KENSHI
Daku had been acting strange since this morning. Whenever I went close to him just to have a friendly conversation, he would make excuses just to avoid me. He thought I wouldn't notice, but he was making it obvious that he was distancing himself from me.
I tried to think of a reason why he would act in such a way, but couldn't find a single thing that could support his sudden reaction. I had no choice but to let time do its wonders, and maybe he would return to normal.
We'd been walking for hours now, and anytime soon we would reach the outskirts of the village. Although the village is situated right at the very boundary of Thorn Kingdom and Wset Territory, the villagers consider themselves Thorn citizens. They'd been under the jurisdiction of the Thorn King for ages, and not once did the King of Wset react to it.
I noticed Daku's sudden halt when he reached the peak of the slope we were climbing. He was looking down ahead below, and with the slope blocking my view, I had yet to know what it was. But the way Daku clenched his fingers into a fist told me that it wasn't good.
When I arrived at the highest point of the hill, I confirmed that my hunch earlier about something being bad was right. Because a few kilometers below, just at the base of this hill we were at was a sea of purple clouds, cloaking the entire valley and rendering the village and the living things within it invisible.
The only structure that was poking through the sea of ominous clouds was the roof of, I believed, the dungeon. It sat right at the very center of the valley.
"I hope they're still alive," Daku mumbled, and I could see and feel his dedication to save the villagers.
Daku and I wasted no time and made our descent to the base of the hill. As we went deeper, the miasma that looked like a mist was getting closer and closer. I'd been to thick fogs before, but this one was way different. Even just looking at it made me want to run away.
Not long after, we finally had our first contact with the miasma, and at the same time, Daku activated his healing magic for both of us.
"Stay close to me. I'll try to purify as much miasma as I can," he ordered, and as someone who relied on his healing magic, I didn't have a choice but to agree with him."
At last, we fully submerged ourselves into the thick and blinding miasma. It was so thick that I couldn't see what was around us within a five-meter radius. Also, it sent a stinging sensation to my chest as if something sharp was poking my heart. I tried to ignore it. It must be the miasma having its effects on us.
We were yet to enter the village proper as we didn't notice any entrances. Or maybe we were already inside it and we just didn't notice it because of this thick miasma that was hindering our vision.
"Stop," Daku ordered. "Are you seeing that?" Daku jerked his head to point at something up ahead. A faint silhouette of a man's figure was approaching us. He was a bit sluggish, and the way he walked resembled that of a drunk, waivering and not straight.
Scared that it was an enemy, I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword and took a fighting stance. Daku did too, but with only his fist.
The figure grew bigger and bigger, implying its nearing distance from us until he was finally within our five-meter vision radius. And it was not an enemy at all, but a villager.
His cheeks had sunken, his eyes were bulging, and his overall physique was beyond the usual thinness. His lips were full of cracks because of their dryness, and how the flies hovered around him told us that he reeked badly. It was as if he had been drained dry, and all that was left in him were his bones.
Daku's call of duty kicked in, and he ran toward the man who was about to fall after his legs gave up and lost their strength to support his entire body. Daku caught the man in his arms and slowly laid him down on the ground to make him feel comfortable.
"He looked like he was sucked out dry," I commented.
I didn't receive any words from Daku, but I knew he agreed with me because he was now healing the man who had partially regained the man's original complexion.
"He still needs to eat and drink water to fully recover," Daku stated. "Let's bring him into the village and place him somewhere comfortable."
"The church," the man blabbered, which almost sounded like a whisper. He was so weak that even talking was difficult for him. Daku and I just shared glances. "Everyone is in the church. That's where everyone took refuge."
"Can you lead us the way?" Daku favored, and the man nodded in response. I helped Daku aid the man until the man was back on his two feet.
With his direction and unrivaled familiarity with the place, he navigated us through the miasma until we found ourselves standing in front of a worn-out chapel.
This chapel was quite small compared to what we had in the city. For a small village like this, a chapel this big was already a huge accomplishment. But there was nothing to be proud of it now because of its condition.
Since it was made of wood, portions of the structure were missing. Plant-like roots with a purple hue also covered the lower half of it like an invasive herb.
"I've never seen a plant like that before," Daku mumbled as he stared at the tendril-like roots that invaded the church.
We continued walking until we finally reached the inside of the building, and the situation here was much worse than we imagined.
The chairs that were supposed to be lined up on both sides were now being crammed at the very edge of the room, just to provide enough space for the sick.
I bet all of the villagers were here, and only a handful of them were strong enough to move.
"Daku?" a voice echoed, originating from the other end of the room. I searched for it until a figure of a woman stood from treating a villager. If I was not mistaken, she was one of the mages of Keiro's party. "What are you two doing here?"
Daku and I placed the man in one of the vacant spaces on the floor before we faced the woman who had yet to introduce herself.
"I'm Shino, one of the mages of Keiro's party. We meet at your shop during the Awakening Rite," she introduced.
"I remembered. But why are you alone here? Where are the others?"
"After finding out the situation of this place, I couldn't help but treat the villagers. Keiro and the rest proceed with the conquering and are probably inside the dungeon as we talked. But I'm barely doing anything. Basic healing spells and potions are not working. I was about to try traditional healing methods, but the plants here had wilted and withered due to the miasm—"
Shino was cut off short with her statement when she coughed, and to our surprise, blood came out with it. Daku helped Shino sit on one of the chairs and covered her with healing magic.
"How long have you been doing this?"
"Since yesterday."
"You're almost out of mana. You should take a rest and let me handle the treatment." Daku looked at me. "We can't just leave them like this. We have to treat them first before we enter the dungeon."
"I know," I replied. "So what can I do to help?"
"My healing would only relieve them of their sickness, but they still need to eat and drink to regain their strength. A warm soup would be better to ease their hunger and thirst."
"Our warehouse shelters most of our food. You can use them all you want, young man," one of the villagers said, whom I believed to be the chief.
"I'll go help Kenshi," Shino offered. "I'm feeling much better now. Thanks, Daku."
Shino and I searched for the warehouse that the man told us about earlier. According to his instructions, it was located to the east of the church, just in front of the well. Locating a huge building in a small village like this wasn't actually difficult, but because of the miasma, it made everything hard and challenging.
It took us almost fifteen minutes before we found it, and just like the chapel, the lower half of it was invaded by the same purple root-like tendrils.
We entered the warehouse and found out that most of the goods here, especially those at the bottom, could no longer be used as they had been invaded as well. Our only options were those untouched by the roots and still in good condition to be consumed.
We grabbed some carrots, potatoes, spices, and anything that could make the soup tasty. I let Shino hold them while I grabbed some firewood and breached one of the houses to get a pot and a ladle that we could use to cook.
When we returned to the church, half of the sick villagers who were still unconscious earlier were now sitting and talking to each other.
"Amazing," Shino praised with eyes gaping in surprise, and her mouth curved into a smile. "He made them feel better in just a short amount of time. So this is Healer."
I couldn't help but smile as well. Hearing Daku praised by a stranger made me feel proud of him. He was finally getting the recognition he deserved.
Shino decided to look after the healed villagers while I began preparing the food. The once quiet and gloomy room was now being filled with cries of joy.
"Thank you, mister," a woman in her late thirties said while showing a face of gratitude to Daku.
"The food is ready!" I announced, and I could see everyone's eyes lit up as if they'd heard a very great news. Well, food was indeed great news for them.
Everyone had their portion of the soup and I made sure to make a lot so that everyone could have a second or third bowl.
I scooped a ladlefull of soup into a bowl and walked towards Daku who was busy examining the roots that was invading the whole village. He noticed my approached and so I offered him the food.
"You should eat as well," I said. Daku grabbed the bowl and sat on the chair near him.
"Thanks."
Unconsciously, my hand moved on its own and placed itself on top of Daku's head. I patted it, still involuntarily, which surprised Daku. I thought that was it but my mouth moved and uttered a sentence.
"You did great today. I'm so proud of you," I mumbled and this made Daku lose eye contact with me and face somewhere else to hide his blushing cheeks. Even his head was warm.
"Stop saying nonsense," he blabbered which almost came as a whisper. "You should eat too. We still have an artifact to search for."
I agreed and went back to where the pot of soup was. When I got back to my original spot, I heard Shino talking to the chief of the village.
If I heard it right, the sickness started right after the miasma clouded the entire village and the roots invaded a few days after. So we could safely assume that it was the miasma that was making the people sick and make those roots grow, and in order to remove it was to destroy the source which was the dungeon.