Tessia & Cecilia: The Duality

6. Traitorous Friendship

Elijah Knight:

Dying shrieks filled the zone as one of my obsidian spikes jutted out of another hairy beast's thick torso, hoisting it in the air causing blood to ooze out from its protruding guts.

Turning my head around, I saw two crescent-shaped amethyst claws coming down for my neck. Out of thin air, I conjured a single black spike that pierced the shoulders of the snarler-like beast, plunging it onto the dead bodies lying on the ground.

Heaving in deep breaths, I let my arching arms fall limp as I glared at the artificial purple expanse above. 

My body feels incredibly cold and extremely warm at the same time. This might be the result of the ice-cold metal spears impaling my back from the last zone, or maybe it's because of the continuous outburst of warm blood from the gaping hole right below my lower ribs.

My body swayed from side to side, stumbling over the decapitated bodies as I turned around to face a shimmering white arch a few feet away from me.

I parted my lips to speak but choked on the blood gushing out of my throat. "...Ce...Cecili...ahg!" I managed to whisper in a raspy voice but shut my mouth close as the tissues around my wounds felt like they did tear apart. 

Cecilia...she might be there, just beyond that portal...

In the dim, haggard light, my vision shifted and refocused on another band of ravenous beasts, growling lowly while their purple eyes were dyed in an indelible terror for me. They had a physique of baby snarlers but were extremely quick and their sharp hook-like amethyst claws were sharper than any sword I had ever seen.

From over my drooping shoulder, I looked back at the direction I came from to witness the sheer amount of these beasts I've killed so far, yet here they are, alive, standing in my way again.

"Irksome pigs" I growled, gritting my teeth just when from the corner of my eyes, I spotted a dozen of these beasts charging at me. 

As I released soulfire to devour the three that were trying to sneak up from behind, several black spikes shot out from the ground and instantly eliminated five airborne snarlers.

The remaining four evaded my defenses and each lunged at my limbs, sinking their claws deep into my bursa and the calves.

Groaning weakly, I gathered mana to use soulfire as a black aura began to swirl in my arms. I grabbed the bony heads of the snarlers hanging from my shoulders and pulled them out rashly causing my muscles to peel off along with their claws.

"Aaah-!" I screamed, but my scream was cut short by a sudden spurt of blood that burst from the wound below my ribs. 

"Damn it!" I grunted as I tightened my grip around the two snarlers' heads and conjured the black spikes from the inside of my palm which shot out and penetrated their heads at odd angles causing their eyeballs to leap out of their socket.

These swine...

I dropped both of them and went to grab the snarlers clinging to my calves.

Keep getting in my way...

Suppressing my pain I held them by their necks and jerked them off my already brutalized legs.

No matter how many I kill...

I stretched my hand out and unleashed soulfire. The dark flames erupted and encircled their necks, burning out their throats, snatching their ability to scream and cry as they saw themselves being devoured by the hell's fire.