A Fallen Champion

"Corruptionspawn!" The sentry cried out, "They've surrounded us. They're all over the hill!"

Eyes widened and cries sounded as a wave of panic and despair swept through the hall.

"My gods..." Duen stood frozen for a moment, "R-rally the men! Get the women and children inside!"

What followed next was a chaos. Women and children were hurried inside the hall, packing them into every corner and floor.

"Rhea, take charge here. We'll lead the defense. If anything happens, go through the south gate and escape!" Duen said as the group tried to move through the growing crowd of terrified villagers.

"Escape? Escape where!?" Rhea didn't know.

"Anywhere! Just not here. If the wooden wall falls, then there will be nothing stopping them!" Duen said, his tone cold and serious. Rhea wanted to protest, she didn't know where to lead the people, if she could even lead them at all after all these years.

"Gran, go and rally the men. Frun and I will try and get everyone else inside," Duen eyed the other elders, "Arm them as best as you can."

The elders nodded. But before they could disperse, a person they forgot about cleared his throat.

"You're forgetting someone." Arcelius said flatly.

The elders turned to look at him, eyes packed with fear and despair. The battle hadn't even begun yet and already they looked as if they were already dead.

Arcelius recognized those eyes of theirs. They were feeling hopeless. But as they met his gaze, they seemed to brighten up, even just a little bit. Doubt, however, lingered as if they didn't know whether his help would be a good thing or not.

"Arcelius..." Frun began as if to protest only for Arcelius to raise his hand.

"I will fight," Arcelius said matter-of-factly, "Weakened or not, my duty and my responsibilities have not changed since."

He stared at the elders and then at Rhea, before beholding the chaos that now surrounded them. Tables were flipped and turned into barricades. Windows were closed and blocked. People poured in from outside as cries and calls filled the once merry air.

Whatever these corruptionspawn were, the people in this village knew them well enough to fear them this much. The energy they exuded was the same as the abomination Arcelius had vanquished in the swamp.

Arcelius' narrowed his eyes as he contemplated the possibility that more of that abomination may be looming around the village.

But the only way to make sure of anything was to see the monsters themselves.

"It's the least I can do to repay you for all the troubles I've caused so far." Arcelius' body began to glow, showing that his magic casting had already begun.

"W-we'll be counting on you." Duen said, voice soft but heard.

"No time to waste, lead the way."

Rhea and Frun stayed behind to handle the fleeing and panicked crowd that had filled the village hall to the brim. There were babies to comfort and children to handle.

But Arcelius noticed something strange. Aside from the elders he had met, there seemed to be no old people within the crowd, nor did he notice any at all when he first arrived.

It didn't matter for now. He had so-called corruptionspawn to deal with. His questions, all of them, could be saved for later.

There was a fight to be had.

Gran and Duen accompanied him out. As they left the doors, a great many shrieks tore through the air. A few screamed in fright, others flinching. Most covered their ears. The monsters that lurked outside the walls were nearing and they sounded hungry.

Beyond the confines of the village hall the chaos was more orderly and subdued. Torches were lit and great beacons of bonfires were set aflame to give the defenders much needed light.

They needed it. The night was dark, the blue moon nowhere to be seen, and the sky was starless. Arcelius could barely see the thick clouds that loomed over their heads, seemingly familiar.

"Elder Duen!" A man armed with a spear ran over, "Four corruptionspawn are bearing down on the main gate! What do we do?"

Sweat drenched the man's blonde hair, his heart gripped with despair. Arcelius looked at him from head to toe, examining the state of his body and equipment. He was young, that was for sure. Crude leather armor over a brown tunic, no helm, and dirty pants. Mere militia, that was he, but that was to be expected. At least his spear tip was sharp and his handle firm.

"Hold the walls. Man the towers. Just like we've always done." Duen said firmly. He had buried his own despair deep.

"B-but! They're corruptionspawn!" The young man cried. Tears welled under his eyes.

"And!?" Duen replied strongly, but with no anger, "We've defended our village from rabid animals to the undead, we can handle a few more servants of the vile gods!"

This didn't seem to reassure the young man, but he steeled himself, nonetheless. "Yes, Elder Duen."

Duen nodded and sent him off, their destination was now the main gate.

Arcelius pondered as they went. What was happening felt like it had happened before. The cries of the villagers they left behind in the safety of the halls echoed in his ears. Vivid memories of dead people laying on dirt roads. Men torn and cut, shields broken, and swords splintered. Ruined cobbled houses surrounded them, more dead inside. Mothers clutched dead children in a permanent, tragic embrace. Cries, cries, many painful cries.

And once again he was in the middle. Bloodied and battered.

Arcelius snapped from the memories and returned to the present.

He didn't know why but his memories of his time as emperor and as mortal champion were fuzzy. Had it always been this way? Was this the price of ascending?

He felt like he had lost something. He was not only incomplete, but he felt lost.

He was broken.

Another blood curdling shriek sounded in the distance, causing Duen and Gran to flinch. Arcelius was growing increasingly annoyed at the sounds of the abominations. He felt deep inside his heart that they weren't supposed to exist, that they were an insult to creation itself.

And to save the people of this village, vanquishing them was the only right choice to take.

His enhanced senses were working as best as they could. He could see and smell better, not to mention his reflexes were levels beyond the average man. But he still felt weak.

Too weak to use most of his magic abilities and too weak to fight as good as he could, he was sure he didn't even have half of his strength.

He lacked his sword and his armor. He was fighting with many, many handicaps.

But what he could do now was what mattered. He was still going to give it his all.

"You look determined!" Said the burly Gran who was now wielding a big axe. "My baby over here is gonna slice through those fuckers like butter!"

The axe was given by another young lad who had also brought with him crude bronze chest plates and helms for both brothers. For Duen specifically, he brought him his sword.

They wore as they strode. There was no time to waste.

They now neared the main gate where the palisades stood strongest. It was also where the enemy bore down the heaviest.

Men wearing leather vests and helms reinforced with bronze and crude iron were running to their positions. A hastily prepared shield wall 6 men wide and 2 men deep stood shakingly before the doors.

Arcelius glanced at their shields as they approached, wooden and barely reinforced with any metal. None of everything they had with them was fit, let alone ideal.

"Where are the women I saw earlier?" Arcelius asked as he looked at the towers nearby and their archers.

"They're to protect the halls. Just as planned." Duen explained.

The three came to a stop behind the shield wall. A middle-aged looking man then came down the palisades to greet the elders.

"Elder Duen, Elder Gran." He said, ignoring the seven-foot man behind them, "Four corruption spawn are standing over the fields just beyond the gate. More are coming. I've checked with the other gates, they have us surrounded but they seem to be focusing on this place the most."

The situation was grim, "Thank you, Harn. Thank the gods we weren't caught by surprise at least." Said Duen.

"They came from the Vile Marsh. Crossed the river in droves. Scared lots of birds too. But we failed to catch those signs at first." Harn said.

"Then how were you able to seal the village?" Duen asked.

"We were lucky, actually. Some creatures were running up the hill before we spotted them." Harn explained.

"Creatures?" Gran asked, Duen's face asking the same.

"A water worm and a large croc." Harn answered.

"Those are my companions!" Arcelius said, breaking his silence. Harn's eyes gazed at the tall man behind the elders, and he nodded.

"They're yours, honored guest?" Harn asked, seemingly suspicious.

"Yes, where are they? Have you let them in?" Arcelius grew worried.

"They're just outside the gates, I didn't kno-" Before Harn could finish, Arcelius leapt over the walls in a blur. He landed hard on the dirt road just in front of the gate, cracking the ground when he did.

As he turned around, a familiar hiss sounded, and Ms. Crock emerged from the shadows of the gate alongside Mr. Wormy.

"Friends!" Arcelius found himself calling the two creatures, he was relieved.

The elders and the militia were all stunned at his sudden and careless move. Before long, Duen and Gran were over the palisades, calling for him.

"Arcelius!" Gran called out, "What are you doing!? We can't help you if you're outside!"

Arcelius gazed at him, his eyes now glowing gold.

"I came out here not to make you people protect me," His voice was firm and clear, "I came here to protect you."

Arcelius turned his back on the palisade and looked on at the darkness before him. Mr. Wormy and Ms. Crock were at his side, ready. Though they performed best in shallow or deep waters, something was telling Arcelius that his companions would do just fine.

Maybe it was instinct, a gut feeling, or maybe because he had started trusting these two weird animals, but nonetheless he was proud as they stood by him in the face of danger and death.

And death lumbered towards them under the shroud of darkness. The enemy groaned and growled, shrieking as if to roar. Arcelius saw them through the dark with his golden eyes, and they were monstrous and horrid.

They were humanoid in shape, but there was nothing human about them. They had many long, stretchy limbs that either dragged or drooped. Wide mouths that stretched beyond what normal proportions. Pitch black eyes that stared indifferently yet menacingly. They all looked like sacks of flesh pieced together in a laughable attempt to mimic the first race of the world.

All were similar but none were the exact same. Many had more limbs than others, some taller or fatter, others simply more horrific with flesh that sagged and open wounds that leaked rotting blood.

As soon as they saw Arcelius standing between them and the gate, the abominations stopped. They stared at Arcelius and he stared back. A tense stand-off ensued.

The village went silent as the elders and the militia watched as Arcelius stared down against four of the corruptionspawn. They could only barely see the abominations with their normal human eyes under the darkness of the night.

But there the monsters stood, the faint light of torches reflecting off their rotting flesh.

Then as if on cue, the abominations screamed as one.

Abominable screams pierced the air and grieved many ears. Men faltered as they covered their ears and begged for the screams to stop. It felt as if the atmosphere had grown thick and tense, a heavy weight pressing down on everyone's shoulders. Fear and apprehension gripped the hearts of the defenders.

Arcelius, however, stood fast and unflinching. His ears had heard worse, and they weren't even comparable. He felt not the thickening of the air around him nor did he feel any great weight on his shoulders.

He was already burdened enough.

If they had intended to show him that he was inferior, they had failed. If they had intended to strike fear into his heart, they had failed there as well.

Deep within his heart, shackled away behind a will of holy steel, a deep boiling hatred festered as it mixed with frozen despair.

Arcelius did not fear their approach nor their shrieks. He was annoyed at first, but now he was angry. His body glowed bright and yellow. His palms shimmered as magic flowed through them. He bent his knees, leaned forward, and frowned.

The thick mist that plagued the swampy marsh appeared under the veil of night. It loomed alongside the monsters as they approached. No wonder they called the place the Vile Marsh.

Vile creatures called it home.

"What in the..." Duen whispered. The two brothers stood over the palisades with mouths agape and eyes fixed. They, alongside their men, watched as Arcelius began to glow like a dim star facing a sea of darkness. Their hearts warmed and some began to hope.

Like a bolt of lightning striking from the sky, Arcelius charged.