It had been two weeks since Leo was sent out towards Etheria. He was a simple man who wanted to live comfortably and forget about his past. Coming from a poor background, Leo made many wrong steps along his path. Still, he was given an opportunity to change once he met Sera. Both were similar, being spies, but Leo worked for shadier business dealings while Sera worked with more official channels. But that was behind him in the past, and right now, he had to focus on the mission.
Crouched behind bushes and trees not far from Etheria’s main entrances into the city was a group of four spies hidden by the darkness of night, preparing to enter the city. Leo was assigned this mission by guild master Ember when word of the city's attack was reported. He glanced at the group he was with—battle-hardened rogues and warriors he had grown to trust through various missions. The task in front of them was only an info run. Leo had done so many of these he could do them with his eyes closed.
Donning dark cloaks, the group suppressed their energy flow to lower any chance of detection. Closing his eyes, Leo took a deep breath and thought of the future. With this mission, he and Sera would have enough funds to take some time off and explore the country for a while.
Opening his eyes, everyone looked at each other, and their lead captain, Roderick or Rick, as Leo nicknamed him, nodded his head, signaling for the group to move. Entering through the city's east gate, the group split into teams of two. Leo and Sera ran off toward the suburbs while Rick and his partner Rowan began circling the outskirts of Etheria.
Leo saw the devastation of the attack as they weaved their way through streets, alleys, and buildings. Multiple structures were utterly leveled, while others were heavily damaged. Many groups of monsters roamed the streets and slept inside buildings. This confused Leo as most nonsentient monsters were territorial and hostile towards anything other than their own kin. This was not the case, as Leo saw ogres, wolves, goblins, and many other alive and undead creatures. He also saw a few chimeras on top of rubble piles.
The ground was marked with many crater holes, and dried blood was all over the streets. A few human bodies were scattered around the edge of holes with limbs missing. As they neared the city's suburbs, they ducked into a narrow alleyway, stopping to check a map.
“Here is where the city's bunker is for this section. We have to go in and make sure it's adequately sealed so we can come back with an army to reclaim the city and rescue the civilians,” Sera whispered. Nodding in acknowledgment, Leo took out a small stone device. It was a data transmitter that was very useful for the multiple missions he took place in. Having received no news from Rick, Leo turned to Sera and gestured towards the bunker.
Traveling down a ramp, any light the pair could get from the moon quickly faded. Focusing energy into their eyes let them see further into the corridor in front. Once they reached the bottom of the ramp, they saw the doors leading into the bunker. They were large steel doors roughly twenty feet wide and ten feet tall. Multiple dents on its surface gave Leo a hint of worry. However, this worry was quelled when they inspected it and found no breaches in the door. Leo pulled the data transmitter and forwarded a message in a tight area near the bunker in hopes that an official inside would be able to receive it. In the transmission, he informed any recipient that help would be there within roughly four weeks and to hold out until they could arrive. Storing the stone, they left to find other bunkers.
…
They found three more bunkers before receiving contact from Rick to converge near the city's center. One of the bunkers they had visited was wide open, with thousands of civilians dead inside. The site was gruesome, to put it lightly, but Leo had hardened his heart to cruelty like that long ago.
Running towards the city's center, the pair felt an eruption of energy and quickly dove into a building to hide. Looking towards the energy source, they saw a giant blue ogre standing up from a pile of rubble. Picking up a large wooden club the size of a tree, it began sweeping its gaze over the surroundings. Leo and Sera concealed their presence with all their years of experience.
They avoided the ogre's gaze and slowly approached the city's outskirts. Leo pulled the transmitter from his pocket to relay information to Rick when he heard a loud boom. He turned back to see the ogre had thrown its club at a building close to his own. Sera and Leo froze on the spot, hoping against hope that they hadn’t been found.
“Ah, humans trying to flee? It’s useless with the great Gurrath’s unbeatable senses,” Gurrath proclaimed smugly. The club flew back into the ogre's hand as if yanked by a rope. The monster began walking towards Leo’s building with a grin spreading across its face. Its grotesque teeth were stained yellow and red with remnants of the giant's previous meal.
Leo pulled out a pair of daggers that fit perfectly into his hands. Sera pulled out a long black whip with a metal tip at its end. They stared down the ogre, preparing to engage it, when a loud punch sounded out through the street. The ogre stumbled back, slightly surprised at the sudden impact. Rowan had punched the ogre in its leg with enough force to draw blood. Rick jumped past him, keeping pressure on the ogre, not giving it a moment to breathe. Rick had a flaming shortsword that he used to slice and stab the ogre repeatedly, with the monster on the defensive. Rowan circled around inside the building to check on its inhabitants. Making eye contact with Leo, Rowan nodded and jumped towards the ogre. Leo and Sera burst into a sprint to provide support when a force of energy erupted from the ogre, knocking Rick and Rowan back and giving the ogre space. Leo heard other monsters begin stirring from the noises of the battle and tried to act fast.
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“Everyone on me. We’ll be swarmed if we stay here too long,” Leo shouted. Rick and Rowan listened to Leo’s command and ran towards him as a unit. The ogre gave chase, running through building walls and making the entire structure shudder. Jumping through a window, the group landed on the street and saw a swarm of monsters blocking their path. Working like a well-oiled machine, they began carving a path through the blockade of creatures in their way. Leo weaved in and out, slicing throats and stabbing eyes before running to the next monster. Gurrak had already joined the fray, forcing Rick to divert his full attention to the beast. Sera moved her whip, slicing through groups of monsters with practiced ease and grace. While Rowan punched, kicked, and stomped any monster in his path. However, the longer they fought, the more monsters crawled from the buildings and alleyways.
“Get to the top of a building!” Rick screamed. Following his orders, the others retreated into the nearest building while fending off the monsters, trying to swarm them. The building seemed eight stories tall, making it average among the remaining buildings surrounding it. Reaching the stairway, Leo, Rowan, and Sera ascended them. Wraiths and Banshees tried catching the group off guard, but the group was ready and handled them swiftly in their ascent up the building.
Reaching the top, the monsters were funneled through the stairwell, making them more manageable for the group. Meanwhile, Rick was dueling Gurrath, flaming sword in hand. The creatures in the street attempted to interfere, but Rick burst into flames, hitting anything that got too close.
“You’re powerful for a human. I’ve worked up quite the appetite dealing with you,” Gurrath said. Lowering his club, Gurrath spread his energy in a domain around Rick, restricting his movements. “I don’t like to do this. It tends to feel like cheating when I use this, but you have impressed the great Gurrath with your strength, so I will show you mine.”
Gurrath took off, leaving a deep hole in the ground. Raising his club, he brought it down like a hammer of god on top of Rick. Rick tried blocking the blow by raising his sword, but the restriction was too strong, and he couldn’t raise his blade in time. The impact shook the earth, leaving Rick a bloody mess but still hanging on to life.
“Be proud, human. Most would not even be able to move in my restriction. Your death will be nourishment for me,” Gurrath said.
As Gurrath bent down to pick Rick up, Rick roared with energy, shooting flames all around him, forcing Gurrath back. Using every ounce of strength, Rick stood up and stared defiantly at the ogre.
“My name is Roderick Ember, and I am the Flame Bearer!” As he declared this, he pulled the transmitting stone from an inner jacket and clutched it into his hands. “Gurrath the ogre, you may slay me here, but I shall go out fighting till my last breath.” Roderick channeled energy into the stone and muttered, “It's been a pleasure to fight with you all. Please escape safely.” Finishing his final words, he threw the stone away and gripped his sword tightly. Gurrath lifted his club, ready to receive any attack.
Drawing upon every ounce of power within him, Roderick's energy soured, blanketing the area. Fire began pouring off of his body like a waterfall. He could feel the heat smothering his body, but he managed it through expert use of his energy. Charging, Roderick began mercilessly attacking Gurrath, leaving burns and gashes along the ogre's club and body. In return, the ogre punched and kicked Roderick, sending him flying back every time, but he didn’t relent.
Realizing his remaining energy was waning, Roderick began digging deeper to find more strength. He found more strength lying deep in his soul; however, he realized where this power came from. He drew upon his life force in a massive surge and leaped forward for one final charge, raising his sword at Gurrath to incinerate him. Gurrath blocked the sword with his club, but it was useless. The blade passed through the club like a hot knife through butter. As Roderick’s sword was about to hit the ogre, he felt the ogre's domain reassert itself, pressing down on him, making him unable to move. Time seemed to slow down as Roderick saw the ogre's massive fist bearing down on him to end his life. In one final act of defiance, he turned inward. He lit himself ablaze, hitting Gurrath, the buildings, and any nearby monsters in the street in a fiery explosion the size of a bombardment.
…
Leo felt an enormous surge of energy as Rick fought the ogre down below before feeling the heat of a fiery explosion. Flames rose high above the building, bathing the world in an orange hue. A sinking feeling of despair overcame Leo as he realized what may have happened, but he hoped it didn’t come to that. Pulling out the transmitting stone, he listened to see if a message was left.
The only message he received was, ‘It's be-- a pleasure to -ight with you all. Ple--- escape safe--.’ Nothing else was transmitted, and Leo felt a pang of despair. He shouted to his other teammates, “We have to move now. Follow me.”
Dashing away from the stairwell, the team made their way to the edge of a building before leaping across towards another. Monsters remained tight on their heels, but they pushed forward just fast enough to outpace them. They continued jumping from rooftop to rooftop, approaching the city’s edge.
“Once we hit the forest, we split up, and we’ll reconvene at safehouse b,” Leo shouted while running.
The group was only a few buildings away from the forest when they felt the building underneath them quake before falling. The roof fell apart, hitting the ground with tremendous impact. The group braced for impact, landing roughly before getting up. Climbing from the ruins was the ogre, somehow still alive. Its entire body was covered in horrible burns, in some spots being charred black. However, Its eyes held a murderous gleam as it stared down the three spies. Feeling energy blanket him, restricting his movements, Leo mobilized his energy into his legs to run. Moments before the group could escape from this domain, the ogre picked up a large chunk of debris and threw it at Sera. Leo screamed, seeing the scene unfold before his eyes. Sera was slammed by the wall and sent flying back towards the forest, where her body remained motionless.
Leo screamed with every cell in his body, not knowing if the love of his life remained alive or dead. Turning his gaze filled with hatred, he stared down the ogre, ready to sacrifice everything to kill it. As Leo was about to move, Rowan stopped him and pointed towards Sera’s body.
“You need to focus. You are the fastest among the group, and the info gathered needs to be presented so a military force can be sent. I’ll hold off this fucker as long as I can while you escape,” Rowan said with a stone-cold face. Leo turned and ran towards Sera, having to use extreme amounts of energy to even move within the monster's influence. Reaching her body, he saw she was still breathing but heavily injured and needed immediate medical attention. Picking her up, he ran into the forest, hearing the sound of flesh hitting flesh sound out in the distance.