Chapter 6: The Shadow’s Teeth
387 Words
The Blight-Hound didn't bark. It moved with a terrifying silence, its body a mass of shifting smoke and sharp, blackened thorns. Kael stood at the very edge of the stone circle, his feet planted firmly on the ancient runes. He could feel the cold radiating from the beast, a hunger that wanted to swallow the very light Elara held.
With a sudden burst of speed, the creature lunged. Kael swung his broken blade, but the hound dissolved into mist, reappearing behind him. Its claws raked across Kael’s shoulder, tearing through leather and skin. Kael grunted, spinning around to strike, but the beast was already gone, circling the edge of the light once more.
"It’s testing the boundary!" Elara shouted, her hands shaking as she held the relic higher. "Kael, it’s looking for a weak point in the seal!
"Kael wiped the blood from his shoulder. The wound burned with a dark poison, but his Iron-Blood began to fight back, the golden veins in his arm glowing brighter. He realized he couldn't win by just swinging his sword. He needed to bait the monster into the light.
"Elara, when I say 'now', uncover the relic completely!" Kael commanded.
The Blight-Hound leaped again, its jaws wide and filled with rows of needle-like teeth. This time, Kael didn't move away. He stepped forward, meeting the beast head-on. As the monster’s jaws closed around his forearm, Kael roared, "NOW!"
Elara pulled back the cloth. A blinding flash of pure, celestial gold exploded from the relic. The Blight-Hound let out a screech that sounded like grinding metal. Caught in the sudden radiance, its shadow-form began to burn and disintegrate. Kael drove his blade deep into the creature's chest, channeling the relic's energy through the steel.
With a final, desperate howl, the beast shattered into a thousand pieces of harmless ash. Kael fell to one knee, breathing hard, his arm bleeding but the poison neutralized by the light.
"Is it over?" Elara whispered, her voice barely audible.
Kael looked back toward the dark woods. The whispers had stopped, replaced by a heavy, ominous silence. "No," he said, looking at the glowing runes on the floor. "That was just a scout. The master of the Black Sun knows exactly where we are now."
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