Chapter 22- Mining Guard (Part 1)

Malice's breath got stuck in his throat as he stood up in a hurry. He could hear it, as loud as day, something was running toward him from the darkness while screeching loudly. Each step this thing took almost shook the entire tunnel.

His senses went off, alerting him to the upcoming danger. So, he quickly picked up his sword and got ready. There was a moment where he contemplated running away. But, where was he supposed to go?

And even if he did have somewhere to go, he certainly knew that he couldn't outrun whatever abomination was targeting him now. Its steps alone sounded so fast and loud they might as well be sticks hitting giant drums.

'Oh god, this isn't going to end well!'

A tense few seconds passed before Malice finally saw what was rushing at him. As far as he could guess, it was one of the same monsters he has been fighting for a while now. The red skin and the disgusting blisters were a good indication of that. But, that's where the similarities end.

The monster was at least 2 meters tall with a muscular build, looking like a professional bodybuilder. Its arms where thicker than Malice's entire body and their bones only shaping them to look even more terrifying. Their distinct, reptilian eyes stared at Malice with pure bestiality and bloodlust.

"RAAAAA!!"

Closing the distance in a moment, the monster smashed down with its fists, aiming to crush Malice like a bug.

"Dammit!!"

The latter jumped back multiple times. Upon contact, the fist made a loud thud. Debris fell from the ceiling of the tunnel.

'H-How strong is this guy?!' Malice's expression darkened. Not only was this monster fast, but it was also very strong. If that hit connected with him, he was certain he would've been dead… Instantly.

Suddenly, the idea of running away became far more attractive than before. 'Even if I run away, I need at least 30 seconds for Avatar to get me back to the white chamber! If I can survive 30 seconds, then I might as well try to kill this thing!'

He knew that his logic was very flawed. But, at this point, he didn't care much about the consequences. If he could actually kill something like this, he knew that he would receive great rewards for it.

"RAAAA!" The monster's shriek then snapped him out of his thoughts as he realized that it already had reached him again. So, he quickly dashed to the side, barely dodging its giant fists.

'How do I even fight this? Let me try attacking it with the sword.' As he circulated around the monster, he thrust the sword into its back using all his power. However, much to his surprise, the blade barely scratched the monster's red skin. 

"RAAAAAAA!!!"

'I made it even more angry!!' Cursing his dumb idea, he found himself trapped in the corner with the monster's fists already a few inches away from him. Its sudden burst of speed was so quick he didn't even have time to react.

For a second there, Malice saw his entire life flash before his eyes as the looming death closed up on him. However, at the last second, he put the sword up to guard against the fists.

*BANG*

"AGH!!!" With a loud shriek, Malice felt the crushing strength of the monster falling on his body. Almost instantly, his legs gave out from the pressure and he fell to the ground. The weight of the punch immediately went to his chest and he felt his breath being knocked out.

For a second, Malice's eyes widened as his mouth opened wide. He tried to gasp for breath, but couldn't. His entire body felt numb.

'I can't feel… Anything!!' As he made loud whimpers, trying to breathe, he saw the monster raising its arms again to attack and finish him off. 'This is bad… This is really bad…' 

Even when his entire body was urging him to breathe, his instincts focused on the imminent danger, and by some kind of power, he was able to roll out of the way at the last second.

But, the monster didn't spare him a second to catch his breath as it launched a surprise kick at the still-recovering boy.

"BAGHHH!!" Malice spat out a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying before smashing into the wall with a loud bang. He felt his entire body shudder from the sheer power of the impact. He could even swear he heard some cracks along with it. 

Falling to the ground like a ragdoll, he lay there, motionless. The monster stared at him with anger and then rushed toward him. Then, without any mercy, it grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up in the air. The boy struggled like a fish caught out of the water as he punched and scratched the monster's arm, but he couldn't really do anything.

His teeth were clenched so hard he couldn't even 

'It hurts… It hurts so much… It's crushing my neck!!' There were no words that could describe what he was feeling at that moment. There was no escape from this, he was stuck with nothing to do. Malice had realized the harsh way that he was nowhere near as strong as he should be to face such a monster.

The difference in strength was ridiculous, to say the least. He didn't even have a chance to deal any damage to his target.

Seeing the bloodlust in the monster's crazed eyes gave him more than enough proof that he was indeed… Very close to death.

"RAAAAA!!"

The monster squeezed Malice with its hand, crushing his body slowly. He felt his bones rattle and his muscles twist painfully under the immense pressure.

A loud, soul-freezing shriek leaked out of Malice's mouth as he struggled to breathe. Then, out of nowhere, the monster threw him on the wall again angrily. The latter fell on his face, blood gushing out of his head from the multiple hits.

He could feel his brain shaking from the three concussions he just sustained. He was barely even able to see anything. Even his ears were ringing so loudly from all the hits. In a nutshell, nothing made sense anymore.

Putting his hand on the ground, Malice tried to lift himself up. He wanted to do something, try to run or think of an idea on how to get out of this disaster.

'I need to request to go back…' He thought to himself with clenched teeth. 'I need help!'

However, his mind was so in shambles that he can't even utter a few words or think of anything other than some simple strands of thoughts.

The monster approached him again and kicked him in the guts, sending him rolling to the other side. Then, he continued tossing him around like a ragdoll, toying with him in every way possible. Malice tried to struggle but failed miserably. 

Looking at his body would make one shudder. Every bone in his body was on the verge of breaking, and some were already broken. Blood was gushing out of multiple areas of his body and his head was so concussed, he started seeing things that weren't there.

His eyes were unfocused, seeing shades of reality rather than reality itself. 'I have totally screwed up… Dammit, I didn't expect it to happen… This quick…' 

Reminded of the Mark on his hand, he could only laugh in his head. Even though he didn't know what it truly meant, that skull had always been staring at him, mocking him, and mocking his very existence.

It was trying to tell him something… Perhaps something that he doesn't want to even know yet. It was like a curse he had to bear on his shoulders and carry for as long as he lived. A sealed fate that he can't recognize fully.

'I can't even get lucky without getting screwed over in some way or another…' As he stared up, the only thing that he could truly discern was the faint light coming from the fire above him.

'It looks… Beautiful…'

For some reason, out of everything there, his mind focused on that ember of fire coming from the torch. it appeared so mystical in his eyes… so… Freeing. Without realizing it, his hand was already lifting up, trying to catch that flame only to fail at that.

'I want it…' His mind said. 'I want that fire…'

Even as he awaited death, that fire captured his focus like nothing else. So much so that he forgot that the monster was already reaching out to grab him again.

'I need that fire…'

At that very moment, unbeknownst to Malice, the fire started moving in an odd manner. Its idle swaying stopped as it magically started stretching down as if it was heeding his call. Malice felt Soul Essence rush through his body as it welcomed the floating fire.

The flames reached his hand in a moment and coiled around them like a snake. The monster noticed that as it stopped its movement. 

'It's bright…'

It suddenly felt something it didn't feel this entire time… Something dangerous was happening.