Chapter 1: First Hunt
As the heavy rain pelted against the windows of the dimly lit chapel, Sol and his two companions stared, wide-eyed, at the horrifying beast in front of them.
Its body, spanning the length of three grown men, closely resembled a spider's, with eight long spindly legs and an engorged posterior. It was bent over, feasting on what looked to be a mangled corpse clad in the remains of a white robe.
"By God, it's the priest!" Jared, their squad leader, swore under his breath.
Trisha, their second squad member, shook her head grimly.
"Guess the witch beat us to him," she muttered, covering her nose to mask the sickening stench of death.
Sol stifled the overwhelming urge to throw up, stumbling across the smooth marble floor. His steps alerted the spider to their presence, and it turned sharply towards him. A bolt of lightning flashed through the stained glass windows, fully illuminating the creature's monstrous visage.
Where the spider's head was supposed to be, there was instead the head of a woman, long red hair falling in streaks across her ashen face.
The creature opened her disfigured mouth to reveal a large set of fangs. Blood ran freely down her chin and her face was coated with the grisly remains of her prey. Her crimson red eyes, with slanted pupils like a demon's, seemed to glow in the darkness. Upon seeing her three unwelcome guests, she bared her fangs and let out a blood-curdling shriek.
"SKKKKRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"
"It's spotted us! Quick, Attack Formation One!" Jared hurriedly barked out instructions as he raised his sword in front of him.
Sol tried to remember his training, everything he had learned from his time at the Templar Training Grounds. But all that ran through his mind was an all-consuming fear: the same fear he had felt that night when he watched his hometown burn to the ground. He could do nothing but stand motionless as the witch leaped straight at him, going in for the kill.
"Sol, look out!" Trisha barrelled towards him and tackled him hard, sending them both tumbling headlong into a narrow space between two pews.
"Come at me, you monster!" Jared hit his sword against his shield, making a loud clanging noise that turned the witch's attention towards him. This bought enough time for Trisha and Sol to recover their bearings. As Sol brushed himself off and readjusted his heavy chainmail vest, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"You need not push yourself too hard. Tis but your first hunt, after all." Trisha gave Sol a reassuring smile before dashing back into the fight.
Sol gripped his sword and shield tightly, watching as his two companions clashed with the witch. They focused on wearing the witch down steadily with a continued assault, deftly avoiding each of her strikes while striking at her exposed body.
The witch was hard-pressed to keep up with their two-pronged attack, but her eight steely legs and heightened senses allowed her to hold her own against the two Templars. This deadly dance of claw and steel went on for a while, with each side only dealing minor damage to the other.
However, Jared, who had borne the brunt of the witch's attacks, soon felt his body growing heavy, and his movements sluggish. Again the witch raised her legs to stab at him, and again he lifted his sword to block the blow. He was a moment too late, and cried out in pain as the witch's strike left a wide gash on his forearm.
Jared tried to leap backwards to create some distance between them, but found that he could barely move his legs. He looked down and found that his lower body and parts of his torso were wrapped in thin strands of sticky thread. About four or five paces away, he saw that Trisha had been caught in a similar predicament.
"Damn, she's trapped us!"
He cursed himself for not noticing earlier, and frantically began to chant a spell that would free him from the webbing.
The witch hissed and the corners of her mouth curled upwards in glee as she watched the Templars struggle in her trap. She took this chance to wind up for a killing blow, aiming straight at Jared.
Sol was frantic. He knew he had to do something, but he was too far from the others to reach them in time. His mind raced to think of something, and suddenly a crazy idea struck him.
He grasped his sword like a javelin, wound his arm back, and flung it at the witch with all his might. It flew through the air in a perfect arc, and impaled itself deep into the witch's abdomen.
The witch, howling in pain, went into a frenzy. Her legs lashed out wildly in all directions, battering at Jared and Trisha and sending them careening across the room.
The witch turned to look at her third attacker. Attention now fully on Sol, she charged towards him, screeching with rage.
"Come on, this is your chance! Do something, anything!" Sol spurred himself on, gathering his courage. "Show them you're strong enough to handle this!"
But as the witch drew closer and closer, terror once again washed over him, and all the strength left his body. He held his shield in front of him, prepared for the worst.
"Infiro!"
A ball of bright blue flame, conjured by Jared, hurtled through the air and hit the witch squarely on its side. The witch let out another ear-piercing cry, rearing backwards violently from the pain. Jared and Trisha came rushing in, placing themselves in between Sol and the witch, shields up and swords pointed.
"Strike as one!" Jared signalled. Trisha nodded in understanding.
The two closed in with their blades, almost perfectly in sync. Slashing downwards with all the strength they could muster, they sliced cleanly through the witch's legs, one on each side.
The witch screamed in agony as her severed limbs flew through the air, blood flowing profusely from her wounds. She retreated into the back of the hall, where she used her remaining strength to scale the wall, smash one of the glass windows, and escape into the raging storm.
Panting hard, the two sheathed their weapons, turning around to look at their rookie squadmate, still cowering behind his shield.
"What the devil was that? You could have gotten us all killed!" Jared burst out angrily, pointing an accusing finger at Sol.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone