As the figure slowly rose from the depths of the water, I felt my horror grow. I tried to turn and run, but something kept my feet rooted to the ground. Despite the danger I felt in some primal part of my mind, I wanted to see what came out of the pool.
I did not have to wait long. In just a few seconds, the figure stepped from the edge of the pool, water streaming down misshapen flesh and gathering beneath its feet. At a glance, it looked humanoid but somehow wrong. The arms were too long, hanging near its knees while its legs were bowed and its back hunched, keeping it low to the ground.
Brown-black flesh looked almost like welted max flowed together, obscuring its facial features, though I spotted two faintly glowing orbs in the mass of lumps. The luminescence of its eyes met my own, and I reached out with my senses, brushing against it and detecting more mana than any living creature I had sensed before. In fact, it had even more than I did, something that caused sweat to break out along my back.
The creature seemed to sense my intrusion, and its face split, a gruesome caricature of a mouth appearing. Spreading its arms out wide, a guttural howl pierced the air, magnified with a small infusion of mana. My ears rang, but I readied my weapon as its body tensed, crouching even lower. A moment later, it bounded forward, two massive steps carrying it the distance between us.
My eyes widened, and I pulled my sword-staff back, angling it to one side to intercept the arm swinging towards me. I was just a second too slow, and rather than deflecting the strike away, I was forced to absorb it, sending me staggering back several feet. Despite the pain running through my hands, I had no time to process the attack, pushing off the ground and jumping to one side.
Dirt and stone flew through the air as its second charge shredded through the ground where I stood a moment earlier. I spotted an opening and stepped forward, stabbing hard at its exposed shoulder. My strike hit true, slicing through the skin but stopping after just a few inches.
Whirling on me and roaring, the beast jarred my weapon loose from its flesh, and I retreated, putting a dozen feet between us. Rather than charge again, it seemed my attack earned me a moment of respite. The creature was examining me, and I felt a clumsy touch on my mana, primitive, and untrained. Pulling my mana back and shrouding myself, I tensed my muscles.
The safest move would be to turn and run back to the safety of Thorndale. This beast was dangerous, more than I felt confident facing, and it was better to flee and return when I was stronger. As one foot shifted, I paused, realizing that it was not an option.
There was no chance of escape, at least not in the darkness. In the daytime, I could find my way back, but at night and chased by a monster? And more than that, if left unchecked, this creature would just stay here, absorbing mana and growing more dangerous by the day. If it was not killed now, how strong could it become?
It was a threat and one that stood between me and my prize. My only choice was to kill it before it could kill me.
But how?
Pulling on my mana, I cast Mana Shell, anchoring it onto my core and feeling the drain on my reserves stabilize. Manageable, but still too fast to draw out this fight.
Then, taking just a moment to gather my mana in my right hand, I charged the monster, stabbing forward again, aiming towards its face. I had the greater reach, and I could exploit it here and now.
Stepping to one side, the beast howled again, but I spun my staff, thrusting forward my hand and casting an Arcane Beam. Energy lanced through the flesh of its chest, leaving a hole in the meat of the shoulder. The monster growled and shook its head for a breath before lunging, swinging a plate-sized palm at my side.
A spiderweb of cracks broke out along the clear green surface, knocking the wind from my lungs. Though muffled by my spell, it was still more than enough to throw me off-balance, and I tripped over a root behind my feet. As I stumbled backward, I slashed out, my blade skittering along its skin and leaving a shallow cut as it tried to attack again.
Checking my mana reserves, I noticed that I was already down a fifth of my maximum. Maintaining this shield and blocking such an attack drained my energy faster than a man dying of thirst drank water. I needed to inflict real damage before this thing wounded me, or I ran out of mana.
Before I could think of something, the beast charged again, and I took another step backward, feeling my back bump up against a hard surface. Pushing off hard, my legs carried me high enough to grab a branch above my head, pulling myself to temporary safety.
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Beneath my feet, the creature gave a strange hiccuping growl, the noise grating and painful. The noise sounded almost...familiar? It took me a few seconds to realize why.
It was laughing.
Whatever this monster was, it had intelligence enough to take enjoyment from the hunt, the sort of pleasure no normal animal enjoyed. A wolf or bear did not savor the killing. They did so for survival and nothing else.
Before I could voice my suspicions about I fought, it jumped, crooked legs carrying it the ten feet up to me, where it snatched onto the branch. A crack came from the limb as it was weighed down beyond its capacity to support, and we both fell back down.
As we both fell, I saw my opportunity and reacted more on instinct than anything else. When we hit the ground, I activated my weapon's enchantment, shrinking it into dagger form. Landing on top of the monster in a heap, I lunged forward, the blade sinking deep into one socket.
Howling and shrieking, it thrashed, throwing me aside as it pawed at its face. Rolling along the ground, my shell flexed and groaned, cracks continuing to spread. I rose to my feet, funneling more energy into my spell, repairing some of the damage. I needed my defenses at full strength for what came next.
A clumsy hand grabbed the weapon embedded in its face, throwing it deep into the forest, and the monster turned back to me. That was all the warning I got before it howled, charging faster than ever before.
The first strike I dodged, and the second was deflected aside by my shell, but the third hit my chest like a battering ram. With a sound like shattering glass, my spell broke, and I flew back again, hitting the gravel and feeling my head spin. Fiery pain raged in my torso, and I struggled to breathe, feeling a massive hand wrap about my throat.
Lifting me up with one hand, it roared in my face, the smell of rot and decay filling my nose. I reached for my mana, but the pain in my chest and spinning of my head made it too difficult to focus.
With no other choice, my numb fingers grabbed at the dagger on my belt, half-hidden by my cloak. As darkness clouded my vision, I stabbed, the blue glow guiding my strike home.
The first shriek had been piercing and shrill, but this one sent goosebumps down my spine. It threw me again, pained spasms rendering it panicked, and I hit something hard on the ground, a wet crunch signaling a broken bone. By some miracle, I held onto the handle of the dagger, and I rose to my feet again.
Turning one way and the other, twin rivers of black blood ran down its monstrous face. Despite my injuries and although I was nearly out of mana, I took a steadying breath. All that I needed to do was fight smart, and victory would be mine.
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Standing a few feet away, the monster was covered in a hundred lacerations, staining the grass and dirt below a deep shade of black. After rendering it blind, I had focused on causing as many cuts as possible, hoping to bleed it to death. Unfortunately, this goal was easier said than done.
Even blinded, its other senses were impressive, and I suspected it could somehow perceive mana in others. I learned this the hard way when I had tried to sneak up on it from behind and slice off its head, and the beast spun, lashing out with one arm and catching me just above my left eye. Idly, I reached up, wiping away the blood that again clouded my vision.
Though it fared worse, it still had caught me a dozen times. My right arm had long since gone numb, and I suspected I had several broken ribs. Cuts covered any exposed skin on my body, and both my legs felt as if they would give out any minute.
My vision swam again, and I stumbled before catching myself, shaking my head to clear the stupor starting to settle over my thoughts. This monster might be close to death, but I was not far behind it. I had to finish this off, and now.
I had recovered just enough mana to try one final trick, which might be enough to finish this fight. Gathering my energy, I focused hard, preparing to cast a Flicker Step but not on my body. Instead, I concentrated on the image of my dagger, feeling the energy swirl around my hand.
Taking one final breath, I flexed my left arm and twisted, throwing the blade with what remained of my strength. The moment it left my hand, I released the spell, and it disappeared in a swirl of green. An instant later, it reappeared a foot behind the monster, momentum carrying it into the beast's back.
Without waiting to see its reaction, I charged, half running and half falling. The beast turned, roaring at an unseen enemy as I reached ten feet away. At five feet, it sensed my approach and spun back to face me. Within two feet, it lunged, maw opening and arms reaching out to grab me.
And I shoved one hand into its open jaw, mana gathered in my palm. Teeth sank into my arm, tearing through leather armor and slicing into flesh. I knew there were only seconds until those razor-sharp teeth broke through bone and severed my limb. With an incomprehensible yell, I released the energy, not focused in the form of a spell but just a brute force release of power.
The energy burst from my body and into its mouth, where it rebounded, seeking escape. Without anywhere to go, it bounced, shredding flesh and shattering bones. A sickening pop came, and its jaw released my arm as I stumbled back, falling to the ground again as it staggered back, clawing at its head.
For several seconds, the creature still stood, muscles tensed in a horrific imitation of life before relaxing. Falling back to the ground with a thud, a final shudder ran through its body before it fell still. I watched, heaving breaths running through my body as I waited for it to move.
Finally, when seconds had turned to minutes, and I had not seen the slightest hint of life, I left the tension leave my body. Laying back onto the ground, I took racking gasps that gradually turned to a laugh I might call hysterical.
I might be near-dead, out of mana, and stuck in a hostile forest at night, but I was alive. Now, all that was left to do was claim my prize.