Whoops I kinda posted those things in the wrong order. So yeah Corrupted Ones should go before chapter 0. Sigh I just suck at these kinda of things. Well live and learn. So anyways here is chapter 1.
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In the forested areas located to the north of the city of Celos several figures were dashing through the area. Brushing the foliage aside quickly as he ran, one of the figures, Uth spoke, “Did you tie the rope yet we need it to take out his mobility.” Another of the figures, Mordin responded reluctantly, “Sigh, easy for you to say you’re not the one actually doing it. A vein bulged on Uth’s wide forehead as he quickly retorted, “Shut up and just do it!” Seeing the visible annoyance on Uth’s face was quite enjoyable to Mordin. However this was neither the time nor the place for some fun. He replied, “Okay, Okay,” so as not to poke the bear any further.
While looping the white rope around into a lasso Mordin questioned the final figure, “Lilith you figure out where he is headed? The final figure relatively more slender that the other two replied, “Yeah it’s not looking good it’s headed towards the road,” her hands closing into fists as she spoke. “Damn it!” Uth shouted as he quickly began loading arrows into his worn Yew crossbow.
The three figures, two male and one female, were currently in pursuit of a monstrous beast. A Gorin. Large and extremely muscular this beast’s height spanned 20 meters. Thanks to it’s raw power it was capable of crushing large boulders with it’s bare hands. It had no eyes but it’s nose was the thing of wonders, picking up the scent of prey several hundred meters away. In addition to all of this it carried a massive club capable of rocking the entire forest with a single strike and teeth capable of piercing the toughest armor. The three hooded figures were equipped with basic leather equipment but moved without hesitation to hunt this massive beast following the carnage left in it’s wake.
Some distance ahead of the figures was a human caravan passing on the road. They were carrying a shipment of food and weapons for the capital city of Celos. Along with the five other guards and the caravan master was a young couple, with the mother carrying her newly born baby in her arms. The mother, Yul looked at the weapons with displeasure before looking to her husband and saying, “Dear don’t you think it’s weird that all of these weapons are being transferred to the city. Gasp…We are not walking into a war are we!” The expression on her face darkened as she thought of what could happen to her child if she led him into a city about to be rocked by the fearsome reaper known as war.
The man in his mid-twenties quickly embraced his wife and child. “Don’t worry would I, The great Thor, ever send you and Talus to a dangerous place huh? We are just tagging along with the caravan for protection against bandits. I finally got a good job so you can kiss our poverty good bye. Hahahaha!” Thor replied ecstatically slamming his chest as it expanded with pride. This was the happiest Thor had been in ages, second only to when his child was born. He could finally provide for his family so his son would never have to experience the poverty he suffered through. As Thor made his outburst Yul’s face contorted into anger as her fist made contact with his stomach deflating it instantly.
“Shhhhhh, Talus is sleeping idiot,” she whispered her voice peppered with the seasoning of rage. “Oww you don’t have to hit… Oh did you give him his medicine,” whispered Thor in return seemingly unaffected by the recent attack. Looking at her baby sleeping peacefully thanks to the effects of the medicine brought about a sense of warmth within Yul. Still she returned her gaze to Thor and replied, “Of course I did idiot,” as if the warmth had disappeared from just looking at Thor’s face. “Would you stop calling me an idiot I ca- Ouch!” Thor protested raising his voice inadvertently. This statement was of course stopped abruptly by a fist from Yul which Thor took directly to his chest causing his body to collapse and slide across the floor like a sack of potatoes. “Shut up already!” Yul retorted, her eyes flashing and closing into slits as she watched Thor’s body slump on the ground.
Although Yul’s face represented perfectly that of an infuriated woman deep inside she was actually quite happy. She always wanted to have a family and hoped that moments like this would continue through her life. Her parents told her that if she married this man she would be unhappy. That she would never experience the luxuries of life. They couldn’t have been more wrong. The moments and memories she had with her family were priceless, worth more than any mountain of gold you could find, and being able to raise Talus was a blessing to her. Although he was just 6-months old she knew that he would grow up to become a great man and it was her dream to see him achieve the unthinkable.
Her only regret was that newly born baby Talus suffered from a disease. It was called Polaris, a sickness that resulted in mana building up within the body. It can be fatal but taking Echo tablets easily nullified the sickness. “Thankfully it should only last until he is five,” she thought as she continued to move in sync with the caravan along with the recently revived Thor.
The cavern made its way along the road when a roar rippled outwards from the forest breaking Yul’s peaceful train of thought. “What was that?!?!” exclaimed Yul her ears ringing from the sound wave and her heart palpating from fear. The five guards were instantly put on alert. One equipped with a steel sword and golden crested shield glanced toward Yul and barked, “Quiet! Men form up! Somethings coming out of the woods.” The remaining four grouped up and pointed their white crested shields towards the forest creating a barrier on the side of the caravan. This was a grave mistake.
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With their full attention pointed towards the forest they didn’t notice the thing barreling towards them from the sky until it was too late. “Look above us!” a guard shouted but the figure was already too close. The monster came down from the sky, the light from the sun blinding the soldiers from evading, and instantly crushed two guards with it’s feet. The shockwave knocked the remaining guards back as their bodies were thrown like ragdolls into the side of the caravan. “Rooaaaaaaaaarrrr!” an earsplitting sound was heard as the Gorin howled. One of the guards’ pupils dilated as he looked upon the beast before him. Dropping his shield and sword he screamed, “A G-Gorin! What is it doing here? That’s an S-Class monster. We’re doomed!” Instantly the morale dropped.
The captain began barking orders in an attempt to regroup his men. He stood up and charged the beast while shouting, “Get it together men and put your sword to good use. Luke get ready to-.” However before the captain could complete his sentence the club from the beast collided with his side. His internal organs were instantly crushed and his armor completely shattered. His lifeless body flew into a nearby tree, colliding and leaving a rather unpleasant mark on Mother Nature.
Seeing his captain being reduced to a bloody smudge. The cowardly guard reequipped his sword and charged the beast, slurring words that were unintelligible which spewed out his mouth like an erupting volcano. It was to be expected as the figure he looked up to all his life just died before him in a matter of moments. The beast swung his club towards the incoming guard. Foreseeing this the guard dropped all of his weight towards his back and slid on the ground barely managing to evade the blow. With this opportunity he stabbed his sword towards the beast. However this further mortified the already terrified guard as the sword broke as it made contact with the beast’s flesh. It could not penetrate it’s thick skin.
The head of the Gorin looked down at the prey before him twitching it’s nose in displeasure. It began to growl as it was notably upset. Without wasting a second it snatched the guard off the ground and began to squeeze the life out of him. Once the first tear broke free the rest followed in an unbroken stream down the guard’s cheek as he cried, “N-No-noooooooo! My family, my wife is with child I want to see them I don’t want to-.” His cries were completely ignored by the beast as his plea was cut short and his body gave up under the pressure. His life came to an abrupt stop.
Throwing his body aside, the Gorin then looked in the direction of the caravan master who was trying to escape. The only guard remaining realized that there was no defeating the beast before him. His gaze fell upon the panic-stricken Thor and Yul. He realized that saving these two was the best way his life could be spent as he shouted, “Tch! You guys get up and get out of here!” Completely ignoring the guard before her Yul looked towards Thor and quickly embraced him. Thor could do nothing but return her embrace and let her torrent of tears soak through his shirt. He felt her clench her fists not knowing whether to be mad at the Gorin for snatching the peaceful life she dreamed of or to give up all hope together. He could hear her silent screams as she clutched his shirt tighter and tighter. Her shaky voice asked, “A-Are we going to d-die?” as she looked towards Thor her moist blue eyes reflecting in his own. Thor knew what he had to do. It was the only way his son and wife could possibly survive.
He pushed Yul in the opposite direction of the beast and urged her to run in the forest. Flabbergasted and terrified at the actions of Thor, Yul questioned, “Thor?!?! What are you doing?” Thor, with his back facing his wife quickly responded, “Get out of here now! The guard and I will buy some time.” He couldn’t face her for if he saw her face contorted in sadness he wouldn’t be able to do it. “But Thor we can-,” Yul tried to argue but was quickly shot down by Thor as he shouted, “NO BUTS DAMMIT GET IN THE FOREST NOW!” his voice possessing a fierceness that rivaled the Gorin’s roar earlier. He knew what she was going to say but even if he wanted to they couldn’t escape together. The Gorin took out four guards in less than a minute and he knew the last one wouldn’t buy them enough time to escape. He didn’t know how long he could stall the beast but it would still be better than nothing as every second increased his wife and child’s survival. Yul, with tears still in her eyes, had no choice but to run, run with all her might. She had to escape as she had not only her life but carried another in her very arms.
Thor seeing his wife run into the forest heaved a sigh of relief. “May Orphus bless you both,” he whispered as his face distorted in sadness as the thought of never seeing them again crossed his mind. He walked over slowly and picked up the steel sword left by the captain who was sent spiraling into the tree earlier and turned to face the Gorin. Seeing his actions the guard’s face turned ghastly pale, “Why is that guy taking up arms. After all I am risking my life for him to escape!” he thought as he saw the man charge the beast. “Damn it!” he shouted as he joined Thor in his charge.
The Gorin turned towards the last of his prey with the lifeless body of the caravan master halfway inside his mouth. He smelt one, no two of his prey moving away from him with the remaining two prey in front of him rushing towards him. He almost seemed to smile with joy. He liked prey that struggled to survive. He felt as if he was made for this moment as he swung his club towards his prey.