It was as if death had manifested itself into a hideous form.
There stood a tall humanoid being with tens of human hands covering its head. Arms protruded out of its chest erratically. Each breath it took was followed by a sinister groan.
Blackened flesh infested its body with a core that seemed to fade in and out of existence.
The monstrous being spazzed erratically with the corpses of militants surrounding him. Each member showed no signs of life, being slaughtered mercilessly. Their innards and organs protruded out of their bodies. Their bones revealed themselves with blood running through the gaps of the stone tiles.
As if taunting his former comrades, the demon-like creature raised his captain's decapitated head in the sunlight, admiring the blood that ran down its arm. The fingers of the tens of hands on his face wriggled as if each had its own sentience.
Although the last soldier of the squadron wished to vent his anger on the being in front of him, he knew such actions would be foolish.
"Psst..! Boy..!" he whispered, trying to catch Ernst's attention. Although he steeled himself, he could not hide the shaking in his voice.
Ernst turned to the sound of the soldier's voice.
Seeing that he caught his attention, the soldier signalled with his eyes and chin, pointing toward the outcome of the battle that had taken place across from them.
Looking toward the direction of where five soldiers had gone to hold back their own front, Ernst felt a similar horror to that of the surviving militant.
The distorted being simply stood there, showing no sign of interest in the two.
Ernst smoothed his hand against the stone tiles of the plaza, finding a way to push himself to the nearby soldier. To him, it felt as if his heart would beat out of his chest.
Thump thump thump
Both men were without arms. Guns and knives were too far out of their reach; thus, the most rational decision was to attempt to retreat. However, they were not so foolish as to rush in their escape.
The exhausted Ernst continued to push himself backward toward the soldier who held his hand out ever so quietly.
Just a bit closer…
"Come now..!" Once more, the soldier winced quietly, his arm still extended toward Ernst.
Finally, after a few agonizing seconds, Ernst was able to grab hold of the other survivor's hand. Looking back at the still creature, it still seemed to remain disinterested in the two, as if it was preoccupied with its own little world.
Pulling on Ernst's arm, the soldier slowly helped him up, whilst carefully backing away from the fountain. Although they were only a few meters off from one of the main pathways out of the area, tension still filled the air, suffocating the two.
Neither Ernst nor the soldier took their eyes off the misty death in front of them.
One step at a time, they move away from danger.
Then, it placed down the decapitated head it was admiring, neatly onto the ground.
The two trauma-induced men stopped in their tracks — their feet planted firmly onto the ground.
In agonizingly voiceless motion, the being turned to face Ernst and the soldier. Sweat ran down their backs. A buzz ran down from their feet up to their heads. As they held their breaths, they silently prayed that the creature let them be. Even Ernst, who was against the divine, could not help but plead for a higher power's aid.
The hands on the being's face continued to squirm, however, more rapidly than before, as if each stub were agitated. Its misty core grew in small dark clouds.
The men's legs buckled down once more, as if they were carrying an unbearable weight on their backs.
Suddenly, the soldier tugged Ernst behind him while shrilling out a command.
"Run!"
Breathless, the young man stumbled toward the exit, closing the final few meters to get away.
He quickly turned to catch a glance of the outcome of the soldier's reckless sacrificial choice.
What he saw made his fear rise to its limits.
Although the creature was at least 50 meters away from the two men, it was now directly in front of the soldier. It had dashed much faster than the fallen Christopher.
Fast! The soldier's mind raced while screaming his observation of the beast's feats internally. Although Christopher had catapulted himself to Ernst earlier, the other man's speed was levels above what he had witnessed.
The monster pounced onto the soldier, letting out an eerie croak.
Blinking once, the soldier watched as it changed forms in an instant. Although its hands remained neutral, showing no signs of hostility, it seemed as if it were about to cut him down.
I'm going to die…
His last thoughts appeared in his head.
With no weapon to save and provide aid as he had done before, Ernst could only watch helplessly as the beast readied itself to showcase another execution. The young man felt as if he was on the brink of a panic attack. As his breath ceased once more, his heart banged like a drum. Over and over again, he feels a sense of great suffocation as a result of everything that he had witnessed within the past hour.
All the young man wanted to do was to secure his position at a prospecting job whilst visiting a friend. Yet, at this moment, he was reminded of so many old pains while being inflicted with no one's.
Time seemed to flow slowly with the amount of pressure that had befallen him.
As he watched the ghastly being move its arm downward, he continued to curse himself for the faults of his desperation.
Gods save us…
Clang!
The sound of heavy metal banging against each other echoed throughout the area.
Upon analyzing the result of the beast's slaughter, he found that the soldier was still alive.
The creature's arm flailed in the air as if struck away by a powerful force.
The fingers on the distorted man's face clawed at his head, illustrating that it had taken some damage. The sound it made was much louder than before, almost seeping into what seemed like a woman's scream.
Bang! Bang!
The sound of two more gun shots were heard behind the two petrified men, each shot hitting its mark. The beast stumbled back a few steps, wallowing in its own pain.
Then, it looked up to see who had attacked him.
Tap tap tap
Empty footsteps grew louder as a man in a military uniform appeared to the sides of Ernst and the soldier. His outfit looked nothing like the Gaudnarian military.
The man looked to be in his mid-30s. He had dark-ish brown hair with stubble on his chin. His facial features were sharp and refined; however, signs of fatigue seemed to downplay his appearance.
He stood tall next to the soldier, who was now sitting on the ground.
"..."
Acknowledging them with a nod, he did not say anything to either of the men.
In one hand was a standard Gaudnarian rifle – one that was no different from the ones that the militants were just using. In his other hand was a small dagger, brimming with an unnatural, yet holy, shine.
Bang! Bang!
Immediately, he shot another two rounds at the distorted figure, who continued to show signs of agony. The smell of gunpowder lingered in the air as Ernst watched the man drive back the monster with utmost confidence.
It spazzed in place, re-growing its blackened and rotting limbs. The smoke from its core wrapped around its body, seemingly mending areas where it had been significantly damaged.
The man who had just entered the center of the plaza observed the creature silently. And, after some time, it seemed to regain its strength, acting more vicious than before.
As if it had teleported in front of him, the beast prepared to knock him down.
However, with similar speed, the man dodged the beast's attacks and knocked it back with a kick to its side.
Ernst and the soldier were in awe of the man's immediate feats. Ernst had watched 10 men perish since he had entered the plaza, all of whom were unable to combat the beast. But now, there was an individual who seemed to be on par with its supernatural strength.
"AAAAAAAAAAA"
The beast let out another sinister croak and dashed in front of the man once more, this time it swung closer to his face.
Rather than dodging, the man caught the beast's attack with his rifle's body.
Using its other arm, it tried to swipe once more while grasping onto the man's weapon.
Huphf
The man exerted a breath out of his mouth.
Jumping atop the beast, he crossed his legs around its head, which was hideously covered by many, many hands. It squirmed and spazzed, trying to shake him off. However, to no avail, the monster could not succeed in shedding the fighter off his back.
Effortlessly twirling the silver dagger in his hand, he stabbed deep into the being's"face," forcing his weight deeper and deeper into its body. Ernst could not help but be reminded of a similar action he had done earlier.
As a last-ditch effort, the beast attempted to claw the man off him, yet again, it did not succeed.
As he drove the blade deeper into the man, the former human's movements began to slow, eventually collapsing on the ground.
The mist from the beast's abdomen slowly began to fade, rising into the air. The blacks slowly turned into greys, then into whites. The hands of the being slowly fell and rotted to the ground, revealing the tired expression of a lifeless man.
All that was left was a regular corpse.
The man bent down to retrieve something before putting it into his coat's pocket. Although it looked to be of decent size and showed obvious signs of dripping, Ernst decided not to say anything to the person who had just saved him.
The soldier also speechlessly, had similar feelings.
Swallowing his spit, Ernst approached the man with caution.
"Th-Thank you."
The man turned to Ernst and sheathed his dagger.
Then, he placed his hand on his right breast while delivering a short bow.
"You are very welcome."
"Are you alright?"
He's much more polite than I initially imagined…Ernst thought to himself.
The man then went over to where the soldier was still seated on the ground, offering his hand to help him up.
"Thank you," the soldier said, appreciating the help.
With the distorted attacker gone, that was one more death that Ernst had witnessed.
12 bodies…10 soldiers…2 citizens…Christopher… He bit the inside of his mouth, shielding his emotions.
Suddenly, the man noticed the blackened Christopher's body.
He observed the corpse, seeing that there was a knife wedged into his right eye. Then, he grabbed firmly onto the hilt of the blade, pulling out the knife. Taking a glance at Ernst, he returned his focus onto body in front of him.
Ernst wished to call out to the man, wanting to question what he had planned. However, he could not find the words at this moment. Too exhausted to begin another quarrel, the young man simply observed from a distance.
Reaching into his pocket, the stranger pulled out a small vial that held a translucent liquid.
What is he going to do?
The stranger then knelt and began to pour the liquid into Christopher's mouth.
Although nothing happened immediately, within a few seconds, the blackened areas of his body began to return to normal, with his wounds having miraculously healed.
"This man needs aid; get him to the nearest medic as soon as possible."
Dumbfounded, the surviving soldier as well as Ernst simply stared at the man upon his request.
Before anyone could break the silence, the sound of multiple soldiers could be heard approaching.
Their rescuer then turned to the militants who had just arrived to speak with them, leaving the scene as fast as he arrived. Only minutes ago, Ernst's life was endangered. Now, he finds himself with a surplus of questions.
Who is he…?
Suddenly, a familiar voice could be heard a few steps away from him.
Cough cough
A man coughed hard as he woke up from being unconscious.
Ernst dashed to the man's side and knelt.
"Christopher!" He shouted quietly.
The crevices of the man's eyes winked open. His vision turned from blurry to clear in a matter of moments. Then, he turned to see a youthful face that he was long familiar with.
"Erns,t my boy… cough, why do you look so upset?" he said in a weakened voice.