The muffled sounds of screams and crashing were faintly heard through the ringing Clayton had going through his ears. He attempted to move but could not due to the rubble that had him pinned down covering up the right side of his body. It left just enough of his chest and left arm free; this left him powerless to watch as the monster killed his friends and brothers in arms. The Gultonk ransacked the barracks, throwing both knights and objects across the building, causing chaos and mayhem. The young knights are powerless to defeat such a monster. Each one having been torn to shreds, the sounds of bloody screams of fear and agony fill the barracks. The blood from the knights that had been dismembered flooded the floor that had just been cleaned that morning. Clayton, tried desperately to get himself free to help his brothers, but failed and could only watch. Before long the Gultonk broke his way through the barracks entirely and set its eyes on the village next. The Gultonk began making its way toward the village, the screams of women and men filled the air, and the roar of the Gultonk rang out in the once joy-filled village. Clayton struggled to shake the daze he was in and tried again to pull himself free. But with no leverage to do so. The blood that filled the floor ran across his face and seeped into his armor. Suddenly he felt two sets of hands grab him and begin to pull him. He realized these sets of hands belonged to Frank and Jonathan, two knights that he had gone through the rugged training with. They were able to pull him free, and Clayton slowly regained the feeling in his legs and right arm. The three of them moved slowly through the destroyed barracks and crushed mangled bodies. Jonathan looked through the bodies of those still intact to see if anyone was still at least drawing breath, but all that remained were puddles of blood and flesh oozing out of the crushed armor. Frank watched from the large hole left by the Gultonk, as it raged through the village. It crushed all who crossed its path, some men tried to attack the Gultonk but were no match for its unbelievable strength. A puddle began to fill the area around Frank's feet, his armor shook, he turned to the other two with his eyes filled with tears that broke and ran down his face, stuttering as he asked, "Wha..what are we supposed to do against that?" " We weren't trained for this kind of monster." Frank dropped to his knees and frantically screamed, "This isn't how this is supposed to be, it was just supposed to be guarding a peaceful town. Gain a title and go back to my family's merchant business in the capital!" While Frank continued, Clayton began sifting through the now-destroyed armory for any weapons he could use. But to his dismay, everything was either buried under rubble or broken, until he saw the hilt of a sword. He pulled it out from underneath the rubble, and as he did it began to crack and bend. He was able to pull it free but it was not as strong as it once was and it held visible cracks throughout the blade, its edges chipped and covered in the blood of his brothers. He let out a sigh, he looked at Frank and saw he would be no use to the battle with the monster. Clayton called out to Jonathan and asked if he would join the fight to protect the village. Jonathan, stunned at the question, replied, " Are you serious?' "We can't beat that thing, we have no weapons strong enough, and even if we did there is only-" He paused and looked over at Frank who had now devolved into ramblings, and continued, "There is only the two of us and we are no match for that beast, all is lost we should just go to the nearest outpo-!" Before he could finish Clayton began to walk toward the direction the Gultonk had gone, before leaving the lines that were once the barrack's intact walls he turned to Jonathan and said, " It is our duty and honor to protect the people of the Umar Kingdom. We may not have the men or weapons but we still draw breath and as long as we do then all is never lost." "I will not make you fight the monster, I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared, so all I ask is if you would find any survivors and get them out of here. I will keep it busy as you do." Jonathan is dumbfounded, he can not believe Clayton would walk alone to face such a monster. Jonathan called out to Clayton, " You are a fool to try and fight that beast, just because you are skilled in a duel doesn't make you some great monster slayer you FOOLISH BASTARD!" Jonathan could only watch as Clayton's figure began to become smaller and smaller as he walked toward the screams. Jonathan looked over to Frank and looked around himself at all that once was filled with the laughter of his fellow knights. Jonathan ran in the opposite direction, leaving Frank rambling, any survivors behind, and for his last brother-in-arms to face a monster alone. Clayton, now able to see the Gultonk only seventy yards away holding an old fisherman in his hands. The same fisherman the young knight would see every morning trying to catch the golden striped bass that had been eluding fishermen for over three decades. The Gultonk crushed the old man in its hands, and the blood flowed to the ground in large amounts, with a sloshing sound. Clayton now felt like he did when he faced the stranger. Clayton looked around at the sight of dead villagers. He felt alone. Memories flooded his mind of the formations he had practiced with his fellow knights. More memories of his friends he had shared evenings laughing and merriment with. Clayton watched as the Gultonk chomped away at the old fisherman. Flashes of what Clayton had watched the Gultonk do to his fellow knights, ran wild in his head. Rage began building up inside Clayton. His heart was racing, pounding so loud the people in the capital could probably hear it. He could feel the adrenaline filling his body to the point his legs were shaking. He took a step and then another and another until he was full sprint toward the monster. He glanced to his left and saw boxes stacked on one another leading up to the roof of a now-destroyed house. He turned and leaped up the boxes and onto the rooftop, now leveled with the Gultonk's shoulders. He fully dashed across the roof and leaped onto the Gultonk's back, Clayton grabbed the dirty matted hair on the back of the Gultonk's head. The Gultonk, reared back from the momentum, now aware of something on its back. It began to grab at Clayton and slam its back into the building Clayton had just leaped from. The giant twisted and turned trying to get Clayton off its back let out a roar. Clayton barely hung on, dodging the houses and the giant's hands grabbing at him. Clayton began to stab the Gultonk in the right shoulder, neck, and back. The Gultonk now frantically began to crash into the buildings, with every reaching attempt at the young knight riding on its back, Clayton swung the cracked sword at its hands cutting it only enough for it to stop momentarily. The Gultonk stopped and squatted down, Clayton confused as to what the Gultonk was attempting to do suddenly realized what it had planned. The Gultonk leaped into the air, Clayton felt the lift of the momentum and then the rush of air as the monster aligned its back with the ground. With a loud thud, the ground shook and dust was thrown into the air. As the dust settled, the Gultonk lay in a small indented crater in the ground. It stood up slowly now with its right side covered in blood and let out a small grunt-like laugh. Suddenly it was hit in the head with a rock, it turned to the direction the rock came from. Clayton was standing there breathing heavily clutching his left leg and said to the monster, "What the hell are you laughing at?" The Gultonk, confused, began to get fully to its feet but Clayton rushed the Giant with his sword and swung it with all his might. When the blade connected with the Gultonk's head it cut deep, slicing through the monster's left eye. It let out a roar of pain, but the sword became stuck due to the chipped and now bent edges. Clayton tried to pull the sword out of the Gultonk's head but couldn't, the Gultonk struck Clayton; its hand was the same size as Clayton's bed. Clayton was flung back twenty-five feet, hitting the side of a wagon. It felt as if Clayton had run right into a stone wall. He could feel his ribs broken from just one hit, all of the air was knocked out of his body. Clayton clutching the hilt of the now broken blade, looked at the evening sky and tried to catch his breath. The Gultonk, now standing angrier, stomped over to Clayton, it bared its twisted brown rotten teeth at him. The Gultonk's eye dripped with blood and the blade of the sword stood out from the monster's head; it lifted the wagon above them both, Clayton falling onto his side. The Gultonk went to slam the wagon onto Clayton, but before it could; the Gultonk dropped the wagon and fell to its left knee. The monster let out another roar of pain, quickly turning to its left. As it did, the Gultonk saw Diomede standing with his great sword clutched in his right hand, he stood tall with his eyes cutting straight through the core of the Gultonk. Diomede with a smirk called out to Clayton, " Get out of here little cub, the monsters are about to play rough."