A Tale After Four Lives - Volume 1: Receiving The Reward Chapter 28 28: The Price Of Evil Ashes

Two Months Later.

Two figures could be seen treading through a snow-covered forest. The needles of the evergreen trees covered in a deep layer of snow, a testament to a long unforgiving winter. The two figures where Alex and Aura.

“… and that is why light elemental servants are the best.” Aura declared, looking quite happy at her argument.

Alex wore a confused look as he treads through the deep snow, “I just wanted to know the extend of her healing capabilities, how did it end up her narrating the greatness of light elemental servants.”, he thought.

Aura weightlessly trod upon the snow, while also taking every chance she has to explore different parts of the forest like hidden burrows and small frozen streams. Her eye’s glittered with everything she saw.

Alex smiled at her reactions to everything since Aura was summoned by him to this world she rarely had the chance to look around, or explore so seeing her so happy now brought comfort to Alex’s heart.

Aura suddenly called spoke after approaching him as they continued on there journey, “Master, we have spent so much time looking for this, Base as you call it, where the experimentation is being done but…”, she stopped unsure if she should continue.

Alex sighed, “I know, we have searched so long and have yet to find even a trace, you doubt the Bishops info.”, he said knowing what she was implying, “don’t worry, I think we are close, well we have already searched more than eighty percent of the country, I doubt that place will stay hidden much longer. Have faith Aura”.

“Say’s the faithless paladin”, said Aura with a smirk.

“I had faith when I was known as Lambert. I had faith in my arm, my steel, and the great warriors that fought alongside me in battle. Why do I need to beg a god for something, which I myself can deliver?”

“…”

Aura was quiet for a moment not knowing what to say, true although Lambert did not worship any of the gods he was no worse than any other Paliden who received their blessings, in fact he surpassed all previous paladins and even grand paladins.

“Master”, Aura spoke.

“Mhhh?”

Aura looked uncertain, but after some contemplation, she spoke, “When we separated, what did you do. I mean you were on your last legs when you send me into the light elemental realm, I doubt you would have lived long, so what I wanted to ask is…”

“How I died.” Alex finished her question.

“Yes”, she did not deny it.

“Well, after we separated I …” Alex stopped mid-sentence as they walked into a massive clearing in the snow-covered woods where a large facility could be seen in the middle, “…Oh, guess we found something.”

Aura also looked at the facility before frowning, “There is smoke coming from there and there are a lot of people running around?”

“Shit!, Were late they have already started there purge. Aura stay here, I will send any survivors I find to you, heal them as best you can but before all else ensure there life!” Alex ordered as he started moving forward as fast as he can without destroying anything in the process.

…

Alex quickly entered the facility, literally running a whole through the fence, searching for the entrance.

“Found it”

Running towards a heavily reinforced metal door an unfortunate exorcist just so happens to obstruct his route, Alex didn’t slow but kicked the poor man while running sending him into the door destroying both.

Making his way through the, now, blood-soaked entrance coming through every room he could and disposing of any man in his way in a similarly brutal way.

His path littered with half corpses plastered blood, and even some body’s sticking through the reinforced concrete walls. There was no mercy, no chance of retaliation, they didn’t even know who or how they died, one moment they were busy with something the next they where dead.

Reaching a rather large door Alex slammed thought it as if it was nothing more than a soap bubble, the metal gave way to his titan body like tin foil, not even able to put up any resistance.

Entering a large room, Alex’s emotionless face contorted into grief, in front of him was a scene that would even make the most ruthless weep.

Hundreds of children lied on the ground, there body’s cold, tears marks running down there face painted a picture of the fear they felt before they died, the pain they felt before life was prematurely ripped from them, some bodies were huddled together as if they were trying to comfort each other in there final moments.

Alex quickly composed himself as he walked past the children no older than ten, searching, hoping to find a tinge of life among the sea of death. Alex’s eye’s scanned the bodies, each dead one he passed left more grief in his heart than the last, but it would not keep him from his task, he has lived too long and seen too much for it to sway him, he had to be strong to safe that one that might have survived and as if predestined he found one.

Alex moved as swiftly as the wind, appearing before a young boy with brown hair, though faint he still breathed. With a swift motion space rippled and the boy was sent to Aura, Alex could not waste time healing as there might be more alive. He was right he found six more, two boys and four girls, he quickly teleported them to Aura for healing, unfortunately he could find no more after, among hundreds, he could save but seven.

Alex sighed in grief, he had done so many times since entering this room and will probably to do so for eternity every time he recalls this moment, just as Alex was about to leave himself, he picked up another life, so faint that he most would never have noticed, it was very weak, so weak that it was almost nonexistent, but even so there it was. walking towards it without hesitation, underneath a few bodies Alex found the source, inside a barrier of a sort was a little girl, she looked frozen in time, the tears that ran down her check forever in stasis.

Alex was surprised, yes, but even more so he was glad, he could save another life. Grabbing the barrier Alex gave a final scan of the room, before leaving via teleportation. He appeared next to Aura, inside a massive globe of light energy that she had summoned, the energy from the globe seep into every child healing and protecting them.

“Master, this…”, Aura said looking at the few children, expecting more.

“These are all I could get to in time, unfortunately…”Alex said as he walked out of the globe of light leaving the girl in the barrier within, he faces the facility, many exorcists were investigating the bloody entrance yelling in indignation and anger, “How dare you to be angry, vile beast unworthy of the air you breath” Alex thought in rage.

A bow and arrow appeared in his hands, drawing the bow he pointed it towards the sky above the facility, “I will show you what awaits those that are wicked”, he thought

“Great wind of the world, carry my message. One filled with my grief and wrath, in return I shall show you the epitome of calamity”, Alex chanted as he released the arrow.

It flew into the air, flying over the facility, when it reached the center it stopped as if held in place, massive amounts of wind surrounded it forcing it to fall straight down, the arrow rocketed to the ground accompanied by the wind, its body burst in red fiery light.

The exorcist noticed this, but instead of an arrow they saw a red light falling straight into the middle of the facility, just before the arrow landed Alex spoke, his voice could mysteriously be heard by every exorcist in the facility, his voice as if speaking directly to there souls, heralding their end.

“””””Titulus monumenti cinere (Pillar of ashes)”””””

The world turned red, a massive pillar rose from the earth, made from fires so red it looked like it was formed of blood, the pillar engulfed the retired facility, the exorcists didn’t even have the chance to react before they were burned to ashes, but that was not the end, the pillar of fire rose into the air as if threatening to burn the sky.

“Let’s leave,” Alex said as space rippled around him, Aura and the children, and then they disappeared, but the pillar kept burning, and only after an hour did it finally die down, what was left was something that would spook any who saw it.

The facility was gone the ground around it flat as a mirror, but hundreds of silhouettes, they were the exorcists that were burned by the pillar of fire, their ashes confined in a crust of coal perfectly capturing there body’s and facial expressions as they died, there was no horror or fear only confusion as if they did not even know what killed them.