After a few minutes of purely instinctive combat, Aes-Dareth staggered back.
A bleeding gash marred their chest, the first in centuries. Their cloak was half-torn, the hood completely gone.
Their bare, disfigured face was finally exposed, its surface a mosaic of shimmering scars that pulsed faintly with prismatic light, betraying their alien nature. Yet no one paid it any mind.
The crew knew. The hood was more a shield against their own self than against others' judgment.
After all, the only thing that mattered in this world was strength.
But Aes-Dareth could not stop thinking about their scarred face. It was one of their inner demons.
And so, noticing their destroyed hood, an infinite rage surged within them.
Meanwhile, the monster repositioned itself slowly, like a predator savoring its satisfaction.
It did not attack immediately. Seeing blood drip from its claw, the ever-present expression of Euphoria on its face shifted, morphing into Ecstasy.
