Jack sighed. "Yeah. That would indeed be a logistical nightmare, and a distraction. I guess we'll have to see how it goes after the tournament."
He gave the rancher an apologetic smile. "Perhaps later then, Sir."
He made a mental note to find a way to expand the orchard in the Mirror Mansion. Making it capable to support small numbers of livestock. For now though, necessity dictated restraint.
...
As noon approached, their attention shifted back to the more immediate objective. They said their goodbyes to the Enchanted Pastures and made their way north. Towards the desolate Grancho Ranch.
The sun was climbing towards its zenith. Its rays was beating down on the barren landscape. Yet, it didn't seem to reduce its creepy atmosphere. In fact it made the ruins seem even more eerie and unwelcoming under the harsh light.
The air around the ranch felt heavier now. Even in broad daylight. The twisted leafless trees seemed to writhe. Their shadows were short and distorted.
When they reached the corrupted ritual circle, it glowed faintly. A sickly green and blue pulse was emanating from its ancient runes. As Jack had cleared up the bushes, it was no longer hidden by then but it was now stark against the parched earth.
"This is it." Jack stated. His voice was devoid of any hesitation.
He drew his steamrune shotgun. The [Chains of Vengeance] bracers was gleaming faintly under his sleeves.
"Ready, Love? Kid?" He asked Reina and Aella.
Reina nodded. Her hands were already resting on the grips of both of her holstered handguns. "As always, Dear. Let's see what secrets were hidden here."
Aella also nodded. Her void-fire revolver was already in her hand. "Monster hunting time!" She declared without any fear.
Rune glowed a vibrant gold and red now. Hovering near Jack's head.
Jack placed his hands on the ground. Channeling his mystic energy. The runes he touched flared. A brilliant emerald and sapphire light erupted from the earth.
The air crackled with raw power. A mix of corrupted ancient magic and Jack's controlled transcendent energy. The ground trembled. A low growling sound reverberated through the earth.
A blinding flash of emerald green and sapphire blue light consumed them. The world was distorted. Its colors were melting against each other. And sounds became muffled.
The trio, and Rune, felt the sensation of being pulled, stretched, and then suddenly, released. When their vision cleared, the world had changed. Drastically.
They no longer stood on the barren ground of Grancho's Ruins in Marevale. They were now on a desolate, ash-covered plain. One that stretched to a horizon. Shrouded in an oppressive, grey fog.
The sky above was covered by thick dark cloud. With only faint sunlight that barely penetrated the gloom.
Skeletal trees, black and gnarled, pierced the sky like broken spears. Their branches were devoid of leaves. The air was heavy and stagnant. Smelling of decay and damp earth. A chilling wind, carrying no scent of life, whispered through the void.
This was a realm of desolation. A pocket dimension twisted by necrotic energy and another unidentified power. It was a mirror image of death and decay. Far removed from the vibrant ranches of Marevale.
It somehow reminded Jack to the Valley of Despair.
"Yep!" Jack commented. His voice was steady despite the grim atmosphere. "As expected. It was a desolate spatial realm."
"Just like Valley of Despair." Reina sighed. "Let's just hope it wasn't..."
Before she could finish, a guttural groan echoed from the swirling mists. Then another, and another. From the gloom, figures began to shamble forward. Undead.
They were a grotesque horde. Shambling corpses with tattered clothes clinging to their decaying flesh. Their eyes were either hollow pits or glowing with malevolent, putrid light.
There were plenty of undead variants mixed with those standard zombies.
Skeletal warriors, armed with rust-eaten blades and shields. Moving with an unnatural, jerky gait... Bloated zombies, with greenish and festering skin. Dragging themselves through the ash. Leaving trails of viscous goo... Pale ghouls. Leaner and more predatory. Scuttling low to the ground, with extended claws, and hungry snarls.
"Looks like a welcoming committee." Reina observed dryly. Her dual handguns were already drawn. The barrels glinted. This time, they were infused with a faint, sacred light from her specially selected holy bullets.
She moved with fluid grace. Disappearing in a puff of grey smoke as she teleported a few meters to the side. Gaining a better visual on the approaching horde.
Aella grinned. Showing no fear at all in her childish face. Her piercing sky-blue eyes were showing a glint of excitement instead. She took off her non-corrective glasses and put it in her [Spatial Backpack].
Her void-fire revolver vibrated and glowed with dark purple internal energy. Emitting crackling sound in her small hand. With a quick void-fire teleport, she appeared atop a crumbling, ash-covered rock. Gaining elevation.
Jack without any hesitation move forward. Deciding for a direct confrontation. The runes on his powerful steamrune shotgun glowed as he chambered a shell. The [Chains of Vengeance] bracers on his forearms also clattered. Ready to unleash their infernal restraints.
The undead surged. The first wave bore down on them. Filled with a mix of shambling zombies and skeletal warriors.
Jack moved first. He lifted his shotgun and fired. The blast ripped through the stagnant air. A thunderous roar in the gloomy realm. The scattershot shrapnel, imbued with Jack's steamrune energy, struck the leading zombies.
The already decaying creatures simply disintegrated. A cloud of ash and putrid smoke burst out where it stood.
He pumped the shotgun and fired again. Another group of zombies met the same fate. The sheer force of the shotgun pellets, combined with his steamrune power, was overwhelming for these weak undead.
Before the next wave could reach him, Jack activated his [Chains of Vengeance]. Dark chains, blazing with fiery flames, burst from his left bracer. They snaked out. Wrapping around a group of skeletal warriors. Binding them tightly.
Accompanied with a decisive mental command, Jack squeezed his fist. The chains tightened. Crushing bones and old armors alike. Reducing the skeletons to piles of fragmented bone and rusted metal.
Reina, not far from him, was a deadly ghost with incredible movement and precision. She teleported in and out of the approaching wave in casual ease. Appearing behind the ghouls. Firing her holy bullets with deadly accuracy.
Each of her shot was imbued with sacred energy. Striking true every time. The ghouls hissed and shrieked as the holy light burned through their forms. Collapsing into smoldering piles of ash.
Her [Absolute Blink] allowed her to bypass the dense front lines. Targeting key undead leaders or flanking groups. Thinning their numbers with elegant efficiency. Her dual handguns spat holy bullets in rhytmic tone. A symphony of destruction against the darkness.
Aella also stood her ground well in the battle. She was a tiny, fierce beacon of void fire. Her revolver fired continuously. And each shot was a concentrated ball of purple-black flame. A compressed void fire. A chaotic and destructive force that devoured the undead instantly.
Bloated zombies exploded in showers of foul-smelling goo and dark embers. Skeletal archers, attempting to loose arrows, were engulfed in ravenous black flames. Their bows and bones turned to ashes instantly.
Like Reina, she also kept teleporting all over the battlefield. Appearing a few meters away in a blink. Only to unleash another volley of destructive energy. Leaving traces of flickering flames where she had been.
Her newly acquired [Quick Reflex] made her shooting speed and teleportation even faster than before. She moved with an almost joyful ferocity. Her small frame was radiating immense power.
The combat was swift and brutally efficient. The undead, despite their numbers, were no match for the combined might of Jack, Reina, and Aella.
Jack's raw power and destructive force, Reina's precise holy-attributed attacks, and Aella's deadly void-fire created a perfect storm of annihilation.
The ash-covered ground quickly became littered with the remnants of their foes... smoldering ash, fragmented bones, melted weapons, broken armors, and puddles of putrid goo that quickly evaporated into the desolate air.
Within minutes, the immediate area was clear. The groans and shrieks had died down. Replaced by the eerie silence of the desolation realm. The grey fog still swirled in the distance, promising more horrors. But for now, they had created a temporary zone of safety.
"Well done, Girls!" Jack praised. Lowering his shotgun. "Your speed and control are improving rapidly, Kid. They're much better now. And... amazing work as always, Love."
"You're still the greatest contributor here, Dear." Reina replied. Holstering her handguns. A wisp of smoke curling from the barrels.
"And you, little one..." She added. Turning to Aella with a soft smile. "You're incredible."
Aella beamed. Proud of her contribution. Rune appeared near her. Pulsing bright pink in excitement.
"Let's move!" Jack commanded. His eyes were already scanning the bleak landscape. "We need to find the source of this corruption."
They pushed forward. Moving deeper into the desolate realm. The air grew colder. And the silence became more profound. Broken only by the crunch of their boots on the ash.
They passed through the remains of what might have been a small settlement. Its structures had been reduced to crumbling piles of rubble. Choked by dry and dark vines that seemed to absorb all light.
Finally, they reached a more elevated plateau. Here, the landscape formed a jagged, ash-covered peak. Upon which stood the ruined remains of a grand manor house. It looked like a twisted, eerie version of a noble house. Shimmering with a faint, ghostly luminescence.
Jack noticed that the windows of the building were empty sockets. And the roof sagged. As if it was weighed down by centuries of despair.
As they approached the entrance, a new spectral entity materialized from the phantom walls. It was a figure of translucent, grey energy. Unmistakably human in outline. But terribly distorted in its features.
Its form flickered. Occasionally revealing glimpses of an old-fashioned suit and a mayoral sash. Its face was a mask of eternal agony. Aid its hollow eyes were wide with unspoken horror.
Jack didn't sense hostility from this spectral apparition though. He could feel it. This was no ordinary, feral undead. This was a sentient, lingering spirit. Bound to this twisted realm.
Jack immediately activated his [Eyes of Judgement]. He was correct. This was the ghost of Mayor Grancho.
"Greetings, Spirit of Mayor Grancho!" Jack spoke in calm tone. Despite the chilling presence of the ghost. "My name is Jack, and these are my companions, Reina and Aella. We're adventurers."
The ghost of Mayor Grancho writhed. Its ethereal form rippled like disturbed water. A low, keening wail escaped its spectral lips. A sound of profound sorrow and regret. It raised a translucent hand. Pointing a trembling finger towards them. Or perhaps, beyond them.
A strained voice echoed from its existence. Carrying the weight of the decades of despair. "You... you have come... Fated saviors... or perhaps... reckless fools..."
The voice was fragmented. Broken. As if the words were struggling to materialize in this cursed space.
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