As the legion of gargoyles landed onto the darkened streets of Va'grond once more, Erviel couldn't deny the spike of Corruptive energy in the air he felt throughout their surroundings; his gaze settling upon the pillar-lined entrance of the 'hideout' assumed to have once belonged to the stone demons' old rivals as he was gently placed onto his feet by Garth.
Compared to the run-down church he assumed the aptly mentioned gargoyle and his gang of underlings made their home, the hideout of their old rival gang was a fair bit of a step-up from an architectural standpoint--at least, from the outside it appeared to be. As he drew close to the stone pair of doors which prevented them from charging forth, a wall of illegible runic script shot up across them; the sheer magical potency of the barrier coupled with the bright light it radiated more than enough to cause him to retreat a step, his exterior stiffening considerably.
"They're here alright." He muttered under his breath, a pulse of Corruptive energy serving to lengthen his right arm into a liquid-like, spear-like construct. "And by that, I mean a lot of them." He glanced to the imposing form of Garth, the light of the gargoyle leader's runic lines igniting to a bright crimson as he stepped toward the sealed entryway, a sizable number of his underlings who were equal in size to him by his side.
"W-Wait," Ilvir piped up, his voice distant yet near before he stopped by his Corrupted acquaintance's side behind the large stone demon, "you cannot be certain about just charging through doors of solid stone infused with magic, can you? As a paladin, I can assure you that even the mightiest of men can be reduced to a pile of bones upon contact with wards such as these. Should you necessitate it, I could very well dispel this ward with a counterspell…"
Erviel barely managed to keep his spear-like arm from disemboweling the paladin whose presence he had nearly completely forgotten about, instead opting to shoot the halfwitted man a glare--the words from his parting maw cut off by Garth himself, the stone demon craning his neck to glance down at the human with a wink.
"Fear not, little man. We're hunks of solid stone, remember?" He grinned as he turned back to the sealed entrance, the talons of his feet tearing into the ground beneath in tandem with the band of 'goyles by his side as he braced his large clawed hands forward, wings and tail flaring out. "A pair of wimpy magic-infused doors don't have anything on us. Not when we're technically inanimate." He flashed yet another grin, a slightly reassuring one at that, alongside another wink as he turned to them once more. "I'd suggest you two take a few steps back and enjoy the show."
"D-Don't say I didn't warn you…" The paladin murmured as he shrunk away, meekly readjusting the cloth around his waist.
"I'm counting on you." Erviel nodded, retreating a fair distance alongside Ilvir, though still close enough to the few stone demons who had opted from joining their comrades--mostly consisting of the much smaller ones who were more near his and the paladin's height; evidently dwarfed by the larger gargoyles.
Claws outstretched, with a heavy grunt Garth thrust his barreled arms forth, the gargoyles at his sides mimicking his actions as their claws collectively pierced the runic wall that had flamed upwards and dug into the stone exterior of the double doors beneath. As precisely as expected, though to Ilvir's growing mortification, the dark electricity ignited by the runic barrier did little more than char the stone exterior of the demons assaulting it, utterly harmless and completely nullified.
The gargoyle leader's low grunts of exertion merged with the harsh guttural growls of his kin alongside him, the barrier beginning to show signs of wear as the cracks of the surface it had been bound to began to spread; shattering completely in a final yet inevitably futile display of resistance. With the broken shards of the magic ward raining to the ground to worthlessly dissipate, the unprotected double doors collapsed open as the collective legion of stone demons thrust forth with all their strength; the ensuing cloud formed from the rubble obscuring their vision.
Flapping their wings to clear the dust, their open entryway into the hideout of the Corrupted was revealed; a single darkened open-spaced corridor beckoning them all into its depths.
Erviel strode past the recovering line of demons silently, his unsharpened hand reaching beneath his cloak to clasp around the stone dangling above his chest with a squeak; its dull lavender glow alighting alongside his eyes.
"...Are you certain about this, Erviel?" Ilvir asked hesitantly, the namesake Corrupted craning his neck to spare a side glance.
His eyes narrowed with a wordless sneer, though as he prepared to turn back around, he lowered his gaze to the paladin's glimmering palms; his former expression of contempt shifting to one of thoughtfulness.
"Hm. On second thought, maybe you're not so useless after all." Erviel's maw grew into a smile, his unsharpened hand retreating from beneath his cloak to tap at his lower jaw. "You were with that dragon for quite a while, weren't you?"
"...Y-Yes, somewhat, I suppose."
"That means you should be able to tell us where he is, find the holiness of his soul--or whatever shit you paladins call it."
"W-Well, about that…" Ilvir's maroon gaze dropped to the floor, a hand running through his hair. "I've… been trying since we've arrived at this blasted place. However, there's just too much Corruption all around for me to accurately discern his location--"
At that, the mutual eyes of human, Corrupted, and gargoyle alike shot deep within the corridor at a mass of distant yet closely approaching footfalls; a dozen or so robed and masked individuals flooding into sight near instantly, baring their way forward in place of the ward that had once been. A majority held tomes in their grip, though the few cultists who were much larger in stature, almost rivaling that of Garth himself, brandished swords or axes in place of magic.
"Fuck's sake, it's always the damn Corruption." Erviel growled, maw clenching with a frustrated scowl. "Not that I was planning on sparing any of these bastards anyways."
"Got a plan then, kiddo?" Garth rumbled, his glowing crimson eyes bearing into the lavender of the Corrupted. "'Cause I think me 'n my boys here can both agree on that last part."
"Didn't have anything else in mind aside from that." He replied astutely, brandishing his lengthened arm with a twirl. "Let's give 'em hell."
Wings flared about in an almost startling display of synchronization, Garth and his stone legion rushed forth towards the braced, albeit completely unprepared squadron of Corruption worshippers; the few who fired magic spells left in bewildered awe at the complete lack of effect the magic had on their stone bodies.
With the inanimate yet animate demons acting as makeshift barrier in of themselves, Erviel and Ilvir tailed them closely; the latex-scaled Corrupted mercilessly cutting down any and all mages nearest to him whilst parrying the strikes of those who wielded weapons of their own with his blade-like arm, the opening quickly taken advantage of by the few heavier-set gargoyles.
The paladin, while nowhere near his full potential, proved somewhat competent in that the flashes of holy light he brought forth allowed the soaring and much more nimble-framed gargoyles overhead to swoop in to utterly ravish any poor cultist caught in their talons.
Slash after slash, roar after roar, and scream after scream, the flowers of revenge had barely begun to blossom for Garth and his underlings as they landed to observe the carnage they had brought upon the group of Corrupted; the stone floor beneath their feet drenched in black fluid.
Erviel paid little attention to their momentary celebration, his head shooting to the direction of the corridor entrance as he spied the pitiful sight of a single remaining cultist attempting to crawl away from the clutches of death; mask discarded to reveal the matted furred face of a canine-like creature.
The cultist's panicked gaze shot up, a whimper slipping from his maw as a pair of shiny violet-scaled legs impeded his escape; the lavender eyes of the being which they belonged to merciless and without remorse, its arm lengthened into a blade of solidified Corruption aimed right between his eyes.
"W-Why..." He struggled to rasp, his fear beginning to morph into a hateful rage. "Why are you... killing your own--?"
"Is something the matter, Erviel?"
The words of the cultist remained forever unfinished as Erviel's blade pierced through his skull, the traitorous Corrupted sparing not a second glance as he tore his arm free; spinning to meet the stocky frame that was Ilvir.
"...No, nothing," he dismissed flatly, not returning the paladin's gaze and pointing a claw to the robed frame at his feet, "just offing a straggler."
Ilvir nodded discreetly, not wanting to pry further. "I see."
The pair's attention were drawn to the nearing sound of clicking claws, one of the slimmer gargoyles near their height meeting them with a friendly, albeit semi-serious smile; the patterns across his body a much richer shade of violet.
"Boss says we got more company." He motioned with a flick of his wing towards the deeper recesses of the corridor, yet another band of cultists having come out to meet them; many already being flung and thrown about by the stone legion waiting to meet them.
"Seems it's a long road yet." Ilvir murmured in worry, already feeling himself growing fatigued with the lack of proper rest he'd been granted alongside his rapid usage of holy spells.
Erviel trekked forward without comment, sending another surge of Corruptive energy through his arm to reinforce his blade.
"Wait for me, my dear sisters," he snarled under his breath, the glimmer of the rose stone beneath his cloak beginning to grow, "I'm coming to kill you all."