ASHEN DRAGOONS SQUAD

SKRRRIIIIEEEAAAHHHHRRAAAUUUGGGHH!”

In the middle of the western island laid a bustling city, filled with thousands of citizens, a heart ripping sound was heard. It was a sound of agony and hunger entwined, a banshee’s death cry fused with the grinding of stone, enough to make blood run cold. Everyone suddenly froze up, they tried their best to move but they couldn’t. The sound had a paralysis effect. All they could do was pray and hope that the island’s soldiers would answer their silent call.

Soon enough the creature could be seen, diving downwards at an insane speed. It landed with an intense force, living behind a small sized crater on the cobblestone ground. The creature had a tall, emaciated humanoid body with stretched, sinewy muscles visible beneath a pale, sickly skin. Its arms and legs are unnaturally elongated, with claw-like fingers that give it a predatory, skeletal appearance. It had enormous wings — fleshy, bat-like membranes that stretch unnervingly from its sides, veined and translucent as if they were made of living skin rather than feathers.

The creature oozed of blood and rot, making most people begin to puke. The civilians watched in horror as the creature began devouring heads. One by one, the creature kept eating the heads of citizens, it would bite on the head, using it’s winged arm, it would hold the body in place, then rip off only the head along with the spine, leaving the body behind.

Lunging forward to eat the next civilian, the first volley cracked–rifles spat silvered rounds, each bullet glowing faintly with fire, striking the monster, they tore through its flesh, spraying chunks of blackened gore, but the  gore didn’t hit the civilians. With the creature down, everyone began moving freely.

Immediately, the soldiers began evacuating nearby civilians because the battle was far from over. From were it was shot, it began healing itself, slowly it became conscious.  All civilians were evacuated.

“Corporal, all civilians nearby have been evacuated”, lance corporal David, reported.

“Good, now begin phase two!”

Each with a saber and a revolver, their uniforms—a gray, long fitted coat—tailored to the waist and flaring out at the knees, collars high and stiff, buttoned up to the throat, white chest cross belts, trousers tucked into knee-high black leather boots, and on their heads were shakos, with badges representing their squad. Consisting of ten soldiers; the ashen dragoons. They took formation, surrounding the creature.

On a fountain, stood Corporal Mary a diligent soldier. She has black hair that fell like midnight silk around her face, framing eyes of soft gray that carried both storm and calm within them—eyes that seemed to see deeper than the world allowed, and yet held a quiet warmth that lingered like a gentle touch.

On roofs were three soldiers, hiding and waiting behind the walls and on the ground stood five soldiers, the lance corporal stood ahead of the corporal, facing the creature at a reasonable distance.

Private Den, the soldier standing behind the wall stretched out an instrument that resembles a voltmeter without wires, he pointed it towards the creature as if measuring something. Then he shouted saying,

“it’s a grade two fragment!”

A sigh of relief could be seen on their faces, then the corporal roared,

“Ready your weapons!”.

"Activate your arcana!"

Five of the squad members drew out their rune-lit sabers, while the remaining four held their revolvers, aiming at the fragment, ready to shoot.

The creature opened it’s eyes, looking forward, ready to attack lance corporal David, whom stood still, and didn’t move. Private Rocky and Sarah on the roof, wielding revolvers pulled their triggers, shooting at the fragments vital spots, it shrieked in pain and began striking at the gunslingers. They kept shooting, and at the same time dodging the fragments ferocious attacks,—each brass bullet glowing, one with conjured fire and the other with wind. As expected it didn’t do as much damage as the rifles which had only one shot. All they could do was keep the fragment distracted for the sword users to close in on the fragment.

Private Emily and Oliver from below hacked in at once, sabres screeching through tendon and bone. Both monster’s arms tore free, spraying ropes of flesh and fountains of black blood that splattered across the walls like tar. The stumps pulsed, spraying jets that painted the soldiers noir.

Before the beast’s scream even finished, Private Daniel and Vincent dropped from above with—sabres wrapped in flames crossing in a clean, savage arc. The blades sheared straight through the neck. Vertebrae cracked, veins burst like snapped hoses, and the head tore loose with a wet rip, spewing gore in a geyser that rained over the cobblestones.

In a blink, the lance corporal lunged forward—blade glowing icy cold. From behind he slashed his blade straight in—steel tearing through bones, ripping into the fragment's core.

The sabre sliced clean through. The core shattered with a crack like thunder, erupting in a spray of molten blood.

The body convulsed, as it collapsed, leaving only twitching limbs and a rolling jaw-snapping head, in the street’s pool of blood.

After the entire fight was over, some parts of the soldiers body had slight cracks and the soldiers were feeling slight pain on some areas of their body. Depending on their elements and the duration of using it, they got elemental burns.

David turned to the corporal, then reported,

“Fragment Terminated!”

Then Corporal Mary replied with a smile,

“Well job done”.

 They 'high-fived' each other, the civilians around—along with their children, began praising them,

“…Ashen dragoons!”

“We love you all!…”

“Thanks for your hard work!...”

David got emotional and began sobbing.

Then Emily said

“Cap. Mary, David’s sobbing like a baby again”.

“Just leave him, it’s his thing”. Mary replied.

From behind, Brody said in playful sad tone,

“I didn’t even get to fight”

Then Sarah said,

“Come on, you’re our last resort, our backup plan, incase anything goes wrong, someone has to report the case or accomplish the unfinished job, you should be honored and happy, jeez!”

“But I still want to be part of the fight, even if it’s just a little part of it”.

Then Mary said,

“Okay, go gather the fragment’s core and lets head for the branch quarters”.

Brody’s eyes glittered in excitement as he rushed towards the corpse, scrambling through its body for the core.

Like a group of childhood friends, covered in the fragment's black blood, they all headed for the branch quarters, teasing each other along the way.

Half-way to their destination, Mary felt dizzy, she tried ignoring it and continued pacing.

David whom noticed the slight change in her movement, asked,

“Are you okay?”

“I am. there’s nothing to worry about”, she replied.

 After a while she seemed to lose her sense of balance and fell. Her squad members where in shock, they tried waking her but she didn't flinch, her breath got slower and heavier. In distress her squad rushed her towards the nearest hospital in hopes that she would recover soon.

Well, will she recover soon enough?