Fanilly felt resistance to her blade, but with both hands gripping it she pushed.
The abomination's skull gave way. Bone split.
The sword was buried in the creature's brain.
She watched its immense body go slack, and drew her weapon out just as quickly as the abomination collapsed entirely, black ichor clinging to the blade. Rather then blood, it almost smelt like something burning.
Grimacing, the knight-captain flicked her sword in a bid to shed it.
"... Whoever you may have been, your pain ends now," she said, pausing only a moment longer to address the abomination. Even had it been one of the Golden Boars' worst, there was no way they could have deserved such an awful fate to become such a hideous, bloated, twisted monster.
Whoever had done this had to be stopped.
Two of the other abominations had fallen. Many of the Boars, due to the actions of Tyaethe and the headless-yet-still fighting Haelstadt.
But their work wasn't done.
One of the nearest remaining Boars still intending on trying to reach Veilena was also the closest target. Fanilly broke into a sprint, reaching him swiftly and cutting off his advance, deflecting his surprised sword stroke with her own before plunging the blade through his chest.
One of the remaining two abominations was caught up with Sir Lein, but the other was still advancing from further away. They had to take them out as fast as possible---!
"I... er..."
It wasn't as if she wasn't here for such a purpose. Those who had surrendered were to be kept stable, at the very least, until they could face trail. But it was a surreal sight to be brought to the side of a man who had such a tremendous gash in his side, surrounded by what appeared to be his brother sitting by his side as well as a dozen or so Golden Boars who had laid down their weapons and sat down, seeming content to try and block out the remaining sounds of battle around them.
She'd heard the Golden Boars punished those they saw as traitors harshly, but in a situation like this perhaps it was simply too difficult to focus on such a task.
"Just... what h-happened here, Dame Tyaethe?" the slim brunette in Mayonite colors asked, as she knelt beside the injured man and brought out her catalyst, a small silver-and-blue rose-decorated scepter. While the injury was very deep and undoubtedly lethal if it were to be left alone, the fact it was a straightforward and relatively clean cut made it all the easier for her to mend.
The Boar's advance had largely halted. Even those who were not fleeing or surrendering seemed reluctant to come any closer. A combination of the Iron Rose Knights' cutting them down and the Curse Mage breaking them using her fetch was enough to make even the threat of punishment for failure seem minor in comparison.
Clarice's smug smirk only grew wider at the terror she'd inflicted, but it soon turned to a frustrated glare at the approach of the remaining curse abomination.
Its name was lost. She couldn't use her fetch. And now all the remaining ordinary Boars were out of range.
Her grip tightened on the doll.
She'd really been enjoying herself, but now-
The air beside her was vibrating.
The magical energy seemed to thrum.
Come to think of it, that Cazt heir hadn't said much for a while, since the curse abominations had appeared.
Now Clarice understood why.
"Out of the way, curse cow."
A finely-crafted spell catalyst, blackened wood tipped with a set of golden rings surrounding a bright blue, spherical gem, was gripped in the Veilena Cazt's hand.
It shone brilliantly.
"Hmph. This is why I don't like having so many allies, it takes far too long to determine the right trajectory to avoid them," she commented.
A blue-white light illuminated in the sky above the last curse abomination as it advanced. With a distorted grunt, it seemed to realize something was going on, its ruptured eyesockets turning skywards.
It took a moment for an observer to realize that the light was an intricate magic circle.
And it was only glowing brighter.
"Disappear.
Meteor Fall."
The light at the center of the magic circle grew. The vibrating air almost seemed to rumble.
A column of blue-white magical energy exploded from the center of the magic circle, with a sound like every single particle in the air around it was shaking violently. the light illuminated the battlefield, several of the closest Golden Boars stumbling and falling from the sheer brilliance.
The curse abomination was enveloped.
If one were to look, they could see its outline for a brief moment, ever-so faintly, before it seemed to break apart.
The light dwindled just as quickly as it had been unleashed. Soon, it faded to a single thin line, before vanishing completely.
There was nothing left behind. The spot upon which the curse abomination once stood was glowing, the earth beneath the monster having turned to glass.
"Aghk?!"
The knife-wielding mercenary mercenary had judged Sir Sergio to be in quite a poor state, one that he wouldn't be so ready to counterattack from. In some ways perhaps he was right, but he had left his own opening when he was shocked by the explosively gory death of one of his allies.
So he was hardly prepared for the sharp blow to his chin, which sent him reeling. For all his tricks, he had made a critical error in his approach.
He had only a spare few moments to realize what was about to happen before his life ended, the sharp spike of Sir Sergio's weapon burying in the side of his skull.
One curse abomination still remained.
It bellowed in an unearthly fashion as it lunged towards him, colliding firmly with the pillar that he had leaped upon. But with their positioning, there was no chance for it to avoid his reprisal.
The arrow buried itself in one of its empty eye sockets.
No matter how distorted, the abominations were still quite alive, and thus, the damage was done. Its enormous body slackened after a moment, as it began to slide down against the pillar...
And yet---
One enormous had raised, lunging towards the hundi archer. The curses and malice that had created each of the abominations were not yet ready to die, and now they had all concentrated in a single body.
Perhaps it was the resentment of the people who had become these creatures.
Perhaps it was the curses that had embedded themselves deep within their flesh.
Perhaps it was their creator, manipulating them from a distance.
Whatever the case, one last attack reached out, threatening to crush Sir Lein---!
"... A splendid offer, if only to spite the one responsible for this debacle," the Boar Commander replied. But even as he spoke, he readied his stance, raising his shield as his mace was brought to bare, "But I won't accept. If you wish to learn more about the one responsible for this, then it will be with my last breath."
Perhaps, in spite of whatever twisted path the man had followed, he still had some shred of honor from his distant past. Perhaps he placed as much value in single combat as Sir Fionn himself.
With his shield at the ready, he stepped forward to advance, and-
"
Well now, we can't have that, can we?"
A soft, male voice seemed to come from the air itself.
"What? You-"
A dark, red-black glow suddenly emanated from the Commander's back. His eyes widened, and he let out a strangled gasp, stumbling forward and clutching at his throat.
"D-Damn you, when did you-gghhk...!"
He retched, and blood poured from beneath his helmet as he stagged, his mace hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
"
You've already failed, so it's not as if this can make you fail even harder. I'd rather not have them know my name just yet."
Hitting his knees, the Commander retched again, more crimson splattering to the ground as he struggled to try and speak.
"B-ba... bastaaard...!"
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