Burrowing Death

[New Deal!]

Eirwen heard the Spell announce as he blurred forward, the wind howling against his body, which was now crackling with shimmering sparks.

With a quick mental command, he willed the Memory on him to shift.

[Kissed by the Sun] -fully restored and ready for battle- replaced the previous armour in an instant.

The wetsuit formed first, followed by silver metallic plates snapping into place over his body.

Once it fully manifested, his eyes flicked over the glowing Runes, expanding them further for a better view over the description. A confused and frustrated sigh escaped him once he scanned over the content.

[Defeat the Burrowing Death without taking a single hit, and He will bless you with even more Power. Fail, and the Deal shatters along with your head.]

[Accept the deal?]

[Yes] [No]

Not getting hit went against everything he had learned for the past two months, so it would certainly be challenging. But Eirwen wasn't doubtful of his abilities. In fact, he was confident.

He already had a perfect plan in mind to end this quickly after all.

"Fuck it," Eirwen cursed before accepting the Deal.

The moment the Runes vanished, he shot upward, tearing through the air like a missile. The icy wind pushed against him, but he barely noticed it as he glanced down for a split second.

The Burrowing Death -what the Spell had named the centipede- thrashed violently, its massive body shaking the ground as it tried to crush the two Dreamers beneath it.

Raijin dodged the sharp stomps aimed at him, tendrils of electricity following his every move. Eliot, on the other hand, engaged the creature head-on, his strange weapon clashing against its massive maw and jagged mandibles.

Dark green blood, thick and steaming, pooled beneath the creature, slowly trickling down the slope with each successful blow they landed.

It seemed their wounds weren't as severe as he'd first assumed. Both were covered in blood from head to toe, with visible gashes across their arms and torsos, sure. And still -even despite these injuries-, they were far from out of the fight.

'Good, they aren't useless after all,' Eirwen thought, his eyes wide and glowing brightly. The cold around him appeared to seep into his very flesh, strengthening and toughening him for what was about to come.

Feeling a sharp heat from the Soulrune, Eirwen braced himself for impact, locking his focus on the giant centipede's back. He pulled his knees closer to his body and then shot downward, crashing into the creature's tough, grey chitin with a loud and clear crack.

At the same time, a sharp clang rang out beside Raijin, the sound of Aegis Mirror deflecting one of the Nightmare Creature's spike-like legs.

The Burrowing Death screeched as it felt the weight crash onto its body. It thrashed its long, segmented back, frenziedly trying to shake off its new attacker.

Without missing a beat, he whipped both his arms down, sinking the claws into the chitin to steady himself. The extreme sharpness of the black, metallic claws didn't pierce the exoskeleton -his brute force was what cracked it open.

Digging his fingers deep into the cracks he'd made, Eirwen gritted his teeth, straining to keep his grip. "Fucking distract it!" he roared, his patience clearly wearing thin as the Nightmare Creature squirmed violently.

Cursing again, he freed one hand while keeping the other firmly lodged in the chitin. He needed to get closer to its head.

The cohort reacted quickly. Eirwen could already hear the centipede screech in agony as its front stumbled forward, its thrashing pausing for a brief moment.

How they managed to do that, he didn't care

That single moment they created was enough for Eirwen to shoot forward, propelling himself up the exoskeleton with explosive force. His silver sabatons splintered the chitin beneath him as he ascended in a rush.

Jumping over a segment in the exoskeleton, he soared through the air for a split second, his long, golden hair whipping against the wind.

And as he collided with the Nightmare Creature's head exactly two seconds later, both [Pressure] and [Dragon's Breath] activated at the same time, shattering the chitin with explosive force.

Eirwen's eyes widened again as he dug both hands deeper into the shattered cephalic capsule, his face expressionless even despite the crunch of his gauntlets hitting the creature's pulsing flesh beneath.

There was no hesitation in his bright, golden eyes.

A devastating screech reverberated through the entire slope before the Burrowing Death attempted to either leap upward or roll to the side.

However, it was quickly interrupted by Andromeda.

Aegis Mirror visibly trembled before shooting out white, blazing flames onto the insect's back from high above, halting its attempts to roll over and forcing its tail into the ground with a violent snap that nearly threw Eirwen off

Steadying himself, he utilized Pressure once more, tearing through whatever flesh he could reach with his gauntlets.

By then, he was elbows deep into its head.

Suddenly, Eliot screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice piercing through Eirwen's concentration and drawing his attention. "It's about to burrow into the ground!"

'Shit! I have to end this.'

Yet, it was much harder than he expected. No matter how deep his arms sank or how much of its insides he burned and destroyed, it still wasn't enough.

At this point he was certain he had destroyed most of its brain, yet it didn't want to die.

Why the hell was is so enthusiastic on staying alive?!

'If this thing goes down now, it's over for me!' Eirwen groaned, forcing more Essence into his armour.

Flames immediately roared out of his gauntlets, searing through the creature's brain and turning it into boiling soup.

A sharp, human scream echoed from below as Eirwen kept pouring flames into the creature's screeching and thrashing head. Someone had been hit -and rather badly. That left him on his own on the front with Seraphiel and Andromeda as supports.

But that was none of his concern. They could die for all he cared.

There was only one thing on his mind.

Faster.

Kill it.

You're taking too long.

Kill it!

The wrathful voices crashed into Eirwen's thoughts, drowning out everything. Rage practically billowed out of him.

But before he could even push back against the voices, a sudden weightlessness took hold of him. The ground beneath him shifted violently, sending his lower body into the air.

The Burrowing Death was diving back into the ground!

"Shit!" Eirwen cursed through gritted teeth, using his buried hands as leverage to drive his feet back down, steadying himself against the shifting mass beneath him.

'Do something!' he groaned, directing his thoughts toward the Soulrune as he poured even more flames into the creature's skull. Fire spewed out from every possible opening, yet the cephalic capsule remained too damn tough to let the head burst apart from within.

And the Soulrune answered, unleashing more of Abaddon's power into the world.

The chitin around him began to weaken, noticeably cracking. He could feel the ground beneath his feet shifting and crumbling away.

More voices screamed in his mind, clawing at his reason, urging him to surrender to the fury building inside him. Not even the ear-piercing screech from beneath him could silence them.

"Seraphiel! Hold it!" Eirwen let out a guttural roar as the ground rushed closer and the cold wind pushed against him.

His face twisted into a furious scowl as he drove his hands deeper, flesh rupturing under the chitin with each instance of [Pressure]. His Essence reserves were burning away at an alarming speed, but there was still enough -just enough- of it to end this.

'Die, you wretched piece of shit!' he cursed one last time, letting anger drown out rationality.

Pouring most of his Essence into [Dragon's Breath], he braced himself as the centipede's head swelled, its chitin straining against the searing pressure building inside.

Boom!

A titanic explosion ripped through the air, drowning everything around them.

The grinding of mandibles against the earth, the whistling icy wind, and the rumble of stones tumbling down the slope. None of it could compete with the deafening roar of flames.

The Burrowing Death's agonized screech was cut short, silenced in an instant as its entire head disintegrated into charred remains, engulfed in bright, orange fire.

And Eirwen was right in the middle of it all.

[You have slain a Fallen Beast: Burrowing Death!]

[You have consumed a Soul]

[Devour the Flesh for more]

[You have completed the Deal! Your reward has been claimed]

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Innate Ability: [Ruler of Depths and bringer of Mercy]

Ability Description: [The Cursed powers dwell in you. Call upon them in moments of anger and pride. The Sacred powers pray for you to be forgiven. Call upon them in moments of yearning and sadness]