The ferocious monster silently stared at its prey. All 6 of its eyes darted between each of them. The beast again smiled at them, hinting at some kind of intelligence.
Arsh stood up from the ground, still injured from his previous battles. He knew what kind of trouble he got himself into, this time around. Even if he does everything in his power to fight the beast. He will lose effortlessly.
A millennium was that kind of entity.
Arsh looked around in panic, only to find his companions shaking in fear beside him. He looked the monster into its eye for a few moments trying to find any kind of weakness in the transcendent beast, in reply to which the monster just scoffed at him.
Arsh already knew he couldn't win. Not against the transcendent being in front of him.
But, what other choice did he have?
Running away. Yeah, it was possible with the help of shadow envelope. But, he had to leave every single one of them behind. And that fact didn't sit well with him.
"This thing has intelligence. Our odds of making it out alive are none."
Arsh turned to his companion, announcing in a grave voice. He sighed and pinned his daggers out. He was ready to die trying.
"I will buy some time for you all. You have to run as quickly as possible. When I tell you to"
Every eye in the cave turned to Arsh. Arsh met their eyes with a serene smile of his own, standing up in front of the living natural disaster.
He was exhausted from his last fight, not even nearly at his full strength. But, it didn't make any kind of difference anyway. Even in his full power, he was not a match for a transcendent living disaster.
He let out a heavy breath, peering directly into the 6 eyes of the monster. He was determined to fight the losing battle.
"I am not going to die. Even if the gods themselves descend in front of me. Don't worry about me. Just don't let Elsa go through what I did. Keep her safe, Leo"
Turning his back to them, Arsh continued.
"Rest of you. You can either run or you can fight. I won't hold it against you, for any of your choices. Neither will I guarantee your life, if you wish to stay. Choose wisely, there is an impending doom in front of us"
The millennium looked at them, rather unimpressed by the conversation they were having.
The monster looked at them with bored eyes, followed by a scowl on all three of its faces. It let out an irritated growl, slowly moving toward them step by step.
"RUN"
Arsh shouted, juggling his daggers in the air with both of his hands. His trademark of some sort.
'Now it's just you and me'
Arsh couldn't resist his nervousness. He looked back to confirm whether they safely ran away or not.
Arsh turned around, his eyes going wide. But to his surprise, none of them moved from their original place. Instead, they picked their weapons out of the scabbard, taking an offensive formation together.
"We won't leave you alone, brother"
'Is she the same rude girl who called me a kid?'
Arsh chuckled looking at her, a proud smile on his face. First time in his life, he got something purely out of the kindness of others. Or maybe it was the first time, he realized it himself.
"Joey, Leo covers me from behind. Ethan, take some distance and aim the spear at the monster's eyes. Amanda, protect Elsa. Adam, you are coming with me, we are going to attack him from the front"
Arsh commanded every person to their post, smiling ear to ear. He took a defensive stance, to better concentrate on his spell's constructive essence.
'There is no way in hell. We can win a fight against a millennium in a one-on-one'
Arsh squatted to the ground and chanted in a little trembling voice. He knew it was not going to be pleasant.
Smoke Screen|
Arsh's body spasmed in pain, as he fell to his knees coughing violently. Gritting his teeth he looked at Joey, signaling the start of the plan.
"Ethan, throw the spear"
The spear went ahead, with remarkable speed, aimed at his middle head. While Joey made the ground muddy, to stop the giant beast before it can even move.
'....Ah fuck'
But, Arsh felt the feeling of deja vu, looking at the giant monster's expression in front of him.
The monster's expression didn't change much. It looked at the incoming flying spear and the black smoke surrounding him, with a bored expression on its face.
The monster suddenly giggled to himself, marking the start of the true massacre.
"ROOOAAARRR"
The beast let out a deafening roar. Loud enough, that even the ground below started trembling. A gust of wind blew through the cave, removing the black smoke and the spear from his surroundings, at the same time.
".....This thing can use magic"
Ethan voiced. His expression was bleak, and his eyes focused on the monster.
The Plan failed specularly.
It was at this moment, they knew what they were up against. Dread sunken under their skin, turning their expression bleak and hopeless. They now knew how unmatched they truly were in this fight.
if you even can call this a fight.
There was no way for normal humans to defeat a living natural disaster.
Arsh ground his teeth together, trying to remove the feeling of dread from the inside. He wasn't lost just yet.
He took a deep breath and moved toward the monster, getting a cheerful reaction from the millennium. He gave the monster a hateful look, before moving ahead.
"I don't care what you are. If you stand in my way. I will be killing you. Even if it is an unwinnable fight"
Shadow Envelope|
Arsh summoned the black armor, moving straight toward the monster, with his highest possible speed. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of the monster's face. The monster briefly glanced at him, smiling in amusement.
'This dog is mocking me'
Arsh chanted the spell for black flame, letting the fire wrap itself around the dagger. He aimed his left dagger at the middle face of the millennium and threw it forward.
The monster took the hit straight, letting the dagger sink in. But it was futile. The dagger made a chipping sound, falling directly to the ground.
The other two faces snickered at him, while the middle one looked at him in disappointment.
The millennium disappeared in the following moment. Arsh turned around, feeling the sudden presence behind me.
The millennium reappeared just in front of Arsh in a split second. Its pace ghostly, impossible to keep track of, with the naked eye.
Arsh's every sense was raised to its utmost. He knew he couldn't dodge something like this, even with real armor.
"...Damnation"
He tried to tank the sudden impact, with his shadow envelope. Using all three daggers, trying to deflect the large claw of the millennium.
But, the monster was exponentially faster and stronger. The three-headed beast gusted toward Arsh, trying to rip him to shreds with its large claw. Before, he even had a chance to defend himself.
The large claw struck him, throughout his body. Piercing his armor in a single blow, along with ripping flesh out of every part of his body.
Arsh flew away by the impact, to the very other side of the cave, before getting plastered all over the wall.
The monster leered at him. Arsh slipped away slowly from the wall and fell straight to the ground. Blood surged out of every part of his body.
The whole party was present in the cave, looking at the terrible state he was in with frightened expressions. Amanda ran toward him, followed by Elsa from behind.
The monster followed them ahead, blocking their path toward Arsh. They looked at the monster still trembling with fear, their sole focus on saving him somehow.
Arsh knew it was futile, though. He looked at the hopeless situation they were in. He tried everything in his power to kill the beast. But, It didn't work.
"So, this is how I die'
Arsh, let out a humorless laugh, followed by a hateful look at the monster. He staggered on his legs, trying to stand up to the transcendent. It was not his end, not until he decided so himself.
"I am not going to die just yet, you bitch. Not until I give those 5 a death so grueling, that even the four-eyed God of yours, will tremble at its sight"
Shadow Stature|
The shadow moved through Arsh's body. Moving through every patch of skin. The shadow mercilessly pinched holes in the body, followed by stitching the skin together.
"AAAHHHHHHHH....."
Arsh fell to the ground again, growling in pain. It was painful, unbearably so. To the degree that even his voice dried from his mouth. He can't even scream anymore.
He knew he shouldn't have used the spell on a large patch of skin, let alone his whole body. The pain made it clear to him. Before he could make himself in one piece. He is going to die, from the torture of the spell.
"You did well, kid. Leave the rest to me"
Hearing the coarse yet comforting voice, Arsh released his torture spell without a moment's hesitation. Arsh knew the voice well enough already. To guess who it belonged to.
"You took too damn long, Maniac"
Arsh smiled, letting his body relax on the ground. There was only one person, who ever showed compassion for him, in this ever-so-cursed world.
"Yeah, but at least, I got to see such a beautiful thing. You in a half-dead state"
Alan chuckled at his face, before squatting down to his side and chanting a healing spell.
A small patch of Alan's shadow moved from the ground, rising to his body. The shadow moved smoothly and elegantly between the wounds, healing everything with a quick speed, without doing any unnecessary extra damage.
"That took a lot of my Magic"
Alan stood up from the ground cracking his neck, briefly glancing at the three-headed monster. He unsheathed his sword, smiling at Arsh.
"Watch! That's how you fight against a transcendent opponent"
Alan smirked before adding again-
"And win"