Alleyway Beast

*Crunch Crunch Crunch*

Zane got goosebumps all over his body when he heard the faint sound in the narrow alleyway. His foot stopped and he came to a halt once again. "What now!?" Everyone else stopped too and turned towards Zane once again, irritation clear on their faces.

"...Don't you hear that?" Zane pointed towards the alleyway. Following his finger, everyone turned their head towards the dark alleyway. They all held their breaths and the surrounding became dead silent. The light wind from the alleyway carried a faint and eerie crunching sound with it.

Everyone widened their eyes when they heard the sound. Due to the silence, the sound grew louder, which worked to intensify the unease that had settled upon the group. Zane took an unconscious step forward, his curiosity overriding the caution which screamed within him. Everyone was broken out of their stupor when they heard Zane's footstep.

Thorn turned to look at Zane before his voice broke the silence. "This may be what we are searching for, follow me." He took the lead again, his hand instinctively rested on the hilt of his sword, ready to defend against any potential threat.

Everyone entered the alleyway in a formation, ready to defend themselves from any direction. The darkness within the alleyway seemed to coalesce, a malevolent presence lurking just beyond their vision. The crunching sound echoed through the narrow space, amplifying the tension that hung heavy in the air.

As they walked through the darkness of the alleyway, the sound of crunching started to become clear. It resembled the distinct sound of brittle bones being crushed. As they approached the mouth of the alley, the sound suddenly stopped.

Thorn and the rest slowly approached and turned the corner. When they turned the corner, a flicker of movement immediately caught their attention. Widening his eyes, Thorn swiftly unsheathed his sword and blocked in front of him.

*Clang*

What struck his sword was a claw, which looked like a mix between a human's and a beast. At the end of the claw stood a hulking figure obscured by a tattered cloak. After it's attack failed, it fell back, it's movements jerky and disjointed and limbs contorted in unnatural angles. But the beast's face remained hidden beneath it's hood.

Thorn's grip on his sword tightened as he prepared to counter attack the beast. "Support!" He screamed towards the others, cutting through the silence of the night. The beast looked towards the seekers that were coming at it and let out a low, guttural growl, its eyes glowing red with an otherworldly intensity.

When it saw Thorn charging at it, the beast also lunged forward, it's movements unnaturally swift. The group sprang into action, Buck and Roe combining their <Arcane> spells and the rogue seekers supporting from the back.

Zane charged at the beast from the side, using his shadow to form a spear and stab from a distance. Victor jumped right at the beast, his hands turning into bear claws and his face extending into a bear's maw. From the back, Edgar sent out an arrow of wind towards the beast.

The beast moved it's disjointed limbs and tried to block the incoming attacks, but the attacks pierced through it's furry skin, wounding it slightly. Buck and Roe struck the beast from both sides, their punches landing on it's waist, which sent it some steps back.

Finally, Thorn came down at the beast, slashing it's face with his flaming sword. After everyone's collective attack and Thorn's final blow, the beast staggered back, it's hood finally falling down from it's head and revealing it's face.

The beast's face was a mix between a human and a beast resembling a hyena. The fur surrounding it's mouth was painted red with blood, which was from the corpse of a lady on the ground behind the beast.

The beast's disgusting face was filled with complex emotions. The eye of the side resembling a human was filled with sadness and what seemed like pleading. The eyes from the beast's side was filled with unkempt rage and hunger.

It's appearance startled everyone for a moment, but Thorn's sudden shout brought their focus back. "Attack!" Thorn shouted and slashed his burning sword with his right hand while his left hand conjured a blue fireball and hurled towards the beast.

Buck and Roe also attacked from the sides while the rogue seekers supported from the back again. The beast tried to retaliate but the onslaught of attacks didn't give it any chance to counterattack. Finally, Vine suddenly appeared at the beast's back and inserted a glowing blue dagger in it's neck.

Everyone stopped attacking when they saw this. Vine slowly took out the dagger from it's neck, causing blackish blood to spurt out from the wound. The beast fell down on it's knees, it's eyes grateful to the seekers before it. It's body fell down to the ground with a thud, throwing up a cloud of dust.

Thorn slowly walked towards the beast and held up it's body, scanning it with his Azure Gaze. "It was a human..." He mumbled in a soft voice, which echoed through the dark alleyway. Vine also kneeled down and examined the body. "Did he fall into lunacy?"

Thorn shook his head, "No, I've never seen something like this. If one falls into lunacy, they turn into beasts completely, but it seems like he stopped turning mid-transformation." He looked towards Buck.

Sighing, Buck walked up to the corpse and carried it over his shoulders. "Whatever this is we'll find out later. For now, let's go and rest. We've done our job." Buck spoke to Thorn, who nodded his head. "Let's go and rest." He looked towards Zane and the rogue seekers. "Thank you for your help."

"Oh?" Edgar raised his eyebrow. "A commander from the Sacred Order thanking a rogue seeker? Now this is something no one has ever seen before." He spoke in his snobby tone while Victor laughed from the side. "I'm shocked too brother Edgar. Haha!"

Zane looked at Thorn with a wry smile and nodded his head. The group then slowly headed back towards the inn with the corpse of the beast and the woman in tow.

After reaching the inn, they showed the corpses to the innkeeper, who was shocked. He confirmed that the beast's face resembled the hunter who had gone missing first. As for the lady, it was someone from the town who was just unlucky, or stupid enough to roam the town at night alone.

Ending their brief meeting, they all headed towards their rooms to rest for the night. Zane headed towards his room and laid down next to the bed where Slem was sleeping soundly. "Haah..." He sighed, remembering the pitiful face of the beast. 'Poor guy, what could've happened for him to turn out like that...'

Putting his thoughts aside, he focused his essence on the slug inside his stomach, which immediately made him unable to move his body. The slug slowly began to spread it's essence around Zane's body while he fell into sleep.