The arrow punched through the black fiend's chest cavity with enough force to knock him down. A black oil spit out from the wound and reached the ground at Luka's feet. It looked to be a mixture of blood and the swampy tar the creature was coated in, but the consistency looked moving in the flicker of torch light. Emil scrambled to pick up the torch in his right hand and raised it to the scene, showing the fiend on his back just feet away. "What is that?" He muttered with a twinge of disgust. The fiend arched its head to see the two of them, bearing the crimson glare of its two gem-like eyes. It only now seemed to register that it had been struck, scratching at the arrow in its chest with futility. When this did nothing, he started to clamber to his feet.
Just beyond, at the edge of the swamp, four more black fiends were emerging. Their frames raised and their heads twitched, their red eyes piercing the night. Neither of the creatures were exceptionally tall compared to the first, but all retained the thin abdomen and lurching gait. The original fiend was gaining to his feet again, but his torso had visibly collapsed around the wound. His shoulders bent in where the sternum had fractured and his arms knocked limp between his legs. His head slumped forward as his jaw opened and his mouth spread wide, but this motion only gave way to a hacking cough that sent a black spore cloud from his raspy throat.
Emil was visibly stunned at this point. Luka had scored a killing shot on the creature, yet it still crept towards him. It's red eyes hadn't wavered, hadn't blinked- they were fixed on the man with the bow and arrow. With the torch in one hand and the rope to his hook limp in the other, Emil felt the anxiety of the approaching threat. "We've gotta go..." He said, moving a foot back with caution. He surveyed the path ahead- too far to jump, swing, or dodge over. His eyes then shot to the woods... leaving the trail was stupid, but... "Can we take these things out?"
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