The Corrupted Draconic Spawn reeled under the combined assault.
Its hulking body staggered, burns blackening across its exposed flesh, muscle torn where Amon's claws had ripped, and sizzling where Akane's flames had landed.
It looked like the outcome of the fight had already been decided. At least, that's what it felt like to Amon and Akane. It had seemed that way to Syl as well.
SCREECH!
The Spawn suddenly raised its head, its throat convulsing.
"Careful!" Amon barked, bracing himself.
A torrent of black liquid erupted skyward, spraying high into the smoke-filled night.
Akane's brow furrowed. "Huh? Oh…" She clenched her fists, flames dancing along her arms. "It's desperately trying to keep us away by showering the area around it."
But Amon's eyes narrowed, teeth grinding as droplets rained down.
"No… Tsk."
The Corrupted Liquid cascaded back onto the creature and flowed down its body…
"It's making another coat of corrupted skin."
Before clinging and twisting into thick strands. Each drop became a living thread, knitting together, weaving across its body like a black coat.
"Fine!" Akane shrugged. "We'll just tear it off again!"
The two lunged forward at once. Amon darted low, claws hooking into the newly formed strands and ripping them wide open, the wet snap of tearing flesh echoing. Akane shot forward, her fist bursting with flame, hammering against the exposed muscle.
The Spawn shrieked, its body lurching back. But then, for one short moment,
'It turned its head!' Amon noticed.
Not towards them.
Towards something else.
His body stiffened, every hair standing on end. His heart clenched as the realization hit.
'It turned its head…' He clicked his tongue. 'Towards the Black Stone.'
Without another word, Amon bolted, sprinting past the monster in a blur.
"H-Hey! What are you…?!" Akane called after him, bewildered.
"Keep it occupied!" Amon shouted back, his voice sharp and commanding, before disappearing into a haze of flame and shadow.
Akane scratched her head. "Yeah… Alright." She nodded to herself.
The air grew colder as Amon came to a stop right before the hut where he had hidden the Black Stone.
"Tsk…" He stepped forward, claws flexing.
Both outside and inside the hut, the corrupted liquid was alive. It slithered across the walls, bubbling and writhing, twisting like a venomous symbiote.
'Fuck me…'
SCREEEEEECH!
The Corrupted Draconic Spawn's strident call split the night.
The black goo responded instantly.
WHOOSH!
The corrupted slime that had been crawling across the hut and on the ground suddenly spiraled upward, circling faster and faster until it whipped into a vortex. In a blink, torrents of liquid crashed into Amon from every direction, knocking the air from his lungs and shoving him into the dirt.
"Ghh—!" His claws raked against the ground, but it was useless. The goo was hardening.
CRACK—CRACK!
The liquid hardened, layering around his limbs, locking his body down inch by inch until he was pinned in place.
"Damn it!" Amon spat, his gaze on the hut that held the Black Stone. The flames that used to protect had long died.
"Amon!" Akane shouted, eyes widening as she saw him caught, his body encased in that writhing cocoon of corruption.
She immediately started running towards him.
"Don't let it come close!" Amon's voice roared from within the hardened mass. "Akane, don't…!"
But it was already too late.
The shadows beneath the hut twisted unnaturally, a yawning maw of darkness opening wide.
SLIP! CRACK!
The Corrupted Draconic Spawn slithered through, its massive body emerging from the very shadows beneath the hut. Wood splintered, beams shattered, and the structure erupted into debris.
The Black Stone shot into the air, spinning amidst the falling wreckage.
The Spawn's jaws unhinged wider than ever before, the glistening void of its throat waiting.
The Black Stone fell, glimmering faintly in the firelight.
'Fuck… No! If it eats it and gets more powerful…' Amon's eyes burned. 'That one is mine! Not yet… Not yet…'
Akane's flames burned away the hardened goo clinging to Amon's arm, and his right arm burst free.
'Not yet!' Amon's eyes blazed as he pulled his arm back, as if to throw something. 'I'm not letting you have it… JUST YET!'