Chapter Six: Blood in the Streets.
Gorrog has marched his demons hard the past weeks ignoring most of the minor settlements they past. He had seen several of the ponies watching his vast host march past. He had decided that they were no threat to him so they continued onward. Now though they were approaching the city and they encountered fewer and fewer civilians and more and more soldiers. None however dared engage his force most running back to the city
It was now in sight distance for the Cacodemons. He paused when they crested this hill he would be able to see it. He would be about to crush an entire city in his fist yet seeing its size made him worried. He only however had to look at his army to know his fears were unfounded. He turned to his guard and nodded they took the signal and his army split into five parts each one moving into position. He turned and made his way into the city alone.
He heard the doors slam shut and the much louder noise of several hundred soldiers marching into the square. He stayed in the shadows using the fading light as an aid to increase them to sufficient depths to hide his bulk. He even treaded lightly to hide himself further. He looked ahead and saw a pony standing above the rest he eyed his target edging around the crowd slowly enough to avoid detection.
“We must halt the demons crawling at our doors” he said “for our people for our land and for the princess” he shouted.
Gorrog knew that whoever he was he had never done this before. He stalked closer to the stage starting to edge away from the shadows. He heard the screams of terror as he fully exited the shadows and strode onto the stage. He picked up the panicking pony and roared into its face spittle flying from his mouth. He turned and threw the pony into the stage floor. Everyone heard the crack as bones broke beneath the force of Gorrog’s foot he had stepped on the pony who he could tell was unable to even raise his hoofs to get up he started foot still firmly planted on his back blood was seeping from his mouth.
“I am Gorrog lord of the Hell Knights I have come to fill your land with Hell.” He roared over the crowd.
One voice answered him “over my dead body.”
“Gladly” he said.
The soldiers had started to react and were shifting into battle position. He looked at the very large crowd before him. He quickly guessed it was around five hundred in number probably more. He jumped off the stage crushing the pony beneath his foot in the process splattering the nearest ones in its guts. He landed heavily several of his targets scattering to avoid being crushed by his one and a half tons of weight. He turned and intercepted a lunging pony grabbing it by the forelegs and swinging it around he used it a club smashing every pony who entered his field of vision. After the first couple swings the pony had been knocked unconscious but now it was starting to tear. He smashed its limp from into the raised shield of a soldier. He was whirlwind of fury smashing into another pony abandoning his now broken club in favor of his fists. He crushed another pony’s rip cage with a kick to the chest. He turned to face another opponent when he felt several spots of pain appear on his back. He faced his new assailants expecting spears but instead of them he saw archers about fifty of them firing at him. He charged them roaring slamming fireballs into whatever dared to stand in his way. By the time he had convinced them that to stand before him was to die the archers had repositioned. They notched their arrows and prepared to fire when the ground shook. Good thought Gorrog it has started.
He spotted one of his guards standing amid a massive group of demons. the battered and demoralized ponies looked at one another and ran breaking beneath the assault of one Hell Knight. He turned and nodded to his guard. Several ponies tried to run past him. He turned and intercepted one. Grabbing it in his fist he leaned in close his bulk filling its vision. It was judging by its muzzle female. He studied her body seeing a pair of dolphins on her flank. He was always puzzled by what these marks meant they were different on all of them but he hadn’t seen any without one. He stopped and stared into her eyes again. She trembled beneath his gaze.
“Please don’t kill me” she begged crying staring into his black eyes “I never hurt any demon”
He looked her studying her reactions. “I won’t kill you yet” he said stroking her horn with his free hand. “and trust me there are thing far worse than death.”
He dropped her and as she started running away he followed her. His forces would be mopping up resistance and they would now have to go house to house fighting and killing everything in their path. He followed her hoof steps bringing him to a communal house by the looks of it. He approached out of the pony’s sight waiting for her to enter and lead him to additional targets. She had vanished through the doorway but he followed her moving with exception stealth for such a large and heavy demon something he prided himself on. He stalked her up a set of stairs and followed her down a hallway. She was panting from running so hard but knocked on the door.
A yellow and judging by facial structure a stallion answered her. He started to gesture her inwards but paused staring directly a Gorrog. That’s when he broke cover hurling one of his green fire balls at them. The stallion slammed the door shut trapping the mare behind it. She slammed her hooves into it but to no avail. The fireball hit its mark blasting her and the door aside. He paused staring at her she was covered in fire screaming. He turned grabbing her ignoring the slight heat from the flames and slammed his fist through her rear and out her mouth. He felt her internal organs explode out her chest and blood splattered the floor. He stared at his grisly arm guard and laughed.
“I never said you’d live either.”
He knocked the door down and proceeded to walk through the resulting hole. He looked around seeing a smaller narrower door. He conjured a fireball its green light illuminating the room enough for him to determine that nothing was hiding. As he extinguished his fireball he heard the door creak open. The yellow stallion emerged not noticing how close he and Gorrog were. He looked up as the drool from Gorrog’s mouth hit him in the head. He finally noticed the massive bulk above him. He acted quickly raising a foot and kicking him through the door.
The pony didn’t stir he approached wary of some trap but found none. His body no longer blocked the light from the fire outside the room he heard a scream. He turned to see a female shielding two tiny foals. He smiled, bent down and with swipe of his hand he cut open the stallion’s belly. He ran his fingers along his intestines locating the weak points and cutting them with his claws. He turned with the intestines in his hands dripping blood. The mare stood in his way she was trembling, her eyes starting to fill with tears. She stared at him and tried to block his way he causally swatted her away. He approached the two cowering foals and grabbed them in his fist. He used his free hand to rap the intestines around their necks pulling tight enough to start choking them but not enough where they couldn’t breathe.
He gripped the end of the in testiness giving his new flail a test swing. Confident that his weapon would do the job he started swing at the mare. Bruises and welts started to form on her skin each he inflicted with the grisly flail. Her screams were incredibly loud and he swore that every living thing in the city could hear them. Be swung again this time leaving a large gash from the horn of the unicorn foal. He swung until he could see no non bruised section of her body. He decided to be merciful and end her pitiful existence right there. He turned to the battered and broken forms of his flail. He chose the larger and less damaged one and grasped it by its legs. He broke it in half and took the rear of it and slammed the jagged section of broken spine under her ribcage and into her heart. She convulsed once and died with her child sticking out of her chest. He turned and walked away into the fire barely noticing it. He left the burning building and started looking for signs of life. He found the occasional blood splatter and imps. He gathered the imps with him and started towards the center of the city. They past several other types of demons and several corpse laden streets several demons were eating them. He gathered a small host numbering around a hundred and marched into the center and what a sight it was.
Most of the military elements had barricaded themselves here. They still held on to this entrenchment and since most of his army was massacring the civilians and had drifted from his officers. He studied the barricades closely and noticed past them were several large crossbows each one on a wheeled mounts. And manning everyone one of these entrenchments was the remnants of the 3rd and 4th regiments judging by the tattered banners that still flew.. This was a lull in combat and they obviously were waiting for the demons to strike again. The let the occasion civilian in but for the most part they had shut themselves off. He turned let loose a roar loud enough for every demon in the city to hear him. The defenders at the closest barricades looked around each one trying to see what made that noise. He felt the ground shake as two hundred Hell Knights advanced towards him he spotted scores of cacodemons flying above turn and find him soon the imps and maggots in their teeming masses surged down several streets climbing over the corpses to answer his call. His forces were gathering as more and more demons answered the call. Pouring into the streets he knew that soon the defenders would see what he was doing and begin bombarding him so had to act. He turned away from his horde and stared at the defenses the defenders had hastily constructed and he charged.
The startled defenders stared at this new threat and fire their bows at him. He immediately noticed the pain spreading throughout his chest. Behind him his army charged the cacodemons raced past firing fireballs down onto to the defenders. Even though he had a head start the demons past him howling charging the barricade. He heard a loud twang and a massive bolt split one of the Demons down the middle. The archers were now firing on them a massive volley followed a more continuous stream. He raised his arm with the pony’s body still on it a shield protecting him form most of the arrows. He was now in throwing distance from the archers. His Hell Knights had caught up with him but he noticed that even they couldn't withstand those giant crossbows. He roared up to the cacodemons ordering them to concentrate on them. The street was now filled with Hell Knights and demons charging into the barricade. He closed with it jumped on it and roared into the faces of several archers. He quickly smashed his arm into them before they could fire on him and leaped over the palisade. He looked around and saw similar sights happening all around him Hell Knights smashing into the defenses while demons tackled and mauled everything they could get their mouths on. He saw maggots swarming over the soldiers who now were in full retreat. They couldn't fight this many demons outnumbered so badly.
This was all going perfectly when a bolt struck him in the chest. He was picked up off his feet and flung into a wall. His scream of pain caused all the fighting to halt for a moment as they turned to see what made such a noise. The Hell Knights turned back to their enemies and destroyed everything in their path to get at the ballista team who seeing who they shot were running faster than ever other pony around them. He grasped the shaft of the bolt and started to pull himself off. Roaring in his rage that this happened to him he broke the shaft with a fireball the concussive blast lighting it on fire and causing most of it to disintegrate into ash. He turned to face the remaining ponies who his forces were now driving back to what looked like a small castle. The pentagram on his forehead glowed red brighter and brighter until he had fully immersed himself in Hell Time. He charged almost flying towards his targets. Slamming into a crowd of them with the force of runaway train he started his slaughter. He grabbed one and slammed its head into the ground with enough force that its neck went back into its body. He turned to the others their reactions so slow compared to his now. Slamming the horn of his arm guard into the chest of one and bit through the skull of the other bodies followed him as he went through the group like a sledgehammer. His wrath was visible by the mist of blood that followed him through the battle. He started to lose count of the bodies piling up around him meant had gone far over his count of thirty kills in this small skirmish. He kicked down the door of the tower and flew of the stairs. A pony started running up the stairs to get away from him and he stormed after it. There he encountered a thick and locked door. The pony started slamming its arms into the door demanding to be let in.
“Pitiful mortal, there is no escape.”
He said before slamming her head into the door with enough force to crack her skull. Her death was finished when he threw he down the steps into the waiting maw of a demon.
Hell Time had started to ware off and he started slamming his fists into the thick wood and iron it started to crack and bend inwards beneath his furious assault.
The pony on the other side was quickly writing a letter when started hearing the blows on his door. He started writing quicker finishing his final report to the high command. We have been overrun. Too many demons we gave the civilians enough time to attempt escape but I fear it wasn't enough good bye my princess death has come for me. Was how he finished it. He quickly set the letter to a flame and let the enchantment take it to the princess just as the door fell. He turned to see the lord of this invasion himself Gorrog. He started to back up as the Hell Knight advanced towards him. When his back hit the wall he knew his time was up. He stared into the black eyes of Gorrog and said
“you won’t win Gorrog”
“perhaps but whether I do or don’t doesn't matter to you or it won’t in a matter of seconds.”
He braced himself for death as the Hell Knight’s fist closed around his skull slowly crushing the bone with his vast strength.
Gorrog collapsed his rage spent and his wounds grievous. He stared at the ceiling wondering at the truth of the scribe's words. The last thing he saw was the hands of his guard reaching down to lift him.