Darkness stared into its sun-like eyes, pupils dilating with every breath Aiden exhaled. Its bell rang silently with every shift of its serpentine body. Its fangs shone in the pale moonlight, toxic breath oozed from its fiendish mouth as it salivated for more souls. The wound Aiden had inflicted was all but healed.
"Tch."
His eyes squinted. The wind cut his skin, clashing of metal screamed in the quiet forest. Its thunderous wails shook the crooked trees, green and red blood mixed as the battle ensued.
Rust filled his mouth. 'Bitter.' His body twisted, dagger swung up and slashed his belly open. Blue espers flew out as the wails of hundreds of kids escaped.
SCREECHHHH-
The beast howled in agony, smashing its bell tail against Aiden's rigid body. It sent his body flying against a stone pillar, which crumbled under his weight. He looked to his side. More blood, but he now sat at the foot of a shrine.
Its bell rang, and a thick, murky water flooded the area. Growing, swallowing the world as its tears continued to pour.
"Aiden! Don't let it drag you underwater!" Meilin's voice pierced the veil of darkness; it had come from somewhere in the trees. 'Why is she telling me what to do? Do they not trust I can handle my own battles?' Aiden's fists shook in annoyance. The stones crumbled as he shot himself forward like a bullet, slashing the beast's cheek to reveal a set of ferocious teeth. Its eyes tracked his every movement, slamming its massive bell against his body once more.
"Guh-" He flew back into the temple, shattering wooden pillars and the altar, sending coins flying around.
"I told you! Be careful, if it drags you-"
'Why don't you just shut your mouth. I need to focus...' A few seconds passed. Regardless of how long he racked his brain for, only one answer came to him.
"How troublesome...come, beast." His steps were even; the stone platform crumbled under his feet. A serpentine pattern shifted across his skin, wrapping itself around his right arm, even imprinting itself on the silver blade. Aiden's eyes flashed black; the darkness welcomed him.
Within seconds, his lungs began burning; this clearly hadn't been normal water. No moonlight could illuminate the water past the surface. Pretty much all of his senses were dulled, like a hyperbolic chamber. All except one.
Chime
He turned his head to the right.
Chime Chime
Aiden's head snapped to the left.
The blade sparked flame into the lightless world. Two yellow eyes peered into his soul as a mouth ten times his size encroached on his figure. 'What a pain in the as-'
***
Meilin stared from above, her branch bent a little under her weight. The closer she tried to inch, the more it creaked. But...she had to know what was going on. At first, a torrent of bubbles had been floating to the top, but they too have stopped. There were no more ripples across the surface, no more random bursts of light from beneath the surface.
"What happened, Aiden...surely you didn't..." She hugged herself, shuddering frantically.
Lyra, who had been hiding in a nearby tree, didn't fare any better; a primal feeling took over her body. It had been a long time since she felt it, fear.
"Lyra! Do something!?" Meilin protested as her staff swung wildly toward the water. In her frantic daze, no spell seemed to click. Every word spoken in incantations blew up in a little puff of spirit essence.
But all Lyra could do was watch. After having used the Nine-Tails' power before, it was sealed for a little while. And with a dagger down, she was at even more of a disadvantage, so if Aiden couldn't succeed, then they would all come to face the same fate. There were several things that puzzled her regarding Aiden, part of why her infatuation with him had grown so intense over the course of just two days. There was something truly special about him...
BOOOOM
An explosion of water erupted in the air as a figure flew into the air. Aiden's bloody body hung mid-air for several seconds with a giant bell in hand. One dagger had been gripped in his hand, while his knife was stabbing several holes into the oversized bell. "Die, you stupid beast!" His hand swung the bell down into the throat of the beast.
His feet ripped through the water before coming to a halt. Each step sent ripples the size of the entire river. The creature shivered, each step echoing louder. A sort of ring flashed across its mind. His hand flew up, and the beast was carved in two. Its last wails echoed through the forest before falling onto the receding water.
Meilin's eyes were wide, falling to the ground and landing safely. There was a hint of hesitation in her steps. His back looked...tired? 'That might not even do it justice...maybe something akin to exhaustion. And...' Holes that continued to sizzle across his skin quickly healed.
Two lightless eyes looked back over his shoulder, and a smirk that could only be described as eerie sat upon his face. "Did you see that?" His body twisted around, creeping, inching closer. Each step crunched down on leaves and twigs, snapping them like bones. His eyes had always been dark, even void-like. But this was a step too far. No light could escape those black holes that crept through the darkness.
"Why are you backing away, Meilin? Aren't you going to tell me I did well? Was I not a good boy for defeating the Beast?" His legs shivered, yet he continued to march forward.
With a swift chop, Lyra knocked the tired Aiden out. She picked up his body and pulled Meilin along.
"I've seen this before. The beast's spirit, along with the spirits of the children, took advantage of his damaged soul to take shelter in his body. I'll prepare some tea to flush them out. For now, make sure nothing gets close to the house, and don't go anywhere near Aiden. I know you, we can't have another situation like 'that' again." Lyra shot her a glare as they meandered through the twisted trees back.
"H-Hello." Ryn had been standing at the edge of the forest, listening to what she could. Worry had occupied her mind, but she managed to breathe a sigh of relief at the sight of them remaining intact.
Three of them headed inside while Meilin remained to guard the house for the night. A nagging thought pulled strings at the back of her mind. 'Why did she have to bring up what happened at the shrine...'
***
"Hmmm, Disappointing." A pair of gloved fingers rubbed against the scaly surface of the beast. A quick sniff all but confirmed what he needed to know.
"So? What do we do now?" His fiesty companion managed to keep his excitement under wraps, but the golden headband continued to tighten.
"It appears that the Rabid Dog has absorbed the beast. It's all proceeding as planned."