The adamantine bars stood firmly, a dull set of many silver-grey cylinder surfaces that lacked any visible shine.
These bars stood in place, sturdy enough to promise security from almost all things.
The pair of eyes coming from the darkness past the bars was a bright yellow, like two pebbles glowing with eerie candlelight.
One tiny, black slit lined straight down each yellow eye.
The light dimmed as both eyes began narrowing past the familiar caretaker, aiming at the silver-haired boy standing out of the orange warmth's reach, at the narrow tunnel of light.
The caretaker stepped closer, pressing each hoof nicely into the ground, age withering with every step.
The orange warmth of the torch faded along the walls before finally ghosting over the pair of eyes.
As soon as the orange light from the torch crept over through the bars, the black depths shrank a step.
A single shape took form within the darkness, drawing an outline behind the pair of beady yellow eyes, where a thick black rock seemed to surround the two yellow slits.
The rock was as dark as obsidian, as solid as diamond, and as layered as the scales of a fish.
Adrian watched with a face like a reload press.
His eyes were like two sharp calibres, a face mildly tense with the buzzing boredom of such a chore, as well as the recognition that these predator eyes were now facing his.
Soon, he would regret not leaving then and there.
Instead, his face coolly stared back, remaining as straight as iron.
Then, his eyes widened just a fraction with the instant of a new finding.
Beside this beast's head, the only visible part of its body in the encasing darkness, was another pair of beady yellow eyes further in the back.
Not just on one side of the beast, but the other side of the beast.
Two pairs of eyes, glowing like faint warning signs, silently watched Adrian from both sides of the beast's head.
The flames licked higher, painting three outlines in the dark, as the caretaker brought a set of jangling keys from a pouch at the front of his pelt.
He fumbled visibly, age withering his furry fingers as he sorted through a collection of keys all hanging to a silver circle.
Finally, grasping one of the many keys, the caretaker inserted the key into the lock.
With a slow turn, the lock made a CLACK sound.
Then the caretaker gripped one of three bars, differently to the rest of the cage, these bars were framed in the shape of a rectangle bar another set of adamantine bars.
The rectangular shape, with the struggling force from the caretaker, finally swung open.
The caretaker lowered his old self, using his now free hand to take the slab of mangy meat he had left on the floor, finally raising himself to throw the slab through the open door.
"See, 's all about showing Hydie some love, and a 'lil bit of grub O'course." The saytr spoke in an accent like freshly ground dirt in his mouth.
He extended his arm through the door, letting the light from the torch spread further, revealing a thick head extending out to grab the meat.
The head was the size of a wheel, with a neck as long as a giant's finger.
Its scales were like black diamonds, with a texture more rigid than Mr Ignis's skin.
As the head parted vertically, revealing a sinister red tongue and razor-sharp teeth, the torchlight grazed two other heads on either side of the current eating head.
"C'mon son, Hydie won't hurt 'cha." The caretaker teased gently, eyeing Adrian over his shoulder, trying to urge the boy toward him.
Adrian rolled his eyes like two boulders made from a pure blue ore.
He now stepped through the doorway, boots crushing dirt as he took his first step into the stable.
He took a slab, easily, from the crate and walked over.
The eyes that had vigilantly watched Adrian, were now all focused on him.
With the exception of the head that was eating.
Two pairs of eyes tensed with caution, scanning their new benefactor through wary slits whilst the middle head snacked upon the slab.
The middle head aggressively torse up the meat, ripping it into two, flicking its chin up and releasing the slab from its teeth to throw the first half of the slab into the air.
When the first half fell down the middle, the head snatched it into its stomach in one gulp.
Adrian took another step, carrying his own new slab.
As Adrian reached the door, the middle head lashed its tongue across its lips in satisfaction.
Its eyes peeling back with mild satisfaction, one that just started, as it intended to devour the other half when suddenly its expression shook.
The collection of scales on its face retracted, its head jerking back in one sharp movement before stilling eerily.
Its eyes faced away, the middle head remaining still like a statue frozen in place.
The two heads on either side of it paused, flicking with confusion toward such strange behaviour, strange enough that the other heads could recognise it.
Then suddenly, both heads jerked back in one smooth slice, freezing similarly to the middle head.
Adrian paused as his foot reached the outermost edge of where the adamantine door swung open.
His smooth eyes, sensing something was wrong, tensed into vigilant observation.
The hydra's three heads slowly averted, then collected their gazes into a combined destination toward Adrian at the door.
The half slab of meat sitting was now forgotten underneath them.
Their eyes, a hazard yellow, now soaked a deep blood red.
Adrian reacted immediately, internally sensing danger, throwing his hand around the edge of the door and throwing the door shut.
Though the Hydras were already at the door in a frenzy of bloodlust, twisting around to crash their bodies against the closing door.
BANG!
Adrian's strength couldn't match the power of the beast, unable to hold his footing as the impact hurled him to the outside doorway.
The force from the hydra made the metal door fly all the way open, the immense force landing on the Saytr, who was still standing in place, immediately flattening him.
The wooden wall of the stable behind him burst open, letting in the mild light from outside.
The broken wall was a scene of blood and torn wood, letting in a new scene of light, revealing a wooden forest outside, with a bloodied silhouette on the blood-stained grass in the flat form of a pancake.
"You stupid old man!" Adrian cursed under his breath, more angry at himself than the dead caretaker, his face twisting into something tense and ugly as his bright blue eyes fixed with immense hatred toward the beast.
The Hydra stared back with three pairs of blood-red eyes, Adrian's eyes widening back as he watched the Hydra opening its mouth suddenly-
FFFFRRRRR
A plume of orange heat shot out, wiping Adrian from existence in a blaze of heat.
The wooden stable, accustomed to torchlight, received the biggest light of its life as flames engulfed the building.
The blaze was working away at the wood as planes of wood fell every handful of seconds.
The flame seemed to paint the stable, eradicating all from sight apart from two things.
A square outline, of something incredibly dense surviving the flames.
And another, a bulk of black so dark it could have been seen through the flames like a bundle of shadows.
The shadows, thick and defensive, split at the front into three lengths the size of a giant's fingers.
The painful tickling of flame continued, wiping the stable away until it stripped the building clean in minutes.
A black thick stump stepped out from the pile of smoke left at the remnants of the stable.
Followed by a hulking mass of something resembling black crystal, with the texture of something rock-like as dark as night.
Three red pairs of eyes pushed from the smoke, hovering above the black mass where three lengths flowed down to the top of the shape.
It spotted something at a distance across the clearing, a shape with blue static hovering around it.
Core move - Lightning Cloak
Adrian should've run.
With his speed, he could've made it to the school minutes before the fire died.
Though his gaze seemed to be fixed on something, all the while he stood in the distance of the opening, with a line of trees close behind him, where the line continued to circle to surround the opening, offering the opportunity to break the line of sight if he chose to flee.
Yet he didn't.
"He was a nice guy."
His eyes were loose, yet rigidly locked onto a red-stained patch of grass beside the dying fire.
He should've run.
But he didn't.
Because when he turned his gaze to the black mass across from him, all thought seemed to disappear.
With the exception of one word.
Fight.
End of chapter 29