The monster hurled Arin aside and followed instantly, fist tearing through the air where Arin's head had been a moment earlier.
Arin twisted away on instinct.
The monster clicked his tongue and swung a kick toward Arin's ribs
Neblaheim stepped forward and blocked it head-on.
The impact thundered. The ground cracked beneath Neblaheim's feet as he was driven back several steps, his stance breaking under the sheer force but he stayed upright.
The monster raised his arm to finish it.
A flash of light tore through the air.
Hanase's light rays slammed into the monster's side, forcing him to leap back, boots skidding across broken stone.
Arin stared, disoriented.
"Why are you interfering with my fight"
Hanase smacked the back of his head without hesitation.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
The monster lunged again.
Neblaheim caught the punch with his shielded forearm, muscles screaming as he redirected it. Arin seized the opening and drove a kick into the monster's side. It landed but the monster blocked, barely shifting.
Ice spears screamed past Arin's shoulder.
The monster twisted, narrowly avoiding them, then surged straight for Hanase.
Neblaheim bashed into him from the side, knocking him off course.
Arin jumped in again too fast, too reckless. He kicked, was caught mid-air, and thrown like a doll straight toward Hanase.
Neblaheim turned
Too late.
A kick smashed him into a tree, the trunk splintering on impact.
The monster advanced, intent clear.
Arin moved.
Not thinking. Not planning.
The monster punched Arin ducked.
He kicked Arin slid aside.
Another strike Arin spun and slammed him into the ground.
Hanase stared.
"Arin!"
She never finished.
The monster rose and struck her down, slamming her into the dirt.
Something in Arin snapped.
He moved like he wasn't there anymore.
The monster punched missed.
Arin feinted left, stepped in
And pierced straight through the monster's chest.
The monster froze, eyes wide.
Arin didn't look back.
He turned and began to walk away, empty, distant
as if it were already over.
The monster screamed.
"dont… push… YOUR… LUCK—YOU DAMN HUMANS!"
His body tore itself apart.
Black wings erupted from his back. A crimson, blood-slick helmet sealed over his face. A thin, wicked blade formed in his grasp, humming with malice.
Arin turned.
No one was there.
Something struck him from behind.
A single push sent him crashing into rock hard enough to shatter stone. The monster appeared above him in an instant, blade raised
And then
The world went silent.
The monster exploded.
Black fire devoured flesh, bone, even the blood itself, leaving nothing but scorched ground and drifting ash.
Arin and the others stared, frozen.
Far away, unseen, a voice echoed softly.
"That was close," the Death God said.
"It could have ended right there."