They tried to run away, but Avodus closed the distance in one jump, conquering the many meters that stood between them.
"Which one~!"
His voice sang roughly as if he was an elderly man. His eyes - bloodshot and thirsty for blood and flesh - searched before landing on Grace. The boy tried to jump away, but Avodus leapt forward and grabbed Grace by the neck.
"Let's play!" He snarled as he smashed Grace into the ground and begun to drag him across the dirt. All types of dirty things collided with Grace's face as he was finally thrown into the ashes of the manor.
"Grace!" They all yelled. Just as they were about to rush in, Grace barely managed to rise from the ashes and the leftover flesh of the guards. His eyes crossed the field, going to to everyone.
"N-no... run--!" Avodus grabbed Grace by the torso and threw him down, his body destroying the floors of the house and landing in the torture dungeon below.
Avodus lurked from above, his bloodshot gaze and ferocious teeth shining.
"Wait for me there--your friends are next!"
Grace tried...
He tried so desperately to get up, but his body refused. It kept on telling him to stop, to rest and stay down. And he almost did--
Until he remembered.
Ivan's words.
"The arrival of the teacher, the uncertainty of when, and the probability of death... it doesn't matter--we act!"
He couldn't let himself stay down. As every cell and bone in his body ached to the absolute limit, Grace clawed at the dungeon walls, using the little crevices as leverage.
And to the side, Grace saw the glasses.
Ray's glasses.
There was blood on the glasses, but they would still be usable.
This is because these glasses were not real glasses.
Rather it was an item identifier that would show an interface on items in dungeons and general artifacts and discern any information that couldn't be analyzed with the naked eye.
Putting them on, Grace's vision - blurry and hazy - began to analyze anything that could be useful.
BAM!
Albert had been next. His body was ruthlessly thrown into the dungeon and blood began to escape from his mouth as his eyes bulged in the utter pain that he was experiencing.
Then it was Alice.
Then it was Anne.
Must... find... something... Grace inched forward. His eyes crawled from one end of the dungeon to the other.
But he found nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Nothing on the interface showed anything useful.
He wanted to collapse even when he pushed through.
"Albert... Alice... Anne..." He muttered loud enough. "We need... to go... stairs..." But his words fell into deaf's ears.
But he couldn't stop and wait for them.
Again, he began to inch forward.
Pushing his body tirelessly.
~~~
Hiding behind one of the trees, Rufus tried to shoot out a devastating fire spell, but Avodus twirled around a tall tree and diminished the flame with his sheer hand, dominating the expulsion of fire with greater mana output.
"Too weak... too pitiful!"
He grabbed Rufus' arm and threw him against the bark of the tree. He then slid his body up and down the bark, the skin of his back rupturing from the sheer magnitude of the force.
This was not their game.
This was not their dungeon.
They merely got lucky that they avoided danger.
And it all ran out at the destined point!
From behind, Ivan tried his best and conjured all of his strength into one single bullet of water. But Avodus' head turned abnormally, rotating a full 180, a threatening grin that leaked with saliva and blood danced with glee.
His heart was singing a beautiful song.
A song of brutal death.
"Not enough!!!!" He roared as the sheer sound of his voice recoiled the bullet of water into a nearby tree. Ivan was pushed back, and Avodus threw Rufus and stuffed him into the ground.
Leaping, Avodus grabbed on the side of the tree and pushed himself off, diving into Ivan. The boy, to no avail, could not dodge or block the incredibly swift attack and was forced to meet the full brunt of the tackle.
"AGHHH!"
He grabbed Ivan and then jumped back towards Rufus and grabbed his torso with his own claws. He then bursted back to the burnt down manor and shoved them down to the dungeon.
Not bothering to look down, he began to look to the sky. His bloodshot eyes and egregious grin of pure horror reflected off of the moonlight as he ushered his hands up above.
A storm began to brew.
The clouds that separated began to converge once more.
And pellets of water began to rain down again.
He then concentrated the water into a spear.
"READY?!"
Just as he was about to pierce the bodies of the cohort present in the dungeon, one single dagger of light pierced his skin.
It wasn't strong.
And it shook as if it could hardly be controlled.
Avodus turned to the source.
"You--!"
Grace stood quietly, huffing and puffing in utter fatigue and pain. He could not hear clearly nor could he see all that well either.
But, even in his tired and pained state--he could still faintly see it.
The danger that he had been about to ensue.
Standing alone, Grace forced himself to fight in front of danger.
"In the... end... I choose..." Grace breathed. Avodus did not care in the slightest as to what he was going to say and instead leapt forward, his claws contorting in utter rage.
"To act!"
Then, just as Avodus was about to cleave him in two, a loud boom descended from above and landed on Avodus, crushing his body.
"Well said," Calvin spoke. "You stupid fucking student." He gave Grace a pouch filled with bottles filled with an unknown substance.
Alchemy.
"Drink one and pass it down to the other stupid students you came here with."
Grace nodded weakly as he drank one and felt his body slowly heal itself. He did not say anything more and descended down the stairs that he had followed in order to get back to the surface.
Calvin sighed, looking at Avodus.
Calvin's eyes had contacts--an identifier.
[Avodus Crylo]
[Age: 46]
[Intermediate-Grade 7]
[Description: The last and only member of the Crylo Family, the Family of Werewolves. The urge to eat flesh and blood can not be overpowered--it will eventually consume the family in madness. In doing so, the village is trapped in a cycle of repetition. A village begins and it ends. And it begins again and ends again.]
[Magic: Water and Weather Magic]
"And what shall I do with you, Mr. Avodus." Calvin got off of the werewolf, and Avodus seized this chance to attack immediately.
"Hunger... hunger... your flesh!" In the atmosphere, a swirl of water descended down like a tsunami. Calvin merely smirked as the claws emitted dozens of bullets of water that came at speeds that Ivan could only dream of achieving.
"Impressive," Calvin praised. "But not enough." His hands glowed and lightning emitted from his hands, the injection of mana oozing profusely from his fists.
Calvin dodged to the left then immediately countered with a punch to Avodus' ribcage. Everything slowed down for Avodus--the pain zeroing in on his senses as if thousands of pounds had been thrusted into him all at once.
Calvin, however, did not relent.
He followed suit, his hands grabbed Avodus' face.
He stared intensely.
Avodus felt as if his soul was being searched and was left powerless, unable to do anything remotely to fight back.
"In the end, you are a mere beast."
With his left hand, Calvin gripped the top of Avodus' head.
Swssshhh!
Calvin tore Avodus' head from its stem, a indescribable amount of blood escaping from the base of his neck. Calvin continued to stare intensely as he held the head of Avodus right next to his hip.
"And a beast like you must be slain."
Avodus Crylo.
Slain by Calvin Pinch.
A titan.