Another head hit the ground, another body collapsed in front of me, and I was starting to feel.....good...really good. No, that doesn't do this feeling justice, maybe euphoric? Yes, that's it, euphoric.
After I had killed the first guard I had continued on. Taleena had surprised me and transformed, growing a tail, longer horns, and wings. After her transformation she seemed even stronger, and she threw guards aside like they were children as she made a beeline for Fiona.
I was awestruck, not just from the looks of her transformation, but by how powerful she was. 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮? 𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺? 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢ve 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴....𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭.
I continued forward. After the first guard, every subsequent death became easier. Not only was I not hesitating anymore, I was starting to enjoy the thrill more and more. I didn't know why this was happening, maybe deep down I am a murderous psychopath, all I know is that I wanted more of this feeling. Everything else was starting to get pushed to the background, like white noise, and the only thing that came into focus was the urge to slaughter.
I looked over and saw two men trying to fend off a Forest Tiger. I threw my scythe at one, it flew through the air like a buzz saw, and cleaved him in half vertically where he stood. His body opened up as he fell, spilling his insides on the ground. The one next to him seemed frozen in shock, and before he could react the Forest Tiger pounced on him and began tearing into him.
"And another! Hmm who shall be my next.....UNGH!"
I staggered backwards as a strong force slammed into my shoulder. I looked down and saw a foot long icicle embedded in my left shoulder.
"DIE YOU FUCKEN MONSTER!!!"
"Get him!"
Immediately the Forest Tiger released the dying man it was attacking and assaulted the mage that had just attacked me. Oddly enough, the pain I expected to feel was oddly missing, I couldn't even feel the cold from the ice. 𝘖𝘥𝘥....𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘚𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘧 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳.....
Before I could continue my thoughts I felt that force nudge at my mind again. It made me....feel like this was a small detail. 𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 w𝘦𝘯𝘵? 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯? 𝘕𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳.... 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘴..... 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭.
I grabbed the ice shard stuck in my shoulder and pulled it out. The wound immediately stopped bleeding and I was left with a hole in my shoulder. 𝘏𝘶𝘩 𝘐 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐....𝘒𝘐𝘓𝘓. 𝘈𝘩 𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥. 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴.
The mage was so distracted by the Forest Tiger he did not notice me flank him.
"Drain Life."
"AHHHHHH!!!!"
Those screams....such sweet music. 𝘛𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨....𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤.
The mage stopped screaming and collapsed on the ground as he shriveled up. I looked down and saw that my shoulder had fully healed. 𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦.
".....Deminas....help....me..."
I moved forward and was about to launch another volley of [𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬] when I felt like I heard someone whisper something into my ear. I stopped for a moment. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵? 𝘐𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵.....𝘒𝘐𝘓𝘓. 𝘈𝘩 𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩a𝘵 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳.
"Blood Needles."
A woman crumpled to the ground as my [𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬] punctured her skull. She died instantly. 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘬, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘹 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦.
I continued forward again, toward my next victim, I couldn't wait to see what kind of reaction this one would have.
"....Deminas...help....."
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘮𝘶𝘳. 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵? 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸.....𝘒𝘐𝘓𝘓. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨....𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰.....𝘒𝘐I𝘓. 𝘏𝘮𝘮𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵, 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵. 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦....
"AHHHHHHH!!!!!"
Suddenly I hear a high pitched scream and a sound akin to glass shattering. I blink my eyes several times.
"DEMINAS! HELP US!"
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯? 𝘖𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘢....𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘢?!?
I snap my head toward the sounds of screams. When the sight comes into my view, I begin to panic. Taleena is on the ground covered in blood. Fiona is weakly trying to crawl toward her, but can't with the shackles still on her. I see people in masks fervently bowing toward..... 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯?
It looked like it was over 2 meters tall, definitely bigger than Snarf. It had a gorilla like build that seemed exaggerated to the extreme. Its black eyes sat in a skull that was the size of a child, and sharp fangs lined its entire mouth.
It was staring at Taleena, as if waiting to see if she would get back up. Finally, it seemed to notice the groveling humans next to it. It took a step away from the fiery red portal that was just larger than it, and walked over to them.
"Glory be to the d-"
A masked worshipper began to spout some lines, but before they could finish a whip like tail had punctured their chest. The tail brought the person up to the demon's mouth and it proceeded to bite him in half, head first. The lower body fell to the ground and their remaining entrails spilled out of the creature's mouth.
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯? 𝘋𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦!? 𝘕𝘰, 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳!
Taleena and Fiona were in trouble. I could figure this out and self deprecate myself later. I squeezed the scythe in my hand and ran forward.
"All hands on deck! Kill that fucken thing!"
Most of the guards were on their last legs anyways, and even if they weren't I didn't have time to worry about them. All that mattered was getting Taleena and Fiona to safety. 𝘒𝘐𝘓𝘓..... 𝘚𝘏𝘜𝘛 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘍𝘜𝘊𝘒 𝘜𝘗!!!
I heard the whisper and felt the pull again, but I forced myself to continue forward. Nothing mattered now, but getting them out of here safely. Actually..... 𝘕𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩t 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦! 𝘒𝘐𝘓𝘓. 𝘒𝘐𝘓𝘓. 𝘒𝘐𝘓𝘓. 𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭.
I headed toward the platform.... to kill that piece of shit and all the masked people near it.