Everything was going according to Domison's plan. After his mad dash through the forest and between overrun buildings, the man finally found the child who he had heard screaming. It was a painfully thin young boy who didn't even look ten years old. With Domison's enhanced vision the wild shock of blonde hair made the boy stick out like a sore thumb between the viridian tree trunks. As soon as the boy noticed Domison, he began to frantically claw away at the tears rushing down his cheeks before swiping the back of a hand across his eyes. The relief that displayed upon the young boy's face when he recognized another person was palpable. He felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders and he raised a hand to wave the boy over, calling for him to hurry. Domison wanted nothing more than to rush forward the ten yards and snatch the boy up and put himself between the child and the monster he could hear making a rapid approach behind the child. He could hear Craig rushing through the forest several hundred feet away, however, and the man wanted to have a clear line of sight on the lumbering Urketh to wave him over, that way as soon as the boy got into range he could toss him to Craig. Then Domison would be able to face down the monster unrestrained.
The boy had cleared most of the way to Domison and the man could see Craig's bulky form crashing between the foliage to his right side. He waved a hand to the Urketh and turned back to the boy, getting ready to rush out and snatch him up now that he had been able to wave down Craig. As soon as he turned his head back, however, the scenery changed. There was now a massive creature blocking out the majority of the trees that had just been behind the boy moments ago. It was streaking forward with such speed that Domison only felt a terrible pang of sadness clench his heart at first, there was no way he would make it in time. This feeling only froze up his reaction for a split second, but it was just long enough to remove any chance of being able to reach the boy before the monster could.
With a swipe that seemed almost casual, the creature's foreleg blurred forward, splitting the air with razor claws, and splitting the child into pieces. The forward momentum created by his movement caused the broken pieces of his body to scatter throughout the small clearing and his head tumbled through the air, end over end, before rolling to a stop at Domison's feet. His vision began to tunnel and he sank into the moments between his heartbeats, time slowing to a crawl. None of this was fair, it never had been before but now people were being massacred in the streets. The man knew for a fact that none of the execupigs in the Aurora City State were dying in the streets, it was the urchins of the society that were left to be slaughtered. The ones deemed as just replaceable parts in an industrial machine. A frosty rage flooded through Domison, beginning at his navel and spreading its icy veins throughout the entirety of his body.
His eyes flashed up from the boy's head, finally getting a clear view of the monster who had so casually snuffed out this child's life. The creature towers over him, standing on four legs that resemble tree trunks, each as thick as a man's torso. Its fur is coarse and matted, black as midnight with streaks of blood-red running through it. Its eyes glow like molten gold, and its breath reeks of death and decay. Enormous claws, each as long as a dagger, jut out from its massive paws.
As it moves, the ground trembles under its weight, and Domison can feel its guttural growls vibrate through his chest. Its body is heavily muscled, with sinews and veins bulging under the skin. Its chest is broad and imposing, and its forelegs look capable of crushing boulders with ease. A massive head rests atop the monster's broad shoulders, with a snout that resembles that of a bear, but with sharper, longer teeth that gleam in the darkness. Its jaws look like they can snap a man's neck in a single bite and above its snout two curved horns jut out from its skull, like the antlers of a demonic deer. This monstrous creature is a true nightmare, and its presence alone would be enough to strike fear into the hearts of even the bravest peacekeeper.
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A rough, purple tongue ran across its razor-sharp claws as it stared the furious man down. It was only a heartbeat before the animalistic rage building inside Domison exploded outwards. Light started to bend around his form as the clearing started to darken and the man flickered forwards. His sword of absolute darkness ripped through the air towards the beast's meaty neck as a snarl split Domison's face. Even though the air screamed around his blade and he exerted his full force, when his sword came into contact with its neck it only bounced off.
Before Domison even had the chance to express his surprise, a heavy paw slapped into his torso from his right side. He could feel his organs compressing as the whole right side of his body started to bend around the heavy blow. He was suspended in mid-air for a split second before his body was sent flying half a dozen yards into the stout roots of the nearest tree, where he bounced off and into the facade of a building, cracking the surface, before coming to a crash on the cracked sidewalk. Domison rolled to his hands and knees, gasping for a few moments before a wheeze of breath finally entered his lungs. He gulped the air in greedily and rubbed at his right shoulder while he stumbled to his feet before he pushed his back up against the building he had impacted.
The monster took the initiative this time, rushing forwards and Domison barely had time to resummon his sword and flicker to the left. His evasive maneuver barely put him out of the path of the monster, causing the huge creature to rush headlong into the building behind him, bladed paw barreling through one of the walls as it crashed to a halt. Before it had the time to extricate itself from the wall, Domison pulled a stream of energy from the core at his navel and sent it towards his sword. It took a fraction of a second to circulate through the Abyssal blade and black energy flowed along its edges.
The moment the monster had pulled its entrapped forepaw out of the facade of the building, Domison struck. This time, instead of slashing, he plunged the power-infused blade toward a massive, matted fur-covered ribcage. His blade buried itself up to the hilt, splitting through the fur that was matted so tightly it had turned away his blade before and rending muscle apart as it slipped between heavy rib bones. The roar that tore through the air was deafening and even though it was not a mortal blow, at least he knew he could harm the beast.
Before Domison even had the chance to relish the wound he had created, its body shifted and the hilt of his sword was ripped out of his hands. A massive shoulder slammed through Domison's chest and he heard an audible crack as his ribcage shattered upon the impact, he was sent tumbling back through the air and smashed into another tree. This time the impact shattered the bark along the trunk and caused the massive tree to crash down, narrowly avoiding crushing the man who had brought it low. Gritting his teeth against the pain caused by loose and shifting ribs, the man stood once again and brandished his freshly summoned sword, a slight tremble running along its length. The behemoth was tearing towards him, murder burning in its eyes and Domison gathered his resolve, ready to kill this monster no matter the cost. Moments before they clashed once again, Domison thought he heard Craig's voice cry out. All he heard was "Area Boss-" before his blade plunged into one of the burning golden orbs and felt razor-sharp claws separate the flesh across his entire torso, tearing through so quickly that it didn't even send his body flying.
Luckily a thick green fist grasped upon the collar of Domison's jacket a heartbeat before they made contact and ripped him backward. This caused the wound that sprang up on Domison's already bruised mottled ribcage to be slightly shallower. Unfortunately, it also stopped the man's blade from piercing through the back of the beast's orbital and entering its brain. The man's consciousness came in jumps and starts after that point, as blood gushed from the wounds along his chest. Every few minutes he would wake in a coughing fit, bloody phlegm splattering along Craig's back as they bounded through the forest. Eventually, the man's broken body required a more immediate and intensive repair, and his consciousness slipped entirely. A dark glow began to surround the man's form as his body went into overdrive, the black heart connecting to his core thumping with such a force it could be heard even by the massive Urketh carrying him. A deep and rumbling growl followed their escape and could be heard almost the entire way back to the edge of the forest.