A chill went up my spine, and my heart beat even faster. The beast began to stir soon after the sound had reached its ears. I felt a wave of the icy fear pass over me. The beast lazily began to wake up, grunting while its large muscles began to lift its body. I was frozen in a mixture of fear and adrenaline.
Fuck my life, I thought.
The beast sniffed the air, and snapped directly towards me. Its eyes were burning bright with anger and hatred. It let off a grunt as it rose to its full height, towering at least four meters above me.
I swallowed dryly.
The beast roared loudly, almost piercing my eardrums, and swung its massive claw in my direction. My eyes opened wide, staring at the incoming blow, and I rolled backwards, just dodging the deadly swipe.
Remember your training. Always keep your eyes on the beast's center of mass, that way you can see where the blows are coming from, I recalled.
I got to my feet, and bared my teeth. The beast recovered from its failed attempt to squish its newfound enemy. Its saliva dripped down to the ground, which made a splashing sound as it hit. I, looking up at it in despair, began to strafe around the beast, to at least make myself a little bit harder to hit. It swiped again, and I rolled back once more feeling the wind of the blow rush by me.
How am I supposed to get in to hit this thing? I thought, pushing air through my teeth.
The ochelon was beginning to get frustrated, and so it raised both hands and smashed the ground in front of it, trying to crush me as I adeptly stepped out of the way. The shockwave, however, could not be avoided and sent the ground I was stepping on up into the air, taking me along with it.
I rose up to about the same height as the monster and I swung at the beast's face, making a gash in its cheek. The beast staggered back a few titanic steps and spread its arms in an attempt to swat me out of the air. I narrowly escaped the blow, and absorbed the fall by rolling.
The beast recovered from the blow, and became enraged at the smell of its own blood. It curled over and got on all four claws, and began to charge. I rolled out of the way to the right, leaving my sword out perpendicular to me, cutting deeply into the beast's leg. It stumbled and I attacked its now wounded leg once more, cutting deep into flesh and sinew this time.
The beast stumbled briefly, and tried to sweep me off my feet as it fell, but I jumped over the long arm that wanted me. I cut a few more times, only to further invoke the beast's rage. Within a split second, it turned and struck me with the opposite arm I had been expecting, digging deeply into my jerkin and back muscles. The hit sent me flying across the cave, and I screamed in pain when I hit the cave's wall. I began to recover from the monstrous blow, and I felt a sogginess that wasn't there before.
I was quickly losing blood.
Damn it, that doesn't make things any easier, I winced.
I recovered from the attack as best I could, blood streaming from my back and forehead. Just as I was turning to face my enemy, the beast was already sending another blow my way. I managed to leap out of the way, and narrowly escaped a second just like it, not even a second after the first.
The beast spun around as quick as lightning with its claw extended, and just missed my gut. I cut down with my sword, and severed the beast's wrist at the joint. Blood sprayed all over me, and the beast roared with the pain of having lost a claw. I was surprised it had done so much damage with so little effort, and smiled through the pain for the first time since I arrived.
I love this sword, but I need a damage boost to kill this bastard. Just cutting off a claw won't be enough to disable it, but I know what will, I thought.
My eyes went black as I went into the world without time to gather mana. I drew from the sky, wrapping the tendrils around my sword and condensed the mana into it.
The beast, still in agonizing pain after the loss of its claw, roared uncontrollably. While the beast was distracted, I flicked my finger, and ignited the condensed mana. The white flame lit up the cave naturally, making it harder for me to see with the eyes still doing their job.
Finally, an opening! I rushed in, escaping the incoming blow by the width of a hair.
I screamed and cut upwards into its gut with my flaming sword. The cut was deep enough to partially disembowel it, and the smell of seared flesh filled the air. The beast fell to its knees, leaning on the one remaining claw it had. I cut at the joint, severing it from the body.
I breathed heavily, feeling the pain from the gash in my back, furrowing my brow and looking the beast in the eyes. "Your claws belong to me now, and so does your life. Thank you for the fight," I said aloud, my voice filled with a power I hadn't felt before. The beast leaned on the bloodied stumps that replaced its claws and stared into my eyes, while its innards fled its body.
I looked it straight in the eyes and let out a warcry, driving the sword up under its gaping mouth. The flaming sword pierced the other side of its skull and its eyes rolled back into its head. As I pulled the sword out, the beast fell to the ground, laying in a pool of its own blood.
"I did it! By the gods' shit, I did it!" I exclaimed, chuckling weakly as I did. I stepped away from the steaming body. My chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh, but was quickly interrupted by the sharp pain in my back from the blow I had received earlier. I was drenched in blood, and could smell the iron in it that was soaking into my jerkin. I didn't care as much as I should have, since the adrenaline was still heavily influencing my pain receptors.
I felt another sharp pain in my back, and I drew from the Ethereal once more, condensing the mana to the opened wound. I flicked my finger once more, and the mana was lit, searing and sealing the wound. I fell to my knees, screaming from the immense pain that was the result of charring my own flesh.
That's gonna leave one hell of a scar, I thought.
After I stopped the bleeding, I began to get a better look at the cave, noticing details I hadn't come across during my battle.
There are so many bones on the ground, it's a wonder how this creature even finds this much food to eat. Wait, Bernar said the word bastards not bastard, I thought, feeling a cold stone sink in my gut.
The harsh reality set in, as I observed the body of the ochelon I had just slain. "It's a female…" I said more loudly than I had hoped to. The moment those words left my mouth, I noticed a pair of glowing, red eyes surrounded by fur of the same color glaring at me from the depth of one of the many outlets in the cave.
The male ochelon had arrived, and it made the female look like it was but a toddler in comparison. Its bright red fur stood out in the vision of my mask, giving a much more menacing feeling than the female ever could. Its claws and tusks were much, much larger than that of the female's, and I knew immediately that this would be a challenge.
"You've got to be shitting me…" I said, readying my sword once more. The enormous male towered over the lifeless body of his mate, and nudged it with the back of its massive claw. It glared at me so intensely, I thought I would collapse.
I can hardly stand as it is with the gash in my back, and now this guy shows up? He's at least twice her size, and I've just killed his wife. Damn it! No other choice but to use that spell at the start of the battle. This can't be a drawn out fight or I won't survive it. I thought as I began to consider my options.
I drew yet again from the Ethereal, gathering as much mana as I knew I could handle and condensed it into my sword, desperately trying to control the sphere through the pain. I hoped to land a similar blow as I had to the female, as the mana-flame's intensity grew exponentially. I lifted the flaming sword and pointed it at the creature as I stared into its glowing eyes.
"Hey, you oversized abomination! Your life or mine. Let's do this," I challenged, knowing my odds of success were slim.