KINETIC

Leo, Cain and Rene had spent the last three days traveling towards the mountain. Typically Leo would be able to run as fast as horse, which would make the journey end after just two days at most.

Unfortunately Rene is unable to enhance her body using her ability, meaning she can't move faster than a regular human.

During their travels, Rene had spent a lot of time being carried by Cain so they could move faster. With his ability to lighten them both, they were able to move at about twice a regular humans running speed.

This was still quite a bit slower than Leo's full speed and his speed stat was high enough to allow Leo to run at the same pace without using his Energy. Although this wasn't something he complained about as he was happy to conserve his energy incase they needed to fight.

They had to stop and walk at a regular speed many times so that Cain could recover. This is what they were currently doing.

With Leo walking in front and Cain at the back, they walked in a line with Rene between them. Leo had activated his Aura so he wouldn't be hit with a surprise attack like the last two encounters he had with the cult.

Luckily the terrain was mostly grasslands, so there wasn't much in the way of cover for someone to hide behind. The ground was very uneven, creating some hills all around, but other than that it would be very difficult to launch a surprise attack on them. This made them confident as they continued towards the mountain.

***

The villagers had been taken to what could be described as a prison. They were placed into prison cells made out of iron bars, with 10 people in each cell. There were roughly 200 villagers in total that had been captured.

Every few hours a couple of men in masks would enter the prison and take one of the villagers. That villager would never return or be seen again.

A woman named Cecile was on her knees and leaning against the metal bars, praying for a miracle. She didn't care who it was, or why they had come. She just wanted somebody to save them from this nightmare and reunite her with her daughter.

One of the villagers had been taken less than an hour ago, so Cecile knew she would be safe for a few hours longer.

But something different happened today. A man wearing only the bottom half of a mask and a cloak with a creature embroidered on it in silver came into the prison with a few people in masks following him.

He looked around at all the cells and pointed to the one about four to the right of Cecile's cell. The men that had come with him went to that cell and grabbed one of its occupants, bringing the villager to the half masked man.

The villager was an elderly man that looked very frail. Once he was taken to the half masked man, he fell to his knees due to fear.

'Th-Thats old man burg... What are they doing to him...' Cecile stood up and watched the scene before her with anxiety, hoping they wouldn't do anything to harm him.

The man with half a mask crouched down and placed his hand on the elderly man's head. In the next moment the elderly man began screaming out in pain and the half masked man removed his hand and stepped away.

The elderly man started to writhe in pain on the floor while continuesly screaming out. Infront of everyone there, the man began to change.

His bones snapped and his limbs extended, his skin turned into a dull grey colour and looked to be slightly scaled across the forearms, chest and legs. Large leathery wings grew out of his back with spikes protruding from their tips.

His face morphed into a long rectangle shape with six yellow eyes appearing on it. His mouth turned into a circle shape and his lips vanished, showing off several rows of razer sharp teeth.

His fingers and toes entended and grew long and sharp talons over them. His knee joints changed, causing his legs to bend in the opposite direction, like an animal.

After about a minute had passed the former vissage of the villager was gone, having been replaced by a creature that was easily three meters tall and comparable to a monster in appearance.

The creature was terrifying to look at and everyone seemed to be on guard against it, including the men in masks. Everyone except the man with half a mask.

Cecile stepped back into the cage and away from the bars. Her face distorted with fear as tears rolled down her face. 'This is worse than death... Why is this happening to us!?'

"This beast is certainly more useful than a dying old man. Go stand over there." The half masked man ordered the creature.

The creature did as it was told and moved to the spot indicated. Everyone was surprised by how obedient the creature was, especially since it appeared to be the most powerful being in the room.

The man with half a mask pointed at a different cell "Being me a child this time." He commanded. The masked men moved towards the cell and grabbed a small boy, no older than 5 years old.

"No please, don't take my son!! Take me instead, please!!" The boys mother cried out, pleading for her son to be spared but her cries fell on deaf ears.

The man with half mask placed his hand on the boys head while looking at the boys mother. He chuckled slightly as he watched the hope drain from her.

A similar scene unfolded in front of them as the boy began to shift and change. His body changed to resemble the older man's, but he was much smaller.

The older man had grown larger, while the boy had actually gotten smaller. He was now about the size of a cat, with wings on his back and four yellow eyes on his head rather than six. His legs stayed jointed the same way as a humans, only they looked nothing like they used to.

"This one's kind of ugly." The man with half a mask pointed at the same cage again and the masked men grabbed the boys mother. "Let's do a test of loyalty." The half masked man said.

The other men with masks grabbed the woman, who didn't resist in the slightest. She appeared to be too shocked to comprehend what was happening and just stared at the floor as she was placed in the middle of the room.

"Kill her."

The small creature opened its mouth and a gout of fire shot out toward the woman, engulfing her body in a matter of seconds.

She screamed from the pain and started writhing around on the floor as the creature continued.

After about a minute had passed there was nothing but ashes left of the woman and the creature stopped breathing fire.

"Excellent. It seems they don't hesitate, even against their own parents." The man with half mask faced the cells and looked at the villagers.

"It's time to make an army."