Chapter 8 - Scarlet.
A distant howl rang out into the darkness, resounding into the untamed grassy fields surrounding the quiet city of Marlind. A chorus of responding cries echoed the howl from a distance; a pack of wolves communicating with one of their own.
Sorey sat by himself near the edge of a small cliff on the outskirts of Marlind, his eyes hard as he listened to the feral calls intruding upon the calm tranquility of the night. A light gust of wind blew and rustled his clothes and the leaves on the trees behind him, tickling his face and keeping him awake.
He hadn't been able to sleep well ever since what had happened yesterday morning.
The Shepherd stared off towards the direction of town, idly observing the patterns of torches and lamps visible in the darkness and trying to discern major thoroughfares and landmarks from them. Regardless of whatever he did to occupy his thoughts, the images just kept on appearing in his mind, as they had been doing throughout the day.
The torn-out throat. The blood on the cobblestones. The body of the slain hellion riddled with spear wounds.
He let out a grunt, massaging his temples softly as he sat up in his cross-legged position, trying in vain to force the thoughts plaguing his mind away.
Snap!
He blinked, registering the snapping of a twig behind him. A tell-tale noise he knew for a fact had been intentionally made to make him aware of its presence. Naturally, he'd known that it would've only been a matter of time until the masked hellion found him.
The powerful, enigmatic monster that was teaching him how to fight.
Without turning around, Sorey tilted his head up towards the stars as the hellion's malevolence began to seep into the air, closing his eyes.
"…We beat the drake." He announced softly. "It was a close call, but we all made it out okay in the end. And it's all thanks to your help."
He turned his head over his shoulder to glance at the familiar cloaked form of the hellion standing motionlessly behind him and gave it a nod, his eyes distant.
"But… something else happened that night." He muttered, looking away from the hellion's form and into the distance. "Something horrible."
Blood. Screaming. Wailing.
Sorey's jaw stiffened. "…My friends tell me that hellions are all evil. Mindless beasts founded upon the worst emotions of all living things." He remarked, idly examining his gloved hand and the emblem emblazoned upon it. "And for a long time, I had no reason to think otherwise."
"What I saw last night was… undeniably evil." He shook his head, the images refusing to leave his mind. "It was jarring, to say the least." He muttered.
Slowly, the Shepherd got to his feet and turned around, facing the hellion fully with the waning moon at his back. He met its burning hot red eyes and held its gaze.
"…But I suppose that just goes to show how sheltered I was."
The silence was punctuated by another soft breeze, rustling the sparse grass between the hellion and its mortal enemy.
Sorey abruptly grunted, reaching down to his hip and sliding his sword out of its sheath, falling into a ready position. He gave the monster across the clearing from him a sharp nod, narrowing his eyes and preparing himself for the next lesson. "…Shall we begin?" He prompted softly, holding the hellion's gaze. It stared back at him silently.
And then, all of a sudden, it tensed its body and vanished into thin air.
The beating of his heart quickly picking up speed with the recognition of the impending fight, Sorey took the few precious moments before the inevitable assault to distance himself from the cliff by breaking into a sprint towards the dense tree line in front of him.
The lightest unnatural touch of disturbed air on his neck was his only warning.
A hurried grunt escaping his lips, Sorey immediately dove to the right without breaking his stride, barely dodging the hellion as it crashed hard claw-first into the earth exactly where he would've been had he kept running. Forcing himself through his roll and keeping his sword held at a safe distance so as not to slice himself, he barreled back to his feet, knowing that keeping his wits about him and maintaining his mobility and agility would be key if he intended to battle such a terrifyingly strong adversary. One that far outclassed him in every conceivable manner.
CLANG!
His sword and its claw met in a brilliant exchange of sparks as they slid smoothly off each other thanks to the canted angle of Sorey's parry. Smartly pivoting on his feet, Sorey feinted right before leaping to the left, effectively avoiding a follow-up sweep of the claw. "Hah!" He yelled, sweeping down low and driving his sword towards the hellion's ankles, cutting grass in the process.
His sword received no resistance as the monster leapt up and to the side, out of reach of his blade. Following through smoothly with the missed slice, Sorey kept up the offensive, swinging around and harrying the monster with short jabs to which it responded with backward leaps and upward jumps, easily avoiding each attack.
Sorey abruptly pivoted on the ball of his right foot, swinging his entire body around and slashing his blade with his arm fully outstretched in an attempt to encompass the hellion's entire range of motion and force it to move back.
"Gah!" Sorey yelped as he abruptly found himself utterly empty-handed.
He blinked in astonishment as he registered that the hellion had simply chosen to slam its claw into his arm, causing his sword to go flying out of reach. Without hesitating, the hellion swung its arm around and dug its claw deep into the earth behind it, tensing its body.
Sorey didn't stand a chance as it flung its claw high up and into the heavens, casting him bodily with it. Hissing with the pain ringing through his body, the Shepherd tried to orient himself in the darkness as he fell, trying to get his feet below him for the landing. He blinked in shock again as he registered two glowing red eyes and an open, raised claw rising up to meet him.
CRASH!
"AGH!" Sorey let out an involuntary yelp as he was violently smashed downwards and into the dirt, his bones rattling in his body with the impact. Shaking his head harshly, Sorey abruptly pushed off the ground and to the left, rolling away from where he'd landed. His decision turned out to be prudent just a few seconds later when the hellion slammed its claw down and onto the dirt where he'd been laying with a furious degree of force and sending particles of dirt high into the sky.
"W-whoa!" Sorey exclaimed as he leapt to his feet, taking no chances and breaking into a break-neck pace away from the rampaging hellion and towards the forest, making as much distance as humanly possible away from it. "We're not messing around tonight, I take it?!" He yelped.
"Ack!" He abruptly ducked instinctively as he ran, dodging a flying claw that appeared above his head by a hair. The claw instead smashed into a nearby tree and utterly destroyed it, sending the medium-sized trunk hurtling downwards into the earth with a ponderous groan. Sorey shot a look over his shoulder with wide eyes, watching the hellion roughly tug its claw from the remains of the fallen tree and glare at him with its piercing red eyes. He shuddered and ran faster, digging his heels in and weaving in between the trees in an effort to conceal himself from the predator keen on his scent.
"Weapon… weapon! I need something to fight back with!" Sorey breathed as he ran, weaving in and out of the trees and trying his damndest to not trip and fall. He shot a look to the right and briefly scanned the field outside of the forest for the glint of his fallen sword; he was decidedly helpless without it.
SMASH!
He came to a skidding halt, however, as four trees in front of him exploded in wooden shrapnel, revealing a cloaked form charging out inexplicably through the shadows and towards him like an assassin in the night. "Damn!" He grunted and pivoted to the left, using the closest oak tree for cover.
BANG!
The world trembled as a sudden red-hot explosion lit up the night, scorching the surrounding trees and utterly decimating the oak tree Sorey had ducked behind for cover.
Lowering its smoking claw in the aftermath of the arte it had cast, the masked hellion slowly advanced towards the charred remains of the oak tree, its claw held dangerously at its side, keenly listening for any movement.
Ashes crunched under its feet as it neared the blast zone, its figure silhouetted ominously by the small residual flames dotting the area.
With precise movements, it raised its claw directly to the burnt trunk of the tree.
BANG!
Another explosion erupted right in front of it, utterly obliterating the remains of the tree and with it, any semblance of cover the Shepherd might've had. Burnt and charred bark rained down all around the hellion as it stood there silently, waiting for the smoke to clear and watching for its prey.
Its red-hot eyes narrowed dangerously as it registered footsteps charging towards it.
"Take this!"
With a fierce battle cry, the Shepherd charged through the smoke, a fierce determination etched on his soot-marked face as he swung something at it. The hellion raised its claw to block instinctively as the broad swing neared.
It hissed angrily as a searing sensation ran up the nerves in the back of its claw, causing it to recoil backwards and away, though more out of surprise than pain. It blinked, belatedly registering that its prey had dropped the weapon he had attacked with the instant it had impacted before running away.
The long piece of burning bark Sorey had used as a makeshift torch-club laid innocuously at its feet, still burning slightly on one end.
Narrowing its eyes at having effectively been distracted, the hellion charged quickly after Sorey, leaping inhumanly swiftly through the tree trunks and towards the sounds of his footsteps, which were now coming from outside the forest. The moment it burst through the tree line; it was ambushed.
"I won't lose that easily!"
The Shepherd unleashed a furious assault upon his unsuspecting opponent as he attacked it with his newly recovered sword. Left jabs, right jabs, feints, parries, stabs, lunges; he used every trick he had under his belt to capitalize upon his advantage and drive the hellion backwards.
His efforts, however, went unrewarded as the monster smoothly counteracted a particularly hasty stab by once more slamming its claw into his outstretched arm and once more throwing his sword far into the distance, disarming him yet again.
In the blink of an eye, Sorey had gone from pressing his attack to coming to an utter stand still with a cold, dreadfully sharp demonic claw pressed right up against the flesh of his exposed neck.
His wide eyes met the hellion's as the two maintained that stance; one utterly silent and enigmatic and holding a deadly appendage at the other's neck as he gasped for breath on shaky, adrenaline-filled legs; his hands utterly empty and hanging uselessly at his sides. A cool breeze blew, rustling the trees behind them in the wake of the fight's conclusion. High up in the sky, the spectating moon continued to watch, basking the scene in soft yellow light.
With slow movements, the hellion slowly removed the lethal claw from the Shepherd's jugular and let it dangle at its left side once more, watching him as unnervingly and as silently as always as he recovered from the fight.
Sorey let out a massive breath now that the claw was no longer hovering over his neck and bent over in exhaustion, panting with his hands on his knees. "Hah…! Not… too bad, right?" He breathed, slowly straightening his aching spine and looking up.
He blinked when he realized he was utterly alone.
All around him, the traces of malevolence were fading with the wind, proving that the hellion had in fact truly left. All that remained in its wake was the damage that had been dealt to the surrounding land and trees in the wake of the violence. In the absence of the howling winds of its domain, the calm, soft winds of the night filled the silence once more.
Pursing his lips, Sorey jerked himself out of his surprise and turned on his heel, headed towards the general direction where his disarmed sword had flown. Once again, Sorey found himself utterly befuddled at the enigma that was the masked hellion.
Thanks to the training it had given him, he had managed to defeat the drake, and he had also become much more adept at fighting hellions in general. Through grueling trial and error in their nightly training sessions, he had begun to develop skills essential to supporting his swordplay and his overall efforts in battle with the rest of his friends.
…But why?
Sorey shook his head in befuddlement as he approached his sword glinting innocently in the moonlight in the grass close to the tree line. Bending down to reach it, Sorey let out a hiss as the newly-formed bruises on his body angrily let their presences be known while he picked it up.
It had gone really unusually hard on him this night. And he had no idea why. He'd have to use more than a fair amount of gels to try and hide his newly-formed bruises, lest his friends start asking questions he really didn't know how to answer.
Idly, his gaze wandered off towards the outlying fields wreathed in moonlight. The distant howling of wolves had ceased, but the cries still resounded loud as ever within his memories. His smile faded, his eyes growing serious as the events of last night flashed once more in his thoughts.
"Hellions… huh?" He muttered under his breath.
Monsters capable of great evil. Monsters borne of evil emotions whose only purpose was to induce more of the same hateful malice in humans and seraphim. Monsters whose very nature drove them to commit such repulsive acts.
At least… that was what he had been led to believe.
He glanced over his shoulder, a serious expression on his face as he thought back to his past interactions with the masked hellion.
It just didn't fit.
"…Just who the heck are you?" He breathed quietly, closing his eyes in befuddlement and envisioning the shape of the familiar, cold steel mask in his mind. A mask that served to frame those two, fear-inducing crimson eyes. Those eyes held malice; of that fact, Sorey had no doubts.
And yet, there was no mistaking the intelligence behind them as well; no mistaking the brilliant fire burning in its gaze. Something drove it to act in this manner, Sorey knew; there was a goal in its mind that motivated its actions towards him. As for what that something was, Sorey had not the slightest idea.
All he could tell was that it had evidently decided that empowering the Shepherd was the way to achieve what it wanted.
Sorey shifted on his feet in deep contemplation. "What… do you want?" He mumbled into the night air. "And what exactly do I have to do with it…?"
The empty silence was the lone Shepherd's only response.
"…Ah, well."
He let out a wry chuckle, rolling his shoulder and gingerly sheathed his sword, letting it click back into place at his hip. Glancing over his shoulder at the remains of the battle scene, he let out a nonchalant shrug laced with pain, a small, accepting smile on his lips.
"There's no real point in getting too worked up about it I guess." He figured brightly. With a concise turn on his heel, he faced the path downward and back towards Marlind. "Things will sort themselves out in the end, I'm sure of it."
And with that decision in mind, the Shepherd dusted off his hands and headed on back to town, the training session having run its course for the night. Behind him, the empty cliff face stood silently in the moonlight; motionless and foreign.
Sorey let out a ponderous yawn, stretching out his tired muscles and blinking blearily in the bright sunlight pouring in through the leaves of the Great Tree of Marlind high, high above town. Cradled gently in his arms was his well-worn copy of the Celestial Record, glowing happily in the sun. He lounged back in the deck chair, closing his eyes and savoring the feeling of the sun on his skin and trying to ignore the diminished yet still ever-present cloud of malevolence hanging above the town.
With the purification of the drake two nights before, the malevolence in Marlind had decreased greatly. However, it seemed that the Shepherd's work in the plague town was not quite done yet.
"Not sleeping well?"
His eyes blinked open at the familiar voice. A quick tilt of the head revealed the form of Velvet Davidson as she sauntered up to him, an eyebrow raised and a hand on her hip.
Idly rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Sorey put on his most energetic smile and sat up in the deck chair respectfully. "It's not bad. I think it might be because my body's still healing from the battle with the drake." He suggested casually, dodging the issue.
Velvet traversed the wooden planks of the deck and leant on the sunbaked iron and wood railing opposite Sorey's chair, crossing her arms and nodding in response. "You doing alright?" She prompted, gesturing at him with her bandaged arm. "That battle came pretty close."
Sorey shook his head. "I'd be more worried about you." Concern was clear on his face as he leant forward, his elbows on his knees. "What you did back then… it was incredible." He expressed genuinely, thinking back to the hardened woman's heroic actions in distracting the dragon to prevent it from killing him. He winced as he thought back to how much blood had been seeping out the back of the woman's coat at the end of it.
Waving his sentiment off, Velvet dismissed, "All of us were in rough shape by the end of that night; let's just leave it at that." She settled in her seat on top of the railing and glanced off idly towards the center of town. "It looks like everyone's been recovering just fine, though."
"Are they all over in the park talking to Rohan and Atakk right now?" Sorey asked curiously, gently stowing away his copy of the Celestial Record in his pack at the foot of his chair.
She nodded. "It looks like Rohan's finally recovered to the point where he can attempt to discern the whereabouts of this hellion that's preventing him from becoming the Lord of the Land. They should be back soon with news shortly."
The Shepherd nodded deeply, putting a hand up to his chin in thought. "…Alisha really impressed him, didn't he?" He remarked contemplatively. "From the moment we purified him from being a drake, she's been nothing but respectful and honest with him." He shook his head in amazement. "She's been working so hard, lately. Not to mention how on top of interacting with Rohan, she's been helping out so much in the sanctuary, despite her injuries." He gave Velvet a shrug. "I suppose it just goes to show how dedicated she is to being a proper princess of the people." He supposed. "It's really impressive."
Velvet let out an exasperated sigh in response. "I did tell her to take it easy and rest for a day or two before running around. Fat load of good that did." She muttered resentfully.
Sorey grinned wryly. "See? She's even willing to disobey your orders to do what she thinks is best for the people." He pointed out brightly. "That's quite the accomplishment."
She gave him a dry look in response. "…And what's that supposed to mean, exactly?" She asked pointedly, raising an eyebrow.
The Shepherd balked. "Oh! N-nothing." He waved his hands dismissively with a disarming grin.
Velvet let out a mild huff in response, looking away.
For a while, the two of them simply stayed there, enjoying the sunlight for what it was worth; a brief spell of relaxation before they set off once more on their journey. All around them, birds chirped and fluttered in the air. High up above, the massive tree of Marlind stood, its leaves and branches shifting gently in the breeze. A rare flavor of tranquility fell upon their surroundings in the deck of the local inn, with not a single other human in sight.
Slowly, a monotonous, steady rattling sound began to approach from the side, drawing their attention to the paved road running past the deck of the inn.
"Ho there! Shepherd!"
Sorey abruptly broke into a grin at the familiar voice, jumping out of his chair and trotting up to the railings next to Velvet as three covered horse carts rounded the corner, their wooden wheels squeaking noisily alongside the rhythmic clopping of horse hooves on stone as the animals were guided by their handlers through town. Men and women in distinctive merchant clothing trotted easily alongside the carts on both sides, chatting amicably amongst themselves and taking in the sights of the town as they walked.
Sorey's grin widened as he immediately recognized the tall, well-groomed older man holding the reigns of the lead cart, raising a hand in greeting. "Eguille!" He called back. "What are you all doing here?" He asked curiously, taking in the entirety of the guild of Sparrowfeathers in all its splendor as the merchants rolled into town.
"Business, of course." Eguille replied as the horses drawing his cart slowly came to a stop in front of the inn with his well-practiced handling of the reigns, giving Sorey a nod of greeting before leaning to the right and calling out to the rest of his guild. "Alright everyone! Take a breather here!" He called, his distinctive voice instantly drawing the voice of every Sparrowfeather in the convoy. "We make for the Sanctuary in half an hour!"
"You got it, Captain!" Came a familiar feminine voice in response.
With nimble movements, a redheaded merchant leapt out the back of the second stopped cart, dusting her hands and letting out a breath as she surveyed the scene with her hands on her hip. "Whew!" She breathed.
She abruptly caught on to Sorey's face watching them from the deck, a bright smile forming on her face. "Oh, hey there!" She greeted the Shepherd cheerily with a two-fingered salute. "Saw what you did with the bridge! You're a superstar!"
Sorey let out a soft chuckle, shifting on his feet in response. "It… it wasn't anything special, really." He eventually decided on as a response, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
She raised an eyebrow up at the Shepherd on the deck, tilting her head curiously. "Nothing special?" She asked in disbelief. The redheaded merchant abruptly shook her head, dismissing the matter. "Well, never mind about that. Ya know, it's a good thing we ran into you here."
Sorey cocked his head to the side. "How's that?"
The merchant held up a single finger in response and lithely kicked off the ground, lightly pushing her right boot in between the wooden railing of the deck before pushing off that as well and hopping clean over the railing. She landed primly before the Shepherd with a light thunk, a crisp document in one hand and a pen in the other.
"I need you to sign this." She explained brightly, offering both items to him.
He blinked, squinting at the text written on the proffered form.
"What's this all about?"
Sorey blinked, abruptly remembering Velvet's presence as she walked up to the two of them with a curious expression. "Oh hey! That's right!" He popped a closed fist in his palm as he turned to Velvet, gesturing at the redheaded merchant with a smile. "Velvet, this is Rose, of the Sparrowfeathers. Rose, this is Velvet. She's been travelling with us ever since we left Ladylake." He introduced brightly.
Rose tilted her head and saluted Velvet with a bright expression. "Nice to meetcha."
Velvet gave the redhead a nod in return. "Who are the Sparrowfeathers?" She asked curiously, laying a hand on her hip.
"They're a group of trading merchants that travel the continent doing business." Sorey explained. "They helped us a lot out back in Ladylake. They're real nice people!"
"Real savvy people at that!" Rose added cheekily, giving Velvet a grin. "Remember, if you need quality service at quality prices, the Sparrowfeather have your back."
Velvet waved a lofty hand in response. "So, what you mean to say is you only have my back if I give you money, right?" She pointed out. "Otherwise, I'm on my own?"
At her comment, Sorey winced.
"Well, duh!" Rose drawled easily with a grin. "How else would you expect us to make a profit and keep on travelling? We're not a pack of idiots ya know."
"Hm. Seems that way." Velvet responded easily, a smile creeping into her expression as she crossed her arms.
"…Then I'll keep your services in mind for the future in case I ever need them. Sound alright?" She offered.
"Music to my ears." The merchant replied easily.
With that exchange over with, she pivoted on her foot and faced Sorey again, near shoving the papers and pen into his hands by force. "Now then, you, Mr. Shepherd, better buck up!" She urged. "This medicine ain't going anywhere until you sign for it. The rules are rules for a reason."
"Medicine?" Sorey blinked, glancing at the three wagons laden with cargo parked on the side of the path amongst the resting Sparrowfeathers. "That's what this all is?"
"Paid for by a guy named Neif." Rose nodded. "Apparently, he and a group of people needed it all shipped to town as sharply as possible. That's why they paid us top dollar even when they were already headed in the same direction."
"Oh, that's great!" Sorey exclaimed. "The sanctuary's actually close to running out of the medicine we'd brought when we first came here." Quickly, the Shepherd uncapped the pen and drew a rough signature on the line on the bottom before handing both items back to the merchant. "Were Neif and the other townspeople alright?" He asked curiously as he handed them over.
"They were doing just fine, don't get your Shepherd britches in a bunch." Rose assured, primly taking the documents back and sliding the pen back into her pants pocket. "And thanks. We'll deliver the medicine straight to the sanctuary in a flash. You can count on it." She promised.
She blinked, abruptly snapping her fingers as a thought came to her. "Say, you wanna come take a gander at our stuff? We got some fantastic new travel gear in stock!" She put both hands on her hips. "…But I can't guarantee a discount even for the savior of the world though, I'm afraid." She warned in advance.
Sorey chuckled, putting a finger to his cheek. "Don't see why not."
"Cool." All business-like, the sharply dressed merchant proceeded to beckon the two of them down the steps of the deck towards the stopped carriages. "Right this way."
Together, the three of them trotted down the few steps of the deck and onto the pavement, mingling with the groups of Sparrowfeathers trotting here and there, all busily attending to the various tasks needed by their caravan. The air was filled with lighthearted chatter and activity as people sharpened knives, watered horses, and accounted for inventory. Velvet glanced around, impressed at the obvious cohesion at work around her. They almost resembled one big extended family, moving amongst each other with acute familiarity of those who had lived together for years on end.
Eguille was waiting for them at the back of the first caravan, his arms crossed and ready as he stood beside the open display of travel items laid out beside him. "I knew she'd net you into this." He said as way of explanation.
"Of course you did." Rose replied easily as she came to a halt before the display. "I'm the best, aren't I?" She turned and raised an eyebrow at Sorey. "Don't be shy!" She urged. "If you see anything you like, let any of us know and we'll give ya the price." Her eyes narrowed. "And don't even think about haggling! We're no petty street merchants."
Sorey grinned back at her, scratching the back of his head. "Not a problem." With that, he trotted forward, his eyes eagerly taking in the wide variety of travel equipment, idly striking up a conversation with Eguille as he did so.
Velvet strolled up to her and stood beside Rose, watching the Shepherd go about his business shopping. The merchant gave her a curious look over her shoulder. "…So, whatcha doin' hanging out with Sorey?" She asked conversationally.
Velvet shrugged in response. "Better to travel with others than to travel alone, I suppose." She explained vaguely.
"Nonsense." Rose instantly dismissed, waving a hand at the other woman. "A tough gal like you needing to travel with others?" She let out a laugh. "For some reason I find that kinda hard to believe."
The disguised therion let out an amused huff in response. "You're free to believe what you want." She allowed easily with a shrug. "In any case, I'm travelling with him and Alisha for the time being."
Humming, Rose held a curled-up finger up to her chin in thought. After a moment, she spoke up again.
"…He's a bit of a weirdo, isn't he?" She asked, shooting a grin over her shoulder.
A smirk rising on her face, Velvet let out a scoff in response. "That's putting it mildly." She remarked dryly. "I don't think I've ever met a single person quite like him."
Turning to face her fully, Rose tilted her head to the side, a single hand on her hip. "Then again, the Shepherd ought to be like that, don't you think?" She suggested conversationally. "Anyone who marches out to save the world by themself has to be a little bit strange."
Velvet nodded slowly, her gaze turning back upon the subject of their conversation. "Well, if that's the case, Sorey fits the bill, at least." She observed.
Right on cue, the Shepherd let out an excited shout, lunging forward as if possessed and grabbing a particularly dusty book off one of the boxes inside of the caravan.
"Hey!" Rose yelled sharply. "You break it, you buy it!" She warned.
"Sorry!" He called back sheepishly, crawling out of the caravan and plopping himself back on his two feet, gingerly cradling the aged and weathered tome in his hands. Almost instantly, he forgot their existence as he tenderly opened the aged green cover of the book to the first page, reverently blowing off some dust as he did so.
Rolling her eyes in exasperation, Rose tore her eyes away from the fascinated Shepherd and glanced at Velvet. "…Putting it mildly, huh?" She quoted wryly.
Velvet waved a hand in resignation. "Yep." She breathed.
The therion blinked, registering familiar figures making their way through the merchants populating the pathway towards them. She turned her head to the side.
"Sorey." She prompted.
At her voice, the Shepherd wrenched his eyes away from the tome in his hands and glanced at her. He followed her gaze and found the rest of the group trotting over to him and Velvet. "Oh! Hey there, Alisha." He greeted, discreetly acknowledging the three seraphim walking behind the princess as well. "Any luck?" He asked, gingerly closing the book in his hands.
Alisha nodded. "We're to head to the Bors Ruins, about a day's travel away from town to the south." She explained.
At her side, Mikleo elaborated, "Rohan and Atakk were able to determine that those ruins is where the powerful hellion is residing. Rohan assured us that if we took it down, he would then have no problem becoming Lord of the Land for Marlind by using the Great Tree as a vessel."
Velvet tilted her head up towards the sun shining through the distant looming canopy, gauging the time. "If we leave now, we should be able to get there around midday tomorrow." She pointed out.
Rose cocked her head curiously. "What'cha guys headed all the way out there for?" She asked, her gaze flitting between Sorey, Velvet, and Alisha.
Alisha balked. "Well…" She trailed off.
Sorey attempted to come up with an explanation. "A-ah. Uhm…" He held up a useless finger in the air as he grasped in vain for a lie to answer her question.
"Shepherd things." Came Velvet's easy, nonchalant response. She gave Rose a mild shrug. "What else did you expect?"
"Ahh… I see now." Rose nodded sagely, her lips curling up into a sly smirk as she evidently came to a conclusion from Velvet's words. "Headed off to a distant, isolated location with your companions, huh? Nice plan there, Shepherd." She gave Sorey a sly wink. "Don't worry. I won't tell." She glanced at both Alisha and Velvet, her smirk widening. "I just hope he shows you two a good time!" She chirped brightly.
Her eyes narrowed mischievously. "He does seem like quite the ladies' man, after all." Rose drawled.
Sorey and Alisha simultaneously choked on their own spit.
Velvet, on the other hand, simply gave another light shrug in response to her words. "He does seem like the type. I'll have to see for myself if he can actually manage it, though." She replied, evidently completely unconcerned about the connotations behind her words.
Rose grinned back at her. "I'm sure you will."
"Hey there! Rose!"
The woman turned to wave at Eguille who had wandered off towards the other two carts in the caravan. "What's up?" She called back.
The man beckoned her over urgently.
Her eyebrows narrowing at the serious expression on the captain's face, Rose glanced at the rest of the Shepherd's group. "Be back in a sec." She promised.
With that she broke into a jog towards Eguille and the group of Sparrowfeathers huddled around him in deep conversation. Velvet watched her go, her eyes narrowed as well as she studied the serious air surrounding the group of merchants as Rose arrived.
Something bad had happened.
"…Hahaha!"
Velvet turned around and watched with amusement as Mikleo had apparently reached his limit, bursting into snickers. At his side, Lailah seemed similarly amused yet was managing to mask her humor behind her hand. Edna just had a wry grin on her face as she spun her umbrella on her shoulder.
Mikleo faced Sorey with a wide grin on his face. "A ladies' man, huh? Sorey, I never knew you had it in you!"
Edna twirled her umbrella again, her dull smirk widening. "Wow." She remarked dryly. "Who would've thought? The Shepherd is a womanizer."
Lailah let out a muffled giggle behind her hand. "Indeed! Ah, Sorey. A beautiful maiden latched onto an arm apiece, headed out together for a clandestine stroll in the untamed wilderness, their intentions a close-kept secret between themselves." She breathed, her eyes shining with romanticist light.
Alisha's face could not have been redder. "S-stop it!" She demanded, mortified. "You know it isn't like that, Lailah!"
Edna tilted her head to the side. "What part of it is wrong? That is technically the truth, you know." She pointed out mercilessly.
"But… but that's not-!" Alisha began.
Shaking his head humorously, Mikleo patted the princess on the shoulder. "Let it go, Alisha." He suggested wisely. "You really don't want to deal with the fangs on that one." He gestured disdainfully at the little imp known as Edna over his shoulder.
In response, Edna stuck her tongue petulantly out at him.
Sorey chuckled hesitantly at the whole ordeal, scratching his hair. He glanced to his side, finding the other 'lady' of the group standing there surprisingly unaffectedly watching the exchange. "You don't seem too bothered by what Rose said, Velvet." Sorey pointed out.
The hardened woman waved a hand in response. "It got her off our case, didn't it?" She pointed out. "Besides, it hardly matters to us what she thinks. Better to play along and save ourselves some time."
"Haha." Sorey chuckled, scratching his cheek. "I guess you're right."
Alisha let out a sigh, shaking her head. "I do hope she doesn't go around spreading rumors." She hugged herself with her left arm. "I'm sure it wouldn't do the reputation of the Royal Family any favors."
"I wouldn't worry about that." Sorey returned easily. "Rose is a nice person. She wouldn't do anything like that."
"…Yeah, I'd agree with you on that." Velvet replied, crossing her arms and leaning back on the rear pillar of the stopped cart. Right on cue, the merchant in question trotted back up to the rest of them, a grim expression on her face.
"…Trouble?" Velvet prompted seriously as she arrived.
Rose nodded soberly; her earlier cheeriness having evaporated in an instant. "Trouble." She confirmed.
She turned to Sorey. "If you guys are headed out to the Bors Ruins, you ought to know that a group of refugees just came from a nearby settlement. They say that their village that's not far from the ruins has been taken over by a gang of bandits."
"…Bandits?" Alisha asked worriedly, holding a fist up to her chest. "Then it must be them…"
"Alisha?" Sorey prompted.
The princess nodded, explaining, "A few years ago, there was a group of soldiers who deserted the army and disavowed the kingdom, forming their own ranks and banding together as outlaws." She shifted on her feet. "They've been harassing villages and travelers on the outskirts of Hyland ever since, but this the first time I've ever heard of them doing something as bold as taking over an entire village."
Rose shook her head. "Their taking over the village in of itself wasn't the worst part." Her eyes narrowed. "The worst was just how brutal they apparently were in doing so."
"…Brutal, you say?" Sorey asked seriously, shifting on his feet.
"Yeah…" Rose rested her right hand on her opposite shoulder, looking away with a disturbed expression. "Apparently, they attacked out of nowhere in the middle of the night, screaming and howling the whole while. At first the villagers thought they were being attacked by a horde of rabid animals! The survivors claimed that the bandits didn't even seem to care about taking valuables; all they wanted to do was to kill people!" The merchant seemed profoundly disturbed by the news.
"Oh no." Sorey breathed softly.
At his side, Edna closed her umbrella with a soft huff. "Hellions." She summarized succinctly. "A pack of them, it sounds like."
Lailah threaded her fingers together in front of her dress worriedly. "The deviation from their usual behavior, going from highwaymen to outright murderers in the span of a few years does seem to support that theory."
Mikleo met Sorey's gaze seriously. "We should stop by the village on our way to the ruins, just to check the situation out."
Sorey nodded wordlessly.
He turned to Rose. "Thanks for the heads up. We'll be careful." He promised.
The merchant abruptly perked up and flashed a bright smile in response. "Naturally!" She jerked a finger at the book cradled in his hands, raising an eyebrow. "By the way, you are paying for that, right?"
"Ah!" Sorey gingerly set the book down on a nearby crate and reached for his wallet. "Yeah! I am. Sorry."
"Sheesh." Rose shook her head as the Shepherd picked out some coin. "Out of all the stuff I thought you might've bought, that dusty old thing would've been the last thing I'd expect for you to buy." With a shrug, the merchant swiped the cash from the Shepherd's proffered hand the moment he handed it over. "Whatever. Pleasure doin' business with ya!"
Sorey grinned back, picking the book back up and sliding it into his pack. "Thanks, Rose! And thanks again for delivering the medicine."
The woman gave a salute. "Ain't no problem!" She reassured. With that, she turned and faced the rest of the caravan and sucked in a breath. "Alright guys!" She yelled out, instantly drawing the attention of the rest of the Sparrowfeathers. "Time to scoot! Let's go!"
Choruses of "yes, Boss!" and "right away, Boss!" rang out in response as the merchants scurried around the caravan in an impressively synchronized fashion. The group was quick to hop out of the way of the rushing Sparrowfeathers as they secured the displayed goods and hauled them back into the cart, watching the spectacle with impressed looks.
Nodding to herself, Rose turned her back to her fellow caravan members and gave Sorey, Velvet, and Alisha a wave. "Be careful out there."
Velvet replied with a nod. "You too."
With that, Rose turned back around and hopped on the back of the cart just as it started rolling, lithely making her way up to the front and plonking down next to Eguille at the front. The rest of the group watched as the Sparrowfeathers departed deeper into Marlind; a ray of sunshine in a dark forest for the plague town.
Sorey glanced at everyone, gauging their expressions and conditions. "Everyone, ready to head out as well?"
"Yes." Alisha affirmed. "We should make haste for the ransacked village at once."
"Alright then." Sorey turned on his heel down the path where the Sparrowfeathers had come from. "Then let's go."
Together, the Shepherd's group set off on their way towards the exit of town with the fate of Marlind on their shoulders. High up above, the Great Tree watched the rest of the plague town in silence, still enshrouded in a dreary cloud of malevolence.
Awaiting its savior.
The sun was setting in the distant horizon, basking the world in gold as the group approached the village sitting beside plowed fields at the bottom of a large valley. Their bodies were tensed and guarded as they made their way down the dirt path cutting through the farms towards the small settlement, their gazes alert and constantly scanning their surroundings.
Pillars of white smoke rose softly into the air from various points in town, rising into the golden sky and mingling with the cloud of malevolence blanketing the region. The faint, putrid trace of burnt wood and rotting flesh made itself known as the group crossed the threshold into town, their eyes wide and horrified.
Claw marks were everywhere.
They dotted the wooden walls, the doors, the ground; evidence of acts of violence permeated every inch of town. Some claw marks even had traces of blood gouged deep into them. Doors hung from hinges, creaking noisily in the wind. Metallic wind vanes installed on the rooves of the double-story buildings groaned as the breeze pushed them from side to side. Desecrated houses lined the empty main street, standing vigil in the haunting silence.
Strewn debris scattered about in the dirt, tumbling over the abused belongings flagrantly strewn all throughout the path; valuables that had clearly been abandoned by the villagers in a flat panic as the sheer terror of the raid had set in. Amongst the clutter on the ground were scattered pieces of torn clothing soaked in blood, and various collections of cracked and fragmented bones could be seen dotting the path.
Human bones that had been licked clean.
Alisha had a hand over her mouth in sheer horror. "This… this is horrific." She breathed, aghast. "I had no idea…"
Sorey's jaw was set as he took a step forward, kneeling down and picking up a battered and abused doll that had been lying on the dirt, covered in mud. He seemed to stare at it for a second before shaking his head and dropping it once more alongside the rest of the abandoned clothes at his feet. "Lailah." He prompted seriously. "What do you think?"
The fire seraph stepped forward quietly. "It would seem to be indicative of a pack of werewolf hellions. People so consumed by rage and bloodlust that they become raging beasts as hellions." She looked around with worried eyes. "By the looks of things, there must've been quite a lot of them…"
Alisha let out a breath, shaking her head. "Last I heard, the group was around 20 strong. They were all veterans before they deserted, and their group was small enough that they were able to evade our patrols, yet large enough for them to be rather notorious in these parts. They were giving our forces some serious headaches, but nothing to this degree." She fisted her hands. "…Had we done a better job in apprehending them, this tragedy… would never have happened." She breathed lowly.
Edna tapped the princess's side gently with the tip of her umbrella. "Get angry at the monsters that did this, not at the people who tried to catch them." She berated sternly. "Doing anything else is just a waste of time."
"Edna's right, Alisha." Mikleo weighed in, taking in every disgusting detail of the scene with righteous fury in his eyes. "Besides, who knows when the bandits may have turned into hellions? For all we know they could've turned months ago; there would've been no way normal humans would've ever stood a chance against them if that were the case." He shook his head. "No, the right thing to do now is to purify them before they hurt anybody else."
"…Alright." The princess gave both Edna and Mikleo a gracious nod. "I appreciate it. I vow to help you all in taking them down."
Lailah's voice was hesitant. "I'm… afraid that might not be possible, right now."
"Why not?" Sorey asked, turning to face her. The rest of the group did as well, surrounded by the devastation of the village.
Lailah shook her head at the rest of them, holding a hand up to her chest. "…We just fought the drake two nights ago and are still on the mend from that battle." She pointed out softly. "Furthermore, don't forget that our primary objective is to purify the strong hellion in the Bors Ruins." She gestured beyond them. "The truth of the matter is the hellions here are not strong enough to interfere with the Lord of the Land's domain. Yet in such numbers, it would be excruciatingly difficult for us to defeat them all at once. After such a battle, we would be severely weakened when the time comes to fight the hellion in the Bors Ruins."
Understanding her point, Sorey shifted on his feet uncomfortably. "…So, we let them be for now." He summarized lowly.
"Yes." Lailah confirmed. "That is, what I believe, the best option for us at the moment."
Mikleo turned away, letting out a sigh. "The logic makes perfect sense… but that doesn't help make me feel any better about it."
Alisha hugged herself in thought. "…You're right, Lailah." She agreed. "As a knight, sometimes the hardest battle to fight is telling yourself that the best thing to do is to hold off and fight another day." She remarked dully. "For that is the curse of the effective tactician."
"…Right." Sorey nodded slowly, turning around and taking one last long look at the desolate village. "Then let's go. We'll come back for them another day, when we're stronger."
"That's the spirit." Lailah remarked softly.
At that moment, the wind changed direction, causing the surrounding wind vanes to creak loudly as they shifted with the breeze.
AWROOOOO…!
The group tensed at the howl that erupted only seconds later, reaching for their weapons as a chorus of other, very close howls joined the first. Various clattering resounded through the abandoned village as the cursed inhabitants began to rouse, tasting the scent of fresh meat in the air.
Sorey turned sharply around, meeting the eyes of his group. "Come on, guys!" He urged. "Run!"
As one, the group of seraphim and humans turned and began to run back the way they came.
Suddenly, a thought abruptly came to Mikleo as he skidded to a halt. "Huh? Hold on a sec! Where's Velvet?!"
The rest of the group came to a shuddering halt at the entrance to the village, their eyes wide as they whipped their heads around and confirmed that the woman had indeed vanished.
"What the-?" Sorey jogged back into town a few steps and raised his hands to his mouth. "Velvet? Velvet!" He called.
A chorus of vicious-sounding howls was his response as the hellions began rushing towards his location, drawn to his yelling.
"Damn! Where did she go?!" Mikleo swore.
Lailah blinked abruptly and pointed over to the right. "There she is!"
The group turned and found the woman exiting a long, uniquely-shaped building and charging down the hill off the main road towards them, her long raven hair and coat trailing behind her. She waved a hand.
"Move!" She yelled harshly as she sprinted towards them.
Nodding, Sorey patted Mikleo's back and the two of them ran back to the group. Velvet swiftly joined them nearly at the same time, charging over with a steady pace. Together, the Shepherd's group turned fled the scene just as the first of the werewolf hellions came into sight, prompting the group to double time it as they fled from the monsters they wanted to so dearly vanquish.
As they did, Velvet cast a dark glance over her shoulder at the village, her eyes narrowing.
Beyond the distant hills of the valley, the sun slowly began to set over the abandoned down, casting its form into dark shadows.
The squeaking of the wind vanes being disturbed in the breeze punctuated the haunting silence blanketing the desecrated village. The dull breeze whistled keenly through shattered glass windows and battered doorways, invading the empty houses just to find there wasn't a single occupant to be found inside. Abandoned pieces of cloth strewn about in the dirt moved slightly in the wind catching on cracked fence posts and bloodied walls.
Not a single source of light; not a single sign of life could be seen in the darkened, deceased village. Stars twinkled in the expansive night sky above the entire valley, unimpeded by any source of manmade light pollution. A foreboding darkness covered the world for as far as the eye could see. There was no moon in the sky tonight.
Another quiet gust of wind picked up softly, rustling the dark jacket of a single lone, long-haired individual stepping over the threshold and into the village proper.
Her steel boots crunched in the dirt as she moved, the sound seeming to resound across the settlement with each step she took. Her expression, hidden by the shadows, revealed nothing as to her intentions as she traversed deeper into the broken village. The damaged façades of the surrounding abandoned houses seemed to watch the lone intruder keenly as she passed them by.
Beasts of the night lurking in the shadows stirred at the sound of a foolish human entering their domain. Their hot breaths misting in the air before their fanged snouts, the pack of hulking beasts began stalking their prey in the moonless night.
They leapt from roof to roof towards her, their claws making minimal sound as they flew from one building to the next and clacking on the shingled rooftops upon landing. They crawled slowly through alleyways to get a glimpse of her, their mouths dripping with saliva at the sight of fresh meat before them. As one single massive organism with many minds, every one of the monsters in the cursed town lithely made their way towards the lone human, eager for the taste of fresh blood.
Velvet paid them no mind. Ignoring the low snarls and the noisy clattering made by the mindless beasts as they stalked her, the therion simply continued walking towards the center of the village.
Idly, she used her enhanced hearing to discern the differences in tone of the various sounds and came up with a rough approximate of the number of hellions in the village. There were around 30 of them.
Alisha's information had obviously been outdated.
Eventually, the woman reached the heart of the village; the town square. Her boots clanked on the cobblestones below as she cut her way towards the middle of the large circular area towards the large central well that had served as the life spring of the town. It had long since been demolished in the chaos.
All around the square, evidence of the destruction was strewn about. Crushed trading stalls cluttered the cobblestones; smashed by raging monsters in an attempt to consume those who had been occupying them. The bones of humans dotted the area, all lying beside what had once been some sort of protective armor; the remains of one of the village's few guards, undoubtedly. All around her, the surrounding buildings had been subjected to particularly concentrated violence due to their high carrying capacities. Their tall designs had evidently turned them into utter slaughterhouses to be harvested by the monsters.
The air here reeked of blood.
Velvet came to a halt before the destroyed well amidst all of it, quietly taking it all in. Her fists were curled up at her sides. The sounds of the savage monsters approaching her had grown louder and more centralized. They were all there behind her; on the ground and on the rooftops. Every bestial eye was fixated hungrily on her form, she was sure.
And then finally, she turned around to face the monsters that had done all of this, her long hair and jacket blowing softly in the wind as she did so.
She counted 32 werewolf hellions, all salivating and snarling in eager anticipation of rending her to pieces. Realizing that they'd been discovered, the wolves began to close in on her, slowly and methodically stepping towards her on the cobblestones. They were all unique; some had coats of light brown while others were of midnight black. Some were massive and stood at near 9 feet tall, while others were small and more lithe at around her height. Some still had ripped articles of clothing attached to their bodies; proof of their previous existence as humans. And all of them were ready to tear her apart for food.
Once again, that image that she'd seen earlier today flashed before her eyes, causing her jaw to lock up in utter fury.
A schoolhouse at the top of a hill. Freshly pruned grass, painted walls, small carved paths; efforts made to ensure the enjoyment of the village's younglings in their childhoods.
The inside had been marred with blood.
She'd stepped through the building alone, her eyes hard. The single church-like classroom had been ransacked. Bones had littered the floor, crunching under her boots.
And there, in the corner of the building, still yet to be touched by the ravenous monsters pruning the town for leftover meat, had been the bodies of two children. Even in death, the resemblance had been clear. A brother protecting his sister.
Both had been clawed mercilessly to death.
She'd looked around, gauging what had happened. Evidently the rest of the escaping schoolchildren had been too tantalizing for the monster that had crashed through the window, leading it to forget about these two in the process.
It wouldn't be long until these two bodies would be found again, she'd known. And then there would be not a trace left of the young boy's bravery and determination to save his sister, as the mindless beasts that had killed them consumed their bodies.
She had stood there for a long time amidst that ransacked classroom.
Velvet opened her eyes and let out a feral growl of anger, taking a step forward and erupting in malevolence.
The world darkened even further as waves of malevolence blasted out from the woman's form, causing all the accumulated hellions to recoil back in surprise and shock, yipping and yowling. Her hair whipped around with her cloak in the vortex of power, her eyes cold with fury. At her side, her claw had erupted from its sheath of bandages, wreathed in tendrils of purple miasma.
Recovering from its shock, a tall, distinctive lycanthrope at the head of the pack took an incredulous step forward, opening its mouth.
"You… you're a hellion too!" It exclaimed in a low voice that was raw and guttural from disuse.
Velvet put her human hand on her hip, meeting the brown-furred lycanthrope's yellow eyes with her own. "…You're the leader here, I take it?" She asked darkly.
"That's right. I'm the alpha here." The lycanthrope took a few more steps forward, cocking its feral head curiously. "What're you doing here?" He asked. "'Fraid that if you wanted some food, there's none left here."
At this, the surrounding amassed hellions burst into rough, dark-hearted chuckles. Their bestial laughter echoed through the desecrated town.
"…Is that so?" Velvet let out a humorless laugh as well, shifting on her feet and holding the leader's gaze as the surrounding laughter died down. Her eyes abruptly transitioned into an alarming shade of violet red.
"Because I still see plenty."
And with that, the therion exploded into action. Before any of them could even react, Velvet had materialized before the lead lycanthrope with murder in her blazing red eyes.
The woman exploded in a blast of violet mana, slicing her foot upward while powering up into the air, bringing the lycanthrope's helpless body up with her. Without pause, the therion whirled around decisively and brought both her sword and feet to bear, slicing and bashing her airborne prey without remorse. Purple blood sprayed everywhere as she laid into it with all her might; an utter vortex of inhumanly powerful slashes and kicks.
With one final snarl, Velvet vanished for a split second, leaving the limp body of the stunned lycanthrope arching through the night sky high above the square.
She reappeared in a flash of malevolence high above the leader of the pack with pure fury in her expression and her sword arm drawn back. Violet mana wreathed her entire form as she angled her body down, poised to expel her wrath upon her enemies.
"DEFIANT CONVICTION!" She roared, propelling herself downwards and straight towards the helpless lycanthrope's body, sword first.
SHINK!
A malevolent arrow piercing down from the heavens, the therion rammed her sword straight through the hellion's chest with the full force of her velocity, forcing both of them down and back down onto the ground. Sparks flew as the point of her sword crashed onto the cobblestones, having gone clean through the lycanthrope's body and imbedding itself into the street.
The monster let out a choking cry as it squirmed from the agony of a sword impaled through its heart. Velvet jerked her blade out of the ground and the monster disdainfully, pushing herself off its writhing body with her knee and turned to face the rest of the beasts as they charged her, howling in rage and fury.
She raised a challenging eyebrow in response, flicking the blood off her blade and angling her body towards the rest of them. "Come on then!" She snarled hatefully.
The pack of werewolf hellions eagerly obliged, charging forward in bloodlust and seeking to overwhelm the single woman who had attacked their leader. The night was filled with howling battle cries and bestial snarls as the entire pack charged.
Velvet brought her claw back over her shoulder as they neared her, untold fury in her eyes. "…I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" She screamed, tearing her claw over her shoulder and down upon the first werewolf to reach her.
"NIGHTMARE CLAW!"
Four trails of blood followed her claw through the air as she slashed straight across the hellion's chest, utterly disintegrating its skin as the appendage devoured its skin. Without pause, the therion lithely redirected the velocity of her claw having killed her first victim, pushing back up and slashing backwards into the sky while aggressively leaping forward and upwards. Blood flew as she tore into two more hellions with the swing, casting the bodies off with sheer inhuman force.
She twisted in midair, bringing her claw down palm-first as she landed, slamming it upon her next victim, crushing it into pulp. Pushing forward and continuing her charge, Velvet pushed her claw to the right and lashed it in another backhand slash, casting off even more of her enemies who howled in agony as their flesh and blood was torn from them and devoured. She didn't stop, lunging forward and dashing every single body within reach of her claw and sending blood and bodies flying with merciless slashes.
She killed all that she could.
Blood splattered everywhere across the cobblestones once more; this time the blood of the monsters. Cries of agony and pathetic whimpers replaced the bestial howls of fury as the werewolf pack was decimated by the Lord of Daemons.
Velvet hissed as a few werewolves managed to score a few slashes on her back and rolled lithely forward, landing on her two feet and facing them like a vengeful wraith. She let out a disdainful scoff. "Is that all you got?!" In retaliation, she lunged forward, her pulsating claw sweeping before her. "Hell's Claw!" She roared, forcing mana through her arm and collecting it in her palm.
BANG!
Dismissing the utterly disintegrated remains of the hellions she'd just killed in an instant, Velvet bent backwards in a dodge as another werewolf leapt clean over her with claws extended. She returned the favor by cartwheeling around, her hidden boot blade slicing deep into the hellion's flank. In response to its howls of anguish, she whirled around, her claw extended.
"DEVOUR!" She snarled.
It didn't stand a chance as she bashed it into the ground and ate it alive; her claw gulping its life force at an alarming rate. Within seconds, the monster exploded in a burst of blood and gore, splattering the therion in the process.
It still wasn't enough.
She wasn't close to being done.
Without any shred left of the bestial hunger that had dominated their minds only moments earlier, the remaining stragglers that had thus far been left untouched by the monstrous woman turned tail and sprinted away as quickly as they could, driven by the panicked instinct of a predator suddenly finding itself playing the role of prey. Yips of fear and terror filled the air as they fled the square and scattered into the winds.
Or at least they tried.
Without pause, Velvet whirled around and charged mercilessly after the escaping hellions, her claw held low and at the ready behind her.
Finally, she thought idly as she continued to kill every monster she could capture within her claw. After all this time of being a fake, pretending to hide it all, it was amazingly refreshing to finally do this. At long last she was finally being true to who she really was.
A monster.
With a dark, savage smirk forming on her lips, Velvet Crowe lunged forward, eagerly hunting down more of her prey. They would die, eaten alive as food for a monster, just like what they had done to the innocent people of this village. Such was their sentence.
And in the end, not a single hellion managed to escape the town; doomed to suffer the same end as the townspeople upon whom they had feasted.
This night was one of blood.
Within the span of a few minutes, the monsters' last howls had faded into the night, leaving nothing but a deceptive tranquility to fill the valley. The wind vanes built on the rooves of the houses continued to squeak in the breeze, unperturbed by the massacre that had just concluded down below.
Silence returned to the land.
"Gah!"
Coughing and hacking out blood, the lead lycanthrope stumbled to the desecrated well in the center of the deserted square, using the crumbling stone wall as leverage to haul himself weakly to his feet. He grunted, punching his chest as the wound that had been inflicted by the sword driven through his heart continued to heal agonizingly slowly. "D-damn." He moaned, heaving and wheezing for breath as he looked around the empty square, his eyes wide as he took in the sight of what remained of his former pack, splayed out in bloody heaps across the cobblestones.
He froze to the sound of steel landing lightly on stone coming from behind him.
Trembling in pure terror, the tall werewolf turned around and pushed himself even further back onto the ruins of the well fearfully as he took in the horrifying sight of that monstrous woman strolling leisurely towards him across the square, blood caking her entire body and face. He splayed his shuddering paws forward in the air disarmingly.
"W-w-wait!" He stammered as the woman continued to approach slowly, her terror-inducing red eyes hard and murderous. "P-please! You've gotta understand!" He let out a yelp as he tripped while stumbling backwards, barely managing to regain his footing as he tried his best to maintain some distance from the approaching demon. "The others… the ones you killed; my pack! They were beasts!" His voice held a terrible tremor as he continued to back up with shaky legs. "They… they were going to eat me! The only way I could sate them would be by leading them to my village! I-I had to do it, I swear!"
The cowering alpha let out a yelp as the trembling in his legs caused them to give up on him, sending him crashing back onto his rear in the middle of a pool of blood by the entrance to the village square, helpless as the woman continued to advance upon him. "P-please!" He stammered. "Let me go! I'm not like them! I'm just a coward, trying to save my own skin!" He clenched his eyes shut in terror. "It's not like… like I wanted them to kill the people of my own hometown!"
He opened his eyes and sat up beseechingly as Velvet came to a halt before him with hard eyes. "You gotta believe me! Please! Spare me!" He cried.
Silence fell as the terrifying woman actually seemed to consider his words for a split second.
And then she opened her mouth.
"If you think this is hell…"
Terror filled the lycanthrope's eyes. He held up a single paw uselessly in front of him as he scrambled backwards.
Velvet's eyes dilated violently.
"I'M JUST GETTING STARTED!" She roared, lunging towards his helpless form with all her might.
"HAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH!"
One last cry of agony split the night before it quickly faded, leaving behind a true silence in its wake.
Heaving for breath, Velvet Crowe slowly lowered her claw down and let it grasp the head of the motionless body lying at her feet. The grotesque gulping of blood and gore echoed off the surrounding walls, finishing with a disgusting burst of malevolence as the hellion was consumed by the Lord of Calamity.
She slowly straightened, bringing her feet together and raising her head, her long, bloodied raven hair slowly lifting from her back as she did so. A vicious wraith, standing in a pool of blood in the middle of a truly empty village.
As she straightened, her red eyes went straight to the person watching her from the entrance to the village.
Lailah the fire seraph stood there silently, her lips pursed, and her entwined hands held protectively in front of her dress as she gazed upon the grizzly scene. Her eyes were filled with mixed, indiscernible emotions as she took in the results of Velvet's work.
Without a word, Velvet closed her eyes and concentrated. Within moments, her swirling domain was once again suppressed within her being, leaving the bloodstained town in a state of tranquility. With a flick of her arm, her pulsating daemon claw disappeared into its bandages.
And then she turned on her heel and walked calmly right past Lailah, headed towards the exit of the village. Her footprints were tinged with specks of blood.
Hesitantly, Lailah cast one last nervous glance over the utter devastation in the Lord of Calamity's wake before slowly following her back to the camp.
As she made her way back down the path, Velvet made a mental note to wash her clothes before she got back to camp. That, and to wash the blood off her face.
It was time to go back to hiding her true self.
And so, the last two living things departed the scene, leaving behind the truly empty remains of what had been a village in their wake. A light breeze blew once more, whistling through the broken blood-stained walls and exploring the motionless settlement in the middle of the dark valley.
From then on, the silence of the night was left unbroken.
Massive thanks to Paragon of Awesomeness for betaing this chapter!