◈ Chapter 101:

After recovering for a moment Rain crawled to his feet, a paw moving to his broken ribs as the motion sent slivers of agony across his body.

 

He looked around. 

 

The Orcs in the stands were still distracted, the blast wave from the first skill empowered hammer strike had caused chaos and many of the low levelers had been hit hard, dazed and confused.

 

As it was the crowd’s blood lust had momentarily abated. 

 

He couldn’t ask for a better moment to escape. He quickly searched out Lyra and Opal but they were nowhere to be seen. It appeared they had already taken advantage of the chaos and vanished, or at least that's what he very much hoped had happened. 

 

That only left himself. He turned, looking for where the least number of Orcs were, trying to see an easy avenue of escape

 

Unfortunately, not every Orc had been stunned or sent reeling by the blast wave. Four lithe and muscular Orcs were descending into the arena, unslinging weapons and shields. They glanced between each other and an obvious agreement went unsaid: they would share this kill.

 

“Don't suppose you’d want to make this fair and let me heal first?” gravelled Rain eyeing the four.

 

“Take care, this is one is slippery and sneaky as a rat unlike his size suggests.” spoke one with a copper ring pierced nose.

 

Rain couldn't deny that. Especially when he’d already pushed a shadowy centipede or two into the sand. 

 

The four spread out and neared. Weapons held out at sides, cutlasses and axes and broad swords, weapons well used in the professional killing of monsters. 

 

The nose ringed one suddenly dashed forward, putting on an impressive turn of speed, the sand showering behind him as he came down the slope. The larger shadow duplicates of Rain’s paws reformed above Rain’s own and he raised them to defend against the strike.

 

The cutlass rang against the scythe claws, the dark holding strong against the blow, nothing compared to the anvil hammer. With a grunt Rain pushed forward and shoved the Orc back in the same motion wolf teeth billowed from his mane and flew snapping forward. 

 

The Orc danced backwards, surprisingly nimble, his boots finding firm footing on the sloping sand. With a slash hack slash of his cutlass the wolf teeth were gasified, a smirk on the Orc’s face as though he had been well prepared for this attack.

 

Rain stepped forward intending to end the Orc in that moment but then he cried out, his spine arcing in agony as a broadsword pierce his lower back. He twisted around, striking out, but the Orc who had snuck around and stabbed him was already gone, darting away as soon as he had hit home.

 

The ring nosed one took the opportunity and his cutlass drew a bloody line up Rain’s leg as he turned. He roared in frustration, twisting back and lashing out, nearly catching the swift Orc.

 

“Hah. Greedy of Tamriel and Rugnor to try such a beast alone, this is how things should have been done from the start. Oh well, their loss our gain.”

 

One of the Orcs pulled a javelin from his back and threw it with a grunt, Rain lifted his paws and the thing shattered against his dark claws, splinters stabbing between the scythes. He flinched back and heard the sand move behind. This time he had set his own trap however.

 

He willed the centipede to lunge and he heard a cry. Quickly turning he found the centipede disappointingly pinned, a sword point through its head. One of the Orcs gave him a shaky look, his face pale.

 

“Fucker almost got me!”

 

“I told yah, keep an eye on the sand, it’s got that weird monster magic!”

 

Rain stumbled forward with a cry as a second thrown javelin took him in the back, the metal tipped point sinking into his flesh. His paw shaking, he reached behind and managed to wrench it free. It had gone deep, not even his especially tough flesh protecting him. The sand was quickly becoming glossy red with blood.

 

This situation was bad, very bad. As soon as he turned on one Orc another would attack him from his blind spot, and his injuries meant his speed and movement was badly limited, even lifting his arm was agony, he was just too slow. In the end it seemed that these four would be the ones to kill him, finishing off what Rugnor and Tamriel had started. 

 

It couldn't end like this. Not after everything that had happened, to fall to these opportunistic Orcs ganging up on him when he was weak… But then wasn’t that the fate of every monster? To be cornered in some dungeon corridor and brutally stabbed and beaten to death by levelers, either outnumbered or outpowered.

 

Four high levelers against one injured monster was a death sentence for the monster, that was obvious. Something needed to change.

 

A longsword swung through the air, the Orc bellowing a war cry as he leapt, the blade striking down at Rain’s back, the cruel tactic repeated yet again.

 

But then, dark rippled from his back, a bulging form quickly taking shape, a long leg, a pair of bird-like talons on the tip. The talons caught the sword and ripped it from the Orc’s hands leaving the Orc to collide with Rain and bounce off, sent rolling ass over ankle across the sand.

 

Rain stumbled forward as more dark form spilled from his back, black feathers, a massive wing, another massive wing, a heavy pair of naked breasts, long flowing hair, an imperial face, a sneer already on her lips.

 

The Harpy fell from Rain's back and landed on the sands, her great talons forming long furrows.

 

Rain turned and stared. He had had a half formed thought to resummon the Harpy he had experimented with to help…. but this... wasn’t that Harpy.

 

The imperious Harpy Queen, her eyes speckled with red stars turned and looked around at the Orcs.

 

“What is this? What manner of trickery has that devious witch bespelled upon me?”

 

The four Orcs stared at the Harpy Queen with very round eyes, mouths hanging open.

 

“H-hey, is that what I think it is?”

 

“A Harpy,” said the one with the piercing, his voice a hiss. “D-fon't let that thing have its way with you, it’ll make you wish you had never been born. Harpies can do things to an Orc that give nightmares their own nightmares.”

 

“Yes fool, I am a Harpy. A Harpy Queen, an…” The Harpy frowned and suddenly seemed to become aware that the low pit they were standing in wasn’t part of a cave or cavern at all. Her head rose up and she took in the vast endless sky, miles tall galleon clouds drifting across the azure blue. She staggered backwards, struggling to take it in.

 

“Wh-what? Am I… outside the dungeon? Have I been made a slave and stolen from my home?” 

 

The Queen touched the corner of her wing to her neck as though checking for a collar, of course, none was there.

 

Rain was even more surprised than the Orcs, this shadowy thing somehow remembered the life of what it was recreating? He couldn't even begin to comprehend what that implied right now.

 

“You aren't a sla- well, I don't exactly know what you are.” gravelled Rain.

 

The Queen turned then blinked as she saw him. Then her face twisted in a snarl of outrage.

 

“YOU! You tried to kill me you foul wretched beast!”

 

Rain paused. This… disturbing thing didn't realise its past self was dead? 

 

“I…”

 

The Harpy took a step toward him. 

 

“You are larger than I remember, but those eyes, those eyes of yours are the same, an usurper, a royal killer, a regicidal bestial wolf that slaughtered my daughters. I will rip out your insides and hang them from my nest like ornamental curtains, I shall slice the tip of your manhood and sear the wound closed then repeat this process until your manhood is so much a collection of discs.”

 

Rain made a face of disgust, the bridge of his nose wrinkling. “Well, you are that Harpy Queen alright.”

 

Pointing out to the Harpy that she was in fact dead and that this was some kind of… well he wasn’t exactly sure, copy of some kind maybe? Pointing that out now might cause some kind of existential mental breakdown when really he needed all the help he could get to deal with the orcs, as it was she didn't even seem to realise she was made of shadow and not flesh and blood.

 

So instead he pushed his will into her, trying to make her attack the Orcs. After a moment of staring at her nothing happened.

 

“Wolf, you dare to stare upon mine royal body like this? I will enjoy slicing your penis into discs.”

 

“Stop saying disturbing things like that.”

 

“No.”

 

Rain scowled. 

 

“Attack the Orcs and kill them for me.”

 

The Harpy’s face twisted, and for a moment her body started turning to move toward them. But then she regained control and crossed the corners of her wings together, her expansive chest pushed up. 

 

“Hell. No.”

 

Rain looked unhappily at the now five instead of four enemies who wanted him dead.