"Crow, wake up…come back…please"
Kelly desperately pleaded with his summon as the beast crept getting closer to Crow. His calls vanished into nothingness. Crow lay completely motionless, blood seeping from its eyes and ears, far beyond any state to hear or respond.
Still, Kelly tried, He forced himself to stand, drawing on every last shred of strength he had but the aftermath of the howl made it nearly impossible. His shattered eardrums left the world spinning, his balance unstable. The broken arm and the deep claw marks across his back drained what little energy he had left with every second. He stumbled, fell, and struggled again, watching helplessly as the beast closed the final distance.
Just inches away from Crow, it stopped. The creature turned its head slowly and looked at Kelly. For a moment, Kelly could have sworn it smirked, an unmistakably cruel expression flashing on its face. Then, lifting one leg deliberately, the beast brought it down without mercy, smashing Crow's body into the ground.
"NOOOOOO CROWWWW!!!"
Kelly screamed, his voice cracking with pure helplessness but it didn't stop. Repeatedly, the beast brought its foot down, each strike heavier than the last. Feathers snapped and scattered, white plumage quickly soaked and stained red. Through their connection, Kelly could feel it, the excruciating pain Crow was going through he was barely holding on, standing on its last leg.
And yet Kelly could do nothing but watch. He watched stupidly, his mind going completely blank. The rage, the frustration, the despair, all of it drained away, leaving behind nothing but emptiness. On his knees, he stared without emotion as his summon was finally crushed into the ground, its broken body lying still before him, still breathing.
Kelly didn't understand what was happening. It felt as though a part of him was slowly dying away, yet he failed to even register the danger he was still in. Memories surfaced against his will the day he lost his grandfather, that moment replaying again in his mind. It was as if he had been severed from reality itself, trapped in that painful recollection.
Seeing Kelly's broken, vacant expression, the beast seemed satisfied. It casually kicked Crow's battered body aside, as if discarding something no longer worth its attention. Its true target was still right in front of it helpless, just as it had always been.
The beast continued its slow advance and soon stood right before Kelly. Once again, it lashed out with its claws, aiming to pierce his body. This time, however, it didn't go for a killing blow. Savouring the moment, the beast targeted the arm it had already broken, intent on drawing out his suffering. Yet, just as its claws were about to strike, the beast froze. Its attack had been stopped. Kelly's other hand had caught its wrist midair.
The beast stared in surprise. Kelly's face was still blank, lifeless, as if he wasn't even aware of what he was doing. That vacant expression only irritated the creature further. Letting out a low growl, it tried to shake free from Kelly's grip, putting more strength into pulling its arm away however…
"Lightning"
Kelly muttered, lightning surging from his broken arm and flooding straight into the beast's body. The moment the current struck, the beast convulsed violently, letting out a howl as it tried to leap backward, desperate to escape the range of the magic. Kelly muttered once more, his voice low and flat.
"Soullid."
If Kelly had been fully aware, he would have noticed it, how the skill, one that shouldn't have even grazed a beast of this level, was performing far beyond its supposed limits. It didn't merely restrain the beast, it locked it in place, rendering it completely helpless against his lightning.
Slowly, Kelly raised his head, He looked at the beast with the same blank, emotionless expression, then his lips twitched into a faint smirk as he spoke softly,
"Oh… this is going to hurt… A lot."
With that said, Kelly pulled out his knife and slashed deep into the inner thigh of the beast.
"GRAHAHHHH!"
The beast screamed in a pain it had never felt before. The agony jolted its body enough to tear it free from Kelly's skill range, and in blind fury it lunged forward again. But the result was the same.
"Soullid."
Kelly muttered again, still unaware that the skill had evolved from its previous, almost laughable form into something truly dangerous or perhaps it was simply returning to what it was always meant to be. He felt a quiet burning sensation, unlike anything before. It wasn't coming from his body. If he were even slightly aware, he would have realized it was emanating from his soul itself. The skill once deemed worthless was finally revealing its true nature, still waiting all along for the final trigger that would once again divert the fate of both Kelly and Kei.
The beast, unable to move, could only growl in fury, that sound the sole outlet for its rage. Kelly didn't care, once more, he muttered.
"Lightning"
And slashed at the elbow of the beast with his knife, guided by that quiet surge of strength he could feel. Exploiting the beast's vulnerability to magic, the blade bit deep, slicing through its arm. This time, the beast too had enough. With death looming so close to it, that beast could almost feel it, it shattered its limits and tore free from Kelly's skill, kicking him away with brutal force. Before Kelly could even regain his balance, it closed the distance in an instant and unleashed its fury, raining down relentless attacks with its remaining arm.
Kelly could do nothing but defend against the barrage, barely holding on with his one unbroken hand.
The beast was relentless. First, Kelly's nose shattered, then his cheekbone, followed by the sickening crack of ribs giving way under the repeated blows. Pain blurred into noise, and noise into nothing. At last, the barrage stopped. The beast was breathing heavily now, exhausted. Blood poured from its wounds, its body pushed to the very edge of death, but its determination remained unbroken. If it was going to fall, it would drag its tormenter with it.