by T. Sae-Low
The beast lunged forward, clawing at Gama’s head. Gama raised his axe into the air, ready to swing, but before he could, Ripper collided with the beast in midair. She bit deep into the beast’s neck, tearing at its flesh, reluctant to let go. They crashed into the wall, kicking up a cloud of dirt into the air around them. The two of them disappeared into the cloud of dust. Raden and Gama watched for any signs of movement. That’s when Ripper came flying out of the smoke. As nimble as ever, she landed against the wall with all four legs, ricocheting her body right back at the beast. This time, the beast was ready. It grabbed Ripper by the leg and threw her into Gama, knocking them both to the ground.
The beast directed its attention to Raden now. Never hesitant to engage in combat, it charged directly at him. Raden had both of his hands gripped tightly around his sword. He watched the movement of the beast, trying to predict where it was going to be next. The beast threw its arms forward, and Raden instinctively reacted. His sword cut deep into the beast’s forearm, causing it to let out a powerful cry of pain. With its free arm, it punched Raden violently in his chest, his entire body recoiling off the wall behind him.
Gama made his next move, but the beast was too quick for him. It pulled Raden’s sword out of its arm and sent it flying in Gama’s direction. Gama knocked the sword out of the air at the last second with his axe, sending the sword bouncing off in Raden’s vicinity. Gama swung low at the beast’s feet this time. It jumped into the air to dodge the attack. Always the resourceful duo, Ripper came flying out from behind Gama and caught the beast by its wounded arm. The beast howled in pain, but before it could grab Ripper again, Ripper released her grip, jumped back to Gama, and reset for the next attack.
Gama swung at its head this time, trying to go for the finishing blow. The beast ducked low, spun, and grabbed Gama by his leg, swinging him around before releasing him. Gama went flying across the pit, crashing loudly into the wall. Pain shot down his back as he collided into the heavy rock. The beast, preoccupied with Gama, did not notice Raden sneaking up behind it. Raden leapt onto its back, driving his sword deep into its neck. He let go, and watched the beast holler out in pain, but this time its reaction was unexpected.
The air began to shift in the pit. Dirt swirled counterclockwise around the beast, its skin now glowing a brighter blue than before. The atmosphere grew heavy; the weight of the force pushed down on the three of them as they struggled to stand. Not only that, but they could feel the gravitational pull of the beast as the air swirled faster and faster around it. Ripper was the first victim. The beast pulled at her. Ripper fought as hard as she could. She clung to the wall with her claws fully embedded, but it wasn’t enough. With a flick of the beast’s wrist, Ripper flew through the air and the beast hit her across the jaw with a powerful uppercut. Ripper was unconscious before she hit the floor.
“Ripper!” Gama called out. But his instinctual reaction only served to attract the beast’s attention. It drew Gama in next. Gama tried a last-ditch attack, swinging his axe wildly, hoping for it to somehow connect and end this madness. It didn’t work. The beast caught the axe in its hand. It twisted Gama’s arm, forcing him to drop the weapon. With his arm tucked behind his back, the beast cranked it all the way out, snapping Gama’s arm in two. It flung his broken body into the corner of the pit.
Kara couldn’t take it anymore. She cried uncontrollably, watching her comrades fall one by one to the power of the Candidate. But it was knowing that Raden was the only one remaining that seemed to break her spirit completely. The beast motioned for Raden to approach. Raden tried to resist, but soon found himself being sucked in towards the monster. The beast grabbed Raden by the head, its single hand palming him, squeezing tightly. Raden struggled to fight the vice grip, offering very little resistance. Kara’s heart began to sink. Was she going to stand by while Raden, the one man she loved, was being crushed to death before her? Was there anything in her power that she could do to prevent this? She had always been a fighter. Why did she suddenly decide to quit, when her friends, and Raden needed her the most?
No, I will not watch you kill him! Kara broke free of the guards detaining her. She kicked the guard in between the legs. With her hands cuffed together, she wrapped the chain around his neck, and tossed him over her head into another guard. A third guard swung at her. Kara used the opportunity to her advantage. The sword sliced through the chains, giving her back the use of her arms. She roundhouse kicked the sword out of his hands, plucking it out of the air, and jumped into the pit. Brontes stopped the guards from pursuit, watching with curiosity at how things would unfold.
Kara landed atop the beast’s back. She wrapped her legs around its neck, squeezing tightly while she thrust the sword into its left eye. The beast immediately let go of Raden, and its gravitational power began to dissipate. The beast reached for Kara, but she jumped out of the way, making her way towards Raden.
“Are you ok?” She grabbed a hold of his head tenderly.
“Yeah, I think I’m ok. That thing… its strength… incredible.”
“It is, but I just took out one of its eyes. I don’t know if we can kill it, but we now know we can blind it.”
Brontes watched as the beast flailed wildly about the pit. Unable to control the pain, it lashed out at invisible foes. The sight of such power acting so foolishly embarrassed him.
“Calm yourself!” he shouted. “The loss of an eye means nothing to you. You possess a power strong enough to destroy legions of soldiers! Refocus yourself!” The beast didn’t seem to hear any of the words. Brontes had to do something quickly. With his presence, he reached out to the beast, touching its mind. All the anger and pain began to subside as Brontes forcefully calmed the beast down.
“Now finish what you started. Kill him!”
The beast however, wanting revenge, darted towards Kara, knocking the sword out of her hand, grabbing her throat and driving her into the wall.
“KARA!” Raden picked up her fallen sword, and with a blade in each hand he drove them both into the beast’s ribcage. It roared loudly in pain, buckling its knees slightly.
“RELEASE HER!” But the beast did not. It struck Raden across the face, sending him flying backwards. Raden tried to get back to his feet, but something was wrong. The pain seared him like a hot coal. His left eye wouldn’t open. He reached for his face, and he could feel the blood gushing down it. The left side of his face was a mess. The gash seemed to run from above his eye, down across to his cheek. His other eye, soaked in tears from the pain, blurred his only available vision. He blinked multiple times, trying to clear his eyesight. He could see Gama and Ripper unconscious on the other side of the pit. He heard Kara’s cries for help nearby. He focused in and watched as the beast lifted her by the neck into the air. He had been in her position just moments ago before she saved him. Now it was his time to return the favor. He forced himself up to his feet and gripped the sword in his hand tightly. The weight of the steel felt like stone in his weakened state. With all the strength he had remaining, he raised his sword and charged.
The beast watched Raden curiously. A disjointed rumbling emanated from deep within it, mocking Raden for his feeble attempt at heroics. With his vision limited, Raden had trouble gauging the beast’s distance from him, his depth perception completely skewed. Acting on instinct and adrenaline, Raden threw himself at the beast. Believing he was in striking distance now, he reached back, ready to strike it down… when the unexpected happened. The beast’s lightning blue skin began to change. Symbols of the Ancients appeared across its body, emerging into focus, bright and iridescent. The sight of the symbols caught Raden off guard; he hesitated slightly in his attack. The beast seized the opportunity and kicked Raden ferociously in the chest; sending him flying back across the pit, blood spewing out of his mouth.
As Raden lay there, choking on his blood, the pain in his chest making it difficult to breathe, the world began to spin, and vertigo began to set in. He tried once more to get up, but the ground seeme
d to slip out from beneath him.
“Raden… help me…” Her muffled cries for help called out to him, urging him on.
“I’m coming, Kara…” But his body was failing him.
Brontes shouted down from above the pit. “She’s had enough! Let her go!” The beast appeared to relent. It slowly lowered Kara… but then it stopped. It stared up at Brontes questioningly. It looked back at Kara, as if it somehow knew there was a connection between the two. In that moment, time seemed to stop completely for Raden. He watched helplessly as the beast tightened its grip around Kara’s neck. Brontes screamed out for it to stop again, trying to force it to let go, but it was too late. The beast smashed Kara’s head into the ground. The earth buckled beneath the weight of the force.
“Kara…” Raden whispered. Her name, barely audible as it fell off his lips. Before the world closed in around him, and everything went dark, the last image he saw of her would haunt him forever. Her eyes opened but empty, lifeless, staring back at him, still calling for help. But it was too late. Kara was dead.
Chapter 33