Lucas sat down on the ground, his body sinking into the dirt with a soft Thud.
He was exhausted, his mind still reeling from the battle with the abnormally strong shaman.
The phrase it had uttered, "May Chaos bring Order", still echoed in his mind, sending shivers down his spine.
Haa... He sighed, the sound escaping his lips with a soft Whoosh.
As he sat there, he heard the sound of someone sitting down near him. The rustling of clothes and the soft creaking of leather armor accompanied the movement.
He turned to see Katherine, her eyes fixed on the ground as she let out a long, tired sigh. "Haaa... At long last it's over," she said, her voice laced with a mix of relief and exhaustion. "If that arrow hadn't killed it, we probably would've been done for."
Lucas looked at her with surprise, his eyes widening slightly at the show of emotion. He had grown accustomed to her neutral, unchanging, and nearly cold demeanor.
It was strange to see her express herself so openly. He then turned his gaze outward, taking in the sight of the battlefield.
Near the collapsed pillars, Viona and Grant rested, their bodies slumped against the rubble. Their faces were etched with tiredness, their eyes sunken and their skin pale.
Joseph was resting on the hilt of his sword, his body leaning against the blade as if it were a crutch.
Jessica rested against a small boulder, her body slumped against the rock as she struggled to catch her breath.
It was then that they all felt it - a sinking feeling of doom that held their hearts in a vice-like grip.
The air seemed to grow colder, the shadows deepening and twisting around them like living things.
They all felt a chill run down their spine, a shiver that had nothing to do with the night air.
And then, a dark silhouette sped past Lucas and Katherine, heading straight for Joseph with a deadly intent.
"Joseph, look out!" Lucas screamed, his voice hoarse with fear as he tried to fight off the sense of dread that threatened to overwhelm him.
Joseph immediately raised his sword to block, acknowledging how unlikely he was to dodge the attack.
The sound of metal meeting metal echoed through the air, a loud CLANG! that seemed to shake the very foundations of the earth.
But it was the sound that followed that made their blood run cold - the sound of metal cutting through flesh, a sickening Splat! that seemed to hang in the air like a challenge.
Thud. The sound of Joseph's hand hitting the floor was like a death knell, a stark reminder of the brutality of the attack.
Everyone looked on in silence and straight-up horror as Joseph's hand slid to the floor, his fingers twitching feebly as if trying to grasp something that was no longer there.
They then looked at the silhouette, their eyes widening in terror as they took in the sight of the creature. An orc.
It was a massive creature, its body a mass of muscle and scar tissue. Its face was a twisted mess of scars, its eyes glowing with an unnatural fury.
It wore silver armor, the metal gleaming in the moonlight like a cold, dead thing. And in its hands, it wielded two double-headed battle axes, the blades glinting with a deadly intent.
The orc gave off an intense feeling, like death itself had come to deal with them.
The air seemed to grow colder, the shadows deepening and twisting around them like living things. "Aarrgh," the orc growled, its voice like thunder in the night.
Time resumed, or seemed to, as the others looked on in horror. Lucas looked down at Joseph's side, his eyes widening in shock as he saw Joseph's sword.
It was broken in half, the blade shattered by the force of the orc's attack.
Joseph was holding half of the sword, the other half lying on the floor, a stark reminder of the brutality of the attack.
The orc then turned to them, its eyes gleaming with a malevolent light as it spoke in a voice that sent shivers down their spines.
"One down, five to go," it said with a massive grin on its face, the sound of its voice like a rusty gate creaking in the wind: Creeeak!
The orc's grin seemed to grow even wider, its teeth glinting in the moonlight like sharpened knives.
Lucas' expression hardened visibly upon hearing the orc speak, his eyes narrowing into slits as his jaw clenched in a fierce determination.
The only orcs that could talk, at least talk as well as this orc was currently talking, were high orcs and above.
A high orc was a [B-] rank threat, a monster of unimaginable power and ferocity. There was no chance in hell that they could win.
Lucas' expression wasn't the only one that hardened upon hearing the orc talk.
Katherine's eyes seemed to frost over, her face becoming a mask of icy determination.
Joseph, despite his pain and shock, gritted his teeth and clutched where his right arm used to be, his eyes blazing with a fierce defiance.
Jessica's face set in a firm resolve, her hands moving swiftly and surely as she helped Joseph tie up the injury, trying to stem the bleeding.
Viona's eyes seemed to burn with a fierce inner fire, her face set in a determined mask.
Grant's face was pale, but his eyes were steady, his jaw clenched in a fierce determination.
All of them knew instinctively, as soon as the orc spoke, that they were going to die.
The air seemed to grow colder, the shadows deepening and twisting around them like living things.
"Shit," Lucas thought inwardly, his mind racing with the implications of the orc's words.
Although he was sure he could outrun the orc, at least for a while, using his elemental mode, the problem was that none of them had attacked yet.
Not even Jessica, Joseph's own sister, had moved yet. Focusing on stopping the bleeding of her brother's severed arm.
Lucas, gritting his teeth, turned to Katherine at his side, her slender figure silhouetted against the moonlit backdrop.
Her body was trembling slightly, the faint tremors visible beneath her armor, but her expression remained determined, her eyes burning with a fierce resolve.
She then spoke, her voice steady and calm, despite the fear that lurked beneath. "That's a high orc, right?" she asked, her words barely above a whisper.
Lucas nodded, his jaw clenched in a grim expression. "Yeah," he said, his voice low and gravelly, the sound sending a shiver down Katherine's spine.
The orc glanced around at all of them, its eyes lingering on each of their faces before its figure blurred, reappearing before Viona with a speed that was almost supernatural.
Whoosh!
Viona raised her shield to block the orc's axe, the metal surface glinting in the moonlight: Clang!
BOOM!
The sound of the axe meeting the shield resounded in the air, the impact sending a shockwave through the ground.
Crack!
The shield, upon receiving the blow, cracked immediately, the sound of splintering metal echoing through the air.
Viona, taking advantage of the momentary reprieve, swung her sword from behind the shield at the orc, the blade flashing in the moonlight.
Swish!
But the orc was no ordinary foe, and it casually parried Viona's sword, the sound of metal meeting metal ringing out in the air.
Clang!
The orc then raised the other axe in its hand, the one it had just used to attack the shield, and slashed down at Viona with a force that seemed almost primal.
BOOM!
The axe connected with the ground, sending a shockwave through the earth.
Viona immediately jumped backwards, her feet pounding against the ground as she desperately tried to put some distance between herself and the orc.
The orc's body blurred again, its massive form reappearing before Viona in the blink of an eye.
It slashed downwards once more, its axe slicing through the air with a deadly whoosh.
Viona swung her sword immediately to counter, the blade flashing in the moonlight as it met the axe in a shower of sparks.
CLANG!
The sound of the axe meeting the shield echoed in the air once more, but it was short-lived, as a cracking sound followed.
CRACK!
Viona's eyes widened in alarm as she clicked her tongue in frustration. "Tch!"
She immediately pulled her sword away from the clash, her arm jerking back as she struggled to maintain her grip.
She then put her shield in front of her to block the incoming axe, but it was too late.
The shield shattered upon contact, the sound of splintering metal echoing through the air.
BAM!
Viona was left vulnerable, her great sword trembling in her hand as it struggled to withstand the force of the orc's attack.
The sword was on the verge of cracking, the sound of its metal screaming in protest.
Just as all hope seemed lost, an arrow flew at the orc's hand, exploding immediately upon contact.
BOOM!
The sound of the explosion echoed through the air, the force of the blast pushing the orc's hand backwards.
Lucas, seizing the opportunity, immediately activated his elemental mode, his body blurring as he grabbed Viona and blitzed out of the orc's way.
They reappeared beside Katherine, Lucas's chest heaving with exertion as he set Viona down.
"Shit," Lucas muttered low, his eyes scanning the battlefield with a mixture of frustration and fear.
"We need to retreat. There's no way in hell we can beat this thing."
Viona's expression was grim, her eyes flashing with determination.
"If we leave now, the orc will destroy the town," she said, her voice firm and resolute.
Lucas clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Tch!" "That's really not our problem," he said, his voice laced with a hint of desperation.
"We were sent here to deal with the shaman and hobgoblin."
"And we've done that," Lucas said, his voice firm and resolute, "dealt with the shaman and hobgoblin.
The quest wasn't to protect the town, but to kill the shaman and hobgoblin." He spoke in the same tone, his words dripping with a sense of finality.
Joseph, struggling to stand with one hand, his face twisted in a mixture of pain and determination, said, "We may not be obligated to protect this town, but just because it's not an obligation doesn't mean it's okay to just leave them to their fate."
He spoke through gritted teeth, his voice laced with a sense of conviction. With Jessica's help, he finally stood up, his legs trembling slightly beneath him.
Joseph then summoned an ordinary-looking longsword from his storage ring, which Jessica had taken from his severed arm.
The sword appeared with a soft Click, its blade glinting in the moonlight.
With his non-dominant hand, his left hand, gripping the sword, he conjured several light swords, their blades shimmering with a soft Hum.
He then turned to Lucas and Katherine, his eyes burning with a fierce determination.
"You guys don't have to stay," he said, his voice firm and resolute. "We'll distract the orc, you guys go. Maybe evacuate the town while you're at it."
Katherine's response was immediate and firm. "No," she spoke, her voice steady and calm, as she drew more arrows and nocked them on her bow.
Tick-tick-tick.
"We take him down," she said, her eyes narrowing into slits as she took aim at the orc. "No running."