'Not her you bastard!'
Gwin's plan was reaching its critical point. He was going to use gravity and the element of surprise to slay the serpent. He was sweating, partly because of how nervous he was and mostly because of the many layers of thick leaves wrapped around him. It was not for camouflage however. Should the snake turn its profane gaze he hoped that the leaves would buy him a few seconds or even just one. He looked a little silly bundled up like that.
The serpent was creeping its way towards the hiding girl. Its forked tongue flicked maliciously, it already knew she was there. Gwin could see the girl curled up into the fetal position through the vines. She was shaking uncontrollably and seemed to be crying. Gwin was determined now to save her at least even if he had to use her as bait to do that. He pushed away all distracting thoughts and held his breath. The serpent was getting closer…closer…closer.....close enough!
Gwin jumped, he plummeted through the air silently holding the sword in a reverse grip. The air whistled in his ears, tearing loose leaves from his makeshift armor. He fell unnoticed 10 meters…20 meters…30 meters! He was so close, there were less than ten meters between him and the snake. It would only take a second for him to plunge his sword into the snake's head and hope he survived the fall. He had aimed it perfectly.
The snake shifted. Its eyes caught him. A second is far too long in a fight against a nightmare creature, especially an awakened devil. It twisted its head and met him with an open maw. Gwin's armor turned to dust and then his skin in just a moment. His sword caught on its fang shattering as he plunged into the darkness of the snake's throat.
Gwin was surrounded on all sides by thick steel-like muscles that threatened to shatter his bones. He groaned pitifully as green blood seeped into his eyes. The moist walls thrash around him squeezing and convulsing. He was barely hanging on. His ambush had failed horribly yet despite his hopeless situation Gwin refused to give in. He plunged all that was left of his sword into the flesh of the Serpent. He was lucky. The serpent was already comparatively weaker than other Awakened Devils and it was exhausted from the earlier battle. This did little to save him though. He was currently in the serpent's throat hanging just before the opening into its stomach. Caustic air assaulted his nose as he struggled with his one arm to stay in place.
Gwin's father in the real world was a member of The House of Night whose citadel was located in the Stormseas in the dream realm. This led to his father becoming knowledgeable on many of the types of abominations that dwelled there. That included serpent type enemies. Gwin's father had made it a point to prepare Gwin and that meant making him study the common anatomy and weaknesses between monsters, which meant that Gwin knew the serpent's heart should have been right above him. A couple of feet of muscle separated him and completing this nightmare
"Just wait for me!"
Gwin was stuck. If he wanted to attack its heart he would have to pull the sword out which meant he would be pulled into the serpent's stomach. He didn't have much time to decide either because the serpent was thrashing around wildly in an attempt to knock him loose from his temporary anchor.
'If only I had another arm!'
Gwin was feeling utterly desperate right now and yet despite that his mind raced for a solution. His risky gamble had not paid off at all. He had run for hours only to fail at the final stretch. He was furious!
'What was the point in running so long!'
He relented the thought now wishing they had faced it sooner. Those two warriors had died and accomplished nothing!
'Am I…going to die?'
The thought filled him with panic. Gwin was above all else a coward. The brutal death that awaited him did not even bother him; it was the fact that he would stop living that sent him into a panicked frenzy. Just then the walls of the serpent's body squeezed in on him.Gwin's sword began to loosen from its flesh anchor.
"DAMN IT ALL!"
He roared from the confines of the snake and pulled the blade out. He spun, which caused blinding hot pain to consume him all over, and plunged the blade into the top of its throat. He was already practically skinned alive by the serpent's gaze which not only weakened him but made every move agony. The awakened woman's death made her numbing aspect go away.
The blade bit into its flesh. It felt like cutting through thick sheets of cloth with a dull knife. The muscles around him spasmed in pain as the serpent thrashed once again but Gwin was not done. Gwin's primal fear in the face of death pumped him full of adrenaline as he pulled the blade downwards with all his might and showered himself in green blood. Its sporadic rhythm made Gwin smile. He would have looked slightly crazed if there were any other person in there to see him.
'Bleed bastard'
He gritted his teeth and pulled the shattered blade out and thrust it deeper into its tough muscles. He groaned from the strain of pushing the blade through its solid muscles. Stomach acid washed over him in a torrent.
An agonized shriek rang out and his grip tightened. The pain was fueling his manic desire to live. He pulled the blade downwards once again. Gwin had lost feeling in his toes…no…they had to be gone. The raw ache in his feet was gone, overwhelmed by blinding pain that faded a moment later to the voracious appetite of the acid. He couldn't reach any farther from where he was lying so he had to stand. Gwin mustered his endurance and planted his knees into the caustic brine.
The only thing that had come up from the snake's stomach so far was its stomach acid. None of the corpses of the other ancient sentinels had survived the insidious might of its stomach acid. However something bumped into Gwin's thigh. A creme colored yellow membrane surrounded his legs contrasting greatly with the murky green stomach acid. Gwin couldn't see this though, however the pain did lessen.
Green blood was falling like a waterfall now. His blade was nearing the heart.
'One..more..push'
He gave the next one everything he had. He tightened every muscle in his body and recalled every lesson on technique he had halfheartedly held on to. He angled his torso for the maximum amount of force to be put in his blade. Every muscle sprung into action at once.
His blade slipped through the earlier wounds accurately and sunk deeper than ever before. He felt the tip stop due to hard muscle. It gave way a moment later to Gwin's joy.
He fell backwards into the brine completely and utterly spent. Hours of exhaustion met him all at once/ He was too tired to notice the snake's movements slow. He was too tired for it all. His whole body felt like it was wrapped in a warm embrace as his eyes sunk under the liquid.
The spell whispered in his ear unimpeded by the layers of acid.
[You have slain an awakened devil, Disciple of Kesh]
[You have received a memory..]
[Wake up, Gwin! Your nightmare is over.]
[Prepare for appraisal…]