The portal shuddered one last time before tearing itself open with a sound like flesh being ripped apart, and from within that warped tear in space, two figures were thrown forward and slammed into the ground with crushing force.
Dust billowed upward, stones shattered, and for a single stretched moment, the entire battlefield went silent.
Two headless creatures rose slowly from the crater.
Their bodies were humanoid but wrong in every way. One was tall and lean with blade-like limbs shaped like a mantis, its green-black carapace pulsing as if it were breathing.
The other was broader, plated like a scorpion, its segmented torso twitching while thick ichor dripped from the severed necks of both beings.
There was no blood spilling from the wounds, only writhing flesh that sealed itself in slow, sickening waves.
The human army froze.
Weapons trembled in hands. Mana wavered. No one spoke.
Then the creatures roared.
