He ran in a steady sprint, though his body screamed at him to go faster, as the circling birds drew closer and closer to the ground. A croak sounded behind him, and it was quickly followed by the slash of a talon across his shoulder, luckily blocked by the padding he wore.
He ignored it, continuing to press on towards his destination. He had hardly been running for a minute, yet he already yearned to turn back and to hide, escape the horrid ravens that had barely begun to attack him.
But he pressed on, driven by a mix of determination and the knowledge that he had to. As more and more birds peeled away from the cloud they were forming, Rowan saw out the corner of his eye as they turned into projectiles, streaming towards him with croaks and caws.
His run continued unabated however, and the few small scratches which formed continued to heal as he sprinted. The pain wasn't as severe as he expected, though he suspected his tolerance had improved from both the grievous injuries and training he had endured over the last few weeks.
Luckily, the cloud seemed to be following him. As he got further and further away from the office, none of the ravens stuck around waiting for the other two still inside. He was also fortunate that he was running across a mostly flat plain, without the worry of having to run between buildings or over fences.
The ear rending sounds didn't cease however, and Rowan noted sarcastically that most of his aether was likely to be used healing his hearing at this rate. Seeing the Hell slowly but surely drift closer reassured Rowan, until he remembered yet again what awaited him.
He wouldn't have Aoife with him this time, and it would be just him in there, trying to survive. But he trusted that his regeneration and new fighting skills would be enough, so long as it wasn't meant for too many people.
His body was also enhanced by the aether, so he would be stronger than an average person as well, thankfully. A raven came at him from the front, and Rowan raised his hands to protect his face, not willing to risk his vision being damaged in a time like this.
The corvid instead raked at its talons across his sword, leaving short grooves in his armour.
'These must be beasts, no way could regular birds damage leather armour that easily.'
Rowan hadn't wasted any energy in dodging any of the other attacks, getting to the Hell and conserving his stamina was more important than superficial wounds. As he continued to run across the field and get closer and closer to the Hell, the ravens began to grow bolder with their attacks. Rowan felt his internal aether trickling down as more and more of the bird's claws found purchase in his body.
He had been running for a while now, and unfortunately, he could tell his aether was going to run out well before he had made it to the Hell. But one thing seemed to be going his way, as he realised his stamina was even higher than he had expected.
He picked up his pace, and felt a brief period of satisfaction as the birds had to adjust their speeds and positions before they could attack him again. But the onslaught continued just a moment later, as the ravens cut through and around him, accumulating dozens of minuscule injuries.
His armour could basically be written off at this point, though Rowan didn't pause to take it off. Despite the fact that it was now dead weight, the time it would take to loosen the straps would give the birds too much time to attack.
Rowan wondered whether or not Aoife and Nadia had escaped by this point, or if they were waiting for him to make it further. He hoped they had already left, as he could see the Hell getting closer and closer, the absence of light polarised by the setting sun.
He couldn't quite tell how far away the Hell was, surrounded as it was by blinding light. He could at least still tell the general direction however, and that was all he really needed. It had faintly grown bigger over the course of his trip, but it was still smaller than the sun on the horizon.
As the Hell grew closer and closer, his breathing was growing ragged, and he was bleeding from various wounds covering his body. He wielded the dagger he hadn't held since the beginning of the first Hell, and was now using it to strike down the birds that threatened to attack him.
His aether was all but empty, the pain of the physical exertion starting to layer atop the pain of the cuts. The Hell ahead was growing bigger with each step he took, but with every few steps, another injury appeared, and his stamina drew progressively thinner.
As he was running, panting heavily, he failed to notice a raven approaching from his left side, with its claws outstretched. Silently, with no sound to announce its arrival, a blur of feathers whipped in front of Rowan, and he felt a searing pain in his left eye.
He had barely the air in him to grunt in pain, as he felt the stream of blood start to flow down the rest of his face. With his one remaining eye, Rowan barely had the time to process the information as the familiar grey screen appeared in front of him.
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Hell: Tier 1
Maturity: 90%
Size: 0/2
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It was finally close enough. Rowan forced his muscles into one final surge, ignoring the pain of the cuts, ignoring his exhaustion, as he pushed himself to the limit. The sounds of the ravens faded away from his mind, and eventually from all around him as he passed through the outer layer of the Hell.
A frosty breeze met him as he stumbled to a stop, falling on his knees amidst the snow.