BOOM!
The clash was short and spectacular, seizing as soon as it started in a flash of kinetic energy. The rhino may have set its horn angled for a mindless brute charge, but the forger's needle had been uncannily precise. Its tip found an infinitesimally small point of weakness in the horn, breaking through with a sharp crunch and puncturing the rhino's left eye.
But the rhino wasn't the only one left harmed. The beast's dying momentum launched the forger through the air like a blitzing gale. He slammed into the oak tree behind him with force capable of scaring dinosaurs. His needle had reverberated with tension of a second, before shattering into a hundred and one shimmering pieces. His back slid down along the rough bark as he dropped to the base of the tree, coughing up a bit of red tinted spit. With a whizz, he struggled back to his feet, surprised that his body had actually obliged. His body was a personification of 'ewww'. Tattered, bruised and looking like broken glass. Still, he reached into his wraps a second time.
The needle he drew was coated in the same translucent resin that Ronan had used to drive it off before. It was a special toxin, clotting blood and shutting down the nervous system. Without any more spirit to spare, he needed another equaliser to at least prevent lopsidedness.
The rhino wriggled in agony, shaking its head as it tried to blink away the darkness on its left eye. Painfully realising the futility of its attempt, it stopped and turned to him.
In the eye that remained, it no longer gazed at him with predatory rage, but madness so psychotic that it seemed to brighten the air around it.
It rushed at him like a natural disaster given will, landsliding a charge that had his grave mark on it. Even with half of its sight gone, it didn't seem to do much in impeding its confidence. With an ear built for subpar echolocation, it could easily track his movements in the vibrations of the ground and sharp panting. The forger ducked moments before the horn whistled past his head, lodging into the tree behind him. He crawled forward, the poison needle flashing into the rhino's neck. Nothing he didn't was going to end it in a single shot, and the kinetic clash had proved that, so he would wear it down by pumping toxins into its bloodstream.
The rhino grunted, slamming its shoulder into the forger with surprising agility. The force sent him zip-lining through the mist, releasing him just over a puddle of murky water. He scrambled to his knees as his lower legs failed him. His vision turned static blank for a few seconds as the rhino thundered towards him. Snapping out of the pain induced trance, he feigned movement to the left then quickly rolled out to the right, dodging the rhino's massive foot by a hair's breadth.
The forger pushed up against the floor, launching himself into the path of the beast's head scything in a wild arc. Just as collision was about to happen, he tugged against a hanging vine, swinging his body over its back and carving out a long shallow line with his blade as he flew by. The resin hissed as it reacted with its hide, causing the beast immense pain.
It bucked like a horse going through labor, throwing the forger clear. But he didn't fall gracelessly this time, he twisted midair, catching his footing in a clumsy crouch. Without hesitation, he sprinted forward again, not waiting for the rhino's recovery. He slid low, depositing another fraction of his toxic payload as he drifted by.
The rhino's movements grew heavy as the poison drew into its nervous system. Yet, it refused to back down. As of now, retreat was the rational thing to do, but such a primal force was beyond logic. It was at the doorstep of death, but out of pure spite, it was willing to die as long as it took the forger with it.
A fading titan versus a battered craftsman. With every second, their strength flagged lower, but the battle did not care. The forger knew his will was running on empty, and so was his flesh. He tasted the bleeding in his throat, but scoffed at it.
'It won't slow me down one bit.'
He rushed forward with reckless abandon. Instead of closing the distance with his erratic dance of feigns, he ran directly into the path of its charge. The branches swayed in anticipation. At the last moment before certain pulverisation, he leaped, pushing himself high against its bruised snout.
As he soared, he gripped his needle with both hands. With a guttural cry, he brought the blade down with what was left of him, driving it into the other eye.
The force was devastating. The impact of the rhino's brow against his chest tossed him back. He skidding against the ground and didn't stop tumbling until he was half submerged in silty water. His breath hung against his pummeled chest, leaving him growing blue until it stuttered out. He was completely broken.
But the rhino was now truly blind.
What followed, was total breakdown. The rhino had gone from wrathful, to psychotic, and now, to blind desperation. It roared, lashing out at emptiness, plowing vine and bark as it tried to find hold of its foe. Slowly, its movements grew more insane. When a tree that it had hit cracked and let down a branch, it charged at it again with bulldozing momentum. The forger dragged himself through the mud at snail's pace, carefully not to churn his loose organs too much, and not to make noticeable sound.
The beast barrelled for another tree rattling in the wind, reeling back as it slammed into its protruding stomp. The forger saw the opening. He dropped to his knees as quietly as he could, crawling to a shard of his first needle. Lacking to strength to stand, he hurled the shard forward. A whistle later, it sank into the beast's ear, causing it to shriek in violent sensation. The beast whipped out, throwing its body back and forth in futile retaliation to its attacker.
The forger picked a large chunk of granite, hurling it into a thicket of ferns a few tens of yards away. The rhino charged for its instantly, its body stiffening as it marched forward with terrifying speed. It slammed its skull into a massive rock cradled at the centre of the dull greenery.
The sound was deep and wet, cutting sharp through the canopy above. The rhino stumbled with buckling legs, rattling in hitches as it breath started to fail it. Letting out a final moan, it swayed twice then fell to the ground in acknowledgement of the end of its reign.
Silence followed in mournful tunes, only broken by the distant roar of predators responding to the wail from the collosal tree.
The forger leaned back against rotting wood, closing his eyes for a brief moment. He had to get going soon anyway.
The rhino was dead, and the seed of their conflict was his to harvest, if he could stand.