Deep underground, in the eternal darkness, a bloody battle came to an end.
Tabbris and the warriors under his lead managed to preserve against the onslaught of mankind's eternal enemy. The Orcs.
This included their younger and less developed forms, the Goblins and Hobgoblins.
As they were extinguishing the life of the last few remaining stragglers, the men's faces were all but happy. Their expressions were somber and full of anger and grief. Today they witnessed the pinnacle of the harshness and cruelty of the world. They lost friends, brothers, some of them even lovers…
It was tragic. More than half of the entire force was severely wounded, currently dying, or outright dead.
"Take some rest! We don't know what else is waiting for us…" Tabbris Northendark said in a somber voice and sat down on a rock. He rested his head on his knees and released a long and exhausted sigh.
Seven dead, or soon to be, another five severely wounded, and only less than ten were still relatively okay. It was a disaster! He felt like he let down those that followed and trusted him as if he had failed them as a leader. He just wanted to wake up from this nightmare and do a do-over.
Only the problem was… he was not asleep.
***
[It's time for rest.]
[The expedition went horribly wrong.
At first, we thought it was going to be easy!
The beasts on the surface could barely be considered a nuisance against fifty armored warriors.
Unfortunately, we split up after going underground.
I'm not sure if this is what led to the current disaster, but it certainly didn't help.
After walking through the labyrinth of tunnels for a while, we found…
… Something too horrible for words.
Long story short, we were ambushed… sort of.
We fought…
We killed…
Some of us were killed in return…
It was a mess.
So much blood and gore everywhere, I think I'll have nightmares for months to come.
Luckily I survived with only minor wounds.
Nothing I can't handle.
Eventually, we won, but not after losing many of our people.
They sacrificed their lives so we could live.
Well…
One of them tried to escape.
He got mauled by a monster that tried to attack us from behind.
I guess cowards and deserters are useful sometimes too.
Can't blame him.
When the battle started it appeared like the beasts were endless.
Luckily they weren't.
Just a few hundred of them.
Fuck.
I still don't know how we managed to win when they outnumbered us ten to one.
Our mages did their best, and our leader, Tabbris, also made use of some special spells.
I think he used a spell scroll.
It was extremely powerful!
He used it after the Goblins were taken care of and Orcs came to fight.
There was a sudden gust of wind and the monsters were torn to shreds in seconds!
It was great, but…
…It only killed twenty or so.
Most of the battle is somewhat blurry in my mind.
I remember swinging my sword like mad.
Even when my muscles were burning from exhaustion I was still swinging.
I collapsed at some point.
They probably thought I was dead and left me alone.
Lucky me!
... That was sarcasm.
If this is lucky, then I would rather die than be unlucky.
Anyway, when I came to, it was already over.
Now our leader ordered us to rest, so that's what I'm doing.
I can hear quiet sobs from a few of our members.
I think a girl here lost her fiancé.
Oh, wait, no, he's still alive…
It's just… he is gutless… Because they are on the ground beside him.
He seems to be losing a lot of blood, there is no helping him.
His friends seem to be trying to calm him down, saying it's going to be okay…
It's…
I…
I think I too shall take a rest.]
***
Pain! There was so much pain! His mind was filled with pictures, sounds, and emotions… As well as lots and lots of pain!
There was a forest. He felt himself run barefoot on the soft ground. He agilely moved from a bush to a tree, always hiding from someone.
Like a thief in the night, he quietly climbed a tall tree, and suddenly jumped forward, gripping the neck of a human there. He could feel the blood pulsing under his grasp and the fear and struggle of his victim. It made him feel good!
Then the vision changed.
He was in a dark cave, he couldn't see well but he could smell the scent of fresh blood and rotting flesh. Weirdly, it was not revolting, instead, it felt familiar, normal, even calming.
It felt like home.
Then he heard a whisper in his ear.
"Kill...them… Kill...those...humanssss…."
The words came out slowly, they were stretched out, almost as if spoken in a slow motion. He suddenly felt compelled to rush out and to fight, to kill!
The vision changed again.
It felt similar to how people describe their near-death experiences to be. Where the entire life flashes before your eyes. Memories of events changed in rapid succession before his eyes faster and faster, combined with various strong emotions, they created a nauseating feeling.
It was as if he was spinning uncontrollably while falling into an abyss. The flashes of memories he saw felt so familiar as if they were his own. But they couldn't be! It made no sense!
Sometimes he was tall, sometimes he was short. Sometimes he was the one dying, other times he was the one killing. It was messy and confusing.
An almost perfect memory can sometimes be just as much a curse as it can be a blessing, and Gerald was currently experiencing the former.
Lifetimes of memories, grievances, and emotions poured into his head, leaving him with nothing to do but scream in pain. His personality mixed with hundreds of others into a confusing mess of emotions and memories.
While all of that was happening in his mind, however, the outside world was quite chaotic too. Fire, Wind, Earth, and Space were all affected by his unfocused mind.
I might take a break from writing soon...idk
Rumble!
The ground trembled and stones cracked, rose up, and swirled around Gerald. Scorching flames were born from nothingness and expanded outward like hungry snakes, and with the help of heavy wind, they carried the heat outward.
The remaining Orcs didn't dare to come close at first. However, when they realized Gerald was not aware of their presence and was seemingly weak and unguarded, they rushed forward and tried to attack regardless.
Alas, after a few steps, a sudden pressure descended on their shoulders and made it difficult to advance. Each step was heavy, and their feet sank into the muddy soil. Their skin sagged under the immense gravity, and their bones creaked with every movement.
Their aggressive attack was instantly slowed down to a crawl, but that was not all!
Circling stones and flames were expanding and contracting, almost like a heartbeat, and the strongest among the Orcs were also the first to taste the pain.
Red-hot stone shards lacerated their flesh and cauterized the wound at the same time. No blood was lost, but the pain was unimaginable. Unable to retreat and unable to advance, the Orcs were stuck waiting for their slow death.
With each wave, massive amounts of Mana were consumed, but weirdly enough, Gerald showed no signs of exhaustion.
With each wave of Mana that left his body, even more, took its place immediately after.
His skin became red and started to crack, and steam started escaping from his pores. He was starting to boil from the inside!
"Kill...the...humans…?"
Hoarse words left his mouth ever so slowly, almost as if speaking amounted to unimaginable pain.
Woosh!
There was suddenly a ring of fire that spread out with a flash, and every living being ten meters around Gerald was turned to ashes.
Then everything returned to tranquility.
"Kill...the...humans…?" Gerald mumbled on his knees, his head hanging down on his chest without strength.
His body suddenly shook, and with trembling hands, he slowly stood up. His expression was pain mixed with confusion, but his crimson eyes and bloody skin made him look like a devil.
He stared blankly at the Orcs around him and glanced at the humans in the Ice Barrier from time to time.
"Kill the…?" His words turned silent.
A sword appeared in his hand. The Orc Slayer.
Both human warriors and the Orcs observed him from a distance warily. Nobody knew what exactly happened, but it was clear that Gerald was not all there.
"Kill...the...Orcs!" he suddenly roared, and his fingers gripped the handle with immense strength.
Boom!
There was a sudden explosion, and an Orc's head was blasted apart like a watermelon. The silver hand was opened, and thin smoke was coming out of the cannon's barrel.
Gerald took a heavy step forward and moved his hand.
Boom! Boom!
An Orc suddenly lost an arm, and then another shot landed on his chest, tearing a hole through him.
Gerald took another slow but steady step forward, and his eyes were burning with madness and bloodlust.
"C'mere!" he grinned as blood trickled down his face. But the few remaining Orcs didn't want to listen to him, and neither did they wish to remain fighting.
The majority of their force was annihilated already and the human in front of them was scarier than any beast. They quickly decided on a tactical retreat and escaped underground.
The humans that went in before them should already mostly be taken care of. If they could meet up with the rest, victory would come easy.
They rapidly retreated into the darkness, shouting and screaming and pushing each other to go faster. It was the first time that the Orcs expressed fear. Genuine, deep-rooted fear!
Gerald advanced forward slowly and descended underground after them. His movements were slow but steady, almost as if he was moving on instinct. Blood was slowly dripping from his cracked skin, but he didn't seem to notice.
He simply advanced slowly and quietly, step by step, into the darkness.
***
While Gerald descended into the darkness in a daze, Tabbris and his group decided to go back to the surface.
They sustained too many losses and were already exhausted, both physically and mentally. Any further battles would simply result in even worse outcomes, so they decided to regroup.
Ravian's group didn't do that much better. Their advancement was stopped by an impenetrable wall of flesh and a lack of manpower. The beasts entrenched themselves at a strategic location, just behind a narrow hallway with a sharp bend.
It was impossible to attack them with arrows or spells, and there was only space for one or two to move at a time. But on the other side, Hobgoblins and Goblin Shamans waited patiently to turn any advancing human into a live torch filled with arrows.
"It's useless!" Ravian said. "Let's go back before an accident happens and regroup with Tabbris... if he is still alive."
But then suddenly, they heard sounds of a large group running. They left the narrow hallway and went towards the sound.
"Tabbris? Is that you? There is a blockade at the…" Ravian shouted, but then the words got stuck in his throat. A large group of Orcs just entered the cavern and was running at full speed toward them.
In the shadows of the lanterns, they appeared extremely menacing and dangerous.
"Shit! Another ambush! Get into position! Ready your swords and prepare-!" He was once more left speechless.
The Orcs just ran past their shields and swords, even though their eyes told of the desire to fight. They simply ran along the narrow hallway while shouting unrecognizable words.
There was a bit of a commotion, but soon they disappeared behind the rocks.
"God damn it!" Ravian threw down his shield in anger. "What the fuck was that?! Is this how they receive the reinforcements? What bullshit!"
"Uh…" The warriors also didn't know what to think about it. It was a weird sight, to say the least.
Usually, the Orcs would always fight to the death so simply getting ignored was a truly bizarre experience. Not to mention, they appeared scared!
Null
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