Grand Adventures of the Witch King

The Trial 2

In this place, or more specifically the forest out there, there weren't only the beasts to fear, but also dangerous man-eating plants as well as treacherous terrain such as; toxic swamps, unexpected quicksand, and the occasional acidic fog that strips flesh from bone on both man and beast alike.

Had it been just those it would be okay, sure the forest would still be a very dangerous place.

But according to the tales it was it is said that there are other beings, dark and sinister beings that roam deep within the forest since long ago. And they were nothing but pure evil, sinister and wicked.

The tales say that they are divided into two, the Esu and Buburu.

The Esu was said to be humanoid-like creatures, but way uglier than anything anyone had ever seen, and that they had such a disgusting and noxious smell that it could kill plants around them, it was also mentioned that this was the way to notice one it if it is close by.

There were many tales on their origins, but the ones that Ullo cared to bother finding interest were of that they were rumored to be what a person who had been possessed by the Buburu becomes after ages of being possessed. The other crazy tale was that apparently, they were minions of some evil gods that had tried to invade this world from a dark and evil realm that was their home.

Whatever the rumors were, they were said to be insanely strong, sadistic, and cruel.

For it was said that once they saw a human even a warrior-level, the best thing one could do was just commit suicide immediately. A beast will kill a person immediately and eat them if it's carnivorous, or leave their corpse there if it's not. These beings on the other hand will make their victims wish for death. However, if the victim was lucky and ended getting captured and the Esu were hungry, they might eat the victim while they were alive very slowly, and that's if they are lucky. 

Now came the mysterious Buburu, these creatures also had no clear origins but were said to be extremely diabolical, pure evil, and wickedly cunning as well as deceptive beings.

Unlike the Esu, they were known according to rumors to possess no actual physical form as well as the fact that they could only move about at night. And they did this in various forms and shapes, from a normal firefly in the dark, to even the form of a loved one just to lure that person closer to them while their guards were down and then attach themselves like a parasite to their new hosts.

Once possessed they made sure to wipe the memory of the encounter so as the host remains oblivious, for at that stage the Buburu would be very vulnerable and can be destroyed very easily even by a small child. From there it is said that they take over the mind by slowly corrupting the host with power during this stage, in the form of a subconscious voice in the mind, they make their hosts strong, granting them unimaginable and mysterious power. Tempting the host to tap more into the power and when the time is right they devour the soul of the host and make the host’s body into their new vessel!

Once they do, they bring about chaos, havoc, death, and destruction everywhere!

So for this reason even if none of the current people had ever seen a host, Ullo made a major suspect from the stories and lessons of their ancestors.

However, anyone with brains would definitely point out that Ullo might have just inherited these powers and techniques from his mysterious parents and whose origins still remain a puzzle, not to mention their sudden disappearance too.

But adding that to the argument would be like adding fuel to a fire, as his family's mysterious origin would just make the case worse. Had there been someone with a bit of evidence and started saying that there might be a suspected Buburu host within the village, Ullo would no doubt be the first suspect always.

Now as human beings, they were already scared of the beasts every day, everyone was extremely skittish and would not hesitate to end anything that seemed slightly suspicious. Now here at this moment there were mentions about one of their most mysterious and strange villager and he was being suspected of being possibly possessed by an evil parasitic ghost, this didn’t sit well with the community at all.

That and Ullo was strong, so much stronger than the strongest youth in the current generation. To the point that he went out there all alone to hunt. If that didn’t point out signs that this kid here as a host of those foul things, then they didn’t know what could.

But fear was a dangerous thing, it could twist the minds of people if allowed to spread, making them incapable of making rational thoughts.

Ullo knew what was going on in the minds of these people but he couldn't tell them about his actual powers, his father had clearly and deliberately told him not to, even made him swear to absolutely never reveal his techniques to anyone, ever.

‘This is definitely a setup, a clever one too.’ He pondered as he calmly looked at the chief and waited for his decision.

"Silence!” The chief called out, even if he didn’t shout his voice was so thunderous that it calmed the crowd of his scared and anxious people.

Looking at the calm youth, who had a look as if he was a mere spectator and not at his trial, he finally spoke to him.

“Ullo, you know very well what kind of implications this will bring to you if you are what Yuje and the rest say you are. I am a fair and just man, so to prove this we will have a test and I hope you will fully cooperate." The chief's tone left no room for debate as he waited on the youth's reply.

Ullo also knew about this, that is why he was so calm, so he didn’t refuse and just nodded. With that, the chief waved his left arm, and soon enough 4 tall and burly men dressed in long orange robes with strange and somewhat scary wooden masks walked up the platform carrying a large wooden chest.

Seeing the men and the case, a lot of the older generation in the crowds gasped and began to murmur the words ‘protectors’ and ‘ancestral artifact’.

This brought a memory of one of the many rumors Ullo heard, these men were protectors, a group of powerful warriors selected secretly by the elders to guard and use this ‘ancestral artifact' to protect their home, it was also said that this artifact seemed to keep beasts away from randomly attacking the village.

They placed the chest softly on the platform for all to see it clearly, but even then it produced a loud thud that vibrated the entire platform slightly. Clearly showing that whatever was in there was very heavy.

“Ah! To think I would see the ancestral artifact being used once more, it is a blessing!”

“Yes, the last time we saw it in action was more than 4 decades ago, when there was a beast horde that broke out...”

The oldest villagers began to discuss the artifact while the younger ones stared at the stage with eyes full of wonder, for they had heard stories and now they get to see it for real.

The protectors silently began to unlock the chest, for it was also locked at the sides and top. Soon enough a large amber-colored gem was revealed to everyone as it glowed gently in the sun making the villagers take deep breaths in awe at it.

 Ullo just gazed at it with interest, it was rectangular in shape with a flat and smooth surface, its dimensions were a length of 1.5m and width of 1m, and a height of 0.7m or 70cm.

"Stand on it." A deep grisly voice commanded from one of the masked men as he pointed to the top of the gem.

Ullo stared at this for a moment and then at the chief who was looking at him calmly, from the corner of his eye he noticed Yuje’s look that seemed like the one a butcher give to a helpless beast about to be slaughtered.

Furrowing his brows slightly at this, placed the rabbit on the floor of the platform.

“No one touches my meat!" He warned but kept his weapons on him as he walked closer to the gem.

As he stood next to the gem he saw a claw embedded within the gem, that could strangely not be seen from the side. It was hard to tell the color but it was huge sitting right at the center,  with a length of about 1.1m and if he was correct it was about 40cm thick. Though Ullo couldn’t tell whether it was a beast that walked on land or one that flew, either way, it must have been huge. But now it is quite marvelous to look at, like a giant frozen eye with a curved pupil.

He had heard about this ability that they are going to use on him, it was called the Oju. Meaning sight, this could see through to one's true form, be they Esu or Buburu. And if one was either one of the two, the gem would suck their life force for the Esu or suck out the spirit which was the Buburu.

Making it both a detector as well as an extractor for early-stage Buburu corruption and destroying weak Esu, or so he heard.

Knowing full well that he was neither of the beings, he complied. And hoped this could help clear his name, but he also knew that he couldn’t have too much of his hopes up, not after that look Yuje gave him.

'Just one more year and I will leave this place, so hold on' Giving himself a prep talk he got on after taking off his shoes.

Soon enough Ulo was standing on the gem, looking at the wide eyes of the villagers staring back at him all with looks of anticipation. He did nothing and waited. Soon the protectors began chanting the incantations and at the same time each took out blades to cut their palm and rubbed the blood on the four sides of the gem, unlocking the powers hidden within the claw.

Whumm!

A deep humming sound shook the platform as the gem lit up. Soon an orange light slowly rose and crept up Ullo's body, within a moment it covered him from head to toe and stuck close to his body like a faint orange aura.

Seeing this everyone held their breaths, clenched their sweaty palms as they waited in deep anticipation, even the chief leaned forward to watch closely with full attention.

For Ullo, it was as if was stuck in the sticky but comfortable paste and it seems like it would take an effort to even lift a finger. But he didn't resist as he let the claw work its powers and find any form of an evil spirit in him.

He felt a pleasant feeling from this, it was soft and cozy like that time he was in these cotton fields just a few miles from the village and just laid there staring at the clouds drifting aimlessly in the sky.

'I want to go home eat, clean up and sleep after this, then very vengeance needs to be dished out.' He added gently as the sensation brought his mind and body to relax softly, but even then he didn’t forget what was important.

As he continued to enjoy the pleasant sensation brought about by the gem, he didn’t see it coming as he was instantly thrown away by a force so strong that it was akin to a charge of a Fierce level bull beast!

It threw him meters above the heads of the chief and the elders, way behind the platform even further than the women who set there below!

Boom!

With a heavy crash that kicked a large dust cloud, everyone was frozen by this development and stared blankly at Ullo in the distance who could now be seen after the dust settled, he laid flat on his face, unmoving.