The sound of strained and heaving breathing shook down the corridor in the cellar. The air shook in raw presence of whatever else remained beyond.
Yami exhaled, shrugging his shoulders. "Okay, okay, let us have a look."
He stepped in, boots thumping back and forth on the chill stone. The farther he walked in, the thicker the darkness. It wasn't darkness—a lack of light—it felt like some thing, nearly sentient.
Then he noticed it.
A massive, jet-black-furred monolith crouched in the center of a roomy chamber, purple eyes blazing in direct stare at him. Its enormous form at least double in proportions to ogre form, razor-sharp claws glowing in even in dimly-lit dungeon.
A Nightmare Fenrir.
Yami let out a soft whistle. "Did not plan on fighting a legendary-class monster this early."
The beast snarled and misty air hissed out in a blast as it strained painfully upwards to crouching position, muscle mass piling in thick, inky fur.
Then—
BOOM!
The Fenrir vanished in a flash of speed.
Yami had just enough time to react.
Phantom Step.
He blinked just in time as Fenrir swept his claw across space he had just occupied. The wind blast alone created fissures bursting out across stone walls.
Reappearing a short way away, Yami clicked his tongue. "This fast for something this big."
The Fenrir's eyes flared hotter--next, in a snarl, streamed out across the floor like liquid darkness.
Yami's instincts screamed. Something is coming—
SHING!
The shadows below him sprang upwards in lances of raw darkness.
Yami twisted in mid-air and just managed to avoid being slashed by the spikes as he struck one of the dungeon walls and booted back, shooting in a direct line towards the monster. "Let's see just how tough your fur is."
His scythes flashed and chopped across the air—
CLANG!
The blades hit the hide of the Fenrir.
Yami's eyes opened in surprise. "Oh, come on, you gotta be serious."
The beast sneered--then whipped its tail, slamming Yami's side and sending him flying.
CRASH!
He smashed into the dungeon wall, coughing as dust rose in mid-air. His ribs ached, but he still managed to stand.
"Alright," Yami sneered, wiping blood from his lip. "I know how it is."
The Fenrir crouched down, smoking paws dripping evil energy as it readied for pouncing.
Yami grinned. "Okay, let us be serious."
Dark mist closed in upon him.
The fight wasn't yet over.