Chapter 31: Despair Is The Finest Art / Chaotisches Gemetzel
The invasion of the commerce and agricultural regions had started and now it was up to the The Three Swords of the Royal Capital as well a couple of the members of the Wings of Freedom. The Three Swords would serve as the defense whilst the Wings of Freedom would be reconnaissance, to tell the royal armies what they should expect and what kinds of technology they should use against the undead. If one were to ask why were they issued this task instead of being a part of the offensive task force then the answer would be as foolish as we want to have at least one trump card that we keep to ourselves, a weapon we will show our enemies and make sure they never invade us again. These were the exact words of the king, it made it all the while obvious that he wanted The Wings of Freedom to be the face of heroism so he could make them into nobility.
The start of the day was somewhat painful as they had to meet up with the Three Swords early in the morning, Yukiyo wasn't a morning person as one would know. The entire group got ready and headed to the Royal Palace where each of them would be teleported to the city which was in the most danger from the undead invasion. Yukiyo and Rosa were sent off with Lionel and his Dragon Claw, Euphobia and Seratta were with Johan and Larson respectively. The only ones left were Clyne and Hortus who were studying the inner workings of the royal capital's technology and its infrastructure to better know how to invade them when the time came. Yukiyo wanted to sigh but she couldn't, Lionel was ogling her and licking her body up in an unpleasant way. It was a good thing she was accompanied by Rosa otherwise she would have killed them all right at that moment.
"Say Okio, how did you get into this profession anyway?"
"Oh yeah same question to Lisa too!"
Their current location was the city of Belvirast, a commercial city that was the pride and joy of its region. Business had to stop because of the invasion and stores had to close up as soon as soldiers and adventurers came in. Lionel and his vice leader Troy asked the same question because they had an interest in these two in particular, how Toby met with Rosa was the same with the others after they were told what was going to be happening and he fell in love with her. It wasn't an exaggeration that he had dreams of starting a family after budding their love in the heat of war and the like. Rosa felt disgusted by such a man and it was very clear from the start she wanted nothing to do with him, but he pestered her anyway. Talked to her when she was alone, followed her around as she was patrolling and so much more. Their operation would begin as soon as a small group of undead numbering five hundred popped up in the field before them around noon, five hundred may be a small number compared to when she used a thousand to destroy cities but that was the number Hortus chose to make the adventurers proud of their abilities before they got caught up in their unique traps.
"Most of us are orphans and so we chose this job because we wanted to see the world for what it is, outside of the scope of the orphanage. And that's it for us"
"Okio summed it up pretty well, that's how it is for all of us despite having different dreams and aspirations."
The pair were already crying tears from just hearing the story they crafted beforehand so no one could ask any further than this. It seemed to have worked excellently. Sympathy is by far the strongest weapon when you have nothing else, except for murder and arson of course but those could be left at the door. Yukiyo looked forwards as the time was moving by slowly.
"We'll go back to adventuring after this situation is done"
"But Okio! This place isn't that bad!"
"Maybe, but I like freedom y'know?"
That was the truth even before all of this, she loved freedom and thus smiled as she knew very well that freedom meant she was going to go to war against this world. Rosa looked at Yukiyo for a moment and seemingly reached a conclusion of what her actual thoughts were and stared at her with an inspired gaze. To those who didn't know anything it was simple to say that she was mesmerizing Yukiyo walked forwards silently with Rosa following right behind her.
💀 Dragon's Claw
Noon was fast approaching and it was about to be time for Yukiyo to play into the role of a recon hero trying to know what the hell is going on. Lionel was near the front gate inspecting things that would certainly break apart as soon as this gate was hammered through by the undead. Rosa was still being followed by the vice leader Troy, everything was coming together. The adventurers, soldiers and knights were on high alert. They were all patrolling the city's high walls and preparing their anti-siege weapons as if those mattered at all. An instant flash of light followed by an intense loud drum beating was the signal that Yukiyo was waiting for, as a grin etches itself on her face.
"They're here!Time to shine like stars you are guys!Unless you are all pussies who want to go down in history as cowards!"
Yukiyo's shout made them answer back in a unified roar as the gates creaked open with the main force comprised of her, the Dragon's Claw and the knights as the soldiers stayed behind to protect the city. Yukiyo rode the horse she was on with her arms folded which made Lionel amazed at how she could do that. For her she simply had to make the steed understand her motion via magic, as they were fast approaching the undead horde numbered five hundred which was a lot of monsters to these knights who never fought a monster horde more than a hundred or so Yukiyo pulled two katana from their sheaths. Jumping on her horse as they reached even closer.
"W-What are you doing?!"
"I am going ahead of you guys!Bye!"
It was unheard of that a person would jump on their horse's back to launch themselves forwards the enemy but that was exactly Yukiyo did. She slashes through the useless undead that she has no use for and proceeds to make a spectacle out of it. With speed that doesn't logically make sense this was the moment they could all see why she was chosen by the royal family. Shattered skulls and bones were left in the wake of her assault on the undead, she cut their bones clean, the zombies were quickly disposed off before they could do much. This display of strength left all of them shocked and still in the battlefield they were supposed to be risking their lives in. It was one thing to understand that someone was strong it was another to witness it in the flesh, but that didn't mean Lisa wasn't doing anything for every blind spot that they had where the undead could creep and attack them she shot them from a far distance and these were many arrows that accurately destroyed them without leaving anything behind.
"I thought she was at most as strong as a A tier Adventurer but they said nothing about being S tier..."
"Lionel its too late to ask now, we've gotta work even harder to sustain a proper relationship"
"You're right Troy! Let's try our best! Alright Men, The Dragon's Wings Are With Us!!!"
The Dragon's Claw followed Lionel's lead and began to crush the skulls of the undead, the zombies who groaned had their bodies crushed under the blunt weaponry that they carried and the knights were slowly gaining confidence in their skills as they were being supported from the mages in the rear lines. Yukiyo was like a whirlwind that was ravaging the undead horde she leaps backwards right next to Lionel who is astonished she could make it back so quick.
"I am leaving the rest to you, that special undead is not here!"
She quickly retreated to the rear lines where she would promptly assist Lisa where she could further aid the other forces that were left in the city, leaving them with nearly half of the force that they were supposed to be fighting. Shaking his head in mere disbelief Lionel raised his sword up in the air and pushed the attack forward to the undead who were whittled down to a number that was disgracing. With time they had finished them all off with a matter of moments, breathing a sigh of relief everyone gave out a glorious shout to show that they've won the long fight against the undead.
"Well done you did pretty well for yourselves I thought that you would honestly wouldn't make it from all of the numbers so we had to help out a little"
Okio was already here, just how fast was this woman in the first place?That was the main question he had on his mind, Lisa was there as well and this had reached a fair conclusion without too much bloodshed. If the special undead that Okio fought days before was not here then it must be elsewhere, this was enough to be alerting. The smiles of the men as they cheered over a victory, the laughs they had over the fact they survived death, everything was having this kind of haze to it and then it hit him something was happening right at this moment. The field was shining too brightly, Okio's smile slowly becoming twisted the more he saw it, the uplifting atmosphere which had something missing to it, everything felt wrong and then he fell. They all fell deep into the hole that suddenly appeared from out of nowhere, after that everyone blacked out without a single moment to take in what had happened.
The emptiness of knowing that you truly are alone starts to hit when you are teleported away from your friends and you do not know what part of the dungeon you've found yourself in, this is what Lionel felt as soon as he woke up. He had heard of such incidents happening before but never paid heed to it, rather he never thought it would happen to him. Lionel slowly recovered standing up as he observed his surroundings, it was all flesh. It seemed he found himself inside of a dungeon that the undead had created, some kind of cavern of flesh that he didn't quite understand. He picks up his sword and looks around for anyone who could help him out of this situation. Strangely enough it was well illuminated he could see just fine without needing to use magic to see where he was going. This place made him feel incredibly uncomfortable to say the least, it was more than creepy it was terrifying to be in a place like this.
Lionel walked alone in this desolate zone of flesh, each footstep he made reminded him he was far from wherever he used to be. There was nothing more than dread filling his heart even though he was armed and very prepared, nothing but the sound of his footsteps, flesh being squished and the faint beat of a heart slowly carving a way into his mind's psyche. The initial thoughts of Lionel was to find a way to escape like any rational man would, he didn't once think that his men might be in here and suffering in silence instead they were fighting whatever lurked inside of this beast known as a dungeon. It had been a long time since he was isolated from the rest and so he chose to run forwards, he didn't know the direction he was going to take but he moved along anyway. Just as he was getting used to the sound of his own footsteps betraying his own expectations screaming came from all around him with the flesh now making creatures from its disgusting sinewy walls, they shrieked hoarsely giving Lionel a rude awakening that this may as well be hell. He readied his bastard sword as they rushed towards him with fury that he never saw before in his life, their blood stained screams stained the very atmosphere itself as he swung his sword quickly before the claws of those things even dug themselves into his armor. The only effective way to truly end them was one he did not want to commit to, that was to run. No matter how much he cut their limbs off they couldn't stop regenerating which made him realize that this was their birthplace, their home, their turf and they could be healed by it. No amount of slashing would save him from being torn into pieces, that realization was what helped him run even faster despite their numbers increasing to absurd levels. He slashed at their limbs just to buy more time for himself to run across the cryptic hallways that only served the purpose of mocking his sanity.
But screaming didn't stop, not one bit instead it increased in volume reminding him that they were always close by. Then he noticed it, he wished he didn't have ears for that moment as the voices and tortured shrieks of his men could be heard. What the ears didn't want to believe in, the eyes showed to spite the common knowledge he had thought was an auditory hallucination, he came face to face with a bridge made of flesh and down below where the adventurer he held pride in. Trapped in pits of flesh where those creatures easily tormented his men for sadistic pleasure: torn limb from limb, stabbed by sharp flesh from all over, boiled in hot blood with their skin and flesh melting right off, being beaten to a pulp by hands made out of flesh, being skinned alive like the cats suspicious old women used to get rid of in fear of witches, impalement with dripping hot tendrils, hell violation despite being male was mixed in that lot. It was unending as they kept on being healed in this process to show them the true meaning of hell. This was the textbook definition of hell, and none of his men deserved any of this.
"Lioooooneeeel!It's too late for them!Let's fucking book it!"
"Hurry up idiot!They are coming from right behind you!"
"Listen to us and get yourself over here!"
Troy was the first to bring back to his senses, followed by Okio and Lisa's voices they were on the other side of the bridge. It seemed they had just arrived a few moments ago from another opening, looking behind him he saw the writhing mass of flesh coming towards him like a rushing river. Running as fast as he could from the red flood Lionel reached the others and began to sprint with them.
"W-What happened?"
"We got teleported as soon as we were done killing the undead, this was a ploy by that undead!Fuck!I should have paid more attention!Lionel I am so sorry about your party members"
Okio blamed herself for why this was happening, she had enough compassion to even apologize for something that was out of her control. Okio truly was a lovely woman through and through.
"Do not mind it!If we live on we will avenge their deaths later on!"
"I haven't met any more truer words than those Leader!"
Troy shouted despite sounding like he was nearly out of breath, they kept on running chugging stamina potions like as if tomorrow didn't exist because there certainly wasn't if these things caught up to them. Climbing the stairs that showed that they could get to the outside if they tried, hope was on the horizon. The last flight of stairs was between them and freedom however there was a chasm between them and such a goal. The two ladies easily leapt over that and now they stopped before they could do something so easily.
"You first"
"No you first"
"Okay how about a game of fire, wind and earth?"
"I don't think we have enough time for that, on 3. 3, 2,1!"
They both paced backwards before leaping to their future, to their dreams with these women. But right before Troy could reach the other side he was quickly shot down by something, Lionel sees Troy screaming in despair as his shoulder is pierced by something. He barely makes it across and Okio catches him by the hand.
"Thank you!"
"Heh~"
Okio's beautiful smile now has a different meaning as he stares at it right at this moment Lionel's now sweating buckets as he stares into her eyes. Those mysterious eyes have now turned into a void of fathomable evil that he has never known in his entire life.
"Okio this isn't funny please lift me up!"
"I can call this a plan well executed don't you think so Rosa?"
"I finally got rid of that shit eating fly and I am so happy. This new weapon of yours Lady Yukiyo is fantastic"
"I know right? We should use it when assassinating the nobles in their homes next time"
"Wuh....What are you talking about?"
"You haven't noticed huh?Of course you didn't, you were too focused on my body to figure shit out but I guess that is why you guys trusted us so easily."
Why did Okio speak in such a condescending and pleased way from her cheerful voice, she seemed like an entirely different person. So did Lisa, they both acted like they had planned this from the start. Lionel could feel his heart sinking as he came under this realization.
"Okio what are you?"
"Here's a fun memory to carry into your life of being tortured to death: My real name is Yukiyo, I am the Dark Elven Queen. This whole invasion is my plan"
".....no"
"Oh yes. This kingdom was doomed from the start, your heroes, us are just infiltrating from the inside to destroy everything"
"Why are you doing this.....?"
Lionel asked this with a shaking voice as Yukiyo lifted him up by the arm smirking even more as she saw his despair deepen.
"I am doing it for the elves experimented on in this kingdom, that and I am effectively crippling the Cornelia Empire. You are just an obstacle caught in my path. Awwwwww don't cry, save those tears for when this crypt of flesh is actually putting your body through hell and back ~ ❤️.Troy is already screaming his lungs out right now, can you hear him?"
"I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL MURDER YOU! I WILL RAP-"
"Oh sweetie you can't do that ~❤️. Not with your strength anyway. You're nothing but a fly caught in a spiderweb. Good bye Lionel, you were annoying with your eyes filled with love. I love girls anyway. It was pretty cringe falling in love with someone who was taken anyway"
Lionel is taken aback by her words as she drops him, this was the second time he was falling down into the darkness. All of his rage was now replaced by pure fear, the tentacles reach out for him now intrude every orifice of his body messing with his insides. He was essentially being fucked by these things and the pain he felt from this action was immeasurable. There was no hope for him or this nation. Even as his muffled screamed continued there was no one who was going to come. It wouldn't be long before he died but his body would be taken over with his soul trapped inside and forced to commit heinous actions but that is a tale for another time.
💀Sword of Fate
"Our duty is to look for any and all enemies who may threaten the lives of the people. That is all I have to say, I am not much of a talkative person so please do not feel like I am ignoring you or I see you as a lower being because I tend to get lost in my own thoughts."
Sera immediately stated right off the bat to clear off any future misunderstandings, Johan saw this as the mark of a veteran who had been in many battles. Being clear and upfront was something lost to many an adventurer, some would often keep their feelings and thoughts in their hearts and forget to communicate their issues with the guild and it would result in the disbandment of it. Small issues like being ignored can be blown out of proportion with time, thus Sera nipped that problem right from the beginning. She moves to the back and makes her presence least known, but everyone could see her gaze on their backs. Their mission was fairly simple: Protect the city of Bevul. But much to their surprise as soon as they arrived they saw the city to be a barren wasteland. Nothing was left alive, they were already too late in doing that easy task. There was only one thing to do now, that was to search for the enemy and kill them to avoid any more casualties.
"Where do you think they've gone?"
"Into the forest probably. I used to think that I would never conduct an investigation but times change I guess"
Sera asked this question with a straight face and began to look around, yes there were signs that this city had been invaded and the evidence of the corpses of the soldiers right in front of their eyes but the puzzling question was how come there weren't any bodies of the common people? It could be that they were evacuated but the shattering of the gates and the hole in the wall spoke a different story all together. Unless this city had a special magic that could easily teleport the citizens to a safe distance which was possible in this nation of magical wonders. The Sword of Fate didn't know all the details of the different cities, they just went to places and did their job merely passing through the city without much of a single care about it.
"We move out to the nearby forest maybe that will tell us what we need to know, I am sure there was a safety measure that allowed the people to escape. We just have to make sure the undead don't find those people first."
Johan made an easy to understand command, Sera nodded while the rest of the Sword of Fate followed his lead as he walked towards the eastern gate. The undead were ruthless in their slaughter and it showed, most adventurers were used to blood and gore but this much made even the most desensitized of them all flinch in the reaction to it. The forest was just a mere distance away from the city and it was menacing to look at from this angle, it was blanketed by a strange mist and it made several of them step backwards as if in fear of what may lurk inside of the mist.
"We stay together, that's the plan. Closely knit, in the turtle army formation where we raise our shields up and walk together in unison. This way the enemy does not pick us off one by one"
Sera gave sound advice for the situation and it made Johan relieved that at least there was someone to rely on at this moment. Comforting as that may seem it didn't make the future task any less alarming, they walked in the formation that Sera had suggested and kept on moving. The air of the forest licked the bodies as if it was sampling them, the mist moved as though there was something dancing within it. No matter how one would try to slash and stomp such a thing it was merely just a play on their minds. They could hear eerie noises coming from the deeper parts of the forest, with zero visibility and the sounds of undead lurking in the mist it wasn't an exaggeration that this was very nerve wrecking. If one didn't have clean focus in a place like this, they would be swallowed up by the evil that lurked within the mist. Steadily marching on in this formation the air felt like it could attack them at any given time hence they drew their weapons even closer.
A quick slash on their shields alerted them that the danger was real and now was the time for it to descend upon them like the horror it was. Without expecting something leapt into the it and crashed right in the center where they thought they had protect most well, scattering them effectively. And once they tried to regroup they were met with the near endless swarms of undead that came in droves to devour them. Sera began to issue commands to those nearest to her that they should block as many attacks whilst trying their best to conserve their energy to avoid from being overrun by these monsters. Those who were far away from here were already completely covered up by the zombies that rushed at them and ate them alive, their screams added to the song of terror that was playing at this current moment. Sera kicked up a shield and sent it flying to the incoming hordes of undead that were rushing towards them like a flood, this caused an explosion that cleared up a little bit of the mist that was surrounding them all. It closed itself up again as if that were a wound in the flesh of a vampire, Sera swings her zweihander across with ease cleaving in half all of the undead who had come to eat them alive. This was buying them time as they began to regroup as planned. The survivors were picking up the shields of those who died and donning them so they could reform, Johan running with his short sword in his hand slashing through the numbers of the dead so he could reach the group in time.
"There's no time to mourn the dead! We have to move forward so we could escape this trap!"
Sera said with a loud voice just as Johan leapt into the front carrying a shield that had been laying on the ground. The formation had changed from being a turtle to being a bat as they ran between the trees, crushing the skulls of the skeletons and bisecting the brains of the zombies so they could escape. But that was the least of their problems as the skeletons and corpses of animals had joined the fray throwing dark magic at them. This was terrifying enough as is because of the concept of being hunted down by just a couple of undead who came from humans but now they were being hunted down by animals which had a different set of senses compared to humans. Rats swarmed those who were unfortunate enough to be caught in their leap at the adventurers and soldiers, wolves jumped into the earth to snap at their ankles causing some to fall, bats and birds that would fly into the faces of some to disorient them to fall out of line. No wonder the city fell, they never stood a chance against these hordes.
"Fuck!At this rate we will all die!I am sorry guys but I have to keep them at bay!"
Sera shouted out as the situation was more than dire, she turned around as she bashed into the oncoming masses of the dead.
"GO WITHOUT ME!I'LL BE FINE!"
Unable to say a single word Johan was honestly impressed by Sera who was effectively sacrificing herself despite her job being the one who was supposed to watch over them and see what kind of enemy they were dealing. They ran on still using the formation she had told them to take.
It almost felt like forever just running away but they finally managed to flee the monsters living in this forest. The mist had cleared up with the first thing on their mind was resting, the trees were tall almost covering up the sky but the moon's light still shined between the trees. A total of 20 men had died today, and that was no easy number to swallow down. Johan took out his item bag to retrieve the potions he had stored in there, some were barely survived and were merely existing due to the adrenaline that was pumped constantly in their bodies, the ones who didn't have injuries weren't any better either. Their mental conditions had deteriorated and now they had been reduced to mere children who had to be calmed down by him as well. The undead who commanded these monsters was smart, it knew tactics and that scared Johan more than any dragon. A monster that thought was one worthy to run away in fear. Their goal now was to escape and give this information to the royal capital, so they could at least prepare in some way. Despite it taking an hour to make them all go back into their positions they had to move out of the forest whether they liked it or not.
Using a magic compass that would lead them out of the forest Johan knew that the sacrifices that were made today were not in vain. He remembered Sera and her braveness, he did not want her efforts to be in waste. They all walked as broken men, what happened today had showed them the strength of humanity was weak and they could not rely on it. Some would even become religious as their faith was strengthened by this very event, it was a long way to home. If they somewhat managed to the other end of the forest and reach one of the forts that was close here they could carry hope with them. Soon they reached an exit and wanted to cry in pure joy but fate was not that kind. The other end was a plain that was filled with burning fire, the screams of people and monsters that covered the entire land like a flood, another group of monsters was marching towards them in fact.
Despair finally settled itself in their eyes as they watched in horror there was no escape, for those who were haunted by the fear of being hunted like animals immediately broke down.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!NO MORE I'VE HAD ENOUGH!! I DON'T WANT TO BE AN ADVENTURER ANYMORE!"
"BY ZEUMAXIS HELP! SOMEONE WAKE ME UP!"
"Thiscan'tberealThiscan'tberealThiscan'tberealThiscan'tberealThiscan'tberealThiscan'tberealThiscan'tberealThiscan'tberealThiscan'tbereal"
But that was not all they could hear the marching accompanied by the characteristic screaming and howling of the undead coming from behind them. If the prospect of hope itself wasn't lost in them, it certainly had gone to the wind now. Johan raised his sword as did the others who were still sane enough to do this.
"Ah there's still survivors it seems. Adventurers even I should be having one wild time, lets see some of you are already broken and some just fine."
Without any sound being heard they saw an undead knight with blue and red flamed eyes carrying a spear with him. His armor as well as his aura sent a wave of dread throughout their bodies even the battle hardened fight junkie Johan was struck with an awe that he couldn't explain. He could feel the very essence of death covering this thing. The undead knight laughed filled with mirth as he pointed his spear at Johan and the Sword of Fate and spanned it as if counting them.
"You are all doomed to die. But at least die fighting so you may become a part of my Draugr. If you live through our assault then you may go but I highly doubt it especially you"
He directed his spear at Johan once more which made him angry that his life was being toyed with by such a being. However the remaining question he had on his mind was what was said by this thing.
"Our?"
"She's arriving quite late I am sure she's enjoying herself torturing merchants. But I was there learning what I can from her, she's certainly a comrade. Speak of the devil here she comes now."
Shining in the sky was a bright light almost like a star crashing down from the heavens, with a loud noise carried out in the heaven it landed. A black knight with metallic wings had descended amongst the Sword of Fate and the undead knight. The black knight directed their gaze at the monster sighing as they do so.
"Sorry some of these slave merchants are hardcore vets in not wanting to be crushed you know?"
"I get it, it was like that in my first time as well"
"Oh!You've met the little rabbits I herded in your direction!Nice!I knew mist and the like would work"
"Yes I did. I am glad I got to see him with my own eyes"
"I know right?He's honestly just another battle junkie like us!"
The voice was very familiar to Johan, it carried that distinct tone that he had grown used to. He couldn't accept it, there was no way. She died for them, how could she join the monsters when she got devoured by them? He couldn't help but call out her name.
"Sera....?"
"So you figured it out huh?"
The helmet melted into the armor as if it was not there in the first place revealing Sera's face but something was different, she had sharp elf like ears. This was the moment it dawned on him.
"That's right I am an elf, was one for the entire time. I made this little thing of ours possible. So we could fight which is the best pleasure in life. Aren't you happy?I like the look in your eyes Johan"
"The stare in his eyes truly is great to see. why don't we fight already?"
Johan's eyes were filled with fury, so much so that he was going to mutilate Sera's body after he was done torturing her.
"Lemme dispose of his ragtag team of idiots so we don't get disturbed."
"I WON'T LET YOU!"
"TOO LATE!"
"You shall face me for the mean time Johan!"
The undead at some point got off the horse and zoomed towards him. If he was a second late he could have had his arm torn off from his body as he was dragged backwards into the forest.
Seratta cracked her knuckles in pure delight as the helmet reassembles itself on her head. The visor shines crimson with delight, the blood on her sword wasn't enough it needed more. She appeared to have vanished and appeared in front of the first victim to her murder spree, she stabs his chest with a look of madness spreading across his face. Sundering him into pieces Seratta kicks the head off of another adventurer, with the momentum of her sword she spins ahead and cuts off the limbs and heads of several more adventurers. She leaps backwards with her wings transforming into something else, this was the prototype power armor that Yukiyo gave Seratta they had the function of a weapon that could easily change the tides of battle due to how overpowered it was. It transformed into two miniguns that began to spit out tons of bullets at the adventurers who immediately cast barrier type shields to protect themselves but the power of a magic minigun was far too great and thus the ones who survived were the ones who weren't broken enough to simply stood still as if the incoming barrage of projectiles were a form of art they just discovered.
Once that stopped Seratta began to laugh at the cries of those who remained, she took out her sword once more as she heard the distance fighting that Bolverk and Johan were having and wanted to quick end this.
"YOU WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS SERA!!"
"But I've already have. And you're losing your head"
"Wha-?!"
Seratta snapped forward and she twisted the neck of that particular adventurer as she threw a knife at another soldier who tried to get a drop on her, it lands right in his throat causing him to choke in his own blood. But not for long Seratta tears his neck open decapitating not only him but as well as another adventurer who was right beside him. A sword swing happens real close to her but she dodges that and lightly pushes the sword back which results in it landing on the head of its wielder. She takes it out from the corpse and throws it pinning down the next individual, she throws dirt into the eyes of those who run towards her before cutting off their legs and stabbing their eyes with daggers. The relative ease of her slaughter was amazing if one was watching it from the sidelines but if you were the one experiencing it then it was a nightmare you couldn't wake up from. She slammed the next knight into the ground easily crushing his head like a tomato.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA COME ON TRY TO KILL ME YOU FUCKING PUSSIES!!"
They couldn't. She was far too powerful for them to collectively overcome, numbers weren't winning this battle but sheer strength was. Seratta pulled out the miniguns again with a mad smile on her face as she fired all of them to oblivion, these had fire and acid magic bullets laced on them. Returning them to wing form Seratta cruises forwards to catch up with Bolverk, right before Johan gets the chance to slash at said undead skeleton Seratta fits her sword in between spear and short sword.
"I made it, did you have fun Bolverk?"
"Excellent fun Lady Seratta!"
"2 on 1 lets go!"
"BRING IT ON I WILL KILL THE BOTH OF YOU!"
They distanced themselves by jumping backwards before leaping back into the weapon lock. The sounds of weapons clashing caused an audible crack to be heard amongst the three and it definitely wasn't the pair who was assaulting the high rank adventurer. He had to pull back due to how intense these exchanges were, if he were to stop now then he could still save his weapon but that wasn't an option at the moment. He dodges the slashes and stabs of Seratta and Bolverk, aiming at their vitals but such things do not even flinch them. Johan takes out a dagger to act as a parrying weapon that would deflect the brunt of their heaviest of attacks. This paired with his nearly breaking short sword would keep them at bay.
"Oh?This is interesting I've never seen that sort of fighting style before"
"Same"
Johan barely even manages to do this as the speed of their weapons is causing him actual muscle pain, they attack too violent and with too much strength. For Bolverk he could believe it was his monstrous strength but for Seratta he was in mere shock that a humanoid could exert this much power. At this point he was going to lose the war of attrition he was trying to play with these monsters. A sea of flames and ice came his direction causing Johan to jump out of the way only to be caught in Bolverk's spear path, he blocks this attack right as it crashes on his short sword with the ground he stands on cracking under the pressure. Jumping over Bolverk Johan throws several knives at Seratta who merely knocks them out to prevent them from even scratching her armor. He casts the fireball spell to shoot at Bolverk who is an undead and rushes towards him so he can get a jump on him. Bolverk seeing this is the case he puts up Gungnir in defense, Johan's dagger slides across the spear and almost lands on Bolverk but he uses this action to bring him forward to grab his head and slam him into the ground. The dagger is broken from the impact with Bolverk kicking him to Seratta who skips into the air with her sword aimed downwards. He tries to roll out of the way but his armor is stabbed through with several daggers and she pins him to the ground.
"How do you grade him?"
"Odin would be displeased. At most a C ranking."
"He's good but not that special. So the heroes might satiate our battle hunger."
"Yes, they might as well be gods at this point"
"Agreed"
"Y….ou….."
"He's trying to say something, quick do something"
"Already on it"
Bolverk stabs his head with Gungnir effectively killing him on the spot. Johan's life was quickly taken before he could even utter his last words to the world, Seratta sighs as she taps her sword in disappointment with Bolverk spinning Gungnir in mere boredom.
"Now then I will need to return along with the others a tad late so we can make this authentic."
"Understood, how about another fort?"
"Great idea."
Seratta smiles as she would satisfy her disappointment in other ways other than a battle with the strongest in the nation.