The Encroaching Wave

The silence after the first strike didn't last.

From the fields, the first howl rose - guttural and wrong - and the night answered it. Dozens more erupted, each more shrill and guttural than the last, overlapping into a cacophony of sound, shaking the stones of Tristan's walls.

The order to fire came at last. Arrows whistled down from the parapets, followed close behind by streaks of flames, and bolts of magic trailed behind. Fireballs bursting in the night, chains of lightning leaping from one beast to the next, shards of ice rained down on them. Turning the air sharp with scent of burning fur and ozone.

The front ranks of monsters collapsed under the barrage, corpse twitching, black ichor boiling in the dirt. But more surged forward, rising over the dead with endless hunger.

Seeing the endless black tide, the refugees scrambled over one another as they fled inside, some even tried to scale the walls in desperation, only to fall back down, crushing those underneath, before being crushed themselves.

"Shields! Lock shields!" The knight captain roared, his voice barely audible through the chaos. A wall of Knights braced infront of the gates, creating a wall infront of the refugees, as the other knights funneled them into the city, shoving and pushing them as they wailed and clawed in panic.

Atop the western walls, Reiji continuously shot out multiple black and white spears, each one obliterating one of the beast that strayed too far from the wave, when the spears ran out, he switched to throwing bricks from part of the wall.

Nraltia, pressed up against the battlements beside him, her amethyst eyes focused on the corrupted wave, as she channeled her magical abilities. Her hands glowed, with multi-colored circles as waves after waves of low level spells were flung into the black tide.

Souma, had retrieved a longbow from the gatehouse, and was firing arrow after arrow, each one charged with his signature lightning. Although not as destructive, each arrow was able to pierce multiple monsters, slowing them down, enough for Nraltia's magic to finish them off.

Seeing the first monsters approaching melee range, the trio leap back down infront of the wall of knights.

"Finally, looks like a fight." Reiji smiles cracking his neck and knuckles, his Ki flaring up into a fire of black and white.

"Don't stray too far you two." Nraltia says as she brandishes her spear. "We just need to hold out long enough for the gates to close again."

"Tell that to Reiji." Souma calmly retorts, his skin now blue, as he activates his blood line.

The wall of knights behind them speak up. "If they breach the gate-"

"Not while we're standing here." Reiji cuts him off, as he lashes out at the spear tip of the Outer Beast wave, his fist charged black and white, Howling Storm smashing into the Beasts head, it's spine twisted like bowstring. A silence drops over the field, before a shockwave explodes outwards, the impact shredding through the wave of Outer Beast.

His body moved before thought, his ki coiling tightly around his body, sharpening his senses, his black and white fist tracing arcs, parrying a claw with his left fist, he hammered his right into it's ribs. The beast explodes mid air, as it tumbles into the increasing number of corpse around it.

The other beasts, both wolf and bear like, charge at Reiji, flanking him from his side, rearing up on hind legs, it pounces forward giant claws swatting down on him. 

Multiple arcs of azure lightning flashes between the gaps, as Souma intercepts, his lightning charged blades dicing the attacking monster, before dashing through it, moving on to the next, and then the one after. 

"You're not the only one that can take them." 

His form shimmers, in and out of sight, appearing infront of a single monster only momentarily, sometimes from their shadow. A multitude of skills, Cross Slash, Lightning Fall, Shadow Strike, and Assassinate, explode in succession, each one destroying a monster.

Seeing the staggering front line, the flying monsters swoop down, eclipsing even the Moons light, shrieking vehemently as they slice through the air, towards Reiji and Souma. But their shrieks of madness were cut short, shot down by multi-colored spells of fire, ice, and lightning. Nraltia waving her spear and hand, as a conductor, orchestrating the winged-beast's demise. 

"Don't forget about me now."

The Crimson Crow members let loose, attacking tirelessly, under the unrelenting assault of the oncoming waves, becoming a wall of their own, valiantly holding their promise to the Knights and Refugees.

Seeing the one sided massacre before them, the wall of Knights surged with morale, their bloods boiling with an intense heat, lit by the passions of the three infront of them. Surging forward, they joined the three at the front, pushing back against the encroaching waves. 

Although not as strong, they worked in unison, like a well oiled machine, each knight working in groups of three, taking down one beast at a time. 

"Heh. Looks like the knights have graced us with their presence." Reiji smirks at the Lieutenant standing besides him, the only Knight capable of fighting the beasts one on one. His blonde hair and blue eyes, shining under his helmet, as his pristine armor and sword, becomes covered in black ichor.

"How could we stand back after seeing you in action?" His spear shined with a bright yellow light, as his Ki flared around him, skewering a beast mid jump, before smashing it into another one, that he had just parried with his small shield.

Seeing him in action Reiji whistles in admiration. "Don't fall behind now-"

"Lance. Lieutenant Lance." He answers, slicing a wolf like beast from jaw to tail. Nodding, the four of them continue fighting as a immovable wall, breaking the waves of monsters assault on the gate, backed by the other knights on the field and from the paraphets.

Their bodies move non stop, every strike, lethal, every swing, precise, not a single beast made it through their line. Each one of them, moving long past, their limit, holding on through pure grit and passion, fired up by the fighters standing beside them. When one faltered, another would step in, lighting their heart again. 

Finally the call came from the Captain of the gate. "Fall back! The refugees are all inside."

Nodding to the Lieutenant, Reiji signals for him to lead his men behind the gate. "Go, we'll follow."

The line grew smaller, retreating in an orderly fashion, starting with one group at a time, until only Reiji, Souma, Nraltia, and Lance remained outside the gate. 

Unleashing their strongest attack simultaneously, the remaining beasts of the first wave exploded, finally giving the defenders breathing room. 

The first wave was finally over.

 Using the gap, the four rush back through the gates, just as it closed, momentarily hiding the field of carnage behind them.

"That felt great!" Reiji grins as he shakes the black ichor off his fist.

"Is he always this blood thirsty?" Souma turns to Nraltia, quizzically.

Sighing, Nraltia reluctantly nods. "Unfortunately, yeah."

"You guys are unbelievable." Lieutenant Lance sighs, as he shakes feeling back into his limbs.

The four of them laughed over the forged bonds through battle.

Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!

The bells of Tristan rang again, low and grim. Rushing up the stairs, the four of them joined the Captain of the gate atop the parapets.

From the walls, the defenders saw the night shifting - the horizon no longer black but a writhing mass of black shapes glinting with the same sickly alien violet. More beasts. Hundreds. Thousands.

The West gate bell rang first, then the East, followed by the North and the South.

"It's happening everywhere... If that was just the first wave... what chance do we have?" Blurted the Captain.

The first wave had only managed to bloodied the cobblestones beneath the walls... but this would be different.

Lance barked orders to the reinforcement that had just arrived. The knights brace pikes, as adventurers swapped handed out spent quivers for fresh ones before lining up along the wall. Spellcasters, huddled together behind knight shield walls as they downed expensive mana potions to restore their MP.

The air was thick with ash from burning pitch, the stink of corrupted ichor, and soon the metallic bite of blood. Although no words were spoken, every Man and Woman on the walls shared the same thought.

The first wave had tested them.
The Second would break them.

“Steady, men!” The knight captain shouted, voice cracking under the strain. “The wall will stand, as long as we still stand!”

Even as he spoke, the beasts surged forward in uneven rhythm, each step forward, like a crashing wave bearing down on the will of the defenders atop the wall.

The stones beneath Reiji’s feet trembled, dust trickling from the battlements, as if sands in an hourglass, counting down towards the inevitable.

Gritting his teeth, he leaned over the wall, gazing at the approaching beasts. The remnants of the first wave circling, regrouping, clawing at each other before assimilating with the new wave, preparing to rush the walls again.

Then, far out in the dark, a howl arose. Not the cry from a single beast, but a chorus, layered and alien. A cacophony of sound, carrying with it a rhythm of war. 

For a heartbeat, the world went still, like a heart skipping a beat.

Then the tide moved.

A wave of fangs, flesh, wings, and hunger, surging towards Tristan. 

It no longer mattered how tall or sturdy the walls, because now the beasts numbered enough to black out the entire sky.

 The third bell tolled, and with it, the black tide had come.