After completing the previous cycle, Quin continued doing strange sets of movements -- similar to the ones before, but still different. Some released wild energy after a single cycle, some needed two or more. Although it did not have a particularly fast release rate, the waves he created were long lasting and contained a lot of energy thus constantly pressuring the Shrieker. After the fourth wave, he instinctively knew that this was his current limit, and would have to restart the whole sequence of motions to able to create more of this wild energy. Fortunately, these four waves had significantly battered down his opponent to the point it had only a few tongues remaining and its tough armored skin was covered in dents and injuries.

The tables had turned and now it was Quin who was completely unharmed and the Shrieker who was in a sorry state. He did not waste any time and charged at the creature right away, his eyes being filled with utter hatred.

He had thought numerous times that he would not be able to hate the Shriekers more than what he already had, but the hatred inside him only grew more and more after each of their encounters.

His speed was even faster than before and his punch connected with the center of creature’s chest at the part where its skin had been already damaged. The attack was accompanied by a loud booming sound like that of two metals colliding and the Shrieker was pushed back a couple of meters.

The wound on its chest became even bigger and small, barely visible tongues of flame could be seen on the edge of the injury. Although Quin did not remember his punches being this effective previously, he did not stop to wonder about it lest giving his enemy time to gather itself. When his feet touched the ground, he leaped at the almost defenseless creature once again aiming at the same spot once again.

It caused the Shrieker’s skin to completely open up leaving its insides unprotected and making its purple blood flow in rivers. The Shrieker could barely stabilize itself from the force Quin had behind his punch and without its myriad of tongues its defense seemed to be practically non-existent. However, Quin knew better than that, especially after underestimating these creatures multiple times and thus was constantly on the lookout for any new tricks it might try to employ.

The insides of the Shrieker looked more than disgusting and Quin felt that if he were to get in contact with it, it would definitely hurt him. Yet, he was fairly accustomed to being hurt, injuries or pain, besides he would have to deal with the creature as soon as possible and he had seen how bad it reacted to his punches.

BOOM!

A deafening sound of explosion rang out after his next strike and it made him pause for a moment. When his fist hit its insides it caused a lot of damage, but for whatever reason he had no idea about, it was followed by an explosion right away.

He was rather certain that it severely injured his opponent, but it also ripped out a few chunks of his right arm. Thankfully his regeneration was at its full power and backed by the constant supply from the lake that was only about twenty meters away, a few breaths of time was enough for his arm to recover.

The Shrieker took advantage of his brief pause though, and shoot out a purplish dense cloud of smoke that was shaped like a spear as it flew right at Quin. This attack caused him to feel an imminent sense of danger welling up inside him and thus quickly jumped to the side.

Shockingly, the spear-like smoke cloud changed its direction while in mid-air and Quin barely had the time to punch out in an effort to stop it.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

BOOM!

Another booming sound could be heard and Quin felt his entire body trembling from the force of the explosion and its resulting shockwaves. His right arm was no more and he even had some parts of the shoulder missing, but he still felt fortunate that it was only a single limb. Damn, it could’ve been a lot worse! That purple stuff... I’ve seen in numerous times and I think its body is filled with that. The wild energy and that seems to react that intense to each other. It would also explain how the first explosion happened. Hm, in that case I can’t let it attack me from range as then it’d only be me that gets injured!

Quin ignored his rapidly regenerating arm -- or more precisely his shoulder from that it started to regrow -- and went on the offensive once again. Facing him, the Shrieker started to wildly tremble as more and more purple cloud begin to gather in its mouth, clearly signaling it was about to attack.

It was different this time, as he was more prepared and knew what kind of attack it would be. He was close to the creature when it shot out another purple smoke spear, but managed to nimbly evade it by jumping to the side in the last moment. It tried to follow him, but he timed his movement perfectly and then leaped at his enemy after dodging.

Next, he struck out with his left fist as that was his only arm left and what followed soon was another booming sound. The smoke spear was still following him, but it was within his plans and he used the force of the explosion to quickly back away. However, it swiftly changed direction once again and continued its way toward Quin. There was no concern or worry in his eyes as he could clearly see that the strange attack had lost a significant portion of its energy and thus when it was close enough he punched out with his slightly injured left hand.

A smaller sound could be heard and a few additional bruises appeared on his left arm. It was nothing major though and he quickly prepared for his next attack. Cracks spread throughout the surface of the ground as he leaped at the Shrieker yet another time.

This kind of fighting went on for a while, but despite receiving several not-so-light injuries during the process, Quin was undoubtedly the one at the top. Another couple of exchanges later, the creature’s body could not hold out more and got ripped into two parts at the part he was constantly targeting.

It did not mean the Shrieker’s end though, it seemed to be quite persistent and tried to maneuver its upper body using its hands like legs. Quin was able to easily target its head now because its height got decreased by about half, which naturally meant that it became easier to reach. There was not any good opportunity to hit it with his fist and thus he just slapped the creature each time with all of his strength. Gradually, the Shrieker’s head became nothing but a pulp of meat and exploded out with a great force in the end.

Quin did not leave anything to chance and did not stop until there was really nothing more of its body than a disgusting gory mess. The process did give him even more injuries and prevented his body from fully regenerating, but he wanted to make sure that the Shrieker was truly no more.

He let out a long sigh as he looked at the remnants of their battle. It’s finally over... Quin was both physically and mentally exhausted and there were countless questions in his head that were left to be answered, but it was only his fight that was over, not the battle.

I’ll go take a bath in the lake to recover and to regrow my arm and then, I’ll join the others, he thought.

Although Quin did not know what kind of situation the others were currently in, he was completely aware of his own. His body was a mess, filled with injuries of varying kind and seriousness and he was still missing half of his right arm. There were a few fairly serious wounds on his legs as well which would also limit his mobility if left unattended, so taking a break was something essential.

It did not take too long, as he obviously did not stay there until he was fully healed, but only up to the point he was in sufficient fighting shape. He doubted that there would be any opponents like this creature, so he knew that even if somehow the Shriekers’ numbers miraculously increased he would not have any issues.

What... The heck? As he exited the lake a shocking image welcomed him.