After announcing his intent to slay the monster responsible for the unspeakable act of savagery that had tainted the honor of his nation, King Rodriguez paraded through the streets of his nation’s capital to much fanfare. Flower petals were tossed into the air by the common folk and fell down upon him and his entourage like the rain. Banners were hung from every surface possible and fluttered in the breeze as the procession made its way from the castle to the massive cathedral that had only just been finished but a few short months ago.

It had been a labor of love that had taken centuries to finish, with each successive king adding their own ideas to the cathedral. Now, in his reign, it was finally complete. He and his knights dismounted their horses before the massive monument’s gates and removed their headgear as they walked into the brightly lit supersized church. They all knelt before the largest statue to the Goddess outside of the Holy City itself and the Archbishop herself anointed them with sacred oils and said prayers to the Goddess to beseech Her to lend Her divine aid in the fight to come.

The day was passed with prayers and rituals, and the King and his men slept within the sacred temple to further bless themselves with the unlimited power of their Goddess. Come morning, they continued their parade through the rest of the capital before exiting it and making for the nearest town on the way towards the destroyed town and fort. The trip was uneventful, save for the unseasonably large amount of mosquitoes, fleas and ticks that seemed to only increase in number as they moved towards their destination. By the time they arrived there, they had to constantly cast spells just to hold off the massive swarms of parasitic bugs that seemed to be everywhere.

As they entered the farmlands that bordered the town that they sought to seek the monster’s trail in, they noticed that the place was silent like the grave. It was so unnervingly quiet that many felt uneasy even though their blessed equipment and divine favor should protect them from the monsters that may lurk in the ruined settlement and stronghold.

The signs of a massacre grew more and more pronounced as they drew closer to the actual town itself and passed through the outlying areas. The scent of death still hung in the air as well as the iron-like smell of blood. Worse yet, the mangled and dismembered bodies of those who sought to escape the town during the horror that afflicted it grew in number as they neared the town gate.

The town gate itself could only be opened from the inside, and whatever stuck this place had made its way in without siege equipment and forced its victims to open the gate and run in terror. Once the king and his entourage crossed the threshold and entered the town, they nearly passed out due to the horrible stench of rotting flesh and exposed innards. The structures in the town itself were in a terrible state, as if giant spears had torn buildings apart by stabbing from above while massive claws sent debris flying. The signs of something massive being dragged through town also raised alarms. Whatever they were going to be hunting was big… really big. However, the path that the massive beast had dragged itself along stopped a little bit from the outside of the town, as if it had been lifted from the ground or had teleported.

The king and his men began a search for survivors, a task that was not made any easier due to the swarming bugs that almost obscured their view. A few Fire Magic spells were enough to push the mass of biting bugs away momentarily, but as soon as the coast was clear they swarmed the humans once again. Were it not for the enchantments made on the fly by one of their mages, the bugs would have latched on and attempted to drain them dry.

…

“This is going nowhere…” bemoaned one of the King’s men as he shifted the rubble around to try and find anyone who could have survived the attack. He was just about to give up any hope of finding someone when he heard a small and faint voice from underneath a pile of debris.

“hHelP… mE…”

“Ah! Everyone, there is a survivor here! Help me rescue them!” the knight cried as he desperately tried to pull away more of the ruined structure. Soon, more men and even the King himself came to aid in the effort, and slowly they uncovered a pocket in which the survivor was buried. They could not see that person as the day had dragged on too long and twilight ruled the world. The shadows in the pocket further obscured the victim from view, but they could hear the raspy breathing of a person in there.

“Come out. We are of the One True Faith. We will not harm you. We are here to rescue you.”

“So mUch paIN… So vERY….”

“So very what?”

“HUnGrY!!!!!”

The small cavern made of debris exploded and something utterly inhuman jumped out. It bit down on the neck of the closest knight and grabbed him with its insect-like claws as it skittered away from the rest of the humans on insectoid legs. Its jaws were a mix of exposed human teeth without the protection of the lips and a set of tick-like mandibles that further held the unwilling meal in place.

“By the Goddess! Kill it! Kill it with fire!” shouted the King, much to the surprise of his men.

“But, my liege! Antonio is still in its grasp! That would certainly kill him!”

“Look at him and tell me that killing him now along with that monster won’t be a mercy!” the King retorted. It was true, the monster was gnawing into his neck while using Blood Magic to keep Antonio alive as long as possible. The insect-human monster seemed to take a twisted delight in making its prey suffer as it not only tortured Antonio with its merciless assault on his neck but also by gripping him so tightly with its claws that it broke through the armor he was wearing and punctured his skin.

The mages prepared their [Fireball] spells and launched them as the monster and its hostage. The monster was so invested in torturing its victim that it did not notice the orbs of flame until it was too late to act. The [Fireball]s impacted, and the monster let out an inhuman shriek that made everyone cower for a moment. The creature then dropped the burning body of Antonio and skittered away from the rest of the men as the magical flames continued to sear its mix of flesh and insectoid exoskeleton.

“Follow it!” Rodriguez yelled as he whistled and summoned his steed to him. As the royal posse mounted their horses and chased after the screeching monster, they noticed that the terrain became filled with more and more bodies. Unlike the ones in the town, these were not mangled and dismembered. These bodies appeared to have been mummified by something draining every last bit of fluid from them before casting them aside like refuse.

“But what about the fort, sir?” one of the knights asked his king.

“We will investigate it after we kill this demon! Vamonos! We must catch it before it gets away! This is the will of the Goddess Lumina herself! We must slay this devil-spawn and send it back to the Hells that spawned it!”

Accepting that their king knew best, the band of not-so-merry men raced after the creature and witnessed it enter a massive cave. They tried to ride in after it, but for some reason their horses simply refused to go any further.

“Bah! Then we shall continue the hunt on foot! The Goddess is with us, and I will reward whomsoever brings me the beast’s head with the rank of Duke!”

The knights were surprised by this proclamation as it was unheard of for a high noble rank to be bestowed so simply, but they were not going to let this opportunity pass them by. They mirrored their king and dismounted, grasping their shields and swords and walking into the poorly lit cavern.

As they walked deeper into the abyssal darkness, the few priests that were with them used the spell [Lumen Sphere] to create orbs of harmless light that illuminated their surroundings. However, it would probably have been better for their psyches if they had not seen what was around them. Piles of bodies, each drained into a mummified state, were all along the sides of the cave. The posse gagged at the sight but kept walking deeper into the cave of horrors.

Occasionally they would catch glimpses of large forms scurrying just out of the range on the [Lumen Sphere]s, but they pressed onwards as the magical trace of the beast they were hunting was just ahead. They eventually traveled more than seven miles into the cave before the monster they were after stopped trying to flee. Its signal was so very close, they just needed to get a little closer and-.

Suddenly, the signal ceased after it had quickly risen in elevation. The men advanced with growing apprehension and eventually discovered that the area that the signal had disappeared in was a massive interior space that ended higher than the [Lumen Sphere]s were able illuminate. Likewise, the center of the arena-like space was not visible. The eerie silence was deafening, but the knights and their king advanced into the arena-like interior space. Suddenly, a figure dropped down from the ceiling and gently landed in front of the monarch and his guards/hunting buddies.

The person was a woman whose imposing height towered over the humans before her. Her skin was so pale that there was no other word to describe it save for simply ‘white’. Her slivery hair flowed down her back and in her front, it formed four drill-curls with two on each side. The clothing she wore was a ball gown that was colored black, red and purple and in her right hand she held an ornate folding fan that was the same colors as her dress. The fan was unfolded and hid the lower portion of her face, and from behind it the malicious and sultry giggles of a predator toying with its prey filled the air like miasma.

“Vampire! Prepare for-!”

The king did not even get to finish his words before the sound of something massive moving just out of sight silenced him. The vampire woman lifted her left hand to be level with her mouth and snapped her dainty fingers. The area they were in lit up with an omnipresent but dim light and the humans beheld something that very nearly shattered their minds.

A colossal monstrosity that looked like the macabre fusion of a once beautiful damsel and a massive insect stared down upon them and its gargantuan maw opened, revealing rows upon rows of razor-sharp fangs and a large proboscis-like tongue. The King and his men stood in terrified awe of the hideous abomination that slowly pulled its swollen abdomen along the ground and only snapped out of their terror-fueled stupor when the twisted and hellish nightmare beast lashed out its tongue and stabbed one of the knights with it. The beast drained the poor man dry in moments before using its tongue to fling the man to the side.

“Goddess forgive us, but we can’t win! Run! Run away! Fly, you fools! We are no match!”

No one was sure who said what they all were thinking, but they all agreed with the words. They, those who sought to prove their worth and slaughter a demon and go down in legends, ran away with their tails between their legs. The vampiress let out laughter fit for an otome game villainess and watched the broken men run for their pathetic lives. To her, the fun was just beginning.