The eyes of the various members of the Hounds widened in surprise at the merry female voice that surrounded them. First to respond was Alexander. No matter the circumstances, he would never allow himself to show weakness or fear in front of his men. He had dedicated many months into cultivating a reputation as an unflinching and relentless commander.
“So you're some kind of demon or a monster with enough intelligence to pretend to be civilized? Why don’t you step out and show yourself? I’d love to ‘play’ with you for a long time.” Alexander said with a smile that did little to hide his boiling anger.
“Don’t wanna! You will have to wait your turn like a good little boy. But, don’t worry, I’ll make sure everyone gets a chance.” Said the childlike voice as it continued to echo around them.
A squad of the lower ranked Hounds was positioned across the river from Alexander. They had tried their best at hiding the deep sense of fear and dread they felt listening to the voice. It was both eerie and slightly familiar to them, but none of them could rationalize how that could be possible.
The group had grown accustomed to the feeling of being stronger than the pitiful villagers they abused. Before joining, many of the lower ranking members had felt powerless in their daily lives, either bullied or ostracized from the village. Feelings of helplessness and weakness returned to the men from the melodic words of the mysterious woman. One of them started to shiver with fright.
Something the woman didn’t hesitate to take advantage of.
“Wow I’ve never seen someone so excited to play that they’re shaking! Of course, I can’t keep someone like that waiting.”
As they heard the words, the members tried to tighten their circle, but it was too late. In the blink of an eye, an unfathomably dark entity emerged from the nearby trees and effortlessly cleaved the trembling Hound in two, from his head to his feet.
From the speed of the cut, the contents of the poor dead Hound rained down on the rest of the squad. Viscera and blood splattered all over their bodies and the surrounding ground. Some fought back the urge to vomit, while the weakest of will in the group pissed themselves.
“How utterly bor-ring. I’d guess I’d better speed this up. Can’t keep our favorite redheaded playmate waaaitttinggg.”
This was the beginning of a total onslaught. Lightning fast blades seemed to rip anyone to shreds at a moment's notice. They appeared at random, shooting out from the trees on all sides of the river, continuing to claim the lives of the defending Hounds. Despite Alexander’s efforts to issue orders and attempts to pinpoint the source of the attacks, their speed was something he had never seen before.
The sheer speed at which lives were being reaped made even the most hardened members of the group break out in a cold sweat. All they could do was watch as their numbers continued to be reduced. Shields were useless, as the almost unseen attack punched straight through them. Even the seasoned veterans attempted to deflect the attacks with their own swords and axes, but the assaults simply veered off course and swiftly maneuvered past their weapons.
In just under five minutes, only Alexander and a few members of his personal guard remained, all that remained of the formerly invincible Hounds. Not even the horses were spared as their entrails turned the once tranquil and serene river into a scene from hell.
“ENOUGH! Show yourself you wench! Present yourself to me, so I can rip you to pieces with my own hands!” Alexander barked, finally releasing his repressed rage.
“Aren’t you a pushy boy? So forward! Usually you have to take a girl to dinner first, you know? But I’ll give you a pass. After all, I don't mind a little skinship.”
The giggling voice no longer surrounded them. Their eyes were fixed on the forest as the culprit finally revealed herself.
Emerging from the trees, a pale young woman, clothed in tattered garments, strolled toward the few remaining men without a care in the world. Her ghostly white hair was long, easily reaching the middle of her back. Dark brown eyes with an air of insanity were fixed on the men as she continued ever closer.
Upon seeing the woman, Alexander seemed to lose much of his normal bravado and his rage was replaced with confusion.
“You look like that whore that broke my nose this morning? But she should be dead! I made sure of it! I broke her neck myself!” Alexander said as he seemingly tried to convince himself.
“Is it an angry spirit? Or the work of a passing necromancer? I’ve never seen a ghoul with white hair before.” Mumbled one of the remaining Hounds that was knowledgeable in forbidden magics.
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“Pffft! Hahahah! You should see your faces right now! The illustrious Hounds are making faces like they were a bunch of abandoned puppies! It’s too much!” Gloated the pale woman as she tried to hold back more laughter.
“Shut up bitch! It doesn’t matter what she is or isn’t. I guess I was too lenient, just leaving her body to be eaten by the forest. Now I’ll have to make up for it and destroy her until there is nothing left!” Alexander bellowed as he seemed to recover his wits.
“Mhm. That’s right. None of that matters. It was decided the moment I saw all of you tramping through the forest like kings of the world. I’ll make you suffer until the end of time, Alexander. I’ll break you down until nothing of the original ‘village hero’ persona is left. I look forward to playing with you until your spirit is in shambles and all that is left is a husk of a human being.”
As the pale demon's unsettling words resonated, a tremor ran through the Hounds, filling their hearts with uncertainty. In the face of this unknown danger, a single question haunted their minds: would they emerge from this encounter with their lives intact? Her words only seemed to add fuel to the fire that was the rage of Alexander.
“I’d love to see you try! I can’t wait to turn you into a sobbing mess!” Alexander screamed as he barreled towards the woman and jumped over the river.
“Let's take our time and have a nice dance shall we?” Remarked the woman in an icy tone.
Raising her palms to face the sky, a dark and murky aura manifested from behind her. Two jet-black and inky tentacles slithered out of her back and positioned themselves above her waiting hands. In an instant, the tips of the murky tentacles appeared to bubble, before seamlessly transforming into a pair of exquisitely crafted ebony curved daggers, which she firmly held in each hand.
As Alexander continued to approach, the tentacles positioned themselves behind her like a pair of extra limbs. She reversed her grip on the daggers and slightly dropped her body into a fighting stance. It was only a brief second later that the slithering arms propelled her with great force towards her prey.
Alexander threw a powerful punch with his right arm, but it was easily parried by one of the girl’s daggers. He continued to throw a flurry of rocket-like punches but not a single one seemed to land anywhere on her frail looking body. After several back and forth exchanges, Alexander jumped away from his target and took a defensive stance.
“Why the hell can’t I land a single hit?! What kind of sorcery is this?!” Raged Alexander as he panted, not letting his eyes wander from the danger in front of him.
“That’s what I want to know! Aren’t you supposed to be like the most impressive member of your shitty little bandit troupe? Did you catch a cold or something?” She said as she put a finger on her chin in a thinking pose.
“Oh I know! I could try out that thing she wanted to use. Gotta show that I’m a good friend after all.”
The pale girl then pointed her finger at the still panting Alexander, focused on the connection within her body and shouted out in an exaggerated manner.
“Identify!”
In front of her eyes a screen-like interface materialized.
Name: Alexander
Level: 35
Class: Bloody Brawler
Titles: Two-faced Leader
_________________________
HP: 1200 MP: 45
Fortitude: 600 Movement: 500
Presence: 700 Versatility: 350
Intellect: 300 Fate: 0
“Oooooh, that seemed to work pretty well. Hopefully, she is satisfied with this! But it’s no wonder you can’t touch me with numbers like this.” She said gleefully as she turned her attention back to her target.
“I don’t know how the hell a creature like you managed to use a skill like Identify but I guess it’s time for me to go all out and crush you into paste!” Alexander roared as the gauntlets on his arms started to glow with a golden light.
Strangle symbols made of gold light started to appear on his arms as he charged forth once more into the fray. The energy and power behind his fists continued to grow as he closed the distance. Increasing her speed, the pale woman rushed to meet his charge head on. The collision caused a violent explosion, with the remaining Hounds desperately shielding their faces from the billowing cloud of smoke, dust, and debris.
After a moment the smoke cleared and revealed a shocking sight to the few onlookers.
Alexander’s right arm, from his fingers to his shoulder, was engulfed in one of the murky tentacles. Alexander’s face paled, as he struggled to pull his arm from the unknown substance.
“Too bright! Waaaay too bright! What are you trying to give me a tan or something?” She snickered and waved her hand in front of her face.
And with a single, graceful movement, the shadowy tentacle violently tore Alexander’s arm away, accompanied by a sickening sound and a gushing surge of crimson blood. His body was thrown back several feet as he screamed and struggled to get himself off the ground. The unknown symbols that had covered his remaining arm broke into motes of light and quickly faded into nothingness.
“FUCK! I’LL KILL YOU, YOU MONSTER! MY FUCKING ARM! AHHHHH!” Screamed a paling and bloodied Alexander.
The remaining members had, without words, collectively decided to run as far the hell away as possible from the scene in front of them. They prayed that the little monster in front of them would be too focused on their now former leader, and they would be able to escape through the forest.
As they slowly backed away towards the edge of the treeline, it seemed that their prayers went unheard.
“I don’t really care for hide and seek, you know? I’d much rather play hangman.” She whimsically said, turning her head to make eye contact with the fleeing men.
With a snap of her fingers, the other tentacle swiftly surged towards the men who were now desperately running for their lives. The inky tip of the tentacle split itself into dozens of smaller, but even faster ones. At the end of these was a noose-like loop that quickly found the necks of the men who tried to abandon their leader and save themselves. Their necks were effortlessly broken, and their bodies tossed, like heaps of garbage, into the piles of gore surrounding the river.
“Now I just need to make you a little easier to carry, and we’ll be done here. Try not to pass out!” She said as she smiled at the wobbly Alexander.
“What the hell…*huff* *huff*... are you talking about, you monster?” Alexander painfully remarked as he tried to steady himself and slow the bleeding from the stump that was his arm.
With not even a moment of hesitation, the two tentacles snaked towards their prey. Alexander attempted to defend himself, but with only one arm and rapid blood loss, it was all in vain. Both tentacles seemed to morph as giant maws opened and showed large rows of black teeth. One bit down hard on his remaining arm while the other was attached to his right leg.
A cacophony of sickening crunching, munching, and screaming echoed through the bloody forest. The only semblance of mercy to the once proud leader of the Hounds was that his consciousness left him after his other arm was removed.
“I think I earned myself a good nap.” She said sleepily and closed her weary eyes.