Amidst the chaotic bloody war, she knelt, consumed by fervor and desperation. Her hands trembled as they clasped together, her fingers interlocking in a tight grip. Tears streamed down her face, mingling with the sweat that dripped from her forehead. The battlefield swallowed up her voice, a mixture of sorrow and remorse.
"O Lord, have mercy upon their souls!" she cried out, her voice quivering with a blend of anguish and devotion. "Grant solace to these misguided spirits, for they shall not return to the warmth of their homes. Please show mercy to their loved ones back home."
Her prayers were fervent, driven by a sense of passion and honesty. She beseeched her lord, not for forgiveness, but for understanding. Her heart ached for the victims, whose lives will be forever altered by her actions. In the depths of her soul, she believed she was doing them a favor, a favor they might never understand. The girl slowly rose from her kneeling position, she picked up the flail laying next to her and wrapped it around her hand. As she scanned the battlefield, the full horrors came into view. Broken and bleeding bodies lay strewn about, their lifeless eyes staring blankly up at the cloudy sky. Among the dead were boys not much older than her younger brother back in City Z, their youth and future now cut tragically short.
A nearby groan pulled her from her thoughts. One of the fallen soldiers was still clinging to life, though barely. She rushed to his side and knelt once more, taking his cold hand in hers. His face was ghostly pale and his breathing ragged. “Please…water,” he rasped, his eyes pleading with her. She removed her canteen and gently lifted his head, letting a few drops of water moisten his parched lips. He swallowed with great effort, then spoke again in a whisper. "Tell...my wife...I'm sorry.” With that, his hand went limp in hers and his eyes lost their focus.
She closed his eyes as he went to meet the Lord. Rising again, she said a final prayer for his soul before looking up to see one of the poor confused souls staring down at her. It raised the sharp spider-like leg to pierce through her body. There was no hesitation in any of its 16 eyes while drool leaked from its gaping maw. The faithful sheep looked at the pitiful creature with compassion. Her waist slightly swayed to the side as she gently caressed the deadly appendage that nearly impaled her. Tears slowly began to flow down her face as a glowing white mark etched itself across the giant spider-like creature’s leg. The creature itself paid no mind to this in the heat of battle. It simply raised its other leg and stabbed down toward the human invading its personal space.
As the thick limb approached the white-robbed woman, it simply pierced into the snow when it neared her abdomen. Visible confusion showed in the being’s multiple eyes as the woman appeared elsewhere, not impaled at all. In this momentary confused state, the young woman smashed her spiked flail on top of the human-sized spider’s head. Green blood sprayed from its head as it screeched and wildly flailed its many legs from the pain. In the same moment the priestess attacked, she tossed a small object up into the air. Those several thick and sharp spider legs aiming to mince her into pieces hit nothing but air as she appeared above the creature. She began falling down toward the panicking monster, her flail leading the charge.
With a horrific spray of blood coating the pure white snow bright green, the monstrous spider fell down dead as the priestess gently caressed its exoskeleton. “You are more than mere monsters yet, why must you be so greedy? I hope you will rest in a better place… along with your brothers and sisters…” The Priestess turned to look at the rest of the battlefield. All around her the carnage continued, though the fighting had moved farther down the line on humanity’s side. Humanity was losing. And she could make a difference. A noticeable difference, at the cost of so many misguided souls…
“Lord, please grant me the strength to control myself as I send you more of your children. I only wish to end this bloody war, not prolong it…” She clasped her hands together in a tearful prayer before disappearing from the motionless corpse.
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The priestess locked onto her next destination – a group of soldiers being overwhelmed by spiders. In a flash, she found herself amidst the fray. Two spiders lunged simultaneously from either side, a pincer maneuver. She twisted beneath their raking claws, coming up inside their guard. Her flail swung in a tight arc, caving the first spider’s faceplate with a wet crunch. Spinning on her heel, she brought the spiked end around in a backhanded blow that shattered the second’s fangs. More were coming. She swung her flail mercilessly, avoiding claws and fangs while replying with crushing attacks. Limbs and gore flew as her bloodied weapon sang with the cries of spiders. Teleporting away from a spray of venom that would’ve melted her bones, she appeared behind the other spider that was attacked by its ally’s acid spray. The Priestess smashed her flail into the creature’s soft underbelly and teleported on top of the other spider’s back. Wrapping her chained flail around the creature’s neck, she wrenched and wrenched as it angrily flailed its legs and bucked to get her off.
“I do not wish to make you suffer. I’ll be quick, anguished one…” The Priestess began twisting instead of wrenching and soon the pitiful soul was able to rest in peace.
Soldiers looked at her with a mixture of reactions. Unfortunately, they were unable to comment on it as the other spiders were quickly approaching. However, they did keep the blood-stained nun’s appearance and ability deep within their hearts. By now the ridge was thick with combat. Soldiers fought desperately while more spiders poured over the edge. The woman moved like a flash amidst the melee, her flail a blur targeted only at their arachnid foes. With brutal blows she felled spider after spider, carving out a space for the soldiers to rally. As two more lurched at her, she tossed her flail like a missile – it split one spider’s skull with the spiked handle before she teleported above it, caught it, and swung it into the side of the other spider’s skull. They both fell down into a heap as the nun vanished to continue her sacred duty.
Finally, as the last spider fell, crushed carapace flying from her blood-spattered weapon. The soldiers cheered, emboldened by their mysterious savior who can appear at a moment’s notice and slaughter these filthy monsters with ease. Just as they were about to question and chat with her. The woman had already vanished once more, drawn to where souls were crying out the most. The priestess materializes amidst a scene of utter carnage. What remains of the human forces are tightly pressed into a defensive circle, desperately fighting off swarms of regular spiders. But now the queen has arrived, looming over the battlefield on spindly legs.
With a telepathic shriek of fury, it drives the smaller spiders into a final homicidal charge. The soldiers brace for the end, when suddenly a quiet flash cuts through the chaos. The priestess appeared to the huddled soldiers. Leaping on the shoulders of the soldiers, on to the backs of the spiders, the Priestess made her way up the giant queen spider’s leg. Tears continued to flow from her eyes as the mother spared no mercy for humanity or its despair. Ruthlessly swiping and stomping the remaining resistances into corpses or food for her children.
“May you find peace in the afterlife…” The Priestess prayed on top of the mother’s head.
As the queen reared for a stomp that would slaughter another group of soldiers fighting valiantly just to stay alive, the devout follower saw her chance. She plunged the handle of her flail straight down through the insectoid eye before her. But no, she wasn’t done. As the queen let out an ear-deafening screech, the nun leaped inside her eye, flailing her way through innards, organs, and fluids. She didn’t stop swinging until the strength in her arms fell and she could no longer move. Even when the shaking, screaming, other distractions stopped. She continued until eventually she could no longer keep her eyelids from falling.
“I have fulfilled my duty… Are you proud of me, my Lord?” She questioned.
Silence was her only answer as everything went dark. Not even she could tell how long she had been fighting for. Did she feel satisfaction or relief for what she managed to accomplish in her first fight? No. Because the devoted believer knew that she had many many many more creatures to slaughter if Humanity wanted to survive in this Hundred Race War. Oh as darkness took her, she silently wept for the oh so many souls that would soon join her Lord. And the fact that she personally would be the one to do it…
“I found her! Here she is! Humanity’s Savior!” A soldier shouted as he dragged the unknown soldier out of the Queen Spider’s corpse.