Chapter 12

Gaius Faulkner, accompanied by his bodyguards Zobel the rat and McGrath the scorpion, his alchemist Zane the cobra and his wizard Sienna the owl, was shocked when he saw the lemming jump from the window. Without hesitation, he ran towards the man to see if he was alright. Fearful for the lemming’s life, he dearly wished he had brought Dr. Josef along in his evening stroll so he could properly assess the man’s situation.

The lemming man groaned, showing that he was, indeed, still alive.

“You’re alive,” Gaius said to him. “The fall didn’t kill you. I don’t know what made you jump in the first place, but know this: life is precious. Don’t throw your life away so eagerly.”

“M-Mon-Monster!” the man groaned in pain.

“Look, I’m trying to help you!” Gaius said. “You should be grateful that you’re still alive!”

“N-No!” the lemming said, then pointed up. “Th-The Monster!”

And, looking up, Gaius saw that there was some sort of thing from the fourth floor of the building that jumped down onto the cobbles of the street with a loud thud. It was a little high for the creature and it stumbled when it fell. However, it rose up without a hitch, clearly uninjured and ready for battle.

“That’s...” Zane the cobra paused, as if he couldn’t believe his own eyes. “That’s a battle chimera!”

Without any hesitation, Zobel the rat and McGrath the scorpion rushed the creature, weapons drawn and ready.

While the battle chimera’s scythe-arms, claws and teeth were lethal, McGrath’s shield served well to protect him as he struck the creature again and again with his flail. Unlike McGrath, Zobel had no shield to speak of but the reach of his weapon was more than enough to provide him with some advantage, allowing him to pierce the softer parts of the monster with the spike on his halberd. Sienna lent some help too, shooting bolts of fire from her wand at the creature, hitting its eyes and causing it to roar in pain and frustration.

Then Zane drew his pistol and shot the creature in its chest, causing it to buck and back away. However, it seemed far from defeated as it still stood as if in defiance. It even raised its injured head, two of its six eyes already put out by Sienna’s bolts of fire. It then roared threateningly as if still ready for battle.

Gaius joined the fray and shot the beast with his own pistol, striking it in one of its sideward pointing eyes and hitting its brain, causing it to finally fall over on its side, dead.

“A battle chimera of the Magocracy,” Zane said, as he holstered his own pistol. “How in Felominar did this end up here?”

“M-More,” the lemming said, as Gaius the lion finally got him on his feet. “There’s more of them!”

No sooner had the lemming said that when four battle chimeras burst from the burned-out remains of the surrounding buildings, clearly slavering for violence.

Gaius stepped out into the open and drew another gun, though this one was not meant for battle. It was a flare gun with a large barrel and a less elaborate design from his pistol. He pointed it straight up and shot it into the sky, sending a brilliant flare rocketing into the sky and bursting into a bright green radiance.

The four battle chimeras then rushed them and Gaius threw away the flare gun and drew his sword.

One of the battle chimeras ended up fighting both Zobel and McGrath. Another lunged at Sienna who simply took flight and perched atop a roof high above it and rained down bolts of fire and lightning at the beast. The third chased after Zane who simply retreated amongst the burned buildings since his pistol had already expended its bullet. The fourth approached Gaius and the lemming, its scythe arms, claws and jaws ready to rend them into bloody chunks.

“Can you still run?” Gaius asked the lemming.

“I think so,” the lemming replied.

“Then run!” Gaius said, turning away. “Run as fast as you can!”

And at once they ran away.

+++

Zobel and McGrath found it a little more difficult to fight the battle chimera this time as they had no help from the others.

Zobel simply kept trying to stab at the monster’s eyes while McGrath kept it busy with his flail while defending himself from its claws and scythes with his shield. They kept this up for a while, until the scorpion had an idea. Using his flail, he entangled the monster’s scythe arm and used his pincers to grab its claw. He then stung the creature in the scythe-arm, filling it with his natural poison.

The battle chimera roared and swatted him aside but he managed to defend himself his shield, preventing its other scythe-arm from really hurting him. Zobel backed away, realizing what his friend had just done. The battle chimera then stumbled on its side, clearly weakened by the scorpion’s venom but not dead yet.

The two then moved it for the kill, Zobel piercing its chest with the spike on his halberd and McGrath shattering its skull with his flail.

+++

Zane ran, or slithered, as fast as he could as the battle chimera ran after him at full speed. Having expended his one bullet and having little that he could actively fight it with, his only hope was to find a small hiding place where the beast would not be able to reach him. But then, suddenly, he remembered something. He did have something to fight it with and it was quite powerful too. It was all too bad the circumstances were less than ideal and he had only a moment to make it work.

So, as he slithered away from the battle chimera that barreled through the burnt debris of the ruined city, he took out the two bombs he had in his pocket. He was planning to use just one in case his first plan failed and the beast of war continued pursuing him. However, he reconsidered when he thought that one might not even be enough to kill the creature.

He unpinned both bombs and threw them into some of the debris ahead of him, praying desperately that his timing was correct.

He then stopped suddenly and turned around to look at the battle chimera. It had stopped too and was looking at him too. Its lips pealed back from its jagged teeth and uttered a roar.

Had Zane not voided himself earlier, he probably would have soiled his clothes now.

The battle chimera prepared to lunge but that’s when the bomb detonated, killing it instantly. Bright orange flames, white smoke and the black ichor that served as the beast’s blood exploded in all directions. The monster’s limbs tore from its body due to the explosion, sending them barreling this way and that.

Zane smiled triumphantly but some of the battle chimera’s ichor splashed his face and covering his thick, round glasses with black gore.

+++

Gaius and the lemming continued running from the battle chimera that pursued them, knowing that if they even dare slow down it would probably lunge and get both of them.

“I-I can’t...” the lemming panted. “I can’t run anymore!”

“No!” Gaius said to the lemming. “You can’t stop now!”

When the lemming fell over, Gaius stopped too. He did not know this person but he would at least do something to help him, even if it meant he had to put himself at risk as well. He was not like his brothers.

Just before the beast could lunge at the lemming however, a loud report rang out through the night. It was like thunder and the battle chimera stopped dead in its tracks. A large ragged hole, around the size of a teacup appeared right atop the monster’s head, leaking viscous black fluid that served as its blood.

Gaius turned around and saw a skunk woman with a musket with a long bayonet pointed directly at the monster.

“Finally,” Gaius said. “I was wondering when the two of you would show up!”

Unfortunately, despite its obvious and ugly head wound, the battle chimera wasn’t dead. It was still moving about slashing at the air with its scythe-arms and claws and snapping at nothing with its jaws. That when a spider woman appeared and threw a net over the creature.

Thanks to its uncontrolled movements, the battle chimera was quickly caught in the net and fell over from its own weight.

Gaius went over and helped the lemming to his feet once again who only looked at the beast of war with frightened and amazed eyes.

“How can that thing be still alive?” the lemming asked, noting the large hole in its head. “How can it live with its brains like that?”

The skunk woman then moved towards the fallen but not yet dead monster on the ground.

“Because,” the skunk woman said and then stabbed the bayonet of her musket deep into the monster’s chest. “It has two brains.”

+++

Sienna the owl didn’t really have a problem with the battle chimera that pursued her. She felt very fortunate that the monster didn’t have any wings like she did. So she continued to sit on the ledge of the building she was perched on and continued pummeling the monster below with her magic.

She noted though that simple bolts of fire and lightning didn’t seem to hurt it all that much. With her magic, Sienna had already burned off its six eyes and completely charred one if its scythe-arms into uselessness. She was studying its limits and abilities and what she’d seen so far was that battle chimeras were no easy foe. Whoever had created them had certainly made them maybe not impervious to sorcery but at least very resistant to it, making them very hard to kill. She also had to admire the kind of tenacity that was put into them by their creator, with the injuries it had sustained, any other creature would have retreated or outright died by now.

Sienna was about to finish the monster with an even more powerful spell when she heard a loud whistle that pierced the night air.

Though parts of its body were already destroyed, the battle chimera heeded it and bounded away from the building where Sienna was perched. The owl wizard watched as the beast tore through the burnt ruins of buildings back towards whoever sent it on its errand. The owl woman could only wonder just who could command such creatures and put in them such terrible ferocity.