As if to unleash its seething rage, Kavnak's arm swells even larger. Sharp bones tear through its flesh once more, lunging toward Gravel, who walks out the open door with his back turned.
At the tip of those bones, no longer adorned with black claws, Kavnak's hand has transformed into the shape of a beast with a pointed snout. Its gaping maw, lined with countless jagged teeth, aims for Gravel's neck, slicing through the surrounding fog with terrifying speed.
Gravel continues walking at a leisurely pace, seemingly unconcerned by the threat approaching from behind. Just as the slavering jaws, dripping with sticky saliva, are about to sink their myriad teeth into his neck—
Crunch!
Kavnak's monstrous arm snaps at empty air, producing a dull thud. The sharp bones that follow pierce nothing but the void.
"How annoying."
Kavnak snarls, its voice dripping with irritation as it watches Gravel's form dissolve into a dissipating clump of dense fog.
"RAAAGH! How long do you plan to waste my time with these tricks, Gravel?!"
Kavnak's furious roar shatters the glass of nearby windows. With ferocious force, it tears down the wall connected to the door. Its massive left arm drags along the ground, while its right arm—resembling a hairless beast or a blind serpent with a gaping maw of teeth—rips through the wooden wall to make way for its swollen body. It strides toward the open clearing outside, shrouded in thick fog.
"Are you satisfied now, Gravel? I've come outside, just as you wanted!"
A guttural growl accompanies Kavnak's shout.
"Thank you for obliging."
Comes the reply, a calm voice devoid of emotional highs or lows.
"This should make for an enjoyable fight."
It's the voice of someone suppressing the excitement bubbling within before testing the abilities of a new sword.
"Hmph… HAHAHA! Oh, hihihihi!"
Kavnak's laughter erupts, echoing through the air.
"Yes… yes, Gravel. Remember those words well. Let's see if you can still say that after your flesh slides down my throat."
Kavnak's voice drips with mockery, but Gravel, still invisible, responds.
"Then, let us begin."
Gravel's voice echoes from all directions, surrounding Kavnak. Moments later, not just his voice but multiple figures resembling Gravel emerge from the fog, closing in on Kavnak.
Wielding a black sword and clad in a dark cloak, these shadowy forms of Gravel move slowly through the mist, encircling their foe.
"Illusions made of fog, huh? HAAAH!"
Kavnak lets out a furious bellow, lashing out at the approaching apparitions. It swings, kicks, stabs, and slashes, its demonic fury unrelenting as the surrounding fog ripples like waves, dispersing and reforming.
But every one of Kavnak's attacks strikes only illusions, which dissolve into white vapor and merge back into the fog surrounding it.
"GRAAAAH!"
A demonic scream pierces the air. With a cry laced with pain, dark crimson blood sprays from Kavnak's back into the white fog.
The illusions of Gravel reappear, but now they move with startling speed, leaping and charging toward Kavnak.
"Damn you!"
Amid the illusions, Gravel's real attacks land. His blade carves wounds into Kavnak's back, arms, legs, waist, stomach, head, and neck. Countless gashes mark the demon's body as a dark shadow, trailed by a tail of white fog, slices through and vanishes.
Dark crimson blood, thick and sticky, splatters onto the ground with wet thuds amid the thickening fog.
As Gravel's illusions leap from the dense mist, aiming for Kavnak's neck with swords raised high in both hands for a finishing blow—
CLANG!
A sharp metallic ring echoes outward. Kavnak's arm, raised in defense, blocks Gravel's attack, the demon's face grinning behind it.
"Heh heh heh. I knew if I waited, you'd stop with the petty strikes and come for the kill!"
At the center of the deep gash carved by Gravel's sword, a thick bone halts the blade's momentum.
'Damn! Kavnak's flesh is regenerating, clinging to the sword!'
As Gravel swiftly kicks Kavnak's arm and uses the recoil to leap back, intending to vanish into the fog—
"I won't let you escape!"
Kavnak snaps off one of its own bones, hurling it like a spear toward the direction Gravel disappeared. The bone lance slices through the fog with terrifying speed, only to be met with another metallic clang.
"If you wanted a more exciting fight, I'll send you a pursuer. Enjoy it!"
Kavnak's mouth snaps shut, its throat bulging momentarily as if preparing to expel something. It plunges a hand into its gaping maw, pulling out a cleaver wrapped in red flesh and oozing green fluid—a massive, curved blade resembling an axe.
The thick, blunt blade and short handle drip with sticky green liquid, pooling on the ground below.
'Pulling a cleaver from its stomach…'
Gravel, having deflected the bone spear, watches as Kavnak brandishes the grotesque cleaver. As the fog swirls to conceal Gravel once more—
"I won't let you slip away this time!"
Kavnak charges toward Gravel at breakneck speed, swinging the cleaver in its left hand to sever its own right arm.
A chilling, otherworldly screech erupts from the severed arm's maw as it writhes on the ground. Bloodshot eyes burst through its skin, and a long, thin tail sprouts from the stump where the cleaver sliced.
Hiss!
The severed arm, now a serpent-like monster, slithers past Kavnak, undulating its long body as it races toward Gravel with eerie speed.
"Hihihihi! Keep running, Gravel!"
Kavnak's hand, gripping the cleaver, twitches with anticipation, certain it will finally catch its elusive prey. It follows the serpentine arm, glancing at the newly regenerated right hand, its fingers twitching eagerly.
"I'll carve you into tiny pieces!"
Imagining itself grabbing the insolent challenger's head with its new right hand and slicing Gravel's throat with the jagged cleaver, Kavnak quickens its pace with each step.
The scattered fog begins to coalesce, revealing Gravel's faint silhouette ahead. Just a few more steps, and Kavnak's prey would be within reach, ready to be devoured. It grins, mouth wide with laughter—
"Aldreda's Arc Lightning!"
From the dark silhouette, a blue magic circle flares, dispersing the fog as Gravel invokes the spell's incantation.
A bolt of azure lightning tears through the air, accompanied by a thunderous roar that shakes Kavnak's core.
"GRAAAAH!"
Agony sears through Kavnak's body. Its limbs twist and convulse, black blood oozing from wounds across its form.
The severed right arm, transformed and slithering toward Gravel, explodes upon contact with the lightning, scattering tiny, jagged teeth and leaving only charred fragments behind.
"Impressive, Kavnak. To withstand Aldreda's magic, known as the Thunder Empress(霹靂女帝), and not just any lightning spell…"
Gravel steps forward, the lingering shock of the Arc Lightning leaving Kavnak trembling on its knees, groaning in pain.
The fog clears, and Gravel pushes back his hood, revealing dark hair stark against the fading white mist. In his hand, he holds not the Sword of Yoot, the swamp spirit, but the silver-bladed Sword of East End.
"Urgh… heh… hahaha! What's so special about this magic, Gravel?"
Though kneeling, Kavnak glares down at the approaching Gravel, its pride as a demon refusing to yield. Despite the lingering pain tearing through its body, a smirk curls its lips.
"Of course, as a high-ranking demon, I didn't expect Aldreda's magic to finish you in one blow."
Gravel replies.
"Insolent! Too insolent, Gravel! Finish me? In one blow? You think you can defeat me, Kavnak, with some fancy magic?!"
Perhaps due to the demon's rapid regeneration, the pain from the lightning's wounds begins to fade. Kavnak's shoulders heave as it tries to rise, but its trembling, twisted limbs refuse to obey. Its bent knees won't straighten, and its arms remain unresponsive.
"You won't be able to move for a while," Gravel says, sheathing the Sword of East End and circling Kavnak slowly. "Aldreda's magic is renowned not just for its power but for the secondary effects that restrict an enemy's movements."
As if forgetting he's speaking to a demon from another world, Gravel's inner gamer takes over, explaining in detail.
"And compared to other debuff or control spells, the Arc Lightning I just used has the added benefit of being a high-level spell. It conveniently takes care of lesser enemies around the main target, which is another reason Aldreda's magic is so highly regarded."
Gravel glances at the charred remains of Kavnak's severed right arm, now nothing but blackened ash.
"RAAAH! All this from one pathetic spell?!"
Kavnak forces its twitching limbs to move, lifting its head with effort to roar at the sky. In that moment, its eyes catch a tiny orb of light hovering above.