The Dark Priest seemed in pain. Something Lodwin knew to be the case after such summonings. No matter the ability or health of the caller, something had to be given. Blood in most cases. As if to prove him right, the sorcerer moved into the moonlight and revealed multiple gashes on his pale arms, some of which still leaked thick blood.

“Easy prey”, Veduca breathed, almost inaudible.

But before she could move ahead and use one of her spells, Lodwin held her back. She looked at him disappointed, which he ignored. With a few sharp gestures, he made her understand, that he suspected someone else to be still around. Such people like the Dark Priest had proven more than enough in the past to work at least in tandem, as Lodwin knew from his past life.

“You’re right”, she voiced as silent as possible.

Even without there being another sorcerer, another shade might lurk within the shadows of the ruin. Careful and still crouched, Lodwin followed the line of young trees to keep cover. He knew what to do and how to achieve certain advantages in a fight against all kinds of magic wielders, but back then he hadn’t been alone. Back then he also hadn’t had the advantage of being immortal, still he wasn’t a big fan of the pain any wound entailed. Being unable to die means feeling the pain of being dismembered and butchered without death easing it — something he knew all too well.

Once Lodwin had rounded the ruin enough, he could see that there wasn’t another sorcerer, which confused him. This was uncalled-for and made his nerves stand on edge.

The sorcerer suddenly raised his arms as if to embrace the moon high above them. A heartbeat later, the form of the man crumbled like paper in a fist. Blood splashed onto the ground as something ripped from his back with elongated claws. At the same time, a demonic screech echoed through the ruins and the trees, causing all living things, who could, to flee in sheer terror. Even Lodwin felt his blood run cold upon hearing the scream, while memories of his torturous death surfaced like a flood, ready to drown him.

—

Veduca immediately recognised the mind terror on Lodwin and weaved her strongest spell, to keep him conscious. While he recovered remarkably fast, this spell had been enough to alert the demon of their presents. The monster was faster than the human eye could see and jumped at them, ripping the body of the sorcerer apart like an empty sack.

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“Lod!” Veduca shouted and erected a protective shield around their general area.

She felt the impact of the beast in her whole body and groaned. But the barrier held and bought Lodwin the time he needed to recover his wits. Without hesitation, he attacked the beast and managed to cut one of its arms off without much resistance.

As fast as Veduca could, she weaved more spells of protection around him and herself, which wasn’t easy due to Lodwin moving, but she had grown quite good at it already. At the same time she went through all the depictions and descriptions she knew about all kinds of demons, fiends, beast and monsters alike.

“It’s fast”, she observed tense, while Lodwin managed to stall it by moving in unpredictable patterns. “The head of a raven, the body of a wingless dragon… It sprung from the body of its summoner… Its call causes mental stress… It can be harmed by normal means and doesn’t regenerate.”

There were a few candidates she knew about, but all of them different from this creature at least in more than one aspect. Helpless, she could only think about the most general thing to dispose a monster like this.

“Behead it!” she shouted and used a spell to slow the thing down.

Lodwin spared an annoyed glance towards her before slashing at the beast. With a screech, it jumped backwards and lost its balance due to its missing leg. Using the opening, he aimed for the bristled neck, but at the last second, the creature jumped away. The blade just left a gash, causing the monster to become more aggressive.

—

The pain was flaring up like fire. Long elongated claws leaving gashes in his flesh. Hot blood seeping into his clothes, sticky to the touch with an intense coppery smell, clouding his mind.

Lodwin knew that, despite his curse, he could black out. If he wasn’t finishing this beast fast, it could dismember him fully, feasting on his flesh, and he would feel it. Every bit of it. Forever.

He parried the claws. He evaded the beak filled with sharp teeth. He slashed and cut, but got slower with every move. Blood-loss and fatigue caught up to him like skeletal claws, holding him down and dragging him inch by inch into the soft ground.

The beast also slowed down, but not fast enough. Its wounds, seeping blackish blood accompanied by a burning stench. Whatever it was, it was far from the things he had fought in his first life. It was feral but also cunning. It seemed like an animal, but its red glowing eyes showed malicious intelligence more akin to a true demon.

“Lodwin!” shouted Veduca, followed by a bright light.

Purely on instinct, he dropped onto the ground. A second later, the beast was struck by bluish lighting, which knocked it to the ground.

“Try again! I try to force it down long enough!” Veduca shouted, followed by a surge of magical energy.

Despite hating that he had to rely on magic to win this fight, he knew he needed the help to even have a chance. Lodwin mustered his entire strength and brought his sword down on the thick neck. The muscle there was like iron, but he was stronger and pushed through.

Tendons snapped.

Bones broke.

The beast let out a wail that sounded like a mourning woman, then it went limp.

Lodwin gasped for air and fell over. He had no strength left and remained where he hit the ground, right next to the monster.