"What in Her name was that?" Ke'an says in a pained grunt as he rolls to his side.
Ke'an raises his gun to the location on the higher platform he was thrown from. However, he sees nothing, just the flickering of shadows. He wastes no time in standing up looking around for any signs of the creature that assaulted him not paying any attention to the gashes he received around his leg. As he pans around with his gun he sees a shadow move almost too quickly for him to register it in his periphery. The only reason he could track the shadow at all was because of the attributes of the wolf enhancing his sharp skills.
Ke'an fires a shot which connects to flesh as a beastly wail echoes throughout the forest of pillars. The shadow nearly lands on top of him as he jumps out of the way onto an adjacent platform. He keeps his sights trained on the creature as he lands. In the unusual mixed light between the orange-yellow sun and the purple hazy glow of the floating pillar Ke'an is trying to get to, the creature in front of him was only made more unsightly and alien.
The creature looks like the mix between a centaur, drake and insect. It had a long body covered with scales in various shades of gray and four armlike legs which terminated in sharp taloned three-fingered hands. It has a long prehensile tail which barbed into spikes towards the end. The creature has the upper body of a humanoid with two actual arms with muscles larger than Ke'an's head. It has a head more akin to an insect with three compound eyes that makes it difficult to know what it is looking at. Its mouth opens into an alligator maw with the uncanny addition of insect-like mandibles.
Ke'an is not fazed by the appearance of the creature but is disturbed that something so large was able to sneak up on him even with his heightened senses. Ke'an places as much magic as he can into his lycanthrope abilities, the added agility will be the difference in survival and death. Ke'an felt somewhat glad the attack happened so soon into his climb as he had nearly all of his magic to use in the fight.
"A lizard-insectoid-centaur that is not a combination I thought I would be fighting today." Ke'an says under his breath. "I think I'll call you a lisetaur."
Ke'an quickly takes stock of his surroundings with his periphery while keeping his eyes locked on the newly dubbed lisetaur. The pillar he is on is beside the one the lisetaur rests on with a second pillar behind him at about chest level.The wall that used to be the floor is to his right though now he is a few meters away since being thrown down and having to dodge the initial strike of the creature. The lisetaur is bleeding from its right shoulder from Ke'an's shot earlier though Ke'an can see the wound closing.
"Healing factor too?" Ke'an notes.
Ke'an wastes no time in firing a second shot which also connects in the dead center of the creature's oddly human chest. The lisetaur lets out a violant screech as it explodes into movement and dodges the two following rounds. The long body of the lisetaur moves in a spiraling blur around the pillar. Ke'an unsheathes his war machete, surging his magic into the weapon and stabbing the blade into the pillar behind him. The creature once again lunges at him clearing the distance between them with blinding speed like a spring.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Ke'an jumps up in a spin while simultaneously surging the magic in the sword to pull the blade out effortlessly. The magic in the sword deforms the hardened rock pillar causing several spikes to form shooting outward towards the lisetaur as Ke'an lands on the higher pillar. The lisetaur, unable to change it's trajectory after jumping, runs into the spikes which penetrate its torso.
The lisetaur screams as pain rattles it, but it does not slow down as it claws at the spikes breaking off the pillar and ripping them from its body. Large holes that would have killed any other creature bleed profusely but only for a second as they start to heal rapidly. It only takes a second before it climbs up to Ke'an who fires his remaining shots into the creature before holstering his gun. The lisetaur swipes it's massive claws at Ke'an using its speed to close the distance and keep him on the defensive.
Despite the speed and size advantage the creature's movements are simple and predictable which is the only reason Ke'an can avoid any major injury. He did receive a few glancing blows with the claws which are luckily not able to penetrate the magically enhanced long coat. Still it takes every bit of skill and reflexes to avoid being overwhelmed.
Ke'an is trained in the martial art known as sari'vas which is taught to all members of his branch of the family. The style incorporates the use of the war machete in ten forms. The forms allow the practitioner to utilize their enchanted weapons to their most deadly effects. Ke'an's family, much like all of the branch families, are only permitted to learn six of the ten forms with the remaining four only known by the head family. The six forms in order are aps or healing, stepshu or fire, tun or water, seargun or wind, pai or rock and finally rouc or toxin. Ke'an himself is the only member of the branch family to master all six forms to the delight of his parents and the Goddess Batri.
The form Ke'an is using against the lisetaur is pai which requires a low center of gravity in a low stance and placing the blade into the ground. Without an enchanted weapon the form would be entirely impractical. However, swords enchanted with rock can pass through solid ground, rock and stone with no issue and in fact will allow the blade to move faster. Each strike is designed to take full advantage of this phenomenon. In addition the contact of the blade and the ground creates spikes which the wielder can direct.
The low stance is the main reason Ke'an is able to avoid many of the attacks flung his way. Still it takes every bit of skill to maintain a safe and workable distance. In a gambit to gain an advantage in the fight he dodges to his side which would, under normal circumstances, send him falling off the edge. However, he focuses his magic into his boots which react by creating an additional stone footing extending up from the pillar to meet his foot perfectly.
In the instant of confusion the lisetaur is taken off guard as it hastily moves to right itself. Ke'an's sword cuts through the ground underneath him slashing upward as he once again surges magic through his body. He grows in size as the power of the bear explodes within him, giving him the strength of ten men. The creature's claws slash at Ke'an's neck missing the vital jugular but cutting deeply as he moves into the final arc of his swing. The blade makes contact just under the humanoid torso bisecting the creature as stone spikes impale its centaur -like lower half.