Avoiding another abomination coming from behind by a hair’s breadth, Puck knew he wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer. All he could do, was trust in Scarlet and try to scrape out a few more seconds at every opportunity possible.

Over the last minute or so, Puck had baited the swarm behind him around nearly the entire cavern. Because of that, all the creatures were now behind him, chasing him along the same path he ran. None remained in front of him to block his path anymore.

By now, though, Puck had lost much of his speed as his body simply wouldn’t allow him a full sprint anymore. Worse than that was the single creature that had already come at him from the side before.

In contrast to its brethren, which were often built suboptimal and much to heavy, this one was sleek and deadly.

In a matter of seconds, it had ripped apart the creature that had dared stand in its way before, and after that, it had started pursuing Puck again.

Its body was that of a deadly feline, with dark scales covering its shoulders and back, even going up between its ears. Its tail had been replaced with that of a scorpion, curving high above its back, ready to strike with deadly precision.

Shortly behind its ears, where normally a tuft of hair would have been, dozens upon dozens of snakes sprouted, swinging in the air and hissing threateningly.

The snout of the feline looked nearly untouched, uncharacteristic for a creature of the Heart of Darkness. Having though nothing of that, it had nearly cost Puck a few moments ago…

As he had come to learn, the creature’s jaw could open far too wide, nearly completely separating the two parts of its jaw to catch its prey.

Still, compared to the other horrendously disgusting and dysfunctional creatures of the Heart of Darkness, this one was a perfect predator. It was some kind of wonder that it hadn’t managed to catch Puck yet or even infect him with the poison it certainly held.

Just at that moment though, it was coming at Puck again. Slower this time. Too slow to rush past Puck, but still too fast for Puck to escape for long.

Frothing at the mouth, the creature showed that it was also affected by the Heart’s rage and madness. Even then, though, some of its predatory instincts came through. The body parts of the animal this creature had been built from must have been extraordinary, its brain likely still partly active even now.

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Knowing he couldn’t escape this time, Puck looked over to Scarlet again. Thankfully, it seemed like she was clearly winning over her titanic opponent. At any moment now, she would be able to focus fully on the Heart itself.

Even then, it would still take some time, time Puck didn’t have.

Bringing his vision back to the approaching feline and the mob behind it, Puck decided this was the moment to use his final trump card. But how to use it?

Feeling for the ideal in his mind and soul, Puck tried to listen for its advice, also asking Zephyrian for his opinion.

Even using up Zephyrian’s power alongside the rest of the ideal, Puck was pretty sure he would succumb to the enemy before him. Not to mention the horde behind it finding him in a crippled state afterward.

Feeling something like a vague nudge from his ideal in response to his inquiry, Puck tried to focus on it, giving it room to grow and express its meaning.

The ideal speaking to him felt different somehow. Inspecting it closer, Puck found that it wasn’t the more basic ideal of the wind, but the one of freedom itself speaking to him, trying to offer him a solution.

Having judged him worthy, the ideal seemed willing to help, but it was still headstrong and wanted to solve the situation its own way. If Puck wasn’t careful, the ideal would simply use up all his remaining strength for a completely useless goal.

Knowing he needed to remain in control while at the same time giving the ideal what it wanted, Puck felt time ticking. He had no time for a long decision-making process. It needed to happen NOW!

Pressing into the ideal while offering it his opinions and options, Puck was thankful as the ideal rushed towards Zephyrian to do something to its edge. The next swing of Zephyrian would be no ordinary one.

Making eye contact with the approaching feline, Puck knew what needed to be done. Stepping forward just as the feline jumped, Puck remained steady.

With terrifying speed, the enormous scorpion stinger came down. At the same time, Puck swung Zephyrian.

For a moment, time seemed to come to a crawling stop for the two fighters, before it resumed.

With a low whistling, Zephyrian swung through the air, toward the head of the feline. Then, as the stinger hit Puck in the right shoulder with devastating force, Zephyrian’s strike seemed to miss, swinging harmlessly over the feline’s head.

Or at least, it seemed harmless.

But as Puck was flung backward, his shoulder broken and already freezing from the paralyzing venom in the stinger, the feline suddenly stopped, as if all its strings had been cut.

Puck’s strike hadn’t been aimed to kill, the ideal of freedom wouldn’t have allowed that anyway. No, instead the strike was meant to FREE. It cut the bond between the Heart and its creature.

Nearly all of the other monstrous creatures would likely have died instantly after being freed, as it was only the energy of the Heart keeping them alive. But not this one. For some reason, it was special, not something randomly made up of body parts and shadows.

Lying on the ground on his side, unable to move, Puck felt like he was dying as pain wracked his whole body.

Looking at the approaching monster horde, he knew it was over. There was nothing left to give. Zephyrian was unable to help anymore in his current state, and the horde would be upon him in seconds.