Once their group had left the barn, a distant ringing could be heard, like the cattle bells that hung off the necks of the dead cows.
"My goodness, it's about time for dinner! I must've lost track of time," Pops said, pointing towards the sun. It was noticeably lower in the sky, signaling the transition from afternoon to early evening.
Coup De Grace's stomach rumbled, as did the stomachs of his other friends. Ordinarily, he wouldn't be hungry until much later, but he felt more drained than usual. Perhaps it was all the walking around and pondering on the implications of the day that was the cause.
"Miss Ankoro, if you don't mind my request, would you be willing to show my workers the runes you showed me earlier? I'm sure they'd be amazed to know what you do," the elderly man asked.
"Uh, yeah! Hell, I'll even share some stories I got," Ankoro said with glee, "man, I can practically recite the Prose Edda off the top of my head. There's so many stories."
She rubbed her hands together with excitement, which made Coup De Grace roll his eyes. Nonetheless, he still had a ghost of a smile on his face. He never could help but appreciate Ankoro's dedication to her hobbies.
Now his smile shifted to a frown, as he recalled her past and the type of life that entailed. It was hard to imagine someone like her being so easy-going and friendly with almost complete strangers.
On the other hand, he could just as easily imagine that fanged smile drenched in blood, her claws caked with viscera, and her fur damp from exertion as she tore others to shreds.
From an outside view, one would've never known the sort of sadism that Ankoro was capable of, hidden beneath a carefully nurtured facade of excitement and kindness. In recent years, during the guild's break from Yggdrasil, it was likely her new personality had taken over the majority of her old one.
The NPCs she crafted, Eclair Ecleir Eicler and Pestonya Shortcake Wanko, thankfully hadn't inherited anything even remotely resembling her old self, which the androsphinx found curious.
Alas, the hidden sadism was more a result of the type of upbringing Ankoro was subjected to. A life lived on the edge constantly and with more conflict than Coup De Grace would ever care for very well would make anyone a monster, temporary or permanent.
She was very secretive about that portion of her life, but over time he'd slowly coaxed the details of her past life out of her, and what she had to do to get herself and her brother, Mekongawa, out of it.
Hard to believe that Mekongawa was actually the tamer of the two, despite his theatrics and larger-than-life personality. They complemented each other well, Coup De Grace thought.
By the time they arrived at the cafeteria, many of the workers were just getting in themselves. Those who already saw the guildmates and their pleiade looked on in wonder, while those out of the loop did a double take and froze in place, their mouths gaping and pointing at them.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you it was rude to point at someone?" Coup De Grace snipped, letting his friends go first so that he wouldn't hinder them with him tucking his wings to fit through the door.
The men quickly shut their mouths, looking ashamed and apologizing to him as he passed. The atmosphere in the room was lively already, but it reached critical levels when his friends and him walked in.
Many called out, making requests for the heteromorphs to sit with them, to regale them with stories of Grover and the sort of person he was as a student of Ainz Ooal Gown.
"We can make room!" One group promised, "It's not every day you get to meet more forest gods!"
Forest gods?
"They'll get their own table!" Pops answered back for them, "Can't let your bad influence make them give us the stink eye for the rest of the night!"
The other men playfully scowled, waving off their patriarch. Pops chuckled, waving to people here and there while he led them to a table that was being cleared out just for them.
Immediately, Blue Planet tried to interject. "Wait, no, you guys don't have to do that. I don't want to make people give up their seats just because we're here."
"Nonsense, I won't have you crowded in like this," Pops reassured him, "Besides, I don't know if you've noticed your own size, but it would get cramped pretty easily trying to sit you somewhere with people already there. We have it taken care of."
Off to the side, the elderly man pointed to a group of lumberjacks and druids dragging a spare table to seat the displaced men. Seeing this, Blue Planet relented, and they all sat down.
Once seated, Coup De Grace realized that in the clamor and adoration of the people around him, everyone else had plates of food piled high with an assortment of roasted vegetables and meat.
Just as he was about to mention this to his friends, Lupusregina shot up from her spot next to Ankoro. "I'll handle your food. I wouldn't want to have to make you guys get up again when you just sat down!"
"Kiddo, you don't have to do that. We're perfectly fine getting up to grab our own food," Ankoro tried to say, only for Lupusregina to shake her head.
"I may be a battle maid, but I'm still a maid," she had proclaimed, quickly walking off before they could protest further. Coup De Grace felt faintly amused at the somewhat jealous stares of some of the other workers who sat in close proximity.
It didn't take long for the younger werewolf to return, her arms piled high with steaming plates of fire roasted venison and vegetables. A simple meal, meant to give one the energy needed to cut down entire oaks by themselves or in small teams.
It was hearty and mouthwatering, a sort of home cooked meal that reminded the feline hunter of his younger days, on the off chance that his family was able to afford some synth food rather than the pale and colorless tubes of nutri-paste.
As they all ate, Lupusregina carefully tended to them by keeping their mugs of watered down ale full and getting them extra portions if they were still hungry, Pops stood directly in the center of the crowded mess hall to speak.
"Today has seen a lot happening, which might not seem like much compared to the past month, but I would say that given who our guests are, today is easily the best out of every other day!"
A roar of cheering washed over them, as if they had just seen the most amazing show or exhibit that was ever put on. Pops waited for them to calm down before he continued.
"The teachers of our patron, Grover Sprigganson, rest his soul, have arrived!" He said, sweeping his hands toward the members of Ainz Ooal Gown. "It is only because of our friends in the forest, Naaru and the dryads, that they're able to join us tonight!"
Another wave of cheering, the tables closest to Coup De Grace and his friends banging their mugs and toasting them. Several times, Pops had to try and calm down the men enough to be heard over the din.
"Remember, though, that this is not the end of our troubles just because they're here. We still have a lot to plan for and prepare before we can start getting our people back. For tonight though, relax, enjoy your good fortune and the friends next to you, and enjoy some of the stories that Lady Ankoro Mocchi Mochi will share with you all!"
With that, Pops returned back to his own table, allowing the men to cheer to their heart's enjoyment. Seated at his table were his sons, Arne and Bjorn. Arne seemed to be in good spirits, clapping his elderly father on the back and raising a mug to the heteromorphs. Bjorn was noticeably more quiet, his expression forlorn and his grip nearly shattering the mug he held.
Ankoro grinned wildly, standing up from her spot at the table. "Oh, I don't know, you really want to hear a tale from someone like me? Come on, you don't even know if I'm all that interesting."
"Oh boy, here we go," Blue Planet said, crossing his arms and chortling. Coup De Grace huffed, already seeing where this was going.
"Come on, tell us something really amazing! You're Grover's teachers, right? Why don't we hear about an adventure of yours, or something else you did!" Shouted a lumberjack.
"Story. Story. Story! Story! Story!" Chanted everyone in the cafeteria, slamming their mugs in tune with their words, repeating the same thing over and over again.
Ankoro drank it all in, savoring it before she herself made a motion for everyone to settle down. She then proceeded to walk out to the center of the room, where her voice would be heard best.
Lupusregina attempted to follow her, but Coup De Grace held her back with his wing. "Not this time. Let her have this moment, she has already riled up our present company."
"Alright, you guys want a story, I'll give you all a story! I'll give you one of the best stories and one of the highlights of our career!" Ankoro hyped.
She lowered her voice, taking on an orator's cadence to set the mood and prepare herself. A tactic she'd used anytime she would recite the various myths and legends of the Poetic Edda.
"A long time ago, in a place far from here and among palaces of gold, was the realm of Asgard, the home of the gods themselves. Of these gods, there were the Aesir, mighty gods of war and cunning, unrivaled except for their brothers-in-arms, the Vanir, gods of nature and growth."
At a gentle pace, Ankoro began to walk around the various tables, spinning her tale. "In Asgard, the gods were the top of the food chain. There was red-headed Thor, with his mighty hammer of lighting, Mjölnir, strongest of the Aesir. Odin, Thor's father and one-eyed king of the gods, whose wit and silver tongue were more renowned than his prowess in battle."
"And there was Frigga, beloved queen and mother to the god of light, Baldur, who's fertile beauty and love for her son compelled all in creation to swear an oath never to harm him, from the mightiest of oaks to the meekest of pebbles! Of course, none could forget stalwart Tyr, who's cool head and resolute determination made him the fiercest of war gods, and with only one arm to boot!"
This got some of the men to whisper to each other, questioning who these people were she talked about, and about the realm they inhabited. Coup De Grace didn't care to listen any further as Ankoro kept up the pace of her story.
"I could go on and on about the achievements of each god, but nay! Today, this is not a story about them, or the gleaming castles in the sky they called home. Rather, this is a story of their downfall, of the great hellfire that rained down upon them, and which saw many of these gods begin to die, one by one, in the calamity of Ragnarok, Twilight of the Gods."
Ankoro waved her hands towards a far off point that couldn't be seen, gesturing to a field of people. "Along the Bifrost, the rainbow bridge that connected Asgard to the other nine realms, you could see the foes of the gods as endless as the sea itself! Giants made of frost and malice, being led by the two-faced Loki, great trickster and deceiver of all! Flying in the air were the lindwurms, dragons like snakes, ready to strangle any and all brave heroes that stood between them and the fall of Asgard itself!"
"And that is where yours truly comes in. My friends and I of Ainz Ooal Gown, bright-eyed and brimming with a strength to rival those same monsters and demons. We heard the clarion call for battle, and we knew that if we emerged victorious, we would be revered for all time, and walk away with treasure the likes of which you'd never even believe."
To punctuate each statement she made, she utilized a wide range of movement and gestures to draw attention to herself and the story she told. Each action was purposeful and unwasted, masterfully crafted to draw in listeners.
"In that twilight, all forty-one of us waded through an ocean of blood and beasts to reach the halls of Valhalla, home of the Einherjar, chosen warriors who lived a life of valor and died with a weapon in their hand!"
"Fire raged through the streets from flame jotnar, the towering ramparts of marble and gold cracked from hellish artillery! Warriors lay dying in the street, struck down by blade and arrow and tooth and claw. Not one was spared from the fighting, and not one was allowed a merciful death."
She drew out that final word, locking eyes with several members of the audience. "But we were unrelenting! For every blow they dealt us, we struck back with thrice the force! Blue Planet, with his mastery of nature magic, summoned the trees of a Yggdrasil against our enemies. Coup De Grace, with his eagle eyes and crossbow of flaming arrows, shot down each and every monster that got in our way with a precision to make Hodr cry! And, as you well should know…"
At this moment, Ankoro jumped up on a table, brandishing her imperial gold daggers and scaring the absolute daylights out of enraptured listeners, who scrambled to give her room. Her fangs were bared in a gruesome smile, approximating the way she looked that day.
"I am Ankoro Mocchi Mochi! The Great Wolf, Scourge of the Dead, Blade Dancer of the Imperial Dagger, and the mightiest werewolf to have ever lived! With these daggers, I cleaved my enemies in half, showing them what a true beast of the hunt was capable of, and why they should never have dared to show their faces to me!"
Many men cheered and clapped for her then, caught up in the moment as she proudly recited titles that Coup De Grace was almost definitely certain no one else used. His eyes were about to roll out of his own skull, but he could tell she was having fun, so he made no effort to ruin her moment.
Not to mention Blue Planet was clapping too, smiling ear to ear as he recalled the fond memories. Lupusregina was easily Ankoro's biggest cheerleader, trying to outshout everyone else in the crowd.
Once the crowd regained a sense of control from their uproar, the werewolf scout continued on with her story. She never got off the table top, perhaps since it helped project her voice better.
"For many hours we fought, cutting a swathe through giant and dragon alike. And in due time we came to the very gates of Valhalla itself. For a moment, there was a rare moment of peace and quiet in the fighting."
Here, Ankoro crouched down, the men surrounding her leaning in as they tried to catch what she was going to say next.
"But that peace did not last long," she said, almost quietly. Everyone else fell completely silent too, straining their ears to hear her words.
"Off in the distance, there came a distant boom. And it shook the whole world. And it came at a steady pace, the war drum of some mighty beast."
She slapped her hand against the table top, taking care not to use all her strength unless she try to shatter it. "Boom." The giants trembled, shaking in their boots.
"Boom. The dragons shivered, and their inner fire died."
"Boom. The gods quivered, and I swear I heard they cried."
"BOOM! Over the hill, across the way, there fell a deep and terrible shadow!
"BOOM! And from that sea of enemies, who balked at the monster of monsters that walked among them, there came a wolf, but not just any wolf. This wolf was larger than a siege tower, his claws strong enough to tear down a castle wall, his fangs longer than swords, and his eyes fiery enough to set the entire world a fire!"
Rising back to a standing position, Ankoro flexed her claws and spread her arms, as if to try and demonstrate the absolute enormity of the creature she was describing. It was one that Coup De Grace was all too familiar with, because he remembered how many close calls he'd had in that same raid because of it.
"Fenrir, the Devourer of the gods themselves, had come to fight us! His jaws dripped with the blood of Odin, the one-eyed king! Just as we slaughtered every giant and dragon in our way, Fenrir had done the same to Aesir and Vanir alike, and he would make us his next meal!"
"He was a terrible thing, shunned and betrayed by those same gods when he was younger. He had grown since then, and he would make my friends and I feel all his primal rage!"
Some people in the audience looked like they wanted to temporarily stop the she-wolf to ask her a question, but they were so engrossed in the story that they decided to wait until after she was done.
Coup De Grace understood this well, watching the people to gauge their reaction to all of it. Pops and his spawn were horrified.
"Until Fenrir, our strength and magic and weapons were unmatched, but compared to his teeth and claws, we might as well have had sticks! He swatted us away like flies, jumping from rooftop to rooftop just to pounce on our backs and smash us into the ground! His speed created whirlwinds, faster than even our eyes could keep up with!"
Ankoro placed a hand on her chest. "Even I was unable to do anything! My daggers would bounce off his fur, and my own teeth and claws did nothing but tickle him. Before the mighty apex, I was just a pup, with all the strength that came with it. As the battle raged on, he struck down my friends one by one, until only a few of us remained standing."
"So how did you beat someone so invincible?" A voice blurted from the crowd. The owner of that voice quickly wilted under the glares of his peers for interrupting.
Thankfully, Ankoro took it in stride, beaming at the man. "An excellent question. You see, Fenrir was destined to die to another, but he had broken the cycle of destiny by devouring his slayer. The only thing that would kill that rabid animal was the very thing the gods themselves used to betray him."
A small, black hole reminiscent of a miniature [Gate] opened up in front of her hands, to which she reached inside to pull out said object. A coil of shimmering gold was withdrawn, an extraordinarily shiny length of rope.
She hoisted above her head for all to see. "What you see here is Gleipnir! A rope forged by the dwarves out of six paradoxes, to be able to hold the wolf that would devour the gods! When Ragnarok began, this rope loosened, and it dangled off his body as a sign of the end times."
"I knew that if I were to emerge victorious in that fight, I would need to unleash all my wits and power just to keep up with Fenrir's speed. The key wasn't who could land the final blow, but rather who could catch the other first."
There was an expression of wistful recollection then, almost happy at those memories. "Ours was a dance of death. Two wolves battling for dominance, and to see who had the better footing. Along the collapsed rooftops of palaces, we chased each other, nipping at the heels to see who'd slip up first."
"It was foolish, I'll freely admit, to go at it alone like that. But I knew I had my friends to rely upon. The last ones standing? Well, if you look over to my table, you'll see some of them sitting right there."
Coup De Grace's face furrowed as the attention was diverted to him and Blue Planet. The gawking and awe of the humans was endless, and he was tempted to become invisible just so he didn't have to deal with it.
Blue Planet handled it a bit better, awkwardly waving to the lumberjacks. Lupusregina's chest puffed up with pride, grinning at those she deemed lesser than her.
"If it were not for Blue Planet, who used his nature magic to grow the roots of Yggdrasil to stop Fenrir in his tracks, I never would've been able to catch him," Ankoro said, "And when I tried to reach for Gleipnir that dangled off his snout, I never would've grabbed it if it hadn't been for the godly aim of Coup De Grace aiming right at his eye."
The rope was unfurled, the shininess increasing to a dazzling glow of liquid gold. The air around it shimmered, an intense heat radiating from its rather simple design.
"But at that pivotal moment, I managed to snag the rope. With all my strength, I wrapped what I could around Fenrir's throat and began to pull! It took everything in me not to let go, especially since Gleipnir burned and I was being bucked off by a god-killing monster."
"This rope I hold is a piece of the original Gleipnir, which I used to successfully strangle Fenrir myself! On that day, my friends and I proved the superiority of Ainz Ooal Gown to everyone else, and we took home the spoils of Ragnarok!"
Another wave of cheers and clapping broke out, Ankoro bowing dramatically to signal the end of her story. She still held out the fragment of Gleipnir, allowing onlookers to ogle it. Some tried to brave a touch, only for them to yank their hands away from the intense heat of the whip-like weapon.
Eventually she made her way back to the table, settling in next to Lupusregina to finish off the last of her dinner. The younger werewolf was chatting her ear off now.
Coup De Grace reflected on that day they completed the Asgard's Fall raid, noting the many highs and lows of it as his guild spent literal hours working through the city sized dungeon.
While they were not the first team of players to complete Asgard's Fall, they were the second, which meant they were able to still make off with specialized rewards. Ankoro herself earned a new class that day, on account of being the one to land the finishing blow on Fenrir and being a werewolf.
He believed it was called "Daughter of the Harbinger", but the raid had been so long ago that he forgot the specifics of what it entailed. What he did know was that it was a unique class that only a certain number of players had, like a World Disaster or a World Champion.
The energy in the room slowly but surely returned back to calmer levels, but now the near-worshipping gazes of the lumberjacks reached an all time high. He could practically feel his skin crawl from all the pairs of eyes locked onto him.
Though he knew he was in a packed building, it initially didn't bother him. At least, until he also noticed a sudden change in the temperature. His fur prickled as an icy sheen settled on him, one all too familiar to the androsphinx.
"We're being watched again," Lupusregina suddenly said, her back ramrod straight. Her beautiful eyes slowly scanned the crowd of burly men as they drank the evening away.
"Indeed, it seems we are not entirely alone among the humans," the feline hunter agreed, Blue Planet and Ankoro Mocchi Mochi had sensed it too, humming in agreement.
They all subtly looked around the mess hall, searching for anything that might indicate that there was a third party present. Coup De Grace smelled nothing, not even that horrid stench he had detected on their way to the settlement initially.
"We need to be on high alert," Blue Planet whispered, leaning in closely, "If it's really that thing from earlier, then we need to let Pops and the other supervisors know, like, now."
"Agreed," Ankoro said, standing up from the table. She jogged over to the table where Pops and his sons were. She somewhat knelt to talk to the three men, speaking in hushed tones.
For the first time since they got there, the androsphinx saw the patriarch adopt a more serious expression as he listened intently to Ankoro's words. Arne wore apprehension like a mask, his head on a swivel as he wildly looked around the mess hall.
Bjorn himself was calm, but his eyes hardened and the hand holding his mug slowly crept to the hem of his pants, gripping the handle of his dagger. Pops shot up as soon as the werewolf scout stopped talking.
"Men!" He shouted as best as he could, "Change of plans. I want all of you to get to your barracks and start arming yourselves, NOW!"
The other lumberjacks looked on with confusion, but the other supervisors caught on quickly, especially when Bjorn stood up with a scowl.
"That wasn't a request, you bunch of lazy bums. Get your asses moving!"
All the lumberjacks immediately got up from their spots at their tables, leaving behind plates of half finished food and near empty mugs. They weren't drunk, but their senses had dulled somewhat from the large amounts of diluted alcohol.
Coup De Grace's runes began to glow, and he adopted his bipedal form as he pulled his favored crossbow from his inventory space. The lumberjacks still left in the dining area gasped in amazement at the divine level weapon.
He quickly pulled a flaming bolt from his inventory space as well, instinct putting his limbs on autopilot as he loaded the weapon.
Ankoro's dual daggers flared into existence, their jagged edges reminiscent of the fangs of a wolf. Their leather wrapped handles and dangling knuckle bone charms were fitting additions to the werewolf's arsenal, alongside the glowing twine rope that wrapped itself around her right forearm.
Blue Planet affixed his iron-wood mask to his face, and his staff crackled with the dark green mana of the Druid. Lupusregina herself was on high alert, baring her fangs and pulling her own weapon from her personal inventory.
It was a massive weapon, easily towering over the now diminutive younger werewolf in comparison. It was an all black metal staff, topped with what appeared to be a cross sharpened at the edges. A disc surrounded the pseudo religious symbol, overplayed with sharper pieces of metal like daggers.
The team of heteromorphs rushed outside to witness the lumberjacks dashing to their barracks, a large, squarish building situated between what looked like a general storage building and a dedicated warehouse for sawn logs.
Night time had fallen, casting the land in a veil of murky shadows pierced only by the starlight above. The walls of the settlement and sentry towers blended in with the trees just beyond.
"[Night Vision], [Heightened Senses], [Peerless Reflexes]...," Coup De Grace murmured under his breath, the runes painted into his fur pulsating as each spell activated.
In his mind's eye, he could see the reservoir of his mana slowly diminish as the magic took hold. The night sky was as clear as day, his hearing picking out the hooting of owls and snarling of bears as they ambled in the forest.
His limbs nearly trembled from the restraint of having to not react and pluck the fly out of mid-air that buzzed near his head. His index finger rested on the trigger of his crossbow, and he aimed his crossbow all around him.
His friends and the pleiade stood back-to-back with him, covering his blind spots and ensuring that nothing could sneak upon him in the cover of darkness. Unconsciously, the group surrounded Pops and Arne, who had followed the group outside.
The workers and their supervisors ran out of the barracks, Bjorn leading the charge. There was no heavy clanging of plate or chain mail to be heard, so Coup De Grace assumed that they either had no armor so to speak of, or it consisted of something like toughened leather.
When his eyes scanned the rooftops of some of the buildings, archers took their positions, bows drawn and arrows in place. Warriors raised crude shields of wooden planks, their weapons ranging from axes to swords. One even wielded a rubber mallet, his peers giving him dirty looks.
Some of the other druids interspaced themselves between their warrior brethren, taking on more supportive roles. They didn't have staves like Blue Planet did, but their hands glowed green from the activation of their magic.
All the androsphinx was able to pick up was the haggard breathing of the humans as adrenaline coursed through their veins. Pops and Arne said nothing, holding their breath so as to better hear what could be lurking beyond their sight.
The silence was so total, so complete, that Coup De Grace's ears rang from trying to pick up on something, anything out of the ordinary.
It was then that he realized the problem, as he mentally ran through the active list of spells that he had at his disposal. Where there had once been the natural ambiance of the wildlife to keep them company, it had vanished.
Even the light of the stars seemed dim, and the gentle breeze that had persisted all day dissipated into the nothingness of night.
His focus was as razor sharp as the tip of his crossbow's bolt, his hunter's instinct as aflame as the spectral blue fire that shrouded the ammunition. His wings fluttered in anticipation, having been raised to cover his friends as best as he could.
The feline hunter sniffed the air, noting the absence of any pungent, sickly sweet smells like that in the forest. His nose twitched at the salty scent of sweat from lumberjacks in their fear.
The ringing continued, and his night vision yielded no new info for him to study. With so little light anyways, it seemed far and away the invasive sensation had been previously.
His muscles started to relax, his trigger finger ever so slightly raising. The frown that had made itself at home began to fade.
A twig snapped in half nearby, its breakage like a gunshot.
TWANG!
He didn't even have to think about it. His body pivoted on its own axis towards the source. He barely caught the arrow leaving the crossbow and twirling in the air. The blue flame left a tail like a comet's as it struck something with an audible thunk.
An inhuman shriek shattered the silence, several more calls similar to it echoing in reply.
"It's an ambush!" Ankoro yelled, as the shadows between the buildings sank in on themselves and deposited creatures like the one in the forest. Their high-pitched squeals were deafening, some of the lumberjacks having to cover their ears to avoid the ear splitting screams.
The heteromorph faced a similar effect, Coup De Grace groaning as the noises the creatures made clawed their way into his skull. His eyes furrowed shut, and something slammed into his abdomen and tried to bowl him over.
He imagined that if he were still an ordinary man, whatever it was that lunged at him would have succeeded.
But he was no ordinary man.
He slammed the butt of his crossbow into whatever saw fit to try and rake its claws against his fur, outright bouncing off of his magically enhanced defenses. Something wet splattered the tops of his knees.
It fell against him, twitching in its death throes and weakly slicing at him to no effect. Coup De Grace snarled, kicking off the body of the wretch that dared to strike at him.
He opened his eyes, seeing that this creature was nearly identical to the one he had found in the forest. Only its horns were noticeably bigger and with many more points.
His friends were similarly engaged, tearing through the abominations like tissue paper. They were beginning to become drenched in the blackish fluid that passed for the monsters' blood.
Ankoro howled with primal glee as she slashed her daggers across the heads of the beasts, falling before her like stalks in a field. Her daggers flashed with savage light as they drank in the life essence of fallen foes.
Lupusregina was more or less the same, swinging her comically oversized weapon with a speed and grace that impressed the androsphinx. A dark hunger lit her eyes, and she bore her fangs in carnage induced delight.
Blue Planet twirled his staff around, batting away the creatures with such force that they exploded, in much the same way that Garnet's punches had to the soldiers he fought at Carne Village.
The creatures, whatever they truly were, were far stronger than any average human, for while they died quickly, their bodies did not outright disintegrate. Instead, what remained were meaty chunks that flew through the air and splattered the earth around them.
The Lumberjacks, despite their subpar equipment, had the advantage of coordination and synergy, as well as adaptability. Those who were close together went back-to-back, hacking and slashing wildly at their attackers in the dark.
The men with shields used them to defend their more lightly equipped comrades, and were able to shove off one or two of the creatures that dared to invade their personal space.
Anyone who was hurt or in danger of being attacked by a surprise monster was promptly backed up by the druids, who hurled bolts of fire or created walls of thorns to impale the monsters.
A rain of arrows fell upon their attackers, some collapsing right where they stood. Many more merely received flesh wounds from the woeful accuracy of the workers. A fresh wave of screeching permeated the night, as some of the more intelligent creatures ran to the buildings and scaled their walls.
The archers wailed as they desperately fended off their opponents, only to be torn apart in gruesome displays of sadism and animalistic fervor.
The men on the ground were beginning to fall as well, as the surviving monsters picked at their feet to take them off balance. The druids at the center were quick to follow, but the monsters took greater care in dismantling them piece by bloody piece.
That was the strangest thing, watching how much more careful the monsters were in dispatching the magic casters, almost afraid to ruin any portion of their body. Everyone else, however, was nothing more than sacks of meat.
"Goddamn it! There's too many of them! There's too many of-" a worker cried, his words cut off as he was knocked off his feet and suddenly dragged into the shadows screaming by two monsters.
Behavior similar to what he saw was taking place all over the camp, single handed strikes quickly dispatching chosen targets to keep the bodies as preserved as possible. Anytime an attack was successful, bodies were dragged off to dark corners.
Coup De Grace shot as many arrows as fast as he could load, aiming solely for headshots with his targets. Those that managed to get too close were either smashed to paste by his own hand or the body of his weapon.
"The men can't see well in this darkness!" Blue Planet called out, slamming another animal away from him, "Let's give them a little something to work with!"
The Druid slammed his staff into the ground, the pinecone which donned its top sprouting open with discharged mana.
"[Mage's Light]," he invoked, a miniature sun of light burning away the gloom of their surroundings.
The attackers howled, covering their hideous visages with their stick limbs. Their skin tones ranged from midnight-black to ashen-grey, with lighter and darker tones in between. The shapes of their heads were also noticeably different.
Some were like the specimen in the forest, with deer-like snouts with needle teeth and prehensile tongues. Others were shaped more like an eagle's, with serrated beaks and spears in their gizzards. A few had the skulls of bears for their forms.
One was especially curious, having a head like a bulbous, fleshy flower that opened in six parts. On each "petal" were teeth sticking straight outwards, and nodules where tentacles wriggled in the cool air.
That particular monster stood a head taller than the others, which were more or less around slightly under two meters each. Both its arms and legs were digitigrade, ending in hands and feet that had three fingers and a thumb.
Perhaps the pack leader which leads this hunt, Coup De Grace reflected grimly as the creature stood to its full height from a quadrupedal position. It's head split open to reveal the teeth and a gaping, steaming maw lined with jagged plates of bone.
When it roared, it was far deeper than the shrill shrieks of its brethren. The others of its pack joined its clarion call, pausing in their slaughter to join the heinous song.
The feline hunter grit his fangs, his mane bristling in agitation as he took aim at the new prey.
"There will be no more of that! I've just about had enough of you!" He exclaimed, letting loose an arrow at its intended target.
To his slight surprise, the creature was able to begin to duck, the bolt sinking into its upper shoulder rather than where the heart would be. The blue flames absorbed into its sickly skin, and it fell to the ground like a pack of rocks.
The pack leader screeched, clawing in vain to remove the offending projectile. The creature closest to it immediately went to its aid, also attempting to remove it.
The remaining monstrosities abandoned their previous combatants, the lumberjacks, and instead ran full sprint towards the group of heteromorphs.
Just as Coup De Grace prepared another bolt for his crossbow, a shadow came overhead and passed quickly, landing in front of him with great poise.
It was Lupusregina, who raised her crosier above her head and slammed down with full force. A shockwave rippled out, tearing up the earth and spreading at a much faster rate than even the beasts could run. Several gusts of wind accompanied the literal-earth shattering blow.
Three of the creatures were sent flying, and Ankoro herself was the next to enter the fray of battle. She leapt to the air, her enchanted rope untangling itself and twisting and weaving to wrap around the three forcefully airborne enemies.
Where the skin met the rope, steam rose and burned away at their corrupted flesh. It bound tightly around the unsightly beings and lassoed them together like cattle.
The rope fastened and cut them in half diagonally, before being launched back down at the other offenders as makeshift projectiles. Some were crushed and immediately perished, while some avoided the worst of the damage and continued onwards.
Ankoro landed on the other side of the group, full-on running to reach the lumberjacks and druids and give them the support they'd need should the attackers come back around. That left only Lupusregina, Blue Planet, and Coup De Grace to guard Pops and Arne.
Blue Planet attempted to finish off the remaining monsters, pointing his staff at a random member of the half dozen attackers.
"[Circle of Life]," he boomed, a blast of mana shooting out and striking his chosen target in the chest. The creature stopped in its tracks, as an entire pine tree burst from its carcass.
Roots broke through the dirt and wrapped around the ankles of the rapidly closing beasts, making them stumble and fall. Branches grew unusually fast and far, striking through the hearts and heads of the ensnared like javelins.
Only one member of the original pack managed to miraculously escape, lunging through the air and finally reaching the group.
Time seemed to slow down, as its claws extended and its maw opened, a visceral mockery of the bear it may have once been. Yellow pustules simmered along its chalky skin, and its broken horns were pointed directly at the body of Pops himself.
Arne managed to shove his elderly father right behind him, closing his eyes as he accepted the inevitable that he was absolutely certain would come.
Only it did not.
Instead, Coup De Grace's magically charged reflexes had kicked in, grabbing at the torso of the monster from its back and throwing it down on the ground with his own brand of divine strength.
SQUELCH!
Viscera flecked his fur, the main body like jam beneath his fingers as his claws dug in and rended the surviving organs. The limbs barely held on by threads, and the head rolled away like some crude approximation of a bowling ball.
It's previously glowing eyes dimmed, and no more screeches or howls from surviving pack members came forth from the night. Save for two, of course.
The androsphinx lifted away his paw, shaking away the gore and cringing at the horrid stench that now assaulted his nostrils. His keen eyes returned to the two remaining shadow beasts, the pack leader still held down by his bolt and the other now hovering protectively over it.
Coup De Grace stalked over to the inhuman duo, Lupusregina trailing behind him as Blue Planet stayed behind to watch over their human charges. As they approached, the standing pack member hissed.
It stood on its hind legs, extending both arms in a wall gesture, as if to say, "This is as far as you go".
The feline hunter huffed in faint amusement. "Really? After how easily I slaughtered your kind, you still have the courage to defy me?"
The creature gurgled, and then turned its nose up at him in an obvious show of resistance. It hissed the same way a snake would when exposed from its hiding spot under a rock.
Coup De Grace loaded another bolt and took aim. But as he aimed down the sights of his crossbow, he recognized a key feature about the animal in front of him. Its head was in the shape of a deer's skull, with a smaller human skull jutting out on one side.
The eye sockets of both skulls aligned perfectly to form one, and the horns on this specimen were barely nubs growing in. Dried, black fluid stained where the human skull had been broken.
The androsphinx somewhat lowered his weapon. "Ah, so you have returned. It seems that your time shadow traveling has recuperated you. How...quaint."
Lupusregina smirked with cruel satisfaction. "This is the one that attacked Aunt Ankoro in the forest. May I, Lord Coup De Grace? I believe I owe this one a head butt and some scratches across the chest, not that it did anything. Still, I can't just let that go."
"Heh, by all means, little hunter. Go and exact your vengeance."
Said werewolf pleiade strode forth with a youthful swagger to her step. She casually swung the massive crosier she wielded as if it weighed no more than a broom handle. She wore an expression of barbaric pleasure.
The human skull beast hissed again, but then lunged in an act of desperation to slay the battle maid. It hurled itself with all its might, bringing down its thin arms in a slashing motion.
The only thing that came down were stumps, as the greater half of its forearms fell to the dirt with a splatter. The defending creature stared dumbfounded where it's appendages had been.
Lupusregina held up her right hand, doused in the pitch life fluid of the abomination. She wiggled her extended talons in a mocking wave.
"That was for thinking you could somehow even scratch my aunt. Can't have what you're not responsible enough for."
The beast wailed in outrage, widening its maw as wide as it could and wrapping its tongue around the maid's throat. Its head shot forward and clamped down on her shoulder, blood spurting out from the targeted area.
There was a demonic burble of surprise, before the animal tore away its mouth to rain a shower of its own blood and various teeth onto the parched earth.
Lupusregina growled, suddenly shooting forward with a headbutt. When she connected, the head of her prey snapped back, shards of its cranium falling off and digging into the ground.
She didn't stop there, for now her teeth elongated into a true canine's and she sank them into the crook of the human skull beast's shoulder. She yanked her head to and fro, tearing off an entire mouthful.
The younger canine spat out her "meal", furiously wiping away at her mouth and dangling out her tongue to let the black fluid dribble off.
"Blegh! That was so gross! You taste even worse than you look."
She shoved the creature away, and it fell heavily upon its rump as rivers of its own blood flowed down its body. The pack leader, which had watched the entire exchange, weakly reached out a limb towards its compatriot.
It babbled in a flurry of different noises, at first being the whimpering of a struck wolf, before morphing into the pathetic huffing of a bear.
"I'm…sorry…Don't…fade…," the trapped abomination said, its tone of voice almost akin to pity, if Coup De Grace dug deep enough into his understanding of his prey's garbled speech.
Lupusregina scoffed, before kicking the wounded critter to lay on its back. Now both of the attackers were side by side, a sizable pool of fluid seeping out from the shattered body of the human skull beast.
The pack leader grasped the stump of its pack mate's right arm. It made no other noises, only laying still as it held on.
Coup De Grace walked forward to join the pleiade's side, with Blue Planet, Arne, and Pops joining them moments later. He put his crossbow back into his inventory space, for he no longer saw a need for it.
They all stared down at the unsightly duo, neither really struggling anymore. The mage light from earlier was starting to fade away.
"Blue Planet, old friend," the androsphinx said, "Do you think these would make suitable case studies for your research?"
The Druid squinted his eyes from behind his mask. "You mean as in keep the bodies? Sure, but I'm not sure why these two in particular. Though the bigger one is definitely the more unique of the two."
"So this is the one responsible for kidnapping our brothers and sisters, it's just as ugly as I imagined," Pops said, his ancient face twisted into one of disgust.
Arne could only shake his head. "These things are definitely some of the ugliest, most vile looking animals I've ever seen."
It was then that the temperature in their surrounding area suddenly dropped to near freezing. The shadows of the night intensified in a familiar fashion that had happened once before.
The feline hunter's enhanced reflexes kicked in, his wings spreading out and slamming his friends and the humans out of the way. From his position, that meant that his fellow heteromorphs and the lumberjacks were behind him.
However, it also meant that the gloom cast from his wings compounded the shade that would teleport their attackers out of his immediate vicinity. A massive, midnight colored shape that was his same size.
The pack leader and human skull pack mate sank into their own darkness, just like how they had emerged from it at the beginning of their ambush.
"Oh no you don't!" Coup De Grace snipped, shoving his paw into the cloudy inkinesss and rummaging around for the disappearing amalgamations. It was akin to waving his hand through gel, resistance pushing against him as he dug in deeper and deeper.
Finally his claws wrapped around something, and he latched on and began to pull with all his might. Slowly but surely, he strained against the darkness, dragging back what he was sure was one of the monsters.
He saw the flower shaped head of the pack leader, and he granted himself a rare moment of self-satisfaction at his feat. He even smirked.
It was wiped off of his noble visage when something yanked at his arm, tendrils of the darkness racing up and around his bicep. The pack leader's head bobbed and then sank.
He called upon every ounce of his strength to pull his ensnared limb, as it met him inch for inch that he attempted to get away. The tendrils combined into a primitive hand, one which covered the entirety of his arm.
Jagged spines the same hue as the abyss rose up, followed quickly by a gargantuan head. The taint of its shadows spread across the dirt of the settlement as it seemed to be opening a gateway suitable for its titanic form.
The glowing, pinprick orbs for eyes flared balefully at the androsphinx, and it continued to pull itself out of its makeshift portal. It seemed to almost dwarf Coup De Grace with its bulk.
If he were to take an estimate, he believed that the newest arrival would be just as tall, if not taller, than the mighty oaks of the Forest of Tob. This was merely from glancing at the torso which hovered menacingly over the feline hunter.
The dome of the apex monster was nearly shapeless, save for a singular point that could perhaps serve as the tip of the snout. It slowly opened its mouth, a gaping wound in the inky sheen over its body. Inside were rows upon rows of a mixture of haphazard wooden and bone teeth.
It roared so deeply and with such considerable force that Coup De Grace's bones rattled. The odor that billowed from its throat nearly made him hurl. The shadow beast raised another fist, getting ready to pummel him.
"LEAVE...THEM...ALONE!" It bellowed, punching forward like a cannon.
The feline hunter braced himself, using his wings to double as a shield and negate the attack as best he could. Nothing should've happened when he did that. Nothing in this world had proven so far to be strong enough to even move him.
The apex's fist rammed into his wings full force, actually managing to shove him backwards with the blow. He was let go at the same moment as he was punched, but He wasn't outright sent flying. The exertion he needed to stay standing was considerable indeed.
There was a sort of throbbing ache in the limbs of his wings, not unlike running into a brick wall while in a full sprint.
What the hell?! How could it actually have the strength to hurt me?!
Before the shadow beast could prepare another strike, Coup De Grace saw Ankoro leap into the air, daggers in hand and enchanted rope glimmering on her forearm.
She landed on the creature's back, hacking and slashing with manic abandon. She let loose her fiercest war cry as she dug in deeper and deeper.
The apex warbled, flexing its shoulders and shooting out a pillar of pure darkness that pushed off Ankoro and sent her twisting through the air. She righted herself as her instincts took over, landing on her own feet with a flurry of dust.
It roared in challenge at all of them, tendrils of sludge rising up and whipping the hair. A defensive perimeter formed around it, the tips ready to lash him and anyone else who got too close to pieces.
Blue Planet shot past the androsphinx, who flared out his magnificent wings to shield Pops and Arne from any stray blasts of magic or blows from the monster.
The druids raised his staff at the same time that the shadow beast raised both arms, a gurgling howl rising from its throat. When it caught sight of Blue Planet, it hesitated, its thin but gigantic arms halting.
"[Vines of Dionysus]," the nature enthusiast chanted, another blast of mana shooting out from the glowing pinecone on his staff.
While the blast of magic hurtled towards its target, the beast stared at it, quizzically tilting its head. It seemed to be thinking, but about what Coup De Grace couldn't possibly guess. Were it him, he'd focus more on trying to get out of the way.
The apex gargled in agony when the spell connected, as spectral vines with shimmering, blood-red thorns dug into its blackened flesh. It scratched at itself, trying to tug off the vines only for its mitts to pass through fruitlessly.
It swatted away Blue Planet, who stumbled a few steps back from the unexpected power. The creature began to collapse in on itself, sinking back down into the pitch lake from where it came.
As the head sank below the surface, it gave the Druid a look of confusion and...betrayal? Then the eyes disappeared, alongside the spines atop its head that Coup De Grace realized were a pair of horns of its own.
The shades of darkness lightened considerably, as whatever magic or curse that had been used went away. The nighttime ambience returned, as did the light of the stars above.
The feline hunter had his head on a swivel, glancing around at every instance of shadows to see if something else would emerge to challenge his presumptions about the world he found himself in.
Fortunately, nothing else came, and an odd sense of peace came over him at the realization.
Ankoro ran up to him, grabbing his shoulders forcefully enough to make him grunt. She checked him over with noticeable concern.
"Dude, are you alright? Soon as I saw you take that hit, I came as fast as I could and bum rushed the stupid thing. Are you okay? You didn't break anything, did you?"
The stoic player waved off her concerns. "I'll live, which is more than I can say for our prey. I'll admit, when it hit me as it did...It took a good amount of my willpower not to be sent flying through the air, like you were."
The werewolf scout chuckled ruefully at that, before jogging over to Blue Planet and performing the same procedure on him. While that was being taken care of, Coup De Grace took the opportunity to check on his charges.
"Are you two alright? You were not hurt during the skirmish, were you?"
Arne gave him a shaky thumbs up, his smile wobbly and looking as if it might break into a grimace at any time. Pops smoothed down the wrinkles of his robe, but his wizened hands trembled just as much as his son's.
"I think I'll take a page out of your book and say 'we'll live'," the patriarch remarked. "Both Ankoro and Grover didn't exaggerate, Ainz Ooal Gown is formidable."
The androsphinx inclined his head, and then surveyed the surrounding area. The bodies, or what was left, of the monstrosities had vanished. There were only scraps of skin and flesh or coal colored blood that stayed.
The bodies of the lumberjacks were similarly missing. The corpses of the archers on the rooftops had been taken as well, despite having been torn apart in the fighting. Thankfully, the druids were still intact, but he noticed one or two who were gone.
Though the entire battle had felt like an eternity, Coup De Grace believed it was only minutes. At most, he would say that it had taken half an hour for everything to conclude. Blue Planet had joined up with the human survivors, his hands glowing as he administered healing magic.
He saw that Bjorn had lived, despite the mounting odds, though he was in horrible shape from his wounds. His left eye had been gouged out, leaving behind a crater where the optical was.
His clothes had been ripped to shreds underneath the now nonexistent leather armor he must've worn. Several holes lined the length of his arms, most likely from being gored by the antlers of an enemy combatant.
Coup De Grace imagined he would not have lived to see the morning, had it not been for his friend's healing abilities. The other lumberjacks that had escaped mortal wounds ended up forming a small crowd around the Druid as he healed them.
Ankoro had shifted into her wolf form, prowling along the perimeter of the settlement to ensure that no other beasts were in hiding somewhere else. Lupusregina joined her, plodding along in her own wolf morph.
The androsphinx sighed, mental exhaustion at the day's events taking hold of him. He still felt as powerful as ever, but now he felt like he could use a rest to peruse everything he had learned.
He tucked his wings into the sides of his body, and returned to his preferred quadrupedal stance. A quick once over revealed that there weren't even bruises from his encounter.
As strange as my circumstances are, it is a great comfort to know that at least I need not worry for bodily injuries, not as I am now.
Coup De Grace huffed, and admired the twinkling stars above.
"Something on your mind, my friend? You're not too hurt, are you?" Pops asked.
The androsphinx did not take his electric blue eyes off of the cosmic bodies that dotted the night sky. "No. Not in particular, and I believe that I would like to keep it that way. At least until the morning sun rises to greet us all again."
The elder hummed in acknowledgment. Arne decided to speak up as well.
"Yeah. After all this excitement, I'm ready for bed, and I think the others would agree with me too."
"Indeed," Coup De Grace replied, "because now we come upon the next leg of our journey, in unraveling this mystery of yours and Naaru's"
His attention returned to the two humans, who looked at him expectedly.
"Now we must hunt for your would-be murderers, and put them down before they cause anymore damage to you or your people. Tomorrow, we must set out and find out what is truly going on."
"You're right," Pops said, "But for now, we celebrate those still alive, and then we mourn those who died. Hopefully, this will be the end to a long and horrid nightmare we've been trapped in for the last month."
Coup De Grace said nothing, only taking in the sight of the stars, and lamenting those who could never again do so.