The night had fallen heavy over Eschatopolis.
The pale moon cast fractured light through the cracks of the old fortress walls, illuminating the assembled force at the northern gate.
20 soldiers stood ready, 15 from The Band of the Eagle and 5 from The Knight Guards.
Each bore the emblem of their order, a crimson eagle and a silver sword crossed over the sigil of the Empire.
Marcus Valen stood at their head, arms crossed, his armor faintly reflecting the moonlight.
At his side, Nathaniel and Samantha prepared their spell arrays while the knights checked their blades and mana stones.
Beside him, Samantha, a fire mage whose Soul burned with unyielding passion, flexed her fingers as tiny sparks flared from her palm.
Next to her was Nathaniel, the light mage whose every movement felt measured and disciplined, his eyes reflecting both reason and quiet faith.
"Our objective,"
Marcus said, his voice steady,
"is to confirm the reports of movement along the northern wall and find any sign of The Children of the Tower. We go in, gather proof, and get out alive. Understood?"
The men nodded. Even with all their courage, unease hung thick in the air.
The wind carried the smell of stagnant water and rusted iron, the scent of the Sewer Canal System nearby.
They advanced slowly through the stone tunnels beneath the wall, torches flickering against the slime-covered bricks.
The deeper they went, the thicker the stench became, a nauseating mix of rot, blood, and decay.
One of the soldiers gagged.
"Ugh… the smell is killing me. Ain't no way we gotta go in there, right?"
Marcus gave him a sharp look.
"We need to. If they're hiding, this is where they'll be."
Reluctantly, the group pressed on.
Nathaniel stopped, his eyes narrowing.
"Leader… there's something here.
The mana density, it's… distorted."
Marcus tightened his grip on his sword.
"How strong?"
"Stronger than before,"
Nathaniel replied quietly.
"Much stronger."
The tunnel widened abruptly, revealing a massive intersection, a chamber large enough to fit 3 ships side by side.
But what froze everyone in place wasn't the size… it was the sight.
Corpses.
Piles upon piles of them, soldiers, beasts, civilians, their skin peeled, faces twisted in eternal agony.
Flies and maggots writhed in silence, the air vibrated faintly with leftover mana.
"Gods above…"
Samantha whispered.
"What kind of slaughter is this?"
A knight stepped forward to check for survivors, and that was when the water stirred.
The faint ripple grew into a violent quake.
The corpses shifted… and from within each heap, something rose.
With wet, sickening cracks, flesh fused with bone, limbs bent the wrong way, and voices screamed from mouths that no longer knew words.
From each mound of corpses, a creature emerged, five in total, their bodies a grotesque fusion of humans, wolves, horses, and serpents.
Their eyes glowed with unnatural light. Their skin pulsed as if something alive crawled beneath.
One opened its maw and let out a howl,
half-human, half-beast, reverberating through the tunnels.
"AGHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The sound tore through the soldiers' minds, shattering focus.
Then came four more, five howls in total.
Nathaniel's face went pale.
"Five… there are five of them!"
Marcus drew his blade, its crimson core igniting with mana.
"Formation! Mages on the backline! Shields up front!"
The men scrambled into position, three defensive lines, spears forward, shields raised, spell circles forming behind them.
The first monster lunged, a mass of claws and teeth, colliding with the vanguard's shields.
The impact was like a siege hammer. Metal screamed, the front line stumbled back.
"Hold it! HOLD THE LINE!"
Marcus charged forward, his sword cleaving through one of the creature's arms. Black ichor sprayed, sizzling as it hit the ground.
But the wound closed in seconds.
"They regenerate?!!"
"Use light or high-heat magic!"
Samantha shouted, releasing a burst of flame that scorched another creature's face. It howled, blinded temporarily.
Behind her, Nathaniel raised his staff and chanted in Vocemantica.
"Luxa Veritas, Lumen Caecat Et Purgat."
"Light of Truth, blind and purify!"
A beam of light erupted, slicing through the shadows, momentarily revealing glowing runes carved into the monsters' flesh.
Each rune pulsed like a beating heart.
"They're bound with sealing magic,"
Nathaniel realized.
"Someone made them."
"Children of the Tower,"
Marcus muttered grimly.
As the creatures regrouped, Marcus barked an order.
"You! Run back to the surface. Get reinforcements!"
A young knight, barely 20, saluted shakily and sprinted toward the exit tunnel.
But he didn't make it far.
From the darkness, a tendril shot out, a grotesque appendage made of fused hands, wrapping around his neck.
Before anyone could react, the boy was dragged screaming into the black water.
"NO—!"
The water erupted in a crimson geyser.
When it settled, all that remained was his helmet, floating lifelessly.
The group fell silent. Hope vanished.
"We're on our own,"
Nathaniel said quietly.
Marcus clenched his jaw.
"Then we make our stand."
The air turned into a battlefield of light and shadow.
Samantha unleashed torrents of flame, Nathaniel countered with precision spells of light and kinetic force.
The knights engaged in brutal close combat, shields shattering, swords splintering, men screaming as the beasts struck with claws like spears.
Marcus fought at the center, calm, relentless, his blade a crimson streak slicing through chaos.
Every time one monster fell, another replaced it. Every wound healed with a ridiculous speed.
"They're endless!"
one soldier cried.
"No, they're linked,"
Marcus growled.
"Kill one, and the rest will weaken!"
With renewed determination, the team concentrated on one creature.
The combined spells of light, fire, and steel finally burned it to ash, and indeed, the remaining four faltered slightly.
"It works! Focus fire!"
They pressed on, desperation driving their strikes, until the ceiling above them trembled.
The water turned black.
From the depths of the canal, a low hum rose, rhythmic, deliberate.
A chant.
"Vocem… Ascendat… Ad Turrim…"
Nathaniel froze mid-chant.
"That voice… it's the same incantation from the last attack…"
Marcus looked up as the runes on the monsters' skin began to glow brighter.
"They're summoning!!!"
The words died as the monsters convulsed, splitting apart, their bodies becoming black liquid that crawled toward the center of the room.
From it, a single shape began to rise… towering, skeletal, robed in writhing flesh.
"All units,
FALL BACK!"
The soldiers obeyed, dragging the wounded, but the passage behind them collapsed under the vibration.
There was no escape.
Marcus planted his sword into the ground, forming a barrier of light with the last of his mana.
"We hold here until dawn!"
The Knights and the Band formed a circle around him, battered, bloodied, but unbroken.
As the monstrous figure opened its many eyes, the only sound left was Marcus's voice.
"For the living."
And then, the darkness roared.