After what felt like an eternity, Kelly finally opened his eyes to that mesmerizing sight once more. This time, he took his time, slowly taking in the alien landscape around him. The sky shimmered with flowing bands of blue and violet light, casting long, distorted shadows across the barren ground. At the far end, where the river originated, he spotted a towering waterfall cascading down from an unseen height, its mist glowing faintly under the aurora-like sky. Realizing this was where they had fallen from, he understood immediately, the sheer height made climbing back impossible, like an enormous wall blocking their path. This was the end of the river's course. The only option left was to move forward.
'The last thing I remember… that voice. The first phase of the Trial…So this has to be a dungeon…but how did we even get here… Is this still the same dungeon Or somewhere deeper… somewhere hidden…Then how did no one know about this…even in the library there were No records, no warnings, nothing…And those things the voice said… the Trial, the conditions, termination…just what the hell is going on around us?'
Kelly was confused no, to be honest, that was an understatement. He had no idea what was going on at all. Any normal person would have been terrified when faced with so many unknowns, and here, everything around him was an unknown variable. The fact that Kelly was still maintaining his sanity at all was remarkable. At last, his gaze settled on the figure sleeping beside him. She looked almost too comfortable, a faint frown resting on her face even in sleep however her complexion was slowly returning to normal and the wound that would have taken days to heal was also curing fast, the bleeding almost being stopped, wonders of mana Kelly thought but still Seeing that carefree look on her face, Kelly's lips twitched slightly in amusement as a thought crossed his mind.
'How lucky… sleeping through all of it... Not knowing, not realizing the mess we're in…Maybe some people really are right, ignorance truly is bliss…I wonder how she'll react when I tell her everything…I bet she would…'
Kelly instinctively threw himself between Kei and the creature as it lunged straight for her throat.
"Aaaa…fuck… Crow!"
He shouted as he grabbed Kei, rolling away from their position before springing back to his feet, putting distance between them and the beast. The beast attention shifted instantly, locking onto the new foe now flying before it. Kelly carefully laid Kei down on the ground before turning back to face the monster that had attacked them.
To protect Kei, he had stepped in at the very last moment. The beast had already been mid-strike, its claws meant to end her life in a single slash to the throat. Even it hadn't expected its ambush to meet resistance. Its claws tore deeply into Kelly's back instead, raking flesh meant for her.
From the reflection in the river, Kelly had seen the attack coming just in time. Still, the sheer force carved a chunk of meat from his back. Pain exploded through him, a burning sensation spreading as blood flowed freely down his body. He knew, without a doubt, that attack would have killed Kei instantly. Dying without even knowing what happened… that thought ignited a deep, seething anger within him.
"Like hell I'd let you kill her," Kelly snarled, eyes burning. "After everything I went through to save her, you ugly mutt."
"Grahhhhh…"
Kelly stared down the beast, and the beast stared back with equal vigilance. At first glance, it resembled a wolf, but instead of moving on four legs, it stood upright on two. It was only slightly shorter than Kelly himself, its body covered in white fur, and its blue eyes burned with raw hunger as they locked onto him.
The only reason it hadn't attacked again was Crow's sudden appearance, which had clearly caught it off guard. The hesitation lasted only a moment. With a roar, once again the creature lowered its stance and got into its attacking position, one leg sliding back as muscle coiled, building momentum for a forward leap. Kelly reacted instantly, he reached for his belt and drew the one knife he still had its twin lost somewhere in the chaos he'd endured so far.
The beast lunged at Kelly. In response, Kelly charged forward as well, knife held out in front of him, intending to meet it head on. He firmly believed that offense was the best defence. However, reality shattered that expectation.
The beast closed the distance far faster than he anticipated, before Kelly had even covered twenty meters. He barely managed to raise his knife in time to block as razor-sharp claws slammed into him. The impact sent violent vibrations through the blade and straight into his arms, numbing them instantly as pain shot up to his shoulders. The sheer force of the clash threw him backward. Kelly scrambled desperately to regain his balance, muscles screaming in protest, barely managing to control his momentum, one misstep, and he would have fallen flat on his back, completely defenceless before the beast.
'So strong… it's giving me the same feeling as those knight squires we fought. Not as powerful…but still completely out of my league... At least level twenty-five, maybe higher. Even with Crow… there's no way I can kill it. And with that speed, running is pointless too…We're so fucked…If Kei were awake, maybe we'd have a chance… but now… What do I do…Think, Kelly…Think'
That single clash made it clear, to Kelly, and even more so to the beast, that he was no match for it. Its strength and speed were far beyond anything Kelly could hope to deal with right now. Kelly had given everything he had in that exchange, while the beast had merely been testing the waters. And even then, Kelly had been sent flying. Realizing there was no way out except to fight, Kelly desperately began searching for any opening any method that might give him a chance at victory. However, there were none he could exploit. The beast, however, had no such patience. It attacked again, this time without restraint.