Chapter 2: The Silver-Blue Knight
...
In the middle of the grey ruin-filled desert, the Ashen One scanned the surrounding land upon which he encountered the mangled corpses of Pygmy Lords scattered in the sand. Like some monster had feasted on them. Their fresh black blood was splattered across the dusty grounds and their thrones made of stones were shattered into pieces.
Amidst his arrival at the gruesome massacre, he heard wet crunching noises coming from behind a small hill and went to inspect the noise. There, much to his surprise and disgust, he saw the glimpse of a hunching humanoid wearing a red cape feeding off a corpse. The Ashen One took an involuntary step back, kicking a pebble that clattered loudly. The figure stopped feasting and rose to his full height, turning to look at the Ashen One whose stomach fell when he saw the familiar face.
"What... still here?"
It was the Slave Knight Gael.
"You there... hand it over... that thing. Your Dark Soul." The red-capped Slave Knight reached out his hand to him, grasping at the ashen one as if he held something incredibly precious. "For my lady's painting."
The Unkindled felt immense waves of killing intent and took a further step back, preparing for battle as his experience told him what would happen next. His expectations were proved correct. As the Slave Knight roared in frustration at the Ashen One before impaling his sword through the Corpse of a Pygmy Lord that he had been feeding upon and he threw it at him. Then darkness filled his vision.
...
...
...
The Ashen One slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head upwards. Groaning as he massaged his temples, turning to see the fireplace was filled with broken bits of logs and several wisps of smoke as if the fire had been put out hours ago. He had been sleeping while sitting in front of the fireplace all of that time, still in his armour.
"Just another memory," Ash said, grimacing as he stood up. "... I wonder what's the new bounty in the Guild?"
City of Lescatie, Mercenary Guild.
...
The Ashen One wandered through the streets of Lescatie until he reached the Mercenary Guild building. Upon entering, the noises of the building's occupants died down and he was met by nervous stares from other mercenaries. Their voices were hushed as they whispered faces close together so that he could not overhear. The rumours of a foreign knight who had a reputation for killing Mamonos in great numbers and brutal efficacy along with his other actions around Lescatie.
Ash simply brushed the whispering mercenaries off; those rumours didn't matter to him, nor did he care to bother hearing about it. He was not some individual that was seeking praise or glory. He came here to browse the billboard to do some odd jobs, earn some money and earn a living. Just then, his eyes glimpsed a piece of paper on the board, and he took a step to the left for a closer examination.
[Help Wanted: Monster Activities in Lemar Mines, needed mercenaries to take them out.]
[Reward: 1.260 Gold]
The Knight ripped the request sheet from the board before walking over to the counter. The Mercenaries nearby the counter quickly stepped away to a safe distance in fear due to the menacing aura he projected, filling them with dread that was in stark contrast to the image of the weary knight before them.
After the request was approved by the clerk at the counter, he then took the sheet of paper with the stamp of approval to show the mission's current progress and left the building. The Guild Members sighed in relief once the knight walked out of the exit. The Ashen One quickly found and took the nearest caravan station for transportation before departing towards Lescatie's Western Region.
...
Western Region, Lemar Mines.
...
...A couple of days later...
...
A group of miners hastily fled from the mine whilst others stayed behind and screamed for help as they were dragged away by the lustful Monster Girls. As pitiful as they were, the monster girls did not care, as they savagely stripped their pants off to rape them.
The Wurm Monster Girls who caused the entire ruckus and were interrupting the mining activities while capturing the miners were having fun with them cuddling and mating with their fresh husbands, while most of them had already done their depraved acts with the male miners and were now sleeping with arms holding their new mates tight.
"S-Stop! No! I have to support my daughters and I won't let them go!" screamed one of the miners as a Wurm ripped his pants off.
"Then I'm your wife from here on out~!" The Wurm slurred with a moan. "Mmmhh~! Your scent tells that you haven't got sex with a woman, then that means you adopted those children, so I'm going to be their mother~!"
"No! Y-You'll turn them into one of your kind!"
"G-Gah" Another unfortunate Miner was held tight by the Wurm as she kept licking his shaft.
"N-No! Please!" He cried, but the monster paid him no heed.
White fluids spewed out from his shaft as he lost the battle with pleasure, and the Wurm monster girl smiled in joy and began to lap up the white fluid. The other monster girls were busy having their fun as well. Until one of them suddenly heard the sounds of clanking metal footsteps on the mine floor. Somewhere in the caves, a Wurm popped out from the tunnels and she was preparing to pounce on the mysterious male individual in hopes to have a husband for herself, only to have her head severed by the knight's broadsword, sending blood fountaining across the cavern floor.
The monsters slowly stopped at what they were doing as noises of steel hacking through flesh and the horrified screams of their brethren echoed throughout the tunnels, and the sound of fighting intensified as it got nearer and nearer. The Mamonos slowly dropped their newly gained husbands while the atmosphere in the mine grew tenser and tenser as the source of the incoming clanking sounds grew closer. Soon, the source of the clanking appeared right in front of them. A Knightly figure who was covered in blood stood menacingly at the entrance of the cavern.
The silver-blue knight held a torch aloft in his left hand and a broadsword that dripped with the blood of the slain in his right. The Mamono were utterly horrified because of the stench of blood coming from his sword and armour, which they sensed he killed their brethren while on his way to the chamber.
The Ashen One then spoke out coldly. "Well, another chamber of orgy, huh? Let's get this over with, then."
With that, he took a step forward into the chamber.
One Wurm snarled in anger and pounced at the Knight, intending to avenge her fallen brethren. The Ashen One merely took a sidestep before a single horizontal swing of his broadsword cleaved her upper soft body in half. The Knight then stared at the other Wurms with his emotionless helmet and his menacing aura, causing them to be paralyzed in fear.
"You're next." The Ashen One intoned with an apathetic voice and raised his broadsword before charging into the mass of monsters.
From then on, only the horrifying screams of the Mamono echoed throughout the tunnels. The miners just sat there on the ground with fear in their eyes, as they watched the butchery unfold as the silver-blue knight mercilessly slaughtered the Wurms effortlessly while the other monster girls, who had just finished mating with their new partners, grew fearful of the killer and fled from the mines after witnessing their fellow brethren were slain without remorse and those who tried to avenge them resulted in their deaths as well.
Once it all died down and the last monster had been slain, the Miners who had escaped the caves were waiting outside. They noticed that the commotion inside the mine had gone silent until they heard the clanking of armour plates coming towards them. The Knight emerged from the mine first, followed along by the other missing miners. They all cheered and shouted praise at their saviour.
"I can't believe you beat them all!" A joyful miner praised the knight. "The Wurms are overall the most aggressive of the monsters, but you've bested them all by yourself! Then that means you're a Hero after all!"
"No... not quite," Ash replied in a gruff tone. "I'm just a knight, that's all, and my job here is done."
With that, the knight walked away from the mine. Leaving the miners in confusion, before the Miners would resume their duties, one of them entered the chamber where most of the miners had told their fellow miners of where the Wurms had attempted to rape a lot of men. As he went in, his eyes widened in shock, staring out in horror at the amount of carnage from what the Knight had wrought. It was a bloody massacre. Body parts were strewn across and most of the corpses had been hacked into pieces as if some madman had gone on a killing spree.
Just who was that Silver-Blue Knight? Was he really the rumoured foreign Knight that everyone was talking about?
The knight's colour scheme was similar to that of an Order Knight, and it must have brought confusion among people who saw him and thought that he was just some plain knight. If he was the rumoured Knight, then the amount of carnage he left was no joke, which he truly meant business.
"Henry?- oh god." Suddenly, another Miner came in while covering his nose. "Damn, this is a slaughterhouse. What happened here?"
"Romeo... do you think that was the Silver-Blue Knight which everyone has been talking about?" Henry asked his fellow miner in question.
"Eh-What? You mean him we saw earlier?" Romeo raised his eyebrow, and the look on his face grew in surprise. "That foreign Knight? I guess what the people are saying is true... then this amount of carnage isn't like we've seen every day... ugh... this is nauseating. We'd better get back up to the surface before we have to get rid of those monster corpses."
The young Miner said nothing as he vacated the blood-soaked chambers.
The City of Lescatie.
...
The Silver-Blue Knight had finally returned to the city along with a caravan by sunset after a couple of days of travelling. While on the road, the passengers whispered to themselves while keeping their distance from the Knight. They talked among themselves about how he effortlessly killed a group of feral ogres along the way. But Ash shrugged it off, regardless.
'Another day... another pay for my monthly wage.' The knight thought to himself before returning to his dozing.
Later on, after he arrived through the city gates. He returned to the Slums while traversing the alleyways, carrying a bag full of groceries from the marketplace that consisted of carrots, cabbage, salt, dried ham, and others to stock up his shelves. As he passed through an alley near the orphanage. Two young orphan boys between the ages of nine and seven came running to his side.
"Hey, Mister! Are you the Silver-Blue Knight?" The boy asked. "The Knight that people were talking about?"
"Yeah! We heard you're good at defeating monsters!" Asked the other. "You must be a hero! That's what other people said!"
He just stood there and stared down at them. The young, curious, optimistic eyes still look back up at him for a good few moments awaiting his answer until silence between them was interrupted as a female voice called out to the children.
"Ralph! Michael! What are you doing?!" That voice was familiar. "You know it's rude to startle a stranger?"
"But Ms Fullmoon, look!" Ralph said with a pleading look while pointing his finger upward towards the Ashen One. "It's the Silver-Blue Knight that everyone is talking about!"
Sasha looked up at him before letting out a small gasp. She hastened the two boys back to the Orphanage before looking towards the Knight.
"S-Sorry about that... umm, Mister..?"
"... Ash." The Ashen One responded with a muffled voice behind his helmet. "... Ash Cyrus."
"O-Oh, so... your name is Ash Cyrus... I see..." Sasha said while acknowledging his name before bowing politely towards him. "I apologised that the boys have caused trouble for you."
"Not a problem." Ash waved his left hand dismissively. "Children may be troublesome, but they are of no harm."
With that, he bid a farewell while leaving the Orphanage. Sasha stood idly by, watching him walk away. Her senses told her that this knight was very strong and a veteran in his own calibre as the people outside the city walls spoke of and she knew such an individual who's even more battle-weary if she saw one. He was quite tall for an average person and wore armour made from a foreign nation she did not know about.
She smiled in a sad demeanour after hearing from Merse that he turned down the offer which was requested by Willmarina Noscrim on behalf of the Order and yet, the Order of the Chief God is too stubborn to acknowledge this because of its rampant corruption across the Theocracy and ignored the refusals of those that caught its intrust.
She sighed in pity. The Priestess knew that the Order has its eyes on him due to the spreading rumours, and worst of all. Is that he has no Mana, which is impossible since he shouldn't be alive without it. He may be in danger once the Order learns about his nature, and there is no doubt that they will experiment on him for their own ends. The Warrior Nun clasped her hands and prayed to the Chief God that no harm would befall him.
...
Vanguard Demon Army Camp, near the Borders of Lescatie.
...
The camp was full of mamono activities, carrying and organising provisions for transport. Others were preparing their armour and weapons for the invasion of Lescatie under the orders of Druella, the Fourth Princess of the Demon Lord.
Itha, the Ogre Captain in charge of the Vanguard Company, looked at the overall map of Lescatie before glancing toward her nearest subordinates. One is a Dhampir and the other, is a Hellhound.
"How is the morale of our troops, Ida?" Itha asked towards the Hellhound.
"Their morale is steady despite the rumours, Captain," Ida replied with her eyes hardened with determination. "It has been a month since the rumours have spread fear among our troops."
Indeed, a month ago, several outposts were made in their attempt to scout behind Lescatie's borders for reconnaissance and to exploit the weaknesses of the heavily fortified Human Kingdom. But unfortunately, these outposts that they had constructed for the invasion were destroyed with only several survivors making it back to the Demon Realm. Eyewitnesses spoke of a single man, the Silver-Blue Knight himself, as the only sole individual who caused all the damage.
She heard stories describing the warrior who possessed inhuman strength, agility, and endurance. He carried blades that were even bigger than Ogre Clubs, and they were as long as spears. Then there are more tales that he possessed strange magics that he wielded: Fire, lighting and blue streams of crystals that caused havoc among the ranks. Thus, the most fearful thing of all within the rumour is that not even their strongest succubuses themselves can charm this man and be slaughtered without hesitation.
At first, Itha had scoffed at the rumours as mere nonsense. But the words of this rumour did strike fear into the hearts of the lower-ranking Mamono within the entire demon realm that had made Druella postpone the invasion for nearly a month. For real; the humans are meant to fear them and this single story coming from them had made the lesser Mamono quake as if the Order had its own Demon Lord according to its description by the survivors' eyewitness accounts and acted not like a Hero at all! What a joke!
"I see. That's good since no other rumours were mentioned about that Knight." Itha scoffed before turning to the Dhampir. "Sandra, have our scouts returned?"
"Most have returned with success by interrupting the kingdom's supply lines and silencing the human border guards before bringing them here." The Dhampir smiled for a while until her lips turned down. "However, all but one has succeeded, and that is Sasaki's group."
"What happened?" Itha said while raising her eyebrows. "Explain."
"Sasaki was tasked to track down the Silver-Blue Knight under the orders of Princess Druella herself to get rid of that person who has been deteriorating our troop's morale," Sandra explained before her expression turned grim. "However, they found him... and she is the only one who came back."
"Only one? How?"
"Her entire group was killed in a rather ruthless and efficient way." The Dhampir replied, trying to keep the unease out of her voice. "She's the sole survivor and was spared due to him telling her to give us his message."
"Then what did he say?" Ida then asked curiously.
"She spoke about what he said: Leave him be," Sandra replied with his message. "If any of us tries to cross paths with him, he will come for us and kill us all."
Itha and Ida felt unease bloom within them at those words. So this man wasn't a rumour at all and he killed six oriental succubuses with no effort. Itha immediately shrugged from those thoughts. The last thing she heard about Sasaki was that she had left the camp.
'What a coward she is,' Itha grunts. 'He's still inside Lescatie, after all. But with strength in our numbers, there is no way he can defeat us and he shall become our pet.'
"Captain Itha!"
The Ogre turned around and saw a Demonic Imp enter the War Tent. It was a messenger carrying the Seal of the Royal Makai, thus saluting to the Ogre Captain.
"The Fourth Princess has made her decision. We are to march under the twilight!"
The Ogre smiled at the news. Now it's their time to move into the human kingdom as ordered by the Fourth Princess of the Royal Makai. Soon thousands of monsters and corrupted human female warriors marched in formation through the Human-Demon borders as Harpies wheeled overhead the advancing army.
On the nearby human borders, several hidden cloaked Lescatian scouts widened their eyes as they caught the sight of thousands of torches lighting up the darkness across the land as they could see. They knew this meant a massive Demonic Army was coming their way.
"S-Sound the horns!" screamed the leading scout. "It's a full-scale invasion!"
On hidden watch towers standing beside the trees. A scout blew the massive horn, signalling to the nearby outposts of the encroaching army. Moments after that, more sounds of horns erupted from the distance.
"Captain! From above!" One scout cried out as he heard a dreaded bird-like shriek.
"Harpies!"
The leading captain looked up and saw dark silhouettes swooping down. The Scouts attempted to shoot them down with their bows and arrows, but they were too fast and several men got snatched up into the air.
The leading scout could hear his men groaning, and some even begged. Then he heard giggles made from behind him. Spinning around, he saw a Harpie smiling down at him, who then spoke in a sultry voice.
"From now on, you are my husband~!"
On that night, muffled screams and groans mixed with pleasured moans filled the night skies.
...
The City of Lescatie.
...
Almost a week had passed since the invasion began as the Demonic Army marched through the borders. Refugees filled the city streets after their small towns and villages in the surrounding regions were overtaken and pillaged by the monstrous invasion.
Many refugees staged riots in protest for more food before they were beaten or killed by city guards. The Order then sent their clergymen to set up stages and started preaching for the Chief God to ease the panicking masses. But it wasn't enough to calm the situation.
In one of the city's many dark alleyways, the Ashen One leant against the wall with arms crossed. The Knight watched the people of Lescatie pitifully. All the while, the city was being thrown into civil disorder and chaos erupted as the monster invasion came closer and closer to the capital. He could not care less about the situation around him and needed to come up with a plan to escape this city if the monsters succeeded in occupying it. But the problem was that the entire city was in a complete lockdown while the lescatian soldiers were gathering themselves on the walls and the Mercenary Guild had been forced to close after the Order hired as many mercenaries as possible to protect the city. Everything is already in turmoil among the citizens of Lescatie and its leadership.
He stood back up and left. When he took a right turn around the corner, a person bumped into him suddenly and fell flat on the ground.
"O-Oh! S-sorry! I was just-"
"It's alright." The Ashen One spoke in his usual monotone voice while holding up the person by the shoulders and saw a familiar face. "Huh... Well, it's nice to meet you again, Lady Fullmoon."
"Oh! Mr Cyrus, I-I never expected to meet you here." Sasha replied, flabbergasted while widening her eyes in surprise before making an apologising bow. "Pardon me for not being cautious enough!"
"No need for apologising." Sasha looks up to see Ash waving his left hand dismissively before asking. "So, are things going well for you?"
"The children are alright, but I am worried." The former heroine looked down with a saddened expression. "Everyone is afraid because of the monster's invasion, and no one is going out of the city."
"It seems we're stuck in here like caged birds." Ash cupped his fingers up the chin section of his helmet in thought. "The leaders in Lescatie are incompetent to let such an invasion happen."
"I... see... umm... Ash, I would like to talk about something." Sasha clasped both of her hands, clenching them together. "Since you are not a bad person after all, no matter what the rumours that have been told. Will... you still trust me?"
Ash then stood silently still. Trust her? Seems like she's willing to reveal one of her secrets to him. Ash slowly turned his helmet's visor down to the Warrior Nun and looked at her suspiciously until he asked.
"What trust would I be holding for you?"
"There is something I would like to show you." She explained with a solemn and guilt-ridden look. "Something that I've been keeping away from the Order."
Now, this is interesting. Although, he rarely interacted with Sasha for the past few days since the invasion began. All he had done was to help her out around the slum district by carrying out her heavy groceries for the orphans. But now, he was unsure about it at her additional request. He remembered that he still made some reckless decisions during his time in the Lands of the Great Lord to seek the secrets and truth of the old gods of Lordran.
'I swear to the flames that this should better not get me involved with the Order.'
The sun was setting as every corner of the slums turned dark. The knight followed the warrior nun through the alleyways of the forsaken district that led towards the orphanage. Once they arrived, the young children were overjoyed to see Sasha return and some older boys came to see the Silver-Blue Knight, who was standing right beside her.
"Look! It's the Silver-Blue Knight!"
"Whoa! He came back!"
"His helmet still looks awesome! Can I wear them, please?"
"Wow! That's a large sword he has there. Can I touch it!?"
Ash turned his head around to see a little girl with blonde hair touching the tip of the claymore's scabbard that is strapped on his back. Sasha giggled before shoeing the children away from the visitor.
"Excuse me, the children are very excited to see the rumoured hero." The Nun smiled.
"I see." Ash mused to himself behind the helmet. "They're still as clingy and excitable as ever, despite the worrying situation going around here in this city."
As the children were playing outside, the Nun and the Knight entered the small church. He followed her through the hallways and scanned his surroundings.
Everything was clean, and the floor was well polished. Looking around, he saw artistic depictions on the glass windows, which show the Hero Saints and Monsters fighting each other during the Old Age before turning his head to see the Altar of the Chief God in front of him. It showed a massive cross of gold with angelic wings in the back. The colour of the gold and the angelic wings looked familiar as if it reminded him of Lothric's Grand Archives where he fought the Ascended Winged Knights, bearing the same colour scheme. Oh boy, they were hard to beat them down. He shrugged off those bad memories and continued walking.
The nun walked over to the curtain hanging by the wall with a small table in front. She moved them aside before pressing a brick to open a secret door to a passage leading downstairs. She stopped and turned to Ash with a pleading look.
"Before we enter, please understand." She said until Ash slowly nodded. "Now come."
The Nun stepped in first before Ash cautiously followed in. Sasha grabbed a candle nearby while heading downstairs. Once they reached the underground basement, Ash raised his eyebrow in surprise.
"These children... are the reason I wanted to show you."
He was met with a small group of young Mamono who were cautiously looking at him. A young Orc Mamono hid behind Sasha while looking to the knight with her eyes full of fear, as Ash unknowingly emitted an aura of foreboding dread.
"I... had established an orphanage that is deep within the forest and brought them here after they announced the lockdown of the city," Sasha explained with a saddened expression as she picked up the hapless young orc and cradled the child in her arms. "I don't want to leave them behind..."
The knight said nothing and waited for the nun to continue
"And of course... this is my secret... my sin that I can never atone for," Sasha spoke with a regretful smile. "This is why I need to gain your trust. Because of this, my actions from the past have led me to these children and now it is my responsibility to take care of them."
The Knight stood still before crossing his arms and deep breath, tilting his head sideways.
'Great, this is a problem.' His mind cursed. 'All I needed to do was not to get involved in someone or this city's problems and try to get out of this damned place. Yet now, she puts an extra chain on it, just great.'
"Let me guess... you've turned your back on the Order." He placed his hand on his helmet's forehead as Sasha was trembling slightly and having a nervous breakdown, not knowing that he was only disappointed. "And then you drag me into this mess?... Just great."
"... Are you... angry that I revealed my secret?" Sasha then looks down with sadness filled with regrets. "If so... then the Order-"
"No, I'm not angry." Ash interrupts while tilting his head sideways. "Just disappointed that you dragged me into this problem, and you're lucky that I have never adhered to the Order in the first place. If we can escape from this city, then you still owe me a big favour."
"So you aren't angry after all?" Sasha then smiled, as she was relieved. "I am glad."
The Knight sighed as he crossed his arms before leaning against the wall. Pretty sure if the Order caught them, then there will be no qualms about killing them all. Sasha at first must have believed that he would outright murder them all because of her for sheltering the Mamono during the day that the city was about to be under siege.
But for Ash, whilst he did encounter dangerous monsters in his previous life, he also met decent ones when he came to the world of Ariandel to meet a Corvian, who lived in the cave when he first arrived in the painting, then a forlorn corvian settler who wished nothing but to burn that rotten world and several storytelling White Faced Locust Preachers when he had come to that forsaken place called the Ringed City.
His mind needed to come up with a better plan for a secure route to freedom. While the mamono children had returned to playing after he had shown that he was no threat. One child, a single mamono who looked like a young Weresheep, took a few steps toward the Knight and it alerted him by her movement and turned his head to the girl. Ash looked down at the curious monster child. Her age was nowhere near three years old. She was a toddler, after all. She fell flat to the ground once their eyes met before bawling and crying in terror.
Suddenly, they felt the underground rumble, which lasted for a while and thus came the sound of thousands of pounding footsteps. Ash cocked his head to hear the sounds of horns and shouting from outside. On the top of the city walls, the soldiers watched over a massive army of monsters marching on the outskirts of the city under the veil of darkness.
The refugees waiting outside the city walls poured into the main city gates in a panic. Soldiers tried to organise the refugees into a semblance of order, but it did not stop them from trampling many as fear overcame their senses. Ash and Sasha quickly exited the secret room before closing the passageway behind them.
"Alright... Sasha, get the children into the Church while I find a secure route for escaping the city." The Knight said as the Nun nodded. "Stay here while-"
He stopped mid-sentence as he opened the door of the Church's entrance. The couple saw a group of Order clergymen and armed guards standing right in front of them. Sasha gasped in terror as she saw the badge on their robes that depict their insignia. The Order's Inquisition Branch of Lescatie.
"The... the Inquisition? Here?" She whispered silently in horror.
An old clergyman stepped forwards as he pulled out a scroll. He made a small cough before reading it out loud of its inscription.
"Sasha Fullmoon..." She gulped upon hearing her name.
"As our suspicions of your actions were confirmed by one of our Agents under the jurisdiction of the Order. We have come to arrest you." An old clergyman spoke, while his lips formed a wicked smile. "The reason for your crimes is committing heresy and treason for sheltering monsters right under our noses that ultimately offended the Chief God!"
Those words struck Sasha to the core. Her knees felt weak and fell to the ground. The children looked up to the Inquisition and their guards with fear and confusion. Some kids stood in defiance in an urge to protect their big sister. The situation was getting worse until two of the Order guards armed with spears stepped forwards to apprehend the traitorous Heroine, but then came to a halt by the Silver-Blue Knight who stepped into their path holding his claymore, threateningly making them step back. The Warrior Nun looked up to Ash in shock and fear. She'd hoped that he wouldn't fall into dire consequences for taking sides between her and the Order.
"W-What is the meaning of this?!" The Order Guard raised their spears, pointing towards the Knight. "Are you with that traitor?!"
"Not quite... but I have enough of your absurdity and you will certainly use the fact that I was here. You were trying to recruit me," Ash replied, voice cold, sending shivers through the spines of anyone who heard him. "Sasha, bring the children into the church."
Sasha was silent until she shook off her negative thoughts away and gave him a quick silent nod before gathering the children back inside the building. The old priest was infuriated that this man before him, a servant of the Divine Chief God, dared to raise his sword against the Faithful of the Order!
"Seize him and kill that traitor priestess!"
Upon hearing his order, the Order Guards rushed forwards with their spears raised.
"Fools."
Ash silently muttered to himself as he swung his claymore down. The blade slashed off the heads of their spears before cutting one guard down while the others, stunned by the knights' ferocity. Then the second Order guard did not react in time before the large blade swung through the air, slashing through his throat. The clergymen stood back in horror to see the menacing-looking Knight slowly walking toward them.
The three priests raised their swords and rushed at the Knight, screaming in fanatical fury, hoping to send the knight to the pits of the underworld. But their attempts were for nothing, as the priests were instantly hacked down like pigs with a horizontal swing in a single blow of his claymore while the last clergyman fell back in horror at the advancing knight. He looked up to the Knight, who lifted his Claymore with the blade pointing downwards.
"Y-You dare-"
"I don't care for the God you preach." Ash interrupted with an icy tone. The menace Ash conveyed in his voice had not been heard in this land until this day. "May your soul rest within the Abyss."
With that, Ash plunged the blade down, impaling the clergyman in the chest before twisting it, crushing internal organs. The Clergyman screamed in pain and agony before going silent. Ash whipped the blood away from his greatsword on the dead man before noticing something. He heard screaming from above and saw Harpies flying above the city walls as archers and mages tried to put them down with arrows and magic, while some were grabbed by swooping harpies, carrying them off as they screamed for help.
The Siege has begun, and there is no time to waste.
Sasha slowly opened the door to see if Ash was alright, only to be horrified to see his work and there are body parts of Order Clergymen strewn out along with the bodies of the dead guards. She covered her mouth and tried not to vomit up her lunch after seeing such a nauseating sight.
"We have to move... it's not safe hiding in the Church anymore while I'm going to search for an escape route." Ash said while sheathing the Claymore on his back. "If anyone can still walk, don't stop until we get out of this godforsaken place."
The Warrior Nun calmed down and nodded before organising the orphans, both human and monster, to get their most important belongings and followed the Knight, who was leading them to escape the city.
...
City of Lescatie, Main Street.
...
"The gates are going to be breached!
"Hold! Hold the gates!"
"The walls have been taken! Don't let them get through!"
The soldiers on top of the walls fought desperately against a variety of monsters and corrupted female warriors while most were trying to stop the never-ending waves of ladders. A group of monster archers shot their grappling hooks and ensnared one of the human archers before an Amazon pulled the rope and dragged him down to the opposite side of the wall. The unfortunate archer fell until he was grabbed by a Hellhound, then he was drowned in a frenzied sexual orgy of monsters.
Meanwhile, the men tried to barricade the main gate with all their strength and anything heavy that they could lay their hands on. While Ogres tried to tear it down with a battering ram until finally it was breached by a hail of magic explosions and projectiles courtesy of the monster army's Baphomets and Witches. Once the gates were breached, hellhounds and werewolves swarmed over the defenders with superhuman agility and the element of surprise caused by the gate's sudden fall. The human defenders were quickly overwhelmed and raped. The ones that were unconscious were dragged away by their attackers, becoming spoils of war.
"Charge, my sisters! Tonight is ripe and gathers your spoils of war!" Itha raised her Wooden Club in triumph as the vast swarm of Orcs marched forwards and clashed against a line of human defenders.
As the city was quickly overrun by monsters, men were dragged and raped on sight whilst the surrounding street fighting raged on. Not even the women and female combatants are spared as the Succubi and the Demons corrupted them by spreading a thick miasma of Demonic Energy throughout their bodies that turned them into mindless, lustful puppets and were used to sway the defenders from resisting their monstrous attackers.
Smoke and fires erupt from the buildings and slowly spread to other buildings in their vicinity. Druella walked onto the cobblestone road, entering the city along with her trustful aides standing with her while a massive army of Dark Warriors marched behind her.
The succubus in front of the marching column of monsters was an orange-haired woman wielding a sword who walked over to greet Druella with a salute.
"Eristia, the city is now ours~," Druella spoke in a sultry voice by whispering words into her ears. The former Heroine made a trembled moan. "Occupy every bit and piece of this city and make sure not a single human tries to escape~!"
Eristia nodded before turning to the column of monsters to give out an order.
"All girls, move out!" She yelled while raising Darkleim. "Make sure none shall leave the city!"
….
Inside the royal castle within the city centre, the Royal Guards and soldiers of the Order, along with its remaining heroes and heroines, barricaded the gates, doors, and every window. The clergy preached to the Defenders of Lescatie for their last prayers of the Chief God and were willing to fight to the last man.
"This is the end, isn't it?"
"I've seen one of those monsters is one of our missing heroes! Never in my life would I see them working alongside those abominations!"
"No, I swear! I saw Eristia is amongst them. She's turned into a succubus!"
"All you 'lot stop talking and get ready! They're coming!"
While the human defenders frantically armed themselves, the gates of the main castle were breached by an explosion and spearmen lined up a formation to ward off the attackers. But instead, only one came. As the dust cleared, they were horrified at what they were seeing.
"Ara~? How rude. Is this how you treat your guests?"
It was a succubus, but not just an ordinary one, but the Fourth Princess of the Royal Makai herself and a Lilim, which is classified as the Daughter of the Demon Lord. She brushed her hair aside and thus made out a loud moan. As the defending men heard it, they trembled as ecstasy for sexual desires overcame their minds. They slowly dropped their shields and weapons before monsters came pouring in. The Knights of the Order stood horrified as they, too, were overrun. Some tried to fend them off, but they were pulled down by their sheer numbers.
Hellhounds scaled the walls to disorganise the defending Lescatian Archers and were swiftly followed by a group of Wurms and Lamias. Druella smirked as the final sexual onslaught of Lescatie began.
However, a group of monsters was sent flying through the air by a blast of air. Druella turned around to see a female knight holding a spear towards her.
"Oho~? Now, this has got interesting." Druella smiled.
"I won't let you pass, Fourth Daughter of the Demon Lord." Merse grits her teeth while tightly gripping her spear. "As a knight, I uphold my duty to protect this city and the royal family."
The Royal Knights appeared behind Merse and formed a defensive formation with a shield wall. Yet their attempts to stop the Lilim proved fruitless as the monster girl took a step forward. Merse felt sweat flowing down through her cheeks while looking back at her Knights, and she saw how they trembled at the mere sight of the Lilim. She cursed herself that men were becoming more and more vulnerable the longer they looked upon this succubus.
"Now now~, just lay down your arms~!" The Lilim moaned while emitting an aura of Demonic Energy. Soon after that, monsters of every kind followed her and encircled the human knights, preparing to overwhelm the last group of defenders.
"The night is still young and we should give it our best love~!"
...
The City of Lescatie, the Slums.
...
Somewhere in the slums, Ash and Sasha led the children through the quiet alleyways of the poor district. Ash raised his left hand in the air and the group stopped. Looking up, Ash saw a group of harpies fly above the rooftops nearby while a large group of orcs followed them, searching for stragglers.
The knight looked back to Sasha while avoiding the attention of the orcs until her eyes followed his finger to where he was pointing another shortcut. Ash and Sasha got the children to press themselves against the alley walls as a large group of orcs marched through the street, passing through the dark alleyway they were in.
"Come on, keep moving." The knight spoke up in a hushed voice before advancing quickly and silently into another alleyway across the street, followed by the nun and the children.
All around them, the slums began slowly to emit loud noises such as screams and moans of pleasure resonated throughout the district. The monsters had already taken over the city, and they had just run rampant around the area. The children wept, but Sasha hushed at them to be quiet, convincing them that everything will be alright once they get out.
The knight took the next corner to the right to see if the coast was clear, then to the left before turning to the group. Ash quietly gave out a hand gesture to move quickly before taking to the next corner straight ahead. From there, he can see a small-sized gate that was left unsecured and standing in the most secluded area within the city. The guards must have left the area to reinforce the main gate.
"Over there, our one-way ticket to escape." Ash pointed out as Sasha sighed in relief.
As the group made their way to the gate, their relief was cut short as a group of forty-armed Orcs blocked their way with a single Ogre standing right in front of them.
"Well well well, what do we have here?" Itha smirked as she leaned her large wooden club against her shoulders. "Humans, trying to escape this city? Tsk, no one is to go free right under our noses. We are tasked under the orders of Eristia."
"Eristia?!... " Sasha gasped.
"... You know her?" The Knight asked.
"Yes, she's one of the Heroes of Lescatie." She explained with her head hung down solemnly. "The last time I heard from her... she went to search for the legendary sword in the nearby ruins and went missing for a few days... Until now, I never thought that she would fall under the influence of Druella."
"I see... well then," Ash said while stepping forth and his hand gesturing to the Priestess over to the building nearby. "Sasha, hide with children. Now."
"B-But-"
Sasha was about to protest, yet the Knight silenced her with a glare from behind his emotionless visor. The metal visor made the glare much more intimidating, which made Sasha's breath catch in her throat as the glare was further enhanced by the pressure from the knight exuded.
"I know..." He said with a cold voice that sent a chill throughout her body. With that, he turned and stepped forward to the monsters. The Heroine stepped back and quickly led the children to hide behind the corner of a nearby building which Ash recommended. She watched as the knight strapped his crest shield behind his back and, to her surprise, his left hand started to show signs of glowing embers falling from it.
"Huh. So you must be... the rumoured Silver-Blue Knight?" Itha spoke haughtily in a prideful manner. "Hmph! Too bad, you're just one man against forty of us! Then why don't you just lay down your arms and become our prey?"
The Knight ignored the comment and kept walking forward. He felt his left hand keep getting warmer and hotter until it emanated in flames, and thus... it burst into a radiance of molten fury. Ash still kept his hardened gaze behind his visor locked on the monsters and spoke in a muffled voice underneath his helmet.
"Try me."
At that point, he raised his left arm, and a gigantic ball of fire took shape from nowhere. Itha and her band of Orcs stepped back in surprise until the Knight threw the gigantic flaming ball that exploded against the first ranks of orcs. It burned anyone within its vicinity. The heat of the flame was as hot as molten rock, any of the Orcs touched by the fire cried out in agony as flames spread across their bodies. Ash, who was watching the scene with morbid curiosity, mused to himself that the orcs did smell like roasted pork.
This was one of Ash's favourite Pyromancy spells; the Chaos Bed Vestige.
Itha gritted her teeth as the orcs steeled themselves, now knowing that this man was serious about killing every one of them. The leader of her company raised her wooden club in the air.
"All ranks, charge!" she roared and charged forward.
Ash stepped forth while changing his claymore for a more powerful weapon. His hand reached into his trusty bottomless box for a better weapon and pulled out his good old friend, a sword made from a large chunk of steel and titanite known as the Greatsword. The finest Ultra Greatsword ever forged by the Knights of Berenike. Sasha's eyes widened in shock to see Ash pull out a massive sword from a simple, portable, small wooden box that had appeared beside him.
'What in Chief Gods' name...!?'
The orcs stopped in their tracks to see the knight, who was now wielding a massive sword, much larger than they have ever seen, and they stood milling about in fearful bewilderment. Ash smiled under his helmet before he charged to take advantage of the confusion. He slashed the sword at an orc and with one vertical swing of his blade mercilessly cleaved the first orc in half before following it up with the rest of the first ranks as the bodies of orcs were sliced in half or crushed with his horizontal sweeping attack.
Limbs and body parts were flung in every direction, littering all the streets. The monsters tried to overwhelm him with numbers, but it was no use as the Ashen One cut them down mercilessly without hesitation as their body parts were sent flying, sending blood everywhere. Itha was shaken to witness such carnage and to acknowledge that such a dangerous individual actually existed!
The rumours of the Silver-Blue Knight were supposed to be an exaggerated depiction of a male warrior. It was just a story to scare off the mamono, but this was real. The nature of the foe they faced was for all to see. His true strength and his way of fighting were terrifying, efficient and brutal; it was not in the same league of strength as Human warriors nor the Heroes themselves; it was simply monstrous. Itha gripped her club tightly and, despite her fear, she decided to charge into the fray to subdue the knight, but Ash, sensing danger, rolled aside as a large wooden club smashed into the cobblestone ground. As soon as the Ogre missed, she was already raising her club to attack once more.
*Shraak!*
Only for her wrist to be separated from her arm by his Ultra Greatsword because of its greater length allowed him to attack easily and safely. The severed hand and club flew up into the air, landing in an alleyway with a crash as the Ogre screamed in pain while gripping her wrist in a vain attempt to stem the bleeding before she was silenced as the blade of the Greatsword came down. Cleaving her from shoulder to hip. The rest of the orcs stood frozen in fear once they saw their captain die by the knight's blood-soaked hands before they could regain their senses. Ash had already lifted his weapon once more and charged toward the remaining monsters.
Sasha and some older children watched the horrifying scene as mamono screamed in terror and agony as they were slaughtered. The walls of the surrounding houses were covered in blood, body parts, limbs, and organs. She knew Ash doesn't have mana, but her thoughts betrayed her as soon as he summoned a large fireball from his bare hand and wielded such a massive sword like a feather that any ordinary human being could not wield that monstrosity. Things like that are impossible to pull off if he was a normal human.
'Such brutality and not a single hint of remorse...' She mentally noted whilst trembling in fear. 'Despite no mana, he used magic... Just... what is he...?'
Once the slaughter was done. Ash scanned his surroundings and saw one last surviving orc, whom he had cut her knees off. She was trying to reach for her hammer while crawling through the ground to get there as she squirmed in pain with tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Hurgk!... Agh... M-Mommy...!" wept the pitiful monster as she crawled away from the knight.
Ash just scoffed and decided to let her live. Either way, she would likely die later, succumbing to her serious wounds. Leaning his Ultra Greatsword on his right shoulder and signalling to the nun and the children that the coast is clear. Sasha looked down at the surviving Orc in pity and quietly gave her a prayer. Once they reached the gates, Ash pulled the lever moments later. The gates opened with a groin. The Knight turned around to see the others were following and saw Sasha waving at him, indicating to the nearby stables.
"Good. This makes our escape much faster."
It was a relief that horses were still in the stables and Sasha helped the children to embark on the horse-drawn wagon with everyone on board. Ash cracked the leash before the horses whinnied and pulled the transport into the city's outskirts.
...
Lescatie City Outskirts.
...
Sasha looked behind to see that the major parts of the city were still burning. Black smoke rose from a distance while the orphans, both humans and monsters, watched on in fear and anxiety.
She knew that their home was still there, but from now on, it was not home anymore. She can still hear the clash of blades. The battles and screams echoed through the air. It was over, Lescatie had fallen. Yet by fortunate luck, they escaped the city from the lust-filled siege with the help of the foreign knight.
However... something came to her realisation. She knew that her beloved ones were still there, and she tried her best to ignore the fate of her friends once the siege was over.
"Elt... Merse... Ms Noscrim... everyone, I'm sorry." Sasha muttered silently in grief as tears fell across her cheeks. "I wished you all should have come with us, but all of you dedicated yourselves to defending the city."
The Ashen One did not respond as horses clopped their hooves through the dirt pathways. Once he looks behind the besieged city, he notices something is off that fills him with dread and stops the transport.
"What's going on over there?"
Sasha looks back in the direction of what he was witnessing and saw a transparent pink hue of mist that is strewn all across the city. She noticed what it was.
"It's coming from the main castle. The Fourth Daughter of the Demon Lord is releasing a miasma filled with Demonic Energy from a powerful spell that is intended for... monsterization." Sasha remarked grimly while solemnly looking down. "She's turning all the female citizens into lustful puppets by corrupting their Mana. Soon, along with the males, they will be turned into monsters..."
Ash could not help but watch as the city slowly turned silent when the transparent mist of a pink hue took over. The city was already doomed, filled with lust and pleasurable debaucheries. It disgusted him alright, while they were still nowhere as near as in the same level of the sheer brutality of the monsters of his world, seeing them doing it to the human citizens of Lescatie frightens him, not because it just turns them into Monsters.
These monsters were literally driving humans into extinction if this monster expansion kept up. It was like how the first flames spread the curse of the darksign among the humans after Gwyn linked himself to the Fire; the result turned them into undead or, even worse, the hollows and the horrible abominations that ensued which led to the downfall of many kingdoms.
The Ashen One mentally shook his head to clear his mind from those thoughts and cracked the leash. The horses neighed, and the wagon moved once more while the two unlikely heroes, along with the orphan children, made their journey towards a neighbouring nation.
"So, do you have an idea where we are heading?" Ash asked.
"We're highly likely heading to Gaul," Sasha replied. "It's a neutral country in the West where the Mamono are tolerated there, but I heard that only Mamonos who are well behaved are allowed to live there, unlike those who live within the Demon Realm."
"I see." The Knight hummed while quietly whipping the leash. 'At least those neutral kingdoms know how to control their population.'
"So... what are you going to do after this?" The former nun asked the Knight.
"Well, I might join a Mercenary Guild again to do some odd jobs," Ash replied before turning to her. "How about you?"
"I... still do not know but to watch over the children," Sasha replied with an embarrassed expression while fidgeting with her fingers. "Maybe... is it fine that we should work together, right?"
"Working together...?" The Knight was silent for a moment before he broke out a laugh that made her jump. "Working together... how silly that is... if it were..."
The Ashen One stared out into space for a moment as memories, those familiar voices, spoke into his mind. Those words he remembered that are told were old and ancient.
...
'So, what do you say? Why not help one another on this lonely journey?'
...
'No worries! Adventuring is my life; I'm prepared for the worst. Hah hah hah hah!'
...
'...The only thing to do, really, after a nice toast. You are a true friend. Best of luck with your duty.'
...
Ash smiled underneath his helmet before he turned to Sasha, who still has a dumbfounded look on her face. He sighed as he turned his face straight to its path.
"Maybe... having a companion... isn't bad after all."
...
Chapter 2: Ends