Chapter 3 - Part 23 (Book 1 - Fantasy World)

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There was a slight tremor of the pikes as the soldiers watched the merciless knights unceasingly rush towards them at speeds never before witnessed, apathetic towards the pikemans' trivial defense.

Soldiers began murmuring prayers to their gods and last-minute farewells to loved ones. Their loyalty to the Empire was the only chain keeping them from dropping their weapons and fleeing away from the nightmarish creatures.

A few whimpers were heard as soldiers noticed the unnatural appearance of their enemy, raising memories from their childhood of an overflowing ocean of monsters.

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The forest of pikes shattered and exploded upon making contact with the Knights. Woodchip shrapnel scattered in all directions, the small pieces of wood becoming knives as they sliced into the pikemen.

Their surprise and yell of surprise quickly transformed into screams of pain as the soldiers were mercilessly and brutally trampled under the hooves of the undead Knights.

Limbs and bodies instantly turned into ground meat. Sounds of bodies squished into pulpy formless masses were accompanied by soldiers screaming and begging for their mothers.

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Listening to the screams, Han opened his mouth to take in a morsel of smoked ham. Tasting the smoky flavor of the meat in his mouth, he rolled his eyes back and moaned in enjoyment.

Occasionally, Han raised his glass -- complimenting Queen for allowing him to see such an excellent show.

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The Knights' spears and tridents continued to pierce into soldiers. Remembering the orders of their mistress, they purposefully aimed at their guests' stomachs, legs, and arms.

Soldiers would often stare at their waist, seeing organs spilling out of them -- their armor seeming to only be helpful as decoration against the merciless and eldritch enemy.

Once they were deep into the formation of the Empire's forces, some Knights began to toss aside their weapons -- switching to something more fitting for close combat.

Those that chose to discard their lances pulled out their long swords, the blades flashing menacingly as the light from the moon bounced off the dreadful and cold metal.

As soldiers raced to attack the Knights, the undead warhorses used their hind legs to accurately kick into the chest of the unfortunate souls.

Metal chest armor crumbled as the soldier's ribs shattered from the impact, piercing and puncturing organs. Blood overflowed out of their mouths as they drowned due to internal bleeding.

The Knights on the two ends mowed down soldiers on their way out of the Empire forces. Separated from the middle group, the end groups sped away into the surrounding fields.

After gaining enough distance, both groups of nights charged back toward the remaining Empire soldiers.

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Dennan watched as the enemy Knights made their way out of his men, leaving behind trails of ground meat and pitiful screams.

Hearing the explosion of flesh ground into a formless paste, Dennan struggled to hold onto his sanity. Noticing the strange movements of the enemy, he raised a brow -- confused by why the two groups were escaping when they were defeating his men with overwhelming force.

Slowly the madness which had been growing retreated, bringing clarity. Dennan raised his brow upon putting together what was about to occur.

"Mages! Fire at those unholy nightmares!" Dennan screamed at a shivering group of mages close to him.

With the enemy inside their formation, the mages had been forced to watch the horrific images of their companions ground into a gelatinous mass of quivering meat. Their faces were wet with tears as they begged for deliverance from the evil they faced.

Hearing the shouting from their leader, a few retained enough of their sanity to look at what the noble was shouting about. They immediately reached a similar conclusion.

In front of each chanting mage, a ball of fire began to form. Those with sufficient strength raised their arms and began to chant and direct their will into a firey attack. The mana inside their body slowly flowed out of them, guided by the instructions from the spell.

As if understanding it would be their last chance, the size of the fiery infernos was magnitudes larger to the degree that it was nearly uncontrollable. Sweat poured down their faces as they continued to chant.

"This time, it will work. It would be unimaginable if those things were completely unaffected." Dennan madly smiled as he began to laugh.

His mind refused to believe that his mages would be unsuccessful, burning up the last of their mana reserves.

"Fire! Now!" Dennan desperately screamed as he watched the terrifying horses carry the incarnations of death closer.

Despite the scalding heat from the numerous infernos, Dennan could only feel a cold chill that grasped his heart.

Each raging ball of fire streaked through the air toward the mounted Knights.

Dennan watched as the massive fiery balls exploded with enough concussive force to cause his horse to move back in alarm.

All the mages that attacked collapsed from exhaustion, depleted of all energy. Their eyes were wide with horror, knowing they were defenseless and unable to react to the nightmares that would inevitably find them.

"No. This can not...," Dennan pleaded to some unknown being as he watched the nightmares emerge from the fire and smoke -- completely unscathed.

He laughed as his mind began to crack -- the screams of his men accompanied his descent into madness.

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Seeing that the battle was beginning to wrap up, Han took a sip of wine.

Han placed the glass on the armrest and stood up, "That was entertaining to watch."

Raising his hands and stretching, Han began to head towards the stairs.

Both Helania and Brittany followed behind him just as a portal materialized where they were. Out of the portal, maids emerged, and they wasted no time to begin clearing the serving table and handling the remaining food.

Reaching the stairs, Han skipped down them.

"For the first battle I watched with my own eyes, it was definitely an experience to remember," Han whistled.

Helania and Brittany smiled, seeing their Master in such a cheerful mood.

Though Han could've materialized next to where Queen was located, after eating so much food, it felt natural to walk off the meal. He also had a pleasant euphoric sensation after the wine, which made him feel romantic. With Helania and Brittany with him, Han felt the cool night air was something to cherish.

Walking around the massive pyramid took a while; during that time, Han admired the statues.

"I did a good job with the detail," Han commented.

Brittany nodded, "Master truly created something which will give these humans pause as they admire it. I imagine many humans will worship it upon sensing your divine touch." Her eyes teared with fanatical rapture.

"I do imagine the humans will find the pyramid to be a wonder far beyond anything they have created with their limited skills," Helania agreed with Brittany, casually giving the maid a sideways glance.

Though Han was aware that both of his creations were stating things that clearly demonstrated their bias towards him, it was a sentiment that still warmed his heart.

As they walked away from the pyramid toward where Queen stood, surrounded by her summons, Han appreciated the contrast. Around them, the grass waved with the passing breeze, the area illuminated only by the moon. Queen's skin was pale and cool, absorbing the light and appearing ethereal. Covering the ground was bathed in blood with the scattering of limbs, the occasional arm reaching towards the apathetic heaven above.

Seeing her Master approaching her, she turned towards Han and bowed. Her summons moved away to give their mistress room as they also bowed in submission to their Master.

Walking up to Queen, Han smiled, "You did a wonderful job tonight. You brought pride to all of us with your performance." Han congratulated her as he waved a hand and indicated the carnage surrounding them.

"You honor me with words," Queen answered.

Han's eyes slowly looked at the only remaining human in one piece. Looking closer, Han's eyes widened as he recognized the arrogant Viscount. The Viscount was on his knees, staring up at the night sky with a giant smile -- occasionally giggling as drool dripped down the side.

"A present?" Han looked at Queen, curious about what his creation was thinking -- allowing the noble to survive.

Queen looked at the giggling fool of a noble before saying, "I imagine that there is still fun left in him. I hope that Master could use a toy to experiment on." She smiled before looking at Han.