Lovel was waiting in a long, lonely corridor made of grey stone bricks and devoid of windows. Though clean and well-lit, the place felt oppressive to her. She motionlessly stood in front of a black steel door that was at the end of the corridor until it opened and out came Gerard. The grey-haired man closed the door with a somber expression and walked off on his own. Lovel wordlessly followed. For a while, the only sounds that could be heard were their footsteps.
“… You took your time. Did something happen?” [Lovel]
Lovel asked once they put enough distance between them and the door. Gerard lifted up what he was holding in his left hand.
“The parasite in a rock. Legion type.” [Gerard]
He said as he showed her the black stone in the shape of a triangular-based pyramid.
“I asked the treasurer to give me all the details that I was allowed to know. This thing’s worse than everything we heard.” [Gerard]
The tanned-skinned woman intently stared at the object as if hypnotized, but quickly looked away, feeling a sense of dread.
“Then, it’s guaranteed to eliminate all our enemies. Excellent.” [Lovel]
She remarked, continuing the conversation after having cleared her throat and regained her composure.
“Yea, our enemies, our allies, us, EVERYTHING. It sticks a curse that slowly drains and kills whatever it touches, multiplies without pause and can regenerate from any wound.” [Gerard]
“It’s an effective, unstoppable weapon.” [Lovel]
“It’s an unstoppable plague, Lovel. There’s no way to control it. The moment we release this thing, it will keep indiscriminately killing without rest. Doesn’t matter how strong you are. One touch and you’re dead. Doesn’t matter if you crush its head. It’ll grow a new one. Doesn’t matter how many armies you bring. It can go from one to a million in minutes. Doesn’t matter how far you run. It’ll chase you to the end of the world.” [Gerard]
As Gerard spoke, his tone gradually became rougher.
“In the past, it was used to wipe out a powerful group of fighters, which it did, along with a whole city. There were no survivors. Just countless dead bodies that looked like they got done in by a plague. Oh, and did I mention that was AFTER the targets had already been killed?” [Gerard]
“Gerard.” [Lovel]
Hearing a hint of caution from Lovel’s voice, Gerard, realizing he was getting worked up, exhaled deeply to calm down.
“They’re letting us use it to make sure that, win or lose, nothing is left standing in Hossylei Nac.” [Gerard]
“In that case, may I assume it is alright for the creature to spill out and attack the surrounding areas?” [Lovel]
“I was told that it will be contained in the elven lands because their home is protected by some unknown barrier. If worse comes to worse, the Order can stop this monster using the same method they employed in the past.” [Gerard]
“Which is?” [Lovel]
“… They’ll let someone that’s an even bigger monster destroy it.” [Gerard]
Gerard said between gritted teeth.
“… Is… That… So…” [Lovel]
Lovel said with difficulty. She then looked down, deep in thought. The two quietly walked in the desolate corridor. However, the blonde-haired, tanned-skinned woman soon broke the silence.
“I am ready to carry out the First Order’s will, no matter how difficult. But…” [Lovel]
Unable to endure it any longer, she worded her doubts.
“Why are WE being sent?” [Lovel]
“… Because we were the first… To subdue chaos.” [Gerard]
It was the only thing Gerard could say to her question.
“… We were the first…” [Lovel]
And Lovel could only acknowledge it.
----------------------------------------
Silvania sunk her sword into a screeching parasite’s shoulder, but it didn’t react at all. Instead, it caught her right arm and her face. Its nearby copies joined in and tightly grabbed onto her limbs, back and head.
“Guh! Grrrrrraaahh!!” [Silvania]
She felt a searing pain as black marks appeared and crawled on her skin upon contact, like a thousand needles stabbing into her flesh. Even so, the second-in-command didn’t yield and growled like a wounded, but angry animal.
“KILL THEM ALL!!!” [Amazon]
“NO MERC-GYAH!!” [Amazon]
Some of her sisters couldn’t stand their ground and were tackled down by the wave of charging black stone beasts.
“Gah! Let go! Guh! AAAGHHH!!!” [Amazon]
One blue-haired amazon ran her sword through the crown of a parasite’s head and was consequently hugged and afflicted with black marks. She felt an ache like her flesh was being torn off of her bones before getting flung into the dirt. When she tried to get on her feet, more rushed in and brought their fists down on her like hammers.
“JUST DIE!” [Amazon]
A red-haired woman managed to cut off two of the creature’s arms that tried to grab her, but said arms regenerated in moments.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“AGH!” [Amazon]
Furthermore, she was tackled by another that came from the side, followed by a second and third that piled on top of her. The mere contact made her feel like she was being burned alive.
“HAH!” [Amazon]
A blonde-haired warrior fended off the foe in front of her and cut off its head.
“Wha?! Oh shi-!” [Amazon]
However, she was caught unaware from behind by four arms, which made her hallucinate having her limbs chewed up by sharp fangs. She was lifted up and subsequently slammed down. Meanwhile, the enemy she had just decapitated grew a new head.
“Uk…!” [Amazon]
“Gah…!” [Amazon]
“Ugh…” [Amazon]
“…” [Amazon]
“…” [Amazon]
“…” [Amazon]
Six amazons were held up by the neck by a single monster, their feet powerlessly dangling in the air. Black tendrils spread all over their discolored skin like ink splashed on paper. They didn’t have the strength to move or to speak as life gradually seeped out of them.
The battle was like watching ants being washed away by a river. In such a manner, the amazons fell in the few seconds it took for both sides to clash in close-quarter combat. Their superhuman strength obtained through magic did not let them overwhelm the might of the black stone beasts. Perhaps it was in their cruel nature or a logical decision, but the parasites did not outright kill their enemies. Instead, they let them suffer a slow death.
All that they had to do was touch their prey, so they knocked down the golden-eyed warriors and struck them if they tried to attack or escape. Their ability to curse anything they touched was enough to steal their lives. Either way, it was a horrible way to die. The amazons’ bodies grew fatally weak upon physical contact and wracked by pain. They were utterly outnumbered, quickly overrun, and left to waste away in agony.
“(I can’t suck out any energy from them?!)” [Rosaminta]
Rosaminta did not fare well either.
“(These, these things are like…!)” [Rosaminta]
The Gatekeeper was swarmed instantly as many parasites clung to her giant body, spreading black marks all over her. Even as she did her best to sweep them off of her using giant vines, they stubbornly clung to her. Moreover, her vines rapidly rotted away and new black stone beasts emerged from the bodies of their brethren as if to completely cover her. Petals and flakes fell from Rosaminta’s flower-like form as she heavily collapsed.
“Kuh!” [Itham]
Itham also did not stand for long. Though lightning protectively danced around him, the six-armed monsters merely ignored the electrical currents frying them and pushed through with brute force and numbers. His torso was caught by a large, skinny hand with sharp claws and lifted up high. At that moment, while black marks began to form on his body, stretching tendrils over his skin, he saw his daughter. In the distance, standing by Ryner’s side, grabbing onto his arm, Meirith watched on in horror.
“Ah…” [Itham]
Instantly, Itham’s cold, distressed expression relaxed.
“(Good… If you’re there next to him, right within his reach… Then he’ll at least protect you… Definitely…)” [Itham]
He thought as he smiled at his daughter, not wondering when she got there, but relieved that she would be safe.
“(I’m sorry… I’ll be meeting you much sooner than promised, Imareylla.)” [Itham]
Then, he was slammed into the ground and his figure was swallowed within the swarm of parasites.
“NOOOOO!!!” [Meirith]
Meirith screamed sorrowfully and fell to her knees. She held her head with her hands, nearly driven mad by the sensation of pain coming from her father, the amazons and the Gatekeeper. They were all suffering and dying, which she could strongly pick up with her Sense. Similarly, she could feel the Pulse of the black stone beasts. However, she didn’t detect any emotions.
There was only an urge to destroy everything. To her, they were a horrifying black cloud of death that was spreading everywhere with the mission to cover the world. It utterly terrified her. She intuitively knew they couldn’t win, which was why she sought Ryner’s aid. For she could feel it. The Sense that had given her much trouble all her life, was telling her that there was still something hidden about him, that he could turn the situation around.
“RYNER!!! RYNEEER!!!” [Meirith]
The elf screamed miserably, painfully, almost hysterically.
“PLEASE WAKE UP!! HEEELP!! HELP MY FATHER!!! HELP US!!!” [Meirith]
She desperately pleaded to the man who, while standing next to her, was drowning in a sea of sorrows that was dredged up from the past. The pain she could feel from him as he lashed out at the invaders was too much for one person to bear. Surely, he needed time to heal instead of getting thrown into another fight. Unfortunately, time wasn’t on their side. Meirith knew that as she woefully yelled what she instinctively felt was the most compelling word to him.
“FIIIGHT!!!” [Meirith]
And Ryner understood it.
“(Right… There’s no time…)” [Ryner]
He thought quietly, having watched the battle unfold like a scarecrow. His mind that had withdrawn itself began to work rapidly. A sense of distress, anxiety and urgency attacked him.
“(I avenged Mi, but…)” [Ryner]
The High Elder, the amazons and the Gatekeeper needed help. He could not let them die. He did not want to let them die.
“(Of course it’s like this. It’s always like this…)” [Ryner]
So, there was no time to waste.
“(Fight’s not over yet…)” [Ryner]
His right eye glowed golden.
“(It’s never over.)” [Ryner]
Black smoke erupted from his body and instantly covered him from head to toe like a thin veil. It dispersed just as suddenly as it appeared, revealing Ryner’s appearance that had been changed.
“… Ah…!” [Meirith]
Meirith reflexively stopped moving, or at least her body tried to, but she was uncontrollably trembling and a weak voice leaked from her mouth. The aura the black-haired man was giving off had changed completely. It felt oppressive, preventing her from standing up. When she, with great difficulty, turned her head to look at him, she saw a being that resembled a person, a male in his twenties.
However, his black hair was replaced by white feathers. From the right side of his head grew a smooth, black horn that curved sharply with the tip pointing backward. His right eye glowed faintly from the light in his iris which moved about like golden magma. His pupil was a vertical slit like those of animals. His body was clad in black and the edge of the long hem of the overcoat he wore was repeatedly changing state, turning into smoke before taking solid form as cloth.
The elven maiden was left shocked and terrified by the sudden metamorphosis their human guest had underwent. But, more than the physical shape she saw through her eyes, it was what her Sense told her that truly left her astounded. It wasn’t a torrent of emotions. It wasn’t something resembling a will. It was an image, and it exceeded her expectations.
“(… Eh…?)” [Meirith]
Through her Sense, Meirith saw him as a colossal, swirling force of destructive power, shining like light, burning like fire.
“(This is… A giant…?)” [Meirith]
He spanned the horizons, completely blocking her view.
“(A wall…?)” [Meirith]
He reached high into the sky, shooting into the heavens.
“(… A tree…?)” [Meirith]
She then understood why she was scared of him. It was a bit similar and vastly different to a frog being stared down by a snake. She was standing next to a creature whose existence was much bigger and much more dangerous than her own.
To Meirith, the current Ryner appeared as a gargantuan, towering entity that easily overwhelmed the expanding cloud of death that was approaching them.
The unknown, strange being raised his gloved right hand, his arm stretched out in front of him. Without warning, bullets of black smoke rapidly shot out from his clothes and flew straight for the wave of black stone beasts. Mid-flight, each of the clumps of smoke expanded like an exploding grenade. From within the dissipating smoke appeared a man fully covered in black armor like a knight.
The armor was made of intricate plates that gave it a sinister look. Each finger of the gauntlets ended in a sharp claw. The visor that completely hid the face had vertical holes to allow vision and breathing. Two dots glowing blue like eyes shone through. However, no person was inside.
The creatures summoned by the monster were each wielding different types of weapons such as swords, maces, axes or spears. Their numbers continued to increase as each one flew weightlessly, unburdened by gravity. Then, they suddenly accelerated, leaving sound behind and disappearing from Meirith’s sight. The next thing she knew, it was the black stone beasts that were flying through the air.
The disturbing knights had charged head-on into the swarm, and the swarm was getting blown away.