'Blasted Asteron's! Frigid Ice! Scorching Hel!'
Alden roared internally, a sense of crisis overwhelming his whole figure.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl.
His early childhood with Celeste flashed before his eyes. He envisioned her doe-like eyes, chubby cheeks and innocent expression.
He burned the joy she felt whenever he included her in his activities in his mind.
Then, he imagined the sharp and crushing grief he endured after the death of his parents.
The despair, the anguish, and the desperation.
…The loneliness.
All of it came rushing back.
Under the oppressive weight of these emotions, Alden visualised the pain Celeste would feel after learning of his early demise, which would most likely be amplified tenfold, he thought.
'I. Can't. Fall. Here.'
Snapping back into alertness, Alden summoned almost all his remaining mana reserves and snarled. In the next second, four inky-black tentacles abruptly manifested, fusing with the dark forest and casting even deeper shadows.
The Devil, undeterred by the sudden phenomena, bared its fangs in a feral grin.
Its maw opened, ready to engulf its prey.
However, before it could reach its delicious meal, the tentacles suddenly wrapped around each of its limbs.
Instead of its legs crumbling to dust, however, all the abomination suffered was a break in momentum.
It was only for a split second.
That minuscule window was all Alden needed, however.
As the shadowy limbs broke apart under the Devil's herculean strength, and the Defiled lunged at him again, he regained his composure. With practised ease, Alden brought his dagger up and pierced towards the wolf's eye.
[Haste] propelled the strike further.
That was not all.
Suddenly, a tenebrous energy engulfed the swift blade.
Because of the high-stakes battle, Alden felt his mind was crystal clear, empty of any unnecessary thoughts. In one fluid motion, he called upon the last embers of his mana and coated them all over his blade.
Releasing a scream full of malice, the young man stabbed the abomination.
The knife, augmented with the power of the abyss, cut into the wolf like a knife through butter.
Alden unconsciously smiled.
A shower of blood erupted from the Defiled's eye.
His grin froze.
Ignoring the revolting sensation, Alden pushed his dagger deeper and deeper into the narrow slit.
The Defiled roared and attempted to retaliate with its claws, but he was one step ahead, anticipating its move. Ducking his head, he slumped exhaustedly to the ground, waiting for the abomination to die.
Sure enough, a second later, the wolf, out of energy from its desperate last-ditch strike, keeled like a frozen statue. The earth trembled from its fall, and Alden felt the vibrations rack his body.
He groaned, every part of his frame on fire.
The young man coughed, and for the third time, a metallic taste filled his mouth.
'Not good…'
Now that the battle was over, the adrenaline began fading away, ushering even more pain and suffering.
Alden gasped.
Gritting his teeth, he tried to sit up.
'...Have to move.'
Roaring internally, as the veins on his temple throbbed and his knuckles turned white from gripping the ground so hard, Alden slowly rose.
He coughed once more, weakly standing up.
He swayed and staggered, just managing to right himself in the last second.
Alden's vision was blurry, and he felt incredibly dizzy.
'Ignia.'
He called feebly through their bond.
He vaguely registered the phoenix's worried cry reverberating from the back of his mind.
As it was, though…
Alden was in no state, nor did he have the energy to concentrate on something for too long.
'...Can you heal?'
Staggering toward the dead abomination, Alden perceived Ignia landing on his shoulder.
Then, a warm sensation sprouted in the wake of her arrival.
He discovered the pain had decreased a little.
It was minute in the grand ocean of his suffering, but to Alden, it gave him hope and a reason to keep fighting against the agony racking his body. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he arrived next to the Defiled's lifeless body.
Bending down, he fished for his dagger, only to find its crumbled remains.
It seemed even his own equipment wasn't impervious to the insidiousness of his decay.
Alden didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
His lips twitched briefly.
The young man then released a tired sigh. He swayed once again, and Alden took that as a sign for him to stay still.
Letting the destroyed fragments of his knife fall to the ground, he summoned Charmy's blade and slowly dissected the most important parts of the Devil.
It was mostly just the meat.
Alden didn't have the spirit nor the patience to skin the whole abomination.
He winced, muscles burning, the pain flaring like he had touched a searing-hot sun.
He hissed quietly through his teeth.
Even with Ignia supplying a steady stream of her flames, it still hurt like hell.
Cursing the dead wolf and its desire for human flesh, Alden finished with his task.
He turned toward where he thought he had last been before the Devil's abrupt appearance, and slowly, tortuously resumed his journey, one step at a time.
Soon, the metal disk was back in his grasp - he had recovered enough mana to summon the Runic Item again. Concealed from the dire threats of the Apocalypse, a young man with rags for clothes and a pitch-black phoenix traversed Nature's Grove.
Their progress was slow, both from the young man's injuries and the caution necessary to not run into any Defiled. After an interminable length of time, Alden paused beside a towering oak and leaned on it for support.
'Here should be fine. I doubt anything followed us from over there. I'm not that… delicious. I think.'
His breath was ragged and his expression equally haggard.
Retrieving a precious low-grade healing potion from his bracelet, Alden tilted his head back and let a drop of the tonic fall into his mouth. He swallowed, grimacing at the strong medicinal scent. Trying not to cough, he waited a moment for the potion to work, before restarting his journey.
This time with determined steps.