New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

The pair of them made a quick beeline across the small city, dashing through the cramped streets.

Astaroth could hear screaming coming from some houses. He could guess what was happening.

"We are in the middle of the corruption spread. We need to get to the others faster. I doubt it's a localized phenomenon."

Phoenix agreed, and they sped up a bit, jumping up to the rooftops, where they could run in a straight line toward the inn they had been sleeping at. Arriving there, they saw the guards stepping just in time for the old innkeeper to not get her head bashed in.

Jumping back to the ground, Astaroth darted toward his allies, Phoenix following closely behind.

The guards tried stopping them, as they hardly recognized the duo rushing at them, but Astaroth plowed through them. He couldn't care less how the guards thought of him right now.

The same captain from earlier saw him and pulled out his scimitar.

"Here I am, trying to defend your allies. And you come barging through my guards like some savage. Where were you, Ash Elf?"

The captain eyed Astaroth with wariness and rage, unsure of what was happening.

But Astaroth replied to his stare with a sneer.

"You'll have to excuse my lack of care for your men, sir. I was just attacked and kidnapped by four of them, as was my companion. I care little about what happens to your men, as of five minutes ago."

The Captain frowned at the accusation.

"What proof do you have of your slander towards the proud city guard?"

Astaroth opened his mouth to reply, but Phoenix put her hand on his arm.

She then stepped forward two steps.

"I would show you their bodies, as well as the weapons they cut my companion with, but unfortunately, I turn them to ashes, and their weapons to molten metal. All we have are the wounds that are already healing on my companion's body."

The Captain's eyes narrowed.

"Are you admitting to killing guards?"

"Why, I most certainly am, sir. In self-defence, of course."

The Captain of the guards stepped forward, but as he did, the man with the wooden stick suddenly shouted in a guttural fashion, his eyes going entirely red, as he dashed toward the old lady again.

The Captain wasn't quick enough to catch him and reached the old woman in an instant. But he suddenly froze there.

Astaroth saw a blur at the old woman's side and quickly understood what had happened, when the man started crumpling to the ground, his head rolling away from his body.

'That was much too fast, for an old lady,' he thought, raising an eyebrow.

The Captain looked at the old woman, exhaling.

"I'm sorry, General Isarrel. I wasn't fast enough to keep him from attacking you."

The old lady sneered at him.

"Don't call me that. I gave up my rank after the war. I wanted to leave the killing behind. But it seems it isn't over yet. He isn't the only one affected," the old woman said, pointing behind the captain.

Following her finger, the captain and Astaroth saw two other bystanders suddenly twitching uncontrollably, their eyes turning bright red.

"What in the hells?" the Captain exclaimed, turning his scimitar towards them.

"Men! Capture them!" he shouted.

But something blurred past him, and the two civilians dropped, their heads missing.

Astaroth looked at them drop to the ground, his hand raised and pointed at them, a slick metal glove over his hand, fingers shaping a gun.

"They were corrupted. There is nothing left to do but kill them. Don't waste your energy trying to capture them."

His coldness made Phoenix shiver a bit.

She needed to force him to calm down, before he lost his cool and went on a rampage.

Violette had told her of the one time this had happened. The image she had portrayed with her words was not a pleasant one.

"Astaroth, you need to calm down. I'm okay. Nothing happened. Breathe."

But Astaroth practically ignored her. Even the other members of the party were seeing a side of him they had never seen or heard of.

The captain of the guard looked at him and could feel his rage silently boiling under his icy glare.

"Look, outsider. I don't care what your allegations are. This is my city, and you can't just kill anyone you want, simply under the pretext of this 'Corruption' you talk of. I will have to arrest you."

The guards turned their weapons back toward Astaroth and his group.

But then, one of them started cracking and popping, his body contorting into weird positions, his eyes going red.

"Your kind killed my father! You must die!" the guard screamed, his eyes now bright red.

But before he even took a step forward, Astaroth cut his head clean off his shoulders, the Ad Astra now in sword form.

The guard captain was now thoroughly confused.

"I'm telling you. The corruption is spreading. While we waste time arguing here, more and more people will be affected. And once they are tainted, there is no going back. Death will be their only respite. You should be finding the source of it and fixing it. Instead, you try to play good soldier here, and waste all of our time."

The old lady was currently trailing Astaroth's every movement with her eyes. His weapon was particularly attracting her gaze.

"Do as he says, Captain. He may be an outsider and a violent client, but I think he is right. I can sense something wrong with the bodies he just felled. Something demonic."

The old woman walked toward Astaroth as she said those words, staring at his weapon.

The guard captain growled under his breath but obeyed the order. Even if the woman said she had renounced her rank, she was still officially recognized by the military as one of the great generals of the Elven Kingdom.

"Alright, men! You heard the General. Spread out. Anyone with red eyes goes down."

"Yes, sir!" the men shouted in unison.

They spread out in every direction, the captain staying behind, still untrusting of the foreigners in their city. He watched as the General stopped before the young man who had killed already three people before his eyes.

Astaroth glanced at the old lady.

She glanced at the weapon, then at him.

"I know who you are. I know why you're here. Follow me," she said, before turning toward the tree in the middle of the city, and walking away.

Astaroth motioned everyone to follow him and walked behind the old woman. Whatever she had to say, he was now curious to hear.