Ever since the world really started
ending, my Sparrows and I have been gathering survivors and bringing them to La
Santa Verde since it’s the safest town or rather the safest place to be at in
general. Our attempts to gather people have been good so far, but there have been
times when we were too late, or it was a demonic trap. Regardless if it’s a trap
or not, if there’s someone life at risk, we go out to try to get them. We also
go out on supply runs to find food since nothing can grow from the earth and
everything that does is poisonous. It’s a good thing we stockpiled so much
before the end started or else, we’d be in trouble with how many people we have
already.
I’m off with a small search party
to look for more survivors in the towns we haven’t checked. The town is relatively
quiet, which usually means we’re about to walk into a trap. Fortunately for us,
nothing happens, and we walk away with a crowd of ten people and supplies. As
we’re going over our findings, we hear a commotion happening outside. Five
people have been killed in the town and no one knows who did it. We must have infiltrators
among the people we picked up. The exorcists and priests are away on an
important mission, so we don’t have an easy and effective way of flushing out
the demon. We gather everyone together in the main church and have everyone start
praying.
The church and praying should help
irritate the demons to make it stick out from the crowd, but everyone looks nervous.
We then hear banging at the door and the walls of the church. I investigate the
noise with a couple other Sparrows then come back to see that three people are
dead. It appears that they killed themselves with their daggers they were keeping
for protection. No one around them says they noticed them taking their own
lives, which even stranger, but I think we’re closer to finding the infiltrators.
We further question the people who were
around the people who were killed while still having everyone pray. We then ask
them to recite their Baptismal Vows. At first, they don’t respond. When we ask
them again, they start shaking. Asking them again results in them in confessing
that they’re ex-devil worshippers. Apparently, they are possessed and have been
seeking help because the demons were trying to get them from converting. This
is why people have been dying. The people here weren’t in danger. The outsiders
were.
I tell the ex-devil worshippers
that, “We’ll help save you from these demons. Just hold on a bit longer. The priests
should be back any second now.”
“What about my friends?”
“They wanted to convert, right?”
“Yes, but the demons possessed
their bodies and killed them for it.”
“Then we should hope they were
saved because they wanted to be Baptized. It’s called the Baptism of Desire,
and since they died wanting to convert, they might’ve obtained Baptism by
blood. We’ll pray for their souls.”
“We don’t know how to pray.”
“We’ll show you.”
After showing them how to pray,
they calmed down. The priests come back and give the coverts the sacraments. We
throw a celebration for the born again souls. The only thing that concerns me
is if the others were saved. I hope they were.
Quest
2 – The Battle Within
When we aren’t fighting demons
physically, we’re fighting them mentally or spiritually. It’s said that the
most important battle is fought inside because God is on our side. It is our
choice if we give in to sin or continue to serve faithfully. It’s always been
this way even before the end. We don’t think about its importance since our
lives are in danger, but our souls are in danger as well, which is more
important. There haven’t been as many attacks or ambushes. Instead, everyone is
on edge including the people we find. The things we used to have in the past
that made life easier and more comfortable are gone now along with the things
we took pleasure in. It’s hard for a lot of people to get over it especially
for those who worked and had the most. Everyone has their own vices and attachments
to get over. It’s not an easy process for anyone.
So far, there have been several
fights that have broken out within the group while others have deserted us. The
impact of these events was kept to a minimum, but tensions might boil over
soon. Nope. They’re boiling over right now. More fights have broken out after a
long argument. I send my Sparrows to break up the fight, but they just end up
getting in it as well. Even the priests are losing themselves.
I order everyone else to calm down
and pray for everyone so that the fighting stops. The mages start a calming spell
along with an exorcising spell to speed things up, but it’s going to take a while
because of the number of people and the mages being affected too. I have my own
troubles right now as well. It’s not as much trouble for me since I’m used to
it. Some of the other people are used to it as well. Even Donna and Lilia are
managing to stay sane. The same cannot be said for Bonito who is trying her
best to control herself. Since she’s the one who helps me command my forces,
she tries to set an example by controlling herself, but it’s hard for her to do
so with how much squirming around she’s doing.
Huh? My vision and head get blurrier
by the second. It’s like someone is stabbing two knives into the sides of my
head. Everyone is trying to hold it together while praying. I can’t…concentrate…on…anything…No!
I must concentrate on praying. I can’t let this pressure get to me. I have to
hold out as long as I need to no matter how long that might be. It is the will
of God that we are tested, and I gladly accept it. It doesn’t matter how much suffering
I need to go through. I value what God wants me to do over what I want even if
I’m suffering for it. You hear that demons? I won’t give in!
What’s going on now? Everything is
getting clearer. The mages didn’t complete their spell and prayers were stopped
in their track. Everyone has stopped fighting and calmed down. Along with the feeling
in my head, the pressure that was crushing me from the inside is gone. We must’ve
passed the test the God made for us or rather, I hope we all passed the test.
Quest
3 – Imposter
After returning from another trip
to look for supplies and survivors, I come home to find someone who looks like
me. He’s commanding my Sparrows and already telling them about an approaching
imposter.
“And there he is now!” he says, “Strike
him down now!”
“Hold on! Don’t listen to him, he’s
the fake!”
“I’ve already shown you I’m the real
hero with all of the miracles I’ve performed.”
“Since when have I performed
miracles? I haven’t even time traveled yet.”
“And there you go. What kind of
hero just accepts the status quo and doesn’t try to improve his people’s situation?”
The people around us are starting a
commotion. Where’s Donna, Bonito, and Lilia?
“Where’s my wife and advisors,
Bonito and Lilia? They could tell the difference between the real and fake one.”
“They’re dead! Their bodies were
found skewered in the streets. You should know about it!”
Everybody seems to confirm this. It
can’t be!
“What are you trying to say?! You
did something to them, didn’t you?!”
“I’m not to blame since they were
killed before I got here.”
The Sparrows I took with me try to
pick up for me, but the crowd outshouts them.
“The people are with me. You might as
well go back to your evil master or do you want to try fighting against all of us?”
I don’t have any evidence on hand
to prove that I’m the real me. There is one idea that just came to my head. It’s
crazy, but it’ll definitely work if I’m right.
I say, “How about we do this the
one way that will prove that we’re God’s chosen hero?”
“Oh yeah? And what’s that?”
“We’ll have an executioner try to
cut our heads off. Surely, God will save the one who is His chosen.”
“Ah-ahaha! Are you sure you want to
do something so risky?”
“I’m sure of it. Now, if you’re really
a hero, you’ll lay down your life for humanity.”
“You got yourself a deal.”
As people gather around, our hands are
bound and we bow our heads as we await our fate. The fake hero smiles at me and
I smile back confident in the results. I close my eyes and patiently wait as
the executioners raise their swords. I feel the blade hit my neck, but nothing
happens. People gasped all around us. I still feel the blade in my neck. What
happened?
I stand up as my hands are freed
then take the sword out of my neck. It hit me and got stuck in my neck but didn’t
leave a mark or anything. Looking over to the fake hero, I see that his head is
cut off. That was obviously going to happen in my head, however, everyone is
still in shock. Thinking the sword might be defective, I use the sword to cut a
nearby piece of wood and it slices through it with ease. Most people get on
their knees to apologize while my few silent supporters cheer for me. I smile
at them and raise my fist in victory.
There’s something strange about
this sword. The handle feels strange as if there are two. I then put at the
handles and now I have two swords. They radiate with a divine light that lights
up the entire city for ten seconds before fading. The bodies of Donna, Lilia,
and Bonito have disappeared. My Sparrows and I search the entire town to find
them. Eventually, we find them tied up and knocked out in my room. Thank you,
God, that they’re still alive. Thank you so much and thank you for reminding me
of your love for me.
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