Chapter XVIII: The Warlord Perseus
To everyone's surprise, Sirus was the first one to move- Launching himself from the ground he stood on, rocketing past everyone-
CRACK!
-And slamming into the Warlord's chest with his shoulder, sending him careening backwards and tumbling through the rows of subordinates that were gathered behind him, crushing several of them into red paste.
The atmosphere was silent for a moment, as everyone was shocked by the sudden attack. Then-
(Queue 'Mean Demeanor' by Run The Jewels)
"RAAAAAAAHHHH!" "YOU PICKED THE WRONG FIGHT, BASTARDS!"
"LET'S KILL THEM!" "YOU'RE DEAD MEAT!"
Trace's group, emboldened by Sirus' initial strike, emitted raucous battle cries and charged into the fray, as Sirus continued fighting against Perseus. The group clashed with Perseus' gang, and fighting ensued as both sides fought violently against each other.
For Perseus' band of crazed robbers and killers, it was a slaughter; Trace's group was, on average, far more combat-capable than a loose group of human brigands and hired killers. The mages of Trace's group, especially, were taking out the human enemies easily, using elemental powers to incapacitate or kill their opponents.
However, the humanoid-monster hybrids following Perseus were steadfast, quick, and ferocious; They proved a greater threat to Trace and his group than the humans, swiping their claws, blades and elongated spiky tails with a dogmatic persistence.
As Trace got in close sword combat with one of the hybrids, he noticed this one had features that vaguely resembled someone he saw in Snowdin. The momentary shock caused him to falter, and the monster pushed him back, swinging at his head.
Whoosh!
Trace suddenly ducked his head unnaturally quick, dodging the blade swing from the hybrid, and nearly losing his cool. Something arose within him that prodded him to do that- almost like a sixth sense of sorts.
Gritting his teeth, he uprighted himself and slashed his sword diagonally across the hybrid's exposed chest- sending a spray of blood through the air as a large gash opened up on the humanoid monster's chest. It choked and gagged, stumbling around for a few seconds before collapsing to the ground, writhing in pain.
Breathing heavily from fatigue, Trace glanced around the battlefield temporarily, making sure everyone was still alive. Miraculously, no one on his side had fallen, and he now felt an intense urgency to start observing the enemy- To predict who they would try to kill before they actually could.
Meanwhile, the others were holding their ground- fighting against the horde of monsters and crazed madmen that surrounded them. He breathed a prayer of thanks that he had such capable fighters on his-
CRACK!
Trace whipped his head around to see-
"NOOOO!" Mike screamed in wrathful agony as Perseus cracked the side of Evals' head with the chain-whip; Sending a spray of blood through the air.
"CONSIDER IT AN HONOR TO BE SLAIN IN BATTLE!" Perseus hissed, jolting the chain back and catching the blade in his feral hand.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, FUCKIN' BASTARD!" Mike raged violently, grabbing a lone sword on the ground and charging him blindly. Perseus grunted in disappointment as he raised his katana.
"A FOOLISH ENDEAVOR, BUT BOLD NONETHELESS!" He rasped. "THE HEAVENS OF WARRIORS SHALL GREET YOU SOON ENOUGH-"
Barely did he finish his sentence before Kathrin suddenly sprang up on his back, clawing at the gaps in his armor. Perseus roared in pain and anger, and in one fell swoop, he grabbed Kathrin by the torso and-
SLAM!
-Threw her into the ground; The sound of bones cracking pierced the air, sending shivers through Trace and everyone else. His rage mounted once more, black energy spilling from his every pore; His eyes lit ablaze with the blood-red glow that emanated from his irises.
He was about to charge forth, when he saw Perseus raise his boot and-
CRUNCH!
-Crush Kathrin's torso, sending blood spewing from her mouth as she looked down in shock. Seconds later, she fell limp from blood loss.
(Queue 'Grave' by Elephant Music)
Enough.
WHOOOOMPF!
The air in the atmosphere was suddenly sucked into a vacuum as Trace launched forward at incalculable speeds, sending torrents of wind so strong that they blew every nearby combatant off their feet and tumbling into the ground. Trace rocketed towards Perseus-
SCHLICK!
"Eh-...ah!...Uh!..."
Perseus choked; Unable to answer, as a giant hole had suddenly manifested in his chest. Trace, bathed in fresh blood, had smashed entirely through Perseus' torso, leaving a gaping wound that bled furiously.
"Die quickly." Trace hissed through clenched teeth.
Without another word, Perseus collapsed to the ground, emitting a death rattle as he became motionless.
With the sight of their leader eviscerated, the henchmen and lesser monsters screeched in terror, running away from the area. After a few moments, the battlefield was now gravely quiet- Everyone, except for Mike who was cradling Evals' bleeding head, was laser-focused on Trace.
He emanated the ruinous powers of the old Trace Legacy, Sirus thought to himself. I can only hope Euchre and the other Templars do not catch on...
Before anyone could say anything, however...
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Mike cried out in despair; Tears falling from his cheeks as he mourned the death of his best, and only friend. His wailing reached Trace's ears, and for a moment he was dispelled from his other state; Instead now filling with sorrow and grief, as well as a lingering dread.
Would this really be his fate? Was there no way to avoid these deaths? Why did they have to die so easily, in such a world? Why was he sent here, if not to be tortured by some cosmic deity?
...
Whatever the reason was, he had to keep moving forward. At the end of the day, he could save every single one of these people's lives- if not his own mental sanity.
Seeing the forlorn faces of those around him, feeling the dreadful and hopeless atmosphere, he felt a potent rage as his hand hovered shakily over that damn button once more-
[RESET]