Now, Northern Philippines
A cloudless night sky was an advantage as far as Sgt. Butcher was concerned. Her ranger squad didn’t have night vision like the aswangs, if Ginessa could be believed. For her part, the sergeant wasn’t too sure about trusting the word of another aswang, even if she did a great job looking like a poor, abused, doe-eyed princess.
Still, Cal had vouched for Ginessa.
And whatever power Rayna’s brother had, the sergeant was willing to stake the lives of her squad and her own on it.
13th Squad moved through the thick forest in total silence thanks to a spell from their newest addition.
The young man, Fin, was creepy as shit, but he had spells no one else did.
Nothing bothered them as they followed Ginessa’s directions.
No mutated animals.
No monsters.
Just like Cal had promised.
It was almost a nice, peaceful hike.
Sure, it was through a dark rainforest without the benefit of maintained trails and their ultimate destination was a village of bloodsuckers and flesh eaters.
In the middle of wilderness, no less.
Like something out of a horror story.
Sergeant Butcher wasn’t fooled by the silence and the ease of their approach. She was on high alert, as was her squad.
They knew that any competent group would surely have sentries and patrols ranging the outer perimeter of their settlement.
Ginessa wasn’t much help on that account. All the girl had known was that winged aswangs constantly flew in and out of the village at night time. Some came back with nothing, while others brought… prey.
A shudder ran up the sergeant’s back.
She signaled a halt with a gesture.
Something in her gut worried her.
She missed One-eye.
The Rogue had been the only member of 13th Squad with Danger Sense. Her loss against that twisted cult mage hurt them all in many ways.
Sgt. Butcher tapped Fin on the shoulder and mimed zipping her lips.
“Yeah, my spell is in effect. No sounds are getting out beyond a ten foot radius from me,” Fin said.
“Kid, that may be true, but you’re still being too loud as fuck for my tastes. Creepy ass jungle,” Mouthy spat.
“Bet you’d just love something like that… an ass jungle,” Chains smirked and took a puff from her ever-present pipe.
“Can’t put that past a post-spires world,” Hardhat said.
Sgt. Butcher let her squad debate the issue. They were nervous and the banter was a good distraction. She didn’t want the nerves to turn into fear. She beckoned Smores over. “You’re my best Mage. Are you sensing anything? These aswangs are supposed to be inherently magical.”
“Nothing yet. I mean that Ginessa girl did give off a magical feeling,” Smores said.
“I’ll bet she did… right where the sun don’t shine,” Two-toes snickered.
“I’m convinced the attraction had its basis in some kind of consistent low-level magical effect. Like a charm aura or something along those lines,” Smores reddened.
“Ain’t nothing to be ashamed off me and Aims got the same whammy and we only saw her from a distance,” Catscratch said.
“Shit, same here and I’m not into chicks,” Mouthy said.
A glare from Sgt. Butcher had the rest of the rangers returning to their previous discussion.
“Sorry, sarge,” Smores shrugged, “I’m not sensing any magic aside from him,” he regarded Fin with barely disguised suspicion, “and his magic is… odd. Maybe it’s causing some kind of interference.”
“It’s a Silence spell,” Fin bristled.
“I could try walking ahead. Out of the area of effect,” Smores volunteered.
Though the sergeant knew the look in the young man’s eyes said that was the last thing he wanted to do.
“Too risky. We know where we’re going. We’ll just have to continue. Listen up,” she raised her voice, “my gut’s doing flips and spins. Tells me we’re about to step in the shit if we haven’t already. Be ready for anything.”
The joking rangers sobered immediately and with grim-faced nods they continued onward to a monstrous village that they somehow knew exactly how to reach.
They had barely gone a few hundred yards when they spotted a flash of white fluttering through the trees ahead.
“Looked like a sheet or a dress,” Aims said.
Sgt. Butcher trusted his eyes. “Get ready. Catscratch, I want a taunt as soon as whatever that thing attacks.”
The rangers formed up.
Fighters on the outside, surrounding the mages and ranged.
“This salt shit better work,” Mouthy muttered as she plunged her free hand into the pouch at her belt.
“It’ll work!” Hardhat hissed.
“I’d feel better if we had tried it on that prissy bitch!” Mouthy snapped back.
“They need to be in their transformed state for the salt to truly work. Therefore, only at night time,” Smores said. “Testing it on Ginessa in her human form during the day wouldn’t have yielded definitive results, which would’ve only made you more skeptical.”
An inhuman scream cut through the dark rainforest.
“Above!” Fin roared.
The young man raised his hands and a bright ball of flame shot up.
The light illuminated a new kind of nightmare. Something, someone, that looked more terrifying than any of the monsters they had fought before.
A woman’s face.
An over-sized mouth filled with knife-like teeth.
A long, sinuous tongue that lashed wildly about.
Razor-edge wings.
Long, clawed fingers.
Those were all terrifying enough.
It was what was missing that truly brought the bile rising up from the rangers’ guts.
Everything below the aswang’s waist was missing.
Intestines trailed behind her like bloody ropes as she swooped down.
Fin’s fireball, though it missed, saved them.
The aswang was forced to divert and fly back up above the trees.
“It’s an Aswang: Manananggal!” Sgt. Butcher snapped. She stifled a curse. According to the intel that Class was one of the stronger ones. Just their luck to run into one. “Fin, save your magic to counter its curses!”
“Yes, sergeant,” Fin said.
“Chains, get us some cover!”
“Right away.” Chains took a deep pull on her pipe. The smoke that she exhaled billowed out around the tightly-packed squad. More smoke came out of her mouth than she could’ve possibly inhaled. The rangers were quickly engulfed in a light haze. “I did my best to confuse that thing, but I can’t guarantee if it’ll work considering its magical nature and power level compared to my own.”
“Should’ve fucking leveled up more,” Mouthy muttered.
“Two-toes, I want light orbs there, there and there,” Sgt. Butcher pointed, “concealment doesn’t matter now. The aswang can see in the dark, let’s take that advantage away.”
“Darkvision,” Smores said.
“It’s called nightvision you limp-dicked nerd!” Mouthy snapped.
“I suppose I can ask Ginessa,” Smores said blandly. “She’d know.”
Another screech.
A mighty gust of wind a few feet off to one side.
The sound of something slicing through wood.
Catscratch cursed.
Followed by a loud bang.
“I missed,” Aims said flatly.
“Catscratch! Report!”
“Aye, sarge. The monster’s wing sliced through the top part of my shield.”
“It seems that Chains’ smoke is confusing it,” Smores said.
“I’m making us appear to be several feet away from our actual positions,” Chains said.
“Maybe don’t tell the scary monster chick that, yeah?” Hardhat tried to keep her grip on her shotgun relaxed, but was struggling. The humidity of the rainforest already made her hands slick with sweat. The terror wasn’t helping.
“Won’t matter. Our voices are also coming from the wrong spots,” Chains said.
“Next time it comes around taunt it, ‘scratch!” Sgt. Butcher said. “Then we hit it with the salt.”
“Aye, aye,” Catscratch gave his much smaller shield a dubious look.
Once again a screech heralded the aswang’s attack.
“Here,” Catscratch said. “Oh, fuck!”
The aswang swooped down on Catscratch, claws stretched out, tongue stabbing.
“Block!”
Catscratch’s shield intercepted the sharp tongue with near perfection despite being out of position a moment earlier.
“Severing Chop!”
The big man’s axe partially cleaved through the tongue.
“Help!”
The aswang slammed into Catscratch and knocked him to the ground.
She clawed and bit at him. Cutting through steel mail and nearly through his chest plate.
“Piercing Shot,” Aims said.
Two antique revolvers barked.
Two bloody holes appeared in the aswang.
One in her temple and one in her chest.
They forced her off Catscratch and slowed her down… for a moment.
The bullet holes began to close.
“Fuck balls! That dogshit about them having regen was legit!” Mouthy gaped.
“Hit her with the salt!” Sgt. Butcher barked.
Three nearly simultaneous shotgun blasts peppered the aswang.
The effect was instantaneous and telling.
She screeched in pain.
The small holes in her torso, face and wings didn’t close up this time.
Hardhat, Two-toes and Smores pumped their shotguns and fired again.
“Confirmation. Unprocessed salt bypasses their magically-enhanced durability and healing capability,” Smores said.
Sgt. Butcher gave a silent thanks to the R&D person that suggested modifying shotgun shells to fire small bits of rock salt. The range was limited, but it worked on the aswang and that’s all that mattered. It was a good thing that the Norcal people brought a few with the Gunsmith Class.
“Don’t let her escape!” Sgt. Butcher ordered.
The aswang tried to take to the sky, but Mouthy dived forward and grabbed her entrails.
“Oh fuck! This is the worst!”
Blood drenched the ranger.
“Take this, you ugly bitch!” Mouthy grabbed a handful of salt from her belt pouch and shoved it into the open wound at the bottom of the aswang’s torso.
The subsequent scream tore through the night air.
“Ice Dart,” Smores said.
The magical projectile trailed mist as it lanced through the air to embed itself in the aswang’s chest.
“Magical attacks are confirmed,” Smores said.
“Magic Missile!”
Five glowing orbs from Two-toes outstretched hand seared themselves into the aswang.
“It’s still not going down?” Aims said. “Should I try again, sarge? I don’t want to waste my ammo or Skills.”
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Sgt. Butcher watched the aswang as she attempted to fly away.
Catscratch had joined Mouthy in a messy and obscene tug of war as they kept the aswang from fleeing by holding on to her intestines.
“Can’t waste the salt rounds,” Sgt. Butcher muttered. She regarded Fin for a moment. “You got something you can do to get her back to the ground and keep her there?”
Fin considered it. “I can try.”
The slight, young man made an intricate gesture with his hands in front of his chest. The area framed by the action distorted for a split-second. Those with enhanced vision would’ve noticed that there was a brief flash of light beneath his armor and clothing.
Ghostly ropes suddenly shot out of the ground underneath the aswang.
Her sharp wings couldn’t cut them. Supernatural strength couldn’t break her free.
“Blood Strength!” the aswang suddenly bellowed in a guttural voice.
Fin cried out.
His conjured ropes began to strain as the aswang strength increased.
“Just hold on for a few seconds longer,” Smores’ voice was strained as he held both hands toward the aswang.
“Can’t,” Fin whispered.
“Some help you assholes!” Mouthy roared.
Aims fired his revolvers two-fisted with humanly impossible speed. “Damn… useless. Need magic bullets,” he spat.
He had targeted the wings’ joints that connected them to the aswang’s back with minimal effect.
Hardhat and Two-toes joined the intestine line, but the aswang continued to pull away, stretching the various ropes tethering her to the ground to their limits.
“Done. Ice Wall,” Smores exhaled.
A large wall of ice coalesced above the aswang.
What seemed like hours passed before it finally finished forming.
It immediately crushed the aswang to the ground.
The rangers abandoned their tug of war and scrambled back.
“That won’t last long,” Smores huffed.
“It’s okay. I think its spell or Skill ran out. It’s not as strong as before. I can hold it,” Fin whispered.
Sgt. Butcher regarded the young man. “Sit down before you fall over.”
“Yes, sergeant,” Fin complied.
“How do we kill it without wasting all our salt rounds? There’s still a village full of these things we’ve got to clear,” Hardhat said.
“Find her lower half out there and salt it. She won’t be able to rejoin it. The sun will kill her then,” Two-toes ventured.
“Dumbass, that won’t stop it from tearing us to pieces and sucking up all our blood,” Mouthy said.
“Decapitation,” Sgt. Butcher said.
A minute later Catscratch did the honors.
It worked.
“Too much effort to kill just one,” Chains said.
“So… was anyone else totally surprised that she could talk… I mean like people?” Hardhat said flatly.
“It makes sense. They’re people, just have a… unique Class structure. Quite interesting really, I’ve talked to the Norcal people and they described something similar in terms of physiological changes in their enemies,” Smores said.
“Everyone’s got shitty cult problems,” Mouthy shook her head.
“Let’s keep going. This fight will only draw attention,” Sgt. Butcher said.
As if to mock her, several loud screeches filled the night.
A rush of wind swept over them.
Someone’s screams quickly grew faint in the distance.
“To My Teammate’s Side!” Catscratch bellowed.
One moment he was standing with his feet firmly on the ground. The next he was sitting astride another Aswang: Manananggal as it flew toward the rainforest canopy with its tongue firmly wrapped around Chains’ small waist.
“Power Strike!” he buried his axe in the back of the aswang’s head.
Alas, this one was more powerful than the first.
The axe cut skin, but bounced off the skull.
The Aswang rolled and Catscratch found himself falling to the forest floor.
He scrambled up, but all he felt was the wind as the aswang’s razor-edge wing lightly kissed his unarmored throat.
All he could do was clamp a hand around the gushing wound as he listened to Chains’ screams dwindling in the darkness.
Catscratch realized that he didn’t have much time, so he triggered a Skill to give him enough to get back to the rest of the squad.
Rayna’s Rangers, 13th Squad, were surrounded.
Small, humanoid shapes were in the trees all around them.
Seemingly dozens.
Bat-like wings fanned menacingly, while vaguely bat-like faces grinned with ghastly, fang-filled mouths.
“Aswang: Berbalang. Weaker than the manananggal we killed. Leans to the magical more than the physical, but still dangerous with their claws, teeth. More quick than physically strong, but still stronger than our mage-type classes. They can displace their spirits to possess weaker creatures. They’re strongest ability is their illusion magic,” Smores said. “Only half of what we’re seeing is real.”
“I can fix that,” Fin said as he rose to his feet with renewed vigor.
“Sarge, I can’t see any signs of Chains and Catscratch,” Aims said. “That manananggal took Chains and Catscratch followed.”
“Can’t do anything for them if we can’t kill these bastards,” Sgt. Butcher said. “Do it, Fin!” she raised her voice. “13th Squad! We aren’t dying in a godforsaken forest thousands of miles away from home!”
The rangers roared.
“Dispel Illusion,” Fin said.
Hell broke lose.
----------------------------------------
Uncertainty warred with eagerness within Ramon.
The latter always came when the time to take blood and feast drew near. The former was because he couldn’t feel the Elder’s reassuring presence.
It had never been like that before.
Whenever powerful monsters had attacked the village the Elder was always there in their hearts and minds. He linked the entire family together to battle almost as one.
Now, although he stood next to his brothers and sisters on the wall, he felt as far away from them as if they were on the other side of the village.
They still didn’t know what manner of attack they faced.
They could easily hear the screeches of their perimeter guardians and scouts.
Manananggal and berbalang fought and, from the sounds of it, died beyond the village wall.
What sort of terrible foe bore down on them?
Hunger and fear mingled within Ramon.
Something… something was wrong.
He could almost feel the Elder, yet it was almost as if an invisible wall had separated them.
A glance at his brothers and sisters told him that he wasn’t the only one struggling.
The palms of his hands were sweaty on the old machine gun. The magazine was only partially filled and he longed to cast it aside along with his human form to take his true one, but Mr. Justino’s orders were clear.
Empty your weapon before changing. With accuracy and luck you’ll kill an enemy or two with bullets. Allowing you to conserve your strength for when you needed it.
They were a small village surrounded by incessant dangers. It took squeezing every advantage out of their great abilities to survive.
“What’re we fighting?” the woman next to Ramon said.
“Why isn’t the Elder telling us?” the man on his other side said.
“Something new, something strong,” Ramon replied.
A strange sound reached them.
They exchanged confused glances.
Pop-pop-pop.
Familiar.
“Gunfire?” Ramon said.
“People from the city?” the woman said.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” the man scoffed, “they’d never make it through the forests. The monsters and animals would eat them alive before we’d even get our chance.”
“That doesn’t sound like guns to you!” the woman snapped.
More of the same sounds drifted in on the soft breeze.
Closer this time.
Then a jarring explosion that briefly lit up the night.
Every head on the wall turned away in pain.
Their nightvision had been seared white.
It took several seconds for Ramon and the rest to blink away the bright, white spots dancing in their eyes.
A brief moment that felt like an eternity.
The Elder had turned them into predators and they didn’t like feeling vulnerable. Especially in their lair.
“That was a spell, I can feel it,” the woman said. “It’s people.”
“No, stupid woman. Some monsters can use magic too. Remember those fire diwata that almost burned us down?” the man said.
“Ay, you’re stupid. Did the diwata use guns too?” the woman shook her head.
“Quiet!” Ramon barked.
He felt— something.
The man next to him screamed and sprayed his machine gun into the trees and bushes several hundred yards away at the edge of the cleared ground around the village.
The clicking of the empty chamber stood out in the stark silence that followed.
Ramon ripped the now useless weapon from the idiot.
“You are stupid! What the hell was that?”
“I— I— I— I thought I saw it…”
“What?” the woman said.
“Death,” the man whispered.
“There is no death here, but us,” Ramon scoffed. Deep down, he wasn’t so sure anymore.
As if to give him an answers several shadowy shapes shot up out of the tree canopy and high into the sky.
Ramon recognized their fliers, manananggal and berbalang.
They were headed straight for the village.
And there were less than he knew there should’ve been.
Ramon saw movement just within the tree line.
He aimed and squeezed the trigger just like Mr. Justino had taught.
Others had seen the same thing and joined him.
The bullets sparked off glowing magical shields that suddenly sprang to life.
“People?” Ramon could see them with his night vision. Shadowy figures standing and moving behind their magic shields.
A flash of light lanced out of the tree line.
This one made the earlier explosion look like a match flame.
A huge section of the wall was blown apart.
Along with several members of the family standing on top.
It was as if lightning had come down from the sky to strike them down.
The shock wave knocked Ramon and the others off the wall.
As he tried to clear his vision once again, he wondered if Kidlat, the god of lighting, had decided to wipe out their village.
Fear filled Ramon.
But fear touched the same part of the mind that led one to fight.
He began to transform.
His body grew taller, his limbs lengthened. His fingers grew hooked claws. His tongue grew long and thick, pointed. Teeth sharp like a tiger’s. Mouth large enough to bite a man’s head off.
What started as an average-looking man, became an almost 8-foot-tall monstrosity.
Fear filled Ramon, but he was in his Aswang: Balbal form now.
His truth.
And he could smell them out there in the tree line.
Gods didn’t smell of sweat, of blood and flesh.
Sweet, tasty flesh.
People.
They dared to attack his home. His family.
He’d make them pay.
His roar was answered by dozens.
Brothers and sisters.
They abandoned the wall and charged as one.
Loping strides covered ground frighteningly quick.
Still, there was a lot of it to cover.
Gunfire erupted.
But they were aswangs and they had drank and eaten their fill before the fight.
The wounds healed quickly.
Spells struck with more effect.
Balls of flame and bolts of pink light felled several of Ramon’s kin.
He roared with rage. He would slay a dozen for each family member slain.
He could here the people’s words. Mewling and filled with fear.
“Oh shit! They weren’t supposed to go all Braveheart on us!”
“Jake! Quit complaining and hit them with that chain lightning!”
“I just blew a huge hole in their wall with the mother of all shock spells! Zeus himself couldn’t have throw a bigger bolt! I need time!”
Ramon could taste their fear.
The aswangs had that effect on people.
The prey knew when the predators had their scent.
It was only natural that they’d flee.
“Watch Captain, they’re almost on us!”
The high-pitched voice was like a dinner bell to Ramon’s ears. It spurred him on even faster.
“Should we run?”
“Let’s get out of here!”
“Cal! Cal! Help us!”
“Stand Your Ground… and fight!” A stronger voice this time. “This is what we are here for! This is what will make us stronger! This is where we no longer fear the monsters!”
To Ramon’s surprise the people firmed. The fear was still there, but he could no longer taste it at the forefront.
“Pull the mages back and get that wall to the front!”
Ramon saw the glowing mage shields disappear and the tasty, tasty people beat a hasty retreat at the same time that a line of other people stepped forward.
Ten across, two ranks deep.
Each man and woman armed with a large, rectangular shield and a steel-tipped spear.
Ramon’s laugh was a guttural thing.
They thought that a bunch of pointy sticks was going to stop them.
A stern-faced man stood at the rear of the formation.
“Prepare to take the charge!” he barked.
The line drew closer together, shields overlapping, spears out like a porcupine.
Ramon had eaten one once. It had been passable.
He knew these people would taste much better.
“Brace!”
The first of Ramon’s kin hit the line of spears.
To his surprise the people were barely moved. Their spears didn’t snap and their shields didn’t splinter.
Sharp steel penetrated deep into balbal bodies unintentionally aided by momentum.
“Reflect Charge!”
The balbal roared with pain as their bodies suddenly suffered greater injury.
What did it matter?
They’d heal it all soon enough.
Ramon laughed.
Stupid people.
“Now, Trevor!”
“Got it, Watch Captain.”
Ramon watched something small fly from behind the wall of spears.
It glinted in the magic lights the people had conjured in the trees.
Glass.
He realized it was a glass container.
One after another, more flew. Enough to cover the entire balbal line in front of the spears.
“Hit them!”
Gunfire and spells erupted from the back lines, shattering each container and showering the balbal with… sand?
His family screamed with pain at wounds that wouldn’t heal.
Ramon realized what that substance was.
Salt.
Spears thrust into Ramon’s family.
Several died.
“Noooo!” he roared.
Not fair.
Cheating people.
Always persecuting them.
Still.
The salt made them vulnerable. It didn’t make them any less dangerous.
They threw themselves into the spear wall.
Sheer weight and mass finally caused it to buckle as the Skills that had strengthened it ran out.
“Rapid Disengage,” the stern-faced man barked.
But the damage was done.
Fully half the front rank was food for the balbal.
The lines steadily retreated as the balbal stopped to join the feeding frenzy.
“Jesus Christ!”
“Damn it, Jake! Now would be the perfect time for that spell.”
“Okay, Demi! Jeez, I thought I’d get a break from being yelled at all the time.”
Ramon watched the big, for a normal human, man pull out a tablet.
The man pointed it at the tightly packed group of feeding balbal and tapped the screen.
A bright arc of lightning raced across the darkness.
It hit the closest balbal then bounced to another and another and another.
Ramon lost count at seven.
The first four dropped to the ground, charred and smoking.
Ramon circled to the left around a thick cluster of trees. That mage had conjured the lightning that had blown a hole in the village wall. The man had to die.
The dense rainforest was Ramon’s home.
Despite his size he could stalk prey like a jungle cat.
These people were foreigners.
He was certain that they didn’t know the environment.
The mage wouldn’t see him until it was too late.
After that he’d take out their woman leader.
He’d teach them for attacking his home and hurting his family.