An Englishman in Castle Aincrad

Floor 19 - Chapter 3 - Village of the Damned

''I get the feeling that whoever wrote that diary... may have been a tiny bit wrong about the monster...'' The Professor whispered to Kizmel, who nodded in agreement.

The growling became more ferocious, as Jet and Koharu poked their heads through the window at the other end of the room. Outside, the mist began to grow around the main street, obscuring their view considerably more than they'd liked. Even with the mist though, the piercing red eyes were a massive warning sign... along with the fact that there were six of them. The growling ceased almost as suddenly as it had begun, and for a tense moment, looks were exchanged between the group, all of them hoping the creature had gone away for some reason...

SCREEECCCHHHH...

Though, they had no such luck on that front, as the creature began to emerge from the mist. At least ten foot long, the beast almost tore through the mist, and it certainly looked as if it could. Scaly armour covered the beast almost entirely, with little by way of obvious weak spots, and sharp tusks sticking out from its face plate. Noticeably, one of the tusks was badly damaged... almost as if it had been sheared off somehow.

''Well, we know what killed the poor sod now...'' Jet whispered. The phrase ''definitely not human'' went unspoken in there.

''That thing is a walking tank... how the heck do we fight it?'' Rain looked over the beast that had emerged from the mist, and came to the obvious conclusion - the best plan was not to fight it at all, at least not whilst it was just the six of them. If they had some more of the Assault Team with them, perhaps containing it was an option, but on their own? No way.

''I think the best way is to not fight it at all...'' Jet continued to whisper. ''In other words, wait till it's distracted... and leg it!'' He turned back and harshly whispered to the group. No one disagreed with that assessment, and the group began to look for another way out. A window, a back door, anything that would lead outside and not put them in line of sight with that behemoth outside.

Quite possibly the most tense few seconds in any of their lives passed by, with those seconds feeling far more like hours, and by chance, Phillia had found a back door. Luckily, the thing led around the back of the mill, and hopefully away from the-

THUD. CREAKKK.

''I think it knows we're here...'' The Professor helpfully reminded them, whilst Jet reminded himself that not all NPCs were almost sentient, like Kizmel. The Professor, as interesting a character as he was... wasn't one of them.

''I think it's time to go!'' Koharu reminded them as they began to leave, grabbing the diary as she ran. The ground around them continued to shake aggressively, the confined space of the mill carrying the screeches of the monstrosity chasing them. Whatever it was doing, the phrase ''bull in a china shop'' certainly sounded apt for their current situation, as the creature tore through the house. At least one collision had torn the door frames off, leaving splinters across the room and breaking the walls apart. Jet looked back, as another part of the mill collapsed on top of it.

''Yup, bull in a china shop...'' he muttered to himself, before turning round. ''Go!'' He shouted, watching the ruins to check they were holding the beast...

Much to his horror, a clawed paw began to tear rubble out of its path, and throw it across the village with alarming dexterity and increasing accuracy, as a piece of damaged brick slammed down besides him. ''Oh, you have got to be-'' he muttered exasperatedly, before snapping back to yelling as he broke into a sprint. ''RUN!''

/-/

With the creature buried, it had been the prime opportunity to make a break out of the village, and everyone in the group had decided to take that opportunity. That collapsed house wouldn't hold it for long, that much Koharu was sure of. She'd seen the creature's eyes, and that was an image that she wouldn't be able to clear anytime soon. Looking into those eyes felt like looking into an abyss. It was deep, dark and worryingly, she could feel it staring back, and burrowing deep into her soul. It was horrific, and she wouldn't be able to shake the feeling of looking into hell for as long as she was awake.