Nightblade (Darkest night)

The dark creature had several sets of eyes, the light reflecting in their lightless depths.

Unbeknownst to Cassius, just as he analyzed the gigantic spider, the beast's eyes zipped back and forth, tracking his movements as well.

Then in the next moment, when he thought he'd dodged a blow, one of its legs whipped through the air with unimaginable speed, crashing into him with devastating force.

Cassius felt like he'd slammed into a moving truck.

Fortunately, he'd lessened the impact at the second, rolling with the blow.

He quickly got to his feet, then staggered back with a wince.

" Damn, it got me good."

In his biological form, not even bullets could pose much threat to him, and yet his entire side now ached from the blow.

" Cassius!"

In the next instant, a silvery glint flashed across the river, landing in the sand on the riverbank.

But the spider was already moving forward.

Cassius darted away, dodging out of its reach, but as though it had predicted his next move, the monstrous spider lunged for him, pursuing him relentlessly.

Lucian had realized Cassius' dilemma.

He could continue avoiding its attacks, but eventually he'd wear himself out if he only kept on the defensive.

" I can't cross the river. If I do, then we're all done for. But the more I fight this thing, I'll be the one to end up dead if I don't fight back," he thought grimly.

In the next moment, Cassius' biological type form grew even larger.

Instead of running away, he ran towards the giant monster, his form blurring across the sand.

" Come on, big guy, let's see what you've got!"

He let out a roar, a challenge, taunting the creature to face him head-on.

The longer the fight continued, the darker the frown on Talia's face grew.

" What is he doing? He's going to get himself killed."

Lucian observed the fight, exuding an unnatural calmness that masked the turmoil within him.

" He's just trying to distract it; he wants to get to the blade behind it," he explained.

" But no ordinary blade can..."

The words died in Talia's throat when she saw the confident look in Lucian's eyes.

Then she remembered who she was talking to.

Despite his seemingly soft exterior, Lucian Ash was the heir to House Ash.

His father, the Lord of House Ash, wouldn't have allowed him to come unprepared.

With that knowledge came the realization of why he'd thrown the blade moments earlier.

" Come on, Cassius, you can do this. You can survive this. You can beat this thing."

Despite his thoughts, deep down Lucian knew if their roles had been reversed, his odds of surviving the encounter with the monster would be quite slim, too.

The only advantage the biological type Talented had was his enhanced strength and speed, a boon of his unique Talented ability.

Samantha and Amanda watched the battle in a silent daze.

" My God," Samantha whispered.

It all seemed like a nightmare.

Anytime now, she would wake up, Emily would tell her she'd been dreaming, and life would go on normally.

But reality was cruel and unforgiving.

Samantha could see the furious battle unfolding right before her eyes, and Cassius fighting with his life on the line.

The dark spider barreled forward with impossible speed, its mandibles threatening to snap Cassius in two.

At the very last second, Cassius slipped beneath it, then rolled on the sand.

He quickly scrambled to his feet and lunged forward, aiming for the silver knife that lay in the sand behind it.

" Got it!"

The spider screeched in fury, its beady eyes watching him warily.

Its large pincers moved frantically in the air, then it darted forward again.

Cassius grinned, his lips curling in a wolfish expression.

" Gutted spider steak, coming right up!" He snarled.

Cassius streaked across the sand, darting maddeningly from side to side to throw off the creature's timing.

The spider jumped, aiming for his head.

Cassius ducked, slipping beneath its body.

" Time for payback," he grinned.

He slashed at the spider's underbelly and legs, but then his eyes narrowed in confusion.

Against the creature's tough hide, the sharp blade only left deep scratches.

Cassius' eyes' narrowed in confusion.

" What the hell?"

Then the creature turned impossibly, in that brief moment.

Lucian's eyes widened in horror.

" Cassius, move!"

Cassius was a split second too slow to react.

Samantha shrieked in alarm, Talia closed her eyes, and Amanda snapped out of her daze.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion.

Then horrifically, one of the creature's mandibles bit into Cassius' shoulder with a sickening crunch.

Cassius almost passed out from the pain.

In the next instant, the creature savagely threw him into the air.

" Cassius!"

Cassius could hear every scream; it felt like time had slowed down.

His entire body ached, every muscle screaming for him to stop; everything hurt.

His shoulder ached and burned agonizingly at the same time.

" I can't stop; if I stop now, I'll die for sure."

Cassius' mind drifted back to the time he'd discovered his Talented ability.

"The Wulfric family has always been special," his father had told him.

" Is this what happens when someone is dying?" He thought in a daze.

Cassius forcefully roused his mind from the stupor.

Amanda had thought she was going to die, but she hadn't because he had intervened. And he definitely wasn't going to die in this forsaken realm.

"But, if I'm going to go out, then at least I'll take this thing with me."

The creature's mandibles opened up in anticipation, its dark maw swallowing the light like an inferno abyss.

The spider's pincers clicked together excitedly, producing a sharp melodic sound.

Cassius' body hurtled towards it, then at the last instant, he shifted around in the air.

His arm flashed forward with lightning-fast speed, stabbing one of the creature's tenebrous eyes.

" Die, you freak!"

The creature shrieked, buckling violently, trying to throw him off.

A shallow cut formed on the creature's eyes, leaking dark blood.

Cassius screamed in agony, then used his injured arm to grab the fur on the spider's head, using it to leverage himself.

His bloodshot eyes glowed with murderous rage.

" I'm going to kill you. Even if it's the last thing I do!"

The silver blade rose and struck the creature once more, in the same spot.

His muscles bulged and strained, pushing the silver blade deeper into its head.

" Not enough," he whispered.

"This isn't enough, I need more!"

With a primal roar, he shoved the whole blade into the eye.

The hard chitinous layer gave way to soft mush, burying Cassius' entire arm to the elbow in the creature's head.

The creature's struggles lessened, its body moved sluggishly across the sand, then it collapsed.

Cassius ripped his arm free, taking a few shaky breaths.

His ability deactivated, his body shrinking back to normal.

He staggered off the creature's corpse, then fell to his knees.

His eyes rolled back, then he sprawled in the sand.

His vision slowly faded, everything turning dark.

" Ah, everything hurts," he sighed weakly.

Cassius' stomach chose that moment, loudly grumbling as though in complaint.

" And to top it all off, I'm still hungry."