The soldiers of the Vermillion Company could only watch in horror as the creature drew itself to its full height. It turned its head towards them, and its flesh parted to reveal a dozen eyes. The light behind the Company’s masks burned brilliant yellow as the darted around, looking at each of them in turn. The gaze was unsettling, and the atmosphere in the square was suffocating. Artek scarcely dared to breathe, terrified that the slightest movement would catch the abomination’s attention.

Erini was the first to break the deadlock. She raised her staff and launched a gout of flame towards the creature’s head. Just before the flames reached its head, flesh writhed and crawled to cover the eyes. The sickening stench of burnt flesh filled the air, and the men cheered. However, the creature didn’t seem to be harmed by the flames and took a lumbering step towards the Company’s ranks.

“Scatter!” Ereldred roared when the creature was almost on top of them.

Panic ensued. Order had been drilled into Company members from childhood. To maintain ranks in the face of a powerful enemy and overcome them through the might of arms, teamwork, and their unwavering faith in Heaven and the man next to them. To break formation and run ran contrary to their training and to the essence of what it was to be a member of the Vermillion Company. However, it was what their instincts had been screaming at them ever since they had entered the village.

As the red cloaked men trampled one another in their haste to flee, the creature raised a mighty arm. Liquid flesh and viscera sloughed off its arm as it swung down, swatting aside three men like they were ragdolls. The creature then lifted a leg and brought it down on another red cloaked man, crushing him under its bulk. His companions watched in horror as the trapped man’s flesh turned to liquid. His blood curdling screams echoed across the square as his body was dissolved and absorbed into the creature’s foot.

The horrific sight broke the Vermillion Company’s spirits and men began to take to their heels fleeing the square as quickly as they could. Erini had stood in the middle of the square and sent lightning arcing towards the creature. All this seemed to do was catch the creature’s attention. It crushed two more men as it lumbered towards her and sent another four flying with two mighty swings of its arms.

Acting on instinct, Artek leapt towards the creature’s head, surprising himself with the height and distance of his jump. Half of the creature’s twelve eyes swivelled to look at him, and it paused to lash out at him with one of its arms.

Artek could see the blow coming but could do nothing to avoid it. He raised his sword in an attempt to block it, hoping it would reduce the damage that had crushed the flesh and bone of the men it had struck earlier.

To his surprise, the creature twisted its arm out of the sword’s way and swayed its body backwards so that Artek’s leap took him well past it. Artek whirled around to see that the creature was staring at him fixedly with all twelve of its eyes. He took a step towards it and the creature took a step back. He licked his lips and smiled before charging it.

The creature let out a blood curdling roar before swinging at Artek with its arms. The youth raised his sword and hacked at the arm and as his blade struck it, flesh sloughed off, covering him in viscera. Despite this, Artek kept hacking, but it was trying to cut a stream.

“Stay out of the creature’s range men and wait for an opportunity!” Ereldred cried. “It is powerful but slow. Erini, use ice magic!”

“Warriors of Heaven, steel your faith and stand your ground!” Stediun roared. His deep voice cut through the pandemonium. Men stopped running and turned around to face their Lieutenant. “Listen to your Captain and we will defeat this affront to Heaven right here!”

Artek was focused on cutting down the huge arm that the creature kept sending towards him like a whip and couldn’t tell if the officers’ words had worked. His arms were beginning to tire, but he didn’t dare stop hacking for fear of being engulfed like the poor soul from before. The creature seemed afraid of his sword, but he couldn’t find an opening to exploit it.

As the creature continued its relentless barrage of flesh and gore, Artek could feel himself slowing down. However, the creature was as well. The flesh he was swatting away was also growing harder and more brittle. The barrage then appeared to slacken, only it hadn’t. Artek looked up and saw red clad men standing shoulder to shoulder with him, hacking at the thinning arm with their weapons. Yellow light blazed bright in the eyes of their masks.

Artek took advantage of the respite and backed off several paces. There, he was able to see Erini channelling a blue ray from her staff at the creature, slowly freezing it in place. The red clad men of the Vermillion Company surrounded it, hacking away at the creature’s frozen legs, chipping off hunks of frozen flesh with their weapons.

Now that Artek was no longer occupying it, the creature could focus on the pests around its ankles. Eight died in a single blow. The youth froze as an awful realization dawned on him. Several men had just died because of him. As the survivors broke, Stediun planted his feet and let out a defiant roar. The creature looked down at him and raised its foot.

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Before it could bring its weight down on the old man, Ereldred nimbly leapt into the air from behind. His sword glinted in the afternoon sun as he brought it down on the creature’s head, cutting it neatly in half down to the neck. The elf landed daintily, and the creature staggered briefly before disintegrating into a wave of liquified flesh that swept the surviving members of the Vermillion Company off their feet.

Artek rretched as he clambered to his feet. Viscera had filled his mouth and nostrils. He looked around blood drenched square in a daze. Nothing remained of the creature. Around him, the surviving members of the Vermillion Company slowly got to their feet. Only eight remained. Erini was the first to speak.

“Is… is it over?” her voice trembled and was barely audible. It was as though she was afraid of what the answer might be.

“For now,” Ereldred replied as he wiped the gore from his eyes.

“Will we encounter more of these things?” another survivor asked. His voice was raw with fear.

“Perhaps,” Ereldred allowed, causing the man to wail in despair.

“Enough of that,” Stediun snapped as he stalked up to the man and backhanded him across the face. “It is our sacred mission to protect the Faithful from these horrors. If we do not, who will?”

Ereldred looked at the square for a moment before turning to the old man. “Lieutenant, change of plans. Have them converge on the Holy City. We will set out after we have ministered last rights to the fallen here.”

Stediun’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I thought we would spend some time investigating this village.”

The elf waved his hands at the gore filled square. “Any clues died with them. We need to inform the Council of Heaven what has happened here at once. There is little time to lose.”

Stediun went pale. “Do you think the others could have encountered these… things?”

Ereldred fell silent for a moment before replying, “That doesn’t bear thinking about. We shall find out in due time.”

Artek suppressed a shudder. Could the Peace Breakers summon more of these things? If it did, what would become of the world? Fighting these creatures was more than he had bargained for when he joined the Vermillion Company, but if he were to abandon them, would there be anywhere for him to hide from these things? He then looked at the elf. He had a burning question that could no longer wait.

“I’ve felt strange ever since we’ve encountered these things, and I think this sword has something to do with it,” he declared, deciding that it was best to get everything out in the open.

The elf looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “That’s because that sword has the soul of a Greater Demon bound to it.”

Artek’s eyebrows shot up and he wanted to hurl the sword to the ground, but something was preventing his fingers from releasing it. Stediun, who had been close enough to hear, backed off a step involuntarily.

“Then we should dispose of it at once!” Artek gasped. “Who knows what could happen if it broke loose.”

“The Demon cannot exist outside of the sword and has been bound safely therein for millennia,” Ereldred replied. “However, if you no longer wish to wield it, our offer to take it into our keeping still stands.”

Artek looked down at his sword and felt fear sweat damp his shirt. Then, Stediun voiced their collective fears. “If that was what lesser demons were capable of, what hope do we have against a greater demon?”

“We have been caught off guard,” Ereldred agreed. “That is why we need to correct this with all haste.”

“Do you think the Enemy is capable of summoning greater demons?” Erini asked.

“Probably not,” Ereldred replied. “My suspicion is that this was just a test.”

“A successful one at that,” Stediun remarked.

The elf nodded curtly.

“What chance do we stand if they can summon even more powerful creatures than the ones we have faced?” Erini cried.

“There are still those who have faced these things and defeated them in the Ages past,” Ereldred replied. “You are speaking to one.”

Artek looked at the elf with newfound respect and wondered what horrors he must have seen over his unfathomably long lifespan.

“Men, take what you have seen to heart,” Stediun roared abruptly, causing Artek to jump. He looked around and could see the raw fear on their faces. “We are all that stands between the God fearing people of this world and these horrors. You have all done well to survive your first battle but there is no time for despair. The Enemy is powerful and on the move. First, we will mourn our dead, then we will prepare for our return to the Holy City.”

As the survivors began to pick through the ankle deep gore for their dead, Artek was torn between finding a quiet place to hide from the work and not wanting to be alone with his sword. He then noticed Ereldred staring at him.

“What is it?” he asked suspiciously.

“Draw your sword,” the elf ordered. “Show me the blade.”

Hesitantly, Artek complied. Sediun had noticed the exchange and had moved closer to the pair. Artek did not doubt that the old man was ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. He drew the blade and to his surprise, Ereldred grabbed it with his bare hand. Before Artek could ask what he was doing, the elf began to chant in a foul sounding language that sent a chill down his spine.

A wave of nausea engulfed Artek suddenly, causing the youth to retch. When he recovered, he saw runes appear on his sword. They were glowing an angry red. As Ereldred continued to chant, some of them faded.

“Captain…” Stediun began.

Artek tried to pull the blade away, but the elf was gripping it tight. Blood poured from Ereldred’s hand and after what felt like an eternity, he released it.

“That’s unfortunate,” the elf muttered.

“What is?” Artek asked hesitantly, unsure if he should sheath his sword.

“Whatever was sealed into that sword has lost its sense of self after thousands of years,” Ereldred replied. “All that is left is hate and malice.”

Artek felt his stomach turn and Stediun cried, “Then we should dispose of it at once! Hurl it down the deepest mineshaft or into the depths of the ocean!”

Ereldred shook his head. “The sword is now but a tool. A powerful one that can be used for great good or great evil.”

The elf paused and levelled his gaze on Artek. “It will be up to this young man to decide which.”

“Just remember our deal,” Artek sniffed. “I’ll do as much good as you ask of me so long as I get paid.”