Renny knew only his Royal Eye could see far and beyond the limit of his Demon Eye. With a grimace, he forced the transformation. Agony split through his skull as the X-shaped scar seared open across his left eye. He dropped to one knee, fighting for breath, but kept the eye open just long enough to glimpse what lay ahead.
The forest unfolded before him in cruel detail. For a few heartbeats, nothing was hidden, the trees, the clearing, the spot where violence energy gathered. Then the pain became too much. He shut the eye with a gasp, forcing it back to normal.
He had seen two rothounds, the normal size he was familiar with, five feet tall, and fast approaching. He grabbed his dagger and moved forward a bit, giving him and the injured rothound some distance.
No wonder the rothound shivered, it had felt them coming.
Renny steadied himself, lifting the fracture dagger into his grip. He stepped forward, placing himself where the beasts would break through, the wounded rothound safe behind him. His breath slowed, his focus sharpened, and he braced for their charge.
The two rothounds came into clear view now, growling, their dark blue fur standing out, so different from the injured orange one.
Renny staggered back a bit. Man, they were as intimidating as he remembered.
They advanced slowly, studying him, their eyes flicking to the injured one lying helpless on the ground. Their growls deepened into furious barks, as if enraged at Renny for helping it. He activated his demon eyes, scanning them, just as he expected, both carried causes with the potential for fracture.
One lunged. Renny evaded, his dagger grazing its side as he slipped past. Not enough to trigger the effect, he needed a direct strike. He frowned, wondering why only one had charged. If they attacked together, their strength would be overwhelming. So why split?
The second had moved around, boxing him in. He cursed under his breath. Now he understood why one had lunged alone, they were positioning him in the middle, setting up a joint attack he couldn't easily evade. As they charged, he leapt high, so high he felt for an instant like he might fly, then came crashing back down a few feet from them. Now they stood in front of him again, but this time, if they tried to trap him, he would make sure to land a strike hard enough to shatter bone while defending.
Just then, he caught something worse. One edged toward the wounded rothound while the other pressed on him. Of course, their trap wasn't for him. The real target was the injured one. They were closing in for a clean kill.
But Renny thought of something else. Rather than wasting time trying to stop the other from reaching the injured hound, he would use their divided attention to his advantage. If he could kill one fast, then he could deal with the other after. But for that to work, he had to be quick.
The closer one lunged, fangs bared, claws tearing through the air with speed. Renny dodged, but not completely. Instead, he grabbed its neck mid-evade, pulling himself on top of the beast. With a snarl of effort, he drove his dagger straight into its neck bone, right where he saw a thick surge of fracture energy.
The rothound roared and thrashed, rolling and slamming itself into the ground, but Renny held on, forcing the blade deeper, spreading the fractures until the bone gave way. Its neck severed under the dagger's relentless bite.
The second hound noticed too late. By the time it lunged to help, its comrade was already falling. But Renny's victory left him exposed. The beast's jaws clamped down on his left arm, nearly ripping it clean off.
Renny screamed, his voice raw with pain, but still he stabbed, dagger plunging again and again into the monster's neck. Their eyes locked in a savage struggle: man and beast, both consumed by agony, refusing to yield.
The pain was unbearable, his arm shredded, the hound's teeth buried deep in his shoulder. His strikes faltered, he couldn't spread the fracture effect properly while its bite crushed down on him. Desperate, Renny heaved with his injured shoulder, lifting the rothound up with its teeth still lodged in his flesh, and slammed it into the ground with a bone-cracking thud.
The moment of disorientation was all he needed. Renny roared and buried the dagger deep into its throat, shattering bone and spine in one brutal strike. The beast went limp instantly.
He collapsed onto his back, gasping for breath, his arm pouring blood, the pain excruciating. For a long moment he couldn't move, only breathe. Slowly, his arm began to knit back together, but the process dragged.
"Fuck," he spat through gritted teeth. The bite force was insane. These things could devour a demon whole.