Chapter 10: Second Initial Purification Attempt

    Belissar furrowed his brow as the timer counted down.

    Initial Purification attempt in 5 seconds...

    Initial Purification attempt in 4 seconds...

    Initial Purification attempt in 3 seconds...

    Initial Purification attempt in 2 seconds...

    Initial Purification attempt in 1 second...

    Initial Purification attempt commencing.

    Once again Belissar and the Tower began to grow hot. Every part of the Tower began to shine. The sky, the trees, even the flowers glowed faintly.

    And the gates to the Hunger swung open once more.

    Belissar gulped as the black mass surged into the Flower Meadow. The nightmare every mother frightened their children with, the horror that no man or woman dared to face.

    But once again, the edges of the gateway began to glow. Belissar heard a screeching noise as the tendrils of the Hunger fell back into the writhing mass. It condensed down as it did before, and once again, a black paw with massive claws stepped out and dug into the dirt.

    Sweat dripped down Belissar’s neck as the shade’s long snout emerged, growling as it stepped into the dungeon. Belissar tightened his grip on his torch and pulled out his knife with his other hand. The shade lifted its head into the sky and roared.

    Initial Purification attempt begun. Remaining hostiles: 1

    Belissar lifted his torch with a shaky hand.

    “C-Come and get me...”

    He winced as his voice cracked. The shade brought its head down to stare at him, then burst out running towards him with a snarl.

    Belissar turned and ran, his heart pounding. He was very much having second thoughts as to this plan. What was he, a peasant who had never experienced an actual battle in his life, doing trying to confront a shade of the Hunger?! Those jaws could snap him in half! The claws on its paws were as large as his hand! The barb on its tail would pierce right through him!

    This was a monstrosity that trained soldiers would break and run from. That even the most hardened of the Tower Guard would tremble at the thought of.

    And Belissar thought he could face it down?!

    He regretted every choice he had made as he ran. He felt a rumble in the ground as the shade’s feet pounded behind him. He heard the snarling from behind. He thought he could feel the creature’s breath on his back...

    But then he realized that was his imagination, for the creature’s snarls weren’t coming from behind him. He glanced over and his eyes widened.

    The monster had leapt through the trees and was running along the hill to Belissar’s right, trying to run around him and head him off.

    The monster had nearly reached him. It opened its jaws, its tail wrapped around its body to swing at Belissar, it lifted its paws and extended its claws.

    And then it vanished with a yelp as the ground vanished beneath its feet. Belissar heard a crash followed by a second yelp.

    His heart leapt in his chest and his legs turned to jelly but he resisted the urge to fall to the ground. The hardest part was over, but this battle wasn’t finished yet.

    Belissar cautiously crept to the edge of the hole while the bees began to buzz overhead. He peered over the side.

    The monster was tangled at the bottom, twisting about to get back on its feet. It was surrounded by yellow walls as honeycomb lined the pit. The black fur covered in mist glistened slightly as honey, twigs, and dandelion stems stuck to it, before turning black and wilting. Honey, stems, and twigs covered the bottom in a large mat.

    The monster shook its head at it rose to its feet. It looked at Belissar and snarled. It stepped forward to the edge and tried to dig its claws into the wall.

    Belissar narrowed his eyes and held out his torch.

    “This is for my bees.”

    He dropped the torch.

    The bottom of the pit burst into flames as honey and kindling caught fire. The flames spread to the monster’s fur due to the honey and stems stuck to it. The monster roared and fell back. It tried to roll across the ground...only to set more of the honey and stems alight, spreading the fire.

    Belissar knew that one weapon a farmer had that every predator feared was fire. And as a beekeeper, he knew that beeswax made an excellent candle.

    The fire continued to grow as the twigs and the wax caught fire as well. The monster roared and raced along the edges, but the fire had spread to the entire pit, and even the walls thanks to the wax on it. The monster crouched down and tried to leap out of the pit, but Belissar had made it as deep as he could and it failed to reach the edge. It tried to dig its claws into the walls but they couldn’t hold its weight, and it fell back once again.

    It tried to unleash the black mist once again, but it had no effect on the flames, and there was nothing living for it to kill.

    Eventually, its movement slowed down, and its roars grew soft. Soon, it fell to the ground and moved no more. Black mist began to rise from the flames and mix with the smoke as the monster’s body disintegrated.

    All hostiles defeated. Purification successful.

    Belissar fell back onto his bottom as the message passed before his sight. His eyes began to grow wide.

    The monster...was dead?

    The plan...had worked?

    “We...won?”

    Belissar blinked, and then started to giggle. Soon, he began to laugh.

    And all around him, the Tower began to glow...