CRACK!
Beltrom's serrated limb sheared through the thick oak pillar of the general store's porch. Zareth had occupied that space a fraction of a second before but he rolled away just as the wood splintered into jagged shrapnel.
RUMBLE… CRASH!
The front section of the roof lost its support and collapsed in a cloud of dust.
"My shop! Oh god!"
Old folks screamed and scrambled backward to avoid the falling debris.
"You're very nifty, old man."
Beltrom stood amidst the wreckage. He brought his transformed arm close to his face and licked the green ichor from the tip of the blade.
"I'm going to enjoy this. I will slice the tendons in your ankles first. Then I will peel the skin from your back in long, thin strips like parchment. I would have gutted you already, but I am holding back."
He gestured to the boy in Zareth's arms with a deadly claw. "Lord Vanderznak might be upset if I damaged his precious specimen."
"Vanderznak?" Zareth repeated the name. He wondered if this Lord was the mastermind behind the suffering of these villagers.
SWOOSH!
He didn't have time to ponder. Another green blur sliced the air near his neck. Zareth leapt to the left and felt the wind of the strike tickle his ear.
He continued to dodge. He weaved and ducked under a relentless barrage of slashes. However, he knew this game could not last forever. His breath came in ragged gasps and the ache in his joints from the Gospel's backlash flared with every sudden movement. He didn't need his fire to defeat a thug like this but he couldn't afford to be careless either.
'The boy is a burden,' Zareth realized as he shielded the child's head from flying wood chips.
If he put the child down or let him go, the brat might wake up and slaughter everyone just as he did in Maskorudeath. To prevent another massacre, Zareth had to keep a close watch on the monster in his arms while he avoided Beltrom's lethal reach.
"How long do you plan on running around for, old man?" Beltrom shouted. His tone dripped with dissatisfaction.
The Mantis-man suddenly stopped chasing Zareth. He turned his torso toward a nearby group of cowering villagers.
"If you won't stand still…"
Beltrom lashed out at the nearest man.
SPLORT!
It happened in a heartbeat. The blade cut diagonally through the villager's torso from shoulder to hip. The top half of the man slid wetly off the bottom half before both tumbled to the dirt.
"Benny!"
The villagers shrieked the man's name in horror.
Beltrom flicked his arm and splattered Benny's hot blood across the dusty ground. He looked at Zareth with cold eyes.
"Don't glare at me like that. This was your fault for avoiding my blades. Now, are you willing to stand and fight, or do I have to create more collateral damage?"
He aimed his dripping blade at a trembling old woman.
"Bastard. You're starting to piss me off."
Zareth clenched his free fist and rushed toward the monster.
"Yes! Come to me!" Beltrom laughed and dashed ahead with glee.
As they closed the distance, Zareth suddenly crouched and swept his hand across the ground.
POOF!
He tossed a handful of dust and grit directly into Beltrom's multi-faceted eyes.
"Gah! My eyes!"
Beltrom faltered and swung wildly. Zareth slipped under the guard and drove a fist into Beltrom's ribs.
CRACK!
Beltrom wheezed and crashed against the wall of the tavern. Zareth didn't let up. He closed the distance instantly. He grabbed Beltrom's right mantis arm at the joint.
SNAP!
He broke the shoulder with a sickening pop and twisted the limb downward. He drove the creature's own blade into its abdomen.
"ARGH! DAMN YOU!" Beltrom screamed in agony and cursed as blood oozed from the wound.
Zareth pinned him against the wall and held the other mantis blade against Beltrom's throat.
"Call off your men or I take your head."
"I got him, Boss!"
Zareth's eyes widened. He sensed the presence too late.
THUD!
A pair of wet, heavy arms locked around his torso from behind. It was Jarrar, the thug who had crashed into the wash basin earlier. He had sneaked up while Zareth focused on the leader.
"Get off!" Zareth struggled but his arms were pinned.
Jarrar yelled and lifted Zareth off the ground before he slammed the old priest face-down into the dust.
WHAM!
The impact knocked the wind out of Zareth.
"Finish him, Jarrar!" Beltrom yelled as he winced and pulled the blade from his gut.
Jarrar reached up and uncorked a small metal plug that was embedded in the side of his neck.
HISS…
A cloud of yellow-green toxic gas erupted from the port. The nearby villagers scrambled away and covered their mouths but the cloud wasn't aimed at them. It engulfed Zareth.
Zareth tried to hold his breath. He tried to fight the darkness that clawed at the edges of his vision but the toxin was potent. His limbs grew heavy. The world spun.
"He's out," Jarrar announced triumphantly.
Thump.
Jarrar heard a soft sound behind him. He turned his head and saw the boy collapsed on the ground near his boots.
"Huh?" Jarrar blinked. "When did the brat get behind me?"
Beltrom limped over while clutching his bleeding stomach. He stared suspiciously at the unconscious child.
"That brat…"
Beltrom replayed the last few seconds in his mind. Just as Jarrar slammed Zareth into the ground, the boy must have escaped Zareth's grip. He had moved behind Jarrar and lurched for the thug's neck like a wild beast. But luck was on Jarrar's side; the fumes had released just in time to knock the child out mid-strike.
"He's dangerous. But now is not the time to investigate."
His arms began to shrink and shift. The chitin retracted and skin grew back over the wounds until they looked like human limbs once more.
"Get up, you idiots!"
Beltrom kicked the groaning swordsman who was just waking up. "Secure the boy and the old man. Bind them with iron chains. We are taking them back to the Estate."
He limped toward his black horse and mounted it with difficulty. He glared down at the villagers who watched from the shadows.
"We will be back soon for the rest of the tithe. Do not think this changes anything."
The men loaded their unconscious captives onto the backs of their horses. They rode out of town and kicked up dust that settled on the blood of the fallen, and they left the villagers trembling in fear.