The massive nightmarish creatures suddenly moved, each step of theirs trembling the ground beneath them.
Step! Step!
The unnerving sound echoed in the silence, each one intensifying the unease within me.
"Huk… Huk…" I struggled to breath.
In that moment, I couldn't help but steal a glance over my shoulders. And when I did—
'Crap!'
I sucked in a cold, deep breath.
The demorgogonsgaze locked onto me, eyes piercing me with unfiltered malice. Their massive bodies moved like dark tentacles in the endless darkness. And with each step they took, spider-web cracks spidered across the ground beneath them.
As they chased after the 'petite being' who had dared to disturb their sleep, each movement of theirs sent cold chills slithering down my spine, dread and fear coiling around my chest like an iron vice.
I grimaced and gritted my teeth, urging my body to move even faster.
"Huh… Huh…"
In that moment, my mind raced with various ways to escape my current predicament. Yet I found none.
'Think Dean... Think!'
…None except for one.
Arcana- the power of belief.
Bymaking use of one's will or soul energy, one could manifest their desires onto the physical world. Of course, it wasn't as easy as it seemed, and just like any other thing in this world… it came at a price.
A price that I had yet to know of… But a very costly one I was sure of.
But, now wasn't the time to think about that. Garren hadn't said the real price apart from the strain it held on one's body and the counterbalance effect of the world, in a sense that's. But whatever it was, I would deal with it when the time came.
'...Hopefully I could.'
Having come to a decision, I gritted my teeth and enforced my Arcana to believe I was slightly faster. In an instant, I felt a jolt- a slight surge of energy coursed through me, though faint, it was more than enough.
'Please.... let it be enough.'
Flick—!
Before I could take another step further, two pairs of stygian claws suddenly tore through the air, dark corrosive spikes coming into my rear vision. My body tensed up as I felt a cold chill run down my spine, the merciless attacks raining down on me from all sides.
And just when the claws were a second away from furiously ripping through me, I strained my body beyond my limits, dodging at an inhuman angle before leaping into the air.
Behind me,
Crack!!
The stygian pairs of claws scraped past me, drawing blood before slamming into the ground. As a result, spiderweb cracks enveloped the ground, shards of stones hurtling across the harrowing space.
Mid-air, I gritted my teeth and curled myself into a ball, crashing across the ground, each impact jarring my senses. However, despite the pain, I was able to maintain a semblance of rationality, twisting my body mid-crash before making use of the dagger to come to a stop.
That was, after digging a long ridge along my path of retreat.
"Huff... Huff..."
My breaths came in ragged gasps.
"..."
I glanced behind me, a faint dark smile curling up my lips.
Behind me, pieces of dark stone fell into the endless darkness, and just when I took the glance, I caught a harrowing glimpse of the dark mist swallowing them whole.
I sucked in a cold, deep breath. My breath caught in my throat as my muscles tensed up.
"Hu..."
I forced myself to regain my calm. Even if it took every ounce of willpower within me to do do.
...After all, the battle was far from over, if anything, it had only just begun.
Ahead, the demorgogons had already stumbled across the blind girl's golden rope tightened to two natural features of the dune structure.
Of course, I had taken this into consideration. Clouding their eyes with beams of murderous intent, they had, as a result of the intense hatred burning within them, failed to notice the rope, hence, a few tripped and crashed against the ground.
And...
A faint smile curled up my lips.
With the force at which they were running, the few that were caught in the trap before the natural features gave way, were sent careening into the distance.
...And right now, they were just mere feet away from me.
However, even in such situation, they still stretched forth their dark rotten hands, their hollow eyes flickering with intense murderous intent. As they crashed towards me, my body tensed up subconsciously, and yet, the dark smile on my face only deepened. Until—
Step!
I took a sharp duck to my left, their dessicated hands barely scraping past me.
Crack!
I dug the dagger into the ground and came to a forceful stop, just in time to watch them fall into the darkness below.
Their fates instantly sealed.
As they fell into the dark mist, I could still hear their blood-curdling screams. It sounded almost… as though they were being eaten alive.
I felt cold chills run down my spine. But biting onto my lower lips, I forced myself to calm down.
I exhaled.
"Four down. Eight more crap to go."
Turning back—
"...!!"
The sight before me only further served to deepen the terror I'd buried within me.
Ahead, the hordes of nightmarish creatures towered over me, irreconcilable hatred burning within their hollow eyes.
And with each movement, each twitch of their dessicated and rotten nightmarish features, my muscles tensed, and my breath caught in my throat, a deep sense of dread and terror swiftly rising within me.
In that moment, a deep scowl marred my features.
"U-m. Hi guys."
I waved awkwardly at them, sweat drops dripping down my forehead.
Drip! Drip!
The sound echoed in the silence. And just then—
Ba- thump! Ba- thump!
Just as the claws tore through the air, each one filled with the intent to kill.
Creak!
A cold, dark smile curled up my lips.