Bestiary: Butcher
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"Urghhhh, fresh meat!.."

Inscription on the ground beef box

*And once again, hello, my little lovers of Diablo! The New Year, holidays, rest, and all that are on the horizon, but I haven't really delighted you with anything yet. So, due to the acute shortage of gifts for my beloved paws (that is, for you, yeah), I am starting a new column where I will tell you about no less terrifying monsters in a scary voice. Naturally, the first swallow had to be a truly frightening monster, with which not every player dares to fight. And it just so happened that the first post of the new column will tell you about one of the most monstrous, bloodthirsty, and ambiguous monsters in the game's universe. Its name, if you haven't guessed yet, is The Butcher [Butcher]..*

*I have already told you about monsters that we encounter in the game one way or another. However, both **Baal [Baal]** and **Leoric [Leoric]** were originally humans or manifested as such, becoming demonic largely under the influence of their environment. What, unfortunately, cannot be said about The Butcher: there is no mention that this monster ever had a human form, which is not surprising. This demon behaves completely demonically, frightening and killing inexperienced players and capable of ruining even veterans’ blood. So, what sort of creature is this and what is it like to deal with it?

Beware, evil spoilers!

FALL, YOU ARE DEAD!

The Butcher through the eyes of one of the game's fans.

You walk briskly down a path leading to the church on the outskirts of the city. Your hero is focused and ready for battle, but for now, you are relatively safe: there are no monsters in Tristram [Tristram] itself. Pleasant music plays, nothing foretells trouble, and even the red glimmers from the cathedral windows are not particularly frightening. As you get closer to the old church, suddenly... At the very entrance, next to the road lies a bleeding warrior. He is still alive when you rush to him, though it is clear that he is dreadfully wounded and has little time left to live. Gathering his last strength and barely pushing the words out, the warrior tells you a terrifying story, one that chills your blood: about how Archbishop Lazarus [Archbishop Lazarus] lured their squad into the labyrinth underground, about how they searched for the missing Prince Albrecht [Albrecht]... And about how the traitor led them straight into the claws of The Butcher, who slaughtered their entire squad. After taking a vow from you to avenge the deaths of his comrades, the warrior dies, leaving you alone with terrifying thoughts...

The second level of the labyrinth. The first fallen and skeletons are behind you, and you feel you are starting to adapt. You confidently open doors and bravely move forward, fighting with scavengers and zombies, who die easily and without much trouble. You may not even realize what monster awaits you behind one of these doors... In the center of a large hall is a small room, and you fearlessly open it. And then, like a gremlin from a box, one of the most terrifying monsters in the gaming world lunges at you.

- Arch-h-h-h-h, fresh meat! - he growls in a terrifying hoarse voice and, surprisingly agile for his size, lunges at you. In his hands is a huge blood-covered cleaver. A couple of sweeps - and your utterly confused character is ripped apart almost without a fight, while you are just beginning to comprehend what's what, coming to terms with the cultural shock. This is what the first encounter with The Butcher in the original Diablo looks like.

"THIS IS HOW FUN I AM!"

Welcome to hell!

After the hero's sudden demise (personally, I don’t know anyone who has killed this boss without the required information, preparation, and on the first try), an understanding of what you have encountered begins to settle in. And there is much to say about The Butcher. In terms of appearance, the creature most resembles Overlords [Overlords]. According to legend, these demons were once angels, whose forms were changed beyond recognition by the forces of darkness. They were robbed of wings, and their features underwent horrific transformations. However, despite the fact that Overlords appear thick and unwieldy, do not let them deceive you: beneath layers of fat, these demons conceal muscles that allow them to perform ferocious melee attacks. The Butcher’s appearance is largely borrowed from the Overlords, from whom he differs in agility, appearance (the demon wears an apron stained with blood), and possession of weapons (ordinary Overlords hit the hero with bare hands, but the monster wields the Butcher's Cleaver [Butcher's Cleaver], a unique axe).

Nothing is known about the monster's origins or his appearance in the labyrinth, but I can assume that Diablo [Diablo] chose the fiercest Overlord and placed him to guard the approaches to the labyrinth, to scare and stop most heroes and adventurers and prevent them from breaking into the lower levels of the labyrinth. The Butcher resides in a small room on the second level of the labyrinth,