Chapter Two

Victor shot up from his seat. “Come on, let’s take a look outside.”

Duncan nodded. Without a word, he tossed a few coins to the bartender and then grabbed Victor by the scuff of his cloak. Together they made their way to the entrance. They were barely fifteen feet from it when it burst open and in came a Fildebrand soldier. The man’s helmet had been ripped apart despite being made from pure steel and blood had splattered all over the soldier’s chest plate. 

“Run! Everybody run!” the soldier screamed. He barely got to say another word when a reptilian beast snatched him in its jaws and ripped his torso apart. The beast was at least eight feet tall when on all four limbs and stood even taller when on its hind legs. Its tail was another five feet in length and its claws looked sharp enough to tear through metal.

The beast snarled at the people inside the tavern and then leaped inside. It pounced on an old man right a few feet away from Duncan and started ripping into the man’s guts.

At that moment, all chaos broke loose. People in the tavern started running in every direction, with some people breaking through the windows to escape. Others sought safety inside the tavern, tucking underneath the tables or behind the bar. A few ran to the rooms upstairs and to the storage areas in the basement. 

A window shattered and two other beasts burst inside. They immediately attacked and began chomping down on anyone they came across.

“What the heck was that?” Victor turned to Duncan and asked with raw fear on his face.

“That… that was a crystal beast… from the Abyss!” Duncan replied. “H-how did it get up here? They never go to the surface!”

Victor pulled Duncan to the side and they hid behind a pillar. “I don’t know how they got here but I do know one thing. We’re going to die if we stay inside. Those creatures will rip through anything in their path. Outside, we might have a chance.”

“You’re right. Come on,” Duncan replied. He then pointed to the front entrance. “The one that came through the door is busy. If we run now, we can make it to the city’s Eastside barracks. We need to get a weapon if we’re going to make a run for the castle.”

Victor frowned. “Didn’t you say Valerie’s there right now?”

Duncan nodded. “We can knock two birds with one stone: we can save her and get weapons. We can then all head to the castle with a military escort.”

“Sounds good to me,” Victor said. He then peeked behind the pillar. “There’s two by the far side. One’s still too close to the door.”

“I got that handled,” Duncan answered as he grabbed a stool. “It won’t hurt it but this should be enough to distract it long enough for us to make a run for it.”

Victor’s face scrunched with doubt. “This is a bad idea.”

“Yeah, we got no time to think about that,” Duncan shot back before he leaped out from behind the pillar and threw the stool right at the reptilian beast. The wooden seat shattered upon impact and shards flew in every direction. It didn’t seem to harm the beast but it was enough of a surprise to knock the beast backward.

“Run!” Duncan commanded and the duo made a mad dash for the exit. 

Victor didn’t need to be told twice. They ran as quickly as they could. Neither of them turned around but they did hear the hiss of the crystal beast as it regained its footing and started chasing after them.

As soon as they reached the city streets, both paused for a moment as they realized just how chaotic things had gotten outside the tavern. There were beasts everywhere, invading every house and building. Civilians were panicking and soldiers were trying but failing to get people to safety. 

It wasn’t just the chaos that made Duncan pause. There were also soldiers from the Empire of Holn’neart too. How and why was the enemy inside the city? 

“Don’t stand there!” Duncan screamed as he pushed Victor to the side, just in time as the beast chasing them tried to pounce on them. “Go!”

Victor rushed to get up and he grabbed Duncan by the arm. They dashed down the street, heading East. As they continued to run, they passed by several beasts already engaged with soldiers. There were a few houses on fire and the city alarm could be heard blasting in all directions. This was accompanied by the sound of weapons clashing and the screams of people being attacked.

“Victor!” Duncan screamed as he saw a beast pounce towards them. 

Victor instinctively ducked and fortunately, he did so in time to avoid being attacked. The monster passed right over him and slammed against a house’s stone wall. 

Duncan dashed towards a dead soldier and grabbed a short sword. He then threw it at Victor. “Here, grab this!”

Victor turned around to catch the sword. He then faced the beast which prepared to launch another attack. He stepped forward, slashed not to kill but to gauge distance, and the beast stepped back. Gaining a bit of confidence, Victor then lunged forward with a thrust. The monster swiped the attack away and tried to retaliate with a tail swipe. However, Victor rolled under the attack and then made a quick slash at the monster’s leg. Dark blue blood oozed out and the beast roared in anger.

“Victor!”

Victor looked up to see Duncan slamming his shoulder against the monster. This pushed the beast back against the wall. Duncan then took a step back and revealed he had another sword in hand. Before the monster could attack, Duncan thrust his blade and pierced the beast’s chest. He then twisted the sword and sliced through the monster’s abdomen. Its guts spilled out onto the ground and it died with a violent shake.

“They can kill us with a single slash,” Duncan said as he paused to catch his breath. He then started running again and Victor rushed to stay by his side. “But, we can kill them too. Let’s just plan this well and always be on the alert.”

“How far are we?” Victor asked as they passed a bridge that spanned over a small creek. 

Duncan pointed to a small compound. There were tall walls that surrounded a lone tower and two two-story buildings. “Just over the hill. It’s that complex over there.”

“Great. Come on!” Victor exclaimed as they ran on. 

Duncan took the lead and they sprinted with all their might. As they approached, he noticed that the barracks were in a busy state. There were soldiers on the walls, manning the giant ballistae on each corner. Multiple companies were running out of the gates, fully armed and ready to fight.

He then spotted his sister, right in the middle of the open gates, screaming commands at the different soldiers. Even from a distance,  he recognized her long ashen hair and the beautiful white and blue robe that she often wore. Duncan took Victor straight to her.

“What are you doing here, Harvester?” his sister asked.

Duncan pulled off his cloak and revealed his face to her. She looked confused and shocked. “It’s me. I’m with Victor Rothenberg of Utharon.”

Victor pulled off his hood and greeted Valerie with a wave.

“He’s the one father arranged me to marry?” Valerie asked. She then looked at Victor and gave a nod of acknowledgment. “I apologize for my rashness. You two are covered in blood; I should’ve been more concerned with your well-being. I recall seeing you hanging out with my brother when we visited Utharon, however, I was unavailable to spend time with you. I hope we can address that issue once we’ve settled this chaos.”

Duncan raised a finger in question. “That does remind me, sister. Why are the monsters attacking us now? Why are there Imperials in the city?”

Valerie pointed to the city’s main gate, which stood nearly a mile away from the barracks. “Our brother was leading the vanguard against the Imperials when the beasts suddenly attacked. Everyone panicked, Fildebrand soldiers and Imperials alike. There was no time for people to sort things out. People just ran and the monsters made their way here. As to how or why they escaped the Abyss, I still have no clue.”

Victor sighed. “Well, let’s not stand around here to find out. We need to get back to the castle.”

Valerie shot him an angry glare and then stomped her foot down. “No.”

“No?” Duncan looked at his sister in confusion. “What?”

“Brother, look around you,” Valerie explained as she pointed to the chaos all around them. “Monsters have invaded the city. Imperials are all around us, panicking just like our own people. As members of the royal family, it is our responsibility to set things right and protect them, enemies and allies alike.”

Duncan gazed around him. There was a slight tremor in his chest as he realized the weight of her words. She wasn’t wrong — these were his people, after all. Even though the Imperials were their enemies, it didn’t sit well with Duncan to leave them defenseless against monsters that didn’t recognize the difference between the citizens of the two nations.

He nodded and looked at his sister. “Right. What’s the plan?”

She pointed to the main gates. “We need to deliver this cart of explosives to the front gates. There are too many monsters coming in. We’ll be overrun if we don’t slow them down so there’s no other choice but to —”

“— blow the gates down,” Victor finished. “That’s a risky move because it’ll lock us all in here but I see your point.”

Duncan then pointed to a small cart. On it was a mechanical device about as large as one of the monsters. It was hooked up to a bunch of glowing blue crystals. “Is this the explosive?”

Valerie nodded. She then called out to four different soldiers. “You four. You’re with us. I need two others to pull on the cart. We’re taking this bomb to the front gates.

“Yes, Your Highness,” the soldiers answered in unison. It didn’t take them long to get organized. Two soldiers started pulling and four others surrounded the cart. Valerie, Victor, and Duncan ran alongside it.

“Double time!” Valerie commanded. The soldiers complied with no complaint. 

“Two beasts on the roofs, portside flank!” Victor shouted when he spotted two reptilian figures chasing after them. The monsters were running on the rooftops.

Duncan looked up. “They’re gaining on us!”

One of the soldiers unsheathed his sword and stood his ground. “Get going! I’ll hold them off!”

The rest of the group continued to run. Duncan took one glance back and saw the soldier charge toward the two beasts that started scaling down the walls. Before long, the soldier was out of his line of sight. He could hear the sounds of battle but this was quickly drowned out by the rest of the chaos erupting in the city.

“That was quick,” Victor shouted. “Those ugly things found us already.”

“We broke off from the larger group,” Valerie replied. “We’re an easier target.”

That made sense to Duncan. He wasn’t sure if the crystal beasts had any sort of sentience. Valerie would know but Duncan wasn’t one to study anything about the monsters from the Abyss. That said, even for monsters that survive solely on instinct, picking out prey separated from a large group was the most logical choice of action. 

Unfortunately, that meant there would be more on their tail.

Duncan looked around as they continued to run. They were a lot slower due to the cargo they had but the whole city was on fire. Not a lot of people even noticed them running down the streets. 

Fortunately, they didn’t have to run that far. The gates were only another block away. Duncan felt a sudden sense of relief as he could see the hundreds of people already there. There were even Imperial soldiers helping out, guiding civilians to safer spots. At this point, there was no distinction between a Fildebrand soldier and an Imperial. They were all being hunted by these monsters.

“We’re almost there!” Valerie shouted. “Come on, men, pull this thing! We need to stop those things from flooding into the city!”

“Yes, Your Highness!” the soldiers shouted in unison, and with a final hurrah, they moved a little faster, sprinting with all their might. 

“We can do this,” Duncan told Victor as they ran. “Just a little more.”

“Yeah,” Victor replied. “We still have to worry about defending the spot while Valerie sets this thing up. Once those beasts figure out what we’re doing, I’m sure they won’t just sit around and wait for us to blow their plans and —”

Everyone came to a sudden halt as the city shook with a quick, sudden tremor. It was then followed by another a few moments later. Then there was a third, louder and stronger.

The soldiers looked at Valerie. She, in turn, looked at Victor and Duncan.

“What was that?” Victor asked.

Valerie shook her head. “I’ve never heard of these beasts causing tremors. Could it be some sort of Imperial weapon?”

“Now would be the right time for them to attack,” Duncan stated. “We’re exposed now with the vanguard out and the whole city being attacked by monsters. It’s a logical assumption.”

Victor grabbed Duncan by the head. His hand was shaking violently. Duncan wasn’t sure if it was fear or anger but it was a sensation that didn’t sit well with him. 

“Look!” Victor screamed.

“What?” 

Victor forcefully turned Duncan’s head to look at the side of the gates. Duncan squinted to look but he quickly discovered what it was that got Victor panicking. He opened his mouth to scream but he couldn’t hear his own voice over Valerie and the soldiers’ shouts. 

Barging through the gate was a monster that stood at least forty feet high. It didn’t look like any of the reptilian creatures already in the city. This was built like a barrel, almost ape-like, with long and muscular arms. Its fur shone like silver and its fists were as large as a carriage. 

“What the hell is that?” Duncan asked.

Valerie fell to her knees. Tears were beginning to flow down her eyes. “That’s… that’s an Ogre Beast.”

“An ogre?” Victor repeated, confused. “How are we supposed to stop it? It’s as big as a tower.”

“We don’t,” one of the soldiers answered. “Harvesters avoid ogres at all cost when they go down the Abyss. Dozens of people have encountered these things down there… but no one has survived long enough to defeat one.”

Duncan gripped his sword and stood in confident defiance. “No. We’re going to kill it. We have a powerful explosive. Maybe we can knock another bird with the same stone.”

“What do you mean, brother?” Valerie asked.

Duncan pointed to the gates. “Let’s get this bomb there, where you can set it up. Victor and I will round up the soldiers and keep that ogre busy. Once we’re all set, detonate it to kill that thing, block the gates, and stop more of the smaller beasts from coming in.”

“How are we supposed to go up against that thing?” another soldier asked.

Duncan shook his head. “We’re not trying to kill it with our swords. Remember that. We just need to keep it distracted long enough for Valerie to do her thing.”

“That sounds like a plan to me,” Victor told Duncan.

“We’re with you all the way, Your Highness,” a soldier followed up.

Duncan gave a reassuring nod and then started running forward. “Let’s go kill an ogre.”