No normal dog should have been able to shrug off that attack at all or even stand up after that.
But the specimen in front of them had not only withstood the horrors that were the injury but seemed to be actively recovering too.
And the dog did not seem happy to do so at all, its mouth was pulled back and bloody incisors out in the open for everyone to admire.
Or get afraid of as Mark was getting afraid of.
"What is going on?" Mark asked, his terrified voice reaching his own ears and making him even more afraid over the whole situation. When he had decided to help the dog out, he had thought it would be a simple in and out of the mission.
Go in, grab the dog or at least help him out and then get out of there. He had not anticipated becoming dog food himself at all.
"What are you doing? Get away from that monster" the person behind him yelled but Mark felt himself freeze at his own place.
He could not move at all under the terror that was this creature when those eyes turned over toward Mark. They seemed to hold him down and they had a terrifying light.
Somehow, the dog seemed to be getting even bigger in size than before if possible. It might only be Mark's brain playing tricks on him here but at that moment the dog felt bigger than any building Mark had ever stood before.
Then there was a yank on his arm and Mark was being dragged through the alley. It followed with a long howl from the dog and then heavy footsteps that seemed to follow them both.
"What did you do to that poor dog, you fiend?" Mark asked, his legs and arms not working properly still. He knew that he was at the mercy of the person dragging him behind himself.
And yet he could not manage himself to be polite to the person at all. His mind was still on the dog back there, the terrifying howl still echoing inside his mind.
"Me? I did nothing. It was you who made a mess of things by interrupting them when you did not have to" the person, Liam who was still dragging him through the streets hurried his steps up.
The dog seemed to be close now, the sound almost at their back and Mark could even hear the huffs of breath it took while it chased the pair down for the hunt.
The panic was back now among everything that Mark was feeling. It was an overpowering feeling that blanketed everything else in his nervous system.
"I just wanted to save that dog" Mark's cords were hardly audible over the huffs of breath he had to take in order to calm himself down.
Liam had an annoyed look on his face over his comment, clear frustration visible on his face.
"When will you understand that the thing following us is not a dog?" Mark asked, his tone rising with the panic he was feeling inside.
"Then what is it if not a dog? Can't we shake it off our trials?" Mark asked, his panic visible on his features. Liam seemed to be in thought as he dragged the party into another alley.
"Alright, I had a talk with the higher-ups in the system but since the main events of the game have not started at all, then they can't bend the rules for us and help us out" Liam had a glowing ball in his hand which Mark had no idea he had.
It seemed to be pulsing with different intensity of light and created a hollow of shadow and light in the alley. It would have been beautiful if not for the fact that they were running for their lives here.
"What can it help us with then?" Mark asked, very worried for his life now. He had so much to do right now. He felt so much panic that his whole body vibrated in worry.
It was not a good feeling to feel at all. The other passed Mark a blank look on his face as if he was thinking of something very deep and important.
Then he turned toward Mark and Mark felt those dark black eyes meet his own panicky ones and something seemed to draw on Mark.
"No, nonononono, don't you dare tell me that I have to do something? I can't" Mark's voice had reached a new peak, his breath could hardly be called as a breath even. It was fast and labours a difficult manoeuvre.
All the while, the dog seemed to draw ever closer to the pair with a terrifying breath and heavy steps.
"You see Doctor Li, the reason I approached you first is that you were thought to be the first one to wake your powers up before your death. It would help a lot if you could achieve the same this time around too" Mark felt himself go cold as he heard those words.
This lunatic was thinking of sacrificing Mark to the dog right now, wasn't he? And all those flowery words of saving and demons only to save his own life in the end and even that at the expense of someone else.
Really, Mark knew that this person was trouble when he had first seen him but at that time there was nothing Mark could do at all. Just like there was nothing Mark could do now at all. He needed to run before anything worse could happen to him.
"Good luck, I know you can do it" Mark felt something bind his body parts with a rope but he could not see anything at all. It felt as if all his limbs had stiffened and nothing would allow him to move them.
"It's for your own good and the good of the world" there was a little shove behind his back, and Mark felt sore through the street right in front of the terrifying noise.
Mark looked up at the dog who was growling even worse than before. With no one around to help, Mark was sure even his bones would not be found out afterwards.
"Please leave me alone, please go away, please go away" Mark felt the breath almost on his face before it stopped just short of taking a bite out of his face.
Mark, however, could not bring himself to open his eyes to check the situation at all. It had already been a terrifying situation to be in and he had no intention of scaring himself even more or giving himself false hope.
However, when Mark felt the breath leave his face, he forced himself to open his eyes and have a look around. The dog was almost as good as gone with the back to Mark and all Mark could feel was relief at that.
"Nicely done. Now that I know you can do this, I'll take care of the rest" Liam's voice was not comforting at all but the animal did not turn behind at all and just went on his own merry way, away from Mark.
It was just as Mark had wanted it to do and the relief that washed over Mark was overwhelming to feel.
"Please, just take me home" Mark pleaded and those black eyes turned back to him. There was a gun in Liam's hand, a beauty Mark had never even heard of. It was slick and broad and long. It looked heavy but Liam was holding it in one so it suggested otherwise.
There was an aim and then blue light flashed out of the gun extremely fast and stuck the big dog. Mark tensed, his muscles and refractory instincts asking him to standby and be ready in case of any injury the dig sustained.
But when the light subdued, there was no dog there and no light there either. It was just a canvas of blankness all over with nothing to show as evidence.
That made something break in Mark. Was this whole day a dream? Or a nightmare? He just wanted it to be over and go back to his own ordinary lifestyle as soon as he could.
"Do you believe me now Mark? About this world? Will you help me now?" Liam's voice drifted over to him but at this point, Mark was beyond caring about everything that had happened. It had been terrifying and he did not want to ever have to do it again.
"I want to go home and sleep. Please" Mark could see that the other was not pleased with all. Perhaps he had thought that something else would happen when Mark knew the truth.
For Mark, it felt less like truth and more like a walking drama preparation. And he was just tired of the whole day.
"Alright, I'll let you go for today. Maybe sleeping on it for a day or two will make you more agreeable to the suggestion" Mark did not reply, just followed the man back to his home where he collapsed as soon as he could afford to.
The man left his house or at least the sound of him leaving was there but the sleep was fitful and the dog from the day still haunted his nightmares at the night.