"Ogres."Erin looked at the camp in front of her. There were more than fifty ogres, gathered around a few bonfires. Sizzling meat from different beasts was put close to the fire, as the ogres salivated. A few wooden cages with orcs, goblins, boars and other species were put to the side. Their inhabitants were silent, watching with terrified eyes the scene in front of them.
Five ogres were watching over them, with clubs in their hands, watching the prisoners with hungry eyes. A roar from the middle of the camp echoed in the surroundings. It came from a two-headed ogre, probably the leader. One of the ogres that were guarding their prey stepped forward, inspecting the cages. All the creatures shuddered from its gaze.
Finally, its eyes settled on a boar and the ogre opened the cage, reaching with its hand. The boar"s whole body was trembling. Looking at the hand that reached for it, its legs gave up and it collapsed on the ground. The ogre squeezed its hand around the boar, breaking its bones with ease.
The smell of blood was strong, even from where Erin was watching. She gulped, trying to suppress her instinct for pouncing forward. She hadn"t eaten anything for a whole day and it was already night.
"Should I kill the leader first or start from the closest one?" Erin wasn"t sure. If the leader died, how would the other ogres react? She squinted her eyes, trying to make a decision.
"I will start with the leader." Making up her mind, Erin merged with the darkness. Shadows neared slowly the two-headed ogre. Erin"s hunger grew stronger, as the strong smell of blood surrounded her. She reached for the leader and attacked immediately, her nails targeting the left head.
A crisp sound of shattering gla.s.s was all that was heard. There was a barrier protecting the ogre, shattering from the impact of the attack.
"ROAR!"
Without delay, a club was swung in her direction. She once again merged with the shadows, evading the attack. All the ogres were now tense, with their clubs ready in hand. They looked around, trying to find the enemy.
"^%$#^%^& &^$%$^& %&&^"
The two-headed ogre started to chant, a transparent barrier once again flickered around it. Erin spread out her shadows and restricted five ogres. Without delay, she pounced on one of them, her teeth sank in its flesh.
"Slurp-"
The blood filled her mouth, as she fell in trance from the intoxication. She drank as much as she could, while other ogres rushed in and swung their weapons at her. The clubs pa.s.sed through her body, hitting the ogre, as shadows scattered everywhere. The attackers paused, clearly confused.
Erin emerged from the shadows, swinging her nails at the calf of another one. Blood splashed as the ogre lost balance and fell to the ground. Erin pounced on it and stabbed its neck. Clubs once again descended on top of her, pa.s.sing through her body, as the corpse on the ground turned into meat pulp.
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"ROAR!"
One of the ogres swung its club in all directions, trying to hit the invader. The others looked at it and soon joined, swinging all around. The whole camp became a mess, every ogre attacking in random directions with their fists, legs or clubs.
"%^&*&(&(^* #%^%^$^ %$%^*)"
The chants started once again, as the two-headed ogre brought its hands together. A light started to gather and with a shout, it dispersed in the surroundings, illuminating everything. Erin"s silhouette emerged next to an ogre, as she pounced on its back and tore through its skin. The slurping sound once again echoed through the camp.
"^*%&*"
The two-headed ogre brought its hands together, chanting. Fireb.a.l.l.s started to shoot through the air in Erin"s direction. She jumped off her prey, escaping from the fireb.a.l.l.s. An ogre tried to intercept her, throwing its fist forward. Erin twisted her body, evading the fist. She stretched her hands and her nails dug in the ogre"s arm.
With swift movements, she neared the leader, preparing to strike at him. Lyse"s b.l.o.o.d.y figure flashed in her mind and she blanked out for a moment. That was enough for the ogre to hit her with its other fist, sending her to the ground.
*Thud!*
Erin coughed out blood, dazed from the hit. Two clubs entered her vision, only a moment before they would hit. She concentrated all her power in her legs and kicked up with all her might, evading the attack at the last moment and stepping to the side.
Another ogre tried to step on her. while Erin was off-balance. She twisted her body and wrapped her hands around the leg, digging with her nails.
"Roar!"
The ogre flung its leg forward, sending Erin to the air once again. Her wings grew and she tried to stabilize herself. A few fireb.a.l.l.s. .h.i.t her at the back, making her gasp from pain. Sweat started to pour out of her forehead as the blood leaked from the left side of her lips. She licked the blood and looked at the two-headed ogre. The light was still illuminating the surroundings.
"Let"s see how far can I go with my shadows. " She took a deep breath and squinted her eyes.
"Domain"
Darkness started to spread from Erin, keeping her at the center. All the light from the magic and torches was swallowed by it. Everything became silent at that moment. The creatures in the cages started to tremble, not able to stay calm anymore. The ogres were walking randomly, b.u.mping into each other and hitting at random. They even started to fight amongst themselves.
Only Erin could see everything. She looked back at the two-headed ogre, which tried to cast another spell. Not giving it time, she accelerated like a shot arrow and pierced through the barrier directly to its heart with her nails. The ogre shuddered and started to fall back.
There was no sound when it crashed on the ground. Erin pounced on the corpse and started drinking its blood. It was even sweeter than the rest of the ogres. She lost herself in it, trying to savor the taste until the last drop.
Going back to her senses, she looked around. More shadows started to emerge from her, restricting ten of the ogres. She once again pounced forward, killing any ogre that she could see. Blood rained upon the ground, as she lost herself in the ma.s.sacre.
In a few minutes, more than twenty ogres were already dead. The darkness started to fade, as the shadows returned to her. Erin licked her lips, hungry for more blood. She pounced once again, shadows spreading out and restricting the ogres that tried to resist.
In less than thirty minutes, she managed to kill all of them. The smell of blood was all over the place. Only the creatures in the cages were still alive. She looked at them and their bodies shuddered. She could even hear a few whimpers.
"When did I became like this" She surveyed the surroundings once again, but there was no guilt or fear from what she had done. It was like second nature to her now. This month in the forest had brought her a lot of pain, but she also trained her mind, trying to be merciless.
"Richard was right from the start. Only the strongest can survive." She started walking towards the cages, her steps silent. A boar lost the strength in its legs and fell to the ground. A goblin started to punch the other side of its cage, trying to make a hole and run away.
Erin hesitated. Should she kill them too or not? She wasn"t a killer, but the prey she could hunt only decreased with every pa.s.sing day. That was a problem.
"Hmm, I guess I can stay for a few days here. At least" I won"t starve." Though she was thinking about that, the smell was too irritating even for her. She looked at her clothes, only to realize that they were covered in blood, with holes at some places.
"Hmm, I should wash first and change my clothes. Then I will make a camp near this place. I can"t stand the smell." Thinking about it, she looked once more to the creatures in the cages.
"Well, they won"t be able to run away." She turned around and spread her wings, flying into the depths of the forest. Her silhouette disappeared in the mist.