Dawn- An age of Darkness

The monster was circling us and we were left there to wait for it to attack. It was nerve wrecking. But there wasn't any other way. We didn't attack first as we were still thinking of ways to escape. It did seem like there was no escape, but that didn't stop us from searching for one.

Could it be, this monster…?

"You there, you can understand me, can't you?" I tested my luck. The others were looking at me with bitter eyes as though I was an idiot or something. I probably was one, so I couldn't blame them.

It wasn't a sudden outburst. I'd thought this through and made a logical decision. It might have seemed pretty illogical though.

There wasn't any answer from the Lion-gator thingy, at least that's what it looked like. "You are the one who killed all the undead here, correct?" I continued.

Again there was no reply.

The old man kept an eye on the thing and whispered. "You sure you want to do this?"

"We wouldn't know until we tried right?"

It kept circling us and after a few more minutes roared. My eardrums almost burst. There wasn't any way we could outrun it, out in the open. And, considering we didn't have any horses, negotiations were all we could afford. If that fell apart, there wasn't any other way but to attack. Basically, we were screwed.

"Looks like we won't get the privilege of escaping nor talking our way out of this," I cursed under my breath.

The old man looked around, searching for a way we could escape. "Yeah, this is bad. I thought we could escape, but given that thing's figure, it'd rip us apart, the moment we decide to turn."

"I'm trying to talk to you, you oversized cat-lizard!" I screamed.

It stopped, looked at me and my blood froze. If it wasn't mad before, it surely was now. It roared again. "YOU DARE OPPOSE ME AND GET IN MY WAY! YOU DARE CONVERSE ME! YOU MERE MORTAL!!"

Its voice was similar to that of Trerortra but filled with malice and anger. Only the lion head spoke. The alligator's one only glared at me. But that was enough to convey that it, in fact was a higher being. After all it called me a mere mortal.

"Yes, we get the dare part, can we talk now?"

"Daarc, try not to piss him off too much." The old man went towards Brenda and the others. He understood what I was going to do.

"IT WOULD SEEM YOU CAN COMPREHEND US … BUT… WE SHALL HAVE NO WORDS WITH THE LIKES OF YOU. YOU CARRY A FRAGMENT OF THAT WRETCHED SNAKE IN YOU. THUS, YOU SHALL PERISH BEFORE OUR EYES AND WE SHALL CLAIM IT AS OUR OWN!"

"So basically, you took her soul fragment. You killed her? You killed Misrael?" My voice came out placidly. I didn't show any emotion. More like I was too shocked to show any. Of course, it was a baseless accusation but it seemed very plausible.

I didn't know what he talked about but he probably meant something about me coming in contact with Trerortra and getting his help. However, that would mean, this monster in front of was probably a God and he was the reason behind the statue's disappearance. Meaning, my hypothesis was no longer a hypothesis but an actual fact.

"DOES IT MATTER?"

"Yes, it does!" My rage took the best of me. It boiled from the moment I saw Misrael's statue disappear. And now like a volcano, it erupted.

"THE DEAD NOT NEED ANSWERS. I SHALL SEE TO YOUR DEMISE!"

"Aren't you supposed to be a God? How could you!" It was just a theory but this monster could have been a former God: it had to be one. If so, then we could have come to a resolution. Even if I was angry I still needed to act calm. I hated it.

"A GOD!" It laughed in a wicked way. "I'VE BEEN BETRAYED BY MY OWN KIND AND YOU'RE KIN. WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW! I AM… NO GOD…"

There was no reasoning with this thing. It wasn't like Trerortra who still had some sense of will left. This thing was nothing more than a husk.

"I have been betrayed as well! Even Trerortra's been betrayed! Try to think this through!" I still tried to reason with him. Being overcome with anger would only result in further misfortune. And besides, this thing was supposed to be a God. If I didn't play my cards right, we'd have a lot more trouble than we could chew.

"DON'T YOU DARE UTTER THAT SNAKE'S NAME IN MY PRESENCE!?"

In that moment its roars literally made me bleed from my nose and ears. Alisa screamed unrealistically before fainting.

"Looks like negotiation's failed huh?" The old man, grit his teeth and wiped the blood of his nose.

"More or less."

The monster made a cat-like pose and the very next second jumped. It attacked us with great speed. I couldn't even follow it with my eyes. But my body retaliated and blocked its claws. The lion's paws were heavy. The alligator-like head suddenly grew long and tried to bite me. The damn thing was already twice as tall as me and yet it could grow even more. This thing was big. This thing was trouble.

I moved a few steps back; it was an involuntary response.

Jowy shot some arrows but the monster evaded them and moved back. It was agile, and strong. Two things which made me shiver with doubt, and the fight exponentially tougher.

Are we really capable of going against that thing?

"We can't move recklessly Daarc. That right there might be a legendary monster." Was Jowy a little slow on the uptake?

"I think you're a little wrong Jowy. This thing ain't just any monster. It's a grand one." I didn't have time to be sarcastic, but that sure didn't stop me.

"Damn it!"

"This isn't the time for that talk!" Brenda shrieked.

Jowy kept firing but the monster kept on dodging. The few arrows that reached it were bitten through by the alligator head. That thing was really troublesome, catching and devouring arrows like it did. But really, biting through arrows?

There was fresh blood on its paws and when I looked at my hand, I was bleeding; it was my left hand, obviously. I didn't even notice that my hand was hot: at least it was still attached.

When did it…?

I started to use Imbuition in full force immediately. Before my blade had a faint shine but now it was clearly visible as I channeled more of my mana.

Old man did the same and he also launched some gusts. But the lion's skin was too durable. It was merely scratched. The mystic blade shined with brilliance and when the old man covered the sword in his magic it looked like a hurricane had just started to circle the sword. If that didn't work, nothing would.

The monster was still waiting to strike. It repeated the same process of attack twice on the old man: But with the protection of wind, he was barely able to block and evade the monster. The old man, however, succeeded in striking one of its paws and ripping off three claws, making it weaker. With one strike from the mystic blade, the monster bled and glared at us furiously.

Way to go geezer!

Its bright red eyes glinted with intimidating anger. "THAT SWORD!!!"

But then it realized that the two of us were the front-line fighters and jumped above us.

"Oh no! Look out!"

I ran with all my might but it reached Brenda first. But I was forgetting that Brenda was a veteran warrior and a pirate. She wouldn't go down that easily- I consoled myself with that as I dashed.

She used her knives like a skilled warrior and sliced the lion instead; it happened in an instant but the lion retaliated. Her knives broke down and she fell on the ground; Biteria jumped in front of the lion and stared the lion-gator down as it quivered. The lion was just too fast and it literally squished her beneath its feet. There was a splash of blood and my body stopped. But the lion didn't.

My mind went blank and I snapped. I screamed as loud as I could and charged like a maniac.

They were my friends!

Jowy's arrows didn't even reach the monster; it shifted its gaze to Alisa's unconscious body. Before it could even move from the spot the old man reached the monster and blocked its claws.

Its back was open. I shoved my sword from the back of the lion and I screamed, "Damn it! YOU PIECE OF FILTH! DIE!"

I didn't care if it was a God or whatever.

I didn't even consider them my friends and I didn't want them to join my journey. But before I knew it, my heart had changed. I had changed. And now they were lying on the ground drenched in blood. It only made my heart beat faster and my blood boil hotter.

My hands were freezing but my heart burned. They were my friends!

This thing hurt my friends and now it had to die. That was it. I lost my sense. I went berserk.. I couldn't help it.

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