"GROOOOOH!!!"
The Crooked Growon's roar echoed through the forest as he lunged at Ethan without hesitation. He sensed that Ethan was a lower-level creature.
Splinters flew past Ethan's face. He dodged at the last moment as the Crooked Growon's jaw swept past him.
Picking up the sword from the dead mercenary, Ethan spun around, throwing the weapon directly at the monster.
Cling.
The blade simply bounced off the monster's hide. Ethan wasn't strong enough to wound the Crooked Growon with a normal weapon.
'Shit, I'll probably be able to wound it with the artifact or my catalyst, but...' he faltered. 'It's unlikely to end with one blow. His thin, long neck is my ticket to victory.'
Ethan backed away, disappearing among the trees and tall grass, yet this could not stop the Crooked Growon.
Like an unstoppable force, the monster pursued Ethan, scattering trees and tearing roots to shreds.
Suddenly, Ethan jerked to the left, climbing over a fallen tree to jump off the rock, for a moment finding himself significantly higher than the Crooked Growon.
A flash ran across the red dagger as his Construct sprang into action. The sound of gears grinding echoed as sparks flew from the core.
But he wasn't going to use his spell, no, he established a connection with his artifact.
[The Blood Seeker was connected to the Construct. The artifact's projection - Crimson Cut, was unlocked.]
[If the connection is removed, one of the following events will be unavoidable: 1) Damage to the Circle, 2) Damage to the Artifact, 3) Significant energy consumption.]
Ethan knew that linking the artifact to his Construct was an important decision. Basically, he chose his weapon and couldn't change it, at least not until he was ready to face the consequences.
None of that mattered now.
He was in the middle of a battle that determined his survival.
He needed to win.
Whoooooosh.
The bloody blade flew out of the dagger, aiming straight for the Crooked Growon's neck. As soon as his head hit the ground, it would all be over.
"Agh…?" Ethan's eyes widened in disbelief.
The Crooked Growon folded his neck as his head sank into his body at shoulder level. The blade flew past.
The monster's long tail lashed out at Ethan, throwing him straight into the forest grove. Splinters of dry wood flew before his eyes, but he couldn't waste time on the pain.
The wide-open jaw reflected in Ethan's eyes.
'Shit!'
Ethan jumped aside, clutching his left arm. A sharp branch pierced his shoulder.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
The ground shook from the Crooked Growon's heavy footsteps, his long tongue hanging out in anticipation of another snack.
Cutting through the wind, the dagger flew from Ethan's fingers in a swift throw.
A splash of blood gushed out as the dagger pierced the monster's right eye.
"RGHHHHHOOOOOR!!!"
A painful scream erupted from the monster as Ethan found himself under the Crooked Growon's head. A dark cross ran across his arm as he clenched his fist tightly.
"DIE!" Ethan exclaimed as he struck.
The blast of darkness tore through the Crooked Growon's long neck, severing the head from the body in an instant. With a crunch, the elongated bone shattered into pieces as the already rotting flesh flew apart.
With a crash, the Crooked Growon collapsed onto the rocks, or rather, its decapitated body did. Sharp spikes pierced its swollen belly, cutting through the flesh.
Ethan fell to his knees, covered in the strong-smelling blood, but with a happy smile.
"I did it!" Ethan clenched his fist, forgetting the pain.
Soon his Construct would absorb the energy of the Crooked Growon, and his Circle would be complete.
Ethan pulled the dagger out of the monster's eye, his grin reflected in the blade.
"Great. This turned out to be harder than I expected, but I did it, right?"
But...
Ethan didn't know what was waiting for him yet.
"Agh? Why isn't anything happening?" Ethan muttered, staring at the Crooked Growon.
The monster was clearly dead.
So...?
Crack.
Suddenly, the Crooked Growon's torn belly burst open, spilling out its intestines along with a girl covered in blood.
Lying in a pool of blood, her slow breathing made it clear that she was alive.
Ethan stepped back, his face pale.
Now it was clear to him who the spectral copy of the Circle was pointing at. From the beginning, his target was this girl, not the Crooked Growon.
His Circle trembled, and the gears inside the Construct were ready to turn. Everything was almost done.
"No..." Ethan bit his lip. "If I want to become a Mage, I have to kill her and not the monster? Some girl? But... This wasn't what I expected!"
True, Roger warned him. The Construct didn't care who owned the Circle, the main thing was to find the perfect match.
It was human nature to hope for the best outcome, but it didn't always happen.
Step. Step. Step.
Ethan towered over the girl.
Her eyes were tightly closed. Perhaps she wouldn't feel anything, but he couldn't kill an innocent person. Ethan couldn't do that, or...
"Damn it!" Ethan crashed to his knees and gripped the dagger tightly with both hands.
His teeth gritted in anger at himself and the situation, but he had no other choice. There was no time to search for a new donor.
"I'm not going to spend the rest of my life as a Broken Mage, at the bottom of the world, because of a moment of weakness."
Ethan's eyes darkened.
"Goodbye, I won't apologize."
Without hesitation, Ethan plunged the blade straight into the girl's heart, ending it all with one blow.
Drops of blood fell on his face as he breathed heavily.
"Agh... Agh... Agh..."
Ethan's heart was beating like crazy. His hands trembled as he looked at the blood flowing from the girl's mouth.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
The Construct trembled, setting Ethan's Broken Circle in motion. The spectral copy vibrated, preparing to extract the missing parts from the girl.
And then...
The girl opened her eyes in response, trying to absorb Ethan's Circle.
They were donors to each other, although only one of them knew it.
"WHAT?!" Ethan tried to step back, but it was too late.
[Synchronization process started...]
[The target circle has defects. The defects must be removed to complete the process. Otherwise, both sides will be eliminated.]
[The defect lies in the donor element. The Patterns must be cleansed!]
The mechanical voice of the Construct only wreaked havoc on Ethan, but he couldn't think about that now.
The seemingly dead girl clutched his wrist with her hands.
"You..." her hoarse voice escaped. "Are... mine... s..."
Then, her eyes went blank as a dark red aura covered her body, expelling the dagger from her heart.
She faded away before a shocked Ethan.