Having finally reached their destination and with seemingly no further issues, the commander allowed himself a moment to relax while leaning against the covered cart. A task made more difficult by the representative screeching into his ear, about something or other, but he made do.

Most of the other knights, after performing a quick sweep of the area, were also resting nearby.

The mercenaries, on the other hand, were spread out in small groups chatting amongst themselves, most were close to the carts as well, though a lot simply stayed next to the stone knight and sword.

"…"

"Bah, what a waste of time. A month through hell and what. Two rocks and a bent sword"

"What do you care, we get paid no matter what we find."

The first one leaned in closer, whispering in conspiratorial manner. "Yeah, but if found a mountain of gold or some'ing, who would notice a couple pieces missing"

"Ahhh, you real smart"

"Yeah well, a lot of good it did me"

"…"

As they were talking, another noticed something off about the statue and moved closer to investigate.

"Well, that's strange…"

Brushing away some of the dust on the statue's hand he realized underneath the stone surface there was a metallic material. Trying to get a better feel of it he grabbed onto the statues hand, only to have it grab back.

"ARGHH" He yelped as the statue crushed his hand in an iron grip. He tried to pull away immediately, but couldn't pull himself free.

The others realizing what was happening instantly backed away while pulling out their weapons.

"The hell's going on?! That thing alive?"

"Yeah right. You never seen a bear trap before? Same thing"

"I see... Then this must be an idiot trap"

Laughter broke out as they started cracking jokes and continued ignoring the mercenary currently caught in the 'trap'.

Feeling his bones cracking he tried to yell at them to help him, but before he could, the right hand came to life as well and in a jerky but quick motion latched itself onto his head.

The other mercenaries were still too busy joking around to notice, or simply didn't care enough to intervene and the knights that were close, didn't dare approach either, especially after noticing an unnatural red swirl form from the statue's gauntlet. However, when a bright light, whose blackened fringes gave it a corrupted appearance, appeared around the merc's face and he started struggling frantically, everyone quieted down and stared in apprehension.

The merc's skin starting tightening around his bones and turning a disturbing dark grey color, while his resistance was getting weaker and weaker and his eyes rotted and left his sockets vacant. All the while, the cracks around the statue continued spreading and started glowing a faint red color, like a piece of iron being heated.

When the merc finally stopped moving, the hand released its grip at last and his body fell lifelessly to the ground, looking closer to an ancient mummified husk, than the recently living person that it actually was.

Everyone, including the trained knights were frozen in shock and disbelief at what just happened. Everyone except the spokesperson who looked on from a distance, eyes wide with excitement and a toothy smile that split his face.

The slow spreading cracks then grew rapidly, covering the rest of the statue in a matter of seconds and glowing hotter and hotter as everyone finally woke up from their stupor and tried to back away. They didn't make it far however, as in mere moments the ash went from red to bright orange and was blown away in a cascading wave of ash and smoke. The unfortunate few still close to it were quickly engulfed by the wave and felt their flesh burn under the intense heat, while the smoke caused them to start coughing violently.

The commander seeing this, was on his feet instantly, drawing his sword and shield and ordering the other knights to do the same.

At first, they could only hear intense coughing and the rustling of metal against metal from the knights' armor. But then a horrible scream cut through the relative silence, before turning hoarse and dying. A couple seconds later it happened again and again and again and again…

Listening to their screams the commander felt the urgent need to rush in and rescue the knights caught up in the explosion, but he pushed it down, instinctually knowing that entering that cloud was a death sentence and instead observed the situation gravely.

Then someone finally managed to reach the edge of the cloud, as a black silhouette was slowly getting larger. Before he could cross the threshold, however, something grabbed his leg and knocked him down, pulling him, kicking and screaming, back into it.

And then, silence. No screams, no coughs, no rustling. Nothing. Until…

"THAT'S IT! I KNEW IT. THIS IS IT. WE MUST CAPTURE IT AT ANY COST" The representative's shrill voice cut through the silence, as he was practically jumping from joy.

"Get back to the carts and prepare the horses in case we need to retreat. EVERYONE ASSUME FORMATION. MERCENARIES ON THE INNER EDGE, KNIGHTS ON THE OUTER" The commander ordered and to his relief managed to snap everyone out of their shock and moving. They formed a curved line with the bulge away from the cloud and with mercenaries on the inner side and knights on the outer.

"WHAT?! ABSOLUTELY NOT! CAPTU…" the representative tried to demand before he was cut off by the mercenary leader who quickly dragged him back to the carts.

The commander was apprehensive about that pairing, but it was too late to intervene now and at least they wouldn't get in his way. Focusing back on the danger before him, he finished guiding the formation and prepared himself.

The silence that followed was deafening. No movement or indication came from the cloud that there was anything within it, but they knew better. The smoke was slowly dispersing, but the more time that passed, the more the fear built up. Some of the mercenaries even attempted to flee, but were pushed back into position by the knights that surrounded them.

When the ash finally settled, everyone was forced to take an unconscious step back. From the cleared smoke they could now see corpses strewn everywhere. Blackened and twisted beyond recognition and screaming silently in agony and terror. And in the middle of it all, there it was. The statue was hunched over another corpse clenching and unclenching its dimming gauntlet.

What was once stone and ash was now replaced with black and silver metal and had waves of heat rolling across it, though if it bothered the former statue, it didn't show it. This effect was most prominent on the breastplate where the most intense heat had surrounded the deepest darkness.

When it was seemingly satisfied it turned its helmet upwards and began inspecting its environment. Anyone who happened to fall under its gaze felt an intense wrongness overcome them, as if, whatever it was, it didn't belong in this world. When it stopped, it stared intensely on something behind them and reached for its sword.

The screeching sound it made as he forced it out of the rocky ground was as ear-piercing as it was foreboding.

The commander could feel cold sweat start to form across his body. His earlier observation had suddenly turned from humorous to terrifying as he witnessed the sword being pulled out seemingly without end.

When it was finally free, it was longer than he was tall and wider than any such blade had any right to be. Under any other circumstance he would have called it laughably impractical and overcompensating, however seeing the ease with which the monster one-handedly lifted it up and placed it on its shoulder, he had to hold his tongue.

"STAND YOUR GROUND! BREAK FORMATION AND DIE!..." The commander quickly ordered, trying to prevent any thoughts of insubordination at this critical moment. He intended to say more, but before he could, he saw the monster hunch down further, letting one arm hang loosely on its front, yet its gaze didn't lose any of its intensity. He could hear the sound of leather being stretched tout and bones cracking as it crouched down and dug its feet into the ashy ground. It held still for only a moment, before pushing off the ground with enough force to leap high into the air towards them.

Despite the obvious trap before it, it didn't seem to care, as it made a straight line towards the center of the formation. The unfortunate merc that was directly in front of it was instantly bisected from top to bottom as the monster spun in the air and swung its blade down hard and fast. When it then hit the ground, it produced a loud boom and kicked up another cloud of ash and dust.

The bandits with shields raised them up and the ones without, placed their weapons before them to cover themselves as best as they could. Yet it did little to save them, as the monster leapt out of the cloud and cut and forced its way through them. Its movements were wild and unnatural, using its body to build momentum before transferring it into wide and lethal swings with its blade. Shields could do little against such tremendous force as they bent and broke on contact leaving the one behind it defenseless to the onslaught.

The knights quickly tried to push the mercs, in order to surround the monster, but its movements were too swift and erratic to be successfully pinned to one place, so the fight quickly descended into more of a brawl. Still, they adhered to their strategy and made sure that there was always a mercenary between them and the monster, both for protection as well as offense. Every time the monster attacked and killed a mercenary, they would simultaneously launch attacks of their own, trying to catch it off-balance. Even so, it still managed to dodge and evade most them and refused to stay and engage in prolonged confrontations, though even the attacks that did land, failed to noticeably hurt or even slow it down.

The commander tried to keep formation at first, but when it quickly became apparent that it wasn't possible, he instead mainly focused on studying the monster, intervening only when he found a good opening. Its fighting style, if it could be called that, was savage, aggressive and full of openings. Still the monster was fast and sturdy enough to escape the expected consequences from such recklessness. He also quickly realized that it wasn't completely mindless as it pursued a simple but effective strategy. Target the weakest enemy first. It jumped from one mercenary to the next, cutting them down with little resistance, all the while ignoring and avoiding the knights altogether.

Judging by their rapidly decreasing numbers, it was clearly working as well. Fortunately, they hadn't suffered any causalities among his knights, after the initial confrontation, but if he didn't act soon to reverse the situation, he would need to prepare the retreat.


Meanwhile near the cart, a short distance away…

The leader pulled on the ropes as he faced the horses towards the only path leading away from here and tied them to one of the carts. Admiring his work, he was considering which one to choose for himself when the representative came up behind him.

"Isn't my little monster wonderful?" he exclaimed in glee.

The leader gave him a weird look before turning towards the fight "Yeah, the ease he killin' everyone with, aaaaamazing" he drawled out dripping sarcasm.

"Indeed, indeed and wouldn't it be such a shame to lose this once in a lifetime opportunity?"

The leader was about to retort sarcastically again when he heard the harsh sound of whipping, shouting and neighing, as the representative freed the horses and whipped them into a frenzy.

He ran after them a short distance trying to catch at least one, but it was pointless.

Staring at the dust cloud being kicked up in the distance, he turned around and grabbed the representative by his collar, pushing him against the cart harshly.

"Have you gone completely insane! If ya wanna die a dog's death in the middle of nowhere, do so without me!"

"Get your filthy hands off me you cretin and I won't be dying today" he said as he, unsuccessfully, tried to pry himself free

"Oh Yeah? Well, my DEAD men would like to disagree, or what, ya think he's gonna take you for am ugly, bald child and spare you? Fat chance" the leader replied as he pushed him down and started looking around, trying to come up with an alternative plan.

"Your jokes are as terrible as your manners… but you are right. There is a difference between you all and me" the representative replied calmly while getting up and patting the dust off his clothes.

The leader glared at him for a long moment "For your sake, this better be good"

"It's quite simple really, everyone wants something. Just like you want money, that monster, that beautiful weapon of mass destruction, wants something as well and I just happen to have it."

The leader was about to grab him again in anger, but then his eyes widened in realization as he looked between the monster… and the statue tied to the cart.

"He's still killin' my guys and your lord's knights you know"

"Let it. That commander has been a thorn in my side for years now. Always so righteous and honorable, blegh. Besides, what need is there for knights when we can have something so much better? Keep quiet and I'll make it worth your while." He said tossing him a sack with clinking coins "There's more where that came from"

Counting the coins, a wicked smiled started forming on the leader's face "You drive a hard bargain old man"


Shouting loudly "YOU TWO TO ME, THE REST SURROUND IT" the commander joined the fight fully, trying to preserve their numbers advantage.

More coordinated now and with the commander's experience, they managed to prolong the lives of the mercenaries for longer and land more attacks on the monster. It still wasn't enough to win, but they had managed to slow it down at least a little and that allowed them to attempt to trap it again.

Cutting down another merc, they finally managed to pin it in place, as the commander, along with two others, stepped to the front preparing a coordinated attack. The monster, however, quickly retaliated, swinging wide and hard around itself and forcing them to step back again. Wanting to better understand its strength and potentially create an opening, the commander chose to block, instead of dodging. A decision he quickly regretted as he felt his bones rattle and flare in dull pain.

Quickly glancing down, he found his once reliable shield had bent and cracked nearly in half. Tossing it away he yelled "Dodge or deflect, DON'T BLOCK!"

The commander barely managed avoid the following diagonal swing from that ridiculous sword, only to have it reach the knight next to him and cut through their thigh armor, severing their leg entirely. They had managed to land several attacks off their own, but its armor was too sturdy to be penetrated or even dented. The impacts themselves seemed to have little effect as well. There was one noticeable change however. The monster was progressively growing more agitated the longer the fight went on. It was getting more reckless and erratic with its attacks, leaving a lot more openings as a result. It was almost like it was getting desperate. Why though? What could it possi… throwing a quick glance back, towards the area it stared at earlier, he found the cart with the 'stone' maiden tied to it… as well as the grinning representative waving mockingly at him, as the mercenary leader kneeled next to her and caressed her cheek.

To his great frustration and anger, he also realized that the horses were nowhere to be found either.

Reacting at the last second, he narrowly managed to avoid another attack, as he was forced to focus back on the fight. They were barely holding on as it was and by the time he could reach and kill them for their treachery and reclaim the 'statue' he would probably lose half of his knights. There was also no guarantee that the monster would actually stop if they gave her back. He would have to deal with them later… if he made it out alive.

Calming himself he reassessed his situation as he continued fighting to stay alive. With escape being a none option now, he needed to find some way to actually deal with the monster and soon. Every moment he wasted, was another injury and another death.

They weren't going to get through the armor and a battle of attrition wasn't going to work on this thing either. They had been fighting intensely over ten minutes now and yet, only his side seemed to tire at all. He could try the flintlock, as much as he didn't want to, but with how sturdy that armor was, there was no guarantee that it would penetrate either.

That's when he got a very daring and admittedly desperate idea, one that could easily get him killed, but in lieu of any alternatives and with the situation as it was, he didn't think there was a better option.

Moving as close as possible, barely managing to dodge the never-ending attacks, he prepared himself and waited for the right moment. Then, on a particularly wide swing, he lunged forward and aimed the flintlock at the monster's visor, before firing at near point-blank. Unfortunately, the bullet barely missed the openings and glanced off the rounded helmet. The noise and smoke did, however, manage to stun it for a moment.

Not letting this rare opportunity slip by he grabbed onto of the monster's sword arm and yelled "HOLD HIM". Quickly the knights and mercenaries grabbed onto it as well, grasping wherever they could, some even piling on top of each other. Even with so many men, however, the monster wasn't completely immobilized as it managed to bat away some of them with its other arm as it struggled to free itself.

Capitalizing on this chance, the commander quickly let go of its arm, ducked under its other and planting his feet firmly on the ground, thrust his sword with both hands through the small opening under the arm-pit. He was faced with great resistance, but pushing with all his might, he did manage to force the blade through. Dark-red glowing blood starting spurting out of the wound and onto his gauntlets, causing them to heat up rapidly, but he ignored it and pushed further, impaling his sword nearly to the hilt.

The monster finally went rigid and still, as if it returned to being a statue.

Everyone was still holding on for now though, heaving deep breaths. The commander, however, was forced to release his hold on the now burning blade as he finally registered the pain and shook his hands. Seeing this, the others also followed suit, slowly and carefully letting go.

Once his gauntlets managed to cool off, he looked towards the monster's… no, the knight's visor trying to see his face, but found only darkness.

Breathing deeply, the commander sighed as he spoke gravely "You may rest now wayward knight. Your long and arduous battle is now over." Placing his hand over his heart, he continued "I swear by my name, Alexander Diakos, that I will do what is in my power, to ensure your lady is henceforth well cared for. Tis the leas…"

His words were cut short however, as two glowing orbs suddenly appeared within the helmet and locked with his eyes. They were frantic and desperate, they were tired and jaded, but most of all, they were furious. He tried to yell in warning, but was interrupted as a hand grabbed him by the neck and tossed him far in the air.

The last thing he saw was everyone rushing to hold him down again, when a large orb of liquid fire formed in his left hand and exploded in a large fireball that engulfed them all. As he crashed against the ground, his final thoughts were filled with great anger, regret and shame.