"Where's Trisha, where's the lieutenant?" The commander asked with his lips trembling as he walked with a group of soldiers at the bridge towards the second wall.
"She…" One of the soldiers held his breath for a second, stopping everyone in their tracks. "She went down to join the others at the barricade."
"I know," he said with his voice still shaking. "I'm the one who told her to but, while we're holding up the front wall earlier, did anybody come to relay some news? Did anyone come at all?"
All of the other soldiers around him lowered their heads save for one that looked in his eyes with a pained smile. The air reeked of burnt meat and metal as the faint sounds of other soldiers screaming from below resounded in their ears. They met each other's eyes through the dim lights of the torches sitting at their sides and when the soldier swayed his head from left to right, his face turned pale.
"I-I see," he said slowly, clenching his jaws to hide his gritting teeth. He took a few deep breaths to regain his composure as the others waited for his response. He glanced at the shadow of the first wall in the near distance, and after a moment along with a heavy heart, he followed. "Tell the others to fall back towards the second wall. You guys should head to the barricades below and hold it as long as you can. I'll head there once I made sure that everyone manning the first wall has fallen back."
The others said nothing as a reply but they gave him a nod despite their dreaded sweat running over their faces.
"I'll hold the ground so don't worry about me. I'll make sure that I'll blow up the first wall so you guys could have a little breathing room," the commander followed.
Their face still remained a little bit defiant but even so, all of them were able to give him a proud bow before they ran down to join the others. The commander followed their backs for as long as he could and after they've disappeared from his view, he faced the shadow of the first wall once more with a grim gaze.
He took out a silver locket from his pocket and kissed it as he looked at a few men emerging from the shade of the walls as they ran towards where he was. Some of them were still in combat. There was a group of other soldiers to fighting a tall one on his far-right and on the other side, there were people holding out their spears against a beast that was much bigger than them. He shoved his locket back in his pocket and drew his sword. His soldiers were taking their stand against them but three more familiar silhouettes emerged from the dark and sculpted their large bodies against the moonlight. One had arms so huge that it used it to stand, one looked more like a beast flailing its large horns and one just appeared with what looked like a torso of a man dangling from its enormous fangs.
He pushed his hair at the back of his head as he took a sharp deep breath. The commander glanced ahead at that moment and his eyes wandered on a few broken spears and swords lying on the floor. Tightening his grip as if it was an extension of his arm, the image that he saw someone became slower and as soon as the sound of battle below drifted from his ears, he kicked the ground and dashed towards the noctem with the large arms.
He got into its range within just a few seconds and as he had expected, the noctem took the initiative as it swung its arms at him like a whip. Its limbs ripped through the air just above his head when he dodged it. He used that opening to shift his body to muster the momentum that he had built while running to drive his sword into the monster's chest. It shrieked and threw up a mouthful of black blood that drenched half of his face but that wasn't enough to break him out of his rhythm.
"Not so feral now huh? You hairy son of a bitch," he whispered as he pulled his sword out to make him fall onto his knees. He curved his lips into a twisted grin as he raised his weapon to sever his head with one swing.
The commander lowered his stance in an attempt to catch his breath, but when he raised his head, he found out that the other noctem was coming in to ram him. He filled his lungs with air and tightened his grip once more as he leaned forward at the very last second to raise his sword. His blade rang as it crossed against its horns but thanks to that, he was able to stand on his ground even for a moment to buy some time until he was able to push himself out of the monster's path. He rolled on the cold stone floor and got onto his knees.
'Caked with fat along with a decent amount of thick blood and the other edge is nicked already. I'm gonna need a better one,' the commander thought and at that moment when he glanced at his side, he saw a spear with a broken shaft but with its sharp head still intact. He picked it up as he pushed himself from the ground with a grunt to welcome the horned noctem before him with a tired smile.
"Come," he said. "I got just the thing that would fit nicely down your throat."
The monster then lunged forward and when the commander was about to take a step to the side, he heard a whistle in the air and with it came a bolt that came from a ballista sitting on the second wall. Then, as if it lost the energy to move, the beast continued to stagger on his way towards him with its blood dripping on the floor. It clenched its fangs as it looked like it was about to let out its last roar but at that moment, the commander dropped the spear and swung his blade down once again. The edge of it went through its flesh like butter but it found itself lodged on what felt like the bone that kept its thick neck firm. He clicked his tongue and with that, he raised his weapon once more to finish the job so he could see its head rolling at his feet.
He let out a loud sigh as he embraced the weariness that he felt on his arms. He heard the cacophony screams, roars, and shouts along with the sound of the arrows flying through the air as it flew below him once again. Feeling that he could finally have a break, he closed his eyes for a second in an attempt to wipe away the thick blood that covered the right side of his face. It didn't work as he had expected but when he opened his eyes, he met someone else's gaze that brought a moment of joy in his heart.
"C-commander?" One of the soldiers asked before he looked at the others.
"The monsters broke through the main gate already and the others that can't wait in line had started to climb..." He took a breath to alleviate the pain in his burning lungs and followed, "Fall back to the second wall and take a rest. I'll take care of the things here and I'll make sure that I'll save-"
He was interrupted by a blood-curdling scream that made him and the others turn their heads to the other side of the wall. They saw the noctem with the huge jaws standing tall against the light with its muscled body and thick black fur as it devoured the man that tried to fight it, leaving the other two remaining soldiers that were now frozen in fear.
"Dammit. I forgot about the other one!" He shouted. He took a moment to breathe and with a calm tone, he followed, "Hey, give me your sword."
"My sword sir?" One of the soldiers asked.
"Anything, the sharper the better," he said and one of the soldiers walked up to hand him his weapon. He tossed his weapon aside with a smile before he rearmed himself with the soldier's blade as well as the spear sitting on the floor. He then faced the noctem enjoying his meal and followed, "Thanks. Now go and run as fast as you can to the second wall to back up the others. I'll be right behind you."