Chapter 2:

  Sure enough, the approaching figure was humanoid. But as Shogai took a closer look, he had no doubt this was an Aberrant. It stood nearly eight feet tall, with glowing yellow eyes that flashed like warnings in the dark. The same yellow pulsed from a hole in its chest, visible through gaps in dark plating.

  Unlike the mindless Aberrants Shogai had fought, this one wore coherent and impressive armour - not scavenged or crafted, but grown. Thick, reinforced plates covered its torso and core, while thinner, more flexible armour wrapped around its limbs. The plating had an organic quality to it, like it was part of the creature's body.

  Shogai felt a presence from the creature. Threatening. Dangerous.

  "What business do you have with us, Aberrant?"

  He didn't know why he expected it to be capable of speech. No Aberrant he'd killed had ever said a word. Yet, as he had that very thought, the creature opened its mouth and responded.

  "Simple. This village has been troublesome, killing large armies of Aberrants. I'm here to dispose of it."

  The voice was female, as her figure implied, and surprisingly full of life. If Shogai were blind, he'd have assumed the visitor was human. As he inspected her, he shivered. Though her eyes lacked pupils, they had character to them. She sounded... bored.

  "I'm not going to let you do that. First and last warning. Stay away from my home."

  The Aberrant smirked and erupted in laughter. Pure, childlike laughter. Then her grin became far more sinister.

  "You've got spunk for a human, don't you? Well, let's make a deal of my own. Get out of my way, and you might get a swift death."

  The Aberrant waited for Shogai's response. He glanced at the bell in his hand. Should he ring it? An Aberrant had never been a match for his strength before. This one was clearly different, but he wasn't going to put the others at risk by making them reveal themselves.

  He was going to stop the monster here.

  Shogai decided to test her strength. He started with a punch to see what she'd do… and found himself on the floor, his torso somehow slashed.

  His eyes wandered upwards to see that the Aberrant's arm had transformed into a sword, and she'd swung it faster than he could track. The thinner armour on her limbs had shifted, weaponised. Pain screamed through Shogai's chest, but he wobbled to his feet and cleared his head.

  One more direct hit would put him out of commission. He needed more speed and power. His ability to take a hit didn't matter now that another hit meant death anyway.

  He shifted to his second form.

  With his increased speed, Shogai jumped toward the Aberrant... and got lucky. He saw her slash this time, but it was still too fast to react to. By some miracle, it missed - probably from surprise at his speed boost. Shogai struck her in the face and quickly retreated out of her range.

  The Aberrant stepped backwards, clearly caught off guard by his suddenly far more potent offence, but didn't stumble.

  So he wasn't fast enough to avoid her attacks reliably. He wasn't strong enough to damage her significantly. And he wasn't durable enough to take her hits. The Aberrant towered over him like an impenetrable wall. He was losing. He was going to fail? That had never happened before… There was no backup plan for this.

  What should he do? What could he do?

  Shogai glanced at the bell beside him. He'd dropped it, but now he wanted it. But what then? This beast was stronger than him by leagues. The entire village would be massacred.

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  He was completely out of options.

  "Are we finished?" the Aberrant asked.

  Before Shogai could answer, a dagger flew through the air and struck her in the back. It glanced off the thick plating protecting her spine. The Aberrant turned to see who dared attack from behind.

  In a flash of light, three people appeared.

  The first was a young man with blue hair, holding two daggers. The second was slightly older with black hair and a focused expression. Between them stood a girl, younger than both of them, with brown hair and dressed like a witch. She gave off a different energy than the other two.

  The Aberrant snarled, frustrated by the interference.

  "You three, stay out of this. This has nothing to do with you. First and last warning."

  Shogai noticed the Aberrant had echoed his words. But while she was distracted, he had his mind focused on one thing.

  Attack.

  Shogai lunged forward, but immediately collapsed in pain. His wound was worse than he thought. The Aberrant noticed his attempt and was about to retaliate, but the witch girl appeared between them.

  Teleportation? But at that speed… Usually, teleporters needed a moment to charge up.

  "Keep her busy for a few seconds," she told the others. They each nodded.

  Blue Hair jumped at the Aberrant and began slashing, ducking and weaving, aiming for the thinner armour on her limbs and joints. Black Hair vanished completely, but Shogai heard him attacking from somewhere unseen.

  He couldn't pay too much attention to the fight - his pain demanded focus. The witch girl knelt beside him, a book floating around her body, its pages turning on their own. She muttered an incantation under her breath, and green runes appeared in the air surrounding Shogai.

  His wounds began to close. The pain faded.

  Shogai had never seen healing that fast. He got to his feet without issue.

  "Thank you," he said.

  The girl turned toward the fight. The Aberrant had received no wounds from her two attackers, and they were both exhausted - Blue Hair had grazed his arm, and Black Hair had reappeared, panting. The thick plates covering the Aberrant's core had deflected most strikes. She roared out, angry and frustrated, but her eyes were still confident.

  They hadn't hurt her.

  The witch girl extended her arm toward the Aberrant and muttered another spell. Her arm became surrounded by rotating white runes, and a blast of light erupted from her hand, striking the monster square in the chest.

  The dense armour plating cracked under the impact. The Aberrant was sent flying backwards, completely overwhelmed. She hit the ground hard, then regained her footing quickly. A fierce glare entered her eyes. She growled… and ran.

  Ran away.

  The witch girl watched the Aberrant scream into the night - a scream of pain, but Shogai recognised an undertone to it.

  A scream to fight.

  From all around the village, the ground erupted. Dirt and rocks flew everywhere as another army of Aberrants surfaced - hundreds upon hundreds of them. Shogai instinctively cowered as he looked around in terror. This was unwinnable. Many of the Aberrants were massive, like the giant one Shogai had brought down earlier. This was the most powerful force he'd ever seen.

  The three strangers, however, were relaxed. The two men looked at the witch girl, and she nodded. Her eyes glowed white, and wind picked up around her as the pages of her book furiously shuffled. A single, gigantic circular rune appeared on the ground, encompassing both the village and the Aberrants.

  A bead of sweat ran down her face.

  She snapped her fingers.

  All around the village, every Aberrant died. Every single one fell to the ground in pools of blood and lay still. Shogai’s jaw dropped. That - that easily? He'd never seen such power before.

  The witch girl wasn't done. Using the rune and another incantation, she made all the bodies and blood disappear, even fixing the uprooted ground.

  It was like they were never here.

  She turned to Black Hair, “Check that no one got hurt, but stay hidden. We were never supposed to get this close to the village.” He nodded and vanished again, as if into thin air.

  The next voice came from Blue Hair: “Are you alright? You’re out of breath.”

  “I’ve been worse. The army was bigger than I expected, though. No time to rest. If we follow her, that animal might lead us to her boss. We need to pursue her immediately.” Then she turned to Shogai.

  She didn't say anything. She only put a finger to her lips.

  The message was clear. Stay quiet.

  Shogai's words were trapped in his throat. He had so many questions, but they didn't last long. Black Hair returned, saying there were no injuries. The witch girl cast another spell, forming a small rune beneath the three of them.

  They all vanished.