@Rune_Alchemist@AzureKnight@Restalaan



"There. Now, at least, they can't say that I didn't hel--" said Tomi, looking around herself to the destruction she wrought. As her eyes came up though, the words stopped just as suddenly as the human had appear in front of her; Shizuka.

Twice now this man managed to pull his stealth act on her and it slowly was becoming old. Her expression went from proud to annoyed to incredulity as this man had the audacity to reprimand her - as he was standing amid the scorching remains of her achievements!

"Excuse me?" she said, but he already had gone. Her fists closed as she looked around, seemingly searching for something to either hit or pass her momentary frustration on...but there was nothing. With a grown of discontentment, the Dragon managed to compose herself to the point where the anger seemingly left her...with a sigh. A deep sigh. "Aww...man. How is a Mamono supposed to even please a man like that, what a grouch." she pouted, crossing her arms.

Spotting her teammates some distance from her, she kicked a rock - which promptly killed a soldier outright - and made her way to them. The Shoggoth maid would soon see a pair of soldier charging in her direction, despite obviously standing little chance. It would matter not, as burst of flame would promptly engulf them before they reached her, a Tomi lazily walking over.

"Hey..." she launched in their direction. "That Shizuka person told me to stick with you. I think I blew it..." she added, obviously looking like she could use a cheer up. Tomi didn't seem the least concerned about the battle around them, a feeling she was certain the other Monsters shared. After all, how dangerous could a bunch of humans be?

Shaken from his thoughts by the sudden pull of Lunatea's hand, Samael had to vigorously shake his head to dispel himself from his reverie while the bunny girl practically dragged him along with her as they made their way towards the village below. All the short demon could manage to do in response to her words was offer a confused "Huh?" looking almost comically overwhelmed by everything going on around him as he simply nodded to his friends words absent-mindedly muttering "Uh-huh." every so often, it kind of confused a small part of him why she hadn't wanted to talk until now. Was she bugged by what happened, or...Had anything happened?

---

Tomi made her mighty landing in the middle of the attacking Varjans, spewing forth a jet of draconic flame to burn away anything before she landed. Her drop created a small crater in the sand, the fires she started so hot it turned some of the beach into glass.

"We're here to stop all of you...I think. I'm pretty sure. Anyway, step forward anyone who wants to claim the glory of killing a Dragon, now's your chance!"

The Varjans of this flank were taken by surprise and stared in awe at Tomi, none daring to attack her. They were told there would be no monsters in the island, and yet here was one. A Dragon, no less!

When her other companions caught up with her and began carving their way through the starstruck Varjans, the invaders regained their confidence and bloodlust. They let out their war cries and charged at the taskforce with reckless abandon. Still, these were small time Brigands and Warriors. The taskforce did not have trouble with them. But the new boats arriving at the beach bore different foes.

-

It was hard to miss the huge N'ylaatothk slowly expanding into the beach. It was far harder to miss the whirlwind of destruction that was Gringor. But a warrior jumped off a boat to challenge them both, a blur of purple and gold dashed through the beach to deliver some painful, but not wounding, slashes at Gringor before dashing towards N'ylaatothk and hacking off some of her grown weapons. He soon stopped before the Shoggoth to proudly introduce himself, two blades bathing in fiery glows in his hands.

"Fetid, disgusting, monsters! You face Kasseros Telmar, the Radiant Champion of the Heavenly Children!" The warrior was covered in thick, shiny, gold and violet armor, polished so thoroughly that the dim light from the torches was enough to make it glimmer. His helmet had a T-shaped visor and sported a horizontal mane of white hair. "The two of you are no match for me!" And then he noticed Tomi standing beside the Shoggoth. "A Dragon too? Ha! I will have many trophies this day!"

He would boast arrogantly, but N'ylaatothk, Tomi and Gringor would likely be distracted by the strong perfumes this warrior wore. The fragrance was so overwhelming, so suffocating that it was an odor.

-

Atsuha was requested to watch the Shoggoth's back, but she would see on the corner of her eyes a fallen samurai. Near some large rocks, a samurai warrior in broken armor and about three arrows sticking out of his back crawled helplessly. Where was he crawling to? Perhaps even he didn't know, merely following his body's last gasps of life. The other samurai near the taskforce were already slain, perhaps this one could be saved.

His helmet his off and the Jorou-Gomo could see his long, tied brown hair.

-

Shizuka was a blur amongst the fighting, dropping Varjans left and right without being noticed and leaving behind confused warriors wondering what just happened. Still, there were far too many of them for the azure fighter and despite his efforts, the remaining samurai still alive and fighting on the beach were quickly dwindling down. Shizuka could see small pockets of them desperately making their last stands, but they would all fall within moments.

Most of the defenders that charged the beach were already dead, and the losses sustained by the invaders were replaced by new boats landing on the beach. The Varjans had began to ascend the hill and towards the barricades, where the onmyoji and the shrine maidens drew their swords and spears and readied for the melee. They were joined by a few samurai that had fallen back, but Shizuka knew none of them will make a difference.

The battle was lost. Perhaps it was lost before it even started. Still, Shizuka needed to find the island's rulers as Lady Kyouko ordered, maybe get to the defenders of Shizuyama and ask them before it's too late. Or perhaps should he prioritize the taskforce's survival, get them out before they were overwhelmed.






By the time the taskforce reached the town, the Varjans had already began the assault. The screams of the townspeople filled the air as Varjan Brigands mounted on horses ran down fleeing villagers while Varjan Warriors entered homes and dragged its occupants out to be slaughtered. Torches were hurled at the mostly wooden buildings, inciting mindless infernoes amongst carnage. The invaders seem to have forgotten their original goal and instead busied themselves pillaging the town.

Try as they might, Wyndressa's team consisting of herself, Lunatea, Samael and Hinami could not find the town's mayor or elder or leader. Whoever they were, they probably had either fled or died already. The panicking and fleeing villagers were of little help, paying little attention to them and quite busy using their legs to run as fast as they could from their homes carrying whatever they had in their hands. The Varjans, likewise, had not noticed the trio yet and continued to raid and massacre.

They soon spotted a squad of Varjan Brigands cornering a man with an infant in his arms. Perhaps it was time for the taskforce to establish their presence here, that the Varjans will not run rampant unopposed.





Skarsneek and Cambiel, an unlikely duo, charged through the chaos to do battle against the Varjans. Running past fleeing villagers and burning houses, they soon came upon a group of the invaders who appeared to be quite different from the rest of the pillagers and did not partake in the slaughter. At least, not directly.

They were all on horseback, wearing armor shinier and more decorated than your typical Varjan Warrior's. There were about five of them, the four mostly looked the same while the last one was distinct in that his black hair was bared to reach his shoulder and only wore a snarling steel mask in place of a proper helmet. "Worry not. Those samurai warriors on the beach will be overwhelmed either way. Lord Serek isn't even counting on their defenses being hit in the back." His voice carried a certain regality to it. Proud and arrogant.

It took him a moment to notice the Angel and the Goblin. "Oh? What do we have here?" He glanced at the duo up and down. "An emissary of the heavens, it seems. And his... boy toy, I suppose." The Varjan did not appreciate Cambiel's presence, but also did not become hostile. "Can I help you, Angel? Or are you lost? Or perhaps you are here to, once more, bemoan how we 'are all doing this wrong' and that 'we should follow the laws established by the gods'."

The town, meanwhile, continued to burn around them. Did Skarsneek and Cambiel really have time to talk? Still, they could gleam information from this Varjan who apparently thought Cambiel was on the invaders' side by their factions' association with each other.

Cambiel was no stranger to war. He had seen it countless times on his missions to snuff out the Demon Lord’s influence. Whether it was against a raid against a coven of Sabbath witches or a full-scale siege against an Orc slaving party, he had fought, and killed, for his God and he would fight and kill for her many times more if he had a choice in the matter. But he had never seen war from the perspective he was seeing it now.

Innocents had never been involved in his previous battles. Those he fought against, and those he fought alongside, had always got involved by their own volition, knowing full well the consequences of their involvement. Here? Innocents were all he could see. Little boys. Old women. Peasants desperately fending off raiders with farming tools, not hoping to kill their enemies, but to buy enough time for their families to escape. It made him feel sick to his very soul. What did the Varjans hope to achieve from this but a mountain of corpses?

That sickness turned to fury as they encountered the group he knew had to be leading the chaos. Cambiel cursed his fortunes. If he was on his own, perhaps he could invoke the name of the Chief God. Instead, he had to make sure Skarsneek didn’t catch on to the ruse.

“Be afraid, recusant. I have not come in peace, but with a sword; not to parley, but to punish. What evil drives a Man to kill other Men?” Cambiel’s voice was unlike Skarsneek had heard it before. He did not whisper. He did not stammer. He spoke loudly and clearly and with the practised authority of someone who had been in this exact situation a thousand times before. Was this really the same shy, frightened, meek little angel he had been on the journey over?

“Kneel. Beg for her forgiveness, and I will make your punishment quick.”
He was not expecting them to obey. Heretics never did. The Chief God herself could descend from the heavens to tell them they were wrong, and they would still delude themselves into thinking they were right. Regardless, he wanted to give them a chance to repent before they died. His hands were already nocking an arrow, and if any of them made a move for him or Skarsneek, he would put it right between their eyes.

@AzureKnight@PaulHaynek@Restalaan@FrogRFlowR

---

"Haa, you foolish boys. You should have stayed at home with a nice squishy maid instead of being here." Nyla would sadly comment as one of her weapons would lash out at a nearby soldier that had thought to attempt engaging her. So long as she stood here, she would ensure not a single one would pass if she could help it. She was entirely ready to handle two more that were walking up, but it was then the dragon that had ran off earlier...Tomi, was her name? Would walk over seeming quite melancholic.

"Ah...Master Kannazuki is certainly...difficult. I think he doesn't like my cooking," She'd hold a hand to the side of her face. "What a thing to say to a maid who pours all her love and affection into a cake-ah! Tomi!" It happened fast, Her multitude of eyes saw him first, but before she could warn the dragon or put up much of a defenses herself he was already attempting to slash apart her body a normally futile effort - but the fiery blades in his hands would cause her to pause.

Shoggoths were not exactly good against fire.

"Nngh...I believe you mean the vagrant who reeks of hangover and manure." Nyla would say - whatever that perfume that was coming off of him was, it was something seemingly designed to mess with monsters. She would however, attempt to remain as composed as possible as what was expected of her. "Be careful, whatever that perfume is, its not good for us." Well, if she was being directly challenged it was probably a good idea to focus on the immediate threat. Slowly, she'd start circling her massive body around the area, creating something of an arena that would lock him in here with the three of them. "I'll slow him down. I'll trust the two of you to subdue him."

And so she would, tendrils of black slime made of her body would lash out, going for his legs first to immobilize.

@Noblebandit@PaulHaynek@Hammerman@Dark Cloud

Skarsneek of the Red hill

Skarsneek sneered, even as the blood within him boiled with each passing moment. The flames, blood and screams. All of it was anti-thesis to what being a Mamono was.

So seeing some hotshot riding ahead, it had his hair bristle and rose but Skarsneek kept it hidden for now. Hands moving towards the twin clubs latched to his back.

Hearing Cambriel being mistaken for an Order angel was somewhat confusing but the man must be an idiot. It'll certainly fit, with how the arrogance rolled off him and the dismissal of their own hypocrisy.

But still, if he can take this man down. Then it'll certainly stop the war.

For now, he spied a fallen rock and moved carefully with his clubs upwards for a fight.

Then the moment they made a move, Skarsneek will kick the stone hard enough and aimed it for the prince's horse eyes. Hoping to take him down a peg.

However and honestly, he'll have to try his best to defend or pull away Cambriel the moment it starts. The enemy are on horseback and these look like elite guards. They might take one out or two before the rest comes. So with that defensive plan in mind, Skarsneek prepared himself.

---

Gringor Ironhide

Cutting down the enemies, Gringor pleasure turned to another simmering annoyance. After the initial haze, he realized that these are merely chaffs.

Conserving his stamina and aiming for minimal strikes now, bringing each one down with least power and taking in each spirit energy into his own, Gringor dispatched the rest of them with ease.

Then he felt it long before it came and shifted to the sides but was a fraction too late as a new enemy made themselves known alongside a flashing pain from the sides.

That, got his full attention alongside an unbelievable strong scent. Their tribe wasn't simply a moniker but an actual trait obtained throughout the years of brutal physical training, breeding and utilizing their inner energy to made their skin and muscle tougher.

So to see it having a shallow cut, enough to bleed skin only, was something of worth.

The scent however was the worse part as it overtook every thought that he nearly wanted to vomit. High Orcs have a keen sense of smell that they can often track enemies by scent.

Between the bloodlust, anger and sheer excitement, it was not a wonder that Gringor threw himself forward.

Here now, was a worthy and annoying fight.

His charge was ferocious as Gringor aimed for an overhead strike but at the last moment, would switched it by using the bottom part of his axe, hooked the shield to bring it down, and thrust the head of the axe forward.

It won't kill but it'll knock the enemy out from sheer force that carried enough to crack a boulder in half should it land.

@FrogRFlowR@AzureKnight

Ladies & Gentlemen: Please rise for the anthem of Boston!

There was no time to ponder the chaos and carnage.

Wyn reached out, her hand alight with darkened, sanguine aura of blood magic. The Varjan soldier cornering the man and his child quickly found himself walking backwards. Then, he was jostled back, away from the man, and towards Wyndressa. Corpse Maker flashed in a silver arc, and the bisected halves of the Varjan flew passed, rolling on the ground.

Just as quickly, Wyn used her finger to scribe enchantments with the blood. With a crackle, her blade was alit with lightning. She Shadowstepped into the fray, clocking one over the helm, striking him with a jolt of lightning, before the point found another's neck. Wyn used the motion of yanking the blade out to load up a wrath cut that relieved the first man of his head.

Before their bodies fell, Wyn drew the blood spraying from their wounds, shaping them into daggers, and casting them other the other soldiers. Tapping her foot to the rhythm only she could hear; Wyn cocked her sword back, dashed forward. She was a blur, following the motion of a cut into a spinning kick, into a parry into a chop, into a thrust, into a punch, into blasting someone with a curse, throwing off another's timing before taking his head and kicking it at the cursed bastard.

@AzureKnight@Hammerman

"Try to make a wedge!" She shouted to her companions. "Keep these Varjan focks away from the villagers!"

Something about the infants wailingly desperate cries and the fearful tone of the cowering man as he plead for his and the babies life, something about it felt wrong to him not that it wasn't already but it made Sam feel a boiling sensation in his stomach like soup reaching it's boiling point; it made the little demon grit his teeth, ripping his hand away from Luna's he seemed to disappear as heads began to roll only to be seen slinking from behind a broken cart a moment later behind the group of brigands going unnoticed thanks to his unassuming height. He slunk towards the man with the enemy distracted and grabbed his hand.

"Quickly sir, come with me." the demon surprisingly having a good grip uttered in a hushed voice to the man. And pulled the father along, trying to help him escape with the enemy surprised by the sudden attack.

@PaulHaynek@Rune_Alchemist@AzureKnight@Restalaan



Tomi at first found it quite self-obsessed of N'ylaa to comment on Tomi's hardship with her own problems, but quickly pushed it out of her mind as she was dealing with a Shoggoth after all. A Monster Girl obsessed with their master and serving others - if she remembered correctly.

"Ah...Whatever, I-- What?"

Was all she could muster before seemingly all hell broke loose; An enemy charged them, attacked N'ylaa with what seemed like fire imbued attacks as well as Gringor, but apparently not Tomi. He then proceeded to laugh and boast - and stink. It wasn't that it smelled bad per say, but it was literally assaulting Tomi's sensitive senses as it seemed to have been affecting her teammates too. Was that a male idea of a way to entice females? If so, those poor, poor human females.

"Demon Lord preserves us... Does all the Shiny Warriors of the Something Something smell as horrible as you do?"

Tomi said, taking a step forward. However, she was immediately stopped in her track by a ferocious Gringor, charging the man with a battle lust that should be reserved for the bedroom. "Hmm..." she looked at the charging Orc; it's muscles, stance and battle lust. Fine specimen, but unfortunately not a human. She saw how he would move the shield away and attempt to trust his axe forward.

If that landed, surely Kasseros would fall backward or at least stumble back. It was with that in mind that Tomi launched herself upward in the air, yet again, to try and recreate her earlier meteoric landing but, this time, on the Varjan warrior. Any regular human and weaker monsters, this would be more than enough to kill. Though, she didn't know how tough this guy was, nor how quick - this would be good intel to use by either her, Gringor or N'ylaa. Hit or Miss.

Tch, this is bad! We’re late

Lunatea cursed under her breath the moment she and the others reached the town. The town was already under assault. Everything was burning and the villagers were slaughtering the innocent townsfolks by the dozens. They were even dragging them out of their houses!

Pillagers! Murderers! Have they no honor?

And so, when they spotted a squad of Varjan Brigands cornering a man and his child, she did not hesitate.

Her eyes lit up. And her skirt as well, as her panties drew mana from their surroundings.
And then, she fired.

A powerful gust of wind came out from her palms, blasting the brigands where they stood. It lifted them up, spun them around in the air, before dropping them back down, head first. As the magic of the Sylph was merciful, it wouldn’t kill them. But the force was enough to knock them all out.

Make no mistake. It wasn’t that Lunatea was a pacifist. It was just that most of the magic items the monsters crafted to fight their wars were designed not to kill, as they would rather convert the invading army to their side rather than to slaughter them.

She watched as Samael walked in to save the man. Good thinking. And Wnyndressa was pulling her weight as well in combat.

“On it!” she replied to her command. Her eyes scanned the rest of the village and she began blasting the brigands with her wind one by one, focusing first on those closest to a villager. She was quickly drawing attention to herself, both from her assault from the fact that she flashed her panties every time she cast her spells.

_{@PaulHaynek@FrogRFlowR@Restalaan@Rune_Alchemist}

Cutting down scores of soldiers, Shizuka continued his campaign through the Varjan ranks. Many of the warriors were alarmed at the sound of thunder and fierce winds; they certainly weren't briefed of a storm brewing on the day of their assault! One grunt was so startled he stopped in his tracks and began to look around with a panicked expression. As he looked, all he could see were his compatriots engaging the island defenders. He took a few steps back, shaking in a cold sweat. Suddenly, he felt a strong gust lifting him off his feet. As he yelled and frantically darted his head, he saw several of his fellow soldiers had joined him in the air. Almost without delay, countless cuts began to tear at his body while he cried out helplessly. He soon felt his body go numb from pain and a feeling of breathing charred air. As his comrades were also being sliced up, they found themselves being electrocuted by powerful lightning bolts. Fading away from the shock and pain, the man could've sworn he'd seen a blue flash of something amongst the winds. But it was moving too fast to really tell. Soon they, along with the feeling of pain and fear, slipped away into nothingness.

The lightning and winds dissipated, and their bodies fell to the ground with loud thuds. The corpses simmered with smoke, having been charred from the bolts. In the center, Shizuka phased into view. In one seamless motion he swung away the blood on his blade and placed it back in its sheath. He eventually cleared an opening in the fray, but as he looked at the ongoing battle a painful realization came to mind. It didn't matter how many he cut down, there were just too many… He grimaced as he saw many more ships sailing into the harbor, unloading more troops. The Shizuyama samurai had dwindled down to but a mere few, and he saw the barricades were about to be overrun.

What was worse was that he saw his team was busy dealing with a powerful foe, one who seemed to be above his peers in terms of strength and prowess. He seemed to be strong enough to take on Gringor, Tomi, and Nyla by himself. This concerned him even more, were there others like him coming?

Unfortunately, he had no time to dwell on his thoughts. He had to make a decision, a best course of action. Ideally he was thinking that his team along what was left of the defenders along with should form up and make a tactical retreat and assist as many townsfolk as they could. However, he knew how warriors in his homeland tended to think: They would fight on to the last person, if they couldn't win then they would gladly die with honor. Shizuka always hated that mentality, what good was honor if you and those you cared for died because of it? Certainly cowardice had its own vices, but discretion was the better part of valor. He knew his words would likely fall on deaf ears, but he had to at least try.

With his Shinsoku, the swordsman swiftly made his way to the archers and spellcasters who were preparing to engage the invaders head on - while cutting a few more down along the trek. He spoke quickly and with urgency

"My name is Kannazuki Shizuka, I'm here with a small force of fighters to aid you in this battle! Please listen to me, this is but a small fraction of Varjo's forces! They have more boats coming from the harbor; we've tried to assist your fighters as best we can but this is suicide! Please, retreat with us, my team can cover you!”

Best case scenario was that the defenders took heed to his words and would fallback, meanwhile Shizuka would regroup with his party and take them back to the village to join the other team. If that armored bastard gave them too much trouble, he’d slice him to ribbons. But, he had faith in their abilities: they were monsters after all.

“Are the lords of this island here on the battlefield? If so, please relay my message to them, we can’t waste anymore time!”

---

Atsuha was on her way to rendezvous with Gringor and Nyla, providing offense and support where she could. However, she stopped when she felt the fading chi of a nearby human. She looked over to the side and saw him, a warrior battered with ruined armor. He crawled limply as arrows stuck out from his back; his armor immediately marked him as a member of the Shizuyama defense force. But, it would seem he was the last survivor of his squad; his comrade’s corpse laid before him on the beach, the sand stained with blood. Seeing all of these dead humans made Atsuha sick to her stomach, it was almost too much for her. But, perhaps there was hope for this man, perhaps he could still be saved. She sensed that her comrades were currently engaging a powerful foe, but she felt they would be able to handle him for the time being. Part of the mission was also to help save lives, and this one looked like he needed saving desperately.

Wasting no time, Atsuha made her way over to the warrior. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too startled by her appearance, she knew that monsters were mainly myths to these people. It wasn’t like he was in a position to be anyway, she thought.

“You there, sir! Please, don’t move. I’m here to aid. First, let’s get these arrows out!” She stated to the man. She gently, but quickly pulled the arrows out, carefully in case some breached the skin. She then took out a talisman and channeled energy into it until it dissipated into a bright green hue that began to surround him. The man would find that his wounds started to heal immediately. She looked around and saw the new batch of ships entering the harbor, all of them pouring out more blood-thristy Varjans. She swore and turned back to the man. “I’m sorry for your fallen comrades, we couldn’t save them. But I promise we’ll get you out of here; I’m here with a few others. We can help clear a path so that we all can escape.”

Unfortunately, choosing to tend to the warrior made it more difficult to support her team, but hopefully they could pull through and either defeat that heavily armored foe or have enough sense to pull out and retreat if the situation became too hopeless.

---

_{@WanderingDragon@Hammerman@Dark Cloud@Noblebandit}

Hinami along with her comrades had hastily made their way to the nearby village. Hinami looked on in horror as it seemed they were already too late. Many of the denizens were being slaughtered as the enemy troops plundered the village and burned whatever they saw fit. Her ears were filled with the sounds of screaming townsfolk and searing flames.

"No…"

Hinami was no stranger to fighting, but this, this was genocide. Her monster instincts caused her severe distress and nausea at the sight of such a loss of human life. While her allies scrambled at Wyn's orders, something snapped in Hinami's mind. As if someone set off a switch.

The gentle disposition her eyes held had completely vanished, being replaced with a sharpness that befitted a predator in the wild. She summoned a sister blade to match the one she already had, and just like that she was on them. The soldiers should count themselves lucky that Hinami's weapons were made from demon realm silver, non lethal but more than capable of incapacitating foes.

A small group of Varjan troopers fell victim to her charge almost in the blink of an eye. Before the rest of them even realized it, two were already on the ground. Having received clean slashes across their abdomens from her twin blades. One of them let out a war cry and tried to swing at her with a polearm. With deft acrobatics, Hinami dodged into the air. She then landed gracefully on the pole of the weapon, causing it to hit the ground. The man would then receive a powerful kick to the face, one could see teeth and a bit of blood sprawling from his mouth as he was sent tumbling back. Before another soldier could even react, a thick chain suddenly shot out from Hinami's sleeve and bound itself to him. With frightening strength, she used the man like a flail and swatted another one of his comrades. He was sent flying into a wall, making a sizable hole in it. She then sent the bound man along with the chain crashing into a nearby tree.

Hinami made no attempts to restrain herself, the cruel sight had set her off well past that point. Wyn's order to assist Luna was at least heard. "Understood," She replied in an emotionless tone. She joined up with Luna without delay, slicing away any interlopers who got too close.

@AzureKnight
“What in the—”

Lunatea could only watch in awe as Hinami slaughtered the soldiers. No. “Slaughter” wasn’t the correct term. The blade she wielded was made out of Demon Realm Silver, which meant it couldn’t, or wouldn’t, kill any of them, merely incapacitating them by draining their energies. It was created under the same principle as her panties—a tool of war that could be used to end wars without shedding a single blood.

Still, she couldn’t help but be impressed by how smooth and swift her swordsmanship was. It reminded her of a wandering swordswoman she once met in the ruins, who had rescued her from a trap she had clumsily triggered. Though, she only wielded a single blade there. And what was that chain technique she was using alongside it?

“Hey, Hinami. Are you alright?” She spoke to her once she finished off her enemies. “You seem… out of sorts from your usual self.”

Her sister told her to keep watch at the talisman on her head. And that was exactly what she was doing right now. Whatever this is, it was clearly not normal.

"Demon Lord preserves us... Does all the Shiny Warriors of the Something Something smell as horrible as you do?"

"I do not expect a savage Dragon like you to recognize refined taste and beauty."

Nyla's slimy tendrils lashed out at Kasseros, but the Varjan Champion repelled them easily. His fiery blades spun into a blur and annihilated the Shoggoth's extensions, leaving no opportunity to even touch him. But this perfect defense left him open to another attack.

Kasseros could not evade Gringor's mighty charge and the thrust of his axe, but he still had his swords and brought them up in an attempt to block the attack or at least mitigate the damage. The blades stood no chance against the male High Orc's powerful strike, the weapons shattering and losing their magical glows. Kasseros was thrown back, but was still on his feet.

It was then that he spotted Tomi high up in the air, and poised to dive at him. Despite everything, Kasseros still had his speed. He moved away from the golden Dragon's meteoric landing, but could not move far enough. The landing's force blew the Varjan Champion away, and right into Nyla's mass.

"Argh! Bastards!" Kasseros shook his head and immediately noticed where he was. Shoggoth slime dirtied his lustrous armor but even he knew it was not the time to worry about his image. Kasseros glanced at Nyla for a moment before trying to scramble away, wiping and pulling off any slime on him.

“I’m sorry for your fallen comrades, we couldn’t save them. But I promise we’ll get you out of here; I’m here with a few others. We can help clear a path so that we all can escape.”

The wounded samurai did not respond. He did not even flinch when Atsuha pulled the arrows off of him, his body no longer feeling pain as it neared expiration. Fortunately, the Jurou-gomo's healing magic brought him from the brink. He began involuntary sighing in relief as his injuries started to heal.

Turning him around, Atsuha got a good look at the samurai's features. He was fair-skinned and had spiky brown hair that had a tail that reached his shoulders. His face was a bit dirtied and bloodied and his amber-colored, half-lidded eyes barely comprehended his savior, much less her monstrous nature.

"So... beautiful..." He uttered in his delirium, reaching out a cloth-wrapped hand to caress Atsuha's face. The hand then fell limp as his consciousness slipped, his eyes shutting close. A worrying sign, but the spider monster would sense that the samurai was alright. His vitals were stable and would just need plenty of rest before he could do anything strenuous.

There were still Varjan boats incoming but for now, this part of the beach was empty save for Atsuha's allies, their Varjan Champion adversary who was scrambling away from the Shoggoth... and the many, many bodies of the fallen, both Varjan and Shizuyaman.

"My name is Kannazuki Shizuka, I'm here with a small force of fighters to aid you in this battle! Please listen to me, this is but a small fraction of Varjo's forces! They have more boats coming from the harbor; we've tried to assist your fighters as best we can but this is suicide! Please, retreat with us, my team can cover you!”

The Shizuyama defenders were confused and astounded at the azure blur that cut down the advancing Varjans as it moved towards them. They readied their weapons when Shizuka appeared before them but did not attack, knowing that he was no ally of the invaders.

After hearing his plea, the onmyoji and the shrine maidens looked at each other before one of the priestesses approached to explain. "I do not know who you are, stranger, but we appreciate your help and your warning." She was a fair-skinned maiden, black of hair that smoothly reached her waist. A red headband was tied above her purple eyes. "But we already knew that. However, if we cannot defeat them here then there will be no place in Shizuyama where we can." She declared. "We have nowhere to retreat to, no way to reach the other lands without running into a Varjan blockade and the islands to the south is yokai territory. We are cornered, Kannazuki-san."

"Sure we can hide out in the forests and mountains, strike at them before fading away." An onmyoji caster spoke up. "But that will not save the island. There's just too few of us and too many of them. Any loss we get is a huge blow, and any loss they get is immediately replaced. We may know Shizuyama better than them, but... it's just impossible, my friend."

"Who exactly are you, stranger? And this small force of fighters of yours?" The shrine maiden asked. "Reinforcements? From where? Clan Amanomiya? I heard none of our shinobi returned trying to get past the blockades."

“Are the lords of this island here on the battlefield? If so, please relay my message to them, we can’t waste anymore time!”

"They are." The shrine maiden and the other defenders' faces fell. "They spearheaded the charge into the beach. We then saw Lord Hideo get surrounded and captured, all of his guards overwhelmed and slain."

"As for his son... he rode alongside Lord Hideo, but we lost sight of him during the chaos." She added. "The last we saw him, he was on his horse riding to aid his surrounded father. But a flaming boulder then exploded near him and that was that." She finished, pointing at the side of the beach where Shizuka's allies were.

"They're here!" Another shrine maiden yelled before an arrow hits her in the neck.

A wave of Varjans crashed into the last defender lines and the sounds of battle resumed, the short respite was over. "You should go, Kannazuki-san. If you can make it here, then that means you can also make it out. Unlike us." The priestess said before casting an enchantment on her blade and joining the melee.






The man with the infant could only look away and shield away his child as the taskforce made short work of the Varjans cornering him. He yelped in surprise when Samael grabbed hold of his pants.

"Quickly sir, come with me."

He said no words as he was pulled along by the male Demon. He was confused, who were these people? Why were they helping him? Some of them looked like yokai, were they yokai? Such questions should be asked later, safety was priority right now.

Unfortunately, Samael and the father were spotted by a group of three Varjan riders as they fled from the besieged village and into the wilds of Shizuyama. The horses began galloping and with their spears held aloft, they intended to skewer the male Demon and his charge. They were in trouble unless Samael thought of something or help came from his allies.

Meanwhile, Wyndressa's rampage had attracted the attention of virtually every Varjan in the town. They all dropped what they were doing to engage the taskforce trio. One Varjan in fur armor was about to attack Lunatea when he was suddenly picked up by another, bigger, half-naked Varjan and hurled at Wyndressa. The move was purely for distraction, and the large Varjan followed it up by tackling the hybrid into a burning house.

Hinami and Lunatea, being monsters and all, easily fought and defeated the small-time Varjans coming at them. But then, they would see Samael and the civilian father they were protecting being attacked by three Varjan riders just outside of town. Splitting up was the wise decision but who would come to Sam's aid? And could the one left behind handle the seemingly unending stream of Varjan invaders and maybe help out Wyndressa?

Speaking of her, Wyndressa found herself tackled by a large Varjan invader into a flaming house. He wore no armor, save for a simple barbute helmet that concealed his face. All he had was a pair of black trousers and a simple battle axe. His torso was bared, showing off his muscles and fearlessness of death. With a war cry, he came at the hybrid with his axe... with surprising speed!

“Kneel. Beg for her forgiveness, and I will make your punishment quick.”

The Varjans on their horses stiffened. They all drew their weapons save for their leader in the iron mask. "Beg for her forgiveness? Angelic fool, we're here because of the Order which technically means your beloved Chief God wants us here! There's nothing for you to punish!" He retorted. The Varjan lord seemed to believe his own words, caring little for whatever Cambiel thought about his reply. "Now put away that arrow and fly back to your clouds before you get hurt."

But before Cambiel could make any sort of response, one of the Varjan guards that had been observing Skarsneek the entire time suddenly exclaimed and pointed. "Lord Na'kratz! That one! That's a Goblin! The Angel's on their side!"

The Varjan who pointed raised his javelin to hurl, but Cambiel was quick to fire an arrow through his helmet. A moment after that, Skarsneek kicked the small stone right into the head of Na'kratz's horse. With a pained neigh, the beast fell down and threw off the Varjan lord. The two remaining guards galloped towards the duo, their broad swords swinging in the air. They paid no attention to Na'kratz, who simply got up a bit dazed but no worse for wear.

The mounted Varjans came, one each for both Skarsneek and Cambiel. Meanwhile, Na'kratz simply watched as he put on his weapons, a pair of steel claw gauntlets.

@AzureKnight@PaulHaynek@Restalaan@FrogRFlowR

---

That fire hurt. It hurt a lot, really. She had minimal defenses against flames, it really slowed down her slime and her ability to regenerate. That said...it was fine. A little pain was fine, especially since if he was so busy focused on not getting grabbed by her, that left the others free to do as they wished...and left him open for attacks. The combined assault of Gringor and Tomi was more than enough to subdue him and his weapons...and launch him right towards her.

"Ah~" Oh no no, she wouldn't let him escape. Even if he wasn't her preferred sort of targets. The smelly, insufferable, crude man could still...be taught lessons in respect. "Struggle all you want, you brute. I'll teach you both some manners as well as give you a nice little present." The shoggoth giggled darkly. If any part of the tendrils managed to snag the man, they would immediately start pulling him towards her main body. She was going to thoroughly enjoy this rare opportunity to do as she wished.

@FrogRFlowR@Rune_Alchemist@AzureKnight @PaulHaynek

Gringor of the Ironhide Tribe

His thrust struck true, shattering the man's weapon completely.

An animal primal roar rang deep within Gringor, eyes gleaming maniacally as he advanced forward unrelentingly. Not willing to give up the advantage now.

Then danger flicked and he stopped his track, a gold figure blazing past him and slamming downwards like a meteor. Sending him and his prey away from one another.

Gringor saw red and had to force himself from not attacking the dragon outright. He tore his gaze from his companion and onto the warrior instead. Who had leaped right into the mass of slime and swiped at it ferociously.

He didn't let this chance pass and even risked himself being stuck in the slime by charging forward, flicking his axe head to the blunt part. Creating an impromptu hammer meant for crushing armor, it won't hurt flesh but it'll certainly destroy the armor.

Letting a voiceless roar, Gringor raised the weapon before swinging it down with all his might. Intending to slam the champion down and bring the fight to the end.

More, more!

---

@WanderingDragon@Hammerman@Dark Cloud@Noblebandit

Skarsneek of the Red Hills.

Things escalated in an instant, one that Skarsneek was anticipating as he burst into action.

His clubs now merged into a quarterstaff, creating an impromptu spear, Skarsneek saw the first of the mounted knights charging towards them.

Crouching low, Skarsneek lagged his charge, moving at a slower speed. Eyes focused to its utmost as he waited the last moment where the swung is committed.

Then bursting into action, Skarsneek dodged to the sides as he struck with his staff.

A goblin's small frame and size made it have a smaller reach but the strength more than made up for it. Utilizing the charging force of the horse and turning it against the rider, it was as if he rode into a pole head-on. Unseated from his horse violently.

Not shying away from that. Skarsneek then used the falling motion to bring another downward stroke, teeth gritted tightly as Skarsneek slam his weapon right into the chest of the rider with far more force than necessary as it buried the rider a few centimeters into the dirt.

Turning to the sides, he kept the important-looking guy within his sight while having the corner of his eyes picking up Cambriel, alongside his own opponent.

One moment Wyn was taking heads and asserting dominance; the next, she's tackled by some shirtless fuck and dumped into a burning building.

"Really should'a shadowstepped there." She groused.

And then the bastard was on her, faster than should be possible. But, as the adage went: Timing beats speed. And so, Wyn simply rolled out of harms way. Once on her feet, she took a low guard with a sword that was no longer in her hands.

"Ah, fock!" Wyn knew she should've sprung for that recall enchantment. But, noooo. It'd interfere with the blood magic, she said.

And then a flaming hot reminder dropped on her head. Before this wannabe Viking charged again, Wyn pressed to the wall, kicking off it to dive across the house. In the air, she twisted, hitting the raider with a curse. If he tried charging again; he'd find himself moving at a snail's pace.

Even with backups strapped to her boots, Wyn glanced about for Corpse Maker. If she couldn't get to it now, she'd want to know where it was. It laid where she had been tackled from, not too far, thankfully. She could shadowstep to it. Hell, she could use the hemocraft to simply pull the sword back to her (that's why she opted out of the enchantment!).

And then a deliciously sadistic thought occurred.

With the Varjan slowed to a crawl, and in a burning building, he was pretty much dead. Just need to smack the final nail in his coffin. Taking her daggers, Wyn shadowstepped behind the man. "Nothin' personal, kid!" She didn't much care if he was a kid or not. She stooped down, clipped his Achilles tendons before shadowstepping back out.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled rampage!

Wyn noticed some prick snatching Corpse Maker from the ground.

"Oh no ya' don't!"

With a gesture, the sword moved as if alive, and forced the Varjan to cleave his own head off, before it flew back to Wyndressa's hand. It was about time this shit-show ended, she would think. As her demonic essence flowed into her bloodied Corpse Maker, she surveyed her surroundings.

Something was going on with Hinami, it seemed. The tag was still on, but now she had two swords (Wyn knew she should've brought scimitars) and hacking away in a trance. The tag was still on, right?

"Luna! Hinami!" She shouted. "On me!"

The villagers should be a safe enough distance. Now, it was time to blast these bastards to hell where they belonged. The task force can pay for the damages later.

“Sam, look out!”

Lunatea’s eyes caught wind of the approaching Varjan riders. She ran as fast as she could, preparing to cast her spell. She channeled her mana into her undergarments as she reached forward with her hands, aiming towards the distance. She would knock them off their horses before they could reach the male demon. Sylph should hear her prayers and aid her in her aim.

Sheesh, why are you even here if you can’t fight?

Right in time, before their spears could pierce Samael or his escort, her tornado spell triggered, lifting the soldiers up in the air while their horses bolted, scared by the sudden shift in the wind. Her skirt flew upwards as well, fluttering proudly with her panties in display as the soldiers hovered in mid-air. And then, with a downward hand movement, she let them all drop, knocking them out of commission.

“There you g—”
Her ears twitched. Someone was coming after her from behind!

She turned around to defend herself. Only to find out that the man was thrown away from her by another man, who proceeded to use the distraction to attack Wyn instead.

What.

"Luna! Hinami! On me!"

Wyn’s shouting cured her of her stupor. Now that Samael’s safe, she should rejoin the others and resume the fight.

_@PaulHaynek

Shizuka was given very little opportunity to lament over the slain maiden, as the Varjan troops broke through the barricades and attacked the last line of defenders. The one he was speaking to prepared for what would be her final battle. This only fueled his bewilderment further, and at this point he had enough. He jetted forward in front of her and her allies and, with his back turned to them, began channeling strong electrical energy in his left hand.

"Discretion is the better part of valor. There are other options available to you; this doesn't have to be your last stand."

Kaminari. That was the name of the technique the swordsman was about to use.

With that, Shizuka let loose a large bolt of lightning magic that lit up the vicinity. It emitted golden ripples as it traveled through the air, accompanied by a menacing crackle thay nearly drowned out the sounds of fighting. The bolt hit the ground where the Varjan began their advance, and split into several smaller ripples. They zapped some of the soldiers, but Shizuka's main aim was to make an opening for everyone to escape.

When his attack finished, he turned back to the maiden, satisfied with the disorientation he caused.

"That should buy us a bit of time! Look, I understand your concerns, but I assure you my team can more than make up for your lack of manpower. As for whose behalf we're here on, I'll explain in due time. But enough of that, your strength is needed for another day! Escape while you can! As soon as I've collected the rest of my team I will join you."

He'd like to be sure they would take heed to his words, he'd like to believe that as bleak as the situation looked he could pull his team out without losing anyone, he'd like to think that Shizuyama still had a chance.

Like with many things, all he could do was place his faith in the situation and hope for the best. Regardless of what decision the defenders made, Shizuka would quickly make his way toward his allies still on the battlefield. They too had to retreat before it was too late.

---

_{@Rune_Alchemist@FrogRFlowR@Restalaan}

“B-Beautiful?”

That was the second time someone referred to Atsuha as such as of late, the first being the goblin. The sounds of her comrades fighting snapped her out of her stupor, and they seemed to have gained the upper hand. Being able to shatter the armored man’s weapon and knocking him into Nyla as a means of restraint. Even from where she was, the stench of his perfume was overpowering her nostrils.

She then turned back her attention to the island warrior, relieved that her magic was able to save him. At this point, she was unsure of what to do. She could go help her allies, but she very couldn’t just leave the man here unattended. She could take him and retreat to a safe place, but that may make it more difficult to regroup with the rest of the taskforce later. Being a caster, she could also assist them from afar. However, she couldn’t risk having her position being discovered and compromising the injured man.

She then sensed that Shizuka was fast approaching them. Good, she thought, he would rally them and direct their retreat from the fray. Holding the man in her arms, she would stay hidden until he arrived. Hopefully she could remain as such until then.

---

_{@Hammerman@Dark Cloud@WanderingDragon}

Hinami heard Luna’s question, but didn’t so much as even respond to it. Her eyes glowed with an eerie redness, filled with violent indignation. It wasn’t surprising, such a reprehensible show of murder and pillaging would see anyone in the right mind off. But, in Hinami's case, something more primal was at play. She sensed Luna had when to go help Sam, but ignored it and fought on.

A Varjan tried to lunge at her with a spear, she effortlessly dodged it and slashed through his neck. She continued her assault as he hit the ground; she dodged sword swings from a pair of marauders using a handstand maneuver, kicking them both away not a moment later. There was an archer who watched her onslaught from afar, hoping to pick at her from the safety of atop a tree. This didn’t work out the way he initially intended; the first bolt was all he managed to let loose. Hinami deflected the arrow with one of her blades without even looking at it, then proceeded to shoot another chain to bind him. He yelled as he was pulled away from the tree, some of the branches broke and fell due to the force.

The demon realm silver had weakened him somewhat, but he still tried to struggle as best he could. As Hinami was right on top of him, he tried to resist by kicking her. Due to his proximity it was harder to dodge his strikes, and this would prove to be the factor that allowed him to land a blow to her head. This caused the chains to loosen and he hastily backed away with a dagger drawn, breathing heavily. He looked with perplexity for a moment, as Hinami didn’t make any response to his strike. Moreover, she dropped the blades she wielded previously. Was she injured perhaps? He then noticed something red floating in the wind, it gently hit the ground near them. It was close enough for him to see, it was the talisman that Hinami had worn on her head up until this point. Not knowing any better, man gave it only a moment’s glance and then prepared to engage the Jiangshi. However, he was stopped by an immediate sense of fear, caused by the rapidly building menace emanating from his opponent.

Hinami stood motionless as a sinister aura flowed from her, generating small gusts that blew around them. She then lifted her head to where the man could see her face, what he saw visibly disturbed him. Her teeth had sharpened and elongated into deadly fangs, her pupils having completely vanished and her eyes glowing a clear green color. The Jiangshi's nails lengthened considerably, turning into deadly claws. Hinami howled at the man with a ghastly wail and immediately charged at him. The man was already floored before he even realized it. She then bit him on the neck, draining him of his mana. She stood over his limp body, a bit of blood dripping from her mouth. She heard Wyn’s directive, but whether she understood or acknowledged it was a different story.

Letting out another wail, she charged at the other Varjans who were attracted to the commotion, all taken aback by her monstrous change. She began tearing into them with no regard, the streets were filled with the agonized screams of enemy soldiers. Blood splattered on the ground as her claws tore into sinew; she struck with such force that many bodies were sent flying into various buildings and debris. Many more would find their necks bitten into, their chi drained almost completely.

If left like this for too long, who knows how much damage she would cause.

Heathen fools. Even when a literal Angel, a messenger of God, stood before them to tell them what they were doing was wrong, they were so arrogant that they still thought they were right.

But Cambiel didn’t have time to discuss theology. One of the heretic soldiers noticed Skarsneek sneaking up on them and, with a warning cry, reached for a javelin. Cambiel’s arrow met his eye, and he fell to the ground with a satisfying thud, but what little chance there had been to resolve this peacefully had just died with him.

“To the Fallen with it,” he muttered morosely, nocking another arrow. That wasn’t the first human he had killed. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be the last either.

The other riders quickly drew their swords and charged towards the duo. Cambiel gave his goblin ally a quick once-over just to make sure he wouldn’t need any help, and when he was assured that Skarsneek could handle himself in this fight, he turned his attention back to the heretics. Not that he was worried. He could have fired a dozen arrows in the space it would have taken the riders to reach them. The one he did fire made a new home for itself inside a heretic’s black heart, and the rider was dead before his body hit the floor.

If it sounds like Cambiel didn’t really care about these humans, it’s because he darn well didn’t. Heretics were the lowest form of life on earth. Lower than animals, lower than monsters, lower even than Demons and Devils: at least they had the excuse that the Demon Lord was influencing them. No, the only thing that even compared to a human heretic in terms of evil was a Fallen Angel. Those who willingly walked away from the Chief God’s embrace were a thousand times worse than those who had never felt it in the first place.

With the minions handled, Cambiel turned his sights on the leader...