The creature towered over them, its chest rising higher than even the tallest among the group.
"Wh-what kind of beast is this? Is this even a beast?" Jarek's face turned pale.
"This isn't just a beast—it's a creature from the Rift! My father has slain a few before, and its description matches perfectly…" Tobin interjected, his hand trembling slightly.
"What?! How did it get in here? Isn't the entire city supposed to be a safe zone?" Jarek panicked, stumbling backward in fear.
"Help me…" Tavan whispered, his body weakening with each passing second as his life force ebbed away.
"Shhh… j-just… wait… let me… bleed you dry… they… they can't… help… you… When… when I'm done… it'll be… their turn…" The creature's words came out in ragged, broken gasps, each syllable dragged out.
"We can't let him die! We have to stop it while it's still distracted! Tobin, your dad must have told you its weakness—tell me, now!" Orin shouted. With Tavan's strength fading by the second, every moment counted.
"Yes, you see those hardened sections along its outer body? The parts that aren't hardened are much thinner—those are the weak spots."
Orin guided his dagger, slicing through the creature's arm with precision.
"Pathetic… how could such a tiny dagger even touch me? With your weak cultivation, you humans are—" the creature sneered, but its voice cut off abruptly as it realized—its sharpened arm, the one siphoning Tavan's essence, had been severed midair.
Tavan's almost corpse-like body fell to the ground, but his life was saved.
"You ba… bastard! Wha… what have you done? Do you… do you know how much energy I'll need… to grow this arm back?" the creature roared, its red eyes blazing with hatred as it lunged furiously at Orin.
"Jarek, take care of Tavan. Tobin and I will try to hold it off," Orin urged, controlling his dagger to strike another weak point.
The creature lunged forward, each stride covering ground with alarming speed. The whistle of a sharp object cutting through the air rang out as it swung its blade-like arm, knocking the dagger aside but slowing its motion.
But the dagger curved back, only to be knocked away again and again. With each deflection, it drew closer to Orin.
"Tobin! Help Jarek get Tavan out of here!" Orin urged.
"But what about you? How will you get out?" Tobin asked, concern etched on his face.
"Don't worry, I'll be right behind you. You guys just need to get out of here. With your enhanced strength, it'll be easier to carry Tavan. If you stay, you'll be holding me back!" Orin yelled.
"Tobin, you heard him! If you stay, you'll only slow him down. I've activated the extraction device—help should arrive any moment now!" Jarek shouted from the other side.
Tobin struggled, torn over what to do. After a tense moment, he decided to follow Orin's words.
"Orin, you better come back safely—or I won't let you rest even after your death!" Tobin shouted, dashing forward to help Jarek carry Tavan.
"They… they can't… escape! After I… finish you… it'll be their turn…" the creature hissed, still locked in combat with the dagger. Its sharpened arm bore dents and scratches, clearly battered by the repeated strikes.
"I just have to keep you here until help comes."
Orin and the creature were only ten feet apart. Aware of the narrowing distance, he stepped back, keeping the gap wide but still within ten meters of the dagger's range.
Meanwhile, the severed arm slowly began to knit itself back together.
"You see what you've done? I had to burn my own essence just to restore my arm. Now… let's see how you plan to get away." The creature hissed, its voice dripping with false triumph—until, in an instant, its other arm was severed.
But Orin wasn't without his own problems. "The dagger is about to break…" he realized with dread. Hairline cracks spiderwebbed along its edge, faint but spreading.
It wouldn't shatter immediately, but he knew after a dozen more collisions with the creature's strength, the weapon would be nothing but fragments.
But a dozen more clean slashes would be enough to kill it outright, or at the very least cripple both its legs and keep it from fleeing until help arrived.
The creature staggered back, its second arm falling uselessly to the ground. Its eyes burned with fury, but now there was something else, fear.
"You… you dare…" it hissed, voice trembling with rage. "This isn't over, human. You've only bought yourself time. I'll tear you apart the next time we meet… limb by limb!"
With a guttural snarl, it twisted its body and leapt into the bushes, retreating before Orin could strike again.
"I can't let it escape…" Orin dashed forward in pursuit.
After minutes of desperate chasing, they pushed deeper into the Beast Grounds.
"Damn it… how does this human keep tracking me?" the creature snarled under its breath.
Orin leapt through the trees. Even when the creature slipped out of sight, he always knew where it was, adjusting his course without hesitation.
This was thanks to the dagger's second property—Phantom Edge.
Orin glanced at the dagger. "Phantom Edge… as long as it draws blood from my opponent, I'll be able to track them," he murmured, marveling at its power.
His expression hardened. "But there's still a limit of one hour. I have to finish this before time runs out."
"What's he doing?" Orin narrowed his eyes, watching as the creature suddenly veered off course. Instead of fleeing deeper into the forest, it lashed out with its remaining arm, ensnaring a wild beast in its grasp while still on the run.
The unfortunate animal shrieked in terror, struggling helplessly as its lifeblood was siphoned away in an instant.
Orin's heart sank. "Damn it… he's restoring himself while retreating."
The beast's husk fell limply as the creature's arm reformed fully before Orin's eyes.
"I can't let it rebuild its second arm." Orin pushed his speed to the limit, sending his dagger flying through the air, aiming to strike before the creature could drain another beast.
The dagger streaked forward, but the creature was quicker, snatching a beast and leeching its strength before the blade could land.
"Just make up your mind already. I'm even helping you take down the very beasts you were sent to kill," it taunted, shifting course again.
Like that, Orin and the creature went back and forth through the dense forest—Orin desperately trying to cut it off before it could drain another creature's essence, yet the monster always stayed a step ahead, feeding at every turn.
"How does he keep knowing where the beasts are? Every turn he makes leads him straight to one," Orin thought grimly. In the Beast Grounds, running into wild beasts wasn't strange—but the creature's movements were too precise. Every change in direction brought it directly to prey.
Then it dawned on him. "It can sense their life force."
"You finally guessed it." The creature's voice was chilling, crawling down Orin's spine like a thousand cold fingers.
"Something's wrong…!" Orin suddenly felt a sharp sense of danger. "This is the home of a beast!"
At his back, an unexpected predator lunged—it had lured him in.
The beast's claws descended, aiming straight for his head, ready to finish him with a single blow.
Sensing the danger, Orin controlled his dagger in a swift arc, slicing the beast's arm clean off. But he had miscalculated something—the creature itself.
While Orin recalled the dagger to sever the beast's limb, the monster seized the opening, lunging with its newly reformed arm, the sharpened tip aimed at Orin's abdomen.
Orin's scalp went numb as he hastily controlled his dagger, just managing to deflect the strike.
Ding! The sharp clang of metal rang out.
But the creature was already too close. Though its arm was parried, it twisted instantly, lashing out with its leg and whipping Orin hard across the chest.
Orin was blasted back like a cannonball, blood spraying from his mouth as he crashed against a tree.
"I told you—I'll tear you limb from limb," the creature rasped hoarsely as it drove its arm into the beast that had attacked Orin. In an instant, the beast's essence was consumed, fueling the complete restoration of its other arm.
"You… haven't won…" Orin rasped, forcing himself to his knees as blood trickled from his lips. With trembling focus, he called his dagger back under his control, clinging to the fragile hope of survival.
Ding…!
Ding…!
Ding…!
The sound of steel striking steel rang out—once, twice, three times… then eight in total.
On the ninth, the dagger couldn't take another impact. With a sharp crack, it shattered into fragments.
The creature leapt forward, its arm plunging into Orin's abdomen before hoisting him into the air like a broken doll.
"You humans have always been weak," it hissed. "Feel your life slipping away with each passing second. Consider this… my gift to you."
Orin spat out another mouthful of blood. The pain of his abdomen being pierced was like a giant needle driving straight through him. But it also gave him another feeling—and this feeling led to what his trait would be, and just might save his life.