Rex stares at Dorian.
"You just gave her this whole month's food and stay, she could buy 10 bloody tables with that amount"
"I would know better than to break a table and spook the locals of an already devastated village, clearly you do not", he brings out the Incubus hunting contract, "And this should bring us enough coin to last two more months". As Rex was about to retaliate and defend himself, Dorian interrupts him.
"Enough".
Even Rex knew better than to cross Dorian when he was serious, though, truth be told, he was serious most of the time. Dorian hastily skims through the contract again, their destination seems to be the center of the village, where an old well is stationed. The Drowning Well it is called, a peculiar name for a well. As the two men were riding towards their destination, they observed the state of the village they were in. Destroyed, tumbled on, poor and depressing. Half of the houses were burned down to the ground, the other half is barely standing. In every corner, there are holes where bodies are buried, stacked one on the other. A foul stench is covering the air.
"Godfrey's conquest really took a toll on this poor village", said Dorian while examining the empty mudded streets.
"The man had everything a man could ask for : wealth, power and the damn bloody kingdom of Murdok but he still wanted more. Every man, woman and child in Ellonia is suffering because of him, all for a stupid dream. "
"Greed is the everlasting downfall of Man", replied Dorian. " Didn't know you cared for women and children", he adds.
"What kind of animal do you think I am"
"The kind to not care for women and children"
They laughed and continued on their way. After a ten minute ride, the two men arrive at the site. They stepped off their saddles and approached the well. The scene was abhorrent : pieces of flesh scattered along the perimeter blended with shattered armor scraps and broken swords.This is where the beast resides. A torn prayer book rested atop the wooden cover of the well. Dorian picks it up.
"So this is where the priest went, they took him with them, a smart measure but sadly it was not enough".
"There was a battle here, a big one", said Rex examining the scene.
"No, a massacre, this is all the beast's doing", said Dorian. He approached the well and examined it.
"See that?", he points to the huge claw marks engraved onto the stone.
Rex leans in and takes a closer look then brushes his fingers through the claw marks, they are at least 5 inches deep.
"So our Incubus can take down a troop of armed men and knights... and carve stone like butter. The pay better be worth it."
Suddenly, a screeching scream is heard all over the village, almost making the two men's ears bleed and rattling the well's wood frame. The horses started to stir.
"It's here", roared Rex, unsheathing The Cannibal.
Dorian too unsheathes his sword. He reached into his coat, pulled out a small crystalline shard pulsing faint blue, and crushed it in one hand. The glow flowed over his sword from base to tip, coating it like quicksilver. He then stoically recites a prayer.
"Oh dweller of darkness,
oh devourer of Man's desires,
you shall not overpower me nor overtake me,
you shall not terrify me nor unnerve me,
From where I stand and from where I mutter these words,
I shall smite you for the harm you've done and for the souls you damned"
"What an adorable endeavour, mortal"
The chilling voice came from behind Dorian, He turned his head carefully and then saw it. A tall womanly figure, with claws decorated with blood, as big as glaives. Its wings are made of bones and flesh. Its skin glimmering with a dark red color. Its face is beautiful, terribly so, with ample tits and thighs that lured hundreds of men before them. It stands tall and proud in front of him. Rex slowly walks towards Dorian and the two finally come face to face with the beast that terrorised this poor village. They made no mistake in their earlier scrutinizing, this is no ordinary Incubus, it is a higher incubus. It is well known that higher Incubi have never set foot on human land before. No human has ever made contact with one, let alone die by one. They reside in the very depths of hell where they feast on lesser demons and the tormented souls of sinners. What is a mighty being such as this doing in a small unknown village like this one? How did it even reach the human realm? Too many questions raced inside the two men's heads, but the only truth they were certain of is that they needed to defeat it and emerge victorious from this terrible encounter if they wanted to keep their lives. Dorian's sword glowed stronger with holy energy. The beast could sense it. It was something it had never encountered before. It also sensed something else: no fear. The two men were tense and warlike, but not frightened.
"I will act as bait, you flank it and deliver the killing blow", whispers Rex.
Dorian nods, and inhumanly sprints behind the houses near the well. He trusts his partner's ability to hold off a being of this might on his own.
"Such effort, so arousing", said the beast, "I want me some of your partner over there".
With a nimble flap of its wings, the Incubus chases after Dorian leaving behind it a strong shockwave. Such an unexpected turn of event. This Incubus is dangerously clever; They should have known better. But who are they to blame, they only read about it in books and scrolls, they never faced this being by themselves.
"Hey! Come back here filthy abomination", Rex shouts as he follows them.
Dorian felt the beast closing in fast from behind, both of its claws raised for a deadly blow. He prepares to block its opening strike, and with all his might spins around unleashing a strike of his own. His now holy blade makes contact with the Incubus claws and a shower of sparks light up the dark sky. He successfully deflected the attack but the force hurled him backward with terrifying speed. He crashed through the wooden wall of an empty house, splinters flying everywhere.
The beast felt the attack resonating through its body.
"Dorian!", screamed Rex.
"How stimulating, a mere mortal showing retaliation to one of my strikes, how fun is this", the beast laughs and moans as Dorian is nowhere to be found.
She turns her gaze towards Rex, who was standing there, The cannibal in his hands, and an enraged look in his eyes.
"You dumb whore, you're dying tonight"
"Ow, you poor thing, you sound as ugly as you look, let me put you out of your misery".
As soon as it finished her utterance, It lunged, closing the distance in a blink, then it raised her claws and struck Rex, who blocked it and delivered a blow of his own. His sword carved right through its skin and dark purple blood started flowing out like a river.
"Oh, such strength", it moans, "unfortunately for you, it is all for naught".
It starts regenerating its severed claw, undoing any damage done by The Cannibal till it is back like new.
"I am immortal, an insect like you cannot harm me", it raises both its claws, grips its wings and prepares for a devastating blow, "now, let me taste your soul".
Rex chuckles. "Immortal you say? I can swing the Cannibal as much as I please then".
Rex raises the Cannibal high in the sky preparing for whatever the incubus is going to throw at him.
"Come, let's dance".
The incubus lunges forward and hits Rex who blocks the attack again and deals one of his own. They continue exchanging blows, all that can be heard is the sound of steel clanging, hitting and deflecting and the moans and laughs of the seductive beast. Their fighting arena is filled with the smell of sweat and blood. Rex grew tired. Drops of sweat altering his vision and stinging his eyes. Gasping for air at any chance he found. How many hours had he been fighting? Three? Four ? No matter how much he swung at the monster, it never fell. The cannibal was painted with the beast's purple dried blood. His hands dripped with his own blood from gripping the sword as tightly as he could. His body was full of bruises and cuts. Tendons and shoulders severed too deep. He was almost at his limits, a bloody mess. But he pushed on, if he gives in to the pain it's instant death. The incubus lets out a horrid malicious laugh.
"Oh you miserable soul, your resilience is making me want to gnaw at your mortal flesh and crack your weak bones with my teeth, with you alive and conscious through it all."
It takes a good look at the exhausted and worn out Rex. "Mmm your arms look delicious, I will start with that, then make my way down tearing and devouring your innards till I reach your crotch. Ohh I am gonna savor it"
He lets out a painful laugh. "Why is every woman I attract a dumb crazy whore."
He prepares for a final strike, raising the Cannibal in the air mustering all his remaining strength. The incubus, ever so aroused by Rex's resilience, raises its claws preparing its final blow. With an instant it reaches Rex and strikes him. He lets out a war cry and answers with a wild powerful strike. A shattering sound is heard and the incubus screams from pain. Pieces of her claws are falling to the ground, one after the other till nothing is left. Its mighty and deadly claws are all destroyed, all gone. Rex is on the ground, the exhaustion and pain were too much to handle, he witnesses the pleasing spectacle.
"No! No! How could this be? You filthy insect what have you done". The incubus screams with a horrid voice.
"So it worked it seems". A voice emerging from the dark said.
It is Dorian who finally clawed back from the rubble and found his way to the battlefield. He looks at his comrade, who is now a bloody mess, laying on the ground and gives him a reassuring look.
"Hold fast partner, I will be done with her soon"
Steel and ordinary human weaponry are useless against Incubi, let alone a higher one. Luckily, Dorian came prepared, his rituals and prayers paid the price. The heavy blow he dealt earlier greatly weakened the incubus, and the repeated powerful strikes of Rex led to the scene before them. A higher incubus crying and struggling as it's trying to regenerate but in vain.
"I knew it, when I saw that sword I knew it", cries the incubus.
It deliberately attacked Dorian first as it deemed him to be the bigger threat, separated the pair then took its time with Rex. A clever and malicious plan. It could have worked with anyone in the human realm it just arrived in, but not with purgers. Dorian marches towards Rex, leans in and helps him drink a healing potion. He then stands up, faces the panicking incubus and aims his glowing sword at it.
"This is your end abomination"
The incubus flaps its wings and tries to flee, but Dorian takes out another glowing shard and throws it at the beast, and upon contact it transforms to an enchanted net trap that holds the incubus down. Indeed he came well prepared.
"No! Don't you dare filthy insect, this will bring about your demise and all those around you, my purpose here is way bigger than what your frail brain could comprehend", the incubus screams.
Dorian ignores its threats and menacingly marches towards it, sword in hand and a cruel look in his eyes. The incubus is terrified. It has never seen a being capable of resisting it. It has never felt fear: a foreign emotion to it. It always gnawed the flesh of whoever it pleased, always satisfied its desire and hunger. This time, it faced something different.
"What? No! Stop at once, don't you dare touch me. Please no don't do it, please I beg of you", its voice starting to crack, trying to imitate the hundreds of crying and begging it heard when it hunted people down.
Its threats turn into pleadings, begging and cries. It called for mercy, but it called the wrong person. Dorian grabs the Incubus by the neck, raises his sword and plunges it into one of the beast's wings. Its screams and thrashes but Dorian is unshaken. He drives his blade through its other wing, then its legs, then its destroyed claws. He is not aiming for a finishing blow, not yet, he is punishing this savage monster making it feel the pain and despair it caused others. He is purging it. Stab, cleave, sever and slash. A blow after the other as dark purple blood is flowing in the air, covering all his body. The injured Rex is witnessing this blood bath. A spectacle he enjoyed, yet seeing his calm and collected comrade in this state feels odd to him. After a hundred blows, Dorian stabs the heart of the beast. It lets out a screeching death cry then utters inaudible words, Dorian hears them. The storm is clearing, the wind is calming down, whatever was stirring up the sky is now gone. A ray of sunshine hits the two men. They spent the entire night fighting that abomination. The villagefolk slowly gather around the battlefield. They see the defeated and massacred body of the monster that terrorised them for months, and beside it the two heroes that slain it. The feared and despised purgers are this village's saviours. Rex stands up as the healing potion takes effect, he picks up the Cannibal and marches towards his partner. Dorian is standing still, staring at the carcass he just decimated. Was he shook by the violence he just displayed? Or was it something the incubus said before letting out its final breath?
"Hey, you alright?", said Rex, putting a hand on his comrade's shoulder. "We did it, we vanquished the foul beast. They better pay us well for that and I hope they do for their own good".
"I am fine, glad to see you on your feet again", he looks down at the Cannibal, "Hope your blade is satisfied".
"We both are, I almost died, I have never been this alive in ages".
Dorian suddenly falls down and Rex reaches out to catch him.
"What's the matter?"
"I think my ribs are broken, nothing serious"
"That first blow did that I presume"
Dorian nods. He was lucky to deflect that attack, if he had not he would have gotten crushed like a candy. Rex puts his hand over his shoulder and helps him walk. Some of the villagers rush towards the two men while the rest watches from afar. They help carry Dorian and hand Rex some water. Out of the flock of people that came to their rescue comes Margery.
"Here! Take them to my inn, these two are my guests"
"It is so good to see you lass, nothing I want more now than to gulp that fine ale of yours and sleep on a bed for three days", said Rex happily.
"No, bandages and medical attention is what you need for the time, you both are full of cuts and covered in blood"
"Whatever you say Ma'am". Rex passes out and the two are taken to the Little Lady inn where they get taken care of.
The deacon of the village arrives at the scene. He is now in charge following priest Arno's absence. Accompanied with his guards he disperses the huge crowd of people at the inn's door then enters it. Everyone in the village is wanting to hear the story of the two heroes who defeated evil and none can blame them. Their village has not had any bright news for a long time.