Chapter 170: Fall, Part 3

The Marrow let out a bellowing howl, screaming as loud and as violent as it could muster. The boys could recognize it from its face. It was hurt. It was desperate. It wanted to beat them so badly. It had the opportunity, nay, the high ground in the scuffle, all of it being unraveled under one swift move and a careless attitude. The Monster would dig into its charcoal-like skin, feeling the dust and debris scraped off of its own fingers. It could feel itself being lost into the wind, a fleeting memory in a few moments. Harvard would walk up to the creature the flames finally put out, his body burnt in a similar manner, his skin into a cooled, darker color than his medium self, directing his friends to take a different position around the Marrow, recognizing it was going mad. It was stunning almost, how such a creature as strategic would breakdown in such a manner as this. "You're seriously gonna cry? Right here? Right now?" The boy would state, chuckling to himself, despite the matter at hand. The Marrow would grit its scorched mouth, its hands now gripping at the dirt, ready to lunge forward and skewer the boy with his bare hands, before he would continue to speak. "C'mon....I know dang well you aren't done yet. Your eyes tell me everything. I've seen them before, anyway..."

"Those are the eyes of a Hunter."

"You're not gonna let up as long as I live, right?" The boy would ask, having a cocky expression upon his face, yet his words would hit the monster's very core. He was right. One hundred percent. The beast's thoughts were nothing but desires of slaughter and revenge, yet it doesn't know exactly why. It could recall certain moments; Its very existence being born, the many people that shunned it away, and the people that dared entered its home, eliminating them should they ever approach its natural domain. The boy remembered clearly his first fight with him, as well as how defensive it got from such aggression. He'd give a simple sigh as he'd take a stance. "Well....? Don't just lay down there. Take life by the horns and get up. You want me dead so badly? Then do it! Try to kill me! I've seen death so many times, its a comedy to me. At this point, I don't care anymore about what happens to my life, nor what lies ahead of me. All that matters....all that will EVER matter, actually...Is that I made this world a better place by beating bad guys like you. So...Get up. Get up, and show me that hatred. Show me that anger. I'm not holding anything back, and I don't want you to do so either. Think of this as letting off steam on your end..." The boy's speech somehow resonated well with the Marrow.

It took its own stance and stared back at the boy, one with newfound determination: Eradication.

It dug through the earth and scooped it up, acting as a direction for the many roots still buried in the plains to rise up and stab at the child, yet Harvard simply casted his spell to cut the distance and get super close, casting a second spell in the form of an appendage, punching the beast directly in the jaw, allowing an opening for his friends to join in. Stolas would take initiative, utilizing Zodiac Man to barrage the beast from the side, shifting its body to be facing him, letting him be met with an assortment of strikes, from straights and lefts to even elbows and headbutts, the Stellar Magician was utilizing his entire body in a fluid motion, beating down the Marrow with no mercy. Zazel would be up next, utilizing the sigils of Sabnock and Asmodeus to heat up the weapons and slice apart its body, the tar-like sap leaking further and further outward, pouring down like a syrup, a lump of black goo dribbling down slowly. Solomon would be last, still positioned as support by providing everyone with boons, boosting their strength and speed, while at the same time having a chance to strike at the Marrow's blind spot with Might of Samson, a heavy blow to push the beast back. He was basically circled around like a toy, shared amongst the four without any fear or worry. Every time the Marrow tried to do an attack, Harvard would step in to interrupt it, even kicking him upward so that Raphael would punch the beast back down.

They, despite such pain and destruction, were having fun. It was like passing a ball between another, treating it as a game. Anytime that the Marrow tried to leave, it would be pushed back into the circle and thrown around once more. The Marrow was getting sick of it. It weaponized its own body and created more of such black spikes around it, pushing the kids away from the monster, as it would back away and utilize the roots once more, raising them upwards to try and impale them alive. The boys simply reacted in their own manner; barriers, sigils, a constellation to let them escape, or simply reducing such spikes into nothing but ash. The attack was an absolute failure, and the children remained unscathed, frustrating the Marrow more and more. It attempts it again, and once more, it failed. 

Then another....Then another....Then another.

No other thoughts was coursing through its mind other than hatred. Animosity. A malevolent desire to lay waste to those that made fun of it. Such a desire came in the form of utilizing all the roots and growing them, making instead of a lush, green jungle, as nothing more than charred spikes, rising higher than ever, stabbing into the very sky. Its mind was made as it tried to rain the spikes down with no mercy, letting them fall and eradicate anyone in its vicinity. Despite such a scenario befalling unto them, their reactions didn't change. Their faces never showed any fear or worry.

They were staring back at such a storm of splinters and bricks with enthusiasm. It was merely a game for the children now.