Clusters of humanoid creatures with dragonfly heads were flying across the sky. Their skin was swollen with bulging veins, and a pair of dragonfly wings extended from the middle of their backs. The twisted and unnatural composition of their forms instilled fear in any living being who saw the masses of them floating ominously above.
The sound of their wings flapping could be heard for hundreds of kilometers. Wherever they flew, a strange energy would wither and contaminate the land. Any living being tainted by this power would begin to devour itself from within and eventually become one of them.
...
A small village amidst scattered trees and wide fields.
The swarm of dragonfly-men in the sky grew closer to the village, and the calm of the town began to fade. Villagers, young and old, stared at the creeping mass of twisted beings slowly approaching overhead.
"Go tell the headman!!" one villager shouted.
"Headman!!"
"Chai!!"
The villagers' voices echoed all the way to the village center. A dark shadow darted out from one of the central houses toward the crowd.
An old man in plain farmer's clothes with a checkered cloth draped around his neck appeared before them.
"The headman is here!... Quiet down!" someone called.
The headman said nothing. He looked up at the swarm of dragonfly-men with a grave expression.
His eyelids widened. His golden eyes stared through the swarm.
At the center of the million-strong swarm was a semi-illusory gray wall, with silver pipes engraved with green lines intertwining endlessly. At the wall's center stood a large, strange being — humanoid from the torso up — with enormous eyes resembling colorful threads of light, gracefully swirling like water waves.
The headman closed his eyes and turned his face away. It felt like his brain was boiling. He was afraid — truly afraid of the exalted, otherworldly being he had seen.
"Run..." he muttered in a trembling voice.
The villagers nearby turned to him, unable to hear clearly.
"I said RUN!! Get everyone out of here!!!" he suddenly roared.
The villagers scattered, rushing back into the village. Only a tall, dark-skinned man with a wild beard remained.
"What did you see, Chai?" the man asked.
The headman exhaled, laughing dryly.
"The mother of those things... a huge queen dragonfly."
"You need to run too, Somchat. You can't help me. I'll hold them off."
Somchat stood firm, arms crossed, staring at the monstrous cloud above.
"I really want to see... whether my thunder buffalo is tougher than that queen."
The headman frowned, sighed, then turned back toward the villagers.
"Run far away! Somchat and I will buy you time!!!"
He glanced once more at Somchat, then at the horde above, before his body turned into a black shadow that launched toward the sky.
Seeing this, Somchat transformed into a massive cloud of black smoke and followed.
When the headman reached about 200 meters from the swarm, he stopped and looked up.
His jaw clenched. His body grew larger. Gray fur sprouted all over him. He transformed into a towering werewolf over two meters tall.
Somchat arrived, placing a fist beneath his chin, muttering something under his breath. A giant smoky water buffalo formed behind him and charged into the swarm.
The headman raised his clawed hand to the sky. An illusory full moon appeared, darkening the atmosphere. He howled and lunged into the enemy.
With a slash, an invisible energy wave surged out. Hundreds of dragonfly-men were torn diagonally in half and fell, but it didn't thin their vast numbers.
He kept slashing, sending wave after wave of invisible force. Each swing dropped more creatures, creating a surreal rain of dismembered bodies from the black clouds above.
Meanwhile, Somchat stood with arms crossed, muttering again. Blood began to pour from his seven orifices. Clenching his teeth, he stepped forward.
Dark smoke rose and gathered behind him, forming a 100-meter-tall smoky giant wielding a massive club.
Somchat threw a punch.
The giant swung its club, releasing an expanding black shockwave. Tens of thousands of dragonfly-men exploded into blood mist.
The swarm faltered.
Seeing this, Somchat punched again. Another massive wave of destruction cleared thousands more. A grin crept across his face.
The swarm began to part, revealing a gaping space at its center.
The headman halted and retreated to Somchat's side.
"The queen has arrived... you still have a chance to escape, Somchat."
Somchat glanced at him, arms crossed, unmoving.
From within the cleared space, the gray illusory wall reappeared with its endless silver pipes and green-lined patterns. At its heart, the same exalted, strange being appeared — torso like a human, eyes like glowing, twisting threads of multicolored light.
The illusion of this being leaned slightly forward.
Somchat's head instantly exploded into a cloud of blood. His large body collapsed and withered into a husk of flesh and bone.
He never even knew what killed him.
The headman gritted his teeth. Though his head hadn't exploded, it felt like his mind was boiling. Colors around him were unnaturally bright. Terror took root in his heart.
With the last of his strength, he raised his hand skyward.
The illusory moon began to solidify.
It shot toward the exalted being, but before it could make contact, it dissolved into sparkling dust.
The headman lost consciousness. His body crumpled. Blood poured from every orifice and pore. His massive werewolf form shrank back into an old man.
A black-flamed lantern descended from the air and landed on his body, sinking into him. His body turned into a point of black light and vanished.