Jeffrey strode with firm steps toward the faintly glowing wall. The barrier wasn't visible, yet his body felt the weight of its invisible pressure. It was cold, heavy, as if the very air rejected his existence. The moment his hand brushed against its edge, his body trembled before he finally managed to push through.
"I hate doing this," he muttered under his breath as his eyes fell on the men guarding the fortress.
From atop the wall, Damian Alderich raised his hand. His voice erupted, shattering the silence.
"Attack him!"
In an instant, the air thundered. Hundreds of arrows were loosed at once, blotting out the beauty of the evening sky. Spells followed in unison: blazing red fireballs, crackling bolts of lightning, howling whirlwinds, and shards of ice that glittered like knives in the fading light.
Every strike converged on a single man. Jeffrey had no chance to dodge, no room to move.
'Fuck! Weren't they supposed to let me inside the walls first?'
BRUAAARRR!
A deafening explosion tore through the air. Fire and light mixed with dust, engulfing the spot where Jeffrey had stood. The shockwave rippled outward, shaking the ground and sending horses into panicked whinnies.
From a distance, Lysander watched, his face devoid of concern. He even sighed as if bored. Without waiting for the smoke to clear, he tugged at his reins and turned his horse around.
Just before leaving, his gaze drifted toward Jeffrey's black steed that still stood rooted to the spot. The animal lowered its head, eyes fixed on the explosion.
"Are you planning to wait for your master?" Lysander asked lightly, as though speaking to an old friend.
The horse only snorted softly, unmoving.
Lysander's lips curved into a thin smile. "I see. You're a loyal one."
The horse snorted again, louder this time, as if in reply.
"Good." With a curt nod, Lysander patted his own white horse and urged it forward.
.
.
Wave after wave of attacks continued to pound the ground where Jeffrey had been. Fire clashed with lightning and swirling gales until the place was nothing but a sea of thick smoke. The rattle of arrows striking earth and stone echoed like an endless storm of iron.
But then—
From within the haze, something dark emerged. At first it looked like a giant hand, long and covered in thick black fur. Yet as its shape became clearer, the truth struck them: it wasn't a hand. It was a pair of wings.
The massive wings beat once—
WHUUMMM!
The smoke scattered instantly, blown apart in all directions. Out of the clearing shot a shadowed figure, its eyes glowing red like embers thirsty for blood.
Boom!
A colossal black hand, long and fur-covered with talons like blades, slammed onto the fortress wall. Stones shattered. Men caught in its path were flung aside like insects crushed underfoot. Screams filled the air, blending with the roar of collapsing stone.
The creature's head tilted upward. Sunlight caught its face, revealing a nightmare made flesh.
Its face was hidden beneath bone, like a dragon's skull fused to its head, with two sets of jagged horns jutting wildly in every direction. Its glowing crimson eyes pierced into hearts, freezing them cold. Its shadowed face opened to reveal rows upon rows of teeth, impossibly long and tightly packed, enough to swallow five grown men in a single bite.
The fortress that had echoed with shouts of command now fell silent. Men froze in place. Some collapsed to the ground, trembling for breath. Others fainted outright.
A soldier on the wall, his voice cracked with terror, whispered, "Didn't I say it... he really is a monster..."
Damian Alderich stood rigid. His face was taut, but his eyes refused to look away from the abomination clinging to his fortress. His voice, heavy and grim, broke the silence. "So this is... the Mad Dog of Taurum."
Dread crept into every heart. The unspoken question lingered like poison: how could a man become something like this?
WHUUMMM!
The giant wings beat again, blasting the wall with a gale that shook stone from its place. The monster surged upward, landing on the fortress with an impact that rattled the earth.
DUARR!
The ground and walls split apart. Soldiers caught nearby were crushed instantly, their bodies broken like clay dolls. Screams ripped through the air, blood spraying across cracked stone.
Damian Alderich shouted, desperation and fury mixing in his cry:
"Attack! Kill that creature now!"
His order sparked a storm of magic. Sorcerers raised staffs and hands, spells raining down in relentless waves. Fireballs struck, lightning spears rained, whirlwinds howled. The sky above the fortress split with arcs of power.
Among the knights charging forward, bodies began to shift. Some grew canine ears, others swelled with coarse fur like bears. Some bulged with muscle as striped markings crawled across their skin like tigers. They roared, blending beastly strength with human will, and hurled themselves at the monster.
But what they faced was no ordinary monster.
BRAAAK!
A massive black hand swept sideways. Its claws shredded through ranks of knights in one motion. Bodies were hurled apart, split in half, blood spraying through the air. Screams died instantly, replaced by the wet rip of flesh.
The monster swung its arms like titanic blades, every strike flattening the lines that resisted. Its black wings pulsed once, propelling its body in a blur across the fortress.
CRAAASH!
Stone and steel shattered. Men scattered like broken dolls, some crushed before a scream even left their throats.
The grand fortress was now nothing more than a slaughterhouse, every corner painted with blood and terror.
It rampaged through the stronghold like a living storm. Each step shook the stone. Each swing tore the air apart. Soldiers who dared to stand their ground lunged with blades and spears flashing under magical light. But when their weapons struck its hide, the sound was like iron on stone. They left almost no mark.
And when a small wound was made, its flesh knit back together in the blink of an eye. Their efforts meant nothing.
Damian Alderich backed away step by step, his eyes locked on the beast. His breath was ragged, but his voice cut through the chaos.
"Don't stop! Keep attacking! Throw everything at it!"
Arrows rained in waves, followed by blasts of fire, lightning, and wind. The fortress glowed with the blinding flashes of war.
But the monster only grew more frenzied. Despite its bulk, it wasn't slow. It dashed along the ramparts, crushing everything in its path, then leapt and dove like a colossal shadow. Every soldier who faced it lasted only moments before being flung, shattered, or torn apart.
The old king staggered backward, his boots scraping across blood-slick stone. Sweat mixed with dust on his face, but his eyes still blazed as if his shouts alone could stave off fear's grip.
"Keep going! Tear it down!" His voice cracked, sounding more like desperation than command.
But in the end, Damian could no longer resist the terror consuming him. He no longer cared for the soldiers dying one by one. His own cries meant nothing. Only one thought filled his mind: escape.
He turned and ran, as fast as his legs could carry him. His breath rasped, his heart thundered. Behind him, the monster roared, its heavy steps drawing closer.
Damian reached the end of the wall, stumbling as he descended the stone steps into the fortress interior. The damp air rushed against him. He slammed the heavy wooden door shut behind him, pressing until the iron latch clicked into place.
His chest heaved, breaths broken. In that cramped space, relief flickered. 'There's no way... a beast that size... could get in here...' He tried to calm himself.
He took a step forward, but then—
The door behind him cracked under a sudden blow.
Damian whirled, his body stiff.
There, framed in the dim light, stood a man. His white hair hung in tangled strands, his eyes burned red through the gloom. His bare torso was splattered with fresh blood that still dripped down his skin. In his right hand he held a sword, its blade drenched in crimson, leaving a trail of drops across the stone floor.
That blood was not his own.