The Last Stand At The Settlement

Michael sucked in a sharp breath as he watched a torrent of death erupt from the mouth of the atrocity. His skin prickled as weakness overcame his body and, even though the attack wasn't aimed towards his section of the wall, he felt the fear of those whose lives instantaneously ended.

He didn't even know how they could fight against this seemingly absolute power before them, a creature that could launch a single attack and immediately reap the lives of countless individuals, leaving nothing behind but a collection of chilled husks. A scream penetrated the silence left in the wake of the damage, one of terror before a supposedly unbeatable target and, in response, the archers tried to penetrate its armour with a concentrated round of arrows, but they disintegrated upon contact with its scales.

Michael looked towards the cannons, hoping that they were prepared for another volley, but was shocked and frustrated by what he saw. The artillery, which was either in or close to, the beam from before had crumbled beneath their own weight, like the metal they were constructed with had been replaced with paper, and those that weren't affected had no one controlling them, the mages having either fainted in terror or run away.

Michael suppressed the growing feeling of hopelessness as the atrocity moved back down onto four legs, sheathing his sword he attempted to push his way through the throng of petrified people.

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He barely registered the dull pain that was throbbing across his body as John rolled across the dirt to dampen the impact of the fall; he was too focused on the intertwined purple and black beam which had just fizzled out of existence above his head. Not even glancing at the few others who had leapt off with him, John listened to the cries of fear that could be heard from those above who hadn't been caught in the blast, and the sound of many bowstrings being released signified a volley from the archers, but John didn't have high expectations towards its effectiveness.

'What we need to do is launch another barrage from the cannons, as it was the only thing that seemed to harm this damned creature, so why aren't they firing!?'

Running a short distance towards the closest ladder to the top of the wall, John had just started climbing when a massive impact reverberated from the opposite side, causing him to fall from his already precarious position.

John had just enough time to push himself up again as a second impact seemed to temporarily deafen him, followed by the screeching of contorting metal. John looked at the wall, watching it break down.

"LOOK OUT!"

John looked up when he heard the call and narrowly managed to leap out of the path of a cannon that fell down from the wall, its base having broken free, allowing it to impact the dirt.

The person who called out landed beside him, having leapt off the wall as well, and John offered a quick thanks to Michael as the two watched in horror as claws tore completely through the wall, quickly followed by a head, madly snapping at the air.

John tried to formulate some sort of plan, anything that might help them, when a cold grasp once again gripped his heart, and an eye felt to have opened.

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"What the hell are we supposed to do?" Michael muttered in a quiet panic. Seeking any input whatsoever and hoping for some sort of idea, even if it was to flee, but he got no reply.

Glancing to the man at his side, he saw John, pale-faced, staring off into the distance, but not necessarily at the most obvious creature drawing most of the peoples' attention.

"Hey, you alright?" Michael asked when suddenly John started moving towards the fallen artillery.

By this point almost all of the combatants had leapt off the wall and were staring in terror at the atrocity as it broke through the defence, making it seem so fragile. Ignoring all of them, John bent down and started pulling the cannon out of the dirt and into an upright position.

"Help me out here." John grunted as he strained to lift the cumbersome weapon, finding it difficult due to its size and ill-balanced weight.

"But we don't have a mage, how are we meant to fire it?"

"Just do it!"

Michael was confused, but he went forward to help all the same despite not receiving any proper answer from John.

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Another resounding cry of terror could be heard as the wall buckled and tore, the beast almost all the way through. None of the humans wanted to die in a battle they couldn't win, so they did what most would do in their situation, and ran, all but the two who had just finished aiming the cannon.

The ammo was loaded, the angle was set, and the beast had just finished freeing itself from the wreckage of the wall and was now lumbering towards them, all the while that foreign presence licked the battlefield.

"John, now would be a great time for that genius plan!"

Michael had taken a step back, not at all convinced that John hadn't gone insane, and from the obvious fact that Michael couldn't sense the presence, John wasn't certain that he was sane either.

Now that everything was set, John had no idea what he should do, he didn't truly know why he set the cannon in the first place, he just had a non-reliable feeling that if he proved something, he'd be saved.

"Run."

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Michael didn't wait to be told twice, immediately turning around and bolting but, after he got a dozen or so metres, he realised that John was still beside the cannon, with seemingly no intention of leaving.

"What are you doing!" Michael cried out to his still stationary friend, but he didn't reply. The only response he got was the atrocity opening its jaws wide as it moved to consume him.

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John stared down the throat of the atrocity, towering only a few metres away as its teeth bore down on him. He could feel a stinging pain from his skin and his eyes, which he closed as he waited for his death.

"C̶ǫ̷̸nG̶̕r͜͏̛A̷͟͞t̴́ùl҉̷̧á̷̢t̛͡I̧͢o̧n̕S."

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All of a sudden a deafening roar split the air, a piercing light blinding Michael despite the distance, and when the light cleared, the atrocity was slumped on the ground, missing its head.