The dust that was thrown upward began to clear. In the wake was a nearly faceless Rinae. Her jaw was half hinged and leaking blood profusely. Her teeth were exposed giving her a permanent snarl. Further down the arm she used to touch the ball of mana was missing from the forearm onward, neon blood sprayed wildly.

The crowd of soldiers cheered. Damage was done to an opponent that they couldn’t even imagine stopping. However, the mage kept her stance, she was unwilling to believe that was enough to do anything but piss it off.

And right she was.

In just seconds her appearance began to change drastically. The black crown that sat upon her head began to dissipate and her face began to rejuvenate, strands of muscles shot from one end of her mouth to the other. It started slowly only to increase to speeds faster than the human eye. It only took seconds for her face to look the same pale, emotionless as before.

The cheering of the soldiers dropped one by one, all of that just to reset back to square one. Rinae brought the stump of a hand back into her sight, this was the second time she had become ‘disarmed’ at this point it was a minor annoyance. Her height started to contract, she was once taller than most of the soldiers she was now around the same height, maybe shorter.

Her hand was reconstructed, the black chitin took the form of bones as it grew from the stump. The strands reappeared connecting with the makeshift bone. The strands piled on top of each other creating enough mass to act as a singular muscle. Coloration lightened then darkened, her hand was back to the original.

Most of the soldiers gawked at what happened, No one expected to see the tall, monster transform into a ‘younger’ version. Many were surprised merely at the rate all this happened.

“Don’t just stand there, attack!” The mage shouted. The clanking of armors getting into position echoed through the ranks.

The archers pulled back the strings and fired at will. Even though her wings were smaller she had no problems simply stepping to the side to dodge the incoming projectiles.

The mage wasn’t having that, she launched the same attack as before. The magical balls were shot forward and went for Rinae.

Noticing the incoming magic she began to go backward. Avoiding the magical exploding balls sounded like it was an excellent plan.

She twisted her body around and broke into a full sprint. The mage increased their speed to follow her down the street. Her small-yet-sizable wings began to beat. The wings would not be able to generate a lifting force powerful enough to allow her to fly with her in her ‘now’ form. But it was enough to increase her jump height by several feet.

The magic balls switched directions to follower her. Going in the air, she twisted her body in a way that allowed her to dodge an incoming arrow volley. A few of the arrowheads collided with balls. The number of the balls had decreased greatly by the resulting premature explosions.

Rinae’s descent was right in front of the archer line. The remaining balls stopped and formed a semicircle. Those that could, hid behind shields and brandished swords.

Moments went by as no one did anything, Everyone was tense, just waiting for her to make a move, yet she didn’t. She stood there menacingly.

Another few minutes went by then another, then another. The motionless movements continued until one of the soldiers couldn’t take it anymore, He acted. The sword was down deep into the spine of another. Every crack sent the soldier further to the ground, he screamed in complete agony.

Multiple soldiers were confused saying states such as:

“What!?”

The crazed soldier began to hack at everything around him. Black blood dripped from most of his orifices.

“Stop him!”

The mage looked at the disarray that was unfolding. If she were to break her concentration with the magic balls, the leverage over the monster would falter. Rinae cocked her head to the side observing the scene with an almost a child-like gaze. It may have just been her, but it felt like she wasn’t even paying attention to the dangers surrounding her.

Elizabeth chose to intervene using her magic, “Keep your focus on the monster!” She had passed off the exhausted Amalia towards the squire. She slapped both her hands on the ground. The street had a trail of black ice snake its way through to the offending soldier, his movements were stopped and his flesh was encased within a clear sheet of frozen water. It only stopped covering him once it constrained his arms and legs.

It seemed order was restored, aside from his constant screaming and torso trying to break free. He continued to struggle and struggle until his body simply went limp.

“What the hell?” A random back row soldier said. As he inspected the presumed dead soldier he could see a slender figure in his peripherals. She was standing just beyond reach from the shadows of an alley. He backed away brandished his bow, “Monster!” He yelled.

Elizabeth and the squire spun around. There really was another one, the strange thing about it was that it looked like the same monster they had in a stalemate just a few feet over.

“How is that possible?” The squire questioned.

The mage answered, “I forgot to mention, there might be multiple.” Her eyes still locked in on Rinae.

“How could you not tell us something like that!?” His voice did not mask the anger.

“I wasn’t sure if there had been... until this fight. The one I fought had a different appearance.”

“Is this the same one you had fought!?”

She tried to keep her focus and turn her head at the same time, it resulted in her using her eyes more than her neck muscles. Once she got a good look she snapped back to her target.

“...There may be three.” She paused, “The one I fought had its eyes covered, this one has its mouth covered and didn’t have a tail.”

“Three.” Elizabeth echoed. “Three different monsters... We can barely hold our own against one with the help of a holy knight.”

“The one I fought wasn’t as strong as this one.”

“We have an unknown monster on our flank and an extremely powerful one on our frontlines, these odds are not favorable.”

Amalia finally chimed in. “Then make them.”

What she meant by this was entirely lost on everyone, how could they make a plan that didn’t involve facing either force. Everyone but Elizabeth, She ran to an alley, “In here!”

It took a second for the squire to catch on, but he understood. If they could retreat into tighter confines that would limit both monster’s dodging capabilities making them easier targets. Or if they entirely wanted it to be they could cover their own tracks with traps.

Slowly the troop maneuvered themselves to retreat, The injured were the first to enter, the back line was the next, finally the frontlines. To ensure their survivability the magic balls were moved in front of Rinae, they weren’t detonated for multiple reasons. All of which would allow them to live.

However, the two monsters continued to stand and not do a thing as the humans retreated.

The frontlines quickly became the rear as they advanced the narrow path. The path was short but in such a tense situation every step felt like a quarter of a mile.

The soldiers were split into two columns with the rear being monitored with two people holding up their shields.

But it didn’t take long for the group to become disrupted. A black mass fell from the sky flattening the middle row of soldiers.

Chaos quickly ensued as the yelling began. The creature stood at full height, Her appearance, Black chitin covering her eyes, four black spikes, one underneath the other, rose several inches high from her shoulder blades. They each twitched slightly as she moved, the creature’s arms looked like they were bulkier. The claws even looked sharper.

She grabbed the helmet of a soldier, digging her claws in. His face was met with the side wall, She grabbed another this time by the throat. His head fell to the ground.

“Another one!?” The squire asked.

The mage turned around. “No.” She said. “This is the one I fought.”

She stopped moving altogether. She told the group to continue running, she was going to finish her fight.

Once the crowd was gone, rather what was left of the group she and Hera stood in conflict. “You look… Better.”

Hera snarled at her. The damage that was done was still mentally fresh in her mind.

~^~

The group fled the alleyway, their numbers were less than fifteen.They held no formation, just a confused group of soldiers. They were greeted with burning buildings and silence. On the furthest end of the street was the church, cries could be heard from the distance.

“What now!?” One asked.

“This is a nightmare!” Another yelled

And a nightmare it was, it only just escalated to be a never-ending one as the creatures came into sight, they came out from the windows, sewage pits and even the shadows themselves.

“This is worse than a nightmare,” Elizabeth interjected.

The creatures surrounded them in a semi-circle, mostly in the direction of the church.

Rinae came fluttering down, landing at the front of her brood’s line.

The new, unknown creature sauntered in from the sidelines as well. Hera came back bloodied from the fight, none of it hers.

The situation was direly grim, there was no hope. The city was in ruins, the army was more than likely decimated and most of the civilians have all gone missing.

The creatures were all going wild, most of them had been salivating since they spotted the buffet that was laid in front.

Amalia pushed herself off the squire. She could barely even stand her muscles and nerves were still pretty shot. She drew her blade, electricity arced wildly, it connected to her gauntlet, raised her hair and made the air smell oxidized. “If you wish to die with a purpose...Stand by my side.”

Even if it was grim and short, the soldiers still rallied at her cry. They formed a circle with her at the center. If she didn’t look holy before, she did now. The shocking aura surrounding her person made her much larger than any story could ever depict.

They raised their shields high and their spirits were higher. They were happy to give their lives in one last struggle.

The creatures began to charge at the circle, They closed in five feet away, Four feet away The nerves of steel began to fade. The weight of death was imminent. Three soldiers began to have tears in their eyes. Two. A spear of pure white impaled one of the creatures sinking deep into the earth, their advancement stopped. They turned around, hissing. A physical spear reared itself into the skull of another. Eight heavily armored riders came through, they made light work of the smaller creatures.

The creatures fell one by one until Rinae stepped in. She sliced an incoming horse from leg to leg, catapulting the rider forward.

The rider was quick to get up, His armor was lighter than the standard soldiers. In many places particularly the joint areas it was leather. His helmet was put in the closed position, although he shared the same coloration with Amalia.

He stabbed his spear into the ground and unsheathed his sword.

Rinae smiled, something she’s really only ever done when she’s found a worthy meal. She approached. But was met immediately with an eight-inch spear tip to her shoulder. She hissed in pain.

Hera who had been put on the defensive heard the cry of her dear sister. She yelled, quite audibly. Any available creatures of the brood went to her aid. The rider of the horse abandoned the spear for distance.

Another rider jumped over the defensive circle. He stared directly at Amalia. “What exactly is going on here?”

Everyone was dumbstruck, not only was their one holy knight, but a whole squad appeared to save them.

She sighed. At first, she was hesitant to leak any information but she had to.

Before she even opened her mouth, Elizabeth cut in. “A new and very dangerous monster.”

The rider tugged on the reins to turn the horse to face her, He said nothing but stared through his closed visor. It seems her comment was very unwelcomed.

Hera got down on all fours and charged towards her injured sister. Matched with her new appearance it was very fitting.

She barrelled through spears and arrows, to protect her sister. The moment she reached her she noticed something, the oppressive influence was barely there, that’s when she noticed the appearance had changed. She looked smaller and more fragile. Regardless, she was in danger and was needed to be returned to the hive. She lifted her and took off. The remaining creatures congested the way, making the riders at the very least slowdown.

Amalia collapsed onto the ground, her muscles were spent, she was only prepared to go all out in the moment. Her squire rushed to her side.

It took some time but the riders were able to break the lines, by that time the creatures have all retreated to the depths of the church.

The rider’s formed a line against the side, what the planned was apparent. Their palms were stretched. The ball of magic formed, glowing red and then fired. Each ball hit the side of the wall and erupted sending flames into the deepest crevices of the church.