Siegwick’s bloodstained helmet cracked, revealing the gleam of his single golden eye. He glared at the Anomaly that tauntingly waved its claws around. It had given up on restoring its head, spiraling tendrils now lashed around as abyssal condensation poured from the orifice that would be considered its neck.

  Siegwick glared at the monstrosity, his Kyyr making a shrill, scratchy noise as more ice accumulated on his body.

  But before either could act, the desperate thumping of heavy feet against the ground interrupted the two as Shredder emerged from the shadows behind the Anomaly. Trailing close behind was Gira, charging on all fours, crimson blades slashing at the Pelamüs from behind as he relentlessly pursued.

  Disregarding the ongoing battle, Gira caught up to Shredder, siezing it by the talons and lifting the creature into the air. With a wide, powerful swing, he slammed it down on the opposite side, then dragged the struggling Pelamüs across the ground. Shredder dug its claws into the ground to no avail as Gira lifted the Pelamüs into an upswing once more and twisted his body around, using centrifugal force to send Shredder flying toward the Anomaly.

  Siegwick watched in shock as the Pelamüs collided with the Anomaly, sending both creatures flying past Siegwick. Before he could react, Gira roared and rushed past, a massive crimson tendril forming on Gira’s back. Stopping just short of the two monsters, Gira stood upright, grabbing onto the crimson tendril that warped and twisted into a massive crimson crystal ax.

  In one swift, fluid motion, Gira slammed the ax into the writhing pair, causing both to screech in agony. Without hesitation, he raised the ax again, this time igniting the ax in his Kyyr. Once again brutally slamming the ax into the two.

  The Anomaly screeched in agony, tearing its upper half free from the relentless onslaught. Charging abyssal Kyyr into one of its arms, the limb ballooned before it exploded, sending shards of Kyyr-charged bone in Gira’s direction. Some shards grazed his crimson scales, but he remained unfazed, relentlessly hacking Shredder into pieces. Fragments of the creature writhed, desperately attempting to drag themselves away with twisting tendrils.

  The Anomaly screeched again as thick mist began to pour from its body; the mist forming sparked with shocks of abyssal Kyyr as it spread, engulfing all three in its eerie gloom.

  Siegwick backed away, his body shivering as his Kyyr control waned, but his mind disregarded all as he contemplated. A living Coarseblood?

  Gira roared in pain from within the mist as a mess of crimson crystal blades erupted from within, lifting the Pelamüs and the Anomaly away from Gira. The massive red crystals shimmered under the shattered sky, casting an ominous glow as it held the two monsters suspended in midair.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Siegwick watched the Anomaly flop down as the crystal disintegrated into a shiny powder. The Anomaly now split in half, convulsed, claws digging into the earth as its tongues flailed helplessly. From the fading mist, the sinister figure of the Coarseblood emerged, the cracks on its face glowing a deep red. Gira was dragging the decapitated body of the Pelamüs behind him, fresh blood dripping from his jaw as he approached the struggling Anomaly.

  It looks so…afraid, Gira thought.

  “Indeed me! Aren’t you glad you picked us first?” Savagrios mocked, his voice dripping with amusement.

  Why do I feel bad?

  “A troublesome empathy—”

  No… This thing, there’s something wrong with it, Gira interrupted, sensing some twisted glimmer of humanity within it.

  “Must be your imagination... Now kill it! You must cherish the blood we’ve been graced with tonight. Lest you wish to die.” Savagrios’ tone shifted into a sinister hiss.

  Was that terrible pain earlier the trade-off?

  “Correct, our body is far too weak. Unless we get to a more Kyyr-rich zone, we’ll probably die next time we molt... or if we waste too much time.” Savagrios added as his voice wrapped around Gira’s mind like a foggy serpent.

  I’m sorry, strange thing... Gira thought, his jaws unhinging before he pounced onto the Anomaly. He tore muscle from bone, smashing its body into mush as it weakly tried to fend off the rending of its frame, but the weight of the Coarseblood was overwhelming.

  The scarlet feast turned vile as blackened flesh oozed from the remains, and Gira cleaved through the Anomaly until all that was left was a faint puddle of black goo.

  Siegwick watched in silence as Gira turned his attention to the Pelamüs, which was feebly trying to reconstruct its body. Without hesitation, Gira seized the tattered remains and feasted upon them like a starving lion. Ripping into the Pelamüs like old jerky until only clumps of wet hair remained. Thus the horrors of that night would end. Gira let out a deep, resonating roar into the night, his dominance unmistakable. The eerie quiet that followed was oddly disconcerting and upsetting.

  Say, Savagrios….

  “What?”

  How much longer can I stay like this?

  “Not much longer...”

  Do you think we can try and find my friend’s dad?

  “Our heart of gold glimmers even now.”

  What’s that mean?

  “It means perhaps we are still good.”

  Without another word, Gira leaped into the darkness, sprinting toward the distant Cau Mountain range.

  Siegwick exhaled, watching the Coarseblood disappear into the night. “That’s a problem for another night,” he muttered, as the ice melted off his body.