Death hung in the air as sixteen brave souls passed through the village outside of Volknest; Seven mercs not counting Chilse and John, four men from Rivera, Sera, Cabrin, and Akane. From the distance, they had been able to see the Castle upon a small rocky plateau from which it looked over the inner city which existed around it. Sera looked around at the scene with a mixed look of pity and fear.

All around her, as the light drizzle of rain fell over the smoking remains of burned or collapsed homes, was a scene which told of chaotic violence. A sound echoed ahead of them before a Satyr stepped out into the road. It stood on its two legs along with two of its muscular tentacles while it ate with its remaining limbs. In one was the limp body of a man, missing one arm which was held in the Chimera’s other tentacle, a thick string of meat stretched between the severed limb and the creature's mouth before snapping free. Sera watched in horror as the lifeless villager’s body fell limply to the ground as three mercs took down the monster.

Three more such encounters were met before they arrived at the towering stone wall which surrounded the inner city. Voices gasped as they viewed the shattered remains of the main gate. Something had torn the massive iron gate from its frame, the riveted bars along with the chains and wheel lay in a mangled heap to the side.

“What could have done this?” Akane’s fearful question sent a wave of panic through Sera’s already quaking body. It wasn’t comforting to know that there was a Chimera that the ranger did not know let alone fear.

“Keep your wits about ya.” The grizzled voice of one of the veterans called out. “This ain’t gonna be yer usual patrol through the woods.”

The city in Volknest was much like Rivera, but with buildings that rose taller and bearing a more uniform style. As they traveled cautiously down the street, the air was permeated with the smell of blood which mingled with the distant sounds of fear and death.

A man screamed from somewhere far to the left, a child wept loudly before being suddenly silenced to the right, and all around there was the strange yapping like dogs but with an oddly human sound.

“I’ve never seen a Chimera that sounds like that.” Cabrin said, nervously.

“Spread out.” A veteran called in a harsh whisper. “Take to the alleyways but stay in sight, and be quiet.”

They continued, obeying the veteran’s commands as they moved from one alley to the next, carefully surveying the scene as they went. As Sera moved around a corner, her blood went cold as just down the narrow space between buildings, a Satyr stood unaware of her presence. Sera had been determined to put her training into practice when she made her decision to come here, but she wasn’t prepared for what she would see when she had arrived.

Held in the Chimera’s twisting tentacles was the mangled body of a young girl. Its teeth tore at the lifeless body, strings of flesh stretching and snapping free before being chewed noisily. As they followed her around the corner, Akane and Chilse sprung immediately to attack the creature which was caught off guard in its feasting. Cabrin went to Sera where she stood turned away against the wall, her body shaking as she wretched, her vomit forming a pool at her feet.

Cabrin put a hand on her shoulder. His grip was firm, the look in his eyes was intense. "This is the reality of what we're facing," he said, his voice low and serious. "You chose to come here, Sera. You need to be prepared for this."

“I know.” She whispered, her lip quivered as she spoke. She followed him woodenly after the rest of the group. Her entire body quaked, but it was not for fear that she shook, it was anger.

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As they moved forward, they froze as the strange dog-like yapping grew closer. Looking out toward the street at the far end of the alleyway where they cautiously hid, they saw them.

Creatures with forms bearing the likeness of large, sleek hounds ran past, too fast to see. Their pale, hairless bodies were blurs passing outside of the alley.

“I’ve never seen anything like that.” Cabrin breathed.

“A new form of Chimera.” Akane added. “This is not good.”

As the last of the hellish hounds passed, another figure came into view as it calmly followed them on its four legs. It bore a confident stride holding its outstretched hand ahead of it in silent command for the hounds to give chase, its raven skull-like head fixed in the direction of its prey.

“That, I do know.” Cabrin said with a calm hatred.

Chilse whispered with her own silent edge. “Centaur.”

A blood curdling scream sounded from somewhere down the street as the mysterious new hound-like Chimera gave chase as per their master’s orders.

“Okay.” Cabrin addressed the small group consisting of Sera, Akane, and Chilse.

“Akane, you and I will-.”

“Sera! Wait!” Chilse called out before he could finish his first sentence, but it was too late. Before anyone could react, Sera had bolted straight down the alleyway where she would meet the Chimera around the corner. Her short sword materialized from thin air in her hand as she sprinted towards her target.

The Centaur turned to set its gaze upon her with a bird-like quickness, its hand waved in her direction and the hounds instantly looped back around and bounded toward her. Two of five stopped short and growled with a strange hint of human. Their long eyeless faces snarled and licked at their lips revealing mouths full of teeth while the other three moved into place to surround her.

Sera’s eyes were wide, her jaws clenched as she readied her stance. She was scared, yes, but she wanted them dead, she needed them dead, and despite all her fear she wanted to be the one to make them so. Her body shook as she waited for the attack. In fact, she practically begged for it. She looked back to the Centaur which stood just outside of the encircling pack of hound-kinded Chimera, its outstretched hand remained motionless and open.

“Do it.” She growled uncharacteristically.

The centaur seemed to hesitate for a moment.

“Do it!” Sera screamed.

The monstrous outstretched hand closed, and the hounds attacked.

The first to die did so almost as fast as it charged her, swallowing her blade up to the hilt before spewing blood when it vanished and rematerialized in her hand. The second and third had leapt at her from opposing sides, only to be thrown back as she sent a shockwave around her. Slashing through the air in a wide arch, she willed the invisible force she had practiced to extend the range of her blade, separating the heads from their bodies.

Chilse’s voice rang out through the air in a violent cry as her disk-shaped axe came down on the head of the fourth, and the fifth fountained with blood as Akane rushed past it. Her katana was sheathed again before it even knew she was there.

The nearby Centaur, seeing its pawns so easily dispatched, made off to retreat around the corner. Sera was on it in an instant.

Sprinting as fast as she could, Sera jumped up to straddle its elk-like lower half, wrapping her arms around its wide chest from behind. It bucked and twisted, panicking to fling her from its back. Sera screamed in rage and feeling a presence enveloping her body, she pulled.

A combination of feeling and sound mixed together as she felt something popping between her legs and with that, the Centaur’s legs went limp beneath it. They fell in a heap, Sera and the Centaur. As she picked herself up, the Chimera scrambled to pull itself away from her, even with its spine broken. Its bird-like head faced her in its panic as her blade slowly materialized in her hand. Though it didn’t physically possess eyes, Sera knew that it looked on her in fear.

It felt good to slay the beast as it cowered before her.