The demon and the beast clashed, Renny with his sword, Druvash with the cut wood still clutched in his grip. Steel met wood again and again, each strike ringing through the clearing. Renny struggled to keep pace; in truth, he could tell the beast was merely toying with him.
Considering he was the one holding the sharper weapon, one would think the advantage was his. But that was far from the case. Renny's only luck was that Druvash wielded wood instead of a blade, though each blow was devastating, they had not yet cut through his body.
All Renny could do now was endure the onslaught, praying for the moment he could slip his Needle-Loop Snare into play, clip the necklace, and escape before the beast even realized. Yet defending himself from critical damage while preparing such a move proved impossible.
The opening never came. With sudden, crushing strength, Druvash slammed him against a timber tree at the forest's edge, holding him there as bark cracked and splintered under the weight. The beast's glowing eyes narrowed, his words falling heavy:
"This is thy end, demon. Thou hast fought bravely, albeit without strength. A shame, that such courage should perish here."
He took Renny's blade from him and angled it for the kill, pressing the edge to his chest.
Realizing this was the chance he had been waiting for, Renny drew his pistol and fired, not at Druvash, but past him, toward the wooden house. The bullets tore through the side wall and struck the iron saw blade propped against the timber bench. Sparks leapt from the steel on impact, showering across the air.
The sparks met the hanging veil of sawdust that lingered in the clearing's still air. In an instant, the dust flared, igniting with a sharp whoosh that lit the shadow of the tree in violent orange.
Druvash turned his head at the sudden blaze, his grip on Renny faltering as the fire licked toward the wood stacks. Renny slipped the Needle-Loop Snare around the necklace. The beast lunged forward to stop the blaze, but Renny pulled hard on the string, yanking the necklace clean off Druvash's neck.
Druvash did everything in his power to smother the fire, thrashing at it with wood and dirt, but the blaze had grown too mighty, swallowing the timber house in seconds.
Renny, trembling, forced himself to his feet. His chest heaved as he staggered backward, the necklace clutched tight in his hand. Against all odds, he had pulled it off. He couldn't believe it, He'd actually snatched the soul key from Druvash. Now all that mattered was escape. He just had to reach the boat, and pray it didn't play one of its wicked tricks to strand him here. But as he ran through the forest, a spike tore through him, stopping him dead in his tracks. Pain exploded in his gut, white-hot and merciless. A sharp spike of bone tore clean through him, halting his steps. He gasped, eyes widening, before slowly lowering his gaze to the pale spike jutting from his stomach.
Renny turned, dread tightening his throat, and saw Druvash. The beast's human mask was splitting, jagged cracks spreading across it as if it could no longer contain the monstrous form beneath. His glowing eyes burned with fury.
"You have kindled flame upon my labor," Druvash thundered, his voice shaking the ground. "But timber may be cut again. Ash may be gathered again. Time is my ally, and toil my servant. But thou…" His jagged smile spread as the spikes erupted from his arms. "Thou shall never rise as demon again. Thy soul shall be stripped of mark and mantle, and thou shalt be cast down, a condemned spirit, to languish in torment everlasting."
He ripped the spike from Renny's gut, then brought it down again, and again. Each thrust was a hammer blow, slamming Renny off the earth and back down with another stab. Spikes tore through his flesh in savage rhythm, each strike leaving him weaker, his blood spraying across the dirt and embers. Druvash's strikes grew faster, more merciless, pounding Renny into the ground like he was nothing more than broken meat.
Renny tried to crawl away, dragging himself through the dirt with what little strength he could muster. His fingers clawed weakly at the ground, desperate for even an inch of escape. But it was to no avail. With a thunderous lunge, Druvash pounced upon him once more, pinning him like prey. Spikes jutted and sank again, the beast resuming its vicious strikes with merciless rhythm. Each blow drove Renny down, the ground trembling beneath the weight of his torment, his body breaking further with every stab.