's fairies running into the kitchen yelling and shouting, they were helping the chef prepare for breakfast. 

"Morning, Jasper! How was your sleep? Do you feel better?" Helios and Ellie asked as they came over to check on Jasper. 

"I.. i feel uh.. i dont know, i think i need checkup, i had an appointment with the doctor anyway." Jasper walked off, going to the doctor's office for his checkup. 

"Jasper! You really did come back for your checkup, sit down and tell me how are you feeling?" The doctor asked as he stood up and walked around the room checking his medical supplies to make sure none was missing. 

"I dont know.. just a bit strange." Jasper replied with a blank attitude. The doctor sat down and used healing magic to check his body thoroughly, he thought a minute before going into conclusions with Jasper. 

"I think its the side effects of the corrupted rice when it starts running out of time, i heard you consumed one on accident, right?" The doctor asked. Jasper looked at him and nodded lightly. 

"I see. There's nothing i can do about it, the corrupted rice usually only last for a year, you will begin to go back to normal soon." 

Their conversation was interrupted with a gunshot and screaming, Jasper rushed outside. 

Meanwhile, there was an assasination by a mercenary named "Sneaky" a cyan figure with maroon red hair, he is equipped with a strange dimensional backpack that contains hundreds of weapons. 

On the ground, Ellie was shot, Coey cried calling out for Flif. 

"Master.. heal her, please!" 

"Di-na-ki-lun-pa-yu-...." Flif read out a spell, the spell kept Ellie alive for a moment as the guard brought her back to the medical center in a rush. Outside the mercenary took out a rocket launcher and was about to destroy the village. Flif rushed in and stopped him before he has a chance of doing so, Flif and Sneaky then had an intense fist fight. 

"Gah!" Flif held his face, his nose was bleeding. "I remember you, You are the one who threw the bulldozer last time in the forest of Ridge, right? Did you come back for revenge!?" Flif said, standing up to continue the fight. 

"I'm not, i'm just tasked to come here to wipe out the village." Sneaky explained. 

"Task, task, task. Shut up! You mercenaries make me SICK!" Helios appeared behind the mist, he gained attention of sneaky as the guards fired arrows down on him. Sneaky was injured all over as Helios came in and launched a punch on his face, literally blasting Sneaky to a tree. 

"Helios..! I'm so glad you're here!" Flif said cheerfully. Helios turned his head around and nodded. Turning back and pointing at Sneaky with an inrritated but confident attitude. 

"This a whole village of fighters, we outnumber you hundreds to one. Fighting is pointless, retreat and never come back, you scum!" 

"Thats enough talking.." Sneaky took out a machine gun from his backpack, firing at them rapidly. Helios stood there confidently. 

"Jasper!" Helios called out as the bullets are fired, in a blink Jasper appears, blasting away the bullets with his Crimson Scratchers. Sneaky saw that things are a headache, he ran out of ammo and took out a handgun to defend himself, sadly nothing was fired. 

"AAH?! WHY IS THIS THING CALLED A MAGICAL PISTOL IT DOES NOTHING!" Sneaky complained as he bailed, arrows were fired from above, multiple hit his back but Sneaky still tried to run. 

"Shut.. your.. MOUTH! HERBAL STRIKE!" Flif threw his energy shield, it made contact with sneaky and exploded, Sneaky died in the shockwave, or.. to be precise, sneaky's clone died. Sneaky was on a tree outside of a Veil, squiggling in anger as he failed. Even though sneaky was a fake, his backpack was real. It was taken by the guards.

The guards then scattered, looking accross The Veil to find the real Sneaky. Though the troops didn't dare to go deep into the forest, since they might lose their mind and never come back. 

Meanwhile.. back at the village, Ellie was brought into the surgery room. Flif, Jasper, Helios along with the few other fairies sat outside waiting. The surgery would be hard since the doctors didn't have much experience with surgery on non-human creatures. 


END OF CHAP 16.