Fantasy Anteheroes

[Kuroakuma]

Jonathan Black

​

Jesus Christ.


Jonathan breathed in and out heavily, closing his eyes and yanking his hand from the Gwen's own. "Alright then, Gwen, I trust you this time." He let his fingers go limp as he stopped playing with his dagger, eyes reverting from a glare to his usual dark look as he turned away from the woman and took a few steps. Did he really care about these people? He thought about it for a while; A random old mage he'd never met, a noblewoman with severe anger issues and too wild an imagination, an uncoordinated woman prone to sudden personality changes and now two more people casually joining their party.


No, no he didn't care about any of them except Lucian. But then why wasn't he walking away? Why was he still there and putting up with their annoying antics, even? He shook his head and clenched his fists. He'd remained calm throughout the whole ordeal, even with Blayre and Gwen staring him in the eye and making him wish he could backhand them both across the face. JoJo took another breath, calming himself. "Save your anger for fights. You're no use if you're unable to think." He muttered under his breath.


Subconsciously clenching his fists and gritting his teeth as he reopened his eyes, JoJo turned around to the others. "Alright, listen up. We're taking no chances; if Gwen was actually able to somehow magickally predict an attack on this village then we shouldn't risk being here at all." Jonathan spoke loudly, not as loud as if he were screaming but a barely softer voice; the voice of a commander giving orders to his forces.


"I know a place down the road a few minutes, an old haunt of mine that I doubt they'll search. Partly because it's hidden underground and in a spot only idiots would go. I'm not saying you have to follow me, I have no reason to force you. If you stay here then I guess you risk being attacked by whatever's coming. If you want to avoid a potential army stomping your skull in as they burn this place, come with me." JoJo looked over at Gwen and nodded. "We'll talk later; I want an explaination."




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[LeviathanL]

Obsidian


The Blackened Sword looked upon the small town. He and his army had set up camp hidden behind a hill. From this viewpoint Obsidian was judging the town's defenses.


There were quite a lot of guards for such a small town, that was not surprising, given it's vicinity to the demon lands. Still, they probably weren't real warriors, just local men and woman without military training. His army should be able to take the town easily, but it would still take losses. Obsidian had a limited amount of loyal soldiers, and he wasn't going to spend them on such a worthless hole in the ground. He had something else in mind, something to put a pressure on the town's militia without costing him any valuable soldiers. His men were just finished in bringing a multitude of large crates to the forefront.


"Xathrid," he called to the necromancer. Xathrid of Karrth was a vile little man, but oh so useful in situations like this.


"Yeees, commander?" Xathrid replied with a slimy voice. His eagerness showing in his mad eyes.


"Set them loose."


Xathrid made some complicated gestures, the crates swung open, and the dead rose.


Xathrid's little playthings, as the necromancer fondly called them, crawled out of their coffins and started in a shambling walk towards the town. There were dozens of the walking dead, far more than any normal necromancer could animate on his own. Xathrid was no exception, but he used a trick. He couldn't animate that many undead with only his own soul to fuel the spells, but he could easily take control over the many minor spirits that roamed this war-torn land. These spirits weren't powerful or noticibly intelligent, but they were plenty malevolent and could be shoved into any empty body. A small army of the walking dead was the result, which should be enough to deal with the brunt of the town's defenders.


Obsidian turned to his lieutenant, "Take the mounted men and guard the roads, noone gets out of that town. Capture anyone who looks like an adventurer, kill the rest."


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[korigon]

Blayre woke up with a start, her eyes readjusting to the sudden light. How long had she been unconscious? It felt like hours, but as she took note of her surroundings, it had obviously only been a short time. There was some form of debate going on, and by the looks of it, the man she had insulted had taken the lead. So they were fleeing? From what? With a sigh, she realized she was lying on the street with her eyes open, definitely not an appropriate position for her to be in. She would have preferred to sit in the sun and go back to sleep instead of admitting her lapse in judgement, but there wasn't much of a choice. Respect had to be enforced.


Standing up, she gave Ein a faint smile then turned to face Johnathan. He was talking about some form of attack, and offered some sort of hideaway. His voice was quiet but calculating, like some form of commanding officer. Light! She had jumped to a conclusion, and now she had to wait in this crowd where everyone had seen her at her worst. It was an embarrassing moment, hopefully it wouldn't last long.


"Well. . . " She spoke slowly, trying to consider what words she should say to Johnathan. "I must apologize for my petty rant, I just have no intention of going there, but I misheard you." What a pathetic reason. Even biased as she was, it was miserable justification of her tirade.

 

[TheJipan]

Atticus wasn't sure wether he loved the forest, or hated it. On the one hand, it was peaceful and quiet, so wouldn't trigger any of his emotions. On the other hand, anything could be hiding in the trees ahead, and the trees were claustrophobic and the floor was uneven, making it... Uncomfortable... To walk along. And to top it all off, he was hungry. Hopefully, he'd reach the town soon and be able to get something to eat. Maybe he could catch one of the animals roaming around, or he could try one of the many fruits berries and mushrooms...


No, catching an animal would be too much effort, and who knows which of the plants are even edible, if any of them? He'd just have to wait for the village. Not that the village came without problems. With all of those people, something was bound to anger him, and that really wouldn't be good. It took him weeks to clean the blood out of his hair las-


His foot caught on a root. And it pulled his weight out from underneath him. It happened in slow motion, the world gradually turning around as the ground came up to painfully welcome him with it's muddy embrace.


'Not again...' he thought, knowing how much it would hurt. Why did that root have to be there? Why him? Why now? He felt anger begin to take hold of him, and he started to black out as his skin split to let through thick red fur, and his skull cracked for the rise of two horns, and his jaw cracked as his teeth shifted and shaped into fangs. And his world went black.


The Demon's eyes snapped open, clawed hands smashing into the ground to break his fall. With all the grace of a charging rhino, he threw himself back upright. He ripped his blade out of his sheath, threw his head back and roared.


These trees were going to pay for tripping him up like that. They had no idea what they got themselves into by tripping him, of all people.


The demon's roar petered out, and he lowered his head. The forest was silent, nothing daring to make a noise in front of this monster. Without warning, he smashed his sword at the nearest tree, and it's dry bark splintered as the blade severed it from the ground. Not wasting any time, he brought his sword around to attack another tree, a slightly thicker one. The bark shattered, but this time it refused to fall, gripping his blade instead. This only served to make him angrier, and he started hitting and kicking the tree, each leaving a small crater in the wood. The tree began to creak, slowly splitting at the deep incision, and he kept up his onslaught, each hit echoing out throughout the forest, before it eventually gave, crashing into a neighbouring tree. The demon roared again, commemorating the small victory, but he wasn't satisfied. Something in his memories told him there was a village nearby, and he was rather hungry, so he started in that direction, chopping down trees as he went. He didn't care how much noise he was making. He just wanted to destroy it all!


(my first detailed post, yay!)

 

[Thinslayer]

"Alright, listen up. We're taking no chances; if Gwen was actually able to somehow magickally predict an attack on this village then we shouldn't risk being here at all." Jonathan spoke loudly, not as loud as if he were screaming but a barely softer voice; the voice of a commander giving orders to his forces.
"I know a place down the road a few minutes, an old haunt of mine that I doubt they'll search. Partly because it's hidden underground and in a spot only idiots would go. I'm not saying you have to follow me, I have no reason to force you. If you stay here then I guess you risk being attacked by whatever's coming. If you want to avoid a potential army stomping your skull in as they burn this place, come with me." JoJo looked over at Gwen and nodded. "We'll talk later; I want an explaination."

There's the leader I know he is. Gwen couldn't help but smile at him. "You shall have your explanation once we reach safety. Direct our steps, captain."


She heard a moan behind her; Blayre was just waking up. Blayre pushed herself to her feet and forced herself to approach Jonathan.

"I must apologize for my petty rant, I just have no intention of going there, but I misheard you."

If there was anything more gut-wrenching than for a noble to humble herself and apologize, Gwen couldn't think of it. She developed a newfound respect for the scantily-clad woman.


She hadn't the time to act on that, though, as shadowy figures in the distance caught her eye.


Gwen lifted a lone finger to the horizon.


"They're coming."

 

[KatsaNovari]

When the red-head, now known as Ein, reached for her cloth that he returned, he noticed the scabs that decorated her hands. He was somewhat curious of their making, but put little interest in them and gave no further acknowledgement. It wasn't like it was an uncommon thing among adventurers, though Fern himself was proud to say that his own hands were about as smooth and clear as a traveler's can be under such conditions. Anyway, he was more keen on being friends with this young woman than on scabbed wounds; out of the group, she appeared the most welcoming and could likely help him with the others, and so long as he had at least one connection with the group, he was set.


The Scottish accent was quite heavy as she talked. It told Fern that she was from possibly some ways from here, which he thought the same for most present in this group. Really, the only ones that looked like they could be from here or nearby were the tall man and the other, a man with a pair of uniquely red eyes (a trait Fern took specific note of) and whom the two seemed to be the only ones who knew one another. This was because of the rugged demeanor they both possessed, as if they had spent a majority of their life on the rough road, and this town was near the demons' lands, after all. However, Ferdinand didn't think they'd have stayed here long if they were from here or close by; their clothing and the experience in their eyes told him they've been on the road for quite a long time.


Ferdinand accepted the offered hand and shook it, smiling still until Ein mentioned a tree. Knowing that she was referring to his name, it hadn't confused him at first until she mentioned 'they'. The smile faltered, brows lowered by a centimeter during her pause, but his unasked question was soon answered. It didn't really bring the smile back. Well, technically it did, but it held a sign of sarcasm from the look in his eyes and the fact his brows hadn't lifted again. "Tch, yeah..." His voice became surprisingly dry as he spoke. In the next second, however, both look and sound shifted back to his previous demeanor, once again smiling brightly and even chuckling a little as Ein stumbled over her words a bit, as if nothing had happened.


"Well, it's a very good pleasure to meet you, Ein."


After he spoke, his attention was drawn to the group again. The tall, scarred figure was addressing everyone once more, holding a demeanor of a commander that came so naturally to him that the scribe had very little doubt that he led before. His words were straight forward and to the point, and once again he could feel the sweat forming on his forehead. "I don't know about anyone else, but I think I'll take his advice," he spoke in a semi-whisper, a tone of which only Lucia and Ein could hear. "I rather enjoy having my head undamaged and not bashed in."


He almost jumped, startled, when the fainted woman was suddenly revived. She at last gained consciousness, a look of puzzlement on her features as she gathered her bearings. It wasn't long until she was back on her feet and gained a hold of the situation, first and foremost apologizing to the tall man for her earlier outburst. Well, it at least appeared the tension was evaporating from the group now, ironic considering a horde of demons was on its way to them. This thought was on Fern's mind when the mysterious woman suddenly pointed out to the horizon, and following it, his brows lifted in silent alarm at the approaching figures in the distance.


"Well she certainly hadn't been kidding when she said they were close..." Fern's hand instinctively reached for his sword, pulling it from it's sheath and holding it steady next to his side. His eyes squinted as he tried to make the forms out, and while they were still some ways to make any clear details, they didn't really appear like demons in his eyes. They looked very much human. However, they moved rather... oddly. As if their feet were too heavy to lift, or their minds were too disoriented to walk. The black-haired young man looked on with confusion ever rising on his expression, and he gripped his sword uncertainly.

 

[BoysPlantGraves]

Ein Thorquinn


Ein watched in silence as she hoped for the man she now knew as Fern to accept her small, casual act of greeting the other; something within her telling Ein that giving the man a large hug would be unfitting for such a scenario as the one they were in now, or mainly for such a man as the cloaked scribe who stood before her. Him, as well as for every other individual standing upon the dirt roadway which fell through the town at that moment held a certain air to him that permeated that she knew she didn't, a feeling of professionalism; an aura which Ein would be smart to be careful and less rambunctious around so she might not foil any stray chances she may have of experiencing a nice comradery with another.


Finally as Ein mentally formulated several scenes within her conscious and the supposed proper ways of responding in them, a strong though gentle set of fingers took hold of her own and enveloped them in farther warmth as the two hands drew upwards and downwards a combination of two times before both individuals fingers retracted back to their sides with an unusual sense of tenseness falling upon the pair while Ein gazed up at Fern with an apparent smile dragging up the edges of her lips.


But, it seemed she had said or done something wrong.


A young women of common gullibility, yes, a young women of common obliviousness, of course, such words as these were but what best described her in many scenarios. Though even a deaf cow(which Ein is near the observational level of), would be capable of taking notice of the, though slight, change in Ferns seemingly amiable and quizzical demeanor after she had spoken her attempt at a joke.


Had it been at such a level of an abomination to jokes that she may have offended his personal preference and degree of witty remarks? Eins eyes danced a crossed the males troubled features with distinct haste as she observed the changes which had overtaken them, the smile though apparent, held a sense of strain and uncertainty to it as Ferns eyebrows had lowered themselves.


Eins lips puckered outwards a small amount as she fell into a thoughtful silence, her fingers chaste as they gradually began picking at the dead skin which unprofessionally littered the edges of her crusted nails, dirt and thin slivers of wood crammed within the crevasses beneath her uneven nails of varying lengths and conditions beneath the cover of the plate of cake she still held onto though it seemed the spiky black haired man may have lost interest in it. She wondered of many possibilities as she awaited for an idea to tumble from her brain which may lessen the discomfort which had settled upon their shoulders, when born with such frail and some shoulders and Eins it was difficult to burden many loads, making it difficult for her not to question the man before her despite wishing to.


But then the cranked tone of Ferns met her ears, speaking in that of what she could infer to be his normal voice. Without intention of doing so Ein held onto each syllable of the sentence, hoping that her somewhat reckless words hadn't affected him, though it seemed that either they hadn't or the many years of Ferns life had given him the strong and punishable skill of lying.


"Yes, and it is very nice to meet you also." Ein spoke in a hurry only realizing she had already made a statement much like this before after the last word trailed from her lips.


Her at first fearful persona was relieved of its duties as she saw Ferns forested green gaze train onto that of the man who had yet to accept the cake Ein still held tightly onto from earlier that morning rather then herself. As the tone of the warrior like male met her ears, the familiar emotion of urgency and anxiousness fell upon Eins petite shoulders, wondering if they were going to leave very soon as she and predictably others preferred. After a mental remark as this Fern voiced her own personal thoughts in a murmuring tone that caused a gentle grin to fall upon her own expression once more.


"I'd be concerned if you didn't," Ein released the plate and tucked a stray section of her fiery hair behind her pale ear in silence as she was once again reminded of the great gratitude she held for her large hat even if it was of such a comical size. An umbrella though its extravagance in design and when acquired by a lovely women would be incapable of holding back the same amount of rain and sunlight the brown antiquated hat atop Eins mop of hair could. Such a task as that helpful along her travels as she had walked through out an alarming variety of storms the weather had conjured.


Such an item as her hat capable of speaking that age wasn't something which always crippled an item or person with disabilities that would hold it back from its usual duties.


As such a thought as this fell a crossed Eins mind her hazel eyes fell upon a stirring Blayre, her movements began small, the simple crinkle of her nose leading to the fluttering of her eyelids as her hands and feet found the ground and she shoved herself upwards back upon the soles of her shoes with little to no struggle. A sight such as this allowing a little of what pressure occupied Eins shoulders to drift away with the passing winds which caressed the bodies of those it brushed by. "Oh that's good," the young women found herself murmuring through an exhale of apparent relief as she saw the noblewomen approach the individual which neared the closest description of a leader their horrid group had.


Though if it were possible a weight of a more intense quantity began clinging to Eins small frame again as her eyes fell upon an approaching crowd of swaying individuals, the expected sound of rhythmic feet muffled by the scattered amount of a foot dragging over the ground.


It could be described as sickening, such a disturbing sound of just the simple gradual movements of what one could infer to be hundreds of beings of different builds and body types causing Ein to cautiously step backwards.


With widening eyes Ein then spoke aloud hoping to reach the ears of everyone which was near,


"Tell me if it's the wrong choice, but, I think it'd be smart if we got moving."


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[Kuroakuma]

Jonathan Black

​

JoJo turned to Blayre as she spoke, nodding slightly. "It's fine, no hard feelings, but try not to jump to conclusions so fast next time, alright? Arguing won't help us; especially in this type of situation." He motioned with his head as Gwen pointed towards the oncoming shadows, before slowly turning towards them himself and idly feeling for his dagger. "We'll head to the back of the village and sneak around, see if we can evade them." He inwardly cursed; if they could've split up into groups or individuals to head towards the hideout it would've been a lot less conspicuous, but since only he and Lucian knew about them they were forced to move together, or at least in two smaller groups. Jonathan stroked his chin, narrowing his eyes as he held up his hand and motioned towards himself as he took a few steps backwards. "Alright ladies and gents, it's time to split. As in right now." Jonathan suddenly spun on his heel and began to walk down the road, away from the shadows. Keen-eyed people would notice the dagger he'd slid up his sleeve, and that it was missing from his belt. As he began to move, he passed Ein and took the cake from her hand. He chuckled slightly, smiling at her quite warmly despite their situation. "I think it's about time I take this burden off your hands, Cake Hat. C'mon, let's go."


He turned around to the others, eyes narrowed and lips set in a firm line. "Whoever's coming, come. If you want to wait or stay, be my guest." Without another word, JoJo began to walk in the opposite direction of the figures Gwen had pointed out. He took quite large strides, albeit he also took measures to make himself look natural. They'd head down the road a little and then turn towards the hideaway, sprinting there if need be. All that mattered was getting inside, then they'd be safe. He hoped.


"I'd suggest getting some sort of weapon ready; if we have to fight, it'd be best to be able to strike first than to be caught off-guard. I'll stay at the front of the group, the unarmed people get in the middle and those of you with fighting skills should move beside and around them to make sure they're not hurt. Lucian, you get to the back and let us know if we're being followed."




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[TheJipan]

Atticus didn't know how long he was stuck in his trance, blindly smashing and slashing away at the trees. But he did know that he could see humans. A lot of them, too, all facing away from him. They all seemed to be kind of... Limping... Forwards. Well, more fool them. That just made it all the easier for him to slice through their supple flesh. So he remained true to his path, crashing through the remaining trees between him and the stupid humans.


For a long moment, the world was frozen. It was almost serene, the warmth of the sun lazily shining down, giving the place an almost cosy, welcoming atmosphere. Atticus thought the lighting really helped bring out his eyes. If the humans had the intelligence or awareness to look at him, it would really have helped to bring out their fear, too. It would have been nice to see that fear.


With a wet crunch, his blade scythed through the ribcage of the first human, easily breaking the relatively weak bones and tearing the upper half of their body away from its other half, with a glorious spray of blood. The serenity remained for only a moment before he grinned. He brought his sword back round, cleaving through the skull of another, which dropped straight down as the contents of its skull splattered over its companions.


The humans didn't even flinch. And that only served to make him madder. There was something slightly... Off... About these humans. Well, whatever it was, it didn't stop his blade from severing another human's torso from their legs. And so he kept slashing. It wasn't long before his already red fur matted with even more red blood. Something in the distance, on the other side of these humans was drawing him towards it, and somehow filed him with even more red hot rage. He felt that he should be killing whatever was over there. And so he cleared himself a path through these humans, now even more irritating for being in his way. He would make it over there soon. And then he would be satisfied.


(in case you hadn't guessed, he's clearing his way through the zombie infantry towards the protagonists.)

 

[LeviathanL]

Obsidian


"Well, I can honestly say I didn't see that coming." Obsidian said.


"Aaargh, my little dolls! My poor little dolls!" Xatrhid was jammering.


They were just watching the walking dead reach the town -much to the consternation of the townspeople who had noticed the oncoming horde- when a demon suddenly appeared from the forest and started ripping the undead apart.


Obsidian narrowed his eyes at the newcomer, he appeared to be fairly humanoid, save for the red skin and devil-horns, but he teared through the bodies like paper. Frankly, if he had come towards him he would have been worried, but luckily he seemed more interested in the town. Dodged an arrow there. It really wasn't much of a difference to Obsidian weither the guards where distracted by an undead horde or a rogue demon. The important thing was that there was chaos, and that the survivors were left too weak to oppose his own soldiers.


There was a good chance that the new demon was also after the adventurers, but Obsidian wasn't too worried about that. Any group of interest to a Demon Lord as strong as Nefarox should be capable enough to defeat or evade one wild demon. If they fought they would be left too weak to oppose Obsidian's army, and if they fled his cavalry would notice them.


Xathrid was still whining over the lost bodies, but he was already gathering the released spirits back to him, ready to put them in new bodies as soon as they became available. Shouldn't take long.


Obsidian would give the remaining undead and the new demon a few more minutes to create chaos, then he and his men would move in.


@TheJipan