Henry began running and he kept increasing his pace, running as far away from the direction of the roar as possible, or so he thought.
"Hahhh Hahhh Hahhh, I guess I should be far enough" he stopped after reaching a safe distance, completely ignoring the fact that the roar even though loud was a bit faint and continous for a while.
Little did he know that the forest was surrounded by mountains and hills that reflect sound waves, thereby giving only one possibility.
He rested on a tree, catching his breath and thinking of what to do next, when a system notification came up.
'SWOOOSHHH'
Before he could check the message, out of nowhere from his right side came a large ball of fire that was headed straight for him, fortunately his slow time perception kicked in and he was able to evade it in time, by simply moving out of the way
The ball of fire hit a tree behind him and it not only burnt the tree but also destroyed it completely creating a huge explosion.
"What the fuck was that, where did it come fr.....SWIIIISHH'
Before he could complete his statement another attack came from behind him, but this time it was five huge claws, he sensed it immediately and was once again with the time perception skill, evaded it.
Quickly moving a few steps then turning around, he was able to see the culprit.
Standing in front of henry was a very huge dog, if one could even call it that, it was at least 13ft tall with bright red skin and 6 eyes, it's eye was black and just black with no iris in view, completely void of life, it had really large thick legs with black claws protruding from it's paws and it's fangs looking like small sharp daggers, and smoke seemed to be coming from it's wide mouth.
It was a beast directly from hell, it seemed to be in pain as there was a black spear stuck to it's side, henry just stood there too terrified to even move, but then two figures, totally human figures came out from the same direction the beast had appeared, they were dressed in some kind of black metallic armour that covered their entire body excluding their head, with the insignia of a golden bird at the left side of the armour's chest.
One was a man who had a messy brown hair that covered his left eye and was holding a long sword, the other was clearly a woman due to the increased chest mass that couldn't be helped but be noticed even through the armour, she had long black hair tied into a pony tail, which made her figure even more appealing.
The beast also noticed them as it roared in displeasure at their arrival, it turned its attention towards them as it prepared to attack
Henry couldn't fully process what was happening, because the same thing he thought was running from was right in front of him and it was with no doubt the same roar he has heard not so long ago and it was a beast even more terrifying than the lion
"How am I here, fuck i ran straight into the arms of the same fight I was running from" he said in horror realizing he was wrong about it being the lion and also wrong about the direction of sound, he had no explanation for how he had headed for the wrong direction but he knew one thing, he was clearly fucked.
"Get to safety, we can handle the beast" the woman said pulling out a dagger that was on her waist preparing to engage the beast
Henry just nodded in response, as he was still shocked at everything happening, he was able to leave the area as the beast focus was completely on the two armed humans.
Finding a nearby tree that was out of the range of the battle but was still close enough, he was able to spectate the fight still surprised to see other humans in the forest
The man moved first, swinging his sword with vigor, he ran towards the beast and then jumped
His sword sliced through the air, aiming for the beast's neck, but it dodged with unnatural speed. The woman followed up with a swift throw of her dagger, striking the beast's side, just above the black spear.
The beast retaliated, its massive claws swiping at the duo. They dodged and weaved, avoiding the attacks with ease. Henry watched in awe, mesmerized by their fluid movements and perfect sync.
"Who are these guys?" Henry wondered, his mind racing with questions.
The man and woman exchanged a brief glance before charging forward again. But then the beast paused and then opened it's mouth wide, fire seemingly gathering at the apex of it's throat.
"Take cover!" the woman shouted, as the beast unleashed a wave of flames from it's mouth
Henry ducked behind the tree, peering around the trunk to continue watching. The duo dodged the flames with ease, their armor protecting them from the heat.
The battle raged on, with the beast's roars echoing through the forest. Henry's shock began to wear off, replaced by curiosity and a hint of fascination.
He continue watching the fight between the two parties, as it was only getting more intense by the second
"What I'm i supposed to do now, should I just wait here hoping they would defeat the beast, or should i run?" henry contemplated with himself, finding it hard to make a decision.
The duo seemed to be holding quite well against the beast, as they fought together seamlessly with precision. They halted for a moment, both seemed to push a button on the top of their gauntlet, their armour glowed with a faint blue light, spreading energy across their body, enhancing their speed and strength.
The beast also didn't relent as it reciprocated their power boost with one of it's own. Opening it's mouth once again, the beast gathered a massive amount of fire and spread it out, breathing fire continously, with a goal of total obliteration of everything in it's surrounding.
It's flames engulfed the surrounding trees, casting flickering shadows across the clearing. Thanks to the boost of their amour, they both evaded the flames effortlessly, watching as it razed the trees in the area.
The woman dodged to the side, avoiding a swipe of the beast's claws. While the man seized the opening, striking the Hellhound's exposed flank with his sword.
The beast recoiled, its eyes blazing with fury. It unleashed a deafening roar, causing Henry to shiver where he watched with excitement, like a kid watching his favorite superheroes fight a bad guy, upclose.
The woman suddenly shouted, "Xavier, watch out!" as the beast's jaws opened wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.
The man swiftly leapt to the side, avoiding the beast's snap by mere inches. The woman immediately followed up with a swift kick, striking the hound's chest, then she jumped onto a nearest tree branch, and leapt onto the beast's back, removing her dagger and the spear which were stuck to it's side, the beast roared in pain, shaking it's back causing the woman to fall.
Then it quickly retreated back, seemingly to catch it's breath and replenish it's strength, the woman stood up also preparing for another attack.
"I think I'll wait to see how this ends." henry finally made up his mind, obviously enjoying the show,
"And even if they fail, i can always run away when the beast would be feasting on them," he said with anticipation as he continued to watch the battle.
But unfortunately, the beast had noticed henry where he was, standing behind a tree, but henry wasn't paying attention anymore.
"Alright, since these guys probably know what they're doing." henry said seeing how they had put up with the beast so far and had yet to receive any damage from it either, he let his guard down and opened the system interface, curious about the notification he had received just before the beast arrived.
Then the screen popped up and he read the contents of the message, but before he could fully process it, he heard someone reach out to him.
"Heyy!! move out of the way!" the woman shouted, from a distance, waving her hands at henry telling him to move.
"Huh why, wha....holy crap!" henry reacted suddenly as a familiar huge fireball was already at his face.
Just moments ago, the beast had noticed henry, it was furious at the fact of not getting a single attack on the humans in front of it, so it decided to let out that frustration and rage on the pitiful, unarmed human hiding just behind the corner.
It gathered fire in it's mouth again, but this time more denser and fiery than before, the duo had noticed this, and thinking it was meant for them, had braced for impact but it never came.
The hound launched it's attack at unsuspecting henry, who was now lost in the contents of the system, with a worried look, the woman quickly called out to henry telling him to move but it might have been to late.
Henry's slow perception kicked in and made things look a bit slower as usual, but it was still not enough, he wasn't as lucky this time, with a look of horror on his face henry trembled as the big ball of flames slowly approached him, and collided with his body causing a little explosion, sending him flying.
He had truly finally run out of luck, his half burnt body slammed into a tree as he hit the ground with great force, completely shattering his bones.
[-19 Hp]
[Hp: 1/20]
[Host, you are in critical condition, get some help or certain measures shall be taken by the system]. The system then popped up with series of messages
[No help has been given, host's condition keeps deteriorating, system override measures would now be observed]
[Beginning protocol 0]
[Error]
[Compatible skill detected]
[Protocol 0 terminated]
[Skill is now been used, Hp regeneration active].
"Uhh...ahh...i..i really should have stayed in the void." he said in a very faint tone, his vision blurred and everything went black.