The pain granted him a jolt, just enough to push himself upward through the mass of darkness, closer and closer. Above him the shape of the mole-faced killer was close, yet quickly making an escape through the gateway.
It was certain death awaiting a future where he didn't make it through that precious opening. Every cell in his body understood that simple fact, as his mind solely focused on ascending, swimming upward through the dense unknown.
With each stride he took upward through the dark, the unseen teeth tore into his flesh, unwilling to let go. Even the gasps he made were sucked into the void, leaving him foreign to his own suffering.
'Make it, swim past it…Push through it–the pain, the tearing,' the resolve cemented itself in his mind.
He stretched his fingertips to their utmost, just short of scraping under the fleeing one's boot. It felt like his shoulder was gonna tear from his body, but he forced his reach just a tad higher, enough to grasp onto that shoe.
'Got it…!' He thought.
With everything he had, he held on while the teeth around him sank into his flesh, ripping into him. Without seeing it coming, the other boot kicked into his nose, attempting to loosen his grip. He only tightened it, feeling blood gush out of his face.
"--Let go…! Persistent, dammit!?--"
As the desperate voice came from above, more stomps rained down, though it was nothing compared to the feeling of the jaws that chewed him from beneath.
'I'm not letting go–not a chance,' he thought.
From the gasps and grunts coming from the man above, they were both sharing in the hungering jaws of the Unknown. The man-eater shook and stomped desperately, unable to stop himself from yelping at the pain.
All the while, Noah held on, feeling his foot be detached, and his leg along with it moments later. Everything would be consumed within a short time, but he held on nonetheless.
'I can't…let go. Astrid is up there–can't let him do anything…' The thoughts in his fleeting consciousness kept him awake.
It felt like an eternity of sharp pain before the criminal finally ascended out of the Unseen. There was only a sparse moment for him to follow as the opening quickly closed. He scratched his way up, breathless, though unhindered by the loss of his own flesh.
With one last push–
"Phuuah…!"
He breached the other side, crawling into the light.
["Grit" Proficiency Up +20] [60/999]
[Skill(s) Acquired: "Red Engine"]
For the briefest moment, he was unsure if the place he crawled back into was the afterlife or not. As he emerged, it was the sight of the mortified elf that met him first; her worried eyes locking onto him.
"Noah…!" Astrid called out in utter relief.
There was no time for a reunion for their brief departure as he immediately picked himself up, intercepting the mole-faced killer that was rushing right for the mage. He placed himself between them, using his shoulder to slam right into the slender one's sternum.
"Ghh!--" Bonid coughed, sliding back.
"You're not getting to her!" Noah sternly claimed, straightening himself out with a huff.
Looking down at his body, he was surprised to find both feet there, along with a complete lack of any wounds at all. It was a shocking revelation, one that brought him relief, though equal confusion as he stood there.
"Are you alright? Noah?" Astrid asked worriedly beside him, checking on his state.
"Yeah, I…" He said, unsure even what he experienced down there.
Across the stone bridge built of erosion, the man of inhuman aspects laughed, "It's not an illusion, the pain you suffered in the Unseen. We were moments from dying, both of us."
"What's he talking about?" Astrid asked.
Noah didn't have an answer, simply listening as he caught his breath, trying to stabilize his mind after the brief, but standout time in the dark.
"In each realm, our bodies bear a unique "state"--if you were to return to the Unseen, you'd be limbless and bleeding out, just as you were moments ago," Bonid explained with a delighted tone. "You'd be dead within moments."
"Trying to drag me back into the shadows, then? Give it a try," Noah challenged, flipping the axe in his grip readily.
The moment he squeezed his axe, the dagger-wielder rushed forward, prompting him to do the same. He brought his weapon back, clenching his muscles to their utmost before launching it forward with lethal speed.
Bonid grinned, sinking into the shadows to avoid being stuck with the axe, though the action was well within Noah's estimations. From within, the imagination of fire spurred forth into reality, bringing a fireball into his hand, launching right after his axe.
"Oh!--" The mole-faced killer let out as the shining blaze pulled him from the expelled shadows.
It went without saying; the timid mage calmed herself into an absolute concentration at the back of the cavern, gathering a bountiful mana. The air seemed to grow thinner with the abundance of magical energy behind him.
"Noah!" Astrid called out.
The warning was clear as he leapt up without looking back, just then witnessing a flourishing beam of heat pass over the eroded bridge. While the bestial murderer moved to throw himself into the water, the ray of condensed fire was faster, colliding right into the vile man.
As he landed, an exhale escaped his lips, bringing him to glance back to the elf to give her a thumbs-up in approval. The mage returned the gesture, though a low, hoarse chuckle from the smoke dismissed their sense of triumph.
"It burns; the light, it burns."
With a body that should be charred to a neat crisp, the peculiar man remained upright as smoke and steam poured off his form.