"Mmngh..." the tiny, grumbling voice is enough to beat out all of the horrible monsters for my attention. Hilde goes straight to Emily's side when her face scrunches, then her eyes begin to open. "Mm... Aria?" she mumbles, eyes wandering in a daze. Beth rushes over to her too as she's sitting up. Emily focuses, and shows recognition just as Beth slides next to her. "Miss Beth...?"
"Don't worry, sweetie, everything's alright," Beth starts in soothingly, rubbing Emily's head and stroking her hair. "You're safe now. Do you remember what happened?"
Emily blinks a few times, clearly still waking up, and starts looking around. She spots Hilde, which just makes her even more confused, while stumbling through an answer. "Well, I, uhh... These men showed up at the house, and..." She squints. "They kidnapped me-" Beth gasps and I shudder when she says it, but she's still talking. "-but I got away and then... And then... I... don't remember?" She squints harder, trying to focus. "Was there... something about Aria? No, but she isn't around...?" she continues rambling in a low mumble. "What's happening? Why...?" She drops the rest of the broken up question, her gaze going out in confusion. It travels over the other people all lying around her, some conscious, some unconscious, all with a wide range of injuries.
Still stroking Emily's hair, Beth leaves her questions there and instead explains the basics. How the town was attacked by monsters early in the morning, and how there's an emergency draft right now, so the whole town is up in arms fighting. That's why she's here, tending to the wounded. Then she leans close, to whisper into Emily's ear.
"Aria contacted me through..." she pauses, probably to remember his name. "-Hilde. She said she's at the garrison, so she's alright." That turns Emily's gaze back to the magical creature standing nearby, before she sighs out.
"Ok, good-"
BOOM!
The impact is like thunder, from the southwest. So powerful, I can feel it rumbling through the ground all the way at the garrison. In my sleep. I start to rouse, even as my thoughts stretch all across the city, locating the source as fast as I can. It's Chisa who spots it from the air, down at the southwest gate. All of us have a moment of outright panic.
The thing is enormous. It's... I fumble, trying and failing to understand it for a few long moments as Chisa's eyes roam its body. Arms, legs, and fleshy... trunks? It has vaguely recognizable body parts, but none of them are connected in any way that makes sense. It must be a monster, but I can't even begin guessing what it originally came from. Some parts are lumpy, some uncomfortably smooth. Some parts connect with a series of interlocked limbs. A handful of dog-like heads stick out from one part, a few torsos elsewhere. Bones, spikes, and rocky structures jut out every which way. A few places even appear metallic, or like jagged crystal. I can barely tell what I'm looking at, and the sight still makes me sick to my stomach.
I'm stumbling out of the garrison rest room, into the main room and calling for Frank, by the time I start fully sizing it up. It's two, maybe three stories tall, far larger than any animal I know. The front of its body is jammed, stuck halfway through the southeast gate, unable to fully squeeze through, with spindly arms, hooks, and wiggly, spiked... things, flailing against the walls and ground around it. Each blow sends a shaking rumble through the stone, and the castle guard that were defending the gate fleeing in terror.
"What is it, Aria?" Frank asks, coming over as the other guards look around in confusion. They must have felt the rumbling too.
"Something is attacking the southwest gate. A monster - a huge one." I stop there, hesitating. It's too big for the regular town guard to fight. Even the castle guard ran at the sight of it, after fighting through everything else today.
The only one on her way there is Catherine Lundrum, her white hair pulled back into a ponytail and flanked by her troop of men in full monster hunting gear, all spattered in almost as much blood as my friends were earlier. They're rushing from where they just finished off another monster a few blocks down, passing by the fleeing castle guard on their way.
Even as I consider all of that, in the middle of speaking to Frank, my friends are already bolting that way to help out. Even if Catherine is there, I have no idea whether her group can take that thing down on their own. Not to mention, something that horrible might have poisonous mana, which they have no way to defend against, monster hunting gear or not.
I shake my head free of all those thoughts, and address Frank again. "The thing attacking the gate is huge. The castle guard scattered, and Catherine Lundrum's people are about to take it on. I don't know if there's anything the guard can do, but... maybe you could send people to help out in the surrounding area. Maybe..." Then a thought comes to me. "Actually, you should have a clinic set up near the area for anyone who gets injured. Like the men who came earlier, this one might have the same kind of poison, I don't know yet."
Without a moment of thought, Frank nods, but says, "But if it's too close to the battle, it won't be safe for you."
I open my mouth before I've really considered any sort of response. A few moments late, I realize that monsters or no monsters, the biggest risk is having Catherine spot me. I can't go anywhere near the area she's fighting myself. "It's fine, I don't have to go. There's a bird- you know what, it's a long story. Just get some men to bring doctors from the clinic in the northeast district. Beth is there, she'll know what to do."
Already waving his men to come over, Frank questions, "Wait, Beth is..."
"My doctor." I know sending her closer to the huge monster will put her in even more danger than she's already in, but I also know that's exactly where she would want to be. In the place she can do the most good.
"Right, sure." He barely looks like he's considering that last bit, already turning to the dozen or so men formed up nearby. "Go the the field hospital, get the doctors over near the southwest gate, have them set up a new one."
"Ask for Beth," I remind him.
"Right, ask for Beth when you get there."
"Sir!" the men salute.
Before they leave, Frank adds, "Make sure they set up with at least a few blocks clearance. Whatever's at the gate is incredibly dangerous. Then help out in the area, any way you can. And grab anyone you can on the way." With that, the men all head out.
I climb back up on the table I was sitting on before, Riko hopping into my lap again. After my rest, I'm feeling much more energetic, even if my injuries are starting to throb worse than when I got them. I don't have the time for that, so I forcibly ignore it and focus on my friends, currently tearing through the central district, the houses going by growing larger and larger, signaling that they're on the border of the southern district.
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Chisa circles overhead, about to head north again, to keep us all updated on the rest of the city, when Catherine and her men reach the gate, and she pauses to watch the beginning of the battle instead.
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The huge wooden doors are in splinters on the ground and the walls are beginning to chip and crack from the monster beating on them, chunks of stone clattering loudly to the ground, when Catherine Lundrum arrives on the scene. At the head of her men, she charges straight for the monster, the same enormous sword clasped in her hands from when she attacked Avara. I swallow anxiously, and Chisa swoops a little lower, so she can see every detail.
The moment Catherine is in range, one of the monster's long, coiling limbs sweeps out. It looks both fleshy and scaly, with thorn-like spikes all over its length. It's not terribly fast, so she ducks it, keeping her momentum as she sinks lower to the ground, leaning forward and beginning to wind up with her sword.
Having missed, the beast releases the most painfully awful screech. Like a thousand voices crying for death at once. The sound alone makes me want to gag, or curl up and cry, but I push down those feelings and tell myself to focus. Catherine, seemingly unfazed, counters with her own scream, her battle cry booming with such power, Chisa falters in midair, even at this distance. The monster responds immediately. The long tendril-like limb flicks around, much faster than before, coming down from above and aimed directly at her.
Catherine doesn't dodge this time. With the full weight of her huge body, she swings the sword up into the coming attack, blade arcing straight into the strange, scaly limb, easily a meter thick - bigger around than the woman herself. Sword meets flesh, the force of the clash booming out once more, and it cuts deep.
The blade that made it through Avara's impenetrable fur doesn't cleave the limb clean off. Some part of me isn't surprised, even though I feel like I should be. Just looking at this monster, I can tell it isn't going down easy. Catherine's weapon drives halfway through before it lodges in firmly, and the rest of the force of the huge blow lands on her.
She widens her stance, eating the attack. Unbelievably, she doesn't crumple under the weight. It's the street beneath her feet that begins to crack instead, cobblestones shattering and blowing away around her. She jerks on her sword, but it doesn't budge. Before she can respond, the huge limb jolts sideways, and she's raised off of her feet, hands still clutching her weapon. The tendril flies out, blasting Catherine straight through the side of a solid stone building nearby, demolishing it in one move. The whole thing collapses, and when the monster retracts its limb from the rubble, the sword is still stuck halfway through. But Catherine is nowhere to be seen.
...Did it just...?
I can barely even comprehend the thought that this monster just killed an angel in a single blow. Thankfully, entire slabs of stone are thrown aside not a moment later, Catherine standing bloody but very alive. And very angry. She leaps from standing to clear the rubble, back into the street, and charges right back at the monster without a hint of hesitation.
Her men sweep around from the right, while she comes in from the left. A second massive limb extends through the gate to block them. It's like the first, but with something resembling a toothy mouth on the end. It swings at the men, the dozen slamming instantly into a shield wall, their assorted weapons aimed out through the gaps.
Another boom resounds, and the men are thrown through another building, opposite the one Catherine went through, but smaller and only made of wood. They pull themselves out similarly. They look pretty battered, but the huge limb is full of deep stab wounds from the clash. It roars, beginning to strike at them again, but Catherine's sprinting form is already on it. Leaping out, she grabs hold of her sword, planting her feet on the writhing limb it's stuck in. With another guttural scream, her entire body strains, and a shearing sound fills the area. The blade cuts, and, she tears through the other half of the limb. The entire thing crashes to the ground with a heavy thud, awful blood flooding from the stump, painting the street in sticky black.
An impossible shriek bursts through the surroundings. It's so unnatural, I can hardly believe that even this horrible monster could produce such a sound. Catherine's men look about ready to flee, and even the angel herself flinches for the first time. But once more, she leans her whole body forward and screams back, the cry visibly rallying her men, who press forward and begin striking out at their own scaly limb while the monster is reeling.
Catherine charges again, and the battle begins in full. That looks like Chisa's signal to head further north, checking over the rest of the city briefly, so nothing else slips by while we're distracted. The others are a good deal of the way through the southern district and should be arriving soon.
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Gram is the first one to Castle Street, coming out just a couple blocks from the gate. In the gap of a few ticks, the battle has proceeded slightly, with Catherine hacking at numerous, smaller limbs of greenish bone, and her men still going back and forth with the huge scaly tendril. The others make it just after him, all sprinting at max speed, straight for the monster.
When another heavy blow staggers the soldiers, the limb flails up overhead, so many wounds across its surface it looks like they'll sever it as well soon. But before they can do that, the monster uses its longer reach to get above their guard, the huge, toothy mouth on the limb's end streaking down from above, almost swallowing one of the men whole. Three others grab onto his legs, feet leaving the ground and weapons clattering down. It thrashes as the others hack into it, desperate to free their ally. My friends push themselves to run even a little bit faster.
With the flailing tendril smashing them against the cobbled ground, the three men fall off, and the maw chomps down on the trapped man. A loud creak, like snapping and cracking, echoes out, with horrible, deathly screams. All three of them cross the last of the distance, channeling their full power into their claws, and slice into the part the soldiers have been cutting into. The flesh is incredibly tough, easily as durable as they are. It's at the upper limit of what their magic can manage, allowing them to cut through, with great difficulty.
But they do get through. And with their full might, joining the men's efforts, they successfully cleave the limb off, another spurt of black blood drenching the ground. The men go on alert, eyes flying back and forth between the magical creatures and their now-freed ally, still thrashing around inside the horrible, toothy tendril mouth crashing on the cobbles.
Apparently, they decide to focus on their ally, because after the tense moment, they rush over to free him. Myra wants to ignore them and keep going, but I remind her that we don't know if this monster has poisonous mana or not, so the three of them wait for now, keeping a close eye on the troop of men, and Catherine, still swinging away with seemingly reckless rage at the monster's other clawing limbs.
With a wet squelch, the men heave their friend out. I'm amazed how good he looks. His armor did its job. The bony plates are furrowed with cracks, and his broken helmet falls off in pieces, so I can see him looking terrified, and gulping down air too fast. He has numerous cuts on his now exposed face, but overall, I'd expect a mangled body to come out of that, not a man still in fighting shape. What kind of magical creature did that armor come from, and how in the world did they kill it...?
I can't help my own curious thoughts, even as Myra and Avara move toward the men. The dark, black blood seeping from his cuts is making them think this monster is poisonous after all. But how to deal with these soldiers, ones who can actually fight back...?
With no better ideas, or a way to communicate, Myra hangs back so Avara can go alone. She's the smallest - the least intimidating - and also the most durable. The men all form up around their downed ally, weapons extended threateningly. Avara stops, just beyond the range of the longest spear, and looks straight at them. She tries gesturing at the injured man with her head and huffing out, "Ho." The sound doesn't even resemble Ternian, but it's far from an animal growl. She gestures again, and begins to walk forward, with as much mana channeled into her fur as she can, just in case.
She walks straight into the spear, the sharp tip actually piercing partway through her fur, before she reaches up and slowly pushes it aside, just enough so she can pass. The whole crowd of men go still as she continues her advance, weapons still pointed at her, but with much more uncertainty now. She shoulders between the two who stand directly over the wounded man, stepping up beside him as he gasps and stares at her.
She brings one paw to his face, and reaches inside. As expected, she finds the evil mana. It's hardly had any time to do any damage or multiply itself by eating his mana, so wiping it out is simple and only takes her a moment. The man's breath begins to slow. He may not be able to feel mana, but he certainly noticed that soul-deep pain vanishing, like everyone else I've treated today.
Avara looks one way then the other, giving a distinct nod to the men on either side, before turning and trotting back past their lines, to rejoin Gram and Myra. That cost them a couple ticks, but it's better than letting the man get eaten from the inside. With renewed determination, they all breathe in deep, and charge into the battle together.