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.
Kelly didn't even realize when it closed the distance. One moment it was there, and the next, claws were tearing toward his chest, aimed straight at his heart, intending to end his life in a single strike. But just as the claws were about to pierce him. The beast stopped.
'Good job Crow…'
Realizing that Crow had intervened with his skill, Kelly shook off the chill of near death and seized the opportunity. Pouring all his remaining strength into the moment, he lunged forward, his knife flashing toward the beast's neck. Only for the creature to jolt awake just as the blade came within inches of its throat.
'Too fast, it's not even been ten seconds yet…still enough…'
Kelly thought he had it—but once again, he was left dumbfounded. His knife failed to pierce the beast's hide, stopping short as if he had attacked it with nothing more than a needle, the blade barely embedding itself into its flesh. There was no time to think. Kelly immediately followed up with his other hand, striking toward the beast's face. Instead, to his shock, the creature twisted mid-motion, performing a fluid somersault in place. In one smooth movement, it shook off the hand gripping the knife, then caught Kelly's attacking arm with its own clawed hand and twisted it violently.
"AHHHHHHHH!"
Kelly screamed as agony tore through his arm. He could feel his bones grinding under the pressure, the beast's claws digging deep into his knuckles as if they were about to crush them outright. With its free claw, the creature moved in again, aiming for a final killing blow. Just then, Crow dove in.
Using all his remaining mana, Crow activated his skill once more, halting the attack at the last second. His talons raked across the beast's face, tearing into one of its eyes. Seeing the opening, Kelly acted purely on instinct. There was only one place he could strike that would guarantee pain. He slammed his knee hard into the beast's testicular area while simultaneously summoning his lightning magic. With his broken hand still trapped in the creature's grip, he channelled the electricity directly into it at point-blank range. Even without proper training, at this distance it was no different from touching a live electrical pole. And it worked.
Attacked from three directions at once, the searing pain of its ruined eye, the unbearable agony from below, and the violent surge of lightning that even its thick fur couldn't insulate against, the beast convulsed. Electricity fried through its body, forcing a roar of rage and pain from its throat. Kelly felt a grim satisfaction. The attack had worked better than he'd expected.
Realization struck him immediately, the beast's defence had a weakness, Lightning. Ignoring the screaming pain in his arm, Kelly tore his hand free from the beast's grip, seized his knife once more, and smirked. Pouring everything he had left into a single motion, he moved to finish it.
'Now die for fuck's sake…'
The beast, sensing its impending doom and consumed by rage at the audacity of what it considered mere preys, felt pain searing through its body. Summoning every ounce of its strength, it unleashed its skill with a roar that shook the very air.
"HOWLLLLLL…!"
Kelly and Crow were blasted backward by the force of the howl. Pain exploded through Kelly's head as his eardrums ruptured, warm blood seeping from his ears as his body was hurled across the ground. He crashed hard, breath knocked from his lungs.
Gasping, Kelly tried to push himself up, but the headache that followed was unlike anything he had ever felt. It was as if his skull were splitting apart from the inside. His vision swam as he forced himself to look up.
The beast stood there, motionless, staring straight at him. A short distance away, Kelly spotted Crow lying still, seemingly unconscious and directly in the beast's path. Panic surged through him as he tried to summon Crow back, but without the summons consent, the connection refused to respond.
Slowly, deliberately, the beast took a step forward. Before, it had fought like a predator precise, efficient, focused on killing its prey quickly. Now, battered and enraged, it moved differently. There was no more strategy left in its movements, no calculated strikes of a predator only a desire to inflict pain. Kelly could see it clearly in those bloodthirsty eyes.
If he didn't think of something soon, he would learn firsthand what it meant to anger a monster like this.
"Crow, wake up…come back…please"