"Agh!" Leor's hand jumped up to cover his eyes, the very sight of the profane creature had burned the young man's mind with its potent defiled willpower. He had barely caught a blurred glimpse of the fallen being, but defilement was a mysterious and otherworldly force. Even glancing upon it could be harmful sometimes.
Some defiled creatures were so filled with twisted might that the sight of them alone could destroy the minds of normal men. But thankfully, that was not the case with this creature, or else Leor would be as good as dead. Instead the creature seemed to possess some terrible ability to attack the mind of anyone who gazed upon it. Leor felt the sweat filling his palms as he turned his burning eyes away from the creature. He began trying to judge its strength and nature by the changing pressure of the corruption around him, or by sensing the distance defiled willpower the monster carried in it's soul.
"It's filled with defilement, it doesn't feel like a beast, but it's too big to be human… Still, praise the light! It should still be a simple Defiled!"
The creature had doubtless felt the presence of Leor's will by now, there was no time to waste. The young man jumped from his position, dashing toward the set of boulders in the opposite direction from where the defiled monster had emerged. Shaking his head, Leor tried to regain his sight as he ran, he was still struggling to see after the strange mental attack, his vision a jumbled blur of colors.
As soon as he reached the boulders Leor quickly scaled to the top, closing his eyes tightly as he listened to the approaching sounds. The noise was like that of a long and heavy body sliding against the stony hillside, the pitter patter of many legs hitting the ground as the creature crawled forward.
"I-It must be a defiled beast! A centipede of somekind!" He whispered to himself.
His knowledge of the beings who succumbed to the defilement quickly flashed through his mind as he tightly gripped his sword. Even normal humans and beasts could survive in a land with weak defilement for quite some time without succumbing, the stronger among the two groups could do so almost indefinitely in the right circumstances. But surviving in a defiled realm was a difficult thing, a constant and exhausting battle of willpower, and many eventually fell to the twisted influence of corruption. Over time, humans learned to categorize the beings who fell to defilement into a hierarchy of lowest to highest threat.
The very weakest of them just went by the common name of Defiled, hordes of these existed in almost every defiled realm, who might look no different than a normal man or beast. However, as these beings continued to exist and grow in strength, they changed. At some point their bodies began to warp and twist away from their original forms, growing in defilement as they took on new and terrible shapes to suit their growing power, these were known as the Twisted ones.
If a Twisted one survived for long enough, soaking their bodies and wills in defilement for ages upon ages, they could sometimes overcome their flesh, developing a core of pure defiled willpower within their body and ascending into the world of myth. These are the Profaned. No number of mortal men could ever hope to defeat such a monster, because it is impossible to overcome their incredibly potent will with mundane strength alone. Only a powerful wielder of the will could kill such a creature, a master at the very least would be required, and probably a team of them to be safe. The defiled cores of these mythical monsters could be harvested and used to forge powerful weapons, or serve as the basis of magical formations and rituals.
There still existed three ranks above even the Profaned, but Leor wasn't sure about the exact details of such beings, he only remembered their titles from his teachings. The Abominable, The Accursed, and finally, the Unholy. These were beings of pure, spine chilling nightmares, legendary evils so far beyond mortal men, and so offensive to the sensibilities of the followers of the light that Leor's teachers refused to even speak about such things to anyone who did not absolutely need to know. If he wished to learn more about the ancient horrors of the defiled realms, Leor would need to climb the ranks of human power.
As the slithering and scraping sound of the Defiled creature neared, Leor said a silent prayer while focusing all of his meager willpower into the blessed steel of his initiates blade. He could feel the weapon growing heavy in his hand as the power of will in the sword conflicted with the corruption of the world around him, his sweaty fingers clamped hard around the hilt to hold the weapon steady.
Even at the lowest rank, a Defiled creature was still a tremendously deadly foe, and Leor had never faced such a being before. If his training had gone as planned, he would be dealing with mortal men who had been tainted by corruption right now, and would not face a Defiled in single combat for many years to come. Alas, things did not always go as planned.
When the dreadful scraping sounds had nearly reached the tall boulder that Leor was standing on, he readied himself for the clash, squeezing his muscles tightly as he prepared to lash out with all his might. Only, a moment later, the rapidly approaching sound of his foe suddenly vanished all at once, leaving him in a dreadful silence. Leor was shaken by the sudden change, feeling vulnerable, and without any way to locate his opponent. A sudden attack could come from any direction, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. The young man's heart began to sink as he turned his head back and forth rapidly, straining to hear any hint of sound around him.
Suddenly his instincts screamed inside him, loudly warning him of the danger that was swiftly approaching. The intensity of his own blaring instincts mixed with the terrible fear in his chest was too great to bear any longer, so Leor felt no choice but to open his eyes and search for his foe, regardless of the dangerous mental attack that would most certainly come. So, without hesitation, Leor braced for the pain he would soon endure and opened both eyes wide. He did so just in time to get his first good look at the terrible centipede-like monstrosity that was hunting him. The defiled creature had stopped a few meters away from the boulder, and began to arch the front of its long body up off the ground. It was now reaching through the air toward him, being careful not to make a sound. It made sense, as a defiled creature that specialized in taking away its enemies sight, it would have developed strategies to make full use of that advantage. Like moving silently when it wanted to, for example.
The creature's body was a brutal amalgamation of corpse like human and beast body parts, long deadly black claws filled the fingers of every limb, protruding from what appeared to be a gruesomely stretched out human torso, extended to a ridiculous length beyond all common reason. The worst part of all though, was the pale, blood covered face of a young woman that took the place of the head of the awful creature, her long black hair wet with blood and dirt as her pale eyes shifted around inhumanly swiftly before locking onto Leor's own.
"Ahhh!" Leor grabbed at his eyes in pain once again, the mental attack had come just like he expected, the throbbing pain felt like it would split his mind in two. But at the very least he had located his foe and gained some crucial information. It was only now, after getting a proper look at his enemy, that Leor realized his terrible mistake. That one short glance was all he needed to know that what he was facing was no simple Defiled creature.
All at once he knew where he had gone wrong in his earlier deduction. The thick corruption in the air must have distorted his senses, making Leor mistake the creature's presence for a simple Defiled, or maybe it was part of the monster's profane powers to fool the senses of its foes. Either way, one clear look at its body was undeniable proof that this monster had risen above common defilement, to become a Twisted one! There was no mistaking it. No natural form of man or beast could ever look like that, Leor would bet his life on it.
The pain splitting across his head and eyes nearly caused the young man to drop his sword as he stumbled back across the top of the boulder, clutching his grimacing face tightly. That slight misstep was enough to send Leor stumbling down the far side of the boulder. That clumsy fall, however, had saved the young man's life. The very next instant a half dozen vicious grasping claws of the Twisted monster lashed out with inhuman speed and might towards the place Leor had stood just a heartbeat earlier, cracking the stone beneath them from the weight of the blow.
Leor hit the ground hard, knocking the wind from his chest before hastily scrambling back up to his feet. His mind was still ablaze with pain from the Twisted creature's mental attack, so much so that he could barely think. It made sense now why he was so vulnerable to the mental willpower attacks of the creature, a Twisted creature was an entire realm above him in power afterall.
The situation appeared hopelessly dire. Leor was an initiate with limited willpower at his disposal, in a realm so steeped in corruption that the will he did possess was being heavily weakened by the constant pressure around him. But even if that had not been the case, he still had almost no chance of victory, because he was facing an actual Twisted creature of defilement, whose unique ability to attack his mind made it impossible for him to even look at his opponent. The circumstances he was facing now were worse than anything he had ever imagined, especially as a simple initiate!
"Blasted hells!" With no time to think, Leor let fly a desperate curse, refusing to give in to fear and despair as he scrambled forward towards the backside of the boulder. In a desperate gambit to buy himself some time, Leor lunged down underneath the narrow lip at the bottom of the rock that sat just above the ground. There was a small gap, just enough for one man to slip underneath. Leor was forced to push the air from his lungs to shove his upper body through the narrow gap, and abandon his sword and torch, leaving them lying on the rocky ground behind him.
"Ahh damn you, cursed thing!" As Leor was scrambling to squeeze his body deeper inside, a clawed hand reached down into the rock just in time to leave a long bloody wound down the back of his left leg, tearing his simple linen trousers to shreds. Leor could not even look back to curse his foe face to face, for fear of another mental attack. He was well aware that this rocky hole would not protect him. Not even for a few minutes. Even now, he could hear the creatures' many clawed limbs digging and scratching angrily at the rocky soil just outside. He had thirty seconds to think of something, maybe less.
Leor let out a short breath and reached into his pocket to touch the small tablet still inside it. Grasping the symbol of his faith in one hand, Leor began to softly pray as he condensed all the willpower he could muster into his left hand, sparing nothing as he bet it all on one final desperate hope. It wouldn't be enough to truly harm the powerful Twisted creature, but Leor's willpower was of the brightest light, and he was a son of the flame. Combat power was not the only thing it was useful for.
Fighting to suppress the awful dread inside his chest, Leor continued his prayerful meditation, collecting his willpower as he listened to the terrible creature doing its best to claim his life. Then as swiftly as it started, his time was up. All at once, the Twisted fiend swiped a heaping mound of earth aside, sending Leor tumbling out of his hiding place and into the shallow hole it had dug beside him. Just then he made his move, before the abomination could reel forward to strike him, Leor was on his feet, eyes wide open once again. He had no choice but to accept the painful mental attack, a clear line of sight was an essential aspect of his plan. He couldn't afford to miss.
The pale and bloody female face was less than an arms length from Leor now, still bent over forward in a digging position. The Twisted creature seemed to be caught by surprise, it had not expected the young man's sudden bravery. The Twisted creature tried to bring its clawed limbs back together with all its terrible speed and power, aiming to end the fight in one more attack, but Leor had the initiative, and far less distance to close, so he was able to reach his target first.
With his life as the wager, Leor reached his arm forward more swiftly than he had ever moved before, and slammed his palm down flat against the blood stained forehead of the feminine face. As he did, he released every drop of will that he had managed to muster. Sending one powerful burst of potent light realm will straight into the creature's mind.
"Accept the will of the light." He mumbled, before falling to his knees from complete willpower exhaustion. The Twisted seemed to freeze in place the moment Leor's will was injected into its mind. Its clawed limbs casually drifted toward the ground, as if forgetting any purpose they once had. While its cloudy and pale eyes slowly became clearer, its face suddenly took on a grimace of abject horror.
"Ahhh!" A long, high-pitched feminine scream suddenly escaped the creature's human mouth, more terrible than any sound that Leor had ever heard. It was the sound of pure agony, confusion, and dread. Not unlike the scream someone might make if they witnessed a loved one's murder.
"Get it off! Get it off! Please!" As the creature shouted in confusion, it began tearing at its own limbs in a clumsy, almost drunken manner, as if it had forgotten how to use its own body. Leor was finally able to gaze upon the creature without being painfully punished by mental attacks, but he would have preferred very much not to do so. He felt a tinge of guilt in his chest as he watched the confused and panicked woman's eyes dashing back and forth in a crazed frenzy, as she took in her own defiled and twisted form for the first time.
But there was no time to waste on feelings of pity. Leor had used a desperate tactic to gain the upper hand against the Twisted, but it wouldn't last long. He had injected the cleansing will of light into the mind of the defiled being, temporarily freeing it from its corrupted state. The poor girl whose body had become this fallen abomination had truly been woken up into a living hell. It was taboo to wake the mind of any being that had moved beyond the defiled state. Not because it couldn't be done, though it was hardly easy, but because it was truly a cruel thing to do, and ultimately quite useless in most situations. With a body so deep in defilement, the cleansing would never hold. So it was better to just swiftly destroy the creature and put the trapped soul of the body's original owner out of its endless misery.
Leor stumbled forward a few steps and bent down to collect his sword, he was racing against time now, the willpower he had infused into the creature's mind would not last, it would certainly be consumed by the monster's true defiled will before long. He needed to time his next actions perfectly.
Watching the desperate girl closely as she screamed and stumbled around in confused panic, Leor squeezed his fingers around his stone tablet. He visualized the symbol of his faith, using it as a focus for his meditation. He needed to swiftly restore as much willpower as he could before the monstrous will of the defiled creature awoke. As Leor stood in silent prayer watching his enemy, the bloody face of the girl turned toward him, tears of blood filling her cheeks as she finally noticed him standing there.
"IT HURTS! Please! help me!" The terrifying Twisted creature screamed at Leor with a voice straight out of a nightmare. Not quite human, not quite defiled. Something about Leor had drawn the tortured girl's hopes, she began to crawl toward him, clumsily clawing at the ground to pull her oversized body forward.
"Please! What's happening to me?!?! Say someth—!" A flicker of confusion passed through the girl's face, like she suddenly lost her train of thought. A hint of fog returning to her terrified pupils.
"NOW!" Leor dashed forward without hesitation, he couldn't afford to waste another second. If the creature's defiled will was allowed to return, he would surely die. As Leor dashed toward her, the young woman's face shook and glanced up to stare at him again. A look of hope filled her eyes as she watched the handsome young man moving toward her.
"Are you going to help m—AHHHHH" Her words were cut short by the razor sharp blade that plunged into her forehead. Leor's face was a grimace of effort as he struggled with all his might to push the empowered blade into the flesh of the Twisted creature. By all rights it should have been an impossible task. A Twisted one was far beyond his ability to defeat, and he had hardly had any time to regain his willpower, forced to attack with what little he had recovered.
But this was no normal situation. The creature's defenses had been dropped completely, the young girl's consciousness that Leor had awoken had no knowledge of willpower, or how to use it to empower and defend her body.
Leor clenched his teeth as he wrenched the sword free, covering himself in a spray of defiled blood. The pitiful girl tried to bat him away with one of her clawed limbs, but Leor simply ducked below it before diving forward and pressing his sword back down once again into the same wound. This time the blade sunk in much deeper, all the way to the hilt in fact, as the horrified expression on the creature's face slowly melted away.
Leor could feel it. The powerful defiled willpower that had been a constant weight on his chest since he first saw the creature was beginning to fade. The Twisted was dying. At the very same time, the small flame of willpower in Leor's chest seemed to be cheering. The ember of power inside him swelled as if it was a flame that had been given fresh fuel, and the exhaustion he was feeling began to ease.
A tingling sensation swept through his whole body as the flaming will in his chest was strengthened. A Twisted creature was a powerful foe, far beyond anything Leor should have been facing as an initiate. But it was also a source of power much greater than he could normally claim. Killing such a creature was the equivalent of slaying dozens of normal Defiled, maybe more. The timely boon to his willpower was the first welcome thing that had happened to Leor since he woke up in this place. The young man's strength had probably been doubled from this one fight. It was a tremendous victory.