Debauchery of a Soul-Eating Wraith

The beast clenched and Zayda struggled even more with both her hands trying to pry the large digits away from her throat so it no longer constricted her windpipe.

And then, she stopped.

She took a hand off the beast's digits. With a flick of her wrist, she retrieved a sword from her Spatial ring, and with a *Shwing* sound, the blade flashed and cut clean through the Beast's wrist.

"ARRRGGGHHHH!!!"

As the Beast let out a pained yell, its detached hand that was still around Zayda's neck, melted into grey mist and allowed the Squad Commander to gasp as she took in a big gulp of air while rubbing her neck to mitigate the soreness.

She looked up at her Beastly opponent and saw it no longer yelled or hunched over in pain. In fact, it stretched its stump of a hand forward and it bubbled and oozed until another large hand replaced the one it just lost.

"You'll pay for that!" It said with a sneer, "Oh you WILL PAY!!!"

The beast punched out, Zayda sidestepped and managed to avoid getting knocked off balance as she swung her sword and cut a gash in the back of the large hand in an attempt to parry away a fist swing.

The Beast drew back its hand and brought it down to clobber Zayda to death but again, she reacted swiftly and expertly moved out of the way before cutting in behind the Beast's arm reach, her focus and eventual target being the massive abdomen.

She hoped to cut a long vertical gash and spill out whatever sort of insides the beast had but that failed as she was smacked across the side of the face by a large backhand that sent her sailing away and crashing into roaming beasts which she crushed immediately with her exuded might.

It was hard for anyone to pay attention to what Zayda was going through but the Kalkoa Knight Captains grinned with joy at the closing of the portal.

Never had such happened.

It was always a continuous, never-ending battle of wave after wave of Beasts until the first rays of sunlight broke through the clouds.

Usually, those battling would have to retreat for a well-needed break while those so far stationed in the Baron's Manor would step out to take over. That transition was never smooth and more often than not, Beast waves would break free and manage to ransack the city, but today, for once, that did not look like it would be the case.

The numbers they had to clear finally appeared finite for once and even as they battled, they secretly rejoiced and their battle senses faltered.

Evian's battle senses and intent, however, were at an all-time high.

Already, over two hundred Beasts had fallen to his Spear but that was not enough... With the massive exchange rate that awaited, he wanted- No, needed more. Alas, he could not help but get distracted by the ruckus Zayda was causing with her battle against the large Beast.

"I wonder how many Quasi-Eldritch Essence I could get from that thing," he mumbled.

*Sksh*

Ember stabbed a Beast before it could sink its claws into him and then she gave him a playful glare,

"Evian, focus," she cautioned.

"Yes, of course," Evian told her before his eyes widened as his sense picked up an incoming projectile. He wrapped an arm around Ember's waist and while her eyes widened at such a sudden move, Evian moved them out of the way so Zayda didn't collide with them on her impactful sail over.

*Bang!*

"Ahh, Fuck!" Zayda said as she got to her knees, and raised a hand to wipe the blood that trailed down the side of her mouth, "Bastard packs a mean punch."

"Commander, need any help?" Ember asked with an enthusiastic blinking of her eyes.

Zayda shook her head with a smile,

"No, you'll only get in the way," she said, "I've got this."

Her body flickered and she was suddenly only a foot away from the Beast, avoiding yet another blow with a boastful cackle,

"Too slow!"

She pushed up in a jump and connected a punch to the Beast's horrific misshapen jaw.

*Bam!*

"Ack!"

The blow caused the beast to stagger and while in the air, with grace and a presence of mind that could only come from experience, Zayda spun and swung her sword, aiming to cut through the Beast's neck.

Unfortunately, she failed as the Beast, even while staggered and lacking in equilibrium, placed an arm over his neck and had it cut through instead, resulting in a stump that healed the moment Zayda's feet were back on the ground.

"Your neck," Zayda said confidently, "You protected your neck like you haven't protected any other part of your body. That's good to know.

I'll end this now!"

Meanwhile,

Evian let go of Ember's waist and together, they squared off against the swarm of Beasts around them.

"Ngh," Ember let out as she decapitated two more Beasts only for even more to get close and as she swung to kill another, she let out a tired wheeze that caused Evian to look at her with concern.

She saw that.

"I'm fine," she told him through gritted teeth.

"Just get behind me,"

"I said I'm fine," Ember insisted.

"I didn't say you weren't," Evian said as he stepped towards her and charged his Spear with Eldritch energy before unleashing it in a massive wave that struck Beasts, killing most and pushing others back enough to, once again, give him and Ember space to breathe.

"You could do with a little rest," Evian told her softly, and with multiple breaths aimed at calming herself, Ember nodded in agreement,

"Okay," she said, "You're right."

As they allowed themselves a moment of respite before they were swarmed again, Zayda's beastly opponent raised its head and sniffed at a presence -an energy- it had felt.

"*Growl* That scent... That Feel... Haaa, I feel it--"

"How dare you look away when I'm facing you?" Zayda asked angrily as she made a move for the neck- The weakness she had just identified, but then her opponent tensed and pounced, showcasing a level of speed one would not have expected of it considering its massive size.

Evian's senses warned him...

His reflexes moved him...

But he was still too slow.

The best he could do was shove Ember aside to safety and as the clawed beastly fist came at him, he instinctively used Wraithic Phasing but of course, a construct that could physically contend against Zayda was immune to Evian's current phasing limit.

The Beast's fist ignored Evian's phasing and closed around his neck to hold him in place,

"You- You wield the energy of death, I have felt it- I have seen it-" the Beast said in a low voice thick with intensity, "You- You are not human, are you?"

Evian simply glared.

Although the beast's hold of his neck was steely and seemed unbreakable, it was not so tight as to affect his ability to speak, Evian just decided not to.

Rather, he raised one hand not holding his Spear, and pointed it at the Beast as he cast the Whiron Barbed Spear spell and thrust it into the Beast's large body, forcing it to burrow deep and unleash its torturous feel.

"Haha," the Beast let out in a malevolent cackle, "You remain quiet but have already answered my inquiry. Your spell has no effect on me though...

... You are weak."

*Shwing*

The sound, just like before, came along with Zayda's sword swing that cut off the Beast's hand at the wrist, rendering it a useless stump while Evian was set free.

"Your fight is with me!" Zayda said with a sneer as she stood between Evian and the Beast, her sword pointed at it menacingly.

"Bitch! Step aside!" the Beast yelled as it created another hand and swung at Zayda's face.

She didn't move away...

*Bam!*

... She met the fist hit her own spiritual energy and pressure-reinforced punch in an impactful contact that sent shockwaves all around.

The Beast kept pushing, Zayda allowed herself to be slid back a few steps before she pushed as hard as she could against the large fist and then pushed it to the side until it hit the ground with an impactful *Dunn!*.

Then she twirled her sword expertly, stabbed it into the arm, and kept on slicing as she ran towards the Beast's large body.

*Swoosh*

She ran faster than the Beast could react or pull away, slicing the arm all the way until she got close enough to jump, pulling her sword out of the arm as she did so she could stab it into the Beast's throat.

"Ack- Get off me Bitc- Oomph!"

A well-placed blow to the injured jaw forced the Beast's mouth shut and as it staggered, Zayda swarmed it with an impactful slam of her pressure, forcing it to fall on its back.

*BANG!*

Zayda landed on its chest and swiftly delivered the final blow- A swing that sliced the Beast's throat wide open in a wound it apparently could not heal.

"Ack- Fu-- You!-- Damn... It..."

Those were the last sounds the Beast managed to produce as its massive body began to flake into the Greyish shadow that composed its form.

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