Roar!
The roar cracked through the valley like thunder shattering stone. It was low, guttural, and unnatural, like a wolf being strangled by a man, or perhaps the other way around.
The sky dimmed, the wind hushed, and even the corpses littering the hideout seemed to shrink into themselves.
From the mouth of the canyon, where sun met shadow, the Fallen appeared.
It stood tall, easily seven feet, its hunched back bulging with twisted muscle.
Coarse fur sprouted in irregular patches across its body, thickest at the shoulders and neck like a beast's mane.
Its face, a grotesque blend of human and wolf, twitched with erratic spasms, the skin pulled too tight across bone.
Two blood-red eyes burned in its sockets, glowing with hunger and madness.
Its arms were too long, knuckles dragging across the ground, and in its clawed hands, it held what looked like a bent iron spear—bent, no doubt, from sheer force alone.
Its chest, though vaguely human, was ripped open in a Y-shaped scar, where black essence writhed like liquid smoke. It was horrifying. It was monstrous. And worst of all, when it moved, it was fast!
Swoosh!
Kael's face stayed calm and stone cold even in the face of death. Panic, fear, or surrender had no room in his mind. Instead, it ticked like a war machine, gears grinding for a path forward.
This thing was stronger than them. Not just a little stronger. A lot.
It was a Second Gate Fallen, and while it hadn't reached the level of destroying mountains with a swipe or flying into the heavens, it could tear through most human warriors like paper.
Kael couldn't fight it head-on. He didn't even have a single Gate unlocked. And even Helga, the iron-willed, blood-soaked gladiatrix who could rip men apart with her bare hands, stood no chance in a straight duel.
But this wasn't a fair duel. And Kael didn't believe in fair.
Helga moved first.
The ground exploded beneath her boots as she dashed forward with a speed that shattered air, her dagger flashing like silver lightning.
She aimed straight for its throat, a clean kill. But the Fallen was already gone.
Clang!
A blur of fur and claws met her blade mid-air. The creature twisted unnaturally, its joints cracking the wrong way as it ducked beneath her slash and drove an elbow into her ribs.
Bam!
Bones creaked. Helga grunted and flipped mid-air, rebounding off a broken pillar.
Kael narrowed his eyes. "Not bad," he muttered from the side, already moving into place.
While Helga kept the fallen distracted, he moved to complete the remaining part of the blood formation as quickly as could.
It was their only hope!
Helga lunged again. This time, her dagger came in low.
The Fallen blocked with its arm, letting the blade bite in, but no blood spilled. Its skin had hardened like rock.
Then with a shriek, it swung its claw like a hammer. Helga dodged, but not fast enough. The edge clipped her shoulder and sent her flying through a half-destroyed shack.
Bam!
Kael dashed forward, seizing the distraction. He couldn't afford to let Helga die no matter what!
"Hey, overgrown puppy!" he shouted, pelting a heavy chunk of stone at the Fallen's face.
The beast turned, more annoyed than hurt, but Kael was already circling around, laying small blood glyphs with crimson ink hidden in the mud—one stroke at a time, as fast as he could while avoiding death.
He used to be a low ranking gang member before, this kind of annoying slipperiness during intense battles was their specialty!
He was a pro at this!
The Fallen turned back to Helga, who burst out of the rubble with a roar of her own, blood streaking down her arm.
She twisted her dagger in a whirlwind pattern, creating a ring of force that slowed the beast's next lunge.
Shing!
Her arms began to glow with the same blue pattern it had glowed during their earlier scuffle and her powers surged.
But the fallen easily pushed through. Its claws scraped her weapon, then lunged past her guard to rake her leg open.
Helga fell to one knee. She was open to an attack!
Like a pest, Kael seized the opening and came back once again, sprinting in and hurling a broken spear at the Fallen's exposed back.
It was definitely not to kill it, but to make it turn. And it did. That moment of distraction was all Helga needed to rise and bring the butt of her dagger crashing into its jaw.
Crack!
The crunch was sickening.
The Fallen staggered, but only for a second. Its mouth opened unnaturally wide, and it let out a sonic howl that hit like a physical blow.
Howl!
Both Helga and Kael winced, blood trickling from their ears. The creature surged forward, slamming its shoulder into Helga and sending her flying again.
Kael's mind raced. 'It's smarter than it looks. And strong. Too strong!' He couldn't win in a clash of force no matter what he did.
But he didn't need to.
Kael rolled behind a corpse, smearing more blood onto the formation lines he'd secretly laid while distracting the beast.
The formation was almost complete. Just a little more. "Helga! Keep it near the crevice!" he shouted.
Helga groaned, but stood. Her legs trembled. Her dagger was cracked. But she smiled like a demon. "Gladly."
The Fallen rushed her again, sensing weakness. Helga swung wide—too wide. It was a feint.
The creature ducked, and caught a face full of broken wood as Kael kicked over a splintered beam from behind.
Disoriented, it staggered backwards, and Helga's knee drove into its gut with a meaty thud.
She tried to follow up, but it caught her by the throat and slammed her into the ground.
Bam!
Kael grabbed a flaming torch, lit from nearby flames, and hurled it onto the blood glyphs. The moment the flames entered the formation, it flared crimson.
The formation pulsed once, sensing the presence of blood and essence. It had been activated!
"Huh?"
The Fallen paused. Its eyes narrowed. It felt the danger drastically surge behind it.
It turned, slowly, sensing a trap. Its nostrils flared. And then, it ran.
Straight in the opposite direction!
Kael cursed. "Oh no you don't." He sprinted at the creature, waving his arms and throwing rocks, sticks, anything he could grab.
"Hey, freak! This is your destiny! Get back here!"
Helga, gasping on the ground, saw the creature leap past her. Her eyes widened.
Kael looked to her and nodded once.
Helga launched herself from the ground in a desperate, lunging leap.
Her dagger slammed into the Fallen's back—not to hurt, but to launch it. She drove all her remaining strength into the swing.
The Fallen went airborne, limbs flailing, flying directly toward the glowing, waiting trap. It flew past the triumphant Kael, its huge body moving past him like a comet of death.
And then—
Its claw shot out midair and grabbed Kael's arm. It was too fast to react to!
Kael's eyes widened.
"You. Have. Got. To be—" he didn't finish.
The world slowed as the monster dragged him through the air, toward the deadly formation meant to trap and kill only it.
Helga screamed.
Kael's mind raced.
To be continued…