Cultist Base

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I knew what this cult was about the moment I saw the hooded skull-masked figures. And I would kill them for it. I didn't hesitate to pull my shotgun's trigger on the nearest cultist to me.

BANG!

An orc's chest exploded in a spray of gore as the buckshot tore through him. The knights came rushing in around me and the battle started. My hands lashed out and grabbed the heads of two of the closest orc soldiers and crushed them like grapes. Astoria slipped between the legs of one of the orcs and then sliced the back of his knees. He fell and she then stabbed her blade into his neck, before quickly turning to another opponent. I charged forward, shotgun blasting in my hands, buckshot tearing through the ranks of the orcs. As the orcs screamed in fear and charged at me, I strafed to my right, moving past the group of cultists.

Turning heel, I unleashed a hail of fully automatic shotgun pellets shredding the next group that approached me.

BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!

Astoria fought with the grace and skill of a seasoned warrior, her blade flashing as she wove between the orcs, leaving a trail of fallen foes in her wake. The other knights battled fiercely, their firearms booming as they cut down the enemy with ruthless efficiency.

A large, beefy orc woman who stood a foot taller than myself rushed me with a large broadsword. She had long, light blue hair and red eyes, was wearing a simple leather vest that concealed her bust beneath, she was also wearing a blue leather skirt and a pair of fur boots. Swing downward, I parried it with my own blade. I raised the shotgun to finish the brute and was met with a backhand. The brute knocked the shotgun out of my hand just as I pulled the trigger. The shot missed as the weapon was knocked out of my hand. I followed up with a right uppercut with my now free hand. The brute was thrown back, slamming into the wall with a heavy thud.

The orc head priestess cried out, "HE DEFEATED OUR LIEUTENANT CARNACHIA! RELEASE THE MONSTERS!"

THAT, was their lieutenant Carnachia?

I picked up my shotgun and reloaded it. Multiple doors opened to reveal dozens of monsters. I could see only two different types. The first was some sort of giant hornet. Their heads having the appearance of three human skulls morphed into a single thing with two beady black eyes and small black spikes over their heads. Their skin was leathery, dried, and yellow. On their backs were wings. They must be the killers hornets that Melanoche and Carnachias mentioned. The other, zombies clad in rusted, bloodied armour and steel helmets with matching spiked shoulder pads, armed with chipped swords, and eyes growing red.

I cracked my knuckles once more. Time to get messy.

I rushed forward. With a slash, I carved the hornet. The monster screeched as green ichor spurted from the wound. I blasted another hornet with my shotgun, turning it into a mist of chitin and guts. Astoria had already engaged the zombies, her blade flashing as she decapitated one. The knight captain fought with savage efficiency, her movements precise and lethal. As more zombies shambled forward, she ducked under a sword swing and buried her blade in a monster's eye socket, brain matter splattering as she yanked it free. "Keep moving, don't let them surround you!" she shouted to the other knights as she danced between attacks, her blade a blur of silver. I grabbed a cultist rushing me with a knife by the shoulder, lifting him. Grabbing the bastard's leg in the other hand, I slammed his back over my knee...

CRACK!

...with **** to fold them completely. Gut ruptured, fragments of the spine sticking out, I cast the folded cultist aside like garbage.

I grabbed the hornet by the throat in one hand and ripped its stinger out with the other. Proceeding to stab it in the eye with the stinger and tossed it aside at an approaching zombie, smashing it to the ground.

I discharged the shotgun at another hornet's thorax. I pulled a triple headshot on some more hornets. The hornets screeched and died, their green ichor spraying in all directions. As the battle raged around me, I strode towards the orc priestess.

The orc priestess was suddenly rushing straight at the captive with a jagged ceremonial knife.

The bunny girl did not react to the knowledge that the orc would kill her, her ears were flattened, and her tail was still. The priestess drew her dagger and reared it back, "Now I shall harvest your soul, and with it, smite the heretic!"

Instead of being met with agony, she was met with the priestess' surprised and pained yelp. She opened her eyes found that I had snatched her by the throat Before she could jab the poor girl with her dagger. With a grunt, I threw her to the floor.

She was cowering in absolute terror before me.

Around me the battle was ending. I grabbed the priestess in one hand. I turned to the captive. I starred for a second

CLANK!

The captive suddenly fell face-first into the dirty cold floor. She looked up quickly to see me pull my blade from the stone wall. I bent down and cut the ankle restraints as well. I lifted her up, cradling her in my arms as I stood. The girl looked at me with a mix of confusion and desperation in her eyes. I could see the wounds and bruises all over her body, the scars on her back, the dirt and blood caked on her skin. She had been through hell.

"Are you alright?" I asked softly, my voice gentle despite the chaos still raging around us. The knights were finishing off the last of the cultists and monsters, their guns and blades flashing in the dim light.

The girl didn't respond at first, just stared at me with those empty, haunted eyes. Then, slowly, she nodded. "Y-yes."