SoloAI - The Nightside - Episode 3

 The Red Beast

The beast was enormous and covered in bright red scales, with wings like those of a bat, a tail long as a horse, and long razor-sharp claws extending from each hand. Its head resembled that of a lion with a long golden tongue flicking out and licking its chops. - Made with Dalle-Flow and Latent Diffusion's Inpainting

I prepared myself for battle, knowing that the beast would be tough to face. However, before I could do anything, I realized, behind the beast, the source of the screams I had heard earlier.

There were two bodies there, sprawled in the floor like discarded dolls. They were brutally dismembered, but the beast didn't seem to have done it out of hunger, just for sadistic fun. There was still enough clothing left to realize that they were two acolytes of the Church of Saint Kevseph, but the skin had been stripped off, exposing their bones underneath.

That made me furious.

I engaged the beast, first slamming my shield into its face to stun it, and then abandoning my defense altogether and going into melee combat, throwing a series of punches at the beast, imbued with divine magic.

The beast managed to dodge my blows, and began to fly through the church. It was about to swoop down on me, but I grabbed one of the many giant statues that decorated the place, and with my powerful strength, I tilted it slightly so that it came between me and the beast. 

It evaded and went into the darkness of the building, causing me, alarmed, to look for the direction from which its next attack would come.

Suddenly, the darkness around me was lit up with the brilliant light of a fire breath from the beast. I raised my shield and deflected the fire breath from the beast with ease, but it was so intense that it launched me back from the wall, slamming into the far wall of the chapel, sending splinters flying everywhere. I was lucky not to have been seriously injured, but I was shaken from my concentration, and the beast was now close to me once more.

However, instead of attacking me, the beast aimed at the statue with its fire breath, and knocked it over in an attempt to crush me under it. I wasn't able to stop it in time, so I raised my shield to protect myself from the falling stone. 

I ended up trapped under the statue, an easy target for the beast. I tried to use my superhuman strength to lift the object off me, but the lion-dragon was faster, smashing through the statue with its body, tearing it to pieces, and pinning me against the wall.

I wasn't going to let that dragon-beast kill me there. I closed my fist and punched out at it as hard as I possibly can, with all the force I had within me, and sent it flying across the chapel with a mighty impact that shook the whole place for a second or two afterwards.

The beast fell to the ground in front of the altar, more stunned than hurt, but I knew that it wouldn't stay down for long. It got up quickly, and charged at me again. I raised my shield, and braced myself for another round of battle.

Before I could prepare myself properly, the beast became a blur, and before I knew what was happening, it had cut a deep wound in my right arm and thrown me to the ground on my back with such force that I lost consciousness for a moment or two. When I regained my senses, I realized that the beast had climbed onto my body and was about to bite me in half.

Even with all the pain I was feeling from my wounds, I still managed to gather my strength and launch a final attack.

I swung my right fist at the beast, aiming for its head, and with all my might I drove a powerful punch directly into its mouth. The punch was so powerful that it caused the beast's head to explode in a burst of blood and bone fragments, covering me from head to toe in gore and blood. 

The beast's body slammed through the roof of the abandoned church, shattering the stained glass windows and scattering the remains of the beast into the sky outside. The shockwave of the explosion created by my punch rocked the church, and even the nearby buildings were damaged by it, as well as causing a small earthquake that lasted for several minutes after the blast had died out. 

When the smoke cleared and the dust settled, I looked around the chapel. A crack ran from the top to the bottom of the building, and the entire roof had exploded, letting in the night air. The walls were cracked, the floors were broken, and most of the statues were either destroyed or lying in pieces on the floor. The only thing left intact was the altar, which stood near the center of the room.

The fight was over, the beast was dead, and the innocent population of the Nightside would be a little more protected. All that remained was for me to take the surviving Crimson Guard to safety now, and then rest and recover from my injuries.

 Unpleasant Surprise

Made with Centipede Diffusion

Outside, I was met with the unpleasant surprise that the Crimson Guard that I had sworn to take to safety was gone. I could not find even a trace of where she might be, it was almost as if she had taken off and flown away.

As much as I felt the urge to search for clues, I couldn't. I was too tired, too hurt. I needed to get help and continue my mission to find Sarah, the Crimson Guard would have to wait.

But who could help me? 

Aderah worked as a member of the Police Force in Yavik, and had a personal grudge against the Crimson Guard. His job was to protect the citizens of the city from any threats that might come their way. Alderah was an intelligent carabal, with a quick mind and keen intellect.

Alderah was a Carabal, a flying plant race native to the Nightside. They're large, winged plants that resemble bats. Their bodies consist mostly of leaves and vines, but they also have two legs and arms like humans.

If there was anyone who could help me, it was Alderah. And luckily, I knew exactly where he was that night. 

 In The Abandoned Orphanage

Made with Dalle-Flow

The Orphanage was made up of a number of connected buildings, each one with a single door and window, some of them boarded up and closed off by thick wooden planks, others completely broken into and vandalized beyond repair. However, I could see light coming from a few of the windows, indicating that somebody was inside.

It was a dark and foreboding sight in the middle of the night, with the moonlight shining through the clouds above me, illuminating the scene as though the moon itself were giving its blessing upon the orphanage.

 I knew that my friend Alderah and his colleagues from the Yavik police were using the orphanage as a temporary base of operations. So I had decided to go there to seek help.

I knocked on the door and was quickly met by Alderah, who, concerned, called a nurse to help me and took me inside the building.

Inside, the building seemed to have a strange aura about it, almost like a feeling of unease, but that was probably just my imagination. There was a large central hall with a large staircase leading up and down to the different floors, all of them filled with dusty old furniture. The walls were covered with old paintings and posters, many of them depicting children playing together happily. More police officers were here, standing around the room, and they all turned to me, their faces full of concern. I was surprised at their reaction; I hadn't expected them to be so worried about me.

While Alderah was taking me to the infirmary, he asked me if my injuries were due to my having participated in a so-called "Existential Clash". I obviously didn't know what this was, and he explained that "The Kevseph Order has been having some internal problems for a while now, and they've become worse since the infighting started between two factions within the Order; the Blackguard and the Vigilance. (...) I've heard they had a big fight at Saint Kevseph's Cathedral, and one of the factions took control of the place."

That information was new to me. A civil war in my former religious order? It was probably all Brother Joseph's fault. Sooner or later he would have to pay for his actions.

I was put on a bed and doped with anesthetics so that I could rest. Before the medicine took effect, I explained my mission to Alderah, who promised me that he would find a way to help.

I don't know how long I slept, whether it was hours or days, but when I woke up, most of the policemen were gone except Alderah. He had been searching for information about Sarah, and had discovered something valuable.

A familia called Red Hand had received Sarah among several "gifts" from the Crimson Guard, in a series of attempts to bring both familias together.

"They're a dangerous bunch, the Red Hand. They're not very well liked by other familias, and they have a reputation for being vicious fighters. They're also known for their brutality towards civilians. If you go after the Red Hand, you're going to be in for a tough fight." Alderah warned me.

"That doesn't sound too bad to me. I've faced worse." I said, trying to reassure him that I was ready for whatever the Red Hand might throw at me.

Alderah handed me a map, showing the location of the Red Hand's main meeting place - a mansion located in Raziel's slums. I thanked him, and even though he insisted that I should rest more, I decided to get up and go. 

However, first I wanted to question Alderah as to how he had obtained this information. I noticed a certain change in his expression, but he calmly told me that this was not important at the moment and that if I wanted to leave, I should go quickly.

And so I did, setting off toward the Red Hand mansion.

To be Continued...