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Limbs, blood, and somehow still active pieces of flesh were littered about the forest floor, the only sign of ichor being a slightly darker patch of mud, or an area so literally drowned in it the ground failed to soak it in. Trickles of creatures still came in, though they seemed to be the tail end of the invasion. A dozen or so remained, as well as the larger one, but the danger was still evident. Both of Gaul's skeletal warriors were separated bone-by-bone until they were but the husks they originally sprouted from. Gaul himself seemed to disappear, as if flitting into nothingness, and Sariel was no where to be found, presumably still lagging behind.

The larger machine-corpse seemed to notice Theow's intent considering how driven he was at charging towards its own position. Scrambling forward, it took strides over its smaller shambling comrades, surprisingly careful not to crush its allies. Its mantis-like claws clanged upon its metallic forearms like some death knell, steaming breath seeping from its toothy maw. With no warning, presumably due to the lack of bodies between it and Theow, the creature rampaged forward, suddenly quite faster than expected. With raised talons, it swung down at Theow like a pair of guillotines.

By contrast, Ekho received the easiest portion of the mob, though it could have been attributed to her beastly patterns. As the larger one converged on Theow, however, the zombies seemingly realized the danger of remaining nearby, and turned their sights on Ekho instead, encircling her quite quickly in a tightening circle of pink flesh and rusted metal. Luckily for her, Mother Fran noticed her situation and darted forward to help. Amidst the rain, moaning, shambling, and clanging metal, her voice was faint but Ekho could clearly see she was persistently speaking. Given the seriousness of her expression and the relentlessness with which she spoke, Ekho could have guessed she was praying during the battle. Her flamberge swung to and fro, cleaving countless minions, the weapon glowing a miraculous light as it did so. Some of the bodies sported grievous scorch marks upon their wounds.

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The path clear, Gem saw her chance to make a break for the greater safety beyond; her fellow mission champions were cleaning up what looked to be their own singular group of zombies. Before she could take the chance, however, a great commotion caught her attention from behind. Some of the zombies she had ignored in favor of getting closer to the others stepped aside in their march as a much greater foe presented itself.

This one was clearly much more intelligent than the rest, an electricity crackling about its skull-less cranium. It moved with purpose and without difficulty; it walked as any normal living creature would. In its hands, a brutish weapon was held upright in both of its armored hands. A massive double-ended scythe of some sort that looked more like it was bludgeoning than cutting. Though its sunken face was exposed, the rest of its body was not. The zombie was clad in thick armor from head to toe that clearly put strain on the creature's strength, though it still moved persistently towards Gem. A few dozen feet between them, it readied its weapon, holding it to its side as if preparing to sweep her aside. A grizzly smile overcame its face as it picked up the pace.