Nightmare Turned To Reality

The sight before Lysander defied all belief. A colossal figure came to his view. 

Its skin was grey and rough, like big rocks. A big black X was marked on its wide chest. Bumps showed under its tough, grey skin as big muscles flexed with each step. The ground shook! It had scary yellow eyes that glowed, and a big, toothy mouth that opened wide.

This was no ordinary beast. The creature's very presence seemed to suck out the warmth from the air. Lysander's breath froze in his lungs. Upon the creature's chest, he saw an unmistakable sigil burned into its flesh - a great, jagged X.

"Roar!" 

 The deafening roar of the beasts ripped through the air, a sound that seemed to tear at the fabric of reality. 

It echoed through the town square, a monstrous symphony that drowned out the desperate cries and shouts of the panicked people.

All of them were running desperately, carrying some things with them cradled protectively against their chests, faces etched with a mixture of fear and determination.

One of the guards accompanying the chief to shelter locked eyes with the towering figure, "Milhichural..." he murmured, the word carrying a weight that stole his voice.

"Chief! Chief, it's a Milhichural!" The shouts came from one of the guards accompanying the chief to shelter, locked eyes with the towering figure, "It's leading them..." he muttered.

"W-What…did you say?" Max stammered in terror, his eyes fixed on the towering beast at the center of the tide.

"How the hell can a 'Milhichural' be this big? Are you sure you didn't down any of that old fart's concoctions?

The bald and clean-shaven guard shook his head and glanced back at the towering beast with a look of disbelief. 

"I am confident that it is indeed Milhichural," other guard stopped for a moment and then spoke, "and I had stopped drinking a few years ago after I got married", who was bald with a blond beard, said.

Max's mouth twitched after hearing him, and he wanted to smack him, that he just was just- but the bald guard with the blond beard spoke up again, "I am also confused about how it has grown that much. They normally prefer to live in groups and don't normally attack any settlements, so why is it here?"

They were confused and couldn't digest how this creature had become so big and was attacking their town when these creatures only liked to live in groups and not venture far from their nests. 

"ROAR"

Then, with a deafening ROAR, the creature unleashed a bit of its aura.

Terror flooded the faces of the guards as the beast's aura washed over them. Their bodies trembled, hands gripping their weapons with white knuckles. 

Max stomped over to the guards, his voice booming. "Hey! What happened"

Both of them stood with fearful eyes as they have seen a ghost.

*gulp* both of them gulped down their saliva and the baldy with blond beard opened his trembling lips, "G-Grade…5…It's at least a Grade 5," said with shaking voice.

The Town Chief's face drained of all color and he fell heavily to his knees, his mind couldn't process just what was happening, not making any sense to him.

At first there were four Grade 3 beasts and now also a Grade 5 Milhichural. 

According to what he knew about them, they never wander alone and live in groups, nor do they attack any human settlements unless someone trespasses on their nests or takes anything from the nearby area. They are bound by a racial limit, unable to progress beyond Grade 2, and incapable of mutation due to an ancient curse bestowed upon them.

But now he was glancing at a Grade 5 which was alone and attacking their town, that didn't make any sense to him. 

"I had encountered a few of them myself in the past. Those bastards can't go beyond Grade 2, but even at 2nd Grade they can not only hold their ground but can potentially slaughter even a 3rd Grade," the bald guard with no beard said. "This bastard is a 5th Grade and its aura also feels different and terrifying from other Milhichural. There is no way we can survive without outside help. Even our resources for magic cannons have also run out."

"Sir, let us get out of here. There is nothing we can do. You need to go and take the shelter until reinforcements arrive. Captain should've sent someone to the nearby town for help after sensing this unholy aura."

Max gave a nod after regaining his senses and the three of them started to sprint towards the shelter.

Suddenly, like a bursting dam, the tide of lesser beasts flooded through the breach as even the last line of defense broke. 

Large, twisted forms of fang and claw barreled forward on short legs, their roars, shrieks, and growls creating a chilling dissonance. 

After seeing them coming, the townsfolk fled in blind panic, leaving everything behind and running for their lives.

"Aaah!" A bloodcurdling scream pierced the air.

"Guards, help!" A desperate cry for aid rose above the chaos.

"Argh!" A strangled cry of pain erupted from somewhere nearby.

"Just go away, you bastards!" A defiant shout cut through the growing panic.

"Waa! Waa!" The heart-wrenching cries of babies mingled with the rising tide of terror.

Screams, shouts, and curses filled the air with the shrieks of Beats.

Mothers clutched wailing infants to their breasts as they ran, while the hunched forms of elders shuffled as quickly as frail bones would allow. 

Younger men and women sobbed through panicked breaths, unwilling to abandon the old or infirm despite their mortal terror.

 All around, doors slammed and shutters crashed into place, but the beasts paid no heed - slamming their bulk into fences and reducing wood and stone to splinters.

All of them were running towards the bunkers that were built for shelter in the times like this. They were running with all their might in hope for seeing the sun tomorrow.

But those beasts didn't cared at all and continued their slaughter, destroying everything in their sight just like mindless beasts.

They showed no mercy, slaughtering whomever they saw with cold indifference. Neither the frail cries of infants nor the pleas of the aged stayed their bloodlust. Young and old, all were cut down without discrimination.

The streets, once alive with the playful chases of squirrels and the joyous shouts of children, were now a macabre tableau. Corpses of young and old, lay scattered like discarded dolls. The once luminous green grass was stained red, Walls painted in Crimson color, a horrifying contrast to the simple beauty of the houses which were now** gutted shells**, smoldering from the fires that raged within. The air hung thick with smoke, carrying the stench of blood and a suffocating terror.

Lysander couldn't move. He stared at the mess around him - dead people, burning houses, red grass - but his face didn't show anything. It looked like he was watching a scary movie, not something real.

Lysander couldn't believe his eyes. The creature from his worst nightmares, the one that haunted his sleep after Ryan's death, loomed monstrously over the town, leading a massive horde. Its skin, the same sickly grey as the one that took his friend, bore the same chilling mark.

Seeing this Lysander's face twisted with anger and sadness.

Soon he came back to his senses when town guard captain's voice pierced through air, trying to raise the morale of the remaining guards.

"I had sent someone to go and bring reinforcements from nearby town, soon some 5th and 6th grade Hunters will come to our help"

"We just need to keep this 5th Grade Milhichural distracted until they arrive." Captain shouted and began to attack the horde again.

Lysander saw him gone and muttered in his breath, "Can't you guys see its 'The Big Oops' not a mere Milhichural. "It's a much bigger threat – a Second Tier monster at least! This town is doomed before those reinforcements even get here. Even if they're skilled, Fifth and Sixth Grade Hunters won't stand a chance against this mothorfekor."

Lysander watched, numb with shock, as brave men and women were reduced to shredded heaps.

A sardonic laugh escaped Lysander's lips, laced with bitterness. "This? This is how it ends?" He slammed his fist against the windowsill wanting to jump away but hesitated.

"No... Stay away..."

A fresh scream shuddered his gaze up in time to see a woman fleeing down the street with a child in her arms. She slipped in a pool of blood, falling heavily with a sickening crunch of bone. The infant went tumbling from her grasp, landing with a mewling cry on the pile of lifeless corpses. A beast that resembled with a baboon appeared with a mouth filled with hooked fangs and multiple crimson eye.. It opened its slavering jaws, a forked tongue slithering forth in anticipation of its next meal...

"No! You bastards!" Lysander's hesitation shattered, he jumped from his window and muttered, "Immolation!" The words hissed from his lips like smoke from a dragon's maw.

 The air around Lysander crackled with energy, a scorching heat that flared for a moment before being sucked back into his body. He spun in mid-air, his skin shimmering with raw power. In a blur of motion, he unleashed a powerful punch directly at the beast with a roar that echoed through the devastated town.

With a deafening roar, the power exploded outward, engulfing the horrific form in blazing light and heat. 

The thing barely had time to screech before its very flesh melted and sloughed from its bones. 

Lysander landed on the ground, that women stood up, thanked him and ran away but he didn't paid any attention.

His gaze was just fixed on the towering beast.

"If I'm going down," Lysander said as blood trailed out from his corner on lips showing the backlash of his spell, "You're damn sure coming with me!

With a surge of unnatural speed, Lysander bolted towards the beast. He closed the distance in a heartbeat, his bloodshot eyes locked on the monstrous creature's form.

The Big Oops also seemed to sense his presence, whipped its baleful yellow eyes toward Lysander. Its lipless maw stretched open, revealing a horrifying sight – a cavernous gullet lined with fangs that rivaled the length of gladius blades. A bone-chilling roar erupted from its depths, a sound so raw and powerful it echoed like the death knell of the world itself.

The beast snatched a nearby spear, flinging it at Lysander. Lysander didn't even flinched seeing the spear coming.

"Swish"

"Cracked"

Suddenly, a loud swish filled the air. Before the spear could connect, a massive claw-like figure erupted from behind Lysander, shattering the weapon with a deafening crack!

"Is that the best you can do?, he said with mockery "Even my grandma throws pillows harder than that!"