The Commander of the Corrupted

The battlefield churned, blood and ash bleeding into mud beneath their boots. The corrupted tide had pressed for hours, relentlessly, back and forth, the flow swinging towards both sides. 

Not once had the battlefield stilled, until now. 

Beating faster and faster, all the defenders could feel it, in their bones, in their blood, the heartbeat of war, quickly churning into a crescendo of silence. 

The field of black parted, the corrupted forced aside. Not of their own will, but coerced through the will of a greater being. 

Revealing a single figure, a corrupted monstrosity made of beast and man, the first fused being and the largest. It’s lower body made up of wolfish body and bear like legs and claws, its tail a giant python, dripping venom from its fangs. It's upper body was the upper half of a Elf, once a hero of the Kingdoms, the leader of the Kingdom Knights known as Serpio. 

His once golden hair now matted with dried blood as half of his skull had been caved open, his cracked plate armor blackened and broken, his weapon replaced by a boney greatsword with deadly spikes protruding out of it. Like the other corrupted beasts, most of its body had been covered in black tendrils, muscles wriggling under its skin, its eyes glowed with a sickly alien violet like the others, but intelligence radiated from this Knight Commander, oozing into the air with its corrupted mana.

A sense of dread crept back into the defender's hearts, as they laid eyes upon what remained of Serpio, perverted by the corruption.

"Looks like you beat us." A strangers voice rang out, as the other remaining gold party and Lance's Knight squad arrive, walking through the path left by the army, only to freeze as they too saw the leader of the corrupted army.

A loud cracking sound echoes through the silence, as Reiji steps forward unflinching in the face of the horror before him, his neck and knuckles ringing his sound of battle.

"So you're the boss of this freak show." He grinned wildly, spitting out blood, his eyes blazing from the boiling rage inside of him. "I don't care who you are, but you've really pissed me off. It's time for you to pay."

Raising his sword, the leader's purple eyes flared brightly, as if accepting Reiji's challenge. The ranks of the corrupted corpse slammed their weapons against shields and armor, sounding the drums of war as they formed up around the defenders.

"What now?" Vaelen asked, as the defenders each took up their formation.

"I need you guys to keep the army off us, while we deal with the enemy leader." Nraltia replied, stepping up with Souma to join the fray.

"Don't worry. Not a single beast will make it through." Grinned Abel.

Without waiting, Reiji charged forward, roaring loudly, his boots tearing trenches in the mud, the flames of white and black formed around him, raging like an inferno as he casted both Yin Yang Ki and Rage. 

The leader's sword cleaved downwards, drawing a beautiful arc, powerful enough to split stone. Reiji met it head on, fist against bone, a resounding boom echoed out, neither side giving in. 

The impact shook the battlefield, a shock wave washing over.

For a instance, even the walls of Tristan shook, defenders braced against the walls, watching in disbelief as a wild beast in human form and a corrupted monster clashed.

Recovering from the aftershock, the other parties began moving as they each moved in a different direction, blocking the monsters from rushing forward to swarm the Crimson Crow.

The clash between the Crimson Crow and the corrupted knight cracked the air like thunder. Sparks rained as Ki covered fist slammed into jagged bone and black mana. 

The leader move with terrifying speed, contrasting its large size, each strike was a killing bow, leaving blackened scars that split the earth. Reiji didn't falter, meeting each attack head on, grinning through his blood and sweat.

Slipping under a horizontal slash, Reiji launches upwards, smashing a Rending Strike into the torso's ribs, blasting through the armor, staggering the upper body. The lower body reacts, lashing out with its viper tail, narrowly missing Reiji as he flips over it using the recoil from his earlier strike. Spinning mid air, Reiji unleashes a Beast Fang, black and white wolfs head biting down on the commander's torso, but the ki blast was sliced in half by the boney great sword.

"Tch. What a tough bastard." Reiji grumbles, as he blocks a strike from the commander, bouncing himself from the ground, back on to his feet.

A figure dashes past, a blue oni clad in lightning, his short swords sliding through the leader attacks, aiming for the gaps between the crack of the armor. A clap of azure lightning flashes out, Souma reappearing on the commander's other side, a arc of black blood trailing behind him.

"Don't forget about us." Nraltia's soft voice rings out, as a Frigid Blast erupts, freezing the tail mid attack, stopping it from reaching Souma.

Rebalancing itself the commander retaliates with a Cleaving Strike, slashing down at Nraltia, the boney greatsword screaming through the air, but the skill completely misses, as Reiji knocks it off center with Ki Bullets.

"Oi. You've got guts focusing on the others!" Reiji roars as he pummels the commander with multiple Ki bullets, but it only seems to anger the commander further.

Leaping forward, Reiji strikes out with a Stunning Blow, slamming into its front leg, demolishing it's knee. "Heh. That's what you get for ignoring me" Sliding through it's lower body, Reiji unleashes a Howling Storm, carving a hole through it's lower body, spraying black blood everywhere. 

The leader roars furiously, pain wracking through it's patched up body, but the corruption activates, black tendrils shooting out like worms, quickly closing the wound.

"Damn, this thing heals fast."

"Aim for its core, Reiji." Souma says, landing at his side.

"Right." Dashing forward, Reiji vaults over the commanders tail whip, lashing at the torso with a Stunning Blow round house kick, the commander easily guards with his boney greatsword, using his arm to brace with it.

A loud bang echoes out as Reiji's kick slams into the greatsword. As the commander counters with its tail, a flash of silver intercepts, Nraltias short spear piercing it with Void Thrust. Jumping of off Reiji's shoulder Souma soars through the air, slashing into the torso with Assassinate. 

A beautiful arc of black blood is drawn, as the platemail breaks apart, revealing a part of the core embedded in Serpio's chest. "Now!"

A burst of black and white radiate over the battlefield, as Reiji's Ki flares into a raging inferno, swirling around him. "Orah!" Reiji roars, smashing his Howling Storm into the commander's open chest, tearing it apart, completely crushing it's core.

"Heh, that all you got?" Reiji swaggers, taunting the commander, a devilish grin plastered over his face. But his celebration is short lived, as a diagonal flash of black and purple slices through, drawing a bright arc of crimson into the air.

"Wha-?" Blood splurts out of his mouth, as Reiji is sent backwards, a deep wound drawn over his chest. His body hurls backwards, crashing into Nraltia who jumped in to catch him.

"Reiji! Are you alright?" A soft green light surrounds Reiji as she begins healing him with her spells.

"Ho-how?" Souma lands next to them, his hand clutched over his wounded shoulder, bleeding red and green, his face twitching with pain, as the vipers venom enters him, coughing out a mouthful of tainted blood. 

Unable to stand on his feet, Souma collapses face first, into the mud, his poisoned blood turning the mud around him a sickly red.