Vermin Tide Quest
Chapter 28
As Luka and Alice walked towards San Ilias, the two noticed that there was a clear increase of security, with several guards organized to patrol the area around the city. One of these patrols saw the two of them, and marched over to Luka and Alice.
"Are you two alright?" one of the guards asked.
"Yes, I'm fine." Luka said. "Why do you ask, did something happen?" it was then that the guards explained that a group of Elves dressed in strange armor, one of whom was a magic user had appeared in the city. The two travelers visibly tensed, recalling how viscous the Elf from the other world was, to the point of attacking her kin on sight. However, strangely enough, the Elves, instead of kidnapping or attacking anyone, made a quick escape through a tavern, finding a secret entrance, and disappeared after leaving the city upon seeing they were outnumbered, mostly leaving the Humans around them untouched. The only injuries that were inflicted were from a guard that rushed the magic using Elf, only to blasted away with a lightening bolt of some kind, and several civilians who were roughly shoved or struck aside when the group huddled around said Elf Wizard.
"After that, the King declared that the guard were to go on alert for any more Monster incursions. So far, other then clear signs they ran north towards where the Haunted Mansion was, there has been no sign of them. Be careful out, and may Ilias' light guide you." the guard said.
"Well, about that, I'm a Hero! The names' Luka." Luka said, puffing out his chest. Alice rolled her eyes slightly, as the guard took a second glance at Luka.
"Wait, as in Luka from Ilias Village?" the guard asked, as the Human boy nodded his head in confusion. "You must come with us then, the King gave us orders to escort you at once to his chamber." with that, the guards formed up around the two, and as they walked through the streets, Luka noted that one of the wells was slightly damaged. People watched the group wearily, as Luka merely looked about the area.
"Is there anywhere else these Elves could have gone to?" he asked.
"Well, there's the Haunted Mansion, which was built near a graveyard where criminals were executed. Other then that, there is the forest past that, and those are the only two places I can imagine them going to. Sorry I can not help with that, but we must take to see the King first." the guard said, smiling sheepishly.
"It's fine really, I just wished I came here sooner..." Luka said, as his voice trailed off. Alice placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, you're doing fine. Remember those people that are wishing you to push onwards to complete your quest." She said, causing Luka to blush slightly. The guards did not comment on this, but the curious looks they gave towards the exchange definitely got them thinking. As they entered the castle, the two were escorted into the audience chamber, which was one of the most lavish and decorated rooms Luka had seen.
The had a red carpet which spanned the room, along with marbled pillars and paintings of Ilias that were hung on the walls. As for the king himself, he was dressed in a robe and crown that looked equal parts regal and religious, which was not afar off from his role. He was also clearly in his 60s at least, with short white hair poking out from under his crown and lined his face, while looking at Luka and Alice with eyes that had a warm, welcoming energy to them.
"Hello there Luka, I'm glad you have made it here safely, with what has been transpiring over the past few days." he said, a weariness in his voice as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Your majesty, is something wrong?" Luka asked.
"No, just the toil and weight of my duty." the Priest-King replied. "So then, to get to the point, are you unbaptized by Ilias?" he asked, catching the two off-guard. Luka grew embarrassed as he responded.
"Yes." he admitted sheepishly, afraid of what he would say due to stigma of being unbaptized by the Goddess of Heaven in this society. The King however, smiled lightly.
"It is as she has said then." Luka was visibly confused. "Ilias came to me in a dream and said that an unbaptized Hero was going to defeat the Monster Lord. That, and that he would come from Ilias continent by sea." with that, the King sat down on a chair, gesturing for Luka and Alice to sit with him, while his face grew serious. "Right now, with the reports I am getting, the time is quickly growing upon us. Luka, do you see this sword here?" he asked, gesturing to the weapon he referred to hanging on display.
"Yes?" Luka replied, visibly drawn to it as he seemed to notice something about it. Alice saw it only as a mundane item at first, until she felt that something was warping it, as though the sword was in fact being altered in some manner, yet was not. Luckily however, neither of the Humans noticed as the King continued to speak. Angel Halo however, seemed to notice, as Alice sensed the Light Energy of the Angels it was made from shift and stir.
"This is the Goddess Sword, and was made in Heaven to be a weapon to defeat the Monster Lord herself." Alice rolled her eyes, though she swore that she felt the King glance at her. "Due to its power, capable of making even the vilest of evils tremble, you are not yet ready to wield yet Luka. However, you can become worthy, but first, you must speak with three wise men, and prove to them that you are the one who will wield it for the glory of Ilias. Come back after you have done this, and then the Goddess Sword will be yours."
"Really?" Luka asked. "Just how powerful is this Goddess Sword?"
"It's said to be powerful enough to make even the Heavenly Knights and the Monster Lord kneel if the one chosen by Ilias were to wield it in her name." Alice at that point scoffed. She then approached the Goddess Sword, intent on breaking it.
"Ridiculous. As always, the Goddess of-" she was immediately interrupted mid-speech however, as she suddenly recoiled upon touching the handle. A bright and holy light pulsed out from the Goddess Sword, and sent the disguised Monster Lord flying into the wall with a scream, and a loud crack could be heard as she smacked into it and fell to the floor. Luka and the King were shocked at this, and the got out of their seats to see if she was hurt.
As they inspected the dazed Monster Lord, who held the back of her head as she groaned. A guard burst into the room, drawn by the loud noise.
"What happened to her?!"
"I told you the Goddess Sword is powerful." was all the King said to Alice, noticing that she was miraculously unhurt, save for the headache she was feeling and turned to the guard. "Everything is alright. We just had an incident with the Goddess Sword." he explained. With that, the guard nodded his head, then left.
"What was that?"
"That is what happens when the Goddess Sword deems you unworthy, or finds your heart wanting." the San Ilias King said, his voice taking an oddly cold tone. Luka and Alice tensed up at that, as they felt him gazing at her. "Even so, it has never been this reactive before... say, miss..."
"Alice."
"Alice, just where were you born? I didn't really question your presence with Luka, assuming he was escorting you to safety, what with the roads becoming more dangerous by the day. You wouldn't happen to be from up north, where the faith in Ilias has grown dim, per chance?" at that, Luka grew nervous, as he did not know what to do in this situation.
"I found her alone while I was in the woods." Luka said, and Alice glanced at him.
Luka, the hell are you doing? She thought, her eyes looking at him with confusion, then anger. Don't you dare...
"Oh? Is that so?" the King asked.
"Well, yes, outside my home town. I didn't know what to do with her, and she also happens to have amnesia, you see." at that, Alice made a sound akin to a combination between a gasp and cough. "She only remembered her name, that this sword here, as evil as it looks, is called Angel Halo. I've taken to using it because so far, it has been more useful for fighting off Monsters then my iron sword." Luka said, showing the Angel Halo, which made the San Ilias King scrunch his nose at seeing it. "But she does not remember where she was born, if she has any family and as such I made the suggestion that she come with me, so that we could look for someone who knew her, or someone who could help find someone who did."
Are you kidding me? There's no way he'll fall for that!
"Oh my, I'm sorry..." the King said, a look of pity crossing his features as Alice stared blankly. "I hope he helps you find your home... and once again, I apologize for my rudeness."
Are you kidding me? She thought, still maintaining the same blank look on her face.
"I can lend my assistance, if you wish." the King offered, once again smiling cheerfully, and his friendly features returned to normal.
"No, it is fine. But thank you anyways, my liege." Luka said, bowing respectfully on one knee to the king. "However, if there is anything you or the people of this city needs, I'll see what I can do." with that, the San Ilias King nodded thoughtfully.
"We have been getting reports of activity where the Haunted Manor was. So far, it was reported by our magicians that something has transpired there. At the time it happened, we were occupied by a group of Elves my guards no doubt told you about, so it happened as they were in the city. If you are willing to watch over my court mage so they may give me a report of the situation, I'd be most grateful for that." Luka thought about it for a moment, before nodding his head. Alice inwardly groaned, as having people with them meant greater chances for her to be discovered and everything falling apart further.
"Alright, I'll make sure no harm comes upon them." with that, the two left the room, with Alice rubbing at the back of her head. However, she sensed something coming, and stopped, recognizing it as a Skaven. Luka noticed, and turned to speak to her, when she suddenly tackled him and the king.
"Look out!" she yelled, as a glowing green shurikin whizzed over their heads, and was deflected by the Goddess Sword into the roof. A guard who saw what happened ran over, shouting out loud.
*BGM: AT DOOMS GATE, ORIGINAL VERSION*
"Assassin! There is an assassin in the castle!" he screamed, as the civilians began to panic. "Protect the King at once!" suddenly, a rope with a hook shot down for the roof, and stabbed into his ankle. As the man fell over, he was then pulled up screaming, and several slashing sounds later fell back down in several pieces, blood spattering all over a noble woman that had the unfortunate luck of being just behind him when he was pulled up, causing her to screech in fear. Luka paused, turning pale upon seeing how quickly the Human was torn apart by the Skaven assassin. A group of archers, seeing this pulled their bows and aimed high, before loosing a volley in the general area.
For a brief moment, the Skaven in question could be seen as it jumped off, then swung through the air using the rope like a repelling line towards the archers. It was like the other ones that leap about back in Happiness Village, but clearly better trained and equipped, as it sailed in the air, and threw an object at them. When it struck the ground, a smoke cloud was created, and it could be seen drawing a sword just before it went in. Several screams of pain and terror could be heard, as one of the archers tried to run out of the cloud, only for a dagger to hit him in the back. The man cried out in pain, and fell over on the ground as another hit his knee. Luka ran forwards, as Alice cried out.
"Wait!" Luka then stopped, as a second Skaven leapt at him from the air, and landed in front of him as it swung at thin air.
"Shit-shit!" it shouted, and tried to run, only to be slashed in the back with Angel Halo. The Rat Man yelped as it grasped at where the sword went into its body, and fell forwards as it was sealed, and Luka blocked it up to blocked another shurikin from the first one. As the sealed Skaven scurried away in terror, a third came down, stabbing it in the back with one of the more familiar clawed weapons that Luka was used to.
"What the hell?!" he shouted.
"Weak-weakling Skaven are not tolerated, especially when beat-beaten by a Man-Thing like you!" it spat in reply, before charging at him, claw bared and sword drawn. One of the castle guard ran at from an angle, and tried to intercept it.
"NO! DON'T!" Luka yelled, but was too late as the first assassin suddenly appeared, decapitating him with a single swing of his sword. Hissing, it then ran towards him, following the other Skaven as Luka dodged the leaping creature. Luka was able to parry the vertical swing it made, and the Skaven assassin did a back-flip as he tried to exploit the opening he made, using the force of his defensive maneuver to fly away from him. Luka then cried out as he felt something stab his leg, and turned to see the second Skaven used the opportunity to throw another one of its daggers, hitting him in the thigh. "Ah! Bastard!" he shouted in anger.
However, he sensed something coming, and ducked just in time to avoid another slash from the Skaven that back flipped away from him, and found himself caught in between them. Luka then side swiped the ground with leg, turning in place and tripping one of them, while the other jumped back. The one that Luka tripped managed to catch its balance, and tried to stab him as the assassin rat pushed itself up. The Human then side-stepped, deflecting the sword it used towards the Skaven assassins' partner, who stopped and ducked away from the blade. With it recoiling from the parry, Luka swung at it, only for the Skaven assassin to drop on to its back, using it tail to spring back up as they both began to release a flurry of attacks.
By Ilias! These ones must be elites, or at least more experienced Skaven! He realized while trying to block their attacks, and turned to see that Alice and the King were being ignored after the assassin back ed away, despite them being escorted away from the immediate fighting area by a dozen or so guards. While he snapped back to look back at the assassin, he then was stabbed in the shoulder by one of the swords, followed by a kick to the stomach that nearly sent him collapsing onto the ground. They're more coordinated, and are targeting me, not the King!
Alice suddenly shoved herself into the arms of one of the Guards as the two assassins looked in their direction. Keep up her disguise, she pretended to be overpowered, as she closed her eyes. "Luka!" she screamed out, getting his attention.
"Lady, are you crazy? Those thing will rip you apart!"
"Somebody help that boy! They are going to kill him!"
"With what, these creatures just tore through everyone that intervened! We have to get the King and nobles to safety while we can!" One of the assassin barked out something in their chittering and high-pitched language, and his partner broke away from the fight to run after the King and his entourage, though Alice realized it was looking at her specifically.
"Too late! They saw us, and one is coming this way!" Before Luka covered his eyes, Alice opened them, and them made a white glow that was faint enough to not be seen, since everyone else was focused on the Skaven running towards them. The Skaven however, seemed to guess what she was doing, and closed their eyes just before she opened hers.
[Alice casts Eyes of Hypnosis!] Lukas' eyes proceeded to go blank, and when the Skaven assassin he was fighting noticed him going limp, the Rat Man tried to leap at him, only for Luka to almost dance aside while dodging with a much faster speed that belied his small frame. The Skaven snarled and screamed in rage, which soon turned to panic as it noticed that Luka was also attacking faster and faster. Meanwhile, the Skaven assassin that tried to attack Alice saw this, and stared in visible confusion, allowing several archers to loose their arrows into its back. Squealing, the Skaven assassin turned around to look at them, grabbing onto the hunched back it had as its beady red eyes were filled with hate. A second volley was released, but this time the assassin proceed to deflect or cut them in mid-air, leaving a number of broken shafts at its feet. The Skaven proceeded to attack, screaming in rage as it jumped up into the air and dived towards them.
However, someone chanted out something, and the Skaven could only widen its eyes in shock and horror as a spike of ice was at it, impaling the assassin into the wall, as Luka was suddenly awakened as Alice quickly removed the effects before anyone noticed. While the spike in question was small, and not cleanly formed, it enough to collapse a lung at least, as well as pin the Skaven, who cried out in pain and anger. Its partner saw this, and turned to see who the new attacker was, and noticed that it was a man in a typical green fantasy wizards' robe, complete with black pointy hat, orange cape and a wooden staff, now covered in ice. Squealing in terror, the Skaven tried to run, much to the shock of those still watching the fight between it and Luka. However, Luka was able to Angel Halo once more, and slashed it, sealing the squealing Rat Man before it could get away. As it ran, Luka proceeded to chase after the Skaven, grabbing and then lifting by the tail. It then start to chitter and squeak, whilst the mage in question, who was revealed to be a woman with blonde hair and pink eyes walked to him.
"Oh, hello there. Nice to meet ya!" she said with a cheerfulness that ignored the devastation around it. "I'm Alicetroema, a traveling Mage and currently employed by the San Ilias King to help deal with these Rat Men. What's your name?" Luka back at the impaled assassin Skaven, then back at the Mage, not noticing the brief glance that was exchanged between her and Alice.
"Oh, um, Luka. I happened to been requested by the King to escort a Mage he wanted to investigate a possibly haunted mansion." Luka explained as the Wizard turned, noticing something.
"Huh, I sense more of the creatures on their way... I suppose we'll have to defend the Castle while we converse. As for the haunted mansion, I'm not the one you're looking for, but was meant to investigate some disappearances." the woman replied, readying herself with another spell as a number of servants were seen running away. "Because we got more incoming of... whatever these Monsters are." Luka then realized Alice and the King were gone, and turned to look for them.
"Alice?! Your Majesty!?" he called out. He was not necessarily concerned that something could happen to them, but more Alice being forced to reveal herself, and causing further panic as a result.
"Hey, don't worry, they'll be fine..." Alicetroema said. "I'm not the only one who answered the call to reinforce the city." she then pulled out a bag, and opened it after casting a fire ball into a cluster of Skaven that were running towards them. "I have a feeling these creatures should be studied, so mind being a dear and putting the rat in here? Don't worry, its enchanted to not let it chew its way out."
**POV SHIFT**
As the King of San Ilias and Alice were dragged away from the immediate fighting, the guards would occasionally run into small groups of random Skaven running through the castle. The Lamia Lord could easily used her magic to just teleport out to make that usually powerful Monster in disguise didn't try anything, but with the fighting becoming intense by the minute between these intruders and the castle guard, Alice was constantly being watched over by the escort. Right now, they were running through the library, which she realized with a shock that more of the Skaven somehow got inside, and paused upon seeing the Humans and Monster Lord burst in while they were grabbing books from the shelves. Upon glancing one, many of them carried sacks which bulged with the ones they had already loaded up on.
"The library! There must be some tome or scroll they want! Stop these Monsters from taking it!" the King yelled. Alice was thinking the same thing, as she ran alongside the guards, joining them as they let out a war cry. Thankfully, none of these Skaven had guards, so they likely thought they were protected by lieu of distraction. Unfortunately for them, Alice sensed they had nothing to protect them, as they pushed and shoved each other in an attempt to get away, shrieking in terror.
"MINE!MINE!MINE!MINE!MINE!MINE!" they all began to squeal as they ran for a tunnel in the center, along with the occasional curse, or cries of "OUT-OUT OF MY WAY-PATH!" and "MY PAPER-THINGS!" while the smell of urine quickly reached her nose, accompanied by conspicuous yellow fluids between squirted onto the ground as they ran away in a tide of vermin and and burlap sacks. Alice was able to cast an ice spell that blocked it off without anyone seeing her channeling her magic, preventing them from escaping. Upon seeing them fall further into chaos and being butchered so easily by the Humans who managed to circle around them Alice began cringing inwardly in disgust.
I don't know what's worse, the fact these pathetic creatures are going to be viewed as my servants, their terrible tactics and coordination compounded with complete and utter cowardice and incompetence, or the fact I can't go all out on these beasts... the Monster Lord thought, as one of the guards staying with the King cried out to.
"Lady, get back here you might get hurt!" he shouted, Alice grabbed a Skaven by the tail as it tried to climb a book shelf, and jerking back with enough force to pull it screaming off it, and kicked it into the ground with an audible crack, then made a stance resembling that of a martial artist. While his concern would be true for a normal Human woman, she was not Human, and the Skaven were uncoordinated and terrified, and thus most were at this point making a pitiful display of themselves of trying to fight some by Human-standards moderately armed and armored soldiers with either swinging their sacks wildly and uncontrollably, leading to many hitting themselves upon missing, or throwing books at them, which only annoyed the Humans more then it did injure them. Some of the Skaven were slightly smarter, choosing to break various object in the room such as chair and table legs to use them as improvised weapons instead, though this comically failed as well.
Next to her a guard looked over at her after smashing a Skaven in the face with the pommel of his sword. "Where did they teach you that martial art, and what style is it?"
"DIE-DIE!" A Skaven yelled, as a book bounced off his attention. As he turned, a suspicious brown substance suddenly hit him in the face. Alice then struck the Skaven in the throat as it leaped to bite his throat, while the guard wiped off the substance with his sleeve in disgust.
"GAH! RETCHED BEAST, I'LL PURGE YOU! FOR ILIAS!" with that, the castle guardsman in arms ran at the offender, who squeaked in terror before he ran it through the stomach. Afterwards, he looked at his soiled sleeve, and cringed. "Urgh, this is going to a pain to wash off..." Alice scanned the room, ignoring the fight entirely, and then noticed one of the Skaven had managed to get out of the fighting, carrying the sack one handed as he climbed for his life. Upon seeing this, she placed a foot under a broken chair leg, and kicked it up high enough to grab it in the air. She was using her free arm to aim, when she heard a scream from behind her, and quickly slapped the Skaven that tried to sneak attack her in the jaw. The Skavens' head jerked to the side, and its lifeless body fell over. She then heard a whistle, and turned to see the guard that was with her.
"Damn, remind me not to piss you off." Alice smiled slightly, then pointed at the Skaven that was climbing the wall. He followed her finger, and stared at it trying desperately to break a glass window in the ceiling to get out by headbutting it. "Huh, think these are Monster rejects or something? They are weak as hell, can't fight for squat, and apparently are dumb as hell." Alice had to mentally restrained herself from immediately disintegrating the Human soldier, instead shrugging in reply.
Calm down Alipheese, you are a traveling gourmet and martial artist in his eyes, and Skaven are not Monsters... with that, she watched as the Skaven trying to escape, now squealing in rage, reared back the sack it was carrying, and swung it at the window. Alice, due to her natural ability to sense magic, then felt something use Light Magic to enchant the window for a split-second before impact, causing the bag to bounce back and hit the Skaven in the torso. Having lost his balance, the Skaven screamed in terror as he fell headfirst onto the ground, and stopped moving. ...refer to exhibit A. Alice then remembered that she and Luka were looking for the Four Animists and their Sources, a book which would give the history of the Four Spirits, including their locations. That, and the fact she had three guardians to fight off any who found, to prevent any potentially dangerous Heroes to use the Spirits to help Ilias exterminate the Monsters. Luka, since he was clearly enamored with spreading peace, was made an exception as a result in her mind, provided he defeated the guardians.
"Hey, are you alright? Your face is red?" Alice snapped to reality, and realized she indeed blushed upon thinking of Luka.
"Aahh... no, no I'm fine." the embarrassed Monster said, her face flushing to its normal coloring.
"Then don't get distracted in battle." Alice was about to point out the guard was doing just that, when he swung and knocked out a Skaven with a reverse hay maker. As he was about to go back into the fray, he noticed something, and his widened. As Alice turned to see what it was, she was surprise with an immediate push that shoved her out of the Humans way, and a kunai stuck into his head, the knife stabbing into one of his eyes, killing the castle guard. Alice turned to see where the attacker threw it from, and saw they weren't there. However, as she looked to see how the San Ilias King was doing and saw he was behind a shield wall which formed around him, she raised the chair leg without looking behind her, and heard a thunk as another kunai embedded itself into the wood. She then whipped her head around, and saw another, fourth assassin rat hissing at her, before rapidly sailing around from book shelf to another as he rushed her.
So they were after me and Luka. They must've learned who I am somehow. Alice thought, pulling the small knife out of the chair leg, and prepared as her would-be assassin charged her.
**POV SHIFT**
As Luka fought one of the Rat Men who was attacking him with a sword it picked up from a dead guard, he pushed while angling Angel Halo, causing the creature to fall forwards as he slashed where its' throat was. Alicetroemea was behind him, and blasting away with wild abandon as she burned down several of the creatures with contemptuous ease while breathing fire out of her mouth. As she did so, several Skaven screamed and recoiled in terror and pain, running around the castle trying to put themselves out as Luka turned to her.
"What are you doing!? Are you trying to burn down the castle?!"
"Oh hush now!" the Wizard cried out, laughing as she side-stepped a Skaven soldier, and whacked it in the head with her staff. "I'm the one thing standing between you and being gang-banged right now by the horde. Besides, the calvary has arrived, so it would be best to get behind me." with that, Luka turned and saw she was making a barrier, and that a group of archers were firing on the Skaven around them, while a number of soldiers blocked off an attempt by the Skaven to strike back. To make sure he did not get hit by any stray arrows, Luka did so, and was surprised as Alicetroemea wrapped around him and kneeled down on one leg while holding her arm up, which allowed her to reduce its size. Luka flinched from how deceptively strong she grabbed onto him, and how fast she had moved, causing him to flashback to his experiences with Alice.
"Gah! Let go of me!" he cried out, struggling in shock and panic. Alicetroemea looked at him in confusion, and seemed to be genuinely confused.
"What's wrong?"
"Can't... breathe!" Luka gasped, as her arm wrapped around his diaphragm.
"Oh! Uh, sorry..." with that, she loosened her grip enough to allow Luka to get out. "I was making us smaller." she explained, pointing to the barrier, and the fighting going on around it. "We should probably get out of here and find the King though."
"INCOMING REINFORCEMENTS!" someone shouted, when an armored Skaven suddenly plowed though the crowd of bodies before it. This was like the armored Skaven, but was bigger, reaching at least to the height of a normal man in size despite his hunched stature, and dual-wielded two swords of clearly non-Skaven design. Worse was the rack on the back of his armor, which had a number of what looked like Human skulls, along with distinctly non-Human ones as well. Behind it, a number of the armored Skaven, with similar dual-wielded weapons as they tore through the castle guard.
"Burn-burn them all-all! Kill-slay for the Horned Rat!" it screamed in rage. The Skaven leader then ran through a soldier as he tried to attack it with an ax with one of the swords, and threw the other at Luka and Alicetroemea. When it bounced off, it snarled in anger, as a glowing green amulet hung around his neck made its presence known. When the Wizard launched a blast of magic energy at it, only for the bolt she casted to be deflect by a personal shield of some kind, and into another Skaven that was unlucky to be hit by it.
"What?!" the woman muttered in shock, as the Skaven raid leader laughed.
"Fool-fool Man-Thing! I, Screech Sword Tail am unstop-stoppable! Your magic will never get through my Warpstone Shield!" with that, he then ran towards the two fighters, laughing insanely, when the Wizard wrapped her arm around Luka again, and teleported the both of them away at the last second into the formation the castle guard were making. Luka then looked at Alicetroemea.
"Why didn't you do that to begin with?" he asked.
"Takes a few moment to charge when it is more then just one person. That, and I can't go as far." the Wizard explained, as the archers loosed another volley at the charging Skaven, and she focused on the leader of the horde of Rat Men, as the arrows were deflected by the amulet and into any unwitting Skaven unlucky enough to be behind him, though the armor of its bodyguards seemed to mostly protect them. Even so, one here or there would drop from an arrow hitting them in the leg, were their companions ran over it as the Skaven screamed, or in the eye and thus died before hitting the ground in a rather grim form of ironic luck. The main casulties from the ranged attack came from the malnourished and terrified slave rats that were being run ahead of them, making a living wall of shields to protect the elite ones. Alicetroemea visibly cringed her nose at the Skaven, disturbed just like Luka and the Humans that saw how brazenly the Skaven were treating their own kind.
"Not even I encouraged such callousness during my reign..." the Wizard muttered to herself, as Luka looked at her, Angel Halo raised up in a ready position.
"What?"
"Nothing, focus on the Rat Men." Alicetroemea said, as she began channeling some form of magic. "I'm going to bust through this shield, but I'll need some time to do it." with that, Luka raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but looked back anyway when the whizzing of arrows followed a shout to loose them by the archer commander.
As the Skaven ranks dropped, more trampled the dead before them, screaming in rage. Suddenly, several beams of light descended down upon them, and blew apart several Skaven just as both sides were about to clash. Before both sides could process what was going on, several shapes zipped in and out of the Skaven army, slashing and cutting down the Rat Men as they tried to figure out what was happening. Screech made a enraged scream.
"No-no! Fight back-back you fool-fools! Kill-stab these Things and stop scurry-scurrying away-way!" he yelled, when one of the newcomers, a women with wings and hair that could only be one of Ilias' famous Valkyries dressed in a suit of armor tried to attack him from behind. Screech spun around, swinging his sword which hit her in the torso, flinging her away back to the Humans, who rallied themselves around her. "No Thing will stab-stab the future ruler of Skavenblight!" he raged, eyes narrowing with hatred. "Especially some Man-Breeder Thing like you!" the Valkyrie in question then got up, and cracked her neck.
"Oh really?" she asked, when an arrow flew down, only to be deflected away by the barrier. "Damn!" she shouted, as the Cupid that loosed it flew off to try and avoid any retaliation that might come from somewhere unseen.
"NO-NO- NONONONONOOO!" the Skaven war leader screamed, practically convulsing with anger, as the entire force of Humans and Valkyrie braced themselve. "YOU'LL ALL DIE-DIE! YOU, THE MAN-THINGS, EVEN THAT SNAKE-BREEDER THING! I'LL KILL-KILL YOU ALL!" With that, he pulled out a dirk made of green stone. "FOR THE HORNED RAT!" he screamed, suddenly stabbing himself in the throat, causing blood to spray out from the wound. The people looking at him flinched, and one of the Skaven that was still alive from the sudden Angel attack cried out.
"The War-Lord! He is about to turn-turn!"
"Run! Flee!" another screamed, as the Skaven began to clamber away, when Screech fell over onto the ground on all fours, and let out an unnatural bellow that echoed throughout the hall. Alice then ran over to the group of Humans and Angels, covered in blood and carrying a book under her arm.
*BGM ENDS*
"Alright, what's going on... what did I miss" she asked, looking at the Valkyrie and her Angel subordinates, as a slight tension filled the air. While the War Lord howled while his armor began to split, the Valkyrie stepped forwards, while Luka started to sweat nervously.
"Well, we have determined these Rat Men are not from our world, and decided to intervene. Since we have learned they are not Monsters, we have been going about targeting particular areas that are likely hot zones for Skaven activity, and purging them, preferably without the Monster Lord noticing, since we would prefer not to have any... miscomunications to happen." the Valkyrie said. "By the by, we should likely discuss this later." the Angel added, pointing her sword at Screech when the sound of ripping flesh was heard. "BY ILIAS! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"
"What's what- OH BY THE CROWN! MY EYES!" a guard that was looking at them said upon seeing Screech. He had turned into some form of mutant beast, which caused the entire group to recoil in disgust at its horrific form. With gangly limbs which pulsated and shift ed as the flesh crawled in disgusting manners across its surface, the Skaven... thing glared at them with a many-eye rat skull, and screamed as he launched his oversized body at them, which was more elongated tube of bone then torso. As the various men panic to fall over and scream in terror, Alicetroemea chuckled.
"Done!" she said in a cheerful tone, firing a large column of energy at the creature. TheValkyrie, other Angels, and with a slight shift of her finger, Alice then vaporized it with a storm of pure magical energy, causing it to be blown back through a wall, which collapsed on top of it. When the dust cleared, they saw that the beast had collapsed on itself, as though it couldn't support its weight.
"Now then, that's that." the Valkyrie said. "Even if we all just got scarred for life. I hope not. We'll take over from here boys, we'll hunt what remains of these vermin within the holy city of San Ilias." with that, she walked away, but not before looking at Luka. "Hope you do well in your quest, Heaven is counting on you." Luka fidgeted in place, while Alice noted the glance they gave her.
With a sigh, Alice placed a hand on Lukas' shoulder. "Hey, want to find a place to read this and find out where the Four Spirts are? The Library was trashed by another group of Skaven we already took care of."
"Sure. As long as there isn't any more surprises." Alice smiled, as she made sure that the guardians would not attack Luka. "Will there be?" he asked, noticing it.
"Oh uh, no. I had several Monsters enchanted to protect the contents within, but I made sure they won't bother you."
**POV SHIFT**
Out in the Warp, where the Horned Rat dwelled within that swirling miasma known as the Realm of Chaos, the Rat-God of the Skaven watched as the Man-Things and Monster-Things parted ways in San Ilias, and screamed in anger and hate as several green bolts fired from his mouth. Many of the mortals, particularly the more powerful Monster-Things like the Fox Thing throughout this new world recoiled, feeling as though something was wrong, but couldn't place what. His First Vermintide to establish a foothold in this world had been blockaded, dashed by the Daemon-Thing which ruled the ground destroying and scattering his forces that tried to go to Sabasa and the areas surrounding it, while the mortals that were at Ubersreik entered the Forest destroyed the Skittergate his Warplock Engineers made in a haste to bring in reinforcements as was necessary. He began to lash out at a Daemon, one not aligned to the other Gods, ripping the screaming thing to shreds as the Warp shuddered and writhed with the powers being unleashed.
Instead of conquering the world however, his stupid and foolish Skaven worshippers were slaughtered. His plan, made from decades in the Warp as its denizens understood time fell apart in mere days as they bumbled about like drunken cows off a cliff. Thus he ripped their screaming souls apart as they died, making them experience an eternity of suffering before they were consumed. They were incompetent creatures, who could not do a single thing correctly, and thus deserved far worse. Worse however, was the fact the inferior Gods of the Empire Man-Things were cooperating with the Ilias God-Thing, ensuring he didn't intervene without the risk of being attacked by them directly, or at least invade the realm of the Things called Angels.
Either way, he was going to have to make a new plot, a new scheme to destroy them. It was then, he sensed someone, or something calling to him. As the Horned Rat gazed upon the mortal realm, he realized that some Man-Breeder-Thing had the gall to call out to him. At first he was going to destroy it, when he realized that she was doing under the guidance of a servant of the Chaos God of Plots and Ambition.
"Oh my, it appears that our ratty cousin is having some problems with his servants." he heard it say, and snarled in rage. Tzeentch was always one to prod and poke at the Horned Rat, knowing that he wouldn't dare attack it. At least, not when they had a chance to fight back.
"BEGONE CHANGELING-THING!" the Horned Rat snarled. "I have no time-time to entertain you, nor your plot-schemes."
"Ah, is that really how you want to be? As it happens, I'm calling for a counsel, for you're not the only one who is having problems as it stands with this world." Tzeentch explained, his words honeyed to the Horned Rat. "As it stands, at this rate even my more angry and most short-sighted counterpart Khorne can already see where things will go. The Half-Angel has resisted the direct attempts at corruption from not one, but two of us, and has soundly defeated your weak Skaven warriors. At this point, we are even willing to let you join us and we can pool our resources together. Especially given the actions of the Elven Crone and her intervention with the Succubi Lord."
"No. I have no need-need for you or the others Changeling-Thing. I am the truest master of Chaos itself, and will rule-rule as the single Rat-God of the Warp. Whatever happens in the material realms, I will be its rule-ruler in the end-end."
"HA! With what, a broken carcass of your 'master race' that is currently being beaten by these?" Tzeentch said, as the two Gods of the Warp examined a Nekomata chasing a Human Man. As she was about to catch them, the creature suddenly stopped, her fur bristling as the cat-beast side of her felt something watching her. As the Human turned around, he saw how the cat-Monster was looking about, her ears perked and nose twitching. He was unaware what was happening, but took advantage of the situation to flee, as the Monster ran the other way, her instincts telling her to run, to get away from this presence that was looming over her. Tzeentch chuckled as the Monster clearly was unable to comprehend what was following it as the Horned Rat grew ever more annoyed. After a moment passed, the Nekomata was allowed to escape, while the Horned Rat replied.
"Fine, I'll humor-amuse you this once-once and join your counsel to plot-scheme. In the meantime, what shall we do with this mortal of yours?"
"I'll speak with her. Now that you mention it, why don't we have your little Gray Seer fall back for now? He'll play a part in our plans yet."
The Horned Rat snorted. "No, I'll also listen-hear what this Man-Thing has to say..."
**POV SHIFT**
As Ilias Kruez traveled down the last stretch of road to Witch Hunt Village, Krieg was nursing her nose and eyes, when a sudden shout was heard by Sienna Fuegonasus was heard crying out something. As Krieg and Emile looked down the road along with the others in their wagon, a rider was seen running down the convoy a few minutes later, saying something to each the wagon drivers, with each one speeding down the road later.
"What's going on?" the driver of Krieg and companies' wagon asked, as the runner slowed down to explain.
"The Bright Wizard Sienna has claimed she is sensing a large amount of death and destruction in Witch Hunt Village, and that we must make haste at once! She has also claimed that if we don't hurray, what survivors at Witch Hunt remain will die!" with that, he moved to the next wagon. Krieg and Emile looked at each other in shock, while the rest of the people in the wagon began to murmur amongst themselves.
"What is happening?"
"That one woman from the other world sensed that Witch Hunt has been attacked!"
"By Ilias!"
"Everyone calm down." Emile said, adjusting his glasses. "We have the other worlders to help us now, and with their support we can defeat whatever Monster comes our way. The Wolf Pack is evidence of that." as the members of Ilias Kruez heard him, they listened closely. "Remember how it felt to fight alongside the Warrior Priest of Sigmar, and how much his words kept us from falling into despair and panic, while causing them to recoil in fear. With fellow protectors of Humanity like him alongside us, we can fight back against anything!" One of the other Ilias Kruez members chuckled.
"You know, with words like that, you already sound like a Priest of Sigmar." the wagon was then filled with chuckling, as they all had a laugh about the various prayers and sermons Ulboro had on the way, many about fighting for their fellow Humans and aiding some race called Dwarves, of whom Bardin talked about at great length. Kerillian in the meantime, kept to herself while she went ahead to scout ahead of the caravan, and occasionally one would cross signs of a struggle where the Wood Elf fought off a Monster that was on the road.
"Ha! That'll be the day when pigs fly!" Krieg bellowed. "Emile may be a good writer and quartermaster, but a warrior he is not!" Emile flustered, then sighed as he conceded the point. He was relegated to making sure everything Ilias Kruez had in supplies and equipment was taken care of and maintained when he had an accident that involved a blunted training sword, a training dummy, and too much ale that resulted in Lazarus being rather cross with the usually shy man upon finding out what had happened. If it weren't for Emile later organizing the weapons of the rest of the group later on after he got sent back to take care of their equipment, he likely would've been kicked out.
As they began to reach the final stretches of Witch Hunt however, the plume of smoke caused a grim atmosphere to settle in their shocked hearts and the caravan as a whole. By the time they got there, the fire that caused it had been put out, but the sounds of battle could be heard in the remains of the village, accompanied by the signature moans that followed Monster activity. "Sonunava- everyone to arms!" Lazarus shouted. "The problem is worse than I thought!"
With that, Krieg and the men and women of Illias Kruez could be heard clamoring out of the wagon, while Emile and the other non-combatants handled out potions and other supplies, running to and fro to avoid being grabbed. As they ran to the village, the group of Humans stopped, clearly shocked and awed by the sight they saw.
A number of tentacled creatures could be seen, with the limbs of Humans they were consuming being the only thing visible of their victims. Even so, they were more shocked at seeing what were clearly fellow Humans, women in fact, that were mutated by some dark power attacking their own friends and family with tentacles of their own, which often resembled worms and other similar writhing things. This particular raiding and violation of the inhabitants was taking place in a burned out ruin of the village, which was still burning in some areas. Even so, one of the Witch Hunters shouted something, and began to fire upon them, injuring several of the mutants. As the other worlders charged, one of them of could be seen turning towards them.
"Who the hell are you?" she asked, only to greeted with a hammer to her face in response when Ulboro charged at her with a speed that she could only flinch at. Stunned by this first blow and reeling from her face being half shattered, she was then punched hard enough that a loud crack accompanied her head being bent backwards as blood spewed from her skin and skull being ripped open. With that, another one of the mutants tried to fight back against the Sigmarite Warrior Priest.
"DEATH TO THE MUTANT, THE HERETIC, AND THE DAEMON!" Ulboro raged, grabbing a tentacle that tried to slap him, and pulling it hard. The village woman it was attached to was then yanked forwards, falling at his feet as he raised his armored leg.
"What are you doing?!" Lazarus cried out, as the Sigmarite stomped on their head, pulping it with an unnatural strength. The Monsterized women, along with the the still unmutated and corrupted villagers paused what they were doing as they saw him crush the creature. Many of the members of Iliaz Kruez were shocked and horrified as well, as the other worlders rushed in to attack their quarry. One of the mutants, upon seeing Bardin running towards her bellowing in rage, tried to back away from the pure look of hate he had on his face, tripping on a broken beam. The Dwarf dodged her attempt to grapple him with one tentacle as she got up, and cut a second and third one when she tried again. "Oh bloody hell, stop them, we need to know what is going on!" Lazarus yelled.
"Isn't it obvious?" Kerrilian asked, causing the group of fighters to pause, finding her aiming her bow and arrow while perched on a wagon. "The Mayor has been experimenting with Dark Magic. These women are corrupted by the same kind of power that birthed the Skaven, and thus must be purged before their taint spreads." The Waywatcher loosed her arrow, and one of the corrupted women fell as it stuck into her ear, and out the other. By the time she dropped to the ground fully, the Wood Elf loosed six more arrows, each one finding their mark as just as many of the creatures fell dead.
"Are you mad?! They might be able to recover their minds, if we can find the Mayor and slay her!" Krieg tried to counter. With that, Kruber shouted something about Sigmar, as his great sword cleaved one of the pulsating tentacle monsters in half, the two halves splitting open. Blood drenched the State Trooper, as he stabbed into it with his sword, and pulled up his handgun in a firing motion with one swift motion, and shot another one as it turned to him. "We can't do that if they're all dead!" With that, Kerillian looked at Krieg.
"Listen here mayfly, that kind of mentally is what results in you getting slaughtered by Chaos. They may not have asked for this fate, but we cannot allow them to leave this area alive! And right now, you're the only thing standing between the Witch that made them into abominations, and the rest of the continent." Kerillian explained, pointing at the manor, which was glowing a number of unnatural colors as some form of magic was affecting it. As the other who were from her world got pushed back trying to avoid being attacked, Victor cried out something. Lazarus looked at the villagers that remained, then replied as he turned back to Kerillian.
"Alright, we'll be getting the remaining villagers out of here. You and your group can help fight the corrupted women."
"Lazarus, they will kill them all!" Krieg yelled.
"And if we continue with this discussion, there will be no one to save!" Lazarus countered. "Everybody search and rescue! Focus on saving as many of the remaining villagers as you can, and avoid the Monsterized women when possible. Let Victor and his group handle them and go after the Witch responsible for this, they know more about how to handle this stuff then we do!" with that, everyone split up, running throughout the village to carry out his orders...
**POV SHIFT**
"I can sense that someone is interfering with my experiments..." Lily said, feeling distortions within the Warp. She had nearly been overwhelmed by the pure amount of power that was pouring from the Immaterial Realm, the tides of magic that was released by the ritual she and her new master were performing, requiring the sacrifice of one of the men she had just captured. Now that Lily had quickly become accustomed to the Warp, she was awaiting for one of the Dark Gods to come forth to answer her call, and see if she was worthy. To ensure that the portal was kept open, she released her experiments to keep it open through their consuming the local populace so that the old mans' master would come to Lily.
"Pay them no mind. By the time they kill enough of them to affect the portal, we will be gone." the Sorcerer said, as he smiled widely. On cue, the Changer of Ways appeared, causing the portal to turn into a blue hue, as a strange pink creature appeared, dressed in robes of shimmering gold and vermillion that covered its' body except for the face, which warped constantly as it spun on a slab of pink skin. This particular Daemon walked on four thin and spindly legs, which spiraled around a tall, thick oblong torso and connected to where the shoulders should be, then stabbed into the ground. The Daemon could barely fit into the room, and As Lily examined it, she was visibly confused by the creature, and the sheer presence she felt from it. From somewhere off in the village, at least two of the more magically inclined interlopers began to suffer some form of panic attack, and she herself felt as though her mind was reeling in pain just looking at this creature.
**BGM: ICON OF SIN THEMEFROM DOOM**
"Is this the Changer?" she asked of her mentor, who did not answer, shaking instead in what seemed to be awe and dread. Lily herself was trying not to fall to her knees, though felt that the others in the village were not affected by this being, at least not in any way meaningful that she could sense. Even so, she could tell the Daemon was holding back from unveiling its true form, likely to stop her from becoming a gibbering wreck.
"No, I am Tzeenackamach the Speaker, and I am the voice of the one you sought, Lily of Witch Hunt Village." the Daemon said, its voice shifting into tones that were both capable of being mimicked by mortal tongues and not. Lily seemed suspicious, as the Daemon was clearly powerful, as the Lord of Change that with the Sorcerer clearly showed subservience to it, bowing his head while the Sorcerer looked at the creature on his shoulder. Lily however, was not amused with this.
"How about you drop the charades. With this amount of power, you could only be the God I wanted to speak." she demanded the old man flinched, as Tzeenackamach smiled evilly. Standing as its full height, while the ceiling somehow shifted.
"You have quite the prideful streak, thinking that you can casually order a Daemon little mortal, especially whilst resisting the urge to fall down and worship me out of fear. As it stands, I require a servant like you." an arm grew out of the torso, piercing the cloth robe that draped the unholy being, and formed a talon covered hand which stuck in between the two loops it legs made. "For now, we are on a time table, so name your request, and I'll name my price."
"I intend to make a covenant with you, that you will make me a Marked servant, and in return, you will grant me my wish to see my enemies burn for their sins, and even attain immortality." Lily said, not even hesitating to reply. The Changer chuckled as he turned his hand to point at her.
"That confidence will serve you yet. But do not forget, that I am your true master above all else. Now, to make this pact, I require as a sacrifice, your alterations..." Lily paused, her eyes widening in shock.
"What?" she asked. Her experimentation was centered on developing a specific mutation in her body, which appeared as her arms turning into worm shaped tentacles. These had become her greatest weapons yet, capable of being fueled by semen as well as having the power to break bone and pulp flesh with a single blow.
"I want you, to by sacrifice that which you spent your entire life working to get. If you want immortality, you will be tested, and tried. Thus is my first demand: Take the mutations you have sought, and finally gained, and cast it off of your body." Lily was visibly frustrated.
"BUT I WORKED FOR YEARS TO EARN THEM!" she shouted at the being. "WHY WOULD I GO BACK TO BEING SO WEAK!"
"Do. It. Or I'll leave, having apparently had my time wasted by you." several tense moments passed, and Lily snarled, and changed into her Monster form. Her arms split apart, forming into a mass of worms that writhed and twitched. With a deep breath, Lily held them out perpendicular to her body.
"I will obey." she said expressionlessly, though her eyes seethed. "These things which I sought for my own purpose, I will give freely."
"Good." with that, two more limb came out of the Dark Gods' wrist, ending in a claw for one that raise over her left shoulder, and a crab pincer on the other which grabbed her right.
"What are you-" With a split second, the claw came down, and cut off her limbs, as the pincer chopped through her right tentacles without pause. Lily shrieked in pain, as blood spewed from her open wounds, but she refused to fall over as she knelt in pain.. As her blood dribbled onto the ritual circle carved on her floor, Lily looked up, and watched as the Changer touched her stumps with two normal hands. "What are you doing?"
"Now, to confer upon you, my own gift... one I will use to Mark you as my servant." As Lily whinced and gasped as several bolts of energy flowed into her from her open wounds, her eyes began to glow. "Arise, and leave this place, for my brethren and I have others who you are required to gather together with, and formulate whether to decide an Everchosen for this world... or summon him from another."
Authors Note: I decided to change the ending a bit after I uploaded this chapter. Originally I was going to kill off Lily, then decided against it instead as it felt a bit too sudden and rushed after the fact. So I chose to have Tzeentch grant a mutation. This was also because of bucarcar pointing out the Monsters getting ROFL-stomped by the Warhammer characters made them look non-threatening. I was a bit split since on the one hand, they facing Balthasar Gelt, and the whole can of worms his being in the world opens up. On the other, they were basically near unstoppable wrecking balls in their own setting, and thus I saw the point he was making. So with that, we are back in the timeline where the Dark Goddess won, and her Ancestor lords reaction to Settra going into RIP AND TEAR mode.
Tamano no Mae the Kitsune Lord stared in disbelief, the pen cap in her mouth dropping out and clattering on the floor as a screen with a rainbow of colors on top a black line was all she and her sisters watching the broadcast were greeted with. 'Technical Difficulties are being experienced, please stand by.' were written in white letters, as the connection to the camera was cut off after one of those green men smashed. She herself was taking notes on what little they saw, being the main lead in Monster technological and magical development. They all saw the slaughter that occurred on camera, how these Undead beings practically flooded the entire desert, and overran the Monsters through sheer numbers and hate. Her sisters had also gathered to watch, ready to celebrate the coming of a new world, ripe for the taking.
When the killing began, they all stared paralyzed at the sight before them. The Undead looked like unraised corpses, and attacked both Human and non-Human alike with their weapons and armor of strange and exotic fashion. None of them issued the order to stop broadcasting, as it was a sheer disaster that they could not avert their eyes from. Even Minagi, who had two men held down for her 'feast' and Saja with her latest attempt to groom a husband stopped and watched, their children running for their lives as though Ilias herself had come back from the dead with a vengeance, while Kanon, Kanade, and Hiruko stopping eating whatever foods or drinks they had.
"What, in the hell, did we just step into?" Kanon asked. The Plant Lord shifted in her seat, and looked to her sisters. "And did whatever god they worship, if any, put us on their personal hit list for invading their territory?"
"Well, so far we have not gotten any death threats or anything like that, so maybe they are as confused as we are?" Hiruko suggested, though her voice was not confident in the slightest at the thought. "Either way, we must get those Monsters' bodies back, before they raise the dead and learn everything about us." a door opened to the room, and a Golem designed in the royal red and purple of the Dark Goddess' colors herself walked in.
"The Dark Goddess has called for a counsel of all the Queens and for you to attend. She is planning to address this new issue that has come upon us, and the failure of the First Wave." the Ancestor Lords tensed, as all knew the wrath that she unleashed upon those who harmed her children. If she was going to get personally involved, no doubt these Undead will find out soon enough. As the Golem walked out, Saja spoke up.
"I don't want our first contact to be a war. We lost too many potential lovers and mate for our daughters the last time mother personally attacked Sabasa herself, and slew Eden there." she said. "We must try to help her stay reasonable. For all we know, the Undead were only protecting themselves from something we didn't realize was also there."
"Like the Green Men?"
"Yeah! Maybe they will agree to an alliance with us against the Green Men, and also return our dead. With that, war could be averted."
Several Hours Later, news transmission from Kitsune News Network
"CATASTROPHE IN THE SECOND WORLD!" the broadcast opens up with, as it shows artwork of the Monster Army being slain, while dramatic music played. "The savage natives of the Second World have barbarically attacked the daughters of the Dark Goddess, refusing to even open diplomatic ties to speak with us! The Dark Goddess herself has assembled a new team, one of brave volunteers to give these creatures, both Undead, and the newly discovered race dubbed the Green Men an ultimatum." the camera shows the Dark Goddess Alipheese Fateburn herself. The sire and creator of the Monsters slams down her fist on a podium, and begins to cry out, several tentacles quivering in rage, while her other hand grips down on it hard enough to bend the material the podium was made from. Several of the Six Ancestors, notably Saja and Tamano were nervous, as she proceeds to shout, while an audience made up of the Monster Queens and their retinues are sitting in a semicircle amphitheater.
"These murderers dare to defile our civilization, and butchered our brave explorers and pioneers without a second thought or word! I hereby declare the moving forward of the Second Wave!" camera shows a legion of Monsters, marching through a portal as the Dark Goddess continues her rant. "They will move forth as my fist, to strike them down before they can find our world, and ensure that justice will come for our fallen! We will ensure that Monster civilization, not Second Worlder, prevails!" the audience is shown clapping and cheering, as the video shows the Second Wave gathering together in the desert they lost their comrades in the First Wave in the army stretching all the way to the horizon. "FOR OUR FALLEN!" they shout as one, which was repeated by the Queens and their retinues in the background, as the army marches forth to take the battle to their new enemy...