The night was young and dreadful. The evils in the dark had long left shelter against the burning light of day and had begun hunting under the veil of darkness. The once lively, vibrant floors of the forest, where countless wildlife stroll and magnificent creatures play, are now illuminated by the eerie glow of the moon.
The silent whisper of the cold wind rattles the trees, signifying the coming of winter due in three months. Monsters of the night prowled the shadowy corners for any unfortunate soul wandering in the dead of night. Most forest inhabitants had already taken shelter in their hideaway from would-be killers, while some had found a secured resting spot.
It was the cruel truth of nature, The strong will survive, and the weak will die. But the smart ones will thrive, but that could not be said for an ogre being devoured by a measly pack of steel-break raptors.
Flesh and guts are being torn apart and swallowed, with its disgusting stench permeating the air. A bone-shivering roar was felt throughout the forest, piercing through the formerly quiet night and its announcement meant only one thing.
More victims to claim in the killing floors of the Sak'rain forest.
The creature's steps felt like thunder striking the ground. Its stomp made the earth tremble, and its behemoth size nearly reached the tips of the trees, striking fear in any living thing that glimpsed at it. Its solid hind legs left craters in the very dirt it stepped on. Visual proof of its impressive stature.
The earth-splitting run of the Monster could simply out phase the desperate attempt of its victims to escape, and the small remaining party members of adventurers that were unfortunate enough to stumble into the creature's territory were no exemption. It could have ended as soon as it started, but the beast was enjoying itself. The vicious glimmer of its eyes promising torment and agony to come was the testament to it.
After the untimely death of their healer, who was gruesomely ripped in half and eaten in front of them, fighting the Monster for a long time was impossible. Their only option was to run, but even that was difficult.
Escaping an elder voice stalker with two other heavily injured members with the Archer and Thief as the ones who are dragging the warrior and knight to safety. It was an unreachable dream further than the stars themselves, and Shayanne couldn't think of any better poetic description of how royally screwed they were now.
"Oh, for fuck sake!! Move your fucking legs, Lagnon!! I can't do all the lifting! You damn orc-for-brain brute!" Their Thief, Rolt, shouted his complaint over the muscled arms of the warrior.
"I fucking would! If I haven't lost a good chunk of it on my left!! Kin'tahnia!!" The limping warrior, Lagnon, fired back with his thick northern accent. Then the two naturally fall into an argument. Again.
They cursed at each other in colorful language but with the warrior now speaking in his mother tongue. At the same time, Rolt was mainly unsure of the complete meaning of the unknown insult thrown at him. Even was still, it filled him with vehement in each retaliation. After all, the ridicule of calling someone else's mother a whore transverses language barriers. Somehow.
"Is this the time for you two to bicker like a tired old married couple!? Emily is dead, and we will be next if you two don't stop flirting with each other!!" She snapped at them.
In her honest opinion, if the beast hadn't caught up to the scent of blood dripping from the two fellows, she would have honestly thought that it was the two idiots arguing that were keeping the creature in their tracks.
"We are not flirting!!" The Thief's impassioned defense fueled her irritation even more.
"Keep dancing around, fucking idiot." She whispered. Their chances of surviving the night have dwindled to nothing, and their continuing to live was a miracle.
For whatever reason the creature had in its head that was keeping them alive all this time, she hoped it would be long enough for them to devise a proper escape plan. The constant fighting between the two makes it even more difficult for her to conclude one.
She would be more than willing to throw the two hopeless imbeciles into the beast's jaws if it meant she and the knight could have a chance of survival. But she still wasn't sure if it would give them enough time to make distance given the injury the knight had sustained, and more importantly, he would never forgive her for such an act.
Wilbur Terralace was a good man. He was a true knight through and through. Even in his younger days, he was always about justice, fairness, and kindness to whoever needed it.
The type of someone who would put others first before himself, he would be the one who dies protecting others and would be remembered as the fool who was used. This, she knows all too well.
She studied the now half-naked knight as pieces of his armor were shredded off by the beast; it exposed the well-developed body of a man who devoted himself to being the shield of his team.
She gulped at the sight of this, but the blood streaking down from his open wounds, where the creature's claws found the man's flesh was the reminder that the knight wasn't in such a glamorous condition.
The wound was in his upper left torso down to his lower left abdomen that, without a doubt, would leave a nasty scar when healed.
She noticed the exposed open wound twitch ever so slightly, an indication that the knight was finally starting to recover from the injury, but it was still far from being a piece of good news.
She then eyed the shattered good-right arm of the man, which she deduced would take at least two months to heal completely, even with magic.
"How are you faring?" She asked. This made the knight chuckled bitterly.
'You should have just left me. I could have given you time to flee to safety. I'm just a burden to you now." He was right. She could not deny it. He was in no condition to keep up with them, not with his energy completely drained from using his defensive skills to minimize the casualty.
The excessive bleeding was another reason they couldn't shake the beast off their tracks. Even with their Thief's mirage ability, the creature's sharp nostrils cannot be fooled by a doppelganger.
Their only healer was the first to die in the Monster's sudden appearance. The man cursed himself for not defending the fair maiden, who suffered a gruesome death. Now a dead weight to his party member, he could not bear the shame and guilt within him and clutched his fist in his anger.
She saw the grimace on the man's face and gritted her teeth as she spoke as if she had read his mind.
"There was absolutely nothing you could have done to prevent her death. We were all taken by surprise. None of us knew an elder voice stalker still existed, much less this close to the Sak'rian border. Don't put all the blame on this on yourself." Her voice speaks of reason and a logical approach. It has always worked wondrously for his soul. It has never failed to lift his spirit, even in the direst situation. Even if it was only a way for her to wave his shortcomings as a tank in the party.
"Besides, we all would have been dead if it wasn't for you earlier. You protected us." She added.
"I owe you big this time, brother. I'll be sure to return the favor." The warrior said with a smile that betrayed their current dilemma. Two sets of eyes turned to the Thief, who kept a straight face despite the burning stare from both the Archer and the warrior. He sighed, finally giving in with a roll of his eyes.
"Damn it! Fine! Thanks for saving my ass earlier. I'll buy you an ale later. Stop staring at me like I killed your parents and kept moving!" The Thief snarled, and it ended with him and the warrior arguing once again.
Shayanne ignored the two with a shake of her head and murmured something that would have left him roaring with laughter if it wasn't for his injuries and their situation.
"She always has the nastiest backhanded compliments," he thought.
It brought a smile to his face, and he lightly put more strength into the arm supported by Shayanne's shoulder. He leaned in closer to her until the side of their heads was touching, feeling the warmth of their cheeks together like the old times.
His silent appreciation and gratitude to his longest party member and friend, who was always by his side.
Shayanne held her posture and breath, a gesture she was well familiar with ever since she was a younger lass, but it never failed to send her heart into a beating frenzy.
Wilbur was an affectionate fellow even when he was still a young lad, and clearly, he still hasn't grown out of his misleading antics, which is too much for her poor heart to take. That aside, growing up with such a handsome man with a well-built body and good manners, it was no mystery why she had fallen in love with the burly man.
The difference in her love for him from then is that she had found the affection irritating and mildly amusing. Now, however, every little intimate act would make her legs quiver, and her body would melt in his touch.
She put distance between their faces and refocused on surviving the night. The last thing she needs is to get her undergarments soaked while being stalked by a sadistic, man-eating beast.
"How much further are we to the nearest watchtower!?" She asked, making direct eye contact with the Thief. Rolt broke his argument with Lagnon and stared at her before gritting his teeth.
"I have no fucking clue anymore. We strayed off the path hours ago. This thing kept leading us somewhere else!" The Thief answered.
It was her turn to curse, and she wondered what the Monster's intention was. She had long read the monster logs from the Guildhall of Kastapor about the voice stalker. How disturbingly intelligent these monsters were, but that paled compared to their ruthlessness. There was not a doubt in her head that monsters were inherently vicious, but this one's kind made quite a scary story to tell in the night for generations to come.
They describe the remains of their victims as too mangled and disfigured to differentiate from victim to victim. For Etheria's sake, there was barely anything left to pick up! It was a mush of flesh, bones, teeth, and shit in one disgusting pile.
It was stomach-turning for even the most hardened adventurers and royals guards. The stories people told about the voice stalker have reached down to the far south of E'lireo, to the kingdom of Nevirdela, the old walls, and even across the monster-infested seas of Ekassos of the port city of Valrokkia.
When the horrifying tales of the voice stalkers have reached the noble houses of Nevirdela. They have urged the late King Lorcan Brightstone to lead a campaign to exterminate them.
It was the kingdom's most extensive military expedition ever since the great war and alongside the growing tension against the Hathoria empire. The crown succeeded in bringing the monsters to extinction a few decades back.
"Then this one is a survivor," she thought. She got rid of the possibility that they could be left alone after nearing the Sak'ria border. So what could they do? Asking herself.
The creature seems unfazed after nearing such a large settlement which could only mean it is used to it and is unafraid, or it could be trying to fish out more victims.
The monster log and stories stated that voice stalkers would often let survivors go and let them find help in hopes of capturing more victims. It can attack if it can gain knowledge of a nearby camp sight and small settlements. Then it would make sense that the creature kept its distance and only blocked our way where it didn't want us to go.
"Like shepherding sheep to the slaughterhouse, huh." She whispered, looking weary at the great beast stalking behind them.
Pure red gleaming eyes stared back at her. She was taken aback by the glint of its eyes that was prevalent to most nobles when they looked at a commoner when they begged to be spared from their wild games or when a murderer confessed to their crimes and showed no hint of regret.
She saw joy in the creature's eyes, and it clawed at her skin. It sends the pit of her stomach up for bile to force its way out. She has never felt so repulsed and afraid at the same time until now.
This was no beast trying to survive, not something that kills to feed itself solely. It kills because it likes to. The killings were merely a game to it.
The Monster growled delightedly at the scent of fear and hate emanating from the tanned female human and was thrilled that it caught one that won't easily break.
The priestess was a tasty snack, instantly filled to the brim with fear as it towered above her before death. The sensation of her bones and skull left a satisfying crunch on its jaws. It wanted to savor the tiny human and the emotions she could have displayed, but she was the greatest nuisance among them. All priests and priestesses are annoying little pests.
Its mouth opened and revealed rows upon rows of thick sharp teeth together with pieces of the white fabrics of the priestess clothing still stuck in between, its long slick tongue delicately licked at it.
It salivated as it remembered the fear seeping out of her and went deep onto her flesh, improving the flavor like finely seasoned meat. To them, there simply were no other emotions tastier than fear and hate and no other beings more emotional than humans. It has finally made up its mind.
It could not wait any longer for another prey to appear. It can't risk a human outpost spotting its prey and losing the resilient one. It will taste her tonight, but first, she must be prepped. Her fear outweighs her hate, it already had its fill of fear from the frail priestess alone, and now it seeks something with a little more kick.
It has eyed the injured human male with a hard shell with the said female for the longest time, and her scent changes in his presence. It was the putrid stench of affection existing between human mates.
Human mates were always the tastiest among their kind. Both the savory scent of fear and the firm bite of anger can emerge from them. One will be filled with fear as the Monster devours it, and the one watching slowly builds up hate and anger.
A perfect human pair was the Monster's favorite. It began to reminisce about the delicious, absolute terror of the little one that a pair of human mates had left behind as it crushed their bones and split their limbs in front of the little offspring. Too bad this pair hadn't conceived a spawn. It would have had a complete meal as it had treated children as rare delicacies.
A deep, low rumbling sound emanated from the creature. To the adventurers, it was the sound of nothing good to come but a mere happy tune for the beast. For it has found something enjoyable and mouth-watering.
The party of four felt an incredible amount of pressure as the Monster's presence exploded behind them. "DdOon'T. LleAVEe. MeE!" The priestess's stolen voice was hoarse but still appeared to be in a much higher reach than the previous owner's capacity. The sound was severely mutated, barely keeping a humanoid tune for any human present to hear.
After recognizing the stolen voice, the cold shard of dread consumed the whole party. They instantly knew there was no running away from the creature anymore.
Call it instinct, a hunch, or even the adventurer's knack for identifying danger. All four silently acknowledge this and mentally prepare themselves for the final confrontation.
Shayanne reevaluated her party members. Two of their remaining important members are heavily injured, the knight and warrior, and the most vital one, the healer, is already dead. Which left her, the Archer, and their Thief to buy some time for the other two to gather whatever they could get, but before she could give out a plan, the Monster charged at them at an alarming speed with no indication of any kind. Somehow, she could feel it was aiming for both of them, her and Wilbur.
"Rolt! Used it now!" She shouted. "Don't yell at me! I'm not stupid! I know!!" The Thief was already searching his bottomless sachet before the Monster could even move from its position.
He then pulled an object from the storage attached to the side of his waist. It was a round sphere made of white glass with a low light-emitting inside. It had an intricate metallic lining composed of untranslatable inscriptions, and at the center was the crest symbol of the mage country of Azzaheleon.
"I was saving this expensive shit for personal use," he clicked the centerpiece, and the device started whirring as it formed runes and symbols came to life inside.
"So you better be worth something, you damn monster!" He threw the sphere high up in the Monster's direction and stayed suspended in the air while it was still reconfiguring itself. When the Monster was just one carriage away from them, it stopped whirling its mechanical parts.
A bright white light detonated from the sphere, lighting up the forest like it was broad daylight. The Monster shrieked in pain, its leathery-like skin sizzling at the light. Its eyes closed as it shook its head vigorously, attempting to clear its head from the high-pitched sound coming from the sphere.
Contrary to the Monster, however, the light gently caressed the adventurers, and the warrior and knight felt their energy returning to them. Their wounds rapidly heal in front of their eyes.
"What is this?" Wilbur asked, amazed as the pain from his wound slowly subsided. The injured arm was far from being healed entirely, but at least he could move it freely. Shayanne felt relieved seeing the knight's wound sealing itself up before gripping her bow tightly and pulling out an arrow from her quiver.
"We'll talk about it later. Now's our only chance to take this thing down. If we can't run away from it, we kill it." She said as she aimed at the squirming beast.
"I get the largest cut in this one, right?" Rolt unsheathed his daggers, and the warrior's eyes turned sharply at him.
"The one who kills it gets the bigger pay!" He shouted before charging at the Monster, laughing.
"What!? Are you out of your mind, you barbarian!! Do you have any idea how expensive that device is? You all need to compensate me!!" he shouted and followed swiftly.
"Can those two just die already?" Shayanne whispered and made the knight laugh. Her cheeks turned red when the man reached his hand out to her hand that was gripping her bow. His far bigger hand covered her own entirely.
"Thank you for carrying me for this long. I know you don't like troublesome people, so I hope I didn't warrant your wrath too." The rich natural gruff voice held an unusual shame in them, but it did not stop the tips of her ears from burning red at their proximity. Her wildly beating heart swelled in delight even more, when the gently clasped rough hands tightened their grip.
"Then you better make up for it." She dared to push her luck. The man huffed in relief and then smiled brightly. "I will," his short reply was taken into account, and she could not wait for what the knight will do for her.
Their conversation, however, was interrupted when the Monster stomped the ground hard enough to make them almost lose their balance. It was desperately trying to fend off its attackers while blinded by the light. They focused themselves back on the fight.
Wilbur pulled out his sword and reflexively tried to reach for the shield on his back but remembered it was shattered to pieces by the Monster's final attack on him earlier. The Monster's claw was strong and sharp enough to destroy a shield made of Mithral and silver, and as a result, his armor made of steel and silver was slashed away like molten butter. He would have been dead if it wasn't for him exhausting his defensive skills at the short encounter. The scar that would heal up and the mental image of their healer dying in front of him will forever remind him of his failure.
He was supposed to guard his party members to the best of his abilities. He was a knight, after all, who swore to protect and save lives. That was what he pledged to the Goddess Etheria and all the people of E'lireo, but he failed. That's true; she died.
But it's also true that it wasn't his fault. Just like Shayanne had said earlier. The evils done in the world cannot be stopped by blaming someone's mistake or failure to react. It is the root of the evil itself that should be tarnished.
He could not save her, but he would damn well avenge her and rid the world of one less evil in it. He said and took a stand with his sword with the full intent to kill the Monster, so no one would ever fall victim to such a monstrosity again.
Then a low yellow light slowly engulfed the knight's body; his eyes showed pure determination and glowed golden before fading out.
[Conditions met!]
[Passive: Minor Etheria's Blessing Activated]
He shared a look with Shayanne before speaking. "We'll follow your lead, leader." She only gave a simple nod at him. Though she looked at the Monster grimly. There was nothing in the report she read about the weaknesses of an elder voice stalker aside from the sensitivity to light.
And considering that the whole continent thought that voice stalkers were eradicated by the Nevirdalians, most information about them is boiled down to stories and rumors outside their region. So if there were written documents about them, they would only be found on the old walls now.
In their earlier encounter with the Monster, there was only little they could do to harm the monstrosity. It was thanks to the various items and skills used by their Thief that helped them survive for this long, and that's not accounting for her theory of the creature letting them run for the sake of finding more victims.
"We need to find a spot where we can pierce its skin," she shouted for the rest of her members to hear. "Aim for the eyes, its throat, and its underbelly. Those will be our best bet to take this thing down!" She instructed.
Lagnon momentarily stopped his attacks against the creature's side as he heard their party leader's instructions about the Monster's possible weak points. Much like earlier and now, all his previous attempts to amputate the Monster's back legs were futile. In all the times he has hunted beast and Monster alike in his homeland, all were left crawling away or dying on the ground with a single swing of his serrated sword.
The wicked curve of the impressive sword was sure to strike fear and sink deep into his enemies' flesh. He was also intensely proud of his strength as a Valkier hunter. He often wrestled ice bears in his early teens in the frozen wasteland of his village. It was the sport and joy of his people.
He had built himself into a proper monster hunter in both mindset and body for the last 23 years. Still, the continued failure to deliver the fatal blow to the Monster directly insulted the person he had molded himself into, yet he could not stop the grin from forming on his face. He stabbed the sword straight to the ground, pumping blood high throughout his body.
The hot blood flowed excessively through the veins on his exposed muscles, from his hands up to his arms, the one on his neck, that one long line of vein from his left side down to his abdomen throb viciously.
That one singular vein dangerously lower down on his navel, as Rolt blurted out absentmindedly as he wondered why the warrior's only barely sensible clothing was his short and ripped trousers on their first meeting.
Lagnon's eyes glowed a shade of red, and Rolt gasped at this, "What are you doing!!?" He shouted as he recognized the skill the warrior was doing.
[Skill Activation]
[Taunting Roar LvL. 5]
A vicious, almost feral cry emitted from the one pieced-clothed warrior, and the rest of the adventurers could only gasp in disbelief as the Monster instantly turned to him with an equally vicious roar. Its eyes gleamed with pure wrath at the insignificant human that dared challenge it.
The Monster charged at him with difficulty as the light emitting from the device the Thief threw was still active.
Lagnon laughed as the beast stumbled its way to him. It had been a long time since he met something that wouldn't die quickly, and he would make sure to enjoy it. He charged at the beast with a maniacal smile, intending to wrestle the Monster down in pure strength.
"Ohhh, fuck me dead 10 times over!! That idiot had finally lost it for good, didn't he!!? He just got healed, and now he's planning to get himself ripped to pieces!! I say we leave this moron!!" As his eyes watched in fear and anxiety, the Thief said as the warrior met the beast halfway in its drunken rage. Despite everything he had said earlier, his foot moved but did not further himself away from the warrior's vicinity as the said madman barely avoided death by the Monster's jaw and claws.
Wilbur sprang into action and started attacking the Monster as well, taking advantage of the wildly swinging beast in its desire to kill the warrior in the most painful way possible.
"Get to work, Rolt! If you don't want him dead, you better start being helpful!" Shayanne brushed past the Thief as she placed an arrow on the string of her bow. She pulled on it as she took a deep breath.
[Skill Activation]
[Focused Shot LvL 4]
A barrage of arrows flew at the Monster, aiming at the eyes in hopes of blinding it completely. However, the sharp erratic movements of the beast caused the arrows to miss their marks forcibly; some flew over the target, hitting a tree, and some broke upon contact with the hardened skull of the Monster. She cursed.
"I need to have a clear shot! Can you both hold it still for just a moment?" She shouted again, and Wilbur has the only one to respond.
"I'll let you know," he said as he swung at the Monster again while it attacked the warrior. Each strike was with all his might, but it barely cut the Monster's hide. It's a given he wasn't as strong as the warrior-hunter, but his strength wasn't lacking either; the skin was just too rubbery and thick for his sword to penetrate even with Etheria's blessing activated.
But luckily enough for him, the Monster seemed unbothered by his attempts and was solely focused on the warrior. No matter how many stabs and slashes he did, the beast could not care. It was the beauty of the skill the veteran warrior-hunter had. It is simply the perfect peel for the party, considering their severe lack of a magic user.
Shayanne continued to take a single shot one after the other as she saw fit to score a hit on the Monster's eye but was careful not to run out of skill shots and just shot regular arrows in between. Wilbur and Shayanne continuously spoke to each other, looking for opportunities in the targeted weak points.
He breathes it in, that chilling moment before he dodges, lunges, and jumps away every wrathful strike of the Monster at him. Each one was a mighty blow enough to splatter a man into a bloody mess of beaten flesh and broken bones in a single strike. This instant death assault on him was the only thing keeping him alive for this long. Senses work in overdrive to avoid death. It had kept his heart beating at an unprecedented speed that fueled his instinct to survive the battle.
He laughed bitterly inside, knowing that the fight was a battle of tenacity that he would lose for the first time in his life. This was the strongest Monster he had ever faced, nothing in his career as a monster hunter could rival the beast he was dealing with now. It was rather funny to him that he had correctly predicted it the moment the Monster had ambushed them so quickly and killed the petite noblewoman. It only solidified its place as the most dangerous and cunning beast as right after it killed the priestess, it turned to him and aimed for his legs.
They will all die if this keeps up because, as much as he doesn't want to admit it, he is slowly reaching his limit. He has constantly been using his skill for a while now, and he is starting to feel every drawback of the excessive use of it.
He wished he could hold the Monster's attention long enough for his party mates to find a fatal blow or escape with their lives. They were all a decade younger before him and still have a lot of joys in life they haven't experienced yet. It would be a shame for them to all die here. He chuckled as he looked at the face of the young knight trailing beside the Monster and hacking away at it.
"Although this fool would rather die than leave a battle," he thought. He acknowledges the young knight as an honorable man but curses him for his inattentiveness to his female. He glanced once at their Archer and clicked his tongue.
"Young love." He said as he dodged another bite just a hair away from decapitating him.
"What did he say!?" Shayanne shouted.
"Something about bread? All I heard was loaf or something!" Wilbur replied and was just as confused as the Archer.
"Is he hungry? Now's not the time to complain about supper." Shayanne whispered to herself.
"I told you he was going senile." Rolt crept up behind and held a vial out to her.
"Had to find a replacement for some missing ingredients and other stuff." She took the handed vial and examined it. The liquid inside was green in color and was boiling from the bottom up inside its glass container.
"Tie it right beside your arrowhead and aim. And whatever you do, don't miss it. I don't have another one." He warned. She doesn't know much about alchemy, but she would guess it was poisonous.
"It ain't poison." He took the words out of her mind.
"We need to hurry. He won't last much longer." He rushed into the skirmish going up beside the slowly weakening warrior that both Wilbur and Shayanne failed to notice.
[Skill Activation]
[Camouflage LvL 5]
The Thief's body disappeared with a glimmer in front of her as he sprinted away, dusting the dirt off the ground with his heavy steps as he quickly gained distance from her. She did as she was told to, ripping a piece from her clothing with a knife. She then tied the vial to one of her arrows in its tip and held onto it tightly before running off and keeping up with the rest of her party members.
In the rain of assault from the Monster, Rolt carefully watches every exchange of movement from the creature and his stupid, air-headed bastard savage that took the full attention of the Monster all on his own. He was gasping for air greedily when he finally neared the warrior's side but was still within a reasonable distance from the Monster's reach. He clutched the low-hanging sachet by his waist and cursed at its additional weight.
"Damn it, why do I always have to pick up for this idiot?" He glowered at the warrior but held the intention of strangling the man in his sleep after he got his cut in killing the giant ugly fucker trying to kill them first.
He reached for the pocket in his upper left pouch and counted his remaining smoke bombs. "About five, eh?" He cursed at the night and everyone around him. This expedition had caused a lot more money than he could profit from. The reward for a simple subjugation of goblin bandits against the Wishing Star used earlier had already been a hair-pulling loss for him. Now he was about to be fully empty-pocketed after this encounter. He decided to write down everyone's debt to him after tonight.
He noticed the slight change in the warrior's expression and saw the limp in his left leg, where the previous injury was located, throbbing disturbingly quickly. The Monster, unfortunately, saw it too and raised its massive sharply-clawed forelimb high above. It wanted to witness the accursed human be pounded into oblivion. It wouldn't be satisfied with just a mere kill. The Monster will aim for the legs and work its way higher and higher before repeatedly smashing it until the human is left with nothing but a puddle of blood and soft flesh tissues.
A sadistically imitated sneer was formed when it opened its mouth for just a crack, already imagining the sweet screaming melodies of the human male would make.
Lagnon only smiled maniacally at the incoming attack. He knew if he tanked the strike head-on, it would kill him. But still stood his ground and prepared for it anyway. He couldn't let a monster look down at him. He has the pride of a monster hunter to uphold, after all. Wilbur and Shayanne shouted the warrior's name at the incoming blow from the Monster.
"COME ON!!!" The entirety of his body grew an extra mass, and his whole body radiated a reddish glow then his eyes gleamed a burning yellow. He squatted, lowering himself as if trying to capture the Monster's strike.
[Skill Activation]
[Taunting Roar LvL 5]
[Skill Activation]
[Bloodfury LvL 4]
He was ready to die an honorable death by the most incredible Monster he had ever faced when he noticed a glimmer in the corner of his left side eye, where a hand emerged from nothing. It pulled him by the ear before Rolt fully reappeared out of nowhere as the strike from the Monster descended.
"Out the fucking way, Dumbass!!" Rolt roared at him. He threw three smoke bombs on the ground before tackling Lagnon out of the way, avoiding the death blow and triggering the bombs earlier as they were the alternative recipient.
The Monster missed its mark and is now blinded by a cloud of thick black smoke. It searched for the accursed human, its limbs itching to take another strike as its irritation only grew. It swung at the smoke angrily, blowing away a large clutter from its view, and spotted something standing in its way. It was another human male, and oddly enough to itself, the Monster didn't seem to care much until the smoke cleared up behind that human. There he was, the accursed one. It roared at the sight of the warrior emerging from the smoke and wholly ignored the Thief below it.
Rolt fished out his last screaming mirror and unsheathed the dagger from his left. After complaining that he had to use his last mirror, he stabbed it and cracked as the pointed tip pierced its center. Quick sudden light beamed out of the mirror and was accompanied by a disturbing screech resembling a woman screaming with the nasty grinding sound of nails against steel blasted out of the broken mirror. The Monster took the full force of the light unguarded, crying as its eyeballs sizzled in the socket of its skull. It screamed in pain caused by the direct light from the Thief's hand that had managed to torch the moisture from its eyes and turn away from the source.
It was the opening Shayanne was looking for, and she immediately aimed at the Monster's face. She quickly glanced over her shoulder and called out to her spirit. "Asmias." She then heard a sound of a small bell ring in her ears and felt air whirl around her shoulders. A small chime-like voice in the air said its greetings and asked what fun it could have this chilled night. She took a deep breath before pulling the string and muttered a command. "Spin, dance, and laugh, Asmias, the wandering spirit of the wind. Come forth and bring ruination with your glee. Spiral true and be paramount above all. Pierce and tear!"
[Skill Activation]
[Wind piercer LvL 5]
Air whirled the tips of the arrowhead rapidly and circled down the wooden body. She let the string go, and the arrow flew, it rotated violently the moment it was free, and the air guided it to the designated target with a giggle in the wind. The shot itself was instantaneous! Hitting the Monster in its left eye, it struck deep within the eye socket and stretched the wound outward like a spiral crater. The vial that had exploded upon contact with the arrow had found its way inside the injury, and green ooze seeped out from it. The set of painful screams emanating from the creature was horrendous as the green toxicity worked inside the Monster's head, while those that had splattered on its face were melting through the rubbery skin revealing the white exterior of its skull.
Wilbur watched as the Monster screamed and thrashed around in excruciating pain. It was losing all sense of understanding as its desire to kill the hunter-warrior and get rid of the pain from its face was split in half. In the end, it started blindly swinging its limbs around, hoping to snag anything before changing its concern again. The Monster, in its desperation, tripped on its own and fell on its back.
Wilbur sprinted forward, hoping to land a direct hit from the exposed underbelly, but the creature quickly regained itself and swung one of its massive forelimbs at him. Thankfully he was able to jump back to safety, narrowly evading it. He then weighs his approach, the creature might be blinded, but it wasn't deaf and probably heard him coming at it and was able to protect the softest part of its body.
He then eyed the other limb of the Monster. It supported its incredible weight by sticking its claws deep into the ground. He quickly changes target, not missing any chances to land a strike anywhere he can, and decides to go for the other forelimb instead.
He grasped his sword tightly with both hands before kneeling on the ground and praying. "Oh sacred Mother, the brightest light in the skies, hear me in my greatest need. Kindle my inner fire so I might lift my burdens. I beg this of you in your divine presence, o righteous creator. Strengthen me with your heavenly mercy!" The sword shimmered in white light and slightly vibrated on his hands.
[Skill Activation]
[Hallowed Fervor LvL 4]
Wilbur circled the Monster, avoiding the reach of the creature's desperate attempt to defend itself. His plan was simple and direct. If he cannot land the fatal blow, he'll have to set one up for his other party member. He had to pin the creature down for as long as he could until neither Shayanne nor the veteran hunter could land a fatal blow. He went straight for the resting limb and raised his sword above his head. The added effect on the blade with his full strength pierced through the rubbery skin and muscle. Wilbur felt the very tip of his sword penetrate the ground. He then squeezed every ounce of his remaining stamina and held onto the Monster.
[Skill Activation]
[Immovable Fortress LvL 4]
The entirety of the knight's body hardened like steel; he couldn't move his legs at the sudden heaviness of his body. He was stuck in place, and so was the beast.
An ungodly sound came from the elder stalker, loud enough to deafen anyone near it. Wilbur was no different, his head rattled inside and rang a high-pitched sound within, but thanks to the skill he had used, he was able to withstand it. The Monster realized that a human had pinned its paws down and raised the one protecting its midsection to squash the pesky little human.
Rolt ripped open his sachet and presented it to the warrior, astonished to see a familiar handle protruding from it.
"Well!? Do you want it tied with fucking ribbons?? Pick up your shit, shithead!!" Rolt hissed venomously at the astonished warrior.
This warrior recovered from his bewilderment before gripping the handle and pulling out the massive serrated curved sword with one hand out of the sachet. He gave the red-faced Thief another look and reminded himself to thank the lean youngster for carrying his weapon this long. "Must have been difficult for him to carry this," He thought as he looked at the flushed young man and smirked.
"W-what!?" Rolt stuttered. It was the first the older man had looked at him that way. It completely caught him off guard.
Lagnon returned his sight to the Monster that raised its claw at the knight. "Nah'yer neit!!" Powerful legs craved the ground as he bolted toward the Monster. A downward slash with the wicked sword intercepted the Monster's blow claiming two fingers off its claws in the process.
The elder drew its limb back in pain and roared at the warrior, its hatred at the human male renewing. It lifted its limb again in a wide arc targeting both men in a giant swing. Lagnon grinned widely. "Bad move, Haer'maw" He said. ~Swoosh
[Skill Activitation]
[Focused Shot LvL5]
[Focused Shot LvL5]
[Focused Shot LvL5]
[Focused Shot LvL5]
[Focused Shot LvL5]
Five consecutive arrows landed flawlessly in the elder's stomach. Each shot penetrated deep into the softest tissue of the Monster. Shayanne gasped as she emptied the last of her skills but smiled at her handiwork when the Monster faced the ground, bellowing at the new wounds it suffered.
The back of the elder's neck was exposed as it appeared to clutch its stomach, and Lagnon didn't waste the opening that presented itself. He charged at the weakened Monster and raised his sword high in an attempt to decapitate it. The creature's head would make a fine trophy back in his homeland.
The elder's last remaining eye opened as the warrior came close to the Monster. Blood red orb stared at the warrior with uttered hatred, clearly remembering the accursed human. Lagnon was surprised at how the Monster twisted its head to face him. Its open jaws revealed rows upon rows of teeth that reek of rotten flesh and decay. He narrowly avoided death with a quick sidestep.
Despite half of the Monster's face being destroyed and having multiple wounds in its stomach while also being held down by the knight, it still managed to react to an attack. Any other great beast that received this kind of wound wouldn't even be able to think much at all, much less respond in such a way, but this thing acted like it wasn't hurt suddenly.
Lagnon felt something was wrong. His years of experience dealing with monsters had given him perfect insight when something was amiss, and clever creatures like this would always have a surprise waiting.
"How could it still move so quickly after taking so many injuries?" He inquired to himself as Rolt came up beside him. "Don't give it a moment to breathe!!" The Thief exclaimed with his daggers in hand.
Those were enough words to convince him otherwise of his suspicion. It may be hiding something, but its wounds were already grievous. If they could finish the Monster before it could try to do anything else, they'll be in the clear.
"Wilbur-man, Hold it still! We'll finish this thing off!!!" Lagnon shouted over at the knight, who forced a smile at the warrior's words as he struggled against the Monster's strength.
The three remaining members of the party worked around the Monster's weakened and wounded state, with Lagnon as the front damage dealer, Shayanne at the back, and Rolt as the support. They weaved around the elder's attempt to defend itself, but with the knight holding it in place and the severity of its wounds, there was little it could do to gain distance from its supposed to be prey.
The battle burned through the night, and the black sky turned nearly blue with the sun threatening to peak over the land. It took all their might and remaining skill to bring the Monster down completely, but Rolt's vehement towards the creature didn't dissipate after emptying more items while killing it.
His party members weren't spared of his wrath either, so they kept their distance, allowing the team's youngest member to fume over his lost goods.
"Are you alright?" Shayanne sat next to the strained-looking knight. "I'll be fine...Just need to rest up a bit" His reply was breathy and croaky, with sweat dripping on his face. The energy he spent holding the Monster down for hours did a number on him, and he was ready to call it a night and sleep in the entire week to come.
The Archer looked in the direction of Rolt, hoping that the Thief would have something to ease up the fatigue on the knight.
"YOU UGLY FUCKING!! FUCKING PIECE OF FAT-... FUCKING SHIT!! UGLY MOTHERFUC-...!!!" Shayanne looked away and decided that the Thief might need a little more time alone.
"At least one of us still has some energy left in them," The knight drew a hearty laugh against the Thief, and Shayanne returned it in kind.
"We still need to drag that carcass back to the guildhall if we ought to earn some money back, or Rolt might lose his mind if we got nothing from this monster." Shayanne and Wilbur conversed lightly, the adrenaline from the fight slowly diminishing.
The two loosen up as the long night slowly ends, with the cold blue sky steadily gaining colors. Lagnon watched the corpse intensely with his sword tightly gripped, ready to strike at any time.
The Monster's still corpse was finely butchered up thanks to their combined effort to take it down. Still, even with the mutilated body of the elder stalker in front of him, his baser instinct was screaming at him that it was still not safe. Even with the sun slowly rising, the hair on his forearms stood up at the sense of danger.
It was an unpleasant feeling that made no sense to him, the creature was dead, yet It felt like there was still something more, something deadlier to come. He looks over the Thief, who kept stabbing, cursing, kicking, and stomping at it.
In his village, it was a typical sight to him that children gather around a freshly killed beast to have them inspired to hunt their own beast when the time comes for their rite of passage.
However, his instinct was screaming at him to remove the youngster from the Monster. All the judgments he made based on this primal feeling had never failed him before, but the Monster was dead and lay still on the ground, motionless. He senses no heartbeat coming from the beast, so what triggered his instinct!?
What threat could the Monster still propose? He tried to reason with himself but decided to make the safe choice instead and took the Thief away from the elder's corpse and carried him over his shoulder. Rolt shrieked at the sudden action of the warrior.
"Wa-what are y-you doing!!??" Rolt asked, flustered and stammering at the sudden action of the bulking warrior. He squirmed when the older man didn't answer and kept walking in silence.
"Settle down, will ya?" A quick slap on the Thief's bum stopped the struggling youth from sulking in a hushed voice.
Shayanne and Wilbur noticed the warrior approached them with the Thief over his shoulder, who was suspiciously quiet, red-faced, and grumbling to himself.
"We need to go," He spoke to them hastily, and in the depths of his voice was the slightest taste of fear. The knight and Archer were alarmed by this and asked what was wrong, The warrior looked them both in the eye silently, and it fed on the growing tension between them.
"Something is wrong here. I can't tell what it is, but we must leave now. Far away from here." He told them. The two of them were uneasy at how the warrior confessed his worries. The most confident and cocky one of them showed fear in his voice.
The Thief, quietly comfortable in his stop, retorted quickly at the thought of leaving the corpse. The Monster was the only remaining asset he could financially recover from.
"NO! Hell to the NO! I ain't leaving! That thing owes me too much!! If you all are going. Fine by me! I'll drag this fucker myself if I have to but make no Fucking mistake. You'll ain't getting a single copper from me." Rolt turned to walk back to the Monster, but a firm grip held his wrist.
He looked back and attached to it; a strong muscular man, around 6'8 tall, with a rugged good look and a mean look in his eyes. He gulped.
"NO!! Set your greed for another day! There is danger afoot, and I know not its source!! The creature is dead, but it is still not safe! We will go, Mak'umlit na Batah!" Lagnon spoke almost like a growl and immediately tossed the Thief over his shoulder again.
"EYYY!!! Shit for Brain!!! Let me down!! Put me down this instance!!! Don't fucking watch me! Get this muscled idiot to hand me!!!" Rolt shouted at the two unfortunate watchers.
"H-hey, let's discuss this first. The Monster is dead. Maybe we could━" Wilbur spoke but was cut off.
"No. It's dangerous." Lagnon said with a renewed growl in his voice. Shayanne and Wilbur had never seen the Hunter-warrior so adamant in leaving away their bounty. He was always the type to go headfirst into trouble, causing the party some problems most of the time. However, he was displaying a different side they had yet to see.
The once cocky, confident veteran dwindles into worry and perhaps fear. They shared a look before nodding. "Alright. Let's go." Shayanne side quickly came to Wilbur's side, who rested his arm around her shoulder for support. Lagnon let the two slowly walk forward toward the cover of the trees. If something was still stalking them out here, it would be far better to hide amongst trees than out in the open.
"Are you fucking kidding me!??" Rolt screamed. "Hey, quiet! Don't go attracting attention to us now!" Shayanne hissed at the fuming Thief.
"Ahh, Don't worry too much, lad! I'll do you good to make up with yer lost." Lagnon slaps the Thief one more time on the bum for good measure of his goodwill. He would willingly let his share of coins from their quest to the Thief if he could come calmly with them back to a nearby city.
Rolt choked on his own spit at the words he had just heard. His red face now holds a different meaning aside from his previous anger.
"Relax, he might not mean what you thought he meant," Shayanne whispered. Earning her a middle finger from the Thief while the other two men were oblivious to the silent exchange.
"You better shu━" Rolt couldn't finish his next insult as a shadow loomed behind them. Eyes look up and see two red orbs staring back at him with a wicked, disturbing grin filled with misaligned sharp teeth. This wasn't the same Monster they had killed, right? No cuts, no wounds, no fucking hole in its face. The stalker was unharmed. Rolt's mind blanks at the impossibility that this is the same Monster that died earlier.
Lagnon didn't see it but absolutely felt the presence of the same Monster earlier, but this time the aura was unbearable. He couldn't even react to it. Despite its massive size, it was able to move undetected even with his sharp senses. Then it was Shayanne and Wilbur's turn to feel the Monster's presence. It was hard to breathe under its murderous aura. The bloodlust oozing out of it froze them in their track. It was like the Monster had already grabbed them with its massive paw. Unable to do anything aside from waiting for their deaths.
For a moment, nobody moved. Then a sound of a twig cracking under pressure as a small gust of wind shook the trees did the momentary calm ended.
Rolt's mind slowed to a crawl when the Monster lunged forward, gaping mouth with rows of teeth descended upon them. His body was thrown forward, gaining only a few feet ahead of the knight and Archer.
Powerful jaws clamped at the warrior's body, leaving only his waist down to be seen by his party member. There was a crunch, a lot of blood, and a body flying in an arch as the Monster threw him back to the center of the open field.
Rolt watched the warrior's body fly before landing unmoving on the ground. "LAGNON!!!!" He threw his dagger and charged, blinded by an outburst of anger. The Monster tilted its head at the Thief then a pleasant scent reached its nose.
"InN...TeREsStTiiINNG" The Monster spoke with the stolen priestess's voice while taking in breathes simultaneously forcing the words out; it hurt the ears to listen to. It swiped the Thief aside, who crashed into a tree strong enough to shake the entirety of it. He lay there silently.
"TWWO PaiirSs... OooNneeE NnigGhT" Wilbur saw the Monster looking in the Thief's direction and quickly placed his hand behind Shayanne and pushed her forward. "RUN!!!" Shayanne only tumbles forward before regaining her footing. Looking back, she saw him already pinned to the ground. A massive paw covered his entire body, only letting his head pop out between its front digits.
"NO!!!" She drew her own dagger attempting to stab at the paw, only to meet one halfway. It hit her midsection, knocking the air out of her before hitting a tree as she flew back at the force of the hit. Her vision began to blur, darkened with black spots, but the scream of the knight awakened her.
Her eyes searched him. Blood spurts out of his mouth at the crushing weight pressing down at him. Metal breaking under pressure, pieces of the armor digging at his flesh, the once armament serving to protect him is now cutting through him alive.
"WILBUR!!!" Shayanne screamed. She searched for her bow, dagger, or anything she could use at the Monster. The Monster smiled at the desperation she showed. Her scent grew even more delicious, and its mouth salivated. The pain softens up her inside. The sadness coated her with a sweet taste, and the anger that followed gave it that right explosive taste after the bite. It can't wait anymore. It has to happen now. And the best thing about it? It can do it all over again with the other pair.
The smaller male smelled of that repugnant scent and the tantalizing spiciness of protectiveness uniquely of human pairs. It was good that it hadn't finished the other male; it could still have the chance to prep the next prey. But it needs to be quick. That other male would not last long.
The Elder Voice stalker sneered, saliva slipping at the side of its mouth.
"ARGGHH!!!" Wilbur screamed louder. One of the front digits of the Monster pressed downward, and he felt his left shoulder dislocated with a crunch. "NO!! WAIT!!! PLEASE!!" Shayanne begged, sobbing between her pleas.
The mixture of all three scents has perfectly blended inside her. She's ripe now. The Monster opened its jaws, ready to lunge at her, taking her whole before chewing her slowly to savor all the acquired taste it so desired. The Sigil of Gluttony glowed in its stomach, demanding its next essence taken. It was so close. It can finally reach its next evolution.
A sound passed through, and the grass near Shayanne gently swished; she looked to her side with her tear-soaked eyes and saw someone standing beside her. A horned blackened silhouette with fierce golden eyes and a long black tail swishing wavily behind it as it spoke.
"Geb ah'legeth Gof'n ahf' lllln'gha syha'h"