As the four ran through the gateway, the gateway closed. They ran for about five minutes until they end up in another fucking cave.
This room looked a lot bigger than the previous four.
Sat down in the middle of the room, a humanoid beast. It sat up straight and had its hand on its laps. It was sitting down, like a human. It had horns for eyes and a constant grin with razor-sharp teeth. It was blue, big, and quiet.
The four in the room stared at it.
"Is that a beast?" Sam asks
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure." Dan assumed
"It's a maniacal level, right?" Sam asks again
"Yeah, they all are." Dan replied
"Drop down now." Jon ordered Dan
Dan then went to Laura and brought her down with him. As they drop, a black blade pierces the air where Dan's head was. The beast then swang its blade—it was wrapped around its hand—to Sam. Sam grabs his blade and blocks the blade. But the sheer force was far too strong for Sam to buckle.
He was flung all the way to the wall.
"Sam!" Dan called out
Volta then dashes around the beast from its side to its front. As she goes in for a stab at its neck, the beast catches her arm. It then spun her around and then threw her to a wall, opposite of Sam. She crashed into it.
Dan, from the ground, casts "Black Envelope: Footgear" and kicks the side of the beast's knee, then the back of its knee, then the front of its leg. Causing the beast to drop on one knee.
He quickly stood back up, and kicks the beast in the back of its head. As he made impact, the beast catches his leg. With one arm, the beast lifted Dan, arching all the way, and smashes him to the ground. Laying on the ground, the beast was about to stab Dan.
As it raise its blade, Laura came from behind it. She chokes the beast with her scabbard. Pulling the beast back, diverging its focus to her. It raises its fist and reaches Laura's face, hitting her once. She drops to the ground and holds her hands to her nose.
Seeing so, Dan became agitated. He got up and charges at the beast. "Bitch!" He slurred as he charges at it and hits the jaw of the beast with his knee. The beast was barely affected by it. The beast grabs his leg and brought him for a spin. Then the beast lets go of Dan and he slams into the wall. Hitting his right arm first. Something in his arm cracked or broke. The beast then dashes at him and looms over him. Laying, facing upright. His vision, ablur. He looks up to the beast.
The beast then dived its blade into the right side of his chest, near his shoulder. Dan screams in pain. The beast then raised Dan up by the blade. Dan screams louder in agony. His entire body felt it, his legs couldn't stop shaking. Even his eyes watered. He couldn't move his right arm without causing a lot more agony. The beast then grabbed Dan's right elbow. Holding nearly half his arm with one fist. It crushes his arm. His scream drowned the cave. Echoed around it.
The beast pulls its blade out of Dan and threw Dan to another wall. Completely covered in his blood. His black suit looked more maroon. His headband was vandalized by drops of blood. He was blacking out. He passed out. Maybe even dead.
The beast then was walking towards Dan. Presumably to finish him off. But then, something diverted its focus. Something told it to turn to Laura.
Laura glances at Dan to see him knocked out like that. To see him hurt like that. It made her scared and pissed off—more scared, however.
The beast dashed to her and kicks her on the ground. She coughs up blood from the impact to her abdomen. Struggling to breathe. Then she was kicked again and now she gets slammed to the wall behind her.
The beast walked toward her, slowly. Then the beast's head was pushed back. Someone too fast to see punched it. All it saw was a flash of light. The flash of light then turned into a trail. Circling around the beast. The beast was punched from the back twice really hard. It actually made a cracking sound. It was like breaking a sturdy brick wall. Then Sam appeared in front of the beast after he ran.
"You'll fucking pay."
Then it went back and forth. Volta from behind, Sam from the front. Each punch made a cracking sound. A barrage of punches that the beast couldn't buckle. Sam then pulled out his Twin blades and clashed them together. His Necrotization was in affect. The beast was weakend in that split second. A single second was plenty for speedsters like Volta. Ten consecutive unguarded punches to the beast's back.
"Switch!"
Sam kicked the beast's leg, spreading it open. He takes a step back and slides under the beast's crotch, while Volta circled around in front of the beast. The did the same thing they did earlier.
"What am I feeling? Why do I want to kill this beast so much? This burning feeling in my chest... What is this? Why now? My head feels dizzy but I can see clearer than ever." Volta questioned as she deals a barrage of punches.
"V, catch!" Sam yelled, as he threw one of his blades at Volta.
She catches his blade and saw his finger waving in a circle. She knew what he meant and started running in a circle. Building up speed and electrical surge. The beast then took a second to move. It turned to Sam and growled.
Sam held his blade with both hands, his stance was of a defensive stance. He had the blade pointed outwards and away from him. The front of the blade facing the beast.
"Now!" He queued
Volta then changes her path and clashes the blade she had on her with Sam's. The repel force was electrified and combined with Sam's Necrotization. The repel plummeted the beast to the wall near Laura. Not before the electification completely weakened it.
It grabbed Laura, then threw her at the two. Sam catches Laura while also dropping his blade. Volta had her eye on the beast. But she was in a dilemma of something she doesn't have an understanding on. It distracted her.
The beast was able to deal a slash to her thigh and knee, then an elbow strike to her head. Knocking her down and rendering her useless. She couldn't move her leg, let alone run.
Sam gently puts Laura on her feet and runs to the beast as he calls for his blade. He slashes upward, towards the beast's throat. The beast blocked his blade with its blade. Before being able to pull back his arm, the beast grabs his wrist and squeezes it. The beast also twisted his arm making him drop his blade. The beast lands a hard punch to his abdomen, to the center of his chest, then his face. Sam was too slow to block or dodge. The beast then slashes Sam's chest in a vertical manner. Sam was able to take a step back, making the cut shallow. Then the beast kicks him and slamming him to a wall.
They were all out. They manage to weaken it, but far too short of killing it. Laura was the one left standing. The beast back hands Laura with its blade, Laura instinctively raise her scabbard, blocking the beast's blade but not the force from its swing.
She was thrown across the room. She rolled on the floor. She quickly sits upright and looks around. She realizes the situation she's in. Dan was out, so was Sam, and so was Volta.
She realized that she was going to die. She started tearing up. Whining.
"I don't wanna die, I can't die! I'm not ready." She regretted. She looked down, her hands covering her face in shame. Her face was covered in her tears. Splashing the ground as the tears hit it.
"Please! Not yet!" She whined
"I don't want to die!" She cried
"Everyone's afraid to die. Whether they admit it or not."
"Are you afraid to die?"
"Yeah, kinda. But, that's not all that bad."
"What do you mean?"
"It's the fear of death that makes us cling to life. In that instance, we do everything in our power to stay alive."
A vague memory that she remembered at that moment. What was it? Who was it? She can't recall the voice of who it was and she forgot what the man looked like. She'd remember upon seeing him again. But, it made her realize.
She has to fight. She realized she was the only that hasn't done anything. She was the only one left that could do something.
She stood up. She changed her stance to a standard iaijutsu quickdraw. She surges with amplification. Her mana wavelength surpasses that of a High-rank grade 1. Something that she had unlocked since she was little, but after something that happened made her forget about it. Something that she wants to forget so badly.
She felt the dread that flooded her heart, just by thinking about what happened that day. Tears ran down her cheeks.
She creates a negative electric charge behind her. While surging herself also with a negative electric charge. She lifts her leg and she touches the charge behind her. She gets sent flying toward the beast. At the right moment, a quarter of a second of an opening, she drew her sword.
What the beast saw was only a stream of electricity and that its arm dropped to the ground. Then she came from behind with the same speed and lands a slash to its neck. But, it was merely a cut. She missed her opportunity to cut its head off.
She turned around, about to do the same thing. But, nothing happened. She started aching. Feeling loose in her joints. Her legs started shaking, her arms were giving out. She was already out of mana.
The beast grew agitated. And as a last ditch effort, it charged up a spell. A powerful spell that could kill her in an instant. It quickly casted the spell and shot it at Laura. She raised her sword to try and block it because she was ignorant to the spell's lethality.
An orange bright beam blinded Laura's vision. She closes her eyes to avoid it. She was anticipating the attack. Two seconds after, it never came. She opened her eyes and saw Dan. He took the full brunt of the spell with "Black Shield".
"D-Dan?" she said in relief and surprise
The attack stopped, and the beast fell on one knee, it grew tired.
Dan slowly turns around. He smiled at her. His face splattered with his own blood. He raises his left hand and pats her on her head.
"That was really cool, Laura. Sorry, I wasn't much help before. But, I got it from here, okay?" He said, comforting her
"B-but, your arm."
"Yeah, I can't move it." He chuckled
Dan turns to the beast. He grinned at the beast.
His eyes were flaming purple. His presence turned into something else. It was almost like it was no longer him. Then a blue wave of something covered the cave in an instant.
It felt weird from Laura's perspective. Looked weird as well. It wasn't fast, but something completely different. She saw Dan standing across the cave, holding the head of the beast in his left hand.
Its neck bone and a few parts of its spine were hanging out from inside the head. Blood dripped from it. It wasn't speed, Laura would be able to tell the difference. Like, Kai. She could tell Kai moved from one place to another despite his speed, but this felt like Dan was just suddenly there.
"What happened?" Laura confused.
"It's okay now, Laura. It's dead."