章 52: Crying Souls
The creature lifted its head and its gaze fell upon him, eyes of countless souls trapped in an eternal abyss looked into his very being. The whispers grew louder, a symphony of anguish that pierced his ears like nails.
Aldwyn steeled himself, pushing aside his fear, and vanished into the shadows. He knew he couldn't outmatch the creature in brute force. He had to outsmart it, use his environment, his agility, his blades, and his gun.
The creature lumbered forward, its stitched-together body moving with a fluidity that belied its monstrous form. Aldwyn waited until it was almost upon him, and then he struck, leaping from the shadows and slashing with both his swords. The creature roared, a cacophony of the damned souls trapped within it.
With a flick of his wrist, Aldwyn sent a silver coin flying into the air. As it arced, it grew into a whirlwind of razor-sharp shrapnel that tore into the creature's flesh. The creature staggered back, giving Aldwyn the opportunity to retreat to the rooftops once more. From above, he watched the creature's movements, analyzing its patterns and weaknesses.
He noticed that the creature's stitched limbs, while powerful, were also its downfall. Each swing was predictable, leaving it vulnerable for a brief moment. Taking advantage of this, Aldwyn waited for the right opportunity and dropped down onto the creature's back, his blades carving through the weakened points where the stitches held the flesh together. The creature bucked and writhed, but Aldwyn clung on like a parasite, his knives digging deeper with every movement.
The creature threw its head back, smashing it against a nearby wall in an attempt to dislodge him. The stones cracked, dust showering down as Aldwyn narrowly avoided the impact.
With a roar of frustration, it slammed into a pile of barrels, sending them flying across the alley. One burst open, releasing a cascade of oil that painted the cobblestones slick. The creature's foot slipped, and it fell to one knee.
Aldwyn saw his chance. He leaped towards the creature, the wind whipping through his hair, and landed nimbly on the creature's back. His blades flashed in the moonlight, slicing through the taut threads that held its stitched form together. It howled in pain, and the whispers grew to a fever pitch, a cacophony of rage and despair.
The creature's hand shot up to grab him, but Aldwyn was quicker, rolling to the side and using the momentum to spring onto the alley's opposite wall. He scurried up the bricks like a spider, the creature's monstrous form lurching and swiping beneath him. As he reached the top, he drew his revolver, took aim at the creature's head, and fired.
[Bang]
The bullet pierced one of the pleading eyes, the soul within letting out a silent scream. The creature roared and thrashed, knocking over a stack of crates filled with glass bottles.
The glass shattered, raining down like crystalline hail. Aldwyn timed his leap, landing on the creature's back as it stumbled through the mess, the shards digging into its flesh and leaving trails of dark liquid. The creature's movements grew more erratic, its balance compromised.
Aldwyn's eyes narrowed as he studied the creature's stitchwork. He knew where to strike next. He waited for the perfect moment, then launched himself from the creature's back, flipping through the air. As he descended, he swiped his blade through the rotted fabric, slicing a deep gash across the creature's spine.
The creature roared in pain, its movements now jerkier than before. The alleyway was a maelstrom of shadows and chaos, but Aldwyn danced through it with a grace that belied his brutal purpose. He leapedfrogged over the creature's head, to land on the opposite wall. He slammed his booted feet into its skull, sending it reeling into a nearby house.
The wall crumbled under the creature's weight, sending a cloud of dust and debris into the air. The creature stood there, dazed for a moment before it turned to face him, the whispers of its trapped souls growing to a shriek.
„Holy shit this thing is really stubborn..."
Aldwyn smirked, his silver eyes gleaming in the moonlight. He knew the creature was weakened, but he wasn't foolish enough to underestimate it. He took in the scene: the alleyway was a wreck, with splintered wood and shattered glass glinting in the fire's glow. The creature's stitched body was a mess of blood and oil.
He dashed across the rooftop, his movements as silent as a ghost. The creature turned to follow, its many eyes searching for him. As it did, Aldwyn saw the perfect opening: the creature had left its back exposed. He leapedfrogged over the creature again, his blades singing as he carved through the stitches holding the cloak in place.
The cloak billowed around the creature, unfurling to reveal an intricate tapestry of decayed flesh and ancient runes. The creature stumbled back, the whispers growing more frenzied as the cloak slipped from its shoulders and fell to the ground, taking with it a piece of its power.
Aldwyn's eyes lit up with grim satisfaction. He had found its weakness. He knew the creature was not just a mindless beast; it had intelligence, cunning, and a hunger for souls that was insatiable. He had to strike where it was most vulnerable.
He dashed across the rooftops, the creature's monstrous form lumbering below. He could hear the whispers of the damned growing more frenzied as it searched for him. The buildings around them were old, with crumbling stones and jagged edges.
Leaping into the air, Aldwyn focused his gaze on the creature's back, where the cloak had once been. The ancient runes etched into its flesh glowed with a sickly light, pulsing with each step it took. He knew that these runes were the source of its power, a conduit for the dark magic that held it together.
With the precision of a surgeon and the swiftness of a snake, Aldwyn descended onto the creature. His twin blades carved through the runes with a series of swift strikes, each one sending a spray of dark energy into the air. The creature howled in pain, its body convulsing with every slash.
The whispers grew to a crescendo as Aldwyn's silver eyes locked onto the final rune, the one that seemed to be the source of its power. He took a deep breath, feeling the potency of the air around them thicken with every passing second.
With a roar of determination, he plunged his blade into the creature's back, aiming for the heart of the pulsing rune. The creature's howl was deafening, echoing through the narrow streets of Helgarde. The rune exploded in a burst of shadows, sending the creature reeling. It stumbled, the once-dominant creature now a mere shell of its former power.
From the gouges in its back, a stream of dark, misty souls poured forth, their wails of despair piercing the night. The air grew thick with their cries, a symphony of lost hope that seemed to cling to every surface. The souls writhed in agony, reaching out to him with spectral hands, their eyes pleading for release from the torment that had become their existence.
Aldwyn felt their pain, a visceral connection to their anguish. He gritted his teeth, pushing aside the overwhelming empathy, focusing instead on the creature before him. It had fallen to its knees, the once-imposing figure now a pitiful creature of twitching limbs and gaping wounds.
With a swift and decisive motion, Aldwyn sliced through the last of the stitches holding the creature's head in place. The head fell to the ground, revealing a maw of teeth and writhing tendrils where a neck should have been. The whispers grew to a fever pitch, a cacophony of despair that threatened to shatter his eardrums.
The creature's body went limp, the dark energy dissipating into the night air, leaving behind a pile of lifeless, stitched flesh. The souls hovered in the air, their cries of anguish slowly fading away as their forms took on an ethereal glow.
Aldwyn staggered back, panting and trembling. The potion's effects had worn off, and his body screamed for rest.
„I don't want to fight anymore... I can't do it anymore... I'd just want to leave..."
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