Hera stepped to the side. The Groll’s punch had swung a little too wide causing the beast to miss the target entirely. The second groll tried to stomp her, it too missed. Power meant nothing if there wasn’t any speed to complement it. It also didn’t help that due to the artificial nature of the beasts everything they did could be read like an open book. The magic coursing through their veins highlighted everything but the width of their meaty hands, she merely speculated that, if she got hit she got hit, no big deal.

“Watch out!” Screamed the elf in the bushes.

Hera did not heed her warnings. The grolls roared harmoniously and went for a dual attack. Both fists went for Hera. They approached at velocities that would vaporize a human, yet she didn’t move from that spot she stood. She bent down and curled herself into a ball, the spines in her back pointed directly to her sides. An evolutionary defensive trait she gained after her separation from Scarpha. The two fists collided with the spike ball, the pressure was immense, the shockwave rustled a few leaves and made a few rocks jump.

“No!” The elf screamed. Only to quickly cover her mouth up as blood sprayed onto her face. But just she tried to make her self-shut up the grolls both screamed in pain. Their faces were twisted in pain, the back spikes pierced through their fists creating deep gashes within the creature’s palms. Once the spikes were free, Hera recovered her stance. Her chitin revealed multiple cracks and fractures, some leaking that neon blue blood that her race shares.

The grolls took a few steps back, The fearlessness that Hera showed to the beasts confirmed who was the real apex predator of the forest.They roared, and she took a step forward. The monsters now referred to her as such. They began to back off covering their wounds. The one in back took off into a full sprint towards the elf, circumnavigating its way past the terrifying huntress. A lose is a lose, but a defenseless elf was more than enough to eat if he was fast enough, which it was.

The elf was just barely climbing out from the hedge. Her scream echoed through the forest as she was picked up from the foot, Upon the lift, she smacked her head against the ground, hard enough to draw blood.

The groll was seconds away from stuffing the elf directly into its mouth. Then something penetrated the monster’s leg causing him to drop the female elf.

“Waaaaagh!” She yelled, trying to correct herself into a position that wouldn’t kill her on impact with the ground.

The groll looked to what had been used against it; it was a vine. A vine that broke off from a nearby tree and went through its calf. It screamed as it ripped out the bloodied plant matter. The beast was angry now. It shook its head back and forth looking for the culprit who did this. In its search, a head was thrown in front of it, the head of the other groll.

Hera jumped down from a tree. “Abominations aren’t even worth eating.” She said, approaching the other, claws dripping with blood and hair slightly stained red.

~

“What is this...thing?” Said the king of Prathe. Heavily armored knights armed with spears stood at the side of the cage, occasionally they would prod the injured creature in the case that it became too rowdy.

Amalia walked next to him. Her hand was resting on her hilt. “This was what caused Beka to be the way it is now, your highness.”

“This thing?” He began to chuckle in disbelief. “It surely couldn’t have been the only thing that attacked. It's no bigger than the men who caught it.” he pinched the tip of

“Correct, your highness. There had been others.” She replied calmly walking towards the cage. She turned around to face the king. “There had been three others; they seemed to have been ones in charge.”

“Three others?” He pointed to the creature thrashing about in the cage. “Like that? Hardly seems smarter than a boulder.”

Amalia withheld the answer until the king asked. “Nay, They were man-like.” the more critical it sounded, the harder the shock value would be for him.

“Like man-like?” He also got closer to the cage. “What kind of demon-spawned them?”

“My king, I do not believe they are demons.”

“How not?” He questioned. “They have horns and claws!”

“Watch.” Amalia stepped from beside the king to another side of the cage. The creature in the cage followed her movements while maintaining its unpredictable thrashing. She then moved to another side, the beast followed her once more.

“Amalia. What are you trying to prove right now?”

“Demons have been shown to be intelligent, even the beasts. They would recognize the strongest in the room and avoid it.” She walked to the center once more having it follow. She grabbed onto the iron bars, sending a short burst of electricity through the metals. “These go after the strongest magic source regardless of how dangerous it is.”

“Hmm.” The ruler of Prathe rubbed his chin. “If not demons, Then what are they?”

Amalia shrugged. “I’ve received information about a village to the east that might enhance our knowledge of the matter.”

“The east?” The king repeated. “Nothing exists out there except for witches and monsters.”

“I know,” Amalia said. “But, after my battle. I realized I am no match for them. Just one was able to surpass me, and it wasn’t even at full power.”

“What!?” The king said snapping his attention to her. “They were strong enough to suppress you!?”

“I hate to admit it, but yes. I was not strong enough. Just one of them was a match for even the strongest knights.”

The King walked over to his throne and sat down. His skin paled, and his eyes were wide, he covered his mouth with his hand. The threat of the situation weighed down on him. “Whatever you need on your journey...just take it.”

Amalia kneeled to the king, put her arm across and shoulder. “Thank you, your highness. I will make haste.”