Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Breaking Point -PT 2

Artie fled ten minutes away from town, then sat against a rough tree. There were no signs of hunters pursuing him, so he rested there. Surrounded by pesky, thick, and colorful bushes, he balled up and cried, wondering where it went wrong or if it'd ever been "right."

Head dug into his arms, he gloomed until a string of quick steps pattered his direction. Artie clenched onto his shoulders and shuddered, aware of who- or what drew near.

There was a soft rustling in the jumble of bushes before him, then quiet footsteps climbed from the thicket and halted only ten feet away. Artie gradually lifted his head from his arms and observed the terrifying yet majestic black beast.

"It's your fault," Mumbled Artie, unraveling himself and rising.

The massive wolf-like creature uttered a low growl, leaned on its front legs, and widened its stance.

After wiping the wetness of his eyes, Artie tightened his fist, postured himself, then sprinted at the beast.

While beelining directly for the God-type, he recalled all the awful things that'd occurred. The memories were so rotten and painful that he'd forgotten about any future. His fear was overwritten by apathy, and whether he succeeded or perished, he wanted to hurt the thing in front of him.

Artie pulled back his right arm and recklessly charged ahead without considering the consequence. With the distance between them cut in half, the beast rocketed forward. Its massive body veiled Artie's, filling his sight with nothing but furry darkness before the creature's solid head smashed against his frail body. The beast swiped its head upward upon collision and launched Artie's body towards the sky before he crashed and instantly fainted a few yards away.

 

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Awaking hours later, Artie unsteadily lifted himself and patted the back of his pained head. Blood ran down his neck and soaked his dirtied shirt. Without time to measure the extent of his injury, the monster reappeared and charged at him in the same manner it had before.

Before moving to the new Earth, Artie had only been in one fight. That confrontation was with a child his age and, of course, a human. Nothing equipped him to survive a world of monsters, but he moved as if there was a chance for success.

Scarred and listless, he bolted hard left of the charging beast like a matador dodging a bull. Once at the creature's side, he spread his claws and grunted as he put his full strength into slashing the beast. Only, the monster abruptly rotated its hind and heaved its mighty tail into him. Artie was propelled into a durable tree, where his body went limp and sunk against the wooden base.

…

An hour later, Artie regained consciousness for the third time. Without inspecting his injuries, or the creature's location, he weakly used the tree for support while trying to stand. He presumed the beast was toying with him but didn't care. All he wanted was to vent, to get vengeance, no matter how many tries it took.

"What are you waiting for…."

From his right side, the enormous wolf-like monster inched its head from the side of the tree, only revealing a quarter of its unnerving body.

Artie stumbled while positioning himself upright, tripping and falling against the tree. Grasping onto his aching shoulder, he deliberately rotated his sights to peer at the midnight creature. It looked back with the same level of composure, then casually raised its claw.

A violent woosh signaled its broad horizontal assault. After taking several blows from the creature, Artie managed to decently duck below the attack. Because of its extensive size, he could latch onto the beast's arm and dig sharp nails into it. To his surprise, the creature bled, and even once it withdrew its arm, he did not become unlodged from its skin.

Upon realizing the effectiveness of his inhuman parts, Artie opened his jaw and crunched down onto the sturdy arm. His fangs pierced the skin, which immediately provoked the beast. It instantly dashed forward through the dense forest, allowing the human sticking to it to collide with trees and prickly branches. Artie held on despite the clobbering he was subjected to, scratching and biting down harder.

He withheld for a minute, but he eventually succumbed to the consecutive collisions against wildlife. His grip and consciousness inevitably loosened, then the creature flung him off. Artie barreled across the ground and crashed against a sharp, jagged rock. Feeling his flesh tear, he wailed in agony.

The pain and the ruckus of his own screams concealed the sound of vivid crackling. Before he could recognize the danger, a savage beam of golden electricity ruthlessly projected toward him.

With no choice but to await it, Artie dropped his arms and resentfully scowled.

"Loser"

He'd considered his spat with the creature to be a battle in some vague aspects. One of which was pure and raw. However, when the wolf-like monster lost its temper and used godly powers, it violated the terms of the fight. At least, that's how he rationalized it, and so even if he was killed, it was his victory.

The brutal attack emitted a loud thunderclap that deafened him, then the brilliant light from the lightning blinded him. Unable to sense it coming, the devastating beam crashed into him. The rock behind him shattered, and his weak form was carried away by the ruthless force.

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His loose body wildly skipped against the ground, like a pebble thrown across a lake. Vibrations, burns, and severe discomfort circulated through his temporarily paralyzed body when he finally stopped.

 

Despite the level of damage sustained, he lived. More than that, he was quickly breaking free of the paralysis and regaining his untamed resolve.

Artie crawled onto his knees, then wobbled to his freshly bare feet. A large majority of his clothing was in tatters, and he'd been bloodied and beaten, but, for some reason, he brimmed. Foreign energy haphazardly swirled within his body, anxious to be released.

Artie daringly glared at the beast, puffed out his chest as he inhaled, then extended his horned head.

"It's not over, you-"

"STUPID"

"DOG"

He roared, dragging out the insult "Dog" for half a minute at the top of his lungs. While doing so, the irregular horns on his head burned bright. All the power within him surged towards his head. Then, a boisterous boom shook the area before an undirected burst of lightning scattered in various directions. Scorching trees, charring the green land and shooting indiscriminately into the air. The force was just as destructive as the beast's attack and brightened the immediate area a silvery yellow.

Once the flash settled, he learned, to his disappointment, that the blast had scathed everything except his target.

Afterward, he became drained and fell to one knee while eyeing the dark-furred monster. He had his chance to harm it, to strike it with everything he had, but failed. All that remained were his thoughts of inevitable death.

"Let me… fight…." Artie muttered, his senses going dark before he collapsed onto the hard, damaged ground.

 

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Day:13 / Time: 5:00am-7:00am

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Following rapid flickers of his eyelids, Artie awoke to a wasteland. Not only had the field been desolate from the previous day, but several monster corpses littered the vicinity. He could assume they were attracted by his battle, but he couldn't fathom why he'd been unharmed. It was peculiar, but he didn't spend much time dwelling on the thought; instead, he fed. There'd been no rational explanation why, but he roamed over to one of the deceased monsters and started to eat it. His fangs easily tore into the meat, and while it was not gourmet, the taste wasn't awful, and he didn't feel the need to vomit.

After wiping his mouth of the mess, Artie scanned the area for the beast he'd fought, wondering when it might appear to continue their skirmish.

Half an hour passed, and there were no signs of the challenger, so he grew impatient and departed. Before doing so, he used his claws to tear away parts of monsters. Teeth, horns, nails, anything that looked like it could be valuable to hunters. Not so he could seek forgiveness, but so he could trade. If he were to properly run away from there, he'd need supplies.

 

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Tolerably filthy, the hunters did not assume he was a complete monster and shot him down. They, however, did recognize his inhuman characteristics and sought permission before extending the bridge.

Wana stood ahead of dozens of other armed hunters. Once Artie arrived across the bridge, he dropped the monster parts he carried and confidently announced.

"I won't be long."

 

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