Chapter 3: Necromancy
1718 Words
Aria pushed open the cottage's back door, the wooden door creaking softly.
The backyard was smaller than she'd imagined, enclosed by a ring of low wooden fencing.
She looked around, searching for the well.
According to the note, Susie was drawing water by the well.
Soon, she spotted an ancient stone well in the corner of the yard, its opening covered with several stone slabs, with a wooden bucket and thick rope placed beside it.
But there was no one by the well.
Aria moved closer, the moonlight allowing her to see the condition of the ground.
Her steps suddenly stopped.
There were dark spots on the stone slabs by the well, appearing black and gleaming in the moonlight.
She crouched down and examined the spots carefully.
Though the light was dim, their viscous texture and distinctive smell immediately made her realize what they were.
Blood.
And it was fresh blood.
Aria's heartbeat instantly accelerated.
This was definitely not normal.
If Susie had really just come to draw water, why would there be bloodstains?
And these bloodstains didn't look like they came from a small wound—there was far too much.
She jerked upright and turned to flee back into the house.
But just then, she heard footsteps approaching from behind.
More than one person, coming toward the backyard from different directions.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave, little lady."
A hoarse male voice spoke from behind her, carrying a bone-chilling laugh.
Aria slowly turned around to see a burly man emerge from the house's shadows.
His face bore a scar running from his left eye corner to the corner of his mouth, appearing particularly menacing in the moonlight, and he held a blood-stained short knife in his hand.
"Since you're here, hand over everything you've got." The scarred man showed a cruel smile. "We've been waiting for you for quite a while."
At the same time, two more men emerged from the other two directions of the yard.
They were all solidly built and armed with weapons.
Aria's mind became extraordinarily clear in an instant.
"Where is Martin?"
"Oh? Still thinking about our boss?" The scarred man sneered. "He should be at the tavern now, preparing to find the next naive little lamb to send our way."
"There never was any Susie here, was there?"
Aria continued questioning while discreetly observing her surroundings, looking for possible escape routes.
"Smart girl." Another thug chimed in, his voice sounding younger but equally malicious. "But being smart won't save you. You know what? You're not the first, and you won't be the last."
Aria's gaze swept over the three men's positions.
The scarred man blocked the path back into the house, the thug on the left blocked the garden gate, and the one on the right cut off her possibility of escaping deeper into the forest.
They were clearly experienced at this sort of thing, knowing how to perfectly surround their prey.
"Whose blood is by the well?"
She asked, though her heart already knew the answer.
"Some disobedient little wench from before." The scarred man licked his lips. "But if you're obedient, maybe you can live a little longer."
Aria felt a wave of nausea, but she forced herself to stay calm.
She needed to find a chance to escape, even if there was only the slightest possibility.
"What do you want?"
She slowly retreated a small step, moving closer to the well.
"What do we want? First hand over all your money, and then..."
The scarred man burst into laughter, looking her up and down.
"Girls like you are worth good money in certain places. Some people specialize in collecting this kind of merchandise."
"The woman by the well died because she resisted," another thug added. "If you behave, at least you'll stay alive."
Aria understood their intentions.
Her hands unconsciously clenched into fists, nails digging deep into her palms.
Be sold as merchandise?
Never.
Aria suddenly spun around and charged toward the forest with all her might.
She knew this was nearly impossible—three grown men were faster and stronger than her—but she had to try.
"Catch her! Don't let her get away!"
The scarred man shouted.
Heavy, urgent footsteps sounded behind her.
Aria ran desperately, tree branches scraping across her cheeks and arms, leaving painful wounds, but she couldn't care about that.
She could hear the footsteps behind her getting closer and closer.
Just then, a strong hand grabbed her shoulder.
"Got you, little wildcat."
Aria was dragged backward, but she didn't give up.
She turned around and clawed viciously at the face of the man who'd grabbed her, her nails leaving several b****y scratches on his cheek.
"Damn it! This little b***h dares to fight back!"
The man roared, raising his hand to strike her.
But Aria had already gotten back on her feet and continued running forward.
She wove between the trees, using the trunks and undergrowth as cover.
But she quickly realized these men knew the routes she might choose and could predict her actions.
"Surround her from the left! She's trying to escape down that path!"
The scarred man's voice rang out in the darkness.
Aria's heart sank.
If the left path was cut off, she only had one direction left.
The cliff edge deep in the forest.
She'd been here once and remembered it as a dangerous precipice with an bottomless valley below.
When she reached the cliff edge, her footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
Behind her were pursuers; beneath her feet was a bottomless valley.
Moonlight illuminated the dark valley below, the bottom invisible, with only the sound of wind echoing between the stone walls.
"Nowhere to run now, little beauty." The scarred man caught up, panting, the blood scratches making his face look even more ferocious. "Come with us obediently now, and we can be gentle."
"Gentle?" Aria sneered. "Just like you were gentle with that woman by the well?"
"She was disobedient, so her ending wasn't very pleasant," another thug replied. "But you seem smarter—you should know how to choose."
Aria looked at the three men in front of her, then at the abyss behind her.
But she still didn't want to die.
She still had too many things undone, too many places unseen.
And she would never let these men succeed.
"You made a mistake," she said slowly, her voice trembling. "You shouldn't have cornered me."
The scarred man laughed.
"Little girl, what can you do? You're unarmed and don't know magic, while we have three people and weapons."
Aria didn't answer, but closed her eyes instead.
She struggled to recall what that mysterious woman had taught her. Now she had no other choice.
"Feel the breath of death."
That was the first phrase she remembered.
"Let them heed your summons."
Her hands drew complex symbols in the air, the movements somewhat clumsy and imperfect, but she tried her best to imitate what she remembered.
Seeing her actions, the thugs first froze, then burst into laughter.
"Haha! You think you're a mage?" The scarred man laughed until he nearly fell over. "Little girl, there's no academy teacher here to save you!"
But the laughter soon stopped.
The temperature around them suddenly dropped, and an indescribable chill began to permeate the forest.
The moonlight grew dim, as if obscured by something invisible.
"What... what's happening?"
The youngest thug's voice began to tremble.
Aria opened her eyes, her purple pupils appearing particularly profound in the moonlight.
She could feel them.
The souls of small creatures that had died here.
A crow that had died here, a squirrel that had been hunted—their souls flickered with faint light in the darkness.
"Come," she whispered. "Help me, I beg you."
The spirits began to appear.
First was the shadow of the crow, its semi-transparent body floating in the air, emitting piercing shrieks.
Then came the squirrel's soul, its eyes burning with blue flames that didn't belong to the living.
"What... what are these ghostly things?!"
The scarred man's voice was no longer steady, the knife in his hand trembling.
Aria was also startled by what she'd summoned.
She had never successfully summoned such clear spirits before, nor did she know why they appeared different from what she saw in her mind, but this might be her only chance.
"Go," she pointed at the thugs. "Make them leave me alone."
The spirits obeyed her command, or rather, they were influenced by her will.
The crow's soul dove at the scarred man, its sharp claws passing through his body. That icy touch made him shriek in terror.
The squirrel's soul flew in circles around the other two thugs, making them feel a horror from another world.
"Run! Run! This woman has evil magic!"
The three previously arrogant thugs now fled like frightened rabbits into the forest depths, abandoning their weapons.
Their footsteps soon vanished into the darkness.
Aria watched the direction of their escape and had just begun to feel relieved when the consequences quickly became apparent.
Severe headaches struck, making her feel as if her brain were being torn apart by something.
Blood began flowing uncontrollably from her nose, the warm liquid dripping onto her clothes.
Her legs also went weak, barely able to support her body weight.
The spirits also began to destabilize, flickering and finally disappearing into the night.
Aria collapsed to the ground, gasping heavily.
She had to leave this place.
Though the three men had been frightened away, she wasn't sure if they would return.
Moreover, her physical condition was terrible—she needed to find a safe place to rest.
She struggled to her feet, but after just a few steps, she heard new footsteps.
These footsteps were different from the thugs' earlier—lighter and more cautious.
And there was only one person.
Aria's mind instantly became somewhat clearer.
No matter who it was, the current situation was not good.
She forced her weak body to endure, used her sleeve to wipe away the nosebleed, and tried to make herself look less disheveled.
The footsteps were getting closer. She stared intently in the direction of the sound.
First, she would assess the situation.
If things really went wrong, she'd prepare to run... or fight once more.
- Writer
