NOVEL WEB Chapter 6: Savior
Sezel's ragged breath steadied for a fleeting moment, But relaxation was a illusion in this situation. The night crawler he had bumped into was not in the mood to give him any time to rest.
The beast roared, maybe it was just foolish to make his prey alert or confident enough that the prey was not going to escape no matter how hard it tried.
The sound chilled Sezel's blood, his body rigid as he realized, with creeping dread, that he'd been leaning against a spirit beast.
He twisted his neck, heart lurching. The Night Crawler's maw gaped, its tongue flickering between its sharp pointy teeth. Sezel instinctively scrambling on hands and knees, clawed away from the heinous beast, 'Why can't anything good happen to me?' he sneered inwards. The slums had taught him to endure, to wrest survival from despair's jaws, but this realm tested even his hard-won resilience.
He staggered to his feet, shoving forward, his dislocated arm dangling like a broken marionette. But the beast pursued with relentless hunger, Sezel picked up a broken branch from under a tree and abruptly turning around he threw it in the direction of the five crawlers who were feasting on Beardy's remains.
He expected the Night Crawler behind him to follow the stick but the plan failed spectacularly, the beast just stopped for a second, its crimson gaze flicking toward the sound, but soon determined that it was not more worthy than the thin flesh running in front of it.
'You gotta be kidding me, why the hell is this thing still following me?'
Sezel ran away from the beast for some time, around the same place, but the night crawler was faster than him and quickly covered the distance between, it was as if the beast had infinite stamina and on the other side Sezel was completely exhausted, his earlier attempts to save Rilli and running around had drained him.
It was worse than any other from the group as Sezel hadn't eaten in three days, at this point he was standing at the edge.
Gasping for air, he didn't stop, each gasp a knife in his chest, he tried his best but fate, ever cruel, betrayed him, his tired leg stumbled upon a root from the nearby tree, he fell face first with a echoing thud.
The earth unyielding beneath him. He clawed to rise, but his muscles, frail as whispers, betrayed him. Rolling onto his back, he faced the advancing beast, death's shadow looming closer.
"Is this my end? To perish in this place without anything?" His gaze darted, seeking the others. Rilli was absent from his blurred vision—dead, hidden, or beyond his sight. The leader clung to his precarious perch atop a trembling tree, its bark splintering under the relentless claws of two Night Crawlers. Arty sprawled on the ground, his blade a fragile barrier against a beast's snapping jaws, his face a mask of desperation as he fought to hold death at bay.
Beardy's corpse lay exposed in the violet glow, Sezel could see the mangled body now, chewed and shredded completely, his big body now laid in a pool of crimson blood, just a piece of flesh for the spirit beasts to enjoy. Where is his strength now? did it help him keep alive? Guilt flickered, unbidden, for the relief that stirred within him—another's death had bought him moments, however fleeting.
Sezel's thoughts were chaotic, he was about to die or at least that was what the beast wanted. Sezel looked straight now, at the beast. Its read eyes lingered with hunger, the amalgamate of blood and saliva dropping from his mouth.
Sezel gulped hard, it was the moment of truth, he was on the edge but yet his mind refused to give up, his hands groped blindly, driven by instinct, and by a twist of fortune, his fingers brushed against a cold, familiar weight—Rilli's discarded dagger, its blade a faint glimmer of hope in the gloom.
He clutched it hard and waited. Every moment felt like an eternity, the beast roared once announcing its victory then widened its maw, aiming its jagged teeth at Sezel, without further delay it moved.
SLASH!
At the final heartbeat, Sezel drove the dagger into the beast's flickering tongue, severing it, half of the tongue dropped on the side, black colored blood gushing out as it screamed in pain, the creature's anguished bellow tore through the lifeless forest, The other Night Crawlers turned, their crimson gazes locking onto their wounded comrade, a fleeting pause in their relentless assault. Sezel seized the moment, striking again, aiming for a forelimb, but the blade recoiled against the impervious hide, his frail strength futile against its unnatural resilience.
It was useless, he realized. 'Shit i am dead.' Spirit beasts could only be killed by using spirit energy, that was the primary reason why even though they had two awakened in their group they couldn't hope to win, because a level 1 awakened can only use spirit energy inside of his body to enhance it, and not exclude it out.
The Spirit beast turned towards Sezel once again, its red eyes now burning with something close to rage or anger, Sezel's breath hitched under the cruel gaze. He lid his eyes shut bracing his fate that he can't get out of the situation,
"Please someone help." though he hated it he couldn't help himself asking for help in the face of death.
The next moment instead of the teeth piercing through his flesh, he felt a jet a hot liquid splattering on his face and all over his body, A heavy thud resounded beside his ear, shaking the earth. "What…?" He forced his eyes open, vision blurred by the sting of black blood. The Night Crawler's severed head lay beside him, its crimson eyes dimmed, its headless body slumped in a lifeless heap, the forest's silence swallowing its final roar.
Wiping the blood from his face, he strained to glimpse his savior, heart pounding with questions that clawed at his mind. "Who… who spared me from this nightmare?" The violet glow of Spirit Essence flickered.