Fear clawed at Aldric as he gazed at the beast before them—a creature that stood on all fours, but even then was a staggering seven feet tall. Its abnormally shaped skull looked as disfigured as its painfully ugly face, its eyes a sickly green, and its maw adorned with razor-sharp teeth of uneven length.
In comparison to the Dark Stalker, it was just as terrifying, with the added bonus of being significantly bulkier. Aldric made sure to avoid eye contact with the beast, although he was aware this one most likely did not possess the same ability as the Dark Stalker. He chose to be rather safe than sorry.
"So, when are you planning to step in?" Gold Hair asked, so nonchalantly that one could almost forget the massive beast actively trying to tear her to shreds, albeit finding no success in doing so.
'Never! Being able to return doesn't mean I die like a fool whenever I get the chance.'
Aldric's threat and bluff against Blindfold aside, he stood no chance against any person or monster he's encountered in this world—choosing to fight, regardless of who or what it was, would be a death sentence.
"No, I'll sit this one out," Aldric replied, watching as the creature tried time and time again to harm the girl, only to groan in pain from its own attacks, and soon enough, the creature itself had become covered completely in its own claw marks and emerald blood.
This would have been a good solution, letting the creature attack until it killed itself like the last one did. However, if it did decide to act a bit smarter, then it would simply switch targets, and find out if Aldric's meat is easier to obtain.
So far, with the evident frustration on the face of the beast, it seemed that might soon be its next course of action, and when that happens, Aldric's only option against it will be to die. However, what were allies for?
"Instead of letting it go on like this... Just kill the damn thing."
Gold Hair glanced at Aldric for a sec, holding his gaze for a moment before letting out a sigh and then speaking.
"I would, but I'm suppressed... and my marking can only kill it if it keeps on going like this."
Al watched as she shrugged with her words; they were logical as they were indeed supposedly suppressed, but he still had a feeling she could handle this creature and maybe this was just a way to force Aldric to use his marking.
'How pointless.'
Aldric's marking would allow him to come back, but ultimately to the same situation, since he would have no memory of it happening until their encounter with the creature takes place, and she wouldn't know what his marking does as it's just him dying.
"An artifact, how do I use it?"
Al resorted to his last back-on-the-wall option, something he would never normally risk doing—fight. It's not that Aldric was a coward, or he didn't care for the honor, valor, and all the good stuff of battle—well, he didn't—but the reason is he understood the futility in a pointless struggle. His ideology was simple: if you are gonna fight, then bloody hell the least you could do is win. And for that reason, he didn't go into fights he couldn't win, but in this very moment, he learned a vital lesson—Life doesn't always give you a choice.
"Imagine it," Gold Hair began, answering Al's question. "Visualize it and it should come."
Aldric nodded. He ignored the suicidal struggle of the monster before him and began to visualize the blade of the Black Star, and sure enough, with black wisps, the sword materialized in the hands of Aldric.
'Okay, now what?'
He couldn't use a sword to save his life, and he was no good in combat in general, so his only option was to just swing and hope the bastard dies.
The Creature turned to Aldric, maybe as a result of the summoned blade. Feeling challenged, it began to approach him. It limped as it moved, and its blood had been spilled in a generous amount—the creepy thing was half-dead. Aldric just needed to get a good strike in.
Gripping the hilt of the Black Star blade, he lowered himself, locking eyes with the approaching creature. As he watched it charge at him, Al, with all the strength he could muster, swung the blade at the approaching beast. One good shot was all he needed.
He missed.
Injured but still swift, the four-legged beast evaded Aldric's swing, and with an open maw, it lunged at him. The next series of events followed in a time frame of mere seconds:
The metallic whiff of the creature's blood flooded Aldric's nostrils as it closed in, and Aldric's mind became clouded with bloodlust and a certain type of hunger he was yet to understand. Then his eyes flashed with darkness.
Aldric slammed his left hand down into the edge of the sword's hilt. Then, using his right hand, he twisted the sword upright. Firmly planting his feet on the ground, he pushed against it and thrust his sword right into the opening of the beast's mouth, impaling its head with a sickening crunch. The creature was no match for the blade's deathly sharpness.
Convulsing a few times, it fell to the ground, lifeless.
Then the runes on the blade came to life, glowing brightly.
[You have slain Evolving creature: Rough head.]
[Your blade has feasted on the soul of an evolver.]
[You have obtained one soul shard.]