Demos (P.O.V.)
I charged.
My one-handed axe flashed in the sunlight like a beacon of death.
Each step slammed into the forest floor—heavy, violent, unstoppable. Power surged through my limbs, wild and unchained. My blood burned.
Not human.
Not calm.
War.
Something ancient roared inside me—demanding blood.
And I answered.
"SPARTA!"
My scream tore through the forest like the cry of a dying god.
The axe came down.
BOOM.
Steel met bone.
Flesh met fury.
The impact shook the ground beneath us.
The Perezoso roared—deep, monstrous, like mountains grinding together. It reared back, claws lashing out in a storm of destruction.
I moved.
Not thinking.
Not hesitating.
I ducked under the first strike—
Slipped past the second—
My body moved faster than thought.
Then—
Something broke inside me.
A surge.
Violent.
Unnatural.
It exploded in my chest.
Lightning—no—
Something worse.
Something deeper.
It tore through my veins like fire and ice fused together. My muscles locked. My breath hitched.
My vision shook.
My grip weakened—
My axe dipped—
And for a single moment…
I faltered.
That was enough.
SLASH.
Pain.
Blinding.
White-hot.
The Perezoso's claws ripped into my left shoulder.
I felt it.
Every second.
Every inch.
Flesh tearing.
Muscle splitting.
The sound—
Wet.
Ripping.
My blood sprayed across the ground.
My axe slipped from my hand.
A scream tore out of me—
Not fear.
Never fear.
Rage.
I dropped to one knee.
The world spun.
My heartbeat thundered in my ears.
Too loud.
Too fast.
My vision blurred.
But that fire—
That thing inside me—
Didn't fade.
It grew.
Fed on the pain.
Demanded more.
I clenched my jaw so hard it felt like my teeth would shatter.
My hand found the axe again.
I gripped it.
Tight.
"I… DON'T… BREAK."
I forced myself up.
Muscles screaming.
Bones grinding.
I rose.
And I attacked.
A savage swing—
THUD.
The axe slammed into its chest.
The beast shrieked.
I didn't stop.
Another strike—
Then another—
Then another—
Each blow heavier.
Each strike fueled by blood and fury.
Chunks of fur tore free.
Meat split open.
Blood sprayed.
I stepped in.
Closer.
Closer.
No distance.
No fear.
I became the storm.
I spun low—
The blade carved across its legs.
The Perezoso staggered.
I leapt—
Brought the axe down with everything I had—
CRACK!
Bone split above its eye.
The beast stumbled.
Its body buckled.
And I—
Broken.
Bleeding.
Dying—
Still moved.
One final step.
One final swing.
Everything I had left—
Poured into it.
"DIE!"
CRACK.
The axe crushed through its skull.
The sound echoed through the forest like thunder.
The Perezoso collapsed.
Dead.
I staggered back.
My body was gone.
Shredded.
My shoulder hung useless.
Blood soaked me.
My breath came in ragged, broken gasps.
Every nerve screamed.
Every bone ached.
I should have fallen.
I should have died.
But I didn't.
I stood.
Tall.
Broken.
Victorious.
My vision faded.
White.
My eyes rolled back—
But I didn't collapse.
I didn't breathe.
I didn't feel.
Pain was gone.
Replaced.
By something else.
Something deeper.
Something… watching from inside me.
Then—
It moved.
A pulse.
Slow.
Heavy.
My flesh… began to close.
I felt it.
Muscle stitching itself back together.
Skin sealing.
Bones shifting—cracking—realigning.
Healing.
Too fast.
Too unnatural.
I heard them.
Distant.
Kael.
Gorthok.
Whispering.
Afraid.
But their voices didn't matter.
Nothing did.
Because in that moment—
I felt it.
Something had awakened.