The creature let out a roar, but it was no longer filled with confidence. It was a sound of uncertainty, of fear. It lunged at Sam, desperate to finish what it had started, but the darkness around Sam pulsed again, stronger this time, sending the creature skidding back.
Sam's body moved with unnatural speed and precision, his hand shooting out to grab the creature by the throat before it could react. He lifted it off the ground effortlessly, his grip like iron. The creature thrashed and clawed, but it was no use. The dark power flowing through Sam was far beyond anything the creature could match.
Sam's once-red eyes were now pitch black, voids of pure malice that seemed to swallow the light around them. His lips curled into a twisted smile, devoid of warmth, filled only with the promise of suffering. The darkness that had taken over him was ancient, malevolent, and it reveled in the terror it inspired.
"Finally," Sam—or whatever had taken control of him—spoke, his voice a low, guttural growl. "I'm free."
The creature's struggles intensified, but it was no match for Sam's overwhelming strength. The demon that had taken hold of him watched the beast's futile attempts with something akin to amusement. It was as though this was all just a game—a game where the demon had already decided the outcome.
"Oh, are you scared now?" the demon-possessed Sam taunted, his voice dripping with dark humor. "You should be. I've been locked away for so long… I almost forgot how fun this could be."
With a flick of his wrist, Sam hurled the creature across the battlefield as if it weighed nothing. The beast slammed into the ground with a bone-crunching impact, the earth shattering beneath it. But before it could even attempt to rise, Sam was already upon it, his speed defying comprehension.
"Up you go!" Sam sneered, yanking the creature up by its throat again, lifting it high above the ground. The beast let out a choked growl, thrashing weakly in Sam's grasp. The demon inside Sam chuckled, the sound low and menacing, as if it were toying with a broken doll.
"You're not even worth the effort," Sam said, his voice now laced with boredom. But then, a sinister glint appeared in his eyes. "Let's see how much you can take before you break."
Sam's free hand ignited with dark flames, black and crimson, licking up his arm with a terrifying intensity. The air around them seemed to crackle and distort as the heat from the flames grew, but it was not the heat of fire that one would feel—it was a cold, soul-chilling energy, a manifestation of pure demonic power.
"Let's turn up the heat," Sam muttered, a maniacal grin spreading across his face. The flames shot forward, engulfing the creature in an instant. The beast howled in agony, its body convulsing as the dark fire consumed it. But Sam's grip remained firm, his eyes gleaming with sadistic pleasure as he watched the creature writhe in pain.
The flames didn't just burn; they devoured. The creature's once-mighty form began to wither, its strength sapped away by the consuming darkness. The demon inside Sam laughed, a sound that sent shivers down the spine of anyone who heard it.
"You're pathetic," Sam said, his voice filled with disdain. "This is all you can muster? How disappointing."
The beast tried one final, desperate attack, its claws slashing out at Sam's face. But Sam caught the claws in midair, his grip like iron. He twisted the beast's arm with a sickening crack, his smile never faltering.
"Is that all?" Sam asked, feigning disappointment. "I expected more from you."
He tossed the beast aside like a rag doll, and it crashed into the ground, its body twitching from the relentless onslaught it had endured. But Sam wasn't finished. He raised his hand, and the earth beneath the beast began to crack and split. Dark tendrils of energy shot up from the ground, wrapping around the creature's limbs, holding it in place as it struggled to break free.
"You're not going anywhere," Sam said, his voice low and menacing. "I'm just getting started."
The dark tendrils tightened, pulling the creature's limbs in opposite directions. The beast let out a howl of pain, but Sam only grinned wider. The ground beneath them continued to crumble, the cracks spreading out like a web, dark energy seeping through.
Sam's eyes glowed with malevolent glee as he watched the creature's torment. The beast was completely at his mercy, and there was no mercy left in Sam. The demon inside him reveled in the power it now wielded, the raw, destructive force that had been locked away for so long.
"Beg for mercy," Sam taunted, his voice a whisper that carried across the battlefield. "Maybe I'll let you live a little longer."
The creature's eyes, filled with fear and pain, flickered with a hint of desperation. But no words came, only a weak growl that barely escaped its throat.
Sam's smile vanished, replaced by a cold, merciless stare. "No? Then die."
With a flick of his wrist, the dark tendrils tightened once more, pulling the creature's body apart with a sickening rip. The beast's howl was cut short as its form was torn asunder, dark blood spraying across the shattered ground.
The creature's remains fell lifelessly to the ground, the once-mighty beast reduced to nothing more than a broken, bloody mess. Sam stood over it, his breathing steady, his expression cold and unfeeling.
But then, as the last vestiges of the creature's life faded away, the darkness around Sam began to recede. The black flames extinguished, and the tendrils of dark energy dissipated into the air. The malevolent grin slowly faded from Sam's face, replaced by a blank, almost empty expression.
The battlefield around them started to dissolve, the Hollow World crumbling away as reality reasserted itself. The Queen and Luke, who had watched the entire scene in stunned silence, were suddenly back in the peaceful garden, the horrors they had witnessed seeming almost unreal.
Sam, still standing over the remains of the beast, swayed on his feet. The dark power that had fueled him was gone, leaving him drained, a hollow shell of the person he had been. His eyes, once filled with darkness, returned to their normal color, but they were unfocused, dazed.
And then, with a soft sigh, Sam collapsed, unconscious before he even hit the ground.
"Sam!" the Queen cried, rushing to his side. She dropped to her knees, cradling his head in her lap, her heart pounding with fear and confusion. The power she had just witnessed was unlike anything she had ever seen—terrifying, destructive, and completely beyond her comprehension.
Luke stood nearby, his eyes wide with a mixture of awe and terror. He had seen Sam fight before, but never like this. This was something else entirely, something that scared him to his core.
The Queen checked Sam's pulse, relief flooding her as she felt it—weak, but steady. But as she looked down at his face, she couldn't shake the feeling that the Sam she knew was somehow… different.
"Please be okay, Sam," she whispered, holding him close. "We need you."
But even as she spoke, the image of the dark, twisted version of Sam that had emerged in the battle lingered in her mind. She didn't know what had happened to him, or if he would ever be the same again. But one thing was certain: the demon that had taken control of Sam had left its mark, and its influence was far from over.
As the garden returned to its tranquil state, the Queen and Luke were left with more questions than answers, their minds filled with the haunting memory of the demon unleashed.