Children of the Pariah

Part 1

Chloe couldn't believe what she was seeing. Just minutes ago, she had been moving through the dark fortress, carrying out her duties as the right hand of Olga Discordia, the Dark Queen. A noise distracted her and drew her gaze outside through one of the windows... and that was when she began to witness it.

Fights. They were not uncommon. The aberrants—those monstrosities that fed like leeches on their queen's power—had the bad habit of turning on each other over the slightest slight or offense.

Since they usually settled in camps at the foot of the fortress, hearing their conflicts was nothing unusual either.

But this was different.

From her vantage point, Chloe could see it clearly: it wasn't two factions clashing, as was usually the case, but a full-scale battle. All the monsters against a small group... that, somehow, was managing to hold the advantage.

She watched the group with growing curiosity, noticing something strange even for aberrants. They carried weapons and armor made of a dark green metal, and they used them with unsettling efficiency. The intelligence of aberrants varied by species: from the stupid ogres and trolls, to the more cunning goblins and imps, all the way to werewolves, whose minds rivaled those of humans.

But even they lacked proper armor or sophisticated weapons. They relied more on brute strength, hardened skin, and the regeneration granted by feeding on the Dark Queen's power.

There was also technique. Few aberrants bothered to fight in any way that wasn't savage and brutal. That was why Chloe found it so disturbing to see that small group equipped with clearly crafted gear... and, more importantly, knowing how to use it.

Even so, they were few. Barely a few hundred against thousands of aberrants who could recover from any wound that wasn't fatal. They had little chance of winning, Chloe thought, ready to ignore the battle and dismiss it as just another peculiarity of those creatures.

She turned, about to step away from the window...

Then she heard it.

The crackling sound of electricity reached her ears.

Confused, she looked up at the red sky, as always covered in dark clouds. The lightning couldn't have come from there.

She looked down.

And she saw it.

Some of those warriors began releasing lightning and flames from their own hands.

"Magic..." she whispered, bewildered.

Magic was not easy to use. Even the most talented needed months to learn a single spell. That was why seeing monsters wield it was, under normal circumstances, impossible.

And yet... there it was.

Several of them cast spells relentlessly, cutting down aberrants and quickly gaining ground.

As if that weren't enough, they adopted a formation: shield-bearers at the front; behind them, spearmen striking through the gaps; further back, spellcasters; and at the rear, archers. It was a simple formation... but even the simplest one was devastatingly effective against the stupidity and disorganization of the aberrants.

Those monsters were not normal.

Not in any way.

Chloe broke into a run at once.

She had to warn her queen.

Whoever they were... whatever they were... their objective could only be one: the fortress.

And the only thing still standing between them and their goal... were a dwindling mass of brutes.

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