Nino quietly squeezed herself through the crowd to a far corner, returning with only a book.
Stahl quickly found his weapon at the top of the pile.
Subaki waited a moment for the rush to slow down. He went to the wall and picked up a beautiful lance that had been buried in the mess of weapons. It was a very elegant weapon, striking beauty similar to the legendary weapons Stahl had seen earlier. It's head was large, resembling something close to a duel bladed halberd, with a bright red gem embedded in the center. Long red ribbons floated gently from just below the base of the blade.
Subaki looked at the weapon solemnly and sighed.
"Woah!" Gray moved in closer to get a better look, "Is that actually Gradivus?" "Oh, um, yes it is. How did you know?"
"I saw it in a book that my friend showed me. I never thought I would be able to see it in person though." Gray looked up and down the weapon. "It really is cool." He looked at Subaki, "Where'd you get it?"
Subaki hesitated for a moment, "It was a gift."
"Oh." Gray paused for a moment, "I don't have a legendary weapon, but I do have this." He shuffled into the pile and pulled out a sword.
It's zigzagged blade was unmistakable.
"A Levin sword." Stahl said looking at it, "A blade capable of summoning lightning is a pretty nice weapon, too bad they are so rare to find."
Subaki looked at Nino, "A mage huh? Do be careful out there."
Nino quietly nodded.
Stahl looked along the wall, people were still retrieving their weapons. None of the lone weapons had been claimed yet.
"If you have your weapons follow me, we must wait for the gate to open." Subaki said walking towards the entrance.
The rest of the group followed closely.
"What gate?" Stahl looked at him puzzled.
"It's a portal," Gray explained, "It'll take us directly to where ever we are being deployed."
"It's how they quickly move us from place to place. Quite a handy tool, especially for sudden missions such as this one." Subaki explained further.
Gray looked at Subaki, "How come we got warning before the other mission but this one is happening right now without any kind of heads up?" "It was an emergency deployment, there would have been no way for our informant to know or warn us."
"Wait informant? Like a spy?"
"Sort of. We have a person in the Royal Army who tells us information that they hear. I don't know all the details. All I know is we have an unnamed ally on the other side who communicates with the captains."
They arrived at closer to the entrance where dozens of people waited.
"Listen up!" Hector boomed from behind them. He walked forward, the crowd parting to give him a path. Armads rested on his shoulder as he walked. "We don't know what we are going up against. All we know that is going to be dark soon so stay on high alert. The faster we wipe them out, the less time we have to spend out there. Gatherers, try to salvage all that you can find." Hector made it to the front of the group and stood in front of a large set of stone doors.
Suddenly the cracks of the door began to shine brightly, and Hector pushed the great doors wide open. Gradually heroes filtered through into the land beyond it.
Most of the heroes immediately scattered, many moving in small groups.
The sun was starting to set, soon the darkness would begin to creep over the horizon. Ruins of a town surrounded them, nothing but the red hot embers of the dying fires.
The wind blew gently, spurring any remaining flames. There was nothing left. The smell of burning wood and flesh filled the area. Bodies scorched by the flames littered the street. Men, women and children alike, their lives forcefully taken.
"They never stood a chance." Reinhardt said looking around. He seemed unfazed by the death that surrounded him.
Stahl jumped at his sudden presence.
Nino's eyes began to tear up at the sight of the fallen people around them.
Stahl and Gray had seen the results of bandits in the past, but this wasn't anything like the work of bandits. It was worse than they had ever seen. They stood totally taken aback by what surrounded them. Some people have been shredded beyond recognition, others are just strewn about in pieces. "What kind of people could have done this." Nino cried.
"One's that aren't people at all." Subaki said, carefully watching the landscape.
"Some are still here." Reinhardt told them while also watching. "Stay alert." "What are still here? What are you talking about?" Gray asked, somewhat frantic.
Nino looked around and froze. Hiding crouched in the remnants of the houses was a creature. Black with twinkling white spots, as if someone took a chunk straight from the night sky. She clutched her tome close to her chest and tugged at Gray's shirt, "Gray there's something hiding over there." She pointed in the direction of the creature. Gray swung around and drew his blade, ready to engage anything that came his way. The sword flickered to life with powerful electricity.
The creature opened its mouth breathing loudly. They couldn't see much of it besides a dotted head that appeared to have a crest like feature. It suddenly leapt out of its hiding space bounding towards Gray and Nino. Its body was similar to that of a dog.
Gray raised his sword straight up as soon as the creature leaped and it flashed brightly. Suddenly a lightning bolt struck the creature and it fell, twitching slightly.
"What is that!" Gray said backing up a bit watching the creature.
"We don't know exactly what they are." Reinhardt explained. "We see all different kinds. As a whole, we call the group of these unnatural creatures Nagwel."
"Wait," Subaki said studying the creature a bit, "That's a Tumasi isn't it? Won't that mean there are more nearby?"
"Yes." Reinhardt scanned the area, "Tumasi are seen to move in packs. Usually lead by a Suskun, which is a larger creature that is similar to Tumasi."
Subaki looked at the rookies, "Keep sharp, they could be anywhere."
"Why don't we just leave them alone?" Nino said quietly.
Reinhardt looked at Nino sternly, "Because they will move to another village and destroy it like they did this one." Gray looked around at the scorched ruins, "Do these things spit fire or something?"
"That's not from Tumasi or the Suskun. That just means there is another type of Nagwel around here too." Subaki said. "We were sent here to hunt all of these creatures down and kill them to protect the other villages."
"How are we supposed to know if we got them all?"
"We won't, we can only hope."
"If another village falls under attack again, we will be deployed for pest removal." Reinhardt stated walking away. He was alert but he wasn't stressed or very tense. He stopped for a second and looked back at them. "A word of advice for you newcomers. I suggest that you don't stray too far from one another. Many rookies have lost their lives from wandering off alone." He turned back and kept walking.
Stahl watched him for a moment, only know realizing something about Reinhardt, he didn't appear to be carrying a weapon. Not even a book.
Stahl looked at the Tumasi on the ground. It didn't have any fur, but instead a thick leathery hide. It began to slowly disintegrate right there on the ground.
"I say we make a sweep up that way." Subaki said pointing to the north. "I didn't see many teams move up that way."
Everyone nodded in agreement and began heading that way. Grey kept his sword out while Stahl drew his, ready for a sudden encounter.
They walked along slowly, scanning their surroundings closely.
Another Tumasi leapt out at Subaki from the shadows of a nearby house. He reacted quickly. His movements were smooth and graceful as he stabbed the creature in the stomach and threw it to the side. The Gradivus' ribbons danced with each movement of the lance.
Stahl looked at the deceased Tumasi. "These things don't take much to kill."
"Not these smaller ones." Subaki said continuing forward. "The larger Nagwel pose more of a challenge."
Suddenly there was a loud cry of what could only be assumed as an animal. It was something like a distorted howl nearby.
"What kind of monster was that!?" Gray said looking around.
There was another howl, this time different. A pained howl.
"Sounds like a dead one." Subaki looked in the direction of the sound.
"Why don't we see if they need help!" Gray said heading towards the sound.
The others followed. They didn't hear the cries of the beast anymore, instead they heard yelling.
"It sounds like someone got into an argument with someone else." Nino said.
"But at a time like this?" Stahl looked confused, "It isn't exactly advisable to bicker with these… Things around."
They turned the corner to see the body of a large beast motionless on the ground. Next to it where two people caught in a loud argument. One of them was Berkut. The other was a man Stahl did not recognize.
His garb was incredibly worn, you could barely tell his jacket was blue. He wore a red cape, or at least what was left of it. Like Takumi, this man also donned a thick scaly hide, covering his shoulders and arms. Ragnell was staked in the ground near his feet.
No one could quite understand what the two were arguing about, but it was evidently escalating quickly.
The group just stood and watched, no one daring to move closer.
Stahl looked at Subaki, "Why don't you do anything to try and stop them?"
"Because it's best that you don't get in a captains way."
Stahl thought for a moment and turned to look at the fight, he thought out loud for a moment quietly, "Don't get in a captains way…. He's not talking about Berkut.. That other guy must be Ike then."
Gray gave him a little finger gun, "Bingo!"
Suddenly Ike lurched forward to strike, it wasn't a punch, but instead a swipe. Berkut hopped back, just barely avoiding the claws at the end of Ike's gloves.
"You know what!" Berkut screeched, "You Win!" before promptly heading the other way of Ike.
Everything stood quietly for a moment.
Ike looked over at the group, his icy gaze leaving chills. One eye was bandaged over. His expression was blank but his eyes blazed with anger. He pulled Ragnell from the ground and then ran off in the opposite direction of Berkut.
Stahl studied the large creature, it looked to be as tall as he was. It was similar to the Tumasi in its appearance except this one seemed to have horns and a large V shaped head crest.
Nino wondered to a nearby rune, cautiously looking about.
"Looks like one of them killed the Suskun already," Subaki said walking up to the body and studied it a bit. "Looks like Berkut got this one."
"How can you tell?" Gray looked at the beast.
Subaki pointed to the creatures belly. It was torn open in one long line. "Clear work of Vergaun. One thing it's good at, is hooking and tearing."
Just the thought of it gave Stahl shivers.
Suddenly there was an ear splitting scream. Everyone's head snapped in the direction of Nino who was frantically scrambling back. Behind her followed what looked to be an enormous worm type creature that almost resembles a giant maggot.
The thing screeched, opening its large teeth filled mouth. Subaki's eyes widened. "C-curses! A Palto!" The creature drew it's head back and paused a second before flinging its face forward spitting what appears to be molten rock.
Nino told a quick side step narrowly avoiding the red hot spit.
The Palto stood still for a bit giving Nino the chance to regroup.
"We need to run." Subaki looked at the rookies anxiously. He took off in the opposite direction followed by the rookies. "Why don't we just kill the thing?" Gray asked, huffing slightly.
"This thing will only die if you attack its head." Subaki explained. "That can be difficult because of how high it holds it up. We need a ranged attack."
"That's why my magic didn't work." Nino said in realization, "I tried to attack its body and it didn't do anything."
"That's right!" Subaki dived into the ruins of a nearby house for shelter, "You two both have ranged attacks." He looked at Gray and Nino. "If you can both attack its head you might be able to take it down. But if you get too close, that thing will eat you, if it can see you. Thankfully it's vision is very poor."
The Palto approached slowly, unsure where the group is hiding. It drew its head back and proceeded to spit at one of the ruins. It paused for a moment after.
"It has to stop after it spits." Stahl said watching it, "That might be your chance if you can get that thing to spit."
"How are we supposed to do that without getting ourselves killed?" Gray looked at him. Stahl thought for a moment looking around. His eyes settled on a rock.
"You said this thing can't see very well right?" Stahl picked up the rock. "What if we distract it by throwing something."
"That could work." Subaki peeked over the edge of the ruin. The Palto dragged itself slowly towards them, watching carefully.
Each person nodded, and they waited quietly. Once the Palto was within a good range, Stahl threw the rock as far as he could toward the other ruin. The Palto reacted immediately to the movement of the rock and tried to spit at it, immobilizing it for just a moment.
Both Gray and Nino jumped out of their hiding places to get just close enough to attack it. Gray released a powerful lightning strike while Nino used her wind magic to slice it.
The creature fell with a loud thump. Molten rock bubbled out of its mouth.
Stahl and Subaki emerged from their hiding place to inspect the creature. It twitched slightly. Subaki walked up to it and plunged Gradivus directly into its forehead. The creatures body went limp, the molten rock hardening into a large stone in its mouth.
Gray jumped excitedly, "Look we killed it!"
"You did good." Gray let out a startled squeak and turned around to see Takumi behind him.
"How long have you been watching us?" He asked, a little embarrassed of his squeak.
"I just got here. You rookies did good at taking down that Palto." He looked at the group. His eyes settled on Subaki, hardening into a deadly glare. Subaki averted his eyes to the ground. Takumi resumed his conversation, "The other teams are picking off the last of the Tumasi, this was just a short mission thankfully."
Stahl looked around at the destruction surrounding him. "I really wish we could have gotten here sooner." He said quietly.
Takumi lifted his bow and out of nowhere its string appeared. He drew it back and soon an arrow of what looked like wind formed. He shot it up into the darkening sky, it shimmering as it traveled, leaving a streak of light in its wake.
Nino watched the arrow and looked at Takumi, "What was that for?"
"A signal. It lets everyone know that the larger Nagwel have been defeated. You can probably start heading back to the entrance, just make sure to keep an eye out for Tumasi that may be hiding in the ruins."
The team slowly made their way back towards where they came from, only killing two of the creatures on their way back. Many people gathered by the stand alone gate in the center of the village. It doors were not yet open.
Subaki looked at the door puzzled. It should have been open. The area was loud with the chatter of the Heroes.
"You cannot leave yet." A deep voice bellowed.
The heroes went silent.
"There is still yet another threat lurking nearby." It continued. The voice seemed to be emitting from the door itself.
Hector cocked his head suspiciously, "Another threat? Like what." "It hides among you."
Hector quickly scanned the crowd looking for anything suspicious. People began to franticly look around them.
Ike approached from behind the crowd, scanning closely. Everyone parted to allow him to pass. He suddenly stopped. "I found it."
Hector looked at him. "Where? I don't see anything."
Stahl scanned the crowd. No one seemed to be nervous, but everyone was ready to fight at anytime.
"A shapeshifter. Pretending to be one of us." Ike scanned the crowd.
Ike sighed, "You really are a stupid creature aren't you." he spoke out to the group. "Picking the easiest one to spot. Because it's obvious you didn't do your research."
His head snapped to Berkut who was standing at the edge of the path. "Berkut would have never moved out of my way."
People slowly began to back away from Berkut, giving him more space than before.
"I am not in the mood to deal with you right now." Berkut growled. He shifted slightly and looked around.
"What are you talking about?" Ike said almost mockingly, walking closer to him.
"Begone you retched worm!" He yelled, waving his arm.
"Oh?" Ike said accusingly, moving forward.
Berkut took a step back in response. His movements were silent.
"Your face seems to be healed now after I sliced your jaw just a bit ago." Ike said eyeing him closely. "That's good." He gave a slightly threatening smile.
Berkut hesitated and both went silent.
"There's no fooling you, is there?" Berkut's cold expression slowly shifted into a menacing smile.