The scent of blood paired with the gruesome scene before them made some vomit while the rest endured painstakingly holding their dinner in, looking away from the massacre before them. Getting down on one knee, the captain dug her fingers into the flesh of a corpse.

"Warm. Judging by the sheer number of corpses lying around, it must be a horde. Come in HQ, Virtuoso Nine, requesting the use of the Primordial."

"Status confirmed, Virtuoso Nine, Primordial permission granted."

Upon confirmation, the captain ordered the five men following her to scout the abandoned building one block ahead as she followed behind with bloodlust in her eyes. The men trembled in fear, unable to keep their hands from shaking as they inched forward step by step towards the abandoned building. 

Cowards, the stench of their fear disgusts me more than that of the dead.

"You lot are useless, have you not prepared yourselves for death at any given moment? Why have you joined the Legion? If you lot fear death, then by all means drop your weapons now and leave. You can live on your merry lives with alcohol, women, food, after all you only have one life, live it the way you want."

Standing rooted to the ground, the men stopped advancing as the captain charged ahead, leaving them behind. Sounds of guns dropping echoed throughout the tranquillity of the night, as she braved the building alone.

It was almost too quiet, from the sound of dripping tap water to the gentle night breeze brushing her ears. Suddenly there they were within her line of sight as she hid behind a pillar, surveying the enemy from afar. However, she was caught off guard, the sudden cries of children from a floor above traversed the entire block as the creatures raised their heads upwards, snarling with their teeth bared. Picking up the source of the cries, the creatures made their way up the stairs as though they were still human.

Children, shit...

"Mission override, priority will be the children."

"Denied, Virtuoso Nine, extermination of the threat comes first. Complete the mission at all cost."

"Screw the mission, innocent lives come first, that's final."

Shutting off her comms, focusing herself to pinpoint the exact location of the children, waiting for even the faintest hint of human noise.

There!

"I call upon you, the embodiment of Justice, Raguel!"

Brandishing her sword from its hilt, the sword glowed bright orange radiating warmth around it. Aiming her blade towards the floor above, the captain shot a ray of light easily penetrating the concrete floor, creating a hole above.

"Kids, here! Jump!"

Conjuring a ball of light, she sent it towards the hole, illuminating the room above as two children emerged from the corner.

"Look Daisy! We are safe now."

The older kid hugged the girl, raising her off her feet before jumping down through the hole without hesitation. The captain caught the two with ease, patting the dirt off their knees, giving the two a smile to reassure them that they were now safe. However, the noise had already attracted the creatures who began dashing towards the captain and the kids.

"Listen up! Take her and run for the exit got it? I'll hold them off, don't stop running! Once you exit this building, give me a signal.”

Hugging the girl once more, the boy nodded his head, thanking the captain before making a beeline for the exit. Without any time to spare, she swung her blade towards one of the monsters who leapt at her, baring its fangs and claws. The creature was bipedal, hunching its back slightly. It resembled a human, yet its teeth were replaced with rows of fangs and claws had formed where nails once were. Its eyes were completely white, its skin had holes revealing flesh beneath and to some extent the bones. Known as the horde, these creatures alone would be a piece of cake, even for the most novice of warriors, however, as its name suggests. These creatures normally travel in groups of up to fifty, with the number of corpses outside and within the building complex, fifty was not out of question.

However, the horde's enemy that stood before them was no ordinary warrior. Virtuosos, the most elite of the Legion. have trained years and were bred with the sole purpose of eliminating the Peccare, ending this conflict once and for all. Virtuoso Nine, though only possessing the rank of a Captain, stood above majority of the Legion in terms of fighting abilities, rivalling that of the General himself. Armed with the Primordial weapon Raguel, she has the second highest kill count of Peccare in the whole Legion.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"None of you will get past me!"

Erecting a wall of flames, the creatures that it came into contact were instantly lit aflame, crying in pain, reduced to nothing but ashes. Seeing some of their own die, the rest of the horde kept their distance from the flames, displaying a minimal intelligence as they backed off, snarling and hissing at the captain.

"We are out!"

Upon hearing the boy's voice, she smiled, raising Raguel towards the horde who had all gathered on the other side of the flames.

"Holy Art: Revolutionary Justice!"

The wall of flames began spiralling in a clockwise direction, transforming into a tornado of flames within seconds, racing towards the horde, engulfing every one of them as the remaining tried to escape but to no avail. As the flames continued to burn, the captain turned around, sheathing her blade back into her hilt. In an instant, the flames disappeared into embers floating along with the night's breeze. Turning her comms back on again, she began making her way downstairs towards the kids to check them thoroughly, making sure they weren't injured or worse, infected by the horde.

"Virtuoso Nine reporting, mission successful. The horde at sector eight has been taken care of."

"Understood Virtuoso Nine, however, be warned, do not disobey orders, this isn't the first..."

This aura! SHIT!

Before HQ could finish their reply, the captain crossed her arms to protect herself as a fist flew in her direction, sending her flying out of the apartment from the sixth floor. Without giving her anytime to recover, the assailant propelled itself toward her direction, wrapping its fingers around her head sending her crashing towards the pavement below, creating a giant crater just metres away from the kids who watched in horror.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Look what I chanced upon, my first night of resurrection and I found myself a Primordial user."

The hideous looking creature had a face of a human's but the body of a giant ape, its arms were huge and wide around the size of a bus as it towered over Virtuoso Nine, who was knocked out from the impact.

"Come in, Virtuoso Nine! What's your situation? Indicators are showing a huge spike in adrenaline! Come in!"

The hell... Get yourself together... The children...

Fighting to regain consciousness, the monster turned its attention to the two children as it grinned from ear to ear.

"The smell of human children, ah how nostalgic! The texture of their flesh, oh simply irresistible."

"Hey bastard, how dare you look away from me."

Utilising these two seconds, she picked herself back onto her feet, staring at the stunned monster in its eyes. She sprung forward, in an instant slicing its skull into half, leaving the bottom half of its head behind starting from the tongue. Seizing this moment, she dashed towards the kids, grabbing each with one arm, she began fleeing the scene, only concerned with their safety.

"Virtuoso Nine, a threat level five has appeared at your location, do you copy?"

"Loud and clear. Level five confirmed, I have two kids with me right now, their safety is my priority."

"It's pointless arguing, establishing link with the nearest Virtuoso."

"Virtuoso Seven reporting, fill me in HQ."

As HQ filled Virtuoso Seven with the details of the ongoing situation, Virtuoso Nine lowered the kids approximately three kilometres away from the threat.

"Continue, head to the next sector. Take care!"

Holding onto her hand, the boy had tears in his eyes, refusing to let her go.

"You can't go back there. That thing, it’s not beatable, your bleeding... Please run with us."

Getting down onto one knee, she placed her hands over the two of their heads, gently petting them with a smile of her face.

"You see, I have to go back and defeat that thing. If I don't, no one else will and if it finds its way to another sector, more will die. Do you understand? That's the reality of the world we live in. Take the girl and run, the strong must protect those who can't fend for themselves right? I'll give you a mission boy, protect her, at all costs, understood?"

Removing the boy's hand from her arm, she stood back up bidding the two farewell as she headed back to the apartment where the monster had finished regenerating its severed skull. From afar, she could hear footsteps approaching.

"Yo! Captain April, it's been a while. Let's catch up after taking down this thing. Thank god I was visiting the children in Sector Nine, a level five threat is no easy task."

"I can handle it alone, just don't get in my way."

"Cold as ever even to your superiors, well I'll try to keep up. Jophiel, heed my call!”

The spear behind his back started glowing purple, sending sparks of electricity around it as Virtuoso Seven wielded it in his hands. Within seconds, the two were back at where the monster, which had fully recovered, stood as it stared at the two Virtuoso.

“That hurt, that really hurt. For that, I’ll rip the flesh off your bones, and I will enjoy, every last chunk of your virgin flesh!”