Those who could not fight were told to remain with the meeting hall, staying in their own homes with an unknown number of monsters would not be the best course of actions, the warriors formed a circle perimeter around the meeting hall with their wooden spears at the ready. Those within and without could hear the bellows of the monsters outside as well as the battle cries of the adventurers who fought to protect them. This village was well over a hundred people
"It must be the will of the gods that they came here this night." The village elder did his best to keep the people calm though he himself was also nervous. "These adventurers aided us during our plight with the demons, they will be victorious in this battle as well."
His words did help many calm down as the fighting outside continued, towards the back was Padfoot Mother with her children along with Cow Girl and the others. The two children looked towards the ceiling as they felt the ground shake and the roars of the monsters outside, even though they knew there was no way to see the fight at the moment.
"Do you think Wolf and the others are going to be okay?" Padfoot Daughter looked toward her brother with a frown on her face.
"They'll beat these monsters and this time there are more adventurers to help us." Padfoot Son was just as eager as before in his declaration that the adventurers would win.
"He's right."
The two young kids turned to see Half-Dragon Daughter smiling at them while nodding her head at Padfoot Son's assessment of her family.
"My Papa, Grandpa, Big Brother and Big Sisters are out there, they'll beat these monsters, isn't that right Mama." Half-Dragon Daughter looked toward her mother for confirmation, though part of her was still worried.
"You have nothing to fear, your father and the others will win."
Guild Girl and Cow Girl too were smiling but a quick glance toward the doorway made them feel apprehensive, at this point all they could do hope for the best and help keep the people in the meeting hall calm.
xxxx
"Go for the main head!" Half-Demon Thief gave a quick yell as she launched two of her poisoned knives at one of the Abominations.
Spearman had a smile on his face as he readied to finish the three-armed and three-headed monster though that appearance had since changed during the fight. Witch had used Magic Missile to blow away the two smaller arms on the right side of the body while Half-Demon Thief used a vial of acid to burn through the monster's clawed arm on the left side. In addition to the damage done to the arms, Half-Demon Thief's knives had struck two of the smaller human heads and they died instantly, the beast stumbled as the poison took its course.
"Not much of a threat now are you, you ugly son of a bitch?" Spearman grunted as he thrust his spear forward.
The blade of his weapon pieced through the final head, with a final grunt he pulled his blade out and quickly took a couple steps back as the beast fell forward.
"That's one down." Spearman chuckled as he gave the body a swift kick along the side.
The Hellhound roared before spewing fire in random directions unable to see because of the arrows that had pieces its eyes. The Hellhound could hear and smell the humans and prepared to charge forward but stumbled as Wolf and Snow took hold of its hind legs and pulled backward violently.
"A fine job indeed, now allow me to deliver the final blow."
Lizard Priest jumped forward, actually leaping onto the creatures back pushing it tot eh ground as he plunged his swordclaw into the monster's throat. The monster roared once again, spewing forth fire as it struggled to remove Lizard Priest from its body, but with his free hand he tightly held onto one of the beast's horns. The blood ran from its wound and mouth as it continued its futile struggles until it finally toppled over onto its side.
"Another victory, thank you my friends." Lizard Priest smiled as he went about petting the two direwolves atop their heads then turned his attention towards the village. "And thank you as well Lady Ranger."
"Your wife and my little sister would never forgive me if something were to happen to you."
Half-Elf Light Warrior and Rookie Warrior struck at the Abomination when given the chance and would dodge or roll to the side to avoid its wide swipes. Up above Scout Boy let loose arrow after arrow as they pierced the monster's flesh and managed to kill one of the heads.
"Go for one of the heads, I'll go for the legs." Rookie Warrior rushed in cut deeply into the monster's left leg.
The monster bellowed as it dropped to one knee and Half-Elf Light Warrior charged in ready to kill another one of the heads only for the beast to strike at him with one of its arms. There was a deep scratch across his armor, but aside from having the wind knocked out of him, he would be fine. The monster slowly got back to its leg and staggered toward the downed warrior ready to kill him with its mighty claw when a heavy rock flew forward colliding with one of its faces making it pause momentarily. Half-Elf Light Warrior was surprised by the sudden rock being thrown and a quick glance back and he could see the smiling face of Druid Girl with sling in hand.
"Hurry, back on your feet!"
"Thank you." Half-Elf Light Warrior quickly scrambled away from the monster and got back to his feet.
While the beast was distracted, Rookie Warrior charged in once again and with all his might once again struck at the injured leg and managed to completely cut through it. The beast once again dropped to the ground, with a horrendous growl it looked ahead and clawed toward Half-Elf Light Warrior. Three more arrows flew from above thanks to Scout Boy and managed to kill another head on the body.
"Then the last head is mine!" Half-Elf Light Warrior yelled as he rushed in and rammed his sword into the final creature's head.
The Abomination let out one roar before finally slumping to the ground, Half-Elf Light Warrior grunted as he struggled to remove his sword, having to place his boot on the creature head to give him leverage to pull the blade free.
"Damn you."
Fighter jumped onto the back of one of the Hellhound and with her spiked gauntlets, repeatedly slammed her fist into the side of the monster's head. Unfortunately this only seemed to enrage the creature who roared and shook it body in an attempt to get the human off its back.
"Stand clear." Dwarf Shaman threw out the clay dust from his hand into the air as he prepared his chant. "Come out you gnomes it's time to work, now don't you dare your duty shirk – a bit of dust may cause no shock, but a thousand make a lovely rock…Stone Blast."
Fighter's eyes were wide as she watched the bits of dust grow in size and she quickly leapt off the creatures back and rolled away in time before the rocks pelted the monster. The Hellhound growled, blood running from the various wound along its body before roaring as it charged toward Dwarf Shaman. Dwarf Shaman was quite surprised by this but steadied himself as he drew out his hand ax.
"Bring your pretty face to my ax you…"
"Protection!"
The creature suddenly collided with the invisible barrier, the sound of bone crunching and blood spilling against the barrier from the impact. Dwarf Shaman was surprised by this but a quick glance made him smile as he saw Priestess nearby with arms held out as she made her petition to the Earth Mother. The Hellhound growled as it clawed at the barrier and spewed forth flames from its mouth in an attempt to get to the adventurers.
"Quickly move to the side! Lord of judgement, sword-prince, scale-bearer, display here your power…Holy Smite!"
Dwarf Shaman quickly jumped aside as Apprentice Cleric held out her sword and a bolt of lightning short forward passing through the barrier and striking the Hellhound. The beast let out a cry of pain before it toppled over, smoke traveling off its motionless body.
"Hey now, what's the big idea?" Dwarf Shaman had a visible frown upon his face as he looked toward Apprentice Cleric.
"I gave you the same amount of warning that you gave my comrade." Apprentice Cleric smirked as she looked over toward her friend who had a smile on her face.
"Oh come on, have a heart for an old man." Dwarf Shaman chuckled as he picked himself up and dusted his body off. "Oh well, we got the monster beat, so…nice work their lass."
Priestess and the other girls gave a brief chuckle then turned their attention towards the others to see them continue their own fights. Heavy Warrior, Female Knight and Goblin Slayer were contending with the two transformed Faceless Men, off to the side was the towering figure of the Lich Queen swinging her sword towards the frozen body of the final Hellhound. Goblin Slayer battled with a creature that resembled the Brute but lacked the green skin now blood red from the skin being stretched over the bulging muscle while Heavy Warrior and Female Knight battled a creature that appeared to be a monstrously large gargoyle.
"Foolish flesh creatures, how dare you slay these wonderful creatures."
"They can be and will be replaced with the denizens of this village, in the end your struggle will prove futile."
"And you expect us to just give up because you say so? Not Likely." Female Knight had a smirk on her face as she looked back toward the monster.
"You two freaks are not going to set foot in the village." Heavy Warrior tightened his grip on his sword as he stood beside his love.
"How dare you stop are master's glorious…"
Before the Brutish Faceless Man could finish, a vial was thrown against his face before Goblin Slayer hurled his torch toward the body. The moment the fire hit the body the flames engulfed any part of the body covered in the liquid as the Faceless Man roared as it stumbled around. All eyes fell back to Goblin Slayer who pulled his sword out of the ground where he had placed it to use his vial of gasoline as he stood ready with both weapons in hand.
"You talk too much."
Goblin Slayer charged forward and swung his sword in right hand deeply cutting into the monster's face then followed up with his mace striking the creature's jaw while still staggering from the sword cut and flames. Heavy Warrior and Female Knight smiled as they watched Goblin Slayer not even wait for these creatures to finish their sentence before they went on the offensive. The first swing from Heavy Warrior's claymore struck the gargoyle's arm and it truly was like hitting stone as chucks of it flaked off from the blow, but there was also blood running from the wound.
"I see, you're not invincible then." Heavy Warrior smirked as he prepared to strike again.
"Damn you."
The gargoyle attempted to attack Heavy Warrior only for another sword strike against his other arm, he turned glaring at the one who attacked him only to have a shield smashed into his face.
"Don't forget that there is more than one opponent for you to contend with!"
Goblin Slayer once again went on the offensive striking at the creature's body who in turned growled and attempted to smash the adventurer under his mighty fists. Goblin Slayer effortlessly moved back and in turn smashed his mace against the fist as the sound of bone cracking could be heard as well as blood flying. The Brutish Faceless Man once again growled in anger when it stopped as a cold sensation could be felt coming from his side, he turned to see a figure as tall as him shroud in black with a skeletal face glaring at him.
"I won't allow you to hurt Beloved." The voice was cold as ice but carried such malice that even the Faceless Man was momentarily frozen with fear.
"I have the Elixir in my system, I am far superior to how I was and yet…what is this sense of fear, like I'm staring in to the face of death itself."
The Lich Queen raised the sword in her right hand and brought it down in a sweeping motion, the blade deeply cutting into the left arm. The Faceless Man could see the blade but was too late to react when the Lich Queen raised her second blade and struck at the back of her first blade. Her second blade acted like a hammer striking a nail as the force of her second strike pushed the first blade further until the left arm was complete severed.
"This will be the last bit of magic I can use Beloved, finish him quickly."
The Lich Queen's physical form dissolved into a plume of black smoke before returning toward Goblin Slayer's blade. The Faceless Man bellowed in anger and pain as blood flowed freely from his stump of an arm, but this distraction was all that was needed for Goblin Slayer to secure his victory. Goblin Slayer rushed in and with mace in left hand swung with all his might striking the center of the Faceless Man's throat. The Faceless Man gasped as he struggled to catch his breath before he dropped to his knees clutching at his throat with his right hand. He looked ahead with his one remaining good eye only to see Goblin Slayer rush in and ram his blade through that eye and pushing with all his might to pierce the brain. The Faceless Man gasped only finally time then his arm went limp and dangled by his side, with a final grunt Goblin Slayer withdrew his blade and quickly moved back as the giant body toppled to the ground with a heavy thud.
"That's one for me."
The Gargoyle Faceless Man had taken to the sky with its massive wings to avoid any further damage from the two armored warriors.
"You beasts are much easier to deal with out in the open than in a confined space. You're not gonna catch us by surprise this time." Heavy Warrior chuckled as he could see the frightened look on the monster's face.
The Gargoyle quickly glanced down at the battlefield to see that he was now the only one left, the Hellhounds, the Abominations and his brother had all been dealt with. There was no way he could defeat these warriors by himself all he could do now was gamble on an attack against the village. The Gargoyle could see the warrior padfoots protecting the largest building in the center of the village, if he could get in their and slay as many of these nonbelievers as possible, he could still serve his master's will.
"For the Miracle of Life!"
The gargoyle screeched as he made a mad dive for the meeting hall, the adventurers looked up toward the sky but there was little they could do while it was so high up.
"Damn it, he's too far away from me to use Slow." Spearman tightened his grip around his spear as he watched the creature swoop in.
"I can hit it, but my arrows won't be able to pierce it's hide…what can we do?" High Elf Archer found her gritting her teeth as she watched the creature draw closer.
"Here!"
She turned to the side to see Half-Demon Thief throw a vial towards her, High Elf archer carefully caught the vial and saw a clear liquid within.
"Acid, but what do you…oh I got it!" High Elf Archer quickly took the arrow in hand and forced the tip into the cork stopper before once again taking aim at the monster. "Let's see you avoid this."
High Elf Archer released her arrow and watched it speed away, the arrow itself flew past the creature's face, but she wasn't aiming for the face of the monster. The glass vial impacted near the left wing of the gargoyle and immediately began to take effect; he screeched as the acid ate through the rock hide and into his flesh until the wing completely broke off. The gargoyle plummeted to the ground trying desperately to keep his body upward but it was a futile effort, his body collided with the ground, the rock hide was completely cracked, several large pieces flying off the body he spewed out a small amount of blood from his mouth.
"Im,impossible…must…deliver the miracle…" He struggled to claw his way over toward the village but did not get very far.
The Gargoyle screeched once again, the cause of which was Heavy Warrior and Female Knight ramming their blade through his legs pinning him to the ground. The Gargoyle looked upward to see the various adventurers looking down at him, a stern look on their faces.
"Enough, you've lost. This village will not be destroyed by your horrid creations." Female Knight glared down at the pathetic looking monster. "Before you die, do the final decent thing and tell us where to find your master and how many villages are also being targeted."
The Gargoyle nervously looked around, he would not do anything to betray his master and now there was no way for him to kill any of these adventurers or the villagers, for him there was only one choice left.
"You'll never stop my master…the people of this land shall be enlightened…or die in the process." The Gargoyle struggled to move his right arm toward his throat. "For the Miracle of Life!"
The Gargoyle sank the claws into his throat and violently tore it out; the adventurers were left to watch as the monster violently spasmed before finally ceasing all its movements.
"Damn it. Now were back to square one in trying to determine where these people are going to strike next." Spearman sighed as rested his spear against his right shoulder.
"Still, we were able to save this village from any harm. We should be proud of our efforts here." Lizard Priest smiled as he chuckled at how successful their battle had been.
"I will admit that with so many of us working together this battle was much easier than if we have tried to fight them alone." Rookie Warrior smiled as he looked over the battlefield at the number of monsters they had defeated. "We've really come a long way since we first started."
"That was quite the battle, I'm still excited with our teamwork and victory. This is how all adventures should be, don't you agree Orcbolg? Orcbolg?"
The rest of the party looked around the area only to see Goblin Slayer already examining the corpses of the monsters to ensure they were dead while speaking to himself.
"These creatures with the three heads, all heads need to be destroyed for it to die…the one with stone can be defeated but heavy strikes are needed…"
"Even when goblins are directly involved Beardcutter still falls back on what he knows best." Dwarf Shaman chuckled as he stroked his beard.
For those in the meeting hall all the screamed and roars finally came to an end, there was still hesitation about what might happen until the warrior padfoots outside called to them.
"The battle is over, the adventurers had defeated the monsters."
There was a thunderous cheer from those inside the meeting hall and an in mere moments the door were opened as the villagers walked out to see the adventurers returning to the village. Cow Girl and the others were relieved to see everyone return unharmed and the village undamaged in the attack by these Faceless Men. Their first real fight had been won, but there were still many villages to inspect both large and small, and an unknown number of enemies waiting for them.
xxxx
"We should be arriving at the first village soon, as late as it is we could use a place to sleep and rest up." Sage was calm as she looked toward Hero and Sword Saint.
For roughly a week they had traveled from Crossroads to their destination, along the way they stopped by three hamlets to warn the people of men who might be trying to poison. Major settlements such as Water Town and Frontier Town who had populations well over a thousand were fortunate enough to have messenger doves fly toward them, but for the smaller villages and hamlets, the people there were much on their own. It was up to the wandering adventurers and the villagers themselves to maintain a vigil around the area for the Faceless Men, unfortunately…many would not receive the warning in time.
"So far the journey has been going well wouldn't you say?" Sword Saint looked toward her friend who in turn had a light smile on her face.
"We've been fortunate enough that there was no sign of the Faceless Men in those hamlets and now the people know to be on the lookout for the men and the monsters." Hero smiled as she continued down the road with her comrades.
"They really need to get some adventurers out there to offer some form of protection. Hopefully the King can have some of his troops dispatched to check on the situation." Sage still had a calm expression on her face as she conversed with her comrades.
"That's assuming the situation is not too out of hand, the message came from Water Town, which means the King is there with the Sword Maiden." Sword Saint frowned as she though about him possibly hiding away from this threat. "You…you don't think…"
"No. The King is no coward, he fought alongside us at the battle for the capital. If he's there at Water Town, then it means he's also looking to get the Sword Maiden's aid with this…this threat may be as serious as the revival of the Demon Lord." Hero had a stern look on her face as she though about the battles they had fought and the monsters they encountered in Crossroads.
"You're right, forgive me."
"There's nothing to forgive you…wait do you smell that?"
Hero paused as she took in the smell, her comrades also breathed in the night air and they could smell the foul smell of smoke all around them. They looked toward the horizon of the small village there was a faint glow in the distance. Without a moment of hesitation, the three young women charged forward down the road determined to find the source of the fire but had to stop at the sight before them. On the road was the body of a young child but atop it was a creature savagely feasting upon the boy's innards. The adventurers looked at the monster and believed it to be a wolf or werewolf yet it looked sickly as even its flesh across its chest seemed to be stretched tight across its ribs and sternum. The creature continued to feed but soon stopped as its eyes fell upon the trio of women, it stood standing as tall as a man yet its arms seemed to be far too far long as they went past the monster knees.
"What the hell kind of monster is that?" Sword Saint immediately drew out her sword to strike at the monster. "A werewolf? It looks diseased though."
"Whatever it is, we're not about to let it kill any other innocent people." Hero too drew out her sword as the monster continued to growl at them.
The werewolf ran towards them with clawed hands stretched outward as it opened its jaws as wide as it could, only for the Hero to split in half across the stomach. The monster let out a final growl as both halves of the body fell to the ground, its innards spilling from its still body. With the beast dead the women turned their attention toward the body of the young boy, Hero with a solemn look on her face bent down to close the open eyes of the young child.
"I'm sorry we weren't able to get here in time, but you have been avenged."
"Let's get to the village and see if any others are injured. We can let them know about the werewolf and the young boy." Sword Saint placed a firm hand on her comrade's shoulder.
The trio of women continued toward the faint glow in the night and in a few minutes reached the entrance to the village…or what was left of it. The village was a blaze, and more than a dozen various monsters were seen feasting upon the bodies of the dead. This village had more than 60 people living there, by the time the Faceless men were finished, more than half of the people had mutated. Women who ingested the poison had transformed into winged monstrosities with pale skin like that of a corpse, the flesh on their arms stretched outward to create wings which allowed them sly through the air. Two of the Harpies clutched at the body of a woman who screamed for help until she was torn apart by the monster's talons. Children found their flesh falling off their body as their muscle became their new skin, with clawed fingertips the scurried around the building like insects spewing fire from their mouth, the children had become Imps. The men mutated into the werewolf and spider-like monsters they had encountered before who through bodies aside or feasted upon the flesh of the humans who had not mutated. Those who had not mutated, somehow resistant to the elixir's transformative properties, simply dropped dead from the poison.
"Supreme God no…the village…the people…" Hero was at a loss as she looked at the burning village filled with monsters devouring the people.
"They're all gone. Not even when we traveled to hell did we see a sight such as this." Sage brought a hand to cover her mouth, disgusted by the sight and sound of the monster spider devouring the body of a human in its hands.
"Wait, there in the center of this hell." Sword Saint pointed straight ahead even as some of the monster finally noticed the new faces in the village.
Off in the center were three individuals each wearing black robes, the two men on the outside wore a plague mask to cover their face and a hood over the top of the head, the man in the middle had long oily black hair, a long thin face, pale skin and dull red eyes, they appeared to have an orange glow as the flames danced around them.
"Hmm…the elixir is proving quite remarkable, even when diluted. Female subjects adapt to the harpy blood and adopt physical characteristics. Children lose outer skin, muscle hardens to replace, ability to breathe fire such as the hell hounds…perhaps a side effect of the goblin blood and dragon blood." The Necromancer had a calm expression on his face as he jotted down information about his observations. "Males adapt and adopt werewolf-like or arachnae-like appearance. Certain individuals, resistant to change, expire from Elixir in their system. Most intriguing."
"A wonderful success for master." The Faceless man to the right side of him nodded his head as he listen to the remarks.
"It is…and it isn't."
"Master?" The Faceless man to his left looked toward the Necromancer with a tilted head. "You've pushed humanity to the pinnacle of perfection. I would have thought you to be thrilled with the visible results."
"Oh I am delighted with how well the elixir has gone, you two have done well administering it. However, what I'm looking for is something more. Only my loyal followers have so far be able to maintain their intelligence…there must be something else I'm missing, something else to make my elixir a true drink of the Gods, but what is it?" Necromancer frowned as he placed his right hand to his chin and gently tapped his index finger against the left side of his face.
The three suddenly heard an angry shout from behind them as well as the sounds of two of the monster's shrieking in pain. The three men turned, a curious look on the Necromancer's face as he looked for the source of the new noise. There these three men could see three female adventurers attacking the nearest creature with swords and magic. Hero and her comrades had slayed two of the harpies, one of the spiders, one of the werewolves and two of the red imp-like children before noticing the three men now looking back toward them.
"You damn beast, what the hell have you done here?" Sword Saint could feel the pain in her hand as she tightened her grip around her sword.
"These people, these innocent people did not deserve such a horrible fate." Sage had lost her calm expression as now she too was furious by these men's actions here in this village.
"You will pay for this action, you and these Faceless Men!" Hero though angry remembered the message speaking of a Necromancer leading the Faceless Men. "You…are you this Necromancer the King spoke of?"
"Master, it would seem that the adventurers know of our quest to bring the Miracle of Life to the villagers of the countryside."
"It matters not, they are mere adventurers, my creations are more than capable of…" The Necromancer slowly turned away from the women, ready to continue his studied, when he quickly turned back to carefully study the adventurers. "A trio of young women…a young woman with red hair and apricot-colored eyes with a sword in hand. No, it can't be…it would be far too convenient, I just know."
Necromancer smirked as he turned to face the women, holding his left hand upward and with this simple action the monsters had all stopped and now stared at the women.
"You there, with the gleaming sword…are you the fabled Hero?" The Necromancer had a small smile on his face.
"I am the one who defeated the Demon Lord, so yes I am the Hero of this world…and I'm going to slay you here and now."
The Necromancer began to chuckle but soon this chuckle began to rise until it devolved into maniacal laughter until he returned to a sinister chuckle.
"One chosen by the gods…you are the final piece I'm missing. The gods above must truly wish for me to succeed if they brought her here to me." Necromancer had a sinister smile on his face as he motioned with his right hand for the monsters to attack. "Do not fear, you will greatly serve in aiding humanity reach its true potential."