Tread Lightly – Among Monsters And Men

I cough some of the biting dust out of my lungs, regaining some breathability as I search my surroundings, looking for Abraham. How the fuck did they find me? They came after me even in this swarm? Who is all there?

 

I reach out for his voice, grasping for Allude, the skill of his that connects us, but I can't seem to manage to reply. The sound of his voice is loud and clear in my mind, but I still cannot find him.

 

As I spin around, deafening impacts roar from the Halfway and the four non-humans. I have a near-zero want to actually help them fight after they ditched me like that. I mean, realistically, they had no reason to help me, but still... it pisses me off. There is a chance, a very slim chance, that I would help them fight the monster otherwise, but they tossed it all out.

 

After all, I don't want to kill things that aren't hostile to me or mine. My... mother is even a demon. And a close friend is half-Nahullo. The only connection I don't have among that group is the Pygmy, and well... she seems like a raging bitch anyway.

 

"Right!"

 

As I examine the sands swirling in the air, clenching my eyes to keep the sand out of them while struggling to stay standing, I hear Abraham's voice again. Then, he appears alongside three others—Bonfire, Clumsy, and Frozen.

 

The first thing the pyro does is wrap me in a tight hug, hauling me in close as I feel his sigh of relief. The clear care he holds for me feels heartwarming, even in the crux of this storm. But we don't have time to waste.

 

Stepping back from him, I point at where the group is fighting, shouting over Bonfire's words.

 

"Nice—"

 

"No time! There is a Virtue over there! And it's fighting four Angels, a Pygmy, two demons, and a Nahullo. We need to go before the battle includes us!"

 

Abraham nods, grabbing me by the hand and leading us back wherever they came from. I follow them as I wonder where everyone else is, but Abraham speaks to me in my mind with Allude, giving me a slight warning.

 

"Bonfire came here on his own with these two. I had to follow, or they'd die. Our goal is to escape. Where is Virgil? Did he—?"

 

I nod with a shout, not wanting him to think our friend is dead.

 

"He's alive! I had to leave him behind temporarily after being chased! I need to go back for him!"

 

Abraham clenches his jaw as he moves through the sands, the other three within arm's length as well. I know it's a tall ask with what's just beyond the edge, but we can't leave Virgil behind. Abraham knows this.

 

What's most curious about our escape is the amount of sand that envelops Bonfire, all of which is constantly being scorched into ashes, other than when he hugged me. Yet... I don't see any fire. Squinting at him, I still don't see any. What the hell? Even the sand that was biting at me sauntered over to him instead.

 

A noise, however, rips me from my thoughts as in the heart of the dense grinding clouds of dust, I hear what sounds like pounding footsteps. Twisting my head around to our back, I find nothing. The swirling crimson sands offer no forewarning as four formidable beings emerge from the chaos to our left. Yet, the shabby alliance of races isn't attacking us; they, too, are running.

 

My eyes widen as I see a shadow hurl through the sands, piercing through the thick dust and grime to reveal itself. In a hair-raising moment, I barely manage to dodge a razor-sharp scythe that whizzes past, its blade cutting through the air with deadly precision. A bit of my hair, growing too long for my liking, is shaved without resistance. My reflexes kick in as I simultaneously pull Abraham out of harm's way, his life narrowly spared from a secondary cleaver that digs deeply into the sand beneath us.

 

I glance at the quartet again as they twist, shouts coming from the Pygmy with commanding orders. She explodes into a mass of metal that hurls for the Halfway charging them while the icy woman brings her hands close to her chest.

 

The only male of their group holds his right hand to the sky as he kneels, the light growing more and more radiant with every passing second. Meanwhile, the Nahullo of their quartet meets the Halfway once more in combat. They clash brutally, meeting blade against blade and metal against metal.

 

My teeth clench from the impacts as they are locked in combat with the creature who can control the very crimson sands that surround us. As it's wounded from the Nahullo and Pygmy's conjoined efforts, the red sand falls from her in torrents, mingling with the swirling chaos in the air, hampering our vision even further and slicing through our flesh.

 

A grunt from Frozen resounds as the man falls to his knee, holding his leg from a massive gash swarmed by the crimson minuscule insects. I grab him and pull him to his feet while dragging him away from the fight, as my first instinct is to flee this awful scene.

 

"Freeze your wound! Don't hesitate!"

 

I shout at Frozen as the man quickly comes to his senses, cladding his leg in thick ice. It protects him temporarily while we haul ass to get away.

 

But the female demon from the other group calls out to us before we get very far, her voice commanding and forceful, not offering any room for negotiation.

 

"Don't run with your human slaves, you coward! Help us! Where did all that guile you have go, Blodwyn!?"

 

With a wave of her hand, Bemola conjures a massive dome of ice. Like a thousand Frozens working in tandem, ice cascades from a point in the sky in an instant, trapping us all together in this bewildering showdown. Then, Bemola flips around, drawing frost from the walls to fuel her attacks on the Halfway.

 

That dome must be a Dzil or a Power. I don't think—

 

Bonfire endeavors to break free by launching a searing gout of fire at the ice wall. His flames lick at the frozen barrier with a violent violet, but he can only manage to melt a small portion of it before he stops, the man shaking his head.

 

"No use! It'll take minutes to burn through, even at my hottest!"

 

I give him and Abraham a look, a shared meaning passing through us.

 

Frustration mounts as we can't escape, and we reluctantly realize that we have no choice but to join forces with this other group, despite the risks and dangers they present. Each of this quartet stands a massive threat to us five—a potentially deadly one.

 

And there are four of them.

 

Even if we kill this monster, we'll still have to deal with the consequences of what will come after when they realize I am not a demon. The only benefit we'll have is that they will be wounded, potentially not roaring to go for another bout, but that cannot be guaranteed.

 

Regardless, we need to fight, or they will turn on us. I can tell Bemola gave us a final warning. From the way the male demon is vigilantly observing us, he must be the one to step the notice up to violence.

 

"We do this together. Abraham, Frozen, and Clumsy stay against the wall and do what you can to help. Bonfire, come with me. This'll suck ass, but at least the rest of the storm is trapped outside."

 

I glance forward at the Halfway as I provoke my Ether, readying a series of Arbalests, not the crazy one I had from before, but just multiple for evasion. Then, I dart forward with Bonfire literally hot on my tail. Sand fades beneath my feet as I quickly reach the monster, launching myself under a crazed sweep of a cleaver and leaping over a sudden spike of ice that nearly gores me.

 

Swallowing from how close I just come to dying twice in one moment, I land right next to the Halfway. Then, with a lunge, I draw and slice with the scythe blade from my right arm, one of the few remaining things that work.

 

The Halfway growls as the crimson sand from its wound spurts out, lacerating my cheek on its way out after digging through the bone of Blodwyn. Stepping back and holding my face, I Arbalest back just in time to not get skewered by a thousand tiny shards of metal—the Pygmy.

 

I retreat even further, evading another manic swing, but the relentless sandstorm tightens its noose with each passing moment, the crimson dust gnawing at my flesh. I even notice it make it through Bonfire's Blaze and the Angel's defenses. But I have no choice but to continue. Ripping off a piece of fabric from my pant leg, I tighten it around the cut on my face, sealing it from any more sand while my companion fixes it up.

 

Then, I dodge and weave to rejoin the fight, narrowly evading the monster's wild scythe swings that threaten to cleave through me. With lightning-fast reflexes, I snatch Mislo's Nightmare and pull them to safety just as a scythe blade whistles past where we stood moments before.

 

The Nightmare doesn't respond to me. Instead, she simply continues to fire away arrows, but Abraham does nudge me with his mind. I recognize it as thanks and continue.

 

As I return to the fray, Bonfire, wreathed in a violet flame, darts around the monstrous entity with unmatched agility. Detonations of flame propel him from any danger while he shifts into a being of fire should he be unable to dodge to minimize damage.

 

We coordinate our attacks constantly through Abraham's Allude, seizing every opportunity to strike against the creature spewing more filthy dust. I see an opening and lunge as the Nahullo turns back, an arm-sized gash in her chest. My blade finds its mark, and Blodwyn recovers enough to stab it with a spear of flesh. Yet, the monster retaliates with a ferocious sweep of its weapon, and I only manage to roll out of harm's way partially. The blade's edge grazes my arm, leaving a searing gash that intensifies the pain coursing through my body.

 

Then, a solid section of sand forms above me as I roll away, slamming against me with the weight of a hundred men. I scream out in pain as it crushes bone, but the laughter of the Halfway refuses to let my focus break.

 

"Ahaha! I knew you were special, birdie! You were hiding your true self from me! That CANNOT stand!"

 

The sand constricts even further around my body, locking my right arm against my body. I search around for aid, but Bonfire and all of Abraham's Nightmares are too far to save me.

 

And so, the Halfway's enormous scarred foot comes crashing down toward me, but the moment before I'm turned to paste, I see a grand double door.

 

Then, I'm shambling in shock beside Abraham as he holds onto me, panting for dear life.

 

"Go! Get back in there! I'm barely holding on! We have to kill it quickly! It's finally taking us seriously!"

 

I nod to Abraham as I realize he's right. The sands are no longer just cutting or invading our flesh. They are actively attacking us and growing solid. Frozen and Clumsy are busy protecting Abraham to let him focus on commanding his Nightmares, but all the other fighters are being swarmed.

 

I think I see why this thing is so powerful. It wears others down. It's so tough, seemingly unkillable, and it gradually grinds others down with the sands before killing them—reminiscent of how it drove me to exhaustion by chasing me.

 

It's a natural-born hunter—a predator.

 

Gritting my teeth, I dive back into the fight, holding the bit on my side where more sand dove in. Blodwyn has his hands full now, expelling the bloody insects and keeping them from tearing me apart inside. Bonfire has a similar method, even if it's a bit more crazed than mine.

 

He's the best at surviving his own flames. I can hardly watch as boiling blood exits his injuries, killing any bit of sand that it touches. But this is a matter of endurance. Who can last?

 

Will the male demon, teetering back and forth on exhaustion, fall after melting away half the monster's head?

 

Will the ice-cold demon fall from the many wounds she's frozen shut?

 

Will the Pgymy crash from using too much Ether and ripping all that metal from her flesh?

 

Will the Nahullo stumble and collapse from blood loss after being ripped apart again and again?

 

Or will it be us who dies first? Will I get caught and squashed? Will Bonfire be eaten alive? Will we simply die after killing this thing to this quartet?

 

I don't know. What I do know is that I won't let it happen without a fight.

 

The mini-war rages on, and our combined efforts begin to take their toll on the monster just as it wears us down. Its defenses weaken, and it struggles to fend off our relentless onslaught. However, the sands continue to drain our strength, sapping our energy with each passing moment. The oppressive crimson dust, like an insidious force, gnaws at our resolve, threatening to submerge us in its malevolent grip.

 

I stumble before the Halfway, unable to dodge from my wobbling vision as it finally lands a solid hit. A crunch of bone and flesh ends with me face down in the sand. Explosions of flame resound nearby with a hearty scream from Bonfire, but he, too, is more subdued than before.

 

Coughing out sand, feeling it bite against my tongue, I gaze upward, finding the Halfway stride before me. It chuckles as it kneels, wrapping a hand around my head. The last thing I see before my vision goes dark is Abraham's eyes bleeding from exertion as his Nightmares fade to nothing.

 

He can't help me here.

 

I can feel the quartet still attacking the monster even as its grip tightens around my skull. Yet, their impacts only shake it as it is hellbound on ending me.

 

No one can help me.

 

Except one.

 

"Again, please. Don't if you can't spare the Ether, but we don't have much choice."

 

My bloodbound companion growls with focus as my left arm flows to my skull, bolstering the bone, flesh, and brain with everything it has. My heartbeat quickly increases once more to five times the norm, reaching five times per second.

 

Painsforge bellows with a raging fire, flowing throughout all my veins as my head pounds with main. I return that bellow with one of my own.

 

"LET ME FUCKING GO!"

 

Screaming, I pry my right arm in the way of its hand, wrenching my whole body sideways. At any other time, my act would have far too little power to succeed. But right now?

 

The being's flesh rips asunder from my movement, leaving me covered in crimson sand that quickly sets into my flesh. Blodwyn roars with hate as we are invaded, and he quickly returns to my left hand.

 

I still have some Ether to spare, but I doubt he does.

 

Despite the sand prying its way into my pores, eyes, and mouth, I open my lungs, breathing in deeply. Strugglers Gasp fills me with strength once more as I feel the Halfway coming at me again.

 

Squinting my eyes, I see a half-dozen ice spears stab into its flesh, thousands of metal shards pierce it, and another ray of light cut into it. The being is beyond fucked up from all of us, and Bonfire joins in, searing a burn that reaches the depths of its chest.

 

Nevertheless, it focuses on me.

 

"You're gonna die, birde~. I promise that~!"

 

My vision goes red as the sands dig into my eyes, blinding me. Every piece of my body is bit by the insectoid sand at once, from my eardrums to my nose, rendering all my senses null and void.

 

I'm left with nothing.

 

Nothing but my soul.

 

I wait. knowing that it is coming.

 

I wait some more.

 

Some more.

 

And some more

 

Then, I feel it. The minuscule tingle in the back of my mind. The tiny little thing that warns me of danger. I latch onto it, digging into it so fiercely that I feel my jaw clamp down on the sensation.

 

And the next thing I know, my eyes open to a fist-size hole in the Halfway's skull with a bite mark on its neck. Sand slices up my mouth as I spit out a bloody clump just in time to see the Nahullo leap onto the Halfway's back, bringing it to the ground by impaling it with the Claymore it wields.

 

Then, the male demon slides to them, slapping his hands to the earth as pillars of radiance burn down from the sky, piercing through even the dome above as it nails the monster down.

 

Staggering to my feet, I find Bemola raising her hands toward the dome before bringing them down as the ice above contorts into a glaring icicle that falls and cuts off the Virtue's head like a guillotine.

 

Shocked, stunned, and a hundred other things, I wipe my face of blood while Blodwyn works on healing me. Fucking shit. We did it. We killed it!

 

Before I have any time to celebrate, however, the bitch of a Pygmy glares right at me.

 

"It would seem we have not another demon, Bemola and Natos, but instead, a monstrous human. He is not an Angel. I saw not a Power from him. The other with fire is likely an Angel based on the flames; I think that is his Power. I say we end him before he becomes a bigger threat. What about you? None are Candidates from what I can tell."

 

Candidates? What are they talking about? Shit... This is going poorly. I shuffle backward as Bonfire struggles to stand beside me, his right hand covering a severely reddened shirt. Abraham and the other two are moving toward me as well, preparing to run.

 

Bemola snorts with a laugh as she runs her hand across her cheek, sealing the open wound festering with sand using her frost.

 

"I concur. That boy is too powerful to be left alive. Too much talent."

 

The male demon doesn't reply against or for my death. He only rubs his nose piercing. But as the Nahullo rises back to her feet with a stumble, lifting her blade toward us, I see her look weirdly at Abraham, a kind of side-eye that stays for too long.

 

She must know him, somehow! Fuck, they're probably family!

 

Maybe we—

 

"Let's just run."

 

Bonfire stares with wide eyes at the four with a hand on my shoulder. I grind my teeth as I have to tell him we can't just turn tail and run.

 

"Virgil's still out there."

 

Emmet Knox sighs with a pang of profound sadness, making my heart skip a beat in worry as the man steps forward. The man with burns all over his flesh lifts his hand from his gut wound to his hair, staining it bloody. Scratching his head, Bonfire steps toward the quartet, his Blaze reaching violet in a moment before fading entirely like that of a match doused in water.

 

What is he—

 

"Go, then. Find him. I'll stay."

 

I stand still, frozen, as I don't know what to do. I want to stop him, but I can't. If I do, Virgil dies since he's already been alone for so long, I doubt Blodwyn's Power will hide him much longer. If I don't stop Bonfire, he will die almost certainly.

 

"Bon—"

 

I reach out to him, but Abraham snatches my hand while Frozen and Clumsy push past me.

 

"We're with you, man."

 

Bonfire laughs, rubbing his head with his own blood as it quickly evaporates into a bloody mist. Frozen and Clumsy are newly made 5th Sigileds, while Bonfire is only a 6th. How will they? How?

 

"Let them, Wyatt. Let them. Let Emmet Knox do one good thing with his life. That's all he's ever wanted, and to him, this is it."

 

Abraham whispers sharply into my recovered ears as he hauls me away. I don't stop him, but I don't help him. I can't do anything as I'm dragged into the sands with a rising heat behind me.

 

A shout pierces through the dense fog of incarnadine before I get too far away to hear it.

 

"You believe in me that little, Wyatt!? You EVER see something I can't burn!? Haha... Till next time, my friend!"