“... and so Gunmar kneeled. He opened his mouth and drew in a deep breath. His very being connected with the land itself. The dry, earthy soil. The calm, gentle wind. With his eyes closed, he bellowed out a prayer for the souls of the departed. Fine warriors, companions, and people alike. He had travelled far with their aid, and now they were gone.
“Gunmar,” Aurelia whispered beside him, “I think he would’ve been honored by this.”
He nodded solemnly. Such was the price of his journey.Such was the price to be paid in blood. A transaction he had yet to complete.”
- The Adventures of Gunmar and Aurelia: The Storms Of War, Chapter 15 - A Dream Unveiled
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
Death filled the halls. The victims, staff, guards, and even visitors alike were all taken and blended into a corrupted horde. Their will stripped from them as the demon plowed through almost any and all that stood in its path. Sophie only prayed that the other squads had found more survivors. For herself, the captain and the purifier. The girl from before had been the only one they could rescue. The rest, already too far gone.
She had helped with dispatching a few of the corrupted. But her nerves kept stalling her whenever the smaller ones would skitter along, needing either the captain or the templar to eliminate them instead. Not that either of them complained. Their demeanor had immediately become one of understanding after a single phrase.
“I was here this morning helping out.”
That was all she said. But that was all that was needed. No one had broached the subject afterwards.
Together, they pushed deeper into the arena. The traces of corruption are growing more visible than before. Tiles cracked apart by demonic vines. Sap and pus are now actively still dripping and flowing from crevices in the roof and walls. Darkness hung heavy in the air as a thick blanket of taint had wrapped itself around the divine light cast by the templar.
It spoke of ill omens. For the monster had gotten more powerful, more complacent. From the people that were here, the hundreds of them. All taken. It was a thought Sophie wished to foget but could not. These had been some of the hurt and most vulnerable. Those that were to be cared for. And now… she let out a pained grunt, what a damned nightmare.
Occasionally she could feel breaks in the corruption. Places where the monster nor the corrupted had yet to venture. In those oases of calm, she felt even worse knowing that most did not make it.
A dull thud in the distance had caught the groups attention, the three reforming their combat formations. A triangle with the two armoured soldiers in the front and Sophie in the back.
Making their way down another corridor and one closer to the source of the sound, they finally heard it. Inhuman shrieking like the other parts of the monster back out in the square. It’s close.
“Be ready,” The templar growled.
The other two silently affirmed his instructions. The group tightened their formation as they pushed forward more rapidly than before. If there was to be any hope of protecting whoever might still be hiding within the Arena, the monster needed to be felled, whatever the cost.
Damn that Arnold for not stopping this earlier. Sophie cursed the man, to think that you could’ve stopped all this from happening. Fucker. Her hands tightened around the hilt of her sword. It was heavy, weighty, and still unsteady in her hand. But now it had a purpose, to purge the evil that was the demon.
A terrifying shriek echoed throughout the Arena. So shrill and loud that the three had to protect their ears lest they suffered deafening damage. The sound prompted more of the corrupted all across the Arena to join in the call. The psionic wail so great that Sophie felt as if someone had pierced a spear into her mind. Yet it was a reassuring sound, in a way. For she recognised the monster’s noise. It was one it made when it was being attacked and in pain. One of the others must’ve gotten into a fight.
Coming to the same conclusion, the templar looked over and examined her expression before nodding. They would need to move fast. While she was certain that both the Inquisitor and the other templar could hold their own, there was no telling what happened considering the monster had already corrupted most of the people here. There has to be survivors elsewhere in the Arena, right? Surely it hasn’t been everywhere.
The trio rushed through more hallways as they cut through small groups of the corrupted. Only when they got closer to the large doors that lead to the arena’s pit. Nearing it, they could see clear signs of battle. Scorched walls, burnt accursed flesh, and blooded giblets still lay unconsumed. It must’ve been pressured enough that it couldn’t just absorb everything.
“It’s in the pit then.” Sophie muttered her thoughts out loud.
“Aye. Which means either it followed the food or was trying to establish a lair for itself. Neither of which are good, I might add.” Purifier Everad informed the two.
“Then let’s get to work.” Captain Urden forged ahead.
The templar joined him and Sophie once again led the rear. Bracing themselves against the large double doors, they pushed it open and emerged into a warzone.
The Arena’s Trinity guards had tried to make a last stand and failed. The destroyed doorway on the far side and half standing barricades reflecting their final fates. Taking up the mantle however, the other two squads were already engaged with the creature. A towering monstrosity that reached heights that dwarfed its pursuers, almost half as tall as the arena itself. A plethora of bodies and bone jutted out of it, the fusion process far less smooth as the ones outside the arena had been. Scattered across the pit floor were dozens of now dispatched corrupted. Their malformed bodies offered a horrifying addtion to the pus and blood that now dyed the arena floor.
Two of the legionnaires had already fallen in battle, their bodies impaled by bone spears from a failed assault. Another was nursing their wounds as two more fought a running battle against several of the corrupted. The other templar unleashed their divine assault on the demon as Korvin stood atop some steps, chanting and deep in concentration.
“Combat formations, for the Argent Curia! For the Goddess!” Purifier Everad roared and charged head first to join his fellow templar.
“For the Goddess!” Purifier Razlin answered as they dodged a deluge of pus excreted by the demon.
Their dull silver armor seemed to shine brighter than ever against the backdrop of the demon. Each clank and clash was carefully thought out as the templars hacked and slashed at tendrils and projectiles thrown at them. To Sophie, it was like watching an intricate dance, one in which she played no part in.
“Snap out of it. The mana core. Where is it?” Captain Urden shook her shoulder.
“Ah… uhh….” Sophie frowned and tried to empty her thoughts.
In a sea of miasma, she could barely feel the pulses of energy emanating from it. Only the corrupted influence of the taint. Then she saw it. But unlike before, this time the greatest disturbance came from near the ground.
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“The… ground?” She mumbled, “Huh?”
Before she could open her eyes, she felt her body almost crumple as the captain tackled her out of the way of a tendril slamming down. Startled, she opened her eyes to find the demon glaring over at her with a few of its heads. It had sensed the intrusion, and though this was a different fragment of the creature, it remembered her.
All of a sudden, it reared back, pulling itself to almost stand with its plethora of legs, arms and bodies outstretched. Like a giant net, it descended upon the combatants. Everad jumped out of the way as it crashed back to the ground, unleashing a wave of blood and bone as flesh broke and pustules burst from the impact. The other templar was not as lucky, their battered form crumpled into a pile of armor and guts all that remained from the stomp.
“For the Goddess!” Everad roared in a fury and charged back in.
A streak of golden light sliced through a chunk of the creature’s upper heads. Sophie tracing the source to the Inquisitor on the stands. Korvin had with him a strange square shaped device, likely powered by arcane energy that had delivered the blow. Catching her eye, she beckoned for her to come over.
Sophie tapped the captain’s shoulder and gestured towards the inquisitor, the man looking torn between joining his comrades and getting more information about the situation at hand. Seeing his conflict, Sophie pointed to his troopers before taking off. The captain did the same as he headed directly into the fray.
“Glad to see you could join us,” Korvin greeted her casually.
Ignoring him, Sophie motioned towards the ground beneath the creature, “Mana core. Under it, I think.”
Korvin nodded, his frown deepening, “I suspected as much,” He informed her, “It came here for food and material. I believe it is attempting to create an artificial pathway into the deadlands through a great expense in lives. The mana core must’ve been planted there to act as the primary catalyst.” He stated callously.
Sophie bit back her desire to berate his coldness towards the victims. So many who had suffered so much are gone, just like that. And he didn’t even seem to care.
“It’s reached class three in terms of strength of demonic energy. Powerful but not out of the ordinary. However,” He paused and brushed at the air around them, “the detonation of a mana bomb seemed to have supercharged the creature. What it is now is questionable. Class… whatever, now’s no time for a lecture. The important thing is, the mana core must go, or we’ll have an army of demons upon us soon enough. Ah, and remember. That crystal I gave you. Infuse it with some corrupted mana so that we may study it. It would seem new countermeasures might be needed.”
“Mm.” Sophie half heartedly grunted. They needed to stop the monster, that was true. But she still felt ill at ease in trying to imbue something with the taint. It needed to be eradicated, not contained.
Noticing her still around he pointed towards the monster. “Go help the others. I’ll try to weaken it however I can.”
He pressed his hands against the device as he began chanting another spell.
Seeing the others still giving it their all, she turned back and scrambled back into the fray. She glanced up at the demon, the creature’s many faces all contorted with rage and agony in equal measure. Amongst them however, she spotted one more recognizable than the others. Watchman Baxter had seemed a kind soul despite being a Trinite. Whether he had fled or stood his ground, Sophie did not know. Only that like the others, she needed to put an end to his tortured existence.
Resolved. She pressed forward. She needed to get to the mana core.
The monster flailed against Everad, the templar deftly dodging before retorting with a vicious swing, slicing one tendril clean off with his holy blade. The demon roared in fury, launching a salvo of attacks and allowed Captain Urden to carve into its side with his blade. Though the damage was minimal in comparison, it was even to make the demon switch focus again.
A corrupted lunged at Sophie, momentarily startling her and disarming her. She ducked as it swung at her, the corrupted beast’s gangly arms looked sharper than usual, its bones twisting into a blade like appendage. But despite the corrupted muscles bulging out of its skin, she also noticed how frail its bone structure looked, Sophie had an idea. Recovering from the attack, she turned on her heel and shoulder charged the creature with all her might. Slamming into it, she could feel it’s bones cracking and snapping.
With it staggered and recovering, she kicked its body a few times as she lunged for her blade. Despite being unwieldy, the weight proved to be an advantage as she lifted it and brought it down upon the creature. Gravity assisted her and she bisected the creature straight through the middle, the corrupted letting out a final gurgle before groaning its last.
Sophie finally caught sight of an opening as the demon tried to slap the captain with its tendrils. It allowed the templar to take out another tendril which primpted the creature to immediately spin to face the more pressing threat.
She broke into a sprint with the blade in her hand. She needed to get the core to stop the demon. To relieve the pressure off of her allies and to protect the city. A lone tendril stood in her way and she threw her weight into the swing, wedging the blade halfway through the appendage as the nearby heads let out a pained shriek.
“Eat shit, asshole!” Templar Everad taunted as he threw a spell at the creature’s main body before cutting into it once more, keeping the attention off of Sophie.
A crackling bolt of light slammed into the demon, blowing open another chunk of its body and eliciting another pained squeal from the demon. Captain Urden noticed her advance and performed his own maneuver to divert attention, jabbing at stray tendrils to annoy it enough that it would pay attention.
With its attention drawn away, Sophie was almost repelled by the foul smell of rot and sulfur. Unlike the other fragments, this one seemed to have tried to devour a plethora of corpses alongside living victims. The corruption enhancing the natural degradation of the body.
But the pulse guided her, only a mound of demonflesh remained between her and the buried mana core. She gulped and nearly gagged at the thought. Clenching and unclenching her hands, she got ready to rip and tear. This is too easy. I don’t like this.
“H…e…l…p… me…” Something croaked above her.
Momentarily distracted, she looked up to find that the creature was looming over her. She had fallen into a trap. But instead of attacking, an unnerving wall of eyes and faces looked down at her. One in particular being forced to the surface as skin broke and blackened pus spilled out beside her, trickling down the side of the creature.
“So…phi…e...” Keely’s misshapen jaw managed to groan.
Unsure of what to do, Sophie tried to back away only to flinch as the demon’s entire form descended onto her. Instead of squishing her like it did the other templar, it used a wall of bodies to act as a prison, trapping her almost directly next to where she had to go. She remained frozen as she searched for a way out. But unlike before, the monster only half-heartedly responded to the others. It was almost as if it had wanted to draw her in. More than a trap, this feels like it was ordered to do this. And this… she found enough willpower to meet the head that appeared almost stitched onto the creature.
“He… l... p… end…” Keely’s desperate voice called out.
Sophie couldn’t speak, only stare at the twisted remains of the girl as the demon simply loomed over her without attacking.
“A…li…ve? Nu…rsry…”
Ahh… oh Goddess… What did it do to you? Sophie could only continue to take in the stomach churning sight, still too stunned to react.
“S-s-s… rrry. L-l-...oud! Lou-rrargh!” Keely’s face contorted in pain.
Sophie didn’t know if it was truly her friend or a hallucination by the corruption. But before she could reply, her friend’s face swelled up and abruptly ruptured into two, showering Sophie with a mixture of her remains and demon blood.
“Ahhh!” Sopihe unwittingly shrieked. Her own hands wrapping themselves around her protectively, the viscera feeling both warm yet cold at the same time. It...Keely...
Around Keely, a dozen other heads and bodies twisted before exploding or tearing into themselves. Their rapid demise unleashed a small sea of gore that surrounded her, bathing her in black and red as the taint began seeping into her very being. Like a thousand needles each piercing her skin as it tried to subsume her whole.
“Argh!” She cried out as her muscles seemed to lock up on their own, tensing up unreasonably until everything seemed to be paralyzed. It was an agony so intense that her willpower momentarily faltered, but that was all it needed for the pain to seize control of her remaining nerves.
Unable to control itself, she fell backwards onto the ground, splashing onto the pool of black and red below. She twitched as she felt a dark presence trying to invade her. Sophia had been right, her mind was too open. And only now did she understand the dangers of such a thing. Something was boring into her, digging through what meagre defenses there were and seizing control. Enveloped in the demon’s cocoon. There was little room for doubt at who had returned in earnest, Arantos.
“Right where you need to be.”
Her twitching became outright convulsions as she was dragged into a new battlefield, one far beyond the waking world. She was conscious, yet she was also not. It was taking control, and there was nothing she could do.