The Mechanical Era

The cold breeze ruffled the leaves of the trees, as the birds chirped along. The gentle and lush full forest was full of life and beauty, with animals wandering around, living their calm and peaceful lives.

Walking along the dirt pathway were a few musketeers, along with a few knights, on their way to take down dangerous beasts reported in the area. However, as the severity of the task at hand was high, the knight team had asked for a musketeer force to come with them, to help them out with the task and to improve the image of the soldiers.

While the knights wore their runic-plated armor, with Serena holding a bow, the musketeers still had their uniforms, but with a breastplate on. They were all carrying FLM-18 muskets, with a leather belt to keep them on their backs.

In light of the incident a few days back, where a bunch of demons manage to outsmart their knights in an attempt to attack their herbalists, Carson had been promoted from private to sergeant for his excellent performance and leadership in taking down the demon. He had been given his own squad of 8 to command and help the knights clear out any new demon that would arise.

As a symbol of his higher authority, he had been given an enigma and a PCR-18 for his effort. The PCR-18 was a weapon imported from the city of Hoverdam, as a request made by the empress of the Aceaton empire, Rose Tippo Valline, to the kingdom of Hoverdam led by King Kant Icurus Maybale.

She wanted to test out this new weapon by giving it to a few competent soldiers in her empire, before handing it over to the rest of her army. Kant, wanting to exploit this possible new market, agreed, which led Sergeant Carson to get his hands on one.

As they walked on the dirt path, the musketeers from the city of Vallina pointed to the animals and trees of the forest while the knight politely gave them an answer to the best of their knowledge.

"I got to tell you, knight Serena. I wished that I was born here instead of in the city. Ain't that right men?" Carson asked his troops, who all nodded. They all seem to agree.

"Really? Do you all not like it in the city?" Serena asked, a little curious.

"Not me, no. I feel like it is a little too crowded for me, and the scenery is much less grandeur unless you are living in a rich area, in my opinion."

"I see. Does everyone have this sentiment, Sergeant Carson? Or are you just a majority or minority?"

"Well no. There are still a lot of men who prefer the city. Though I think it attributes to homesickness. Plus, they don't have any connections here.  Just give them some time. They will get to enjoy this place as we do," Carson replied.

"Alright then," she replies. The two continue to lead the way in silence as the other knights and musketeers talk with each other. After a few minutes, Serena breaks the silence.

"Say, can I ask you a few questions about the city? I am kind of interested in how you all used to live there," she asked.

"Sure thing. Go ahead knight Serena."

"Thank you. Now, I heard that in the city, they have these places where people gather around and look at other people pretending to be someone else. Is it true?" Senera questions.

"You mean theaters?"

"Yes! Theaters! Does it happen? Is it entertaining?" she asked. Carson thinks about it for a minute.

"Well yes. Now that I think about it, you guys don't seem to have any theaters here, right?"

"Yes, that is why I am asking. Have you attended one of them?"

"I have as a kid. They often play their stories on these wooden stages. A play often happens every day on the stage, and all that someone needs to do is to pay up to enter. It is pretty fun to watch, although it will cost you."

"How much does it cost?"

"Don't know. I haven't been to a theater in a while. What I have been to are sporting events. They got these stables up, and have a track. Then they race their horses to see which one of them is the fastest."

"I see. Well, I hope to one day go to the city and watch one of these 'plays'. Though, I am not sure when I can."

"Why is that?" Carson asks. Just as he asked that question, a roar can be heard coming from their northwest. A roar so fierce, that the leaves on the trees were blown away by the deafening sound, and the birds spooked away to safety.

It was now silent, yet tense. In the distance, they can all hear the small growling of the beast nearby. Carson looked at his men and instructed them to ready their guns, while Serena got the knights to charge up their weapons.

"Here we go, everyone. Here we go

The squad, fully prepared, slowly approached the sounds, deviating from the dirt path they followed. As they travel through the thick forest, they used the trees as cover. Their eyes scanned around for any demonic birds, before making their way further in.

The group soon surrounds the beast that had caused the loud noise. It appeared to be a lion, undergoing a corrupting transformation. A yellow mana crystal was seen forming on its forehead, while two pointy horns grew on its head. Its brown fur, which it used to camouflage to its surroundings, turned black and gray.

Carson turned to Serena, who nodded her head. He cocked his musket and aimed at the beast, before pulling the trigger.

click. Bang!

A thundering sound of the gunpowder exploding was sent out into the entire forest. A round metal ball fired at high speeds at the demon, landing on its forehead. The crystal shattered into a million pieces before the lion fell on its side to the ground. Although the beast may lay dead, they can still hear a growling.

"That sound, it is still there!" one of them commented.

"You think that there are more?" another replied.

"Well, if there are, then they are still undergoing their transformation. The sooner we get em', the faster we can leave this forest." Carson commented.

"Alright everyone, come into formation. We should all stick together." Carson orders. They then head further into the forest, trying to find and kill the demons. Once they spot a demon, they quickly aimed and fired at it. They had managed to get 3 more of these demonic lions, as well as a bunch of others before the growling stopped.

"Is that it? Is it over?" one of the musketeers asked. They were all breathing heavily, fully pumped up with adrenaline. Carson turned to Serena.

"Knight Serena, can you scan the area to see if there are any more demons around?" he asked.

"Right!" she replied. The woman closed her eyes and cast the spell. She then opens her eyes and tells everyone the results.

"We are surrounded, and they are headed our way," she informs. A cold shiver goes down everyone's spine, as they realize the grave situation they were in.

"Everyone, get into formation. Form a ring and use the trees as cover." Carson order.  The musketeers formed a court of rings, with the knights inside, They then kept their eyes on anything that moves, with their guns and spears prepared.

A few lions jump out of the bushes and run straight at the squad. A few musketeers aim and shoot down the beasts. The ones that miss, or get caught by the beasts' shield, are taken down thanks to the knight's charged arrows and spears.

A dozen volleys of bullets and arrows were fired, and the spears become covered in blood, and corpses of dead demonic lions start mounting up. A sort of ring made out of these corpses forms around the men, as they had slaughtered a couple of dozen demonic lions.

"Is that it? Is it over now?" one of them asked. Before Carson could reply, they heard one more beast, approaching the group. Though it appeared to be another demonic lion, this one had a violet mana stone attached to its forehead.

"Not now. Not yet." Carson replied. While the musketeers started loading their guns, the knights formed a wall in front of them.

"Should we charge at it?" one of the knights asked.

"No! Remember what happened last time? We should proceed with caution." Serena replied. The knight took aim at the beast and held it steady. It appeared to be standing there waiting. From her senses, she can immediately feel another presence.

Her eyes took just one second to look up, to see a glimpse of a great white eagle, corrupted by a violet crystal, flying above the sky just diving in. It landed on top of the demonic lion with the violet mana crystal and started to merge with each other.

The two beings came together and formed an amalgamation of lion and eagle. Its head and front legs melted away its flesh, allowing new body parts to form and take its place.

"It's merging! Take it down quickly!" The musketeers fired a volley at the beast, only for it to be stopped by the beast's shield. The transformation finishes, leaving a merge of a demonic lion and eagle behind; a Griffen, or at least, an uncanny imitation of it.