JACG Chapter 87 (Burn) (Patreon)

I summoned my sacred gear quickly and placed Ashley on the ground. I looked over at the horde of goblin like things that were rising from the ground like an endless tide. I could release a couple of blasts from my rifle that would knock those numbers down immensely. I may not be that experienced with my Sacred Gear but if I put minor amounts of mana into the rifle and let it build up in a feed back loop I should be able to send out controlled bursts.

I contemplated that for a moment before deciding against it. I was too close to the blast radius to be risking using it right now. I was not too concerned about my self but friendly fire was a rather big risk that I should not take just to get this over faster. It was not like I was alone in this fight. Rias was in the sky ready to bombard the army before her and Pyrrha was in a tree with her own rifle out taking aim at the various monsters before her with a cold focused expression on her face.

The only reason they had not taken action just yet was because these goblins have not proven to be hostile just yet. Sure they looked like they were enemies but that was just based off of their looks and the nature of their entrance. Rias and Pyrrha had a better moral standing than Ashley and I, they would not kill someone just because it was the more convenient option. Nor would they advocate for hostile actions against an unknown force right off the bat.

Even if they were willing to give these guys a chance to prove themselves they still prepared themselves for combat. They may be optimistic but they were not completely naive, they knew that when push came to shove you had to use violence. It was a good mindset to have and I could not image someone like Izumi reacting well in this situation. Argo would be slightly better, she lived in a rather peaceful world for the most part but she had experienced a life and death world for a good long time.

Ashley was looking over at the horde before us with a contemplative look on her face. She took out a gun from her inventory but she had a frown on her face. I could understand her concern. She was far more used to fighting in a melee and while the guns would be helpful there was no guarantee that they would be able to fight monsters. She did not have the same luck in the Gacha as I did. The items she got were certainly good but there was no equipment she could use to kill so she was stuck with mundane tools.

I transfigured the ground beneath me into a long silver spear. It was not the best metal for fighting but it would hold the enchantments better in comparison to steel and I did not know of the structure of any good magical metals. So I enchanted the spear for durability, sharpness, and a piecing enhancement. It was not the greatest weapon but she was far more skilled with a spear than anyone could really be.

Demi-gods were broken like that as she seemed to have a buff for learning anything combat related. I learned that on the very first day of SAO but as the days built up her skills with a spear became something breath taking. Seeing that level of growth I could understand how Heracles could take out monsters and myths that would rival gods themselves given enough time. Well if the lore of DXD or Fate was used.

“Here!” I shouted out at Ashley who was still looking over at her gun with a complex look on her face. She turned around quickly at my voice and saw me throwing a spear over at her. She reacted with lighting fast reflexes and grasped the spear in a smooth motion as she spun it around her with a happy smile on her face.

She then faced the horde before her with a manic grin on her face. She was prepared for violence and she was getting excited at the prospect of blood shed. God, that manic grin really did things to me that were completely unreasonable.

“Thanks, I was not looking forward to shooting the crowd. Guns are cool but there is something far more personal about a bladed weapon.” She spoke out with the same manic energy in her smile. I gave her an indulgent smile, I did not expect that reason but it fit her mentality just as well.

Pyrrha seemed to have enough as the horde started to march slowly towards us giggling creepily the entire time. She shot several rounds at the crowd. I was honestly surprised as I expected Ashley and I to be the ones to make the first move. That surprise faded as none of the monsters fell down from being shot. For a moment I thought she missed her shots but that idea was baffling enough that I scraped it in a moment.

Pyrrha was someone that was so skilled that she was toted as literally invincible. You don’t earn that kind of title and miss a shot that easy to take. She could shoot randomly and she was likely to hit something given the size of the crowd.

Then I saw small pits in front of the growing horde and I understood.

“Those were warning shots! State your purpose now or prepare for battle!” Pyrrha shouted out with a cold look on her face. I smiled lightly as that was something that fit my world view better. Rias looked down at the horde with a similar expression on her face trying to convey unity to the horde of giggling creatures before us. Ashley pouted as she wanted to get right into the action now that she had a good weapon on her.

I was proud of her for a moment. She may want to inflict violence as quickly as possible but she chose to stand by the group's unspoken decision and that brought a smile to my face. The girl I met all those years ago never would have allowed herself to take that step back. I was glad she was willing to let go her own instincts to prove unity.

Still, while she was currently standing by the unspoken unity she was pouting up a storm. The sight caused a teasing smile to bloom on my face. She saw my smile and her pout furthered but she did not take any more action as she looked back at the horde with a cold smile emerging. She may be waiting right now but as soon as things became clear she was going to bolt for the horde as quickly as she could.

The horde took in Pyrrha’s words but they did not seem that concerned with the threat that her words implied. No, they seemed to giggle and chatter loudly to themselves with excited energy. Several of the hooded figures had some sort of liquid pouring down their hooded frames pooling at their feet. The liquid did not seem to be doing anything and my Alpha Stigma did not pick up any attack from it so I was curious about what that liquid was.

Seeing that her threat was not imposing any real tension on the horde Pyrrha shot again this time nailing one of the goblins right between it’s hooded eyes. The monster fell with a meaty thud but again the horde before us did not seem concerned about that. I was surprised that she took lethal action that quickly but I guess the nature of the situation had her own instricts building up. 

“That was your last warning!” Pyrrha shouted out once more clearly preparing herself for battle. She may have totted this as a last warning but she had already decided on her course of action seeing the horde not taking the death of one of their own seriously. Before anything else could happen the goblin like things swarmed the dead one. 

“Meat, meat, meat, meat!” A particular high voice caught my attention as the horde of monsters swarmed on one of their own.

“He’s mine! I know his second cousin we are practically family!” Another high pitched voice emerged from the horde.

“I sold him three toes and he still has not paid me back!” I picked up another voice from the horde of incessant chanting of meat and food.

Then the horde started to pull apart the corpse before them. An arm ripped from its socket with green blood spraying from the corpse onto the crowd before it. The sicking sound of snapping bones and tearing tendons emerged from the corpse as the horde descended upon it. Several fights seemed to break out between the monsters as they each wanted certain parts of the body. Other sneakier goblins grabbed small parts of the flesh and bone and ran from the scene with their spoils.

Objectively I knew that these things were monsters but I still did not expect them to immediately go after one of their own. We were clearly a threat but they ignored us to feast on the corpse that we oh so generously provided. The way they fought over that one corpse was also rather concerning. I guess that the only positive point I could take away from the sight before me was that these things were fairly weak.

Pyrrha’s bullets might be better than the ammunition that Ashley had but it was still not anything to write home about. That meant that these things did not have good defensive properties. That was good to know as any knowledge about the enemy was good.

Pyrrha blanched at the scene before her, she clearly did not expect that kind of reaction from her own actions. Still, that paling faded quickly as she clutched her rifle and took aim once more.

Rias saw that things were deteriorating and she gathered the Power Of Destruction in her hands once more. She did look at where everyone was as she did not want to friendly fire either. I contemplated gathering my own bombardment of Destruction energy but decided against it. While the Power Of Destruction was powerful it was not needed in this context. The horde of goblin like creatures were not powerful enough to warrant such an attack.

Ashley was looking at the horde with a blood thirsty smile on her face. She was clearly not concerned about the monstrous nature of the creatures before us. She did not care about their actions all she cared about was that the threat was not taken seriously. Which meant that she was now able to unleash her violence on these poor poor cannibalistic goblins.

 They should have taken Pyrrha warnings and feasted on each other instead of bothering us. They were clearly willing to eat each other already they did not need to drag us into their business and now that we were in it there was no escaping their fate.

These Goblins were going to have a really really bad day and they had no one but themselves to blame for that.

“ Big bang girl!” A larger goblin shouted out gathering the attention of the horde around it and Pyrrha. She gave the big Goblin a sour look as she did not want that nick name but she understood that the creature was talking to her. Before she could respond the big goblin pointed at her aggressively.

“Big bang girl is a human, her and her friends are way tastier! We kill them first then we fight over da corpses!” The Goblin shouted out and his sentiment seemed to be accepted quickly by the horde. They did not really look like they were particularly hard to convince so his simple argument was enough to get them to focus on the real issue.

“He’s right! We roast da humans than we fight over corpses!” A shirl voice came out from the crowd increasing the sentiment of the big goblin.

“I want her toes! I can sell them for da highest bidder!” A creepy voice shouted out from the crowd. Pyrrha appeared to hear that one as she looked around the crowd trying to pin point that particular voice. The look on her face clearly showing that she was going to shoot that one first when things came to head.

“Meat, meat, meat! Looks like meats back on the menu boys!” A familiar voice chanted out which caused the horde to slowly chant out meat as well. I twitch at the familiar words but I figure it had to be a coincidence. There was no way we arrived in the Lord Of The Rings. The mission description had no connection to anything I could recall about the plots of the books. So those words probably meant nothing as the Goblins before us looked nothing like Uruk-Hai.

“Hehehe, If they charge Big Bang Girl then they die first, more meat for me hehehe.” A quiet voice emerged from the crowd. It was only my enchanted hearing that allowed me to hear that particular comment. I already knew that these creatures were not as unified as they looked but comments like that were not a one off case. It was clear that these things were only out for themselves and the other members of their race might as well be walking and talking food to them.

The horde started to charge at the tree that Pyrrha was standing on. She clearly expected it as she started to take shots at the Goblins that were trying to get to her. While she was taking out a good amount of them she was using a rifle so she was not capable of mowing them down. If she was by herself they would soon reach her tree and try to drag her down.

Unfortunately for the creatures, she was not alone. Seeing the change Rias started to rain bolts of Destruction energy onto the horde beneath her. Each dark bolt of energy tore into the creatures below her and leaving empty holes in the monsters that caused them to bleed out if the first hit was not lethal enough. The sight was something that was horrifying to look at as the Goblin's corpse started to leak blood over the ground quickly and desperately.

It was only moments but the air was already filling with the scent of blood. It filled the air with that sickening metallic scent but there was a hint of something else along with the blood. It was sort of like the scent of cut grass but wrong almost rotten. I suppose not every creature’s blood would smell the same.

Ashley took the cue from the sudden shooting to charge into the crowd without a care in the world. Her spear immediately impaled one of their heads before they could even react. She then spun the spear with the Goblin still on the end of it. With another thrust, the creature was sent flying into the crowd with enough force to send a good chunk of those fuckers to tumble to the ground.

She then danced in the crowd with her spear flashing around her slashing, piercing, and throwing corpses around her with manic glee. She was clearly in her element as the green blood rained around her. I was used to seeing her in this state but she usually had a helmet on when she danced on the battlefield. She was not wearing one now so I was able to see the bright manic smile on her face. Again the sight caused things to bloom in my stomach but now was not the time to think about that.

Even as the three girls tore into the horde it did not diminish them, no in fact the horde of monsters grew as more and more emerged from the ground. I don’t know why so many of those fuckers were hiding underground but they popped up like fucking dandelions.

I had no doubts that eventually they would kill all of the Goblins as they were like wheat being harvested. It was just a matter of how long this was going to take. The problem was we were not able to do any big attacks.

Ashley was great and she could have Madara praising her for the amount of skill she was showcasing but while she was mowing them down it would be better if we could wipe out large chunks of them. She was not using her Sacred Gear as she did not have good control of it so she would have large parts of the battlefield under her gravity. Pyrrha was not killing them all too quickly as she was taking a more cautious approach but it looked like she was gearing up to join Ashley in the horde to slash her way through those fuckers as well.

Rias was raining bolts down on them but if she did large blasts she would be more helpful but she did not want to risk friendly fire. Honestly, if we were by ourselves instead we would have a better shot at taking out the horde quickly but that was not what was happening.

We were too raw as a team. We had never fought together before so we did not know what would be too much for the others to handle. If we did large moves we were likely to have our teammates caught in the cross fire from inexperience. It was not something I expected but it was a fairly obvious thing to pick up on now that I was observing.

We had to practice together later if we wanted to solve this issue but for now, it was fine. These things were not a big threat to any of us so it would make good practice for now. 

Instead of charging into the horde with my sword by my side I started to create my own army. Animated golems emerged from the ground charging without a care of their own safety as they swung and fought with the Goblins. I was going for quantity over quality in this case so the golems were rather bare but they were still equipped with stone equipment.

So they were capable of taking out the goblins without any real issue. Still, they were not completely invincible I was losing a golem for every five kills of goblins. It was acceptable but the slaughter of the creatures seemed to spur more and more of them to crawl out of the ground.

It was honestly getting rather concerning as even with an army and some rather powerful attacks these things appeared to be endless. The scent of that rotten cut grass became more and more prevalent and it was causing my nose to itch.

As the scent increased something was bugging me but I could not quite put it to words. I looked around but I could not figure out what was bugging me. There was no magic being cast as far as I was aware. These fuckers just seemed to endlessly come out of the ground.

Ashley was still happily slaughtering the creatures. The blood coating her did not seem to bother her too much but I could see her nose twitching as well. She may like the carnage but the smell was getting to her as well.

Rias was still throwing bolt after bolt but there was sweat building on her brow. She was powerful there was no doubt about that but she did not have the endless reserves that her Brother had. So she was not capable of pouring out endless attacks on the crowd before her.

Pyrrha had abandoned snipping as was in the midsts of the horde mowing down as many as she could get her hands on. She did not have the same graceful dance that Ashley had when she was dealing death. No, Pyrrha really showed off her polished skills as every thrust, slash, and stab was put out with almost mechanical precision.

While Ashley was a wild fire blooming in front of you Pyrrha was a surgical swipe at the diseased ridden flesh. It was beautiful in a completely different way. I was really going to have to check my priorities about what I found attractive. If I could find beauty in the violence before me there was clearly something wrong with me.

So I looked away from the two of them with a frown on my face. Like I said even if we were killing these fuckers quickly they still came out like they were endless.

That one look away from the dance of violence before me was enough to tell me what was going on. The bodies lying on the floor seemed to dissolve into the ground. The green neon blood soaked into the ground and hissing as another of the fuckers sprouted out of the ground.

They were not crawling out of the ground they were born out of it. They were like weeds infecting the ground near them and with their death they released spores that produced more of them. Seeing the process with my own eyes I was able to finally understand why there was so many of them.

They were like the Orcs from Warhammer but lamer. They were far weaker and eventually the energy in their bodies would fade and they would stop reproducing. The barren forest around us had already been nearly consumed by the fuckers before me.

The ground did not have enough nutrition to sustain them. 

That was why they were so desperate for meat. They needed more energy and if they consumed us they would gain enough energy to spread away from the place they were currently stuck at.

While this was good news to learn the surrounding had enough energy to have them sprouting for months on end at the rate we were going. So it was not that helpful with our current tactics. 

“Stop! When you kill these guys they just dissolve and reproduce more of them! You have to use fire or completely eliminate them from existence instead of tearing them limb from limb!” I shouted out as I switched my army from attack to containing the fuckers before me.

Rias looked over at me as my voice echoed out. She then took a look at the battlefield and saw what I saw so she started to completely erase them instead of just taking chunks out of them.

Pyrrha also heard what I said and had a frown on her face but she took out a different canister of bullets from her inventory and hopped back into a tree. She started to shoot out again and I could see what she was doing. The bullet hit the Goblins and they seemed to catch on fire as soon as the bullet made contact. I guess she was using fire dust ammunition now.

Finally, Ashley looked around her with a pout on her face. She quickly realized what I saw and she was not happy that her fun got cut short. She then brought out a flame thrower from her inventory with a less enthusiastic smile on her face. She may want to tear them limb from limb but she was also fine with burning her foes alive as well.

My golems took a rather good chunk of my mana but I was still able to cast Fiendfyre. Tom was a sick fool but he taught me quite a lot in our little bout and I was able to control the flame far better than he ever would be capable off.

Flames crackled and the air was filled with the scent of burning grass but I could already see the difference. Within moments the near endless horde before us was getting smaller and smaller. The creatures seemed to realize that we saw through their trick as they started to scramble to escape but my Golems were able to contain them.

As the surroundings filled with the sound of monsters begging for their lives as they were burned alive, I paused for a moment. I knew this was the best way to take care of them but it felt odd to be satisfied with burning my foes alive. 

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I made up the mechanics behind the monsters for the most part. Those guy do showup in the show but they were cannon fodder. I decided that this would be a neat little thing to build lore about the forest and have an interesting fight.