Of Monsters And Men (1)

The carnage had gone on for another 15 minutes, the scene now too bloody to discern who was who.

Several wooden crosses were spread out sporadically around the battlefield, the smell of burnt meat emanating from their framework.

The once visible orc heads were now drowned in thick coagulated blood, leaving only small patches of green visible at the top.

"It seems we're going to need something powerful to blow up the walls. Even Eleanour's Michael is unable to bring it down," mused Armin as he walked back to the group, a happy expression on his face.

His bishop attire was now painted red, and several blotches of blood lay dried on his face, giving him an almost carnal look.

"Michael, release," shouted Eleanour, prompting her mecha to disintegrate into glowing particles of dust that slowly spread out into the air.

"It seems they covered up the hole you were talking about," announced Andre in a deep voice from behind Armin. His clothes were soaked red as well, the blood on his sword barely discernable from its crimson red color.

"Aina, Cleo, use your powers and see if you can break through the wall. You guys are the only ones with projectile abilities here," ordered Sophia to two Riot Guild members behind her.

"Yes ma'am," replied the girls, their eyes glowing white before two pillars of fire emerged from their hands.

"It's not enough. We need something... explosive," murmured Judith as she watched the flames lick at the redwood walls, their heat nothing compared to that of the sun.

"M-master," stuttered Tesse as a blood-drenched figure approached the group, all of his features hidden under the cover of crimson red. Blood covered every single patch of Gray's being, as if he had taken a bath in pure blood.

'What is this guy,' is what everyone there was thinking. The only semblance of humanity they could see on Gray were his two gleaming red eyes, which shone redder than the blood that dripped down his body.

"Blow up that wall," he grunted, looking tat Tesse with bloodlust in his eyes.

"We're trying, however noth-" before the Riot Guild member could finish her sentence, the blood covering Gray's body began to move as if it had a mind of its own.

"I call it the T-1, I designed the armor-piercing ammunition myself," continued Gray, ignoring the Riot Guild member as he held out a massive anti-tank rifle.

'He creates weapons,' everyone seemed shocked by this revelation. It was proof of him either having two abilities or being abnormally fast, only adding to the notion of him being inhuman.

'I see why you said he'd be a problem, Oracle. If he's allowed to grow, he might be able to lead a force powerful enough to threaten us,' thought Armin, a serious expression replacing the smile he had on his face a minute ago.

"It's not balanced though. The recoil will most likely dislocate your shoulder joint, as I designed it for maximum power output," smiled Gray, grabbing the cub from her arms before shoving the anti-tank rifle at her.

Everyone stood there dumbstruck, the anti-tank rifle was bigger than anything they'd ever seen. Calling it a mere rifle was an understatement, the thing was taller than Tesse in length, spanning 2.5 meters from barrel to stock.

"I understand master," she said, holding the sniper in her hands. Even with her increased strength, she found it difficult to hold on to it.

"You can't really expect her to fire that thing, you'r-" before Sophia could finish her protest, Andre stopped her, looking at Tesse with an amused expression.

As Tesse got into a prone position, Gray began to step back, holding his hands to his ears. Following his example, everyone did the same, moving even further behind than Gray himself.

*Dowf*(Gun SFX)

Blood poured from Tesse's ears as smoke from the gunshot rose into the air. Her shoulder was at a weird angle, a bone seemed to be poking at her skin from the back.

"No way," murmured Afina, looking at the trail Tesse's body left in the sand due to being pushed back from the recoil.

"It's like she was bumped by a car," whispered Sophia, noticing the blood that came out of Tesse's mouth.

"It seems it wasn't enough," commented Gray as he looked at the dent in the wall, the cub licking the blood off him as it shivered in fear.

"Perhaps," he murmured to himself, walking towards Tesse with the cub in one hand and his silver sword in the other.

"This'll work," he murmured, as he inscribed the same runes that were etched on his sword, onto the side of the rifle, embedding his sword in its stock.

'If it's wood then it should be able to decay,' he thought to himself as he admired his handiwork.

'What? How does he know about runes,' thought Armin, looking at Gray with an even more intrigued expression.

'He's interesting indeed,' thought Eleanour, a smile on her face as she recognized the corruption rune now engraved on the anti-tank rifle.

As Gray stepped back from the gun, the cub tried to get free from his hold, meowing at Tesse with its paw stretched out. However, Gray's grip was strong, holding the cub tightly under his arm.

As Tesse fondled the trigger of the rifle, the runes began glowing black. A wave of lethargy washed over her as they increased in intensity, their light now visible to everyone watching.

*Shchwa*

The sound was akin to an animal screaming, the black blob that was the bullet buried itself deep within the fortress walls, decaying everything around it.

Soon a massive gaping hole appeared at the front gate of the fortress, continuously increasing in size as the black matter continued to spread out, eating away at the wood.

"I was waiting for you," smiled an Orc behind the hole, its red skin and black suit distinguishing it from the other orcs.

"Shatter," it shouted, raising its greatsword into the air before slamming it down.

The ground beneath the raid members split in half, devouring the blood of the orcs that had fallen earlier before taking the lives of several raid members.

"Show me your strength warriors," it shouted in a guttural voice, before charging towards the surviving members.

'Fuck,'

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