“Where is he!” a gladean knight yelled while fighting his way through the chaos.
The wooden cabins of the human district collapsed under the blazing heat of the flames ignited by the demons. Massive crowds of people pushed against each other while fleeing towards the center of the city—where the knight’s district found itself besieged by the specters. People ran and called out for their loved ones among the mob in the crowded streets—the grisly screams of the victims being torn apart by the creatures echoing throughout the entire city.
The young knight crossed the massive iron gate of the knight’s district—now breached by the powerful demons. While carrying his duty to protect humanity, and fighting off the horde, a tall specter—about the same size of a gladean knight (210 cm – 6’9 ft) put an abrupt halt to his advance with a powerful punch to the chin—hurling him away against the floor.
“Ugh!” the young knight stumbled back on his feet—facing the specter with demonic horns arched backwards on its head. Bright crimson veins ran inside the fissures of its muscular exoskeleton, its broad shoulders shaped like bladed pauldrons—following a similar look to its entire body.
“Begone demon!” the knight roared with a valiant sprint¸ slashing at the creature’s head with a vertical swing of his longsword.
A quick motion of the creature’s hand was enough to deflect the knight’s attack however—catapulting his weapon away in a single motion. Giving its opponent no chance to react, the specter seized the knight by the throat and pressed its sharp fingers against it—breaking through the man’s tough skin little by little.
Coughing blood as the demon’s claws pierced his throat, the young knight was saved by a lightning bolt striking the specter’s head from behind—prompting the creature to release him from its grasp and redirect its attention towards the woman dressed in gold.
“You are fighting me now!” Atalanta roared, dressed in a gold and azure tunic with black trousers—her blonde spiky hair kept short. She carried a longsword with a glowing azure blade, holding it in front of her in a defensive stance.
With a quick nod towards the injured knight, Atalanta signaled him to retreat and aid the others in evacuating of the residents. “Come on, show me what you got!” she addressed the intimidating demon.
However, the specter did not respond to her taunts—turning to face the opposite direction and striding away into the chaos of the city. Shocked by the bizarre reaction of her opponent, Atalanta couldn’t allow the creature to join in the devastation of the human district—charging against it herself.
Performing a horizontal swing of her blade, the blonde knight slashed against her opponent’s torso. Her attack was easily deflected however, as the demon shifted its body to block her blade with a strike of its elbow—which caused her arm to forcefully ricochet backwards. Out of balance and with her stance broken, the specter took the opportunity to retaliate against the gladean knight—beating her relentlessly with a combination of punches to the face and torso.
Firmly closing its hand into a fist, the demon sought to finish the fight with a powerful thrust of its arm against Atalanta—its sharp bladed knuckles colliding with the lower part of the knight’s face. The brutal impact of the attack catapulted the blonde knight away, bouncing against the concrete until coming to a stop face down.
“Ugh...” her dirt and blood covered face was enveloped in a sad frown as she struggled to stand back up—her palms pressed on the ground with trembling arms. “What... just happened...” she groaned.
“The exile! It’s the exile!” Atalanta heard the delighted screams of her fellow knights in the distance. Her blurred vision could only make up the silhouette of the demon she faced walking away from her—heading straight for the knight’s district towards the noise.
“He is here...?” she mumbled—forcing herself to stand up once more. through heavy and quivering breaths, Atalanta roared at the demon to seize its attention a second time. “I’m... not done yet!”
Ignoring the piercing sensation running through her body, the blonde knight charged with a thundering battle cry towards the creature. But her efforts were nothing but a nuisance to the demon, responding with a powerful strike of its fist against the knight’s chin—catapulting her away. Before she could fly off further into the distance however, the specter grabbed her by the ankle in mid-air, and slammed her back into the ground—shattering the concrete with her body.
“Aaagh!” Atalanta cried as blood spew from her mouth. “I—” her words were violently interrupted by the specter, who proceeded to stomp her head with its foot.
As her consciousness faded slowly, her blurry vision noticed the demon kneeling on top of her—trashing her face with its fists over and over again. Paralyzed with every brutal strike she endured; the blonde knight felt her senses abandon her one after the other. The screams of the people, the shrilling roars and screeches of the specters, and even the heavy impacts of the demon’s fists clobbering her face—it all went quiet in a flash as her eyes shut closed.
Northern Region of the Deadlands, Cerberus Outpost: 936, April 9th, Monday, 10:30 AM.
“Scott, provide cover to the east!” Claire announced through her earpiece. “Tori, injured officers to the south!” she continued issuing orders, having split the troops to defend the outpost from an unsuspected assault.
A fairly large horde of specters suddenly emerged from within the fog and charged the outpost Bloodhound stationed in—aided by multiple Cerberus units to combat the incoming horde. Using the number advantage in their favor, the specters surrounded the barricaded stronghold while trying to force their way into the facility by sheer pressure. One of the creatures managed to break into the center of the outpost—a common specter of alpha level threat in Cerberus’ database—disrupting the formation and unleashing chaos among the troops.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“They passed through our defenses!” one of the soldiers cried as he resupplied on ammunition.
The demon lunged at him with ravenous intent, pinning the man to the ground. With his back laid in the floor, the solider squirmed to break free from the creature’s grasp—protecting himself by placing his rifle between them. A quivering gasp escaped his lips as he observed his weapon shatter under the demon’s hands, taking away his one and only means of protection.
Raising its arm in the air, the specter brought its claws down against the soldier with ferocious speed. Brimming with fear, the soldier covered his face with his arms and averted his gaze—bracing himself for the impact. The critical blow was unable to connect however, as the man lowered his arms to spot Eric slicing the creature’s arm off—proceeding to plunge his blade into its chest, ending its life.
“Grab a weapon and aid the northern gate, they could use more help there.” The noble instructed before rushing his way into the open field towards the east—where Scott and a small group Cerberus units struggled to maintain a stable perimeter.
On the southern front of the outpost, the young medic of Bloodhound carried an injured woman in her shoulders, keeping her modified taser gun at the ready in case of trouble. Tori kept her attentive eyes on the fog from all directions, exhaling through her mouth to calm her nerves while the ear-piercing sounds of gunfire thundered across the region.
As she continued with steady steps, a specter suddenly leaped at her from within the fog—catching her off guard. Before it could cause any harm however, Gaspard rushed in with a strong palm against the demon’s chin—launching its gaunt exoskeleton body into the scorched earth. Nevertheless, the powerful blow from the butler proved insufficient to put down the raging demon—which continued its furious chase in a quick recovery.
“Now, young lady!” Gaspard prompted.
At the butler’s signal, Tori stretched her arm with the taser gun towards the creature—pulling the trigger from her gun and piercing the monster’s chest with an electrified dart. As the specter convulsed with shocking waves of electricity running through it, Gaspard used the opportunity to retaliate against the staggered foe with a potent blow of his palm to the core—piercing all the way through the exoskeleton and breaking its source of energy.
Tori swallowed dried at the display, releasing a sigh of relief. “Y-you are really strong, Gaspard...” she gazed in awe.
“Thank you for the compliment, young miss.” The butler bowed with a smile. “However, we must continue to provide assistance to the others.”
“Right!”
On the east side of the outpost, Scott kneeled down behind a concrete k-rail barrier—laying his rifle on its surface to keep an eye on the incoming horde. “That’s one...” he said under his breath, spotting a specter about to lunge at a group of officers fighting in the open field.
Positioning his sights in between the creature and the soldiers, Scott kept a firm finger on the weapon’s trigger—inhaling deeply through his nose. As the specter’s knees bend down and its feet pressed against the ground, the young Bloodhound sniper released the air in his lungs through his mouth, and calmly pulled the trigger with steady pressure.
The heavy projectile shot out from the barrel of his rifle, keeping a straight trajectory towards the empty middle between the specter and the officers. The creature initiated its attack just in time however, leaping towards the distracted soldiers and into the bullet’s path—which knocked it out of the air with a powerful blow against its ribs.
Not enough to take it down however, the demon stood back on its feet in a burst of rage—only to be brought back down with a second projectile piercing its chest and destroying its core.
“Phew...” Scott breathed with relief, lifting the handle of his rifle and pulling it to the rear—releasing the shell inside.
“You really took that gamble?” Eric stopped his stride to stand beside the kneeling Scott—his sword ready in hand.
“Hey, didn’t know you were around the neighborhood.” he replied cheerfully. “Can you help me out a little? We could definitely use the assist.”
“I got your back,” the noble smirked. “Just don’t shoot me in the back.” he expressed while sprinting to assist the others.
After loading the next round in his weapon, Scott put a finger on his earpiece for a quick call. “Eric has arrived in my position, lieutenant. How are things in the north?” he reported, patiently waiting for a response that never arrived. “Lieutenant?”
On the north side of the outpost, various Cerberus officers battled the incoming horde—being pushed back little by little by their incessant pressure. Laid on the ground, was a small earpiece with Scott’s voice coming through the speaker.
“Lieutenant? Lieutenant, respond!”
Southern Region of the Deadlands, Near Heildin’s Border: 936, April 9th, Monday, 10:30 AM.
Under King’s orders, Atalanta scouted the Deadlands near Heildin—taking down minor hordes of specters. She strode through the dry and deserted fields on her own, keeping her attentive gaze on the thick red fog. As her stroll continued on with no further conflict in sight, she took a book titled ‘Champion’s Legend vol.3’ from the holster in her hips—proceeding to open it where a red ribbon strip marked her previous page read.
“A few pages won’t hurt,” she smiled to herself.
The Golden Lightning read comfortably as she continued her excursion through the Deadlands. Being a trained gladean knight, Atalanta’s sharp senses remained attentive in her surroundings still—taking rapid glances around and keeping her ears open for any sign of disturbance. A practice that proved useful immediately, having caught the faint sounds of footsteps chasing behind her.
Safeguarding the book back in its holster, Atalanta took the small compressed glaive from her back—expanding her weapon into its polearm form. “Come out,” she demanded to the figure cloaked inside the fog
“Why so serious?” Loki emerged with a lazy stroll—one of his swords in hand. “It’s just me, you know?” he said with a smug grin plastered in his face.
Relaxing her shoulders, the blonde knight turned her back on the knight and continued her patrol. “Are you supposed to be here?” she inquired about the man’s presence.
“Who knows?” he shrugged his shoulders with a lax reply. “Maybe there’s something that needs taken care of... all in the good name of our king and all that.”
Atalanta looked around, her golden mask concealing her puzzled expression. “I’ve been here for hours, and haven’t spotted anything worth reporting yet.” she stopped her advance to face the other knight. “Isn’t you being here a little too much?”
“Well,” Loki chuckled. “There is always more than meets the eye when it comes to the Deadlands.”
The blonde knight tilted her head slightly, “is there something you are not telling me?” she asked with a serious tone.
A group of gladean knights emerged behind Loki from within the fog—their weapons ready in hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell you exactly what’s going to happen.” the knight bared his teeth with a sadistic grin.
END OF CHAPTER