Revelation

As natural as a reflex, Zaida drew her mace and took her first steps toward the skirmish. However, when her conscience found the moment to consider her opponents, she faltered. Leaving the Demon Lord's army was one thing, fighting it was another. Was she at peace with the prospect of killing those she had once sided with?

The decision was one she could set aside for later. By the look of it, they were exclusively facing creatures of the grave that day; entities that were either undead, or never truly alive to begin with. They were essentially puppets wielded by a sense of wrath. Putting an end to them could be compared to severing the strings on a marionette.

A dread golem took a swing at her with its short sword and she caught it with only a single grip on her mace. These creatures were hardly the most formidable things at the Demon Lord's disposal. Dread golems are animated beings of amassed scraps of items charged with fear. Glass shards from a bottle shattered by a drunken father; wood planks from a ship that never returned; stones from the bottom of a cliff few walk back down.

In the one before her, Zaida spied some rusted blades, some soil, and torn burlap. It gurgled angrily at her with the sounds of a throat **** on water. She brushed its weapons aside and embedded her mace in its chest without a glimmer of fear or hesitation. She never much cared for those things; ugly and perverted as they were. As it disintegrated on the ground, she scanned the clash for her next target.

"What are you doing?"

Zaida turned and faced Yorresie, who looked at her with an expression of semi-frightened bewilderment.

"Help them!" the nun waved at the grossly outnumbered group of knights repelling zombies from some of the traders.

Oh, right...

Zaida swallowed a feeling of indignity as she realised that she would have to rethink her strategy in battle. She had trained with the humans for some time, yet only now that she was faced with a legitimate conflict did she understand how different a battlefield mentality she needed. The knights there were fighting to protect the other humans, not just to kill the demons. Before that day, she had only ever fought with the directive of a hunter; designate a target, and put an end to it. Once that was done, find another and repeat. She had fought alongside her fellow demons, but she had never truly fought with them. They were simply others that were exempt from her kill edict. She would need to be especially aware to keep in touch with the values of humans on the battlefield.

Running over to the cornered knights, Zaida broke one zombie's back with her mace and toppled a second with her hand on its head. She made quick work of those remaining, with the final few being dispatched by the other knights.

"Woah..." breathed one warrior at Zaida's handiwork.

"What?" she asked, confused as to what gave him pause.

"Uh, just don't let us get in your way," an equally impressed knight answered on the first's behalf.

Zaida feared she had missed another principle in human combat, then looked around the battlefield and understood.

Wait, don't tell me the humans are struggling against these things.

All around it seemed as though the particular varieties of demon present were posing an actual challenge for the knights. The zombies could give them trouble with a simple ratio of three to one, and the dread golems appeared to nearly demand two knights to be defeated. As for the bone fiends... Well, that could be more easily forgiven. Bone fiends may have been small potatoes for an esteemed gnoll such as herself, but they were indisputably more fearsome than either of the other demons.

Bone fiends are a sort of creature with a great deal of diversity under a common label. Much like zombies and dread golems, they are hollow forms devoid of any independent will or higher thought. As the name implies, they are constituted of the bones of deceased beings. There is little limit on their form, resembling anything from a large bird, to a small elephant, to a human; even capable of grasping and wielding weapons. They are not to be mistaken for skeletons, as skeletons are the natural remains of dead things in the same arrangement as their source. Bone fiends, on the other hand, do not share a structure with any organic creature, and are rarely comprised of the remains of any one animal. Most often they are a mosaic of osseous components organised in only the crudest imitation of those beholden to natural law. They are almost universally bigger than a human adult, and prove difficult to slay as they are resistant to traditional cuts and stabs.

This was less of a problem for Zaida, seeing as she wielded a blunt weapon, and did so with a considerable deal of strength. When something with a similar size - but a very dissimilar shape - to a bear threatened Sergei and some others, she promptly shattered what functioned as its skull as if it were fine glassware. The rest of it followed suit, crumbling to the ground as the magic that retained its form dissipated.

"Thanks, Zaida!" Sergei called with an excited voice.

"No problem." This sentiment was less than true as she noted the lingering drain she felt from delivering the blow. I'd have been able to deliver two dozen blows like that without feeling expended in my other form, she internally bemoaned. She gazed down at her human limbs. This form isn't solely cosmetic. I have to suffer its limitations too.

Looking about again she found the one person there that did not seem flustered by the make and might of their foes. Marama hacked and stabbed scores of zombies with his naginata pole weapon. Fighting on, he cheered for his brave knights and jeered at the demons; hoping to draw as many toward himself as he could.

"That's right, keep at 'em! You are the mighty shields of Merridian! Smite these mud-gobblers in the name of those you love back home! Yeah, I'm talking about you, ugly! Get your worm-filled ass over here! I've got a message from your mother!"

He was doing an admirable job of staving off the horde until a bone fiend took notice of him. With arms big enough to lend it the appearance of a gorilla, it lumbered over and swung at him. The sergeant took the brunt of it in the raised shaft of his weapon and countered with a swipe that only left a furrow in the monster's ribs. Again it attacked him and again he took the blow in the best way he could.

Zaida rushed over with all the speed her legs were capable of, but the convoy's leader would need to last a bit longer on his own.

The bone fiend threw a fist for the third time, but instead of catching it, Marama sidestepped. In the same motion, summoning all his power and then some, he wound up and swung his naginata. It travelled with such **** that it carried straight through the pieces that made up the fiend's neck.

Zaida reached Marama just as the demon collapsed into a pile of miscellaneous bones.

"Zaida..." the nearly-winded sergeant greeted her. Sweat poured down his brow; the synergetic product of his exertion and the hot day. A **** smile adorned his features. "Are you enjoying... yourself... as much as I am...?"

"Maybe even more," she smirked.

He leaned over, resting against his weapon like a walking stick. "I don't know how Dyna does it," he shook his head. "She makes it look so- WATCH OUT!" Something caught his eye when his head came back up; something that he tried and failed to move Zaida out of the way of.

One moment the woman was standing there, and the next she was rushing into the air, leaving Marama and the ground behind. She bellowed an awkward noise; one **** from her gut by the shock taking its place. After the first instants were past, she registered the way her weight was supported by her shoulders. Looking up, she found that she was carried skyward by an avian bone fiend. It looked reminiscent of a giant condor, but without any of the physical traits that would have made flight possible. Even so, when it flapped its wings, the air responded as if it was being pushed around by something other than skeletal patchwork.

By some miracle, she had retained her grip on her weapon through the violent ascent. She wound back her arm to strike at the foul fowl then realised how high they were. If she succeeded in disrupting the creature's flight, it would spell disaster for herself as much as it would for it. Gazing groundward, she did note the enviable view afforded by their elevation. Less enviable was the scenery that decorated the stage below. She knew not when nor how the situation had deteriorated so quickly, but where there once stood a formidable body of warriors, traders, and churchgoers, the space around the convoy was now strewn with the crimson forms of their party.

"No..." Zaida breathed.

She was reminded of her own troubles when the bone fiend responsible for supporting her released its grip. She only slipped a short distance before lashing out and taking hold of one of its marrowy legs. The monster let out a creaking noise, vocalising its surprise. The two of them struggled back and forth until the fiend conceded, making a semi-controlled descent.

Once they were low enough for her own liking, Zaida delivered on that blow she had intended earlier for the bone fiend. As expected, its flight faltered and they plummeted the remaining metres. The knight dropped away early, softening her landing with a roll that left her unhurt. The fiend's landing was far less graceful. It struck the ground with a loud crunch as several of its components gave out in the impact. Almost immediately after it finished its tumble, Zaida slew it with a forceful slam on its torso.

She swivelled back and forth in a near-panic, hoping things were not as dire as they had appeared from on high, and searching for survivors. She was disappointed though, as it looked every bit as grim back on the ground. The people she had been serenely strolling with an hour prior were now reduced to bloodied heaps at the feet of zombies and golems.

"Zaida..."

The knight whipped in the direction of her name. Marama lay on his back, head slack and looking at her upside down. Two dread golems stood malignly over him. Red dribbles trailed from a mouth that was no longer smiling.

"RUN..." he gasped, right before a broken sword swung like a pendulum, opening his throat.

"MARAMA!" she called out, too late.

The cry only succeeded in alerting the monsters that their work was not yet done. Every remaining dread golem, zombie, and bone fiend faced her. As if of a single mind, they all made for her as fast as they were able. The first four to reach her were dispatched with a single blow each.

Zaida felt an overwhelming tension in her core, an emotional cocktail she had never experienced before. She did not let it affect her performance, though. In her mind, the distress of watching those she cared about fall had little to do with the battle itself. It changed almost nothing about the situation. She had intended to combat the monsters until they were no more, and that remained her aim. The only difference was that there were none left to fret over defending.

As the battle wore on, Zaida took note of the feeling in her limbs and chest. Surely she was not... growing tired? Resentment flickered in her heart at this. She was surrounded by some of the Demon Lord's most unimpressive minions; the bottom of the food chain; sword fodder. The idea that a fierce gnoll such as herself could face defeat at the hands of these shambling practice dummies - even in their admittedly ample numbers - was an insult of the most offensive variety.

It's this damn human form, she grumbled internally. I am handicapped by its imposed stamina and strength.

She swung clean through a dread golem before leaping back to evaluate her surroundings. The humans were all as lifeless as they had been for the last twenty minutes of fighting. If there's no one to see, then I suppose there's no point in retaining the mask...

Zaida used her mace to smash the three nearest opponents, affording herself some breathing room. She then reached for her own head and hoped she understood how this magic worked. She pantomimed the motion of removing a cowl from her head, and an ethereal garment was brought into being by the action. Just as soon as she completed the gesture, the item faded back into whatever state of semi-being it had been stored in.

The knight felt the desired sensation of sorcery take effect. Once again her corporeal form reshaped, returning to her natural state. She looked over her larger, furrier arms in appreciation.

"That's better," she grinned hyena-ishly. It was not a perfect improvement though. The low ache in her muscles was still there; merely translated to cumber a more-capable body to the same degree.

The monsters around her witnessed this transformation and momentarily hesitated, as if needing a moment to discern whether she was friend or foe. They made their minds up rather quickly, resuming their hostile advance on the towering gnoll. Ultimately, this was their mistake.

Zaida's capability as a human warrior was plenty impressive, but as a gnoll warrior, she was a proper terror. Where she had merely been fending off the horde before, she now went on the offensive; smashing through the other demons like a boulder through twigs. The creeping fatigue in her lungs and limbs had all but stagnated. Pulverising the thirtieth zombie felt no more tiresome than those before it. She was better equipped to fight too. As a human, her mace had been her sole means of destroying the creatures. In her true form, she was able to slay them with a powerful swipe with her offhand, stomp on them with her heavy paws, or even crush them between her unstoppable jaws.

By the end of it, Zaida was the only one standing, panting as one would after an easy jog. She swept the battlefield with her gaze, hunting for any hellspawn that may have escaped her wrath. There were none to be found.

Stirred by agony, Yorresie dragged a hand to her thigh. The pain briefly soared at her own touch. When she opened her eyes, the recent memories came flooding back. She had been travelling with the train and they had come under attack by horrid soldiers of the Demon Lord. She had put herself between them and some of the traders, calling upon Geod to provide some means of defense for the good Merridianites. Any aid from her Almighty had come too late for her though, as some freakish creature of rubbish had swung a rusty hatchet at her. She had attempted to leap clear of the blow, but caught the very edge of the swipe in her thigh. Her nun's accoutrement had done nothing to resist the blade, and she remembered little else before blacking out.

Now she found herself on her stomach and side among the grass and soil. Summoning her strength, lifted herself enough to properly see her surroundings. The battle was still raging, though it did not look like it would last much longer. A zombie and a bone fiend were locked in combat with a... with a...

A GNOLL.

Yorresie did not even question why it was fighting its own kind, but the hyenoid demon made short work of its foes. A backhanded swing from its mace split the zombie's head as if it were a rotten gourd. Only the bone fiend stood against the gnoll now. It was some disquieting combination, with its head shape like a horse's and its body vaguely human. The gnoll plunged its mace sideways through the fiend's neck like a dagger. Grabbing the head of the weapon like a bulbous second hilt, the gnoll **** the fiend down to its knees. From there, the gnoll's jaws opened wide and it turned its head sideways. Huge, pointed teeth closed around the fiend's head, hard enough to crack the constituent bones. The gnoll wrenched it's head with immense ****, splitting bones and pulling the fiend's head clean off. The furry victor tossed the appendage aside as the rest of the bones crumbled like dry sand.

Triumphant, the gnoll threw back its head and unleashed a quavering bay. Yorresie had heard such a noise referred to as a 'laugh' before, but she could hear no humour in it; only gratification of the **** it drank. The beast swung its head in search of additional challengers. When it faced Yorresie, every part of her froze down to her heart. She remembered back to the disturbing illustration she discovered in her research. It was nothing compared to the real thing; to the fists that warped bone; to the teeth that sneered at chain mail; to the eyes that promised ****.

Evidently, the monster did not see Yorresie, as it looked past her without ever focusing on her. When it accepted that the battle had arrived at its terminus, it seemed to relax. It stowed its mace upon its back then it made its way over to a particular spot near the caravan. It kneeled down to examine something Yorresie could not make out from where she half lay.

When the gnoll lifted the form to rest on its lap, Yorresie saw that it was the remains of Sergeant Puhipi that the beast held. It's going to eat him, she realised with horror and revulsion.

"Stop!" the nun ordered before she could stop herself. The gnoll snapped toward her and her stomach sank. Why had she done that? Oh, Geod, why had she done that? What had she hoped to achieve? As if demanding that the demon not eat the newly dead would do anything but add herself to the menu.

The gnoll set the sergeant down and briskly crossed to the lone survivor. Yorresie braced herself for a crushing paw on her neck that never came.

"Yorresie?"

Hearing the monster utter her name gave the nun a whole new wave of shock.

"Lord's throne, are you alright?" The gnoll reached out to Yorresie with its powerful, clawed hands.

"Get away from me!" the nun flinched.

Surprisingly, the gnoll heeded her demand. "What? Oh. Yorresie, it's okay. It's me, Zaida, one of the knights."

"What?" The nun kept her arm raised but looked at the gnoll with confusion and curiosity.

"Here..." The gnoll stood and took a step back. It did something with its head before entering a sorcerous transformation. At the end of it, the gnoll was gone and replaced with the slightly less unwelcome presence of Zaida the knight. "See?" she held out her hands in appeal.

Yorresie stared at her, baffled. "WHAT THE HELL?" In a flash, her mood had gone from frightened and flabbergasted to furious. She attempted to rise, but was hamstrung by her quadricep. Zaida reached out to offer help which the nun declined with a flat hand. Bracing against the pain, Yorresie shifted such that she sat propped on her elbows with her legs between the two of them.

"What is going on here?" the smaller woman's usual edge of annoyance had returned to her voice. "Why can you turn into a demon? Or why can you turn into a human? Why were we attacked? Why did you fight the other demons? What do you know about all of it?"

Zaida was silent for a while, rubbing her arm in reservation as she pondered the best way to explain herself. "I really wish you hadn't seen that. But, since you've seen the worst of it, I suppose there's no point in holding back the rest..."