[center][h1][color=crimson]Malveil[/color][/h1][/center]

[h3][color=crimson][center]Main Street[/center][/color][/h3]

[color=crimson]“Oh, you are abhorrent.”[/color] 

Malveil barely flinched as the shadowy abomination was shoulder-checked by one of his pawns, and had one of its supporting limbs hacked off by another’s axe. Black ash spewed from the wound instead of blood, and almost as fast as it was hacked off, the limb instantly reformed, like the pawns were chopping through mud.

The shadow monster wrapped a limb around one of the pawns, and crushed his head, helmet and all. Another pawn hacked away its limb again, but once more it regrew like nothing Malveil had ever seen. Another one of his pawns fell as the beast stuck its arm straight through his breastplate. 

[color=crimson][i]There must be some way to kill these things.[/i][/color] 

As the brawl continued, Malveil tried to examine the strange specimen, to discern any weak points in its form. He had to act quick, or the other two would join in. Speaking of the other two, his Knight ran one down, keeping it distracted for the time being. His Rook opened fire on the other, and it was then Malveil noted something interesting. The bullet struck the creature dead center, where it seemed a small body hung suspended by the shadowy limbs. It bled.

[color=red][i]So that’s where they’re weakest, yeah?[/i][/color] 

Malveil ordered his pawns to focus on attacking the soft center, and try they did. However, the thing got the better of them, tripping the three remaining soldiers and crushing them with its limbs one by one. It then tried to attack Malveil, but was stopped dead in its tracks with a mace to the face. The Bishop stood between him and the shadow monster, intent on smiting the unworthy, unclean beast.

The Knight was having the most trouble. Despite his titan of a horse, a horse was a horse. The shadow monster simply twisted its limbs into a thick mess of wire, tripping up the stallion and tossing the Knight into a heap. He got up, and had no choice but to defend himself against the monster with his spear and shield. The Rook had finished off his own opponent first, and joined the Knight in attacking the second one, providing supporting fire to distract the beast so that the Knight could go in for the kill. 

But now Malveil had to focus on the fight in front of him. His Bishop did not attack; instead it kept the beast at bay, using his mace and armor to ward off any incoming strikes. It was all Malveil could order him to do, lest he be killed like the other pawns. Of course, they always came back after a fight, but that didn’t matter if Malveil were to die in said fight. The Bishop was in a rough spot, defending against a multi-limbed thing with only a mace. He was the most skilled out of the three in direct combat, but sometimes that just wasn’t enough. He was fighting a losing battle. That is, until Malveil stabbed the beast in the back, and dragged his ornate dagger through the abhorrent thing, spilling whatever guts it may have had.

His Knight and Rook had finished the other beast, and it lay on the pavement, bleeding shadow. It was over, at least for now. He still had a mission to fulfil. It would take him thirty minutes to replace his pawns with new ones. The same went with his Rook, Knight, and Bishop. They were only pieces, of course. They were to be disposed of and used to further his own goal.

But now wasn’t the time to ponder the morality of disposable soldiers. It was time to move, and move he did towards the southwest.