Chapter 44
Hollow Heart Forsaken
A roar erupted into the seamless void of fire–the beast's obsidian fur kindled, sparks of fire like starlight beginning to dance around it. Ethan approached it head-on, a whip of blood sprawling into its full extension and squarely landing against the beast's snout. The latter pulled back and winced, roaring once more as it stomped toward Ethan.
Ethan creased the whip behind him and used it as a propeller, dodging the stomp swiftly though still getting caught in the winds of the aftermath. Forcibly altering his trajectory, he summoned a Crimson Blade and slashed out with it, attacking the hock area, and managing to get a decently deep cut. The lion's body trembled as a wail of agony erupted from his throat; the massive beast stumbled for a moment as it swiped with its front leg, prompting Ethan to dodge backwards.
He immediately managed to somewhat limit the creature's mobility. Though he never fought this particular lion, he did fight lions of its size before. And through all variants, the most important thing to take away was the beast's ability to move around. Lions, regardless of their size, could cover large swaths of ground in a flash, leaving many Awakened shocked just before dying.
Attacking either the hock or the carpus area not only impaired the beast's mobility but also caused immense amounts of pain due to how rich in nerve endings the areas were. It was equivalent to slashing at an ankle or a wrist and leaving a deep cut in either, just even more pronounced as the beast in front of him was massive, which naturally increased the load borne by its limbs.
The creature lunged its head at him, flares of fire bursting off its exalted mane. Ethan gritted his teeth and stepped ever so slightly to the side, managing to dodge the biting part of the attack but letting the fire wash over him. His skin immediately reddened and pain assailed his senses, but he shut them off. With the beast's head right next to him–towering over him at that–he extended his right arm and summoned yet another Crimson Blade, stabbing it straight into the beast's eye.
Another roar bellowed out as the beast violently thrashed outwardly. Unable to dodge in time, Ethan found himself aflight backwards, bleeding profusely as his 350 Health turned into 180 in just a single hit. Cold sweat doused his back as he landed and rolled back a few times on the flat ground. His innards overwhelmed, and he was forced to cough up a mouthful of blood, immediately feeling better.
In the distance, the monster had turned toward him, one of its eyes black and bleeding, the other flaring in burning fusion. It seemed unstable, yet dignified still. It was the mantle of a King–any creature with the 'King' in its name was the same. Even in death, the air of regality would remain.
Ignoring the burning pain from his cracked ribs, Ethan dipped into the vanishingly small reserves of whiskey in his inventory and took a gulp before rapidly rushing toward the monster. The lion's health bar was at a remarkable 58%. In some ways, that was a lot for all the damage Ethan caused. And yet, in others, it was dangerous just how much damage Ethan managed to inflict with effectively two attacks.
All else aside, there was still over half of the beast's Health to chew through, leaving no room for mistakes. The two rushed at each other, removing the two hundred yards of separation created just moments ago in just two seconds. The beast gaped its maw and fired out scalding-red flames in a cone as Ethan swiftly dipped below them and skidded to underneath the beast's abdomen. Using up every last bit of the regenerated Blood in his reserves, he summoned two Crimson Blades and lashed out as quickly as he could, causing repeated shallow gashes to appear on the beast's skin. A moment later, despite being shallow, they all began to bleed as the creature was inflicted with eight separate Bleed effects.
As it tumbled to the ground, Ethan barely managed to squeeze out and used the dispersing wind in his back to gain some distance. By now, he was wholly red, from head to toe. Most of it was the lion's, though some was his; unrecognisable, he wiped his eyes and restored his vision, glancing to the side where he saw the kids staring at him, aghast.
"I'M FINE!! LOOK AT YOUR FUCKING PARTY WINDOW!!" he yelled at them, his voice, even at its loudest, barely reaching. "ELIJAH, GIMME ARMOUR!! RETREAT AFTER, YOU CAN'T HELP!!"
He didn't wait to see their reactions–as soon as the golden sheen covered him and he saw the 15% increase in his Health, he rushed back at Aurion. He didn't have a lot of time; while his Health was fine, fighting at this intensity was still not something he could do for prolonged periods of time. In bursts, it was fine–but he hadn't had enough time to mould his body into that of a drain tank.
The two, once more, engaged in a bloodied brawl; Ethan barely dodged a swipe of the front paw, though the wind still managed to inflict surface-level wounds. At the same time, he splayed his fingers out and summoned a rough-shaped globe of blood above his palm. It was basic 'Mana' manipulation with no added effects, but it was a must-know for any experienced Awakened. He threw the globe at the creature's one remaining eye and, as it was quite sensitive due to one of its eyes missing, it overreacted, expecting the attack to be dangerous. By the time it recognised that it was fooled, Ethan had used the chance to crawl up through one of its tails and land on its lower back. Though unstable, he steadied his shaky feet and, once again, began lashing out like mad, causing dozens of wounds to appear on the howling creature's back.
Aurion thrashed and kicked back, managing to shake Ethan off; the latter went into a freefall and barely avoided slamming into the rock-hard ground headfirst, rolling with the trajectory though still taking some damage. By now, his Health was dangerously close to falling below 100.
His breathing ragged, clothes torn, legs heavier than barrels of iron, he struggled to stand up straight. The lion still had around 20% Health left, losing around 1% every 3-4 seconds due to the numerous 'Bleed' statuses it was unable to clear. It was too slow–there was simply no way Ethan could dance with the thing for over a minute and let it bleed out. Furthermore, the beast would not let him.
Due to some blood continuously pouring into his eyes, he'd lost some of his peripheral vision and, thus, was unable to see the tail swinging at him before it was too late. He just managed to shift himself enough to guide the tail into his right ribcage, though whether it was for the better or worse… it was difficult to say.
The ribs cracked and the sound echoed out like thunder. The sheer force of the collision pushed all air out of his lungs and made it feel as though he was dying when he tried to inhale. Blood began to ooze from every opening, his Health immediately snapping to 25. Luckily, just then, Blood Agony activated. Just as it did, Ethan conjured a Crimson Blade and slashed it against the tail, instantly recovering 15 Health. Base regeneration kicked in right then, shooting his Health value just past 150 in the 4 seconds. However, right after, he began to bleed even more profusely, losing every bit he recovered in those 4 seconds.
All the while, however, he continued to attack with the Crimson Blade whenever he had enough Blood to summon it. By the time the tail sent him barreling backwards, his Health was yayoing between 60 and 140. Dangerous, but not lethal just yet.
He landed about two hundred yards from the creature who wailed in agony once more. Both struggled to stand up, with Ethan slipping several times due to the sheer amount of blood that was pouring out of him. He'd already bled several bodies worth of it, wondering just how brutal it would become in the future.
Every inch of him hurt; there wasn't a bone or a muscle that didn't scream at him to stop, to just lie down, to close his eyes, to rest. But he couldn't. The creature's Health was down to 7%, but it was beginning to get up. It was a King. It would not simply lie down and die. And neither would Ethan.
Ignoring his instincts, he forced himself to stand, shaking and wobbling like a leaf in the wind. Wiping his nose and eyes, he faced the lion. The beast's singular eye stood firmly locked on him–it recognised that death was imminent. It would not survive, but it would not die silently either. It heaved its head backwards and roared. Suddenly, the temperature cooled even further, the star's hue dimming abruptly. Its crimson-red edges began to burn, its entire being unfolding like a birth of the fire itself. It was beautiful.
Ethan smiled bitterly. He shouldn't have come here. Though he wasn't guaranteed to die just yet, it wasn't worth it. No matter the rewards, this expedition was not worth it. He should have taken the kids and left. Ignoring the voices in his head, he spat out a mouthful of blood and willed his legs to move forward. A blade of blood appeared above him, floating like a willing servant. He would pour everything he had to cleave through the attack.
Just then, however, the lion lunged. Shit, alarms rang out inside his mind. He was tricked. The creature was likely far too weak to use its ultimate ability, and could only fake it to a certain degree, lulling him into a false direction. He didn't have neither the time nor the strength to dodge. The massive front claw descended toward him. He looked up, gritting his teeth in unwillingness and lashing out with the crimson blade. Though the blade cut right through, it didn't stop the claws from descending.
His ribs, which had calmed down ever so slightly in lieu of every other inch of his body hurting, suddenly flared up again. Before recognising what happened, he saw that he lost 10 Health and was currently flying outside of the claw's range, landing some twenty feet into the 'safe zone'. As he fell, he managed to barely glance back and saw a thin and minuscule figure standing where he stood, looking at him with clear and innocent eyes glazed in naive and youthful adoration. A moment later, her frame vanished in the dark and the dust. The world rang as Aurion, the Last King, fell, his dignity taking with him a companion in death. Hollow heart wished to will the pain, but all it could feel was relief. At that moment, more so than any other in his life, Ethan questioned who the true monster among the two was. And he was terrified of the answer.