The constant stench of sewage and splash of frigid waves as he waded through the seemingly endless sewer passage were more than enough to make Veikh long for a small moment of respite and cleanliness only a warm bath could grant. The thick gunk spilling inside his only remaining boot and drenching the shins of his trousers only added to his goal of reaching the church as quickly as possible; more for his sake than Ariesia's.
...Selfish, as it may be.
Iliph trudged by his side in an uncharacteristic silence, though the kobold's twisted expression told Veikh that he felt the same about the situation as he glanced up with his single green eye. Granted, whereas the sewer waters were up to his ankles, Iliph was practically knee-deep; the tail-end of his cloak sopping wet.
"What're you looking at, pretty boy? Don't tell me some of this crap got on my face too?"
"May as well have." Veikh sighed in apathy to the kobold's exhausted groaning, waving his free hand through the air. "Not like it matters anyway."
"'Course it matters!" Iliph growled quietly, yanking the end of his cloak from the stream and squeezing it free of grime in muted disgust. "I probably look like some drowned, one-eyed sewer rat at this point, huh?"
"You trying to say you already didn't?" Veikh smiled slyly at the kobold's exasperation, before returning his gaze to the passage they were currently traversing. He frowned, rubbing at his forehead in minor annoyance. "This stench is killing me."
"Feel free to repeat yourself." Ariesia replied idly before them, lifting the tattered ends of her already sullied white dress. "You could probably say this is a benefit I could've done without."
"Talk about annoying. What next? We come across the thing that killed all those guards?" Veikh grumbled in frustration, adjusting the cloak across his tunic. "I'm getting real sick of this crap."
The trio continued their remaining trek through the maze of corridors in silence, the only sound being the constant splash of the foul waters as they traversed the passages, alongside the occasional expression of disgust. Such a journey was fated to be difficult at some point, as a faint rumbling further ahead drew their attention; halting them in their tracks as they neared the corner of the most recent corridor. The rumbling grew louder and louder, until it was quite literally shaking the walls around them; though now it was less akin to rumbling and more in line with a deep, guttural growling that carried a visceral anger.
The rumbling stopped as quickly as it had begun, the silence left in its wake as oppressively heavy as before, if not more so.
"Behind me, now." Veikh directed to Ariesia as he quickly drew beside her, drawing his blade from its scabbard and brandishing his shield in caution. As she complied, he glanced down to the blue kobold at his side who gazed up to meet his eyes and the gesture that followed.
Iliph simply grunted in affirmation, pulling out his dagger and wading onwards alongside the crimson-clad knight, the maiden trailing them. The pair of them drew around the corner to traverse down yet another tunnel, their source of light now behind them making it difficult to see clearly aside from a vague trio of silhouettes further ahead; and large ones at that, the top of their heads appearing to graze the curved ceiling of the corridor.
The series of faint, guttural growls whose source was undeniably from the three beasts ahead were enough to make Veikh's skin and the scales of his Corrupted leg tense with anticipation. And as Ariesia neared the corner into the corridor behind them, so too did her light which caused the entities ahead to recoil in a manner akin to fear; glossy black fur and scales akin to those on his tainted appendage illuminated alongside even more evidently bestial traits.
He too, found himself recoiling at her light almost instinctively; eyes widening in horror as the trio of black beasts recovered from the glow of the light alongside him, their glimmering crimson eyes which settled upon him and Iliph filled to the brim with malice and desire for destruction. Less so as a result of actual Corruption, and more a result of twisted remnants of who they once were regaining some lucidity.
"Blackened..." Ariesia noted in somber realization at the sight of the beasts, lowering her glimmering palms ever so slightly. "And blocking our only way forward."
Veikh remained rooted to the floor in silence, the grip on his blade loosening ever so slightly.
These were the men who'd come with him to the wine cellar, the men whose bodies and minds were used to birth beasts of Corruption.
No, he attempted to rationalize, it'd be mercy at this point.
They weren't human. Not anymore.
And neither are you.
"Oi, not the time for daydreaming, pretty boy!" Iliph hissed in exasperation at the lack of physical reaction from the platinum-haired man, driving the pommel of his dagger into his thigh in desperate frustration.
Snapped free from his trance, Veikh uttered a curse under his breath at the looming beasts ahead of them; though said curse was less directed towards their current adversary and more towards the faint echo of another voice in his mind.
Tightening his grip on his sword once more with a breath, he eyed the beast closest to them, a maw of cruel fangs and claws ready to tear and shred him apart with glee; black scales all across its body so similar to those of his Corrupted appendage.
Beast.
His gaze drifted to the one behind it, the fangs of its wolf-like face bared threateningly alongside its absurdly large claws; various claw-like protrusions jutting all across its glossy furred body.
You too… a beast.
The final and largest of the three he studied, appearing less as a twisted beast and more of an actual abomination; an unreasonably large maw filled to the brim with small fangs in place of a head that could probably tear him apart torso-first and swallow Iliph whole if it so desired. Much like the second, its body was covered with a thick, coarse fur.
Kill.
The beasts prowled forward in a loose, swaying gait; slow yet sluggish, undoubtedly waiting for them to make the first move. Thankfully, while the sewer passages were cramped in a horizontal sense, they were wide and spacious in regards to the walls and curved ceiling overhead. Which would grant some leeway in regards to movement.
Kill!
Ignoring the diseased whispers clawing at his mind, Veikh calmly moved to the left with held breath, the claws of his transformed appendage scraping along the stone bricks beneath the rushing waves of sewage. As he predicted, the gazes of the three Blackened followed him instead of settling on Iliph or Ariesia, despite the latters usage of magic. Either they saw him as the most viable threat, or the faint memories of the husks wanted revenge due to him escaping their fate.
The kobold and maiden remained deathly silent, the former's fear especially evident compared to the latter, who seemed to grasp at what he was attempting.
Halting near the left side of the corridor a fair distance away from the two, the crimson-clad knight tilted his shield ever so slightly in her direction; the blade in his hand twirling in an extravagant flourish.
On cue, Ariesia raised her palms, the subtle glow radiating from them igniting into a blazing, blinding light that lengthened into a glimmering white spear. Almost quicker than he could react, the spear plunged into the metallic surface of Veikh's shield; the impact enough to push him against the sewer wall and send a surge of pain throughout his body and the scales of his left leg.
Bracing the sole of his boot firmly against the grimy stone, with gritted teeth he kicked off from the brickwork and charged forward in a blur of crimson; slamming into the reptilian beast's body faster than it could predict.
The creature stumbled backwards with a squelch as the knight impacted, light-infused iron grating against scale and bone alike; black ichor exploding outwards from its rapidly bloating abdomen and sending waves across the rushing sewer waves below. Slow, sloppy, and in the fleeting moments of life, a futile swipe of the reptilian beast's claws was fated to miss as its platinum-haired killer rolled to evade its strike.
A ripple across the beast's scaled stomach gave way to a geyser of black, the pressure more than enough to tear the black creature asunder; limbs, whatever remained of its body, and head falling back into the current of sewage with a glorious splash.
Not a moment granted to catch his breath from the risky maneuver, Veikh spun and raised his shield with a grunt of exertion; his knees buckling from the sheer impact as fist of the canid beast smashed into the metal, the sheer force enough to cause both his feet to slide back and his posture to break. He struggled to even keep his footing, only managing to remain upright due to the claws of his left foot digging into the stone beneath for dear life.
"D-Damn!" Veikh snarled, the creature's weight pushing against him refusing to give way no matter how hard he tried to push back.
His eyes snapped shut just as he felt his stance give way, shield flung from his hand before clattering a fair distance away to be swallowed by the waves. With his torso wide open, he felt his chest cave in as pain tore through his ribs like twigs; back smashing against the wall of the sewer with such force he could feel the chainmail of his tunic stab into his skin past the thick cotton shirt beneath.
Barely able to even utter a groan, Veikh slumped down the wall without a sound; the breath knocked out of him as the metallic taste of blood flooded his mouth, the hilt of his sword slipping from his fingers while the world narrowed down to the red dots of his vision.
A bright flash of light surging through the passageway served to make his eyes clench tight once more, the black beast looming over him stumbling away with a series of distorted howls, tainted waves splashing about as it writhed in stunned pain.
His gaze snapped in the direction of a kneeling Ariesia a fair distance away as he regained his vision; the maiden's auburn falling past her shoulders as her head drooped to the floor, back rising and falling in clear exertion if the fading radiance from her palms was any indication. Had it not been for Iliph barely managing to support her, she would've collapsed entirely.
The kobold thief himself appeared to be faring no better unusually enough, though as Veikh pondered the thought with what little time he had to regain his bearings upon rising to his feet; he took notice of the smoldering headless remains of the third beast a few meters away from the two. Of course it would've gone for the two when he was getting his ass beat.
Beast...
The diseased voice gurgled from within the depths of Veikh's subconscious, surging to the forefront of his mind as the crimson eyes of the final Blackened settled upon him.
Nightmare… beast… you...
Tightening the hold on his sword alongside a hoarse breath, a quick twirl on his heel and squeeze of the hilt brought the tip of the blade to the snarling face of the canid beast who had all but given him hell seconds ago.
Kill… maim… breed-
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" He roared, giving voice to the vile whispers filling his mind as he slashed his blade clean through the canid beast's muzzle before driving it down through its neck to tear into its chest.
He refused to stop there, gripping the hilt of his sword with both hands and driving it down further and further till he cleaved the canid's body clean in half; black ichor staining his crimson tunic and splattering across the walls and ceiling of the sewer corridor, the two asymmetric halves of a being once whole splashing lifelessly into the now blackened waves of sewage before falling apart.
Hold on his blade loosening with the illness of madness sapped from him, Veikh stumbled back and leaned his back wearily against the sewer wall, the foul stench of the beasts blood alongside the faint scent of sewage filling his nostrils. His chest rose and fell as he struggled to catch his breath, the press of the moment spent.
Clutching his side with a grunt, his ichor-stained sword clattered to the ground as he dropped to a knee. Sweat clung to his brow and caused his hair to stick to his face, his breaths coming out in short bursts that burned his throat. He raised his left hand to wipe the sweat from his brow, the sound of faintly rippling waves and pants of exertion drawing his gaze up to meet Iliph's single green eye, the kobold offering a faint smirk.
"You don't look so good, pretty boy."
"Heh... gonna take me three baths before I can even start feeling clean. The hair is another story." He shook his head, chuckling despite his foul mood. "Damn kobolds. You and your damned underground tunnels."
"Wow, that was totally uncalled for." The kobold frowned, glancing away.
Veikh attempted to give another grin, though as his eyes settled upon the limp auburn-haired woman Iliph was supporting, all incentive to even attempt such an expression was lost.
"Oh… yeah, the missus kinda passed out after she did that big ol' flash to save your skin." He explained before flashing a small, toothy yet reassuring smile to alleviate his worry. "So, uh, I'm kinda on the verge of keeling over myself. Little lizards like yours truly aren't built for heavy lifting. Mind carrying me and her?"
"Y-Yeah, sure. If I don't need any carrying myself. Just… give me a few moments." Veikh grumbled weakly, lowering his head with the exhaustion across his face evident. "S-Should've asked for more money… heh."
A faint splashing further down the sewer passage interrupted any further banter and caused the pair's heads to rise in alert, adrenaline surging forth once more as their eyes shot down the corridor.
Attempting to stand, Veikh hissed through clenched teeth as pain tore through his aching body once more; blade slipping from unsteady fingers as he fell to his knees.
Not willing to risk drawing his dagger while supporting Ariesia, Iliph simply stared ahead with a dejected sigh, though his single green eye widened at the faint orange glow that slowly filtered into his vision.
And not just any glow, but the glow of a flame. A flame from a torch, or maybe lantern. And accompanying the nearing splashing and glimmer of a flame, were voices!
Veikh himself could barely even fathom the glow, a dull ringing beginning to flood his ears alongside his pounding heart. Silhouettes in the shape of men drew closer and closer till at last the warmth reached his face and bathed him in its radiance.
"V-Veikh?"
Deighe.
He flashed a wry smile as the familiar face of his traveling companion drew into view, his voice and outlier amongst those of the group of strangers who'd arrived in their time of need. Locking gazes for but a moment was all he needed to know that they were safe.
Exhausted and with an opportunity of rest granted at last, Veikh closed his eyes and allowed himself to slip away.