It was the nineteenth day of the siege of Port Staine when the assembled forces of the Fourth, Six, and Seventh armies received a special shipment from the supply caravans supporting the Ninth Crusade’s assault on the Dark Continent.

“Sir! Sir!” his trusty aide Thomas shouted excitedly as he ran down the trenches seeming not to notice the plumes of dirt following him from enemy mage fire.

“What is it?” Captain Peter asked, raising a bemused eyebrow at his aide.

“We have just the thing to grant us victory. Straight from the alchemists of the Theocracy, Sir! We will be able to take down these werebeasts with ease using this,” Thomas declared, holding up a small vial of a green liquid.

“What is that?”

“It is a potion that will amplify our strength. Unlock a human’s true power. Supposedly the Lady Pope herself explained our own bodies stop us from using our full power, but this will take away that restriction for a while?”

“So this little thing will unlock our strength?” Peter asked, taking the vial from his aide.

“Yessir!” Thomas eagerly nodded as he began to search his pack for the instructions on its usage. While he searched, Peter popped the cork on the vial and drank the contents.

“Ok, here it says to add one drop to two gallons of water and stir to allow the chemicals to infuse in the water. Then allow soldiers to drink the water, and the effects should last an entire…” Thomas looked up and let an expression of unrestrained horror spread across his face.

“D-d-d-d-did you just drink the whole thing, Sir?!”

“Why of course I did. Such a small amount will…” Peter’s voice trailed off as he looked down at his fingers. They had begun to tingle. The whole world around him seemed to slow to a stop. Even Thomas’ voice sounded distant and slow.

Looking up, he could see that the war had ended, and it was now safe to step out of the trench and approach his former enemies. Running with glee across what had once been no-mans land, Peter began to hear the most delightful tune as other soldiers joined him in the crossing.

All were dancing and skipping. Truly he could feel nothing but joy as they neared their former enemy’s trenches. Landing in the trench itself, he was greeted by the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Taking her in his arms, he spun around, enjoying the music. Though he felt embarrassed for accidentally stepping on the lady’s toes.

It was as he spun, he could see even more beautiful ladies waiting their turn to dance with him. He had been raised a gentleman so he guided his current dance partner down towards the blushing vixen and switched to her in one smooth motion.

Proceeding down the line to the rear trenches closest to Port Staine’s wall, he found himself face to face with someone who made his heart beat a thousand times a second. Kneeling before her, he looked up into her eyes, took her by the hand, and asked a question he, in his warrior’s heart, thought he would never ask.

“Will you spend the rest of your life with me?”

The lady immediately blushed a deep crimson as she nodded vigorously. Almost as if she could not wait for the pair to become husband and wife. In all his years, he had never thought that in a crusade in the Dark Continent, he would find true love.

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“Sir?! Thomas asked desperately. “Quick, spit it out!!!” Despite his pleas, the Captain seemed to be lost in a world of his own.

“Quick, get a medic. The Captain accidentally consumed the regiment’s entire supply of physical enhancing potions!”

“Heh, heh… we are finally at peace.” Turning to the source of the voice, Thomas was horrified to see the Captain had started to climb out of the trench.

“No sir, get back!!” Thomas cried out, trying to pull him back before his head got blown off, only for the commander far past his prime to easily shrug off all attempts. Even with the combined weight of twelve men, he was still climbing out effortlessly.

“It’s no use, sir. He is using his full strength!” a private cried out as the regiment reluctantly accepted they would lose their grandfatherly commander. Only they didn’t as he continued across no-mans land in what seemed to be a drunken stupor. His strange dance-like motions perfectly moving him out of the path of targeted spells.

Soon enough, he had reached the halfway point; at this moment, Thomas made a call. “All men over the top help the Captain!”

With a roar for battle, all the soldiers in the regiment climbed up their ladders and charged across no-mans land, each trying to keep pace with the Captain himself. The ones nearing him, unfortunately, being blown away in a whirlwind of gore.

“Shit, he’s dropped in!!” Thomas shouted, seeing him disappear from sight into the enemy trenches.

Ducking for cover behind the hulking remains of a golem, Thomas waited for the mages to slow their mana shots so he could move forwards, only to his surprise, they stopped entirely.

“What’s happened?!”

“I dunno, sir, but the trench is a bloodbath!”

Rushing to the edge where the soldier had replied from, he could see the trench was just as he had described. It was an utter massacre. In one spot, they could see the lower half of an enemy combatant and his guts in a spiral fashion all the way to his upper half.

“HE JUST SPUN THEM TO DEATH!” A Dark Continent soldier cried out, pointing to the direction the carnage led. Clearly, the Captain’s rampage had sapped any will to fight left in the enemies.

Rushing down the trenches, Thomas finally found his commander kneeling before a hug werebeast. Likely from a bear bloodline, considering his appearance. Thomas felt a pang of fear run through him. Had the werebeast bested the commander even in his enhanced state.

“Hey… you die with me? Forever!” the commander asked in a slurred fashion as he tightly gripped the Bearman’s arm. With one small motion, the entire limb came out of its socket and away from the body. The shock of which forced the man to transform back into his humanoid shape.

“I-I surrender.” the Bearman said, nodding to the commander as his own blood splattered across his face. “Goddammit, no one said they had humans this powerful!!!”

Republished with permission from the author, Random3x. Image created using Stable Diffusion.