It was hot, and the humidity during the rainy season was unbearable. Trekking through the dense forest was already risky, but Hector and the thousands of knights next to him had no other choice. They were the last hope dozens of villages had to rescue their missing loved ones. It had started off small a couple of seasons ago, a few maidens having gone missing here and there, but like a plague, the numbers grew exponentially to the point there were villages devoid of women. No one knew where the women had disappeared to, with rumors of them being eaten by monsters, the specifics of which changed each time the rumor was told. It wasn't until a farmer, whose wife had gone missing last summer, managed to catch a tall red figure with horns carrying his only daughter into the woods in the middle of the night that people began to realize what was going on.
It took the combined effort of the best trackers in all the realms to follow the trail the mysterious figure left behind, a faint stench of sulfur lingering in the air. Only a handful of the dozen returned with the answer to the question that had plagued everyone's minds.
Demons!
Infernal creatures of the underworld that fed on anything living, occasionally feasting on their own kind. A council consisting of the kings of various kingdoms was held, and it was there where the trackers explained what they found. Beyond the unmapped forest, which even seasoned adventurers would avoid venturing into at night, was a large cave blocked by a powerful barrier cast with magic so sinister and vile that it made the mage accompanying them vomit. However, the cave was nothing more than an entrance to hell, which they managed to enter using a short-range teleportation scroll. It led to a massive necropolis, which the demons called home, and the color drained from all the nobles present when the trackers told them the hellspawns numbered in the thousands. The necropolis was the size of three kingdoms combined. Still, a few of the surviving trackers suspected it was even larger than that since they never saw the bottom of the bottom levels of the underground city.
Yet, despite the news that demons walked the mortal realm, one aspect confused everyone, including the trackers who saw the fiends with their own eyes. They'd only seen female demons, all taller than the sturdiest knights and undeniably beautiful. A legion of only female demons was perplexing since there'd never been a record of one ever being formed in hell. It meant that the hierarchy in the burning hells beneath their feet had changed and that there was a new ruler who was no longer satisfied with their conquest of the other lords of hell.
Knowing that the longer they waited, the worse the situation became, a decision was made to mobilize a combined army of the best knights each kingdom could spare to wipe out the demons before they became too great of a threat. It was why Hector was marching through the forest with them, wanting to ensure that many of his comrades returned home to what was left of their families. Although Hector was a part of the army, he was the furthest thing possible from being able to slay an elderly drunkard, let alone a demon. He was only 5'5 and so feminine he put the fairest maidens in all the lands to shame, mistaken for one by everyone who met him. His smooth chocolate figure was curvaceous with plumpness in all the wrong areas for a man, coming together to form a perfectly round, voluptuous rear so grand it barely fit in the trousers he wore. It jiggled with every step he took, and thanks to his hips naturally swaying, his juicy buttocks looked so enticing it could give a king's statue a hard-on. Hector had no valuable muscle mass, all of which went to the crown jewel, the beautiful chocolate star hidden between his plump cheeks. It was so tight that it could snap the pole of a spear in half, and unbeknownst to its owner, the healing magic he specialized in ensured it would always remain so.
Healing magic was exceptionally rare but powerful, so much so that General Edward, who was in command of the army, assigned Hector to his elite squad to protect him. Traveling by day beneath the scorching sun was the only way for the army to reach the cave while the sun was still up and preserve their numbers for the upcoming battle. Plenty of knights complained about the heat, but they stopped after General Edward told them to enjoy it, reminding them that many of them would never leave the cave. Reminding his soldiers that death was sure to claim a majority of them, the knight in the army began exchanging notes they'd written to their families, giving them to the comrades they thought had the greatest chance of surviving.
By the time they reached the cave, the sun had just begun to set, and there was no questioning whether they were in the right place. Bones and broken armor were scattered everywhere, the remains of foolish adventurers who sought to rescue their kidnapped female companions. It was a demoralizing sight, but it worsened even more when one of General Edward's captains pointed out that there wasn't a single corpse belonging to a demon among the sea of human bones.
Fear began to spread amongst their ranks, and a few knights even spoke of desertion, but General Edward quickly calmed his men down. He reminded them of what was at stake and who they were here for. Almost every knight took out a memento that belonged to their missing family member and steeled their resolve.
Husbands came looking for their wives.
Brothers for their sisters.
Fathers for their daughters.
Sons for their mothers.
They'd all had someone precious taken from them and were now ready to face certain death if it meant there was a chance to rescue them. General Edward called forth an archmage he'd fought with on numerous battlefields to dispel the barrier preventing them from entering the cave. Hector watched as the elderly man's eyes glowed a bright blue, and a magic circle formed in the fog blocking their path. The seasoned mage began sweating, showing clear signs that he was struggling to dispel the barrier, but after a few moments, the fog blocking them began to dissipate. There were cheers from the men behind him, and even Hector saw it as a sign that things might not be as bad as they thought, but their cheers were quickly silenced.
Feminine laughter that sounded inhuman and carried a sinister undertone began echoing from the cave, sending chills down the spines of all the knights who heard it. General Edward yelled at his men to get a grip, but even he was caught off guard by what happened next. The mage, whom Hector learned was named Finrell, was by the cave's entrance catching his breath when suddenly a large rad hand emerged from the darkness and grabbed the back of his head, pulling him into the shadowy void. Hector covered his ears but could still hear them. The cries for help turned to anguished screams that were followed by more sinister laughter from the female demons. He heard Finrell release another blood-curdling scream, but it was abruptly cut short as incoherent gurgles took their place, and before anyone could even unsheath their blades, an eerie silence was all that remained.
A symphony of overlapping demonic laughter echoed out of the cave, and Hector had to look away. One of the demons told them they could have something back. Finrell's limbless and headless torso was carelessly tossed out of the cave with his abdomen torn open, gutted clean of all his organs. The fiendish creatures even tore the old man's manhood off of his frail body. The demons snickered from the shadows, telling the knight they preferred the young ones since they tasted better and could play with them longer before they broke. Hector felt a chill run up his spine when he saw half a dozen glowing red eyes shine brightly from the cave, each with giant smiles showing off the rows of dagger-like sharp teeth inside their mouths. They faded into the darkness one by one, and General Edward dismounted his horse once they'd all disappeared. He walked up to what remained of his friend Finrell and carried him away to give him the proper burial he deserved.
As he walked past Hector, he looked at the feminine healer with rage-filled tears running down his face and spoke loud enough for everyone around him to hear.
"Look at how vile they are and remember that our loved ones are in their clutches. I shall give my fallen friend the burial he's long since earned, and once I'm done... We'll make each and every one of them pay. Hear me, men,...Not a single demon survives today!"
[A Massacre Unlike Any Other]
The army descended into the cave, the temperature getting hotter and hotter as if they were entering hell itself, with the stench of sulfur lingering in the air like smoke after a fire. As instructed, Hector stuck close to General Edward, who couldn't shake the feeling something was amiss. They'd been walking down into the cave for over an hour but had yet to encounter a single demon. Suddenly, Hector saw a bright glowing object in front of them and pointed it out to everyone. They cautiously approached the object, and upon reaching it, General Edward understood why the cave was empty.
"Jacob, you fool!... You should've waited for us to arrive! What am I to say to your son if we return?"
