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Our village looked like it was from another world.

If I were pedantic about it, it always has been one from another world. Whatever and wherever those lands were, we weren't on Earth, that much was certain.

The difference was that so far the local buildings and general appeal shared this relatively familiar, vaguely Eastern Asian-inspired aesthetic, hard to assign specific culture, yet remaining still sober, down-to-earth with its looks.

Now it was gone, changed. Our current home, after several hundred 'Corruptors' running wild, more resembled a nightmarish fairy realm covered with outlandish, alien plants in many different, often mismatched shapes.

It may not be apparent from the interiors, remnants of the old settlement, but practically all local buildings were now covered with dense, thick overgrown vines taking many unusual appearances with their eerie, oddly coloured leaves that seemingly all failed in mimicking the usual, dull shade of green natural plants. Some even abandoned all rhyme and logic, with purple fronds, knife-like blades, or massive thorns spiking up from the plant-covered roofs as if they wanted to intimidate the sky above us.

Endless bramble embraced the trees to form new, outlandish structures, the unnatural, yet completely organic shelters, most of them decorated in some unusual fashion.

Some had flowers, imaginary and unique, often mismatched, but on others, skulls were impaled on the oversized thorns, along with the various knick-knacks my monsters looted from the original inhabitants, complete with the ratting bones hanging on the stringy lianas.

Fruits, equally incongruous, grew on some trees, a mockery to the usual natural forms.

It was a small realm of madness.

Nothing was untouched by the raging powers and imaginations of 'Corruptors', even the ground outside the apparent walk paths was covered by the equally odd creep and cushy moss, none of which was there before.

Among the metaphorical green hell, remnants of the bonfire smouldered, though nothing but the gnawed bones remained from the cow they grilled - I was sure some farm at the other side of the valley wondered where his animal vent.

The 'Purifiers' were about to start another fire, always happy to gaze into the flames. I didn't stop them, too absorbed in my thoughts.

I had more than enough time to look at this strange, and perhaps horrifying scenery my monsters had turned our home into. Perhaps, the sight of those would drive away the locals, finally dissuading them from continuing the conflict, or maybe it would do the opposite, motivating them to remove this twisted overgrowth, created by the unrestrained application of wild magic they didn't understand. Or perhaps, understood too well, more than I did. I wouldn't ever know

It was more than apparent that the power of the 'Corruptors' would stay true to their name, and likely intended application, forever changing the entire local ecosystem in their wake, leaving nothing untouched.

Providing them with more samples only accelerated the problem, seemingly giving the scaly host even more ideas for even more dramatic mutations to be inflicted upon all the flora in their vicinity.

Still, I wasn't angry at the little cute reptilians, or at others who put their personal taste into shaping this dwelling of ours. They were my monsters - my girls - and I was proud of the hard work they took joy in doing.

The modified plants provided a perfect way to reprocess all waste too, leaving none of the odour except the fragrance of the modified flowers, and aside from shelters, and obstacles to slow down our enemies, it also provided food we desperately needed.

Going after the seeds had been the right call in that regard, my investment was paying its dividends, though the local ecosystem paid the price.

I even tasted a fruit they made, with a strange, chewy exterior, and rich red juice within, looking like multiple plants merged together. It was somewhat bittersweet and highly energising to drink. Almost like coffee, if the coffee was a fruit.

There was even stranger produce, not all of which I tasted, but my girls ate it, even mixing it in the pot as a brew for some reason.

Only after breakfast did I truly think about whether any of it was edible.

I didn't feel any adverse effects myself, and my monsters consumed it eagerly at least once the meat had been rationed, removing at least some of my worries about feeding two thousand mouths.

We reached the point of overhunting, at least locally, since thanks to the 'Displacers' it may be that soon the farmers all around the valley may find their livestock disappearing anyway.

Our magic-fueled growth was rapid, though not entirely sufficient for our needs, encouraging further expansion. Or as it may be, my girls simply couldn't stop hunting out of sheer instinct.

I wasn't sure whether I really want to disturb the more distant locations, though the look around my place confirmed we experienced a dire shortage of most handmade items, like cloth, ropes, some tools, cookware, or even weapons and armour. If food wasn't an immediate concern, we would be forced to take action to create a fully protected community.

My monsters improvised and even managed to raise a primitive watchtower on elevated ground, proving that even more classical constructions were an option in addition to modifying the trees directly, but we simply didn't have anything that required time and skill.

We were still reliant on what humans made, though metal tools shouldn't be a problem for much longer, I hoped. I was eager to hear the report from the 'Ravagers' - my bear-like companions with the metal-controlling powers were left behind to explore the local mine.

They were, perhaps, perfectly capable of doubling as blacksmiths.

The "Corruptors' were more about plant control than actual craftsmanship, though there were very few of them nearby right now, perhaps spreading over to give the rest of the forest their personal touch. They weren't entirely without manual skill though, they could weave wreaths of flowers, grass or leaves together, or craft wooden items.

There wasn't any telling whether our version of the plants wasn't intended to be toxic to humans, and our modifications to the local flora were far too aggressive.

Looking at the extent of the mutations the ability induced, I considered whether the idea of the river splitting the territory was enough and if it wouldn't be for the best to find the other access routes to the valley, blocking those to quarantine it to provide a more substantial barrier that would prevent humans from interacting with us.

Except, that was a conquest I wasn't willing to engage in.

If we managed to separate the group of humans that for some reason suffered no negative effects of our powers - and there must be more, the crazy girl proved they existed - we would be able to make an arrangement to end the hostility.

But even then, I would still have to do something with the castle, and whoever ruled this plot of land, and even after all that pointless, repetitive cycle of constant violence I still hoped for a peaceful, at least somewhat diplomatic solution, even if done by force.

I wasn't quite certain what to do, but watching my little furry followers going after their tasks gave me some ideas.

Before I would make an attempt at any of that I needed to somehow rein in my growing horde, and implement some degree of regimentation to make an interaction with the locals something more than a huge brawl.

I didn't feel confident about it, explained it to my 'Alphas' and saw it in Narita's eyes and in Helmy's, the sudden understanding and enlightenment. Miwah was supportive as ever, and even Tama didn't have any witty comments.

Still, the camp was in a rush of activity once I gave the orders, the organised chaos once again taking its form after the brief consideration followed by enthusiasm.

They - or at least the 'Purifiers-Eviscerators-Deflilers' grouping - didn't have a problem.

"Lily, will there be thirty-two of your sisters available?" I asked one of the little reptilian monsters, as many of her kin, imitating the Hawaiian dancers with her grass skirts and flowery necklaces, and blooms caught in their feathers. I found them easier to recognise, with their control over flora, and names inspired by plants they did try to imitate. It wasn't exactly a name tag, but it did serve its purpose.

With Mai gone, busying herself with taming the local forest, I had to deal with her 'attaché' - or whatever role the named little ones following me around had - to speak with them as a whole.

"For Master!" She replied, seemingly in agreement, blinking excitedly. While ordinary 'Corruptors' didn't speak, aside from the usual chant, they did comprehend what I said without the issue.

"Excellent. Gather just that many. Rest have their tasks. You join the platoon." I said, patting her feather-covered head.

"For Master!" Lily confirmed, darting off, while I watched for the task force to form.

My idea was to form six platoons each composed of thirty-two monsters, based on their respective breed.

It was quite an arbitrary number. I, in fact, didn't have any military training and had no actual comprehension of the appropriate unit sizes, I merely decided on the size on the calculation given by the 'overview' screen - I simply had that many 'Displacers'. Each teleporting feline could grab one of their cousins, dragging them through their rift, then return to carry another unit.

I watched them line up. They seem to be getting the idea without any further explanation, with a chosen few standing in formation while the rest of the chanting mob stood aside. Even the 'Displacers' got it through the mere grace of one of them staying in earshot.

Only 'Ravagers' needed to be brought in through the twisting space by my teleporting catgirls, a mass distortion of space made me feel slightly wobbly, though the Miwah and Tama at my sides held me closely.

"What would you have us do, Master?" Yawned Kuma once she arrived. The ursine spoke as tired as ever, almost as I brought her up from slumber, but doesn't seem to suffer from an equal level of exhaustion. It may as well be her tic.

She, however, didn't take the preparation lightly. Kuma was, except for the head, fully armoured in the mix of metal plates, chainmail and scale, giving her already considerable stature even more bulk. It was, in fact, an incredible job, considering she did so with her ability alone.

Her kin brought in the next wave seemingly tried similar, but did the worse job, even if the roughly reddish brown metal looked like copper. Not excellent for armour, though the fact it was probably crafted from ore gave me hope. They didn't rely on my knowledge, or rather the absence of thereof, at smelting.

With no place to call home, we would eventually settle down, and such a skill would certainly find its use.

"I don't know yet..." I said, truthfully. "I send Sora to do the scouting. I need a place..."

I didn't finish my thought - in fact, I didn't have any concrete idea of what I looked for, at least, location-wise.

Aside from the ink, I didn't have any specific items of what I should look for, but we still lacked quite a lot of things. I wasn't excited by the raiding prospect at all but was painfully aware of the fact that it was mostly my fault we didn't thrive as best we could, so I self-imposed a little rule - I was going to avoid the fortress, the city, and the small rural hamlets for now.

It may leave us with no valid targets within the valley, but I was perfectly fine with that finding.

Sora and her kin, unrestrained by the distance thanks to their portals, needed some boundaries to operate within. Ironical, considering the nebulous naming of the associated skill. In any case, I couldn't allow the situation which happened with that mining settlement when the 'Displacers' had acted on my musing alone instead of a conscious choice.

"Did the humans at the mine take the money?" I asked, directing the conversation elsewhere, "Are all the humans still around?"

Kuma kneeled, to lower her head to my level as she was simply too tall, to look into my eyes.

"No, not all, Master. One human was killed, and three ran away to the hills during the night. The rest of them stayed. Only a few of them took the coins." She answered, bringing me only information about the remote place since I left.

"I can offer the money elsewhere..." I pondered briefly before I focused on what was truly important, focusing on the dialogue among all the ruckus.

"One killed?" I asked immediately, worried, "How?"

Even after the numerous encounters that taught me such violent ends were common, and perhaps inevitable, considering the extreme hostility of the local humans, it still bothered me, further strengthening the teeming sensation of my own incompetence.

"In defence of the one you designated, Master. The human female you ordered to be protected set a local statue on fire," Kuma explained, sounding almost tired, "One of the other village females turned hostile and was killed by Brave."

"Designated? Yes, the crazy girl. Ari. And after?" I asked slightly confused, searching at my ursine girl's expression. I could almost feel her predisposition when I focused.

"Humans seem to start to understand hierarchy now, Master" Kuma answered, her deep eyes betraying the kindness, but instead of any empathy for the humans she pitied me for dealing with them, and yawned, "Finally we can have some peace."

This raised several questions about what was going on out there.

I was tempted to interrupt my plan to visit the mountainous mining village, but after a brief consideration, I decided to leave it for later, painfully aware of how horribly my communication attempts usually went. The crazy girl, Ari, randomly starting a fire was concerning, but it hardly stood out if I considered that I had several hundred pyromaniacal foxes running around.

"Thank you," I said, feeling depressed. The realisation that I could do nothing didn't improve my mood.

"We are here for you, Master," Kuma replied, reminding me I was expected to come up with plans and solutions, to lead, which I wasn't quite sure I would manage.

I, however, managed to muster my 'platoons' in the meantime - more precisely, my monsters did it themselves, seemingly gaining an immediate understanding of my very vague theory.

Though they did manage the whole formation by sheer instinct, or their natural telepathy, they still cheered happily. I didn't blame them. My monsters - my girls - were more family than an army.

Further consideration, or hesitation, and further loss of confidence, was interrupted by Sora dropping from the spatial rift, the anthropomorphic feline once again filled with vitality. The energy infusion did her some good.

Maybe I underutilised Narita and her sisters, and their overall role. I looked at Narita, and my rat girl looked back. I looked into the red eyes.

"Ready, Master."

I nodded.

"I found a place, Master." Sora said, interrupting me: "Large quantities of equipment and goods, mostly loaded on wagons already, with very few living humans..."

Momentarily distracted, I assumed this would be yet another merchant caravan approaching the valley from a different side, perhaps even larger and better equipped than the trader that paid for my mistakes with his life.

I told myself I could do things differently. This time, without the ambush. The approach was in force, yet showed openness to negotiation, and let gold do the rest while we still had some. I was certain we had leftovers of those precious metal-made decorations somewhere as well, they had to be worth something.

"I see. Go to navigate others. The Displacer platoon grabs the Eviscerator one, and returns to bring the other one. The Defilers do the recharging. We gather at some distance from the outpost. I arrive last with Tama and Miwah."

Sora didn't reply, and sprang into action, jumping through yet another portal she formed. Looking into the twisting space wasn't any less distressing now than it was the first time, and I had to rely on Miwah for support.

"Command us, Master," Tama whispered in my ear, almost in a sultry tone, very typical for our vixen. I didn't respond.

At least, fully grown Helmy didn't react the same way. If anything, the new Alpha, with her looted armour and stolen helmet, bought to the whole soldier aspect of this, at least for the time being.

Limiting the task force allowed everyone to be equipped with the items we had.

I wasn't keen on the idea of handling them as troops - my monsters were my girls, my anthropomorphic furry and scaly menagerie, they were all precious to me.

The brief realisation of how this all affected my mind, twisted, changed, nudged me, came, but I took it off.

I closed my eyes for a few minutes. Partly to shield me from the side effect of staring into the shifting space of the 'Displacer' rifts, and partly to calm myself down. This was perhaps one of my biggest engagements in the whole matter of actually leading them, and confidence didn't come from anywhere.

"The rest remains here, on guard if those in the fortress try anything," I said, "You can talk with your sisters telepathically, so I want you at my side now."

It wasn't directed at anyone in particular, though it was very obvious that Miwah and Tama, never leaving my side, were among the ones to hear it.

"We always want to be on your side, Master," Miwah assured me. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes, just enough to catch the arriving 'Displacers'.

Sora didn't abandon the tendency to do the jump without prior warning.

Once again the portal swallowed me.

Up was down, and down was up, a concept of distance lost its meaning in the swirling nonsense that was the space bend by the 'Displacer' power, in the fluffy feline embrace guiding me through the thresholds of existence.

It felt longer this time.

For a brief moment, I felt it, my monsters, my girls, and the desire to spread, to change, to destroy and to create. I sensed the 'Purifiers' joy of starting a fire, and 'Corruptors' desire to bend life itself, and 'Eviscerators' ...

And then, it was gone, as reality reassumed itself and I was, once again, in the constraint of three dimensions, in the middle of the field, held by Sora.

Miwah and Tama took my side.

There was something wrong.

First was the stench of decay, relatively faint, yet still sufficiently noticeable to provide the unease, the second was the croaking crows still circling above startled by our arrival. The birds were awfully silent for the last day or two.

The fireball thrown by the 'Purifier' taught the birds a lesson before my brain truly comprehended our surroundings.

I took a glimpse of Helmy inspecting the torn, red and gold banner she picked from the ground, while 'Eviscerator' collected the discarded, dirty helmet among the debris scattered among the trampled, muddied ground.

This wasn't a caravan camping spot.

This was a battlefield.

There weren't any visible bodies left anymore, likely buried or burned by the locals, yet still, there seemed enough remains left to attract scavengers and remind onlookers of the carnage that transpired there not so long ago.

It could be a week, or even two, but the signs were still there, raising many questions and providing no answers.

I took a few steps forward, looking around, the field and the trees in the distance, and the cliffs on the horizon provided no clear indication of where we were in relation to our camps.

We could be many kilometres away, even on the other side of the mountains, depending on the range the 'Displacers' really had - I didn't truly test their limitations, other than the apparent side effects their power had, and certain constraints in accuracy.

One was certain - the humans were fighting each other too.

Did they even know we were there?

Was there a war we didn't know about?

"Not a banner worthy of Master," Helmy commented on her find, throwing the now burning flag ignited by the 'Purifiers' magic away.

I had other things on my mind.

The lingering smell reminded me that such a location would be a hotspot for diseases and plague, and the sense of mystery was almost immediately replaced by the worry about the danger it may pose to us, even after all combatants were gone. The locals may have cleared the bodies but probably didn't bury them properly yet.

We could have landed near an opened grave too - I didn't want to look for one.

"Narita. All your girls, sterilise this area." I ordered immediately.

"Yes-yes, Master." My rat girl answered without hesitation, her power sweeping the area almost instantly, filling all of us with the influx of energy as all that remained still alive succumbed to the 'Defilers' power.

My cute little rodent girls spread, bathing the area in the emerald glow of their powers.

I continued forward, looking around, surrounded by my followers, and invigorated by Narita's power.

It was a fairly large clearing without any buildings in sight. There was an abandoned ballista, a few wooden barriers scattered around, an overturned wagon, and decomposing remnants of a horse. It provided no answers to what had truly transpired there, or rather, for what reason, but this was once a field of war.

Then I noticed that there was a camp, in the distance, just over this abandoned battlefield and by the unfinished, abandoned earthworks, where the answers could be found. Perhaps even humans, either the survivors from one of the fighting sides or possibly the looters that came to pick the bodies left there.

I decided to head there, knowing that some of the natives were in the area.

Ultimately, it didn't matter to us who they were. In our situation, it didn't quite matter whether the goods we were hoping to buy had been pilfered, or whether those we dealt with crossed the local authority, robbing the dead on the battlefield. Factionalization may even help us - if one group didn't deal with us, their enemies might.

Another sweep of the 'Defilers' aura made me hasten my pace, and the monsters around me picked up the pace, breaking into a run, with an excited chant on their lips. The influx of vitality was invigorating.

I finally got a glimpse of the humans - they were some alive, giving some credence to Sora's scouting.

It caught the attention of the people within the camp, sparking the activity on their side.

The abundant stamina pushed me to move forward, but a certain level of reason did force me to think quickly about what we were doing and realising that our fast approach could be interpreted as a sign of hostility, I ordered:

"Wait. Form up."

"Yes, Master."

My girls weren't the most disciplined force in the world, prone to erratic behaviour, but their innate ability to organise themselves in the complete chaos was still quite impressive and by the time the other side collected themselves from the surprise we had quite orderly ranks.

The other side - the humans gathered behind the improvised barriers around the mismatched tents and the large collection of wagons - tried to do the same, with less success, with more effort put into preventing their oxen and horses to trample their own camp than into gathering the warriors for defence.

Which was good - even if there was a war among the humans, those guys weren't any real army that once fought there, giving me some hope that I would be able to reason with them.

Most of them weren't soldiers, at least. I noticed a few figures that wore the usual armour seen among the other combatants we met, quite mismatched in quality, but most were simply men and women in most ordinary clothing. A few dozen people in total. All of them had some form of weapon, though I attributed it to the fact this used to be a battlefield - discarded sword, bow or spear wouldn't be hard to find.

"Wait, don't do anything unless they attack," I said, realising too late that I did so in such a hushed tone all of my monsters couldn't hear me. They, however, did obey the orders interpreted to them through their link to 'Alphas' at my side.

"Yes-yes, Master," Narita said, seemingly fitting into the role. Others did as well.

"Miwah," I continued, after a brief hesitation. "Let all of your sisters go invisible, and around the camp."

"Yes, Master." Answered my pale werewolf, always on my side.

I made a few steps forward, entirely uncertain of how I should approach this entire situation. I wasn't feeling in any way like the hero of a historical drama.

Despite the apparent danger, I didn't wear any armour nor carried a weapon. It felt pointless, though I could say that my tunic, trousers and overcoat appeared unthreatening.

There was a problem though. There wasn't a flag to raise to signal the parley either, and no guarantee the white rag would be understood as a signal of truce even if we had one.

"You want me to speak with human-things, Master?" Narita offered unexpectedly.

I nodded. Although I didn't exactly establish who would talk for us, and when, sending the one who gained at least a basic understanding of the local language would be for the best, even if such understanding was limited to merely a handful of unrelated words.

Narita walked forward, proud, her polearm in hand, and remained standing somewhere in the middle ground between us, and humans.

She said nothing, though she didn't make any move, aside from occasional lashes of her tail, and moving ears.

The humans on the other hand were in disarray, mostly due to the fact we terrified their pack animals.

I wasn't sure if any of them opted to flee, but some of the horses did, that much I was certain.

For an army of anthropomorphic beasts, we didn't get along with the animals at all, especially the horses.

I waited in silence.

The humans still didn't attack. There were no arrows flying in our direction, no weapon waving, no charge, just complete confusion in their ranks.

It gave me hope.

I noticed a man among the humans, shouting at the others in their native tongue, seemingly trying to restore order. Whether he tried to encourage them to fight or calm down the mob, I couldn't tell. I heard his shouting all the noise but didn't understand the words.

The man, whom I assumed had the leadership of the group, soon gave up and was seemingly satisfied with merely a small company of a handful of armed individuals who decided to approach us, stopping at a mound that was an unfinished defensive earthwork dug by the army long gone.

He didn't look particularly remarkable, with the grey tunic and the straw hat, with the only protection being the leather bracers, though he did have a sword still in its sheath. Whether he was truly dangerous, or merely the bravest of them, was impossible to tell, appearances could be deceiving after all. The local' elites' didn't look particularly different from their peers, yet could jump several metres in the air or run on vertical walls. There was no way of telling who was gifted, and who was mundane.

Still, he didn't do anything. He may have been discouraged to fight with only a couple of ragged followers, or he might be reason enough to talk to us, given the opportunity.

My monsters were particularly restless though.

"Remain calm." I reminded them, simply deciding to trust Narita's judgement. Though I did regret not bringing the human girl, so far our only method of communication, I convinced myself that it was worth trying to find alternatives.

In the meantime, the man was joined by another person - a woman, dressed in a similar outfit Tama wore the entire time - and an argument seemingly had broken out. Though I didn't truly understand what was going on, I was more than willing to wait until the natives sorted out their differences, especially if it helped us in the long run.

I realised that the outfit was nearly identical to the one the sorceress that sealed Tama wore, however, I wasn't entirely certain if those were a uniform associated with the certain position or merely a local fashion.

She hadn't shown any definite reaction to the 'Eviscerators' stalking the surroundings.

After all, the locals' superhuman warriors were so hard to pinpoint until they had shown their powers, the same may apply to those with the ability to 'seal' - and if the humans were in disagreement, there was a reason for knowing who was the real enemy.

Perhaps that robe meant nothing.

It made me hesitate.

A few more shouts from the man, seemingly unsatisfied with the robed woman, assuming I read the strong gestures correctly, perhaps because they couldn't agree on who should step forward.

The robed woman however didn't care for the man's attempt to stop her...

Tama raised her clawed hand, the flame tracing her fingers.

"No. Wait." I stopped her, feeling assured that this time no chant was involved implying the casting was being done, and secretly wished that I would witness the first peaceful conflict resolution in the six days.

It was apparent that there was particularly strong disagreement among the humans in the camp, the swordsman and the robed woman argued, quite uncharacteristic for what I'd seen, while their comrades opted to rather take a few steps away from the two.

I did nothing.

Patience was a virtue, I repeated to myself.

The man with the sword grabbed the woman in the suspicious dress, almost trying to jerk her away.

And then a discharge of unseen energy, like magical wind, swept away Narita, and the feedback struck me down to the knees.

|

1 unit sealed until the caster is dead.

|

The notification taunted me as I reeled in the unnatural agony, almost as if another part of me was forcibly torn away from my very soul, while my rat-girl disappeared and dissolved into the mist. The empty armour fell to the ground, along with her weapon.

So much pain stabbed through our very being.

It hurt, again, and even more. I couldn't take it.

Not again.

My monsters, my girls, were furious.

We were furious. So many voices screaming in anger, one over another, so much hate.

I wanted to scream too.

We wanted the humans dead.

I wanted to speak, but there were no words to speak the order, only the pure, undiluted hatred towards the one that harmed my Narita.

Burn?

Burn!

A myriad of voices, all in agreement.

Tama's fireball tore apart the mound, with the humans nearby, only the echo sounded among the roar:

"For Master!"