Chapter 4 - Attack on Camp Theta
I could feel the rumbling from inside the medical building. Yui was growing more frantic by the minute, shifting her medical equipment around, preparing space in preparation for possible injuries/casualties.
"Yukio, I'm going to have to move you to another room, okay? I need to make as much space as possible for injuries. I hope this doesn't come as an inconvenience."
"No worries, Yui, where should I go?"
"I have a safe room in case of monster attacks located underneath the building. There should be some stairs behind the front desk that lead down there."
"Okay, I'll go there then. Good luck, Yui. Try not to die, okay?"
"...I can't make any promises, but I'll try my best!"
I got up and exited the X-Ray room. The rumbling grew stronger, and louder, as I made my way toward the waiting room. When I arrived, I looked out of the windows and noticed the three monsters approaching that Mayumi had mentioned. They were huge, much larger than the monster I had encountered.
The "malice foxes" appeared to be mutant fox-like creatures with black and purple fur, and red eyes. The Tiger Frog looked the same as the other one I had encountered, but much larger. They were running toward the camp. The Malice Foxes were at least 14 feet tall, and the Tiger Frog had to be nearing 26 feet, as it was able to peek over the top of the walls themselves!
I noticed Mayumi outside, equipping her armor. She had her sword in hand and grappled up to the ceiling of a house. It was at this point, that the rest of the people in the medical building began to run downstairs. I decided to follow suit, for my own safety... I just hoped that Mayumi would be alright.
Before I went downstairs, I took one final look outside, and noticed Mayumi shouting to a person next to her, also armored... they were about to go to battle. I was then led downstairs by medical personnel, and the hatch was shut above us...the battle had begun...
"Mayumi! Do you have a visual of the malice foxes? We should eliminate the smaller threats first before we focus on the elephant in the room!"
"Yeah, they appear to be moving in opposite directions of each other, one eastbound and the other westbound. They're going to attack from both sides of the camp, send heroes to both entrances to defend!"
"Yes ma'am!"
The armored man next to Mayumi grappled to the ground and commanded heroes to both sides of the camp. The lower leveled heroes gathered to take on the Malice Foxes, while the higher leveled heroes stood by for instructions regarding the Tiger Frog.
"I need all melee heroes on the east and west sides of the camp, the Malice Foxes will attack both sides. Go for their legs to restrict their movement, before attacking their torso/head!"
"Ranged heroes, make your way to the top of the walls, and prepare to fire at the eyes of the Tiger Frog! If we can knock out its vision, we can defeat it! We haven't much time!"
"YES SIR!"
The groups of heroes split up and went their own ways as commanded. The commander in question was a hero wearing a red knight's coat, equipped with a bow that could fire multiple arrows at once. He grappled back up to where Mayumi was.
"Mayumi, I'm counting on you to do the heavy damage to the Tiger Frog! I heard you just killed one earlier today, so this should be a similar process for you..."
"Yes sir, Cyprus! What will you be doing?"
"I'll be with the rangers on the wall. I'll try my best to land a few hits into the eyes of the monster. If we do our job right, the Tiger Frog should lose balance, and fall over.
Cyprus was a taller gentleman with black hair and blue eyes. He was a commander of the Hero Camp, and his hero name was "Deadeye", due to his incredible accuracy with the bow and arrow. He rarely ever missed his mark.
"If we successfully blind the Tiger Frog, can I count on you and the rest of the melee heroes to finish it?"
"Absolutely. I won't let you down, commander. I'll go help out with the Malice Foxes while I await your orders!"
"Good luck, Sabre Queen..."
Mayumi grappled to the ground and took off eastbound toward the larger of the two Malice Foxes. If she and the other heroes could take them both down, they could collectively focus on the bigger task at hand, the Tiger Frog.
Cyprus grappled to the side of the wall and climbed his way to the top. When he arrived, he met up with the other ranged heroes. There were around 12 of them in total at the top of the wall, including Cyprus himself.
"Alright, try not to fall off of the wall due to the rumbling, okay? If you fall, you're dead. Stabilize yourselves, and fire when the opportunity opens! Aim for the eyes!
"Yes sir, Deadeye!"
It was formal for heroes to refer to their superiors by their hero name, rather than by their real name. Likewise, it was respectful for their superiors to do the same to their inferiors. You would only refer to someone by their real name if you were friends with them, or at a similar rank.
Cyprus got a visual of the Tiger Frog and drew his bow to take the first shot, officially commencing the start of the battle. After stabilizing his position, he loaded three sharp arrows into the bow, the tips glowing red with what appeared to be some kind of magic. He aimed above the Tiger Frog's head, and then.....
*Thwish!*
. . . . . . .
*BOOM*
The three arrows made contact with the head of the Tiger Frog and exploded on impact. These were bomb arrows, used to stun large monsters for a short time, as well as shred skin off of them. The Tiger Frog shrieked, and shook its head to clear the smoke. It was dazed for a short time.
The arrows had done some slight damage to the head of the Tiger Frog, putting cuts and holes into its skin. But it wasn't enough to take it down. On Cyprus's command, the other ranged heroes drew their weapons, some had bows, while others had guns. Cyprus gave them the signal, and they fired.
"FIRE!"
*Thwish! Bang! Bang! Thwish! BOOM!*
The ranged heroes unleashed a hailstorm of bullets and arrows toward the Tiger Frog, and the monster shielded its head with its arm. It was taking significant damage, but none of the projectiles were hitting its eyes. The monster then roared with an incredible sound, mixing that of a frog's croak, and a tiger's roar.
"CCCRRRAAAAAAHHHH!"
The entire camp shook with the sound of the roar. It could be heard miles away. Two ranged heroes lost their footing, and fell over, nearly falling off the wall, but they were caught by other rangers before they could plummet to their deaths. When the roaring ceased, Cyprus gave more instructions.
"Hold your fire until it removes its arm, then, aim for the eyes! We must blind it ASAP!"
The heroes ceased their fire and kept an eye on the Tiger Frog. Meanwhile, on the east side of camp, Mayumi had just arrived at the battle with the Malice Fox. The monster was larger and quicker than the Tiger Frog which she had killed earlier.
"Sabre Queen! Thank god you're here! We've inflicted slight damage to the legs of the Malice Fox, but it keeps kicking and swiping at us, preventing us from advancing any further."
"Shit... I was afraid this would happen, we need some people to pose as a distraction so that we can get behind the fox, and sever its feet."
"That sounds incredibly dangerous! What if they get eaten!?"
"I'll make sure they don't. If we can get some of our quickest heroes to run around and distract the Malice Fox, perhaps we could-"
But before Mayumi could say another word, a random hero could be heard calling out to somebody. They sounded terrified.
"YO! LUCA! GET AWAY FROM THERE!"
Luca, a young melee hero wielding a dagger, was just feet away from the Malice Fox. He was paralyzed with fear, as this was one of his first battles. But before anyone could jump in to save him, the Malice Fox lowered its head and grabbed Luca with its mouth...
"NO, HELP! AH, PUT ME DOWN! SOMEONE! NOOOO!"
"LUCA!"
Luca, dagger still in hand, attempted to stab at the Malice Fox, piercing its skull numerous times, but before he could do any more damage to it...
*Crunch*
"ACK--...*gasp*...."
The Malice Fox had just bit Luca, killing him... blood began to spill from the fox's mouth, as it chewed on his body. Luca perished at the age of 19. His hero name was "Daggermancer" due to his skill wielding a karambit. He was in the Hero Camp for 3 months.
This was the first casualty of the battle... and it served as a testament to the harsh reality of the monster race. It was only in the nature of the Malice Fox to feast upon young Luca. It was hungry, and it found its prey...
That was as simple as it got. The monsters were at the top of the food chain, and death was unavoidable. If someone had tried to save Luca, they would have been eaten as well. It's an unfortunate hardship that humanity had to accept, and defend against as best they could.
Mayumi had just witnessed Luca's death and assumed an expression of sorrow. But that expression turned into anger a few seconds later. She appeared to be lost in thought.
"...Sabre Queen, what's your plan here? We can't let anyone else get eaten!"
"...stand back."
"What?"
"STAND BACK!"
Mayumi unsheathed her sword and approached the Malice Fox who had just consumed Luca. The fox spat out Luca's left leg, and it landed next to a young female hero, who was petrified at the sight of her former companion's severed leg.
"Luca... I'll never forget you... I swear, we'll kill this mother fucker, and avenge you..."
Mayumi walked toward the Malice Fox and stood still. She didn't move a muscle. What was she thinking? If she didn't make a decision soon, she too would become lunch.
"Everyone, please, stand back. I'm about to something incredibly dangerous. I want you all to be ready to charge when I give the signal, okay?"
"Yes ma'am!"
The Malice Fox approached Mayumi and sniffed her. As it gathered her scent, it licked its lips and made a few noises. Then, it retracted its head and opened its mouth.
"Okay, here goes nothing... remember the signal!"
The Malice Fox then swiftly moved its head toward Mayumi, grabbed her with its mouth, and closed it, trapping Mayumi inside. The group of heroes was shocked, some shrieked, while others widened their gaze.
"SABRE QUEEN! GUYS, WE NEED TO FREE HER! HANG ON I'LL GET--"
"Wait...don't approach the Malice Fox. Have faith in the Sabre Queen, and wait for the signal."
"BUT IT JUST ATE HER, WHAT THE HELL IS SHE THINKING!?"
"Just wait...trust in her..."
The group of heroes continued to wait, and observe. The Malice Fox put on an expression of confusion, as it struggled to chew on Mayumi. Then, the Malice Fox's eyes widened, and it made a strange sound. Suddenly, a sword drove its way through the skull of the Malice Fox. It opened its mouth, and Mayumi was inside!
"Hnngh, hang on guys! I'll be out in a second. Don't charge just yet! Tch, come here you son of a bitch!"
"SABRE QUEEN! BE CAREFUL!"
Mayumi continued to push her sword upward into the skull of the Malice Fox. Blood began to drench Mayumi's body as it spilled from the roof of its mouth. When it had had enough, it spat out Mayumi and began to look around, dazed.
"ARGH! Ouch... I never wanna be in another Malice Fox's mouth again! That was DISGUSTING!"
"Sabre Queen!? Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm all right. Although I'm covered in blood, and my sword is still lodged in that fox's head. Oh, by the way, here's the signal. CHARGE!"
"LET'S GO, GUYS! CHAAARGE!"
Upon receiving the signal, the heroes charged at the Malice Fox, slashing away at its legs. The fox was too busy trying to remove the sword from its skull, that it had failed to realize the abundance of heroes that were now attacking it from underneath. The fox realized what was going on, and attempted to retreat.
"Don't let it get away! We must rid the world of these foul creatures!"
"This is for you Luca! We'll chop this son of a bitch into a thousand pieces!"
"Indeed! Keep slashing until there is nothing more to slash! Avenge Luca, and kill this Malice Fox!"
Numerous heroes began chanting together in excitement of the battle. Mayumi had posed as the perfect distraction, preventing another person from being eaten, by volunteering to be eaten herself. It was a true act of heroism.
The Malice Fox eventually collapsed from the sheer attack power of the heroes. When it was on the ground, numerous heroes began slashing at its head in an attempt to kill it. A hero wearing green clothes climbed onto its head, and drove his trident into it, delivering the final blow.
The hero in question was a man named Nobur. He was armed with a trident, and his hero name was "The Sea Prince". He removed his trident from the fox's head and shouted in victory. The Malice Fox perished.
"YAAAHHH! Begone, you eldritch abomination! Victory will be ours!"
Mayumi approached the group of heroes, relieved, but still apprehensive. Despite the defeat of the first malice fox, there was still another at the west side of the camp, and not to mention, the Tiger Frog was still alive!
"Don't let your guard down yet guys! We still have trouble at the other gate! Quickly, make your way to the western gate, and aid with the other Malice Fox!"
"Yes ma'am! Let's go, guys!"
The heroes quickly left the corpse of the first Malice Fox and began to run to the second one. They ran through the camp, past the numerous signs and buildings. Mayumi then gave some orders to her group.
"When we kill the second Malice Fox, I want everyone to make their way to the front gate, and await instructions from Deadeye regarding the Tiger Frog! We can do this!"
The group continued to make their way through the camp, weapons drawn. As they approached the west side of the camp, they saw the second Malice Fox. But they also saw the true horror that had just taken place...
"SABRE QUEEN! HELP!"
"What the hell happened here!?"
Mayumi stopped at the gate and fell to her knees. There was blood everywhere... the Malice Fox was already close to death, as the heroes had done significant damage to it, but it came with the cost of four heroes' lives... four heroes, had been devoured...
"...what the hell happened here..."
I could hear the shouting and fighting from underneath the medical building. It sent chills down my spine. If I had been summoned to this world to slay monsters, then I was in for a hell of an adventure... I just wondered what terrible sights would await me after this battle finished...