This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Realizing that while locked onto, they were unable to move, Kain's mind worked in overdrive to come up with a solution.

Eventually, he came up with one.

After briefly whispering an apology and thanks for its sacrifice, he had one of the few remaining Vespid guards ram into Vauleth at its greatest speed—

"ROOOAARR"

"SCREEE"

The painful collision brought backlash to both of the contracts, but it succeeded in causing the pair to be slightly bumped higher. And just in time.

A sonic boom detonated across the field as the wyrm's massive head passed just beneath Kain and Vauleth, and through where now only the Vespid guard remained, so close the wake of its spiritual pressure compressed Kain's flesh to bone hard enough to bruise and split open. Kain felt something hot slide down his cheek. Blood. Just from proximity.

Then came the second strike.

A violent ripple burst from the wyrm's maw—not energy, not fire, but a visible compression wave. The air folded inward. Space caved.

"Climb!" Kain ordered. Vauleth, now freed from the strange invisible cage, pumped his wings once, twice—

Too slow.

The wave caught them like a divine backhand. Vauleth twisted his body and partially absorbed the force, but even then, they spun through the sky like leaves in a storm. Kain slammed onto Vauleth's back hard enough to feel like at least one rib cracked.

Below, the blast annihilated a cluster of floating platforms, entire slabs of stone evaporating into silver mist. Some platforms were empty, but others held up both claimed and unclaimed Obelisks, and all Obelisks on those platforms winked out of existence as if erased by a god's whim.

A familiar chime rang out. Bridge and the others must have succeeded!

But he was mistaken.

[Obelisks Destroyed: 7/9. 5 Claimed Obelisks Destroyed. 2 Unclaimed Obelisks Destroyed. 1 more required to pass]

The notification terrified Kain, seeing that the destroyed Obelisks were not restored by the System.

It seems like the relic does not count the destruction of claimed Obelisks against them—after all, they were still claimed by them.

But there is also no leniency for the destruction of Obelisks. What happens if this thing destroys the two remaining uncontrolled Obelisks before Kain's allies could complete the task? Do they just fail?

Now, while already preoccupied fleeing for his life, must he also remain cautious at all times about making sure none of this things attacks land on the Obelisk targeted by the others?

Kain gritted his teeth, dripping blood from his head stinging his eye. Through his one good eye, he looked for the remaining time:

[Time Remaining: 3:41]

Surprisingly, it didn't immediately attack while Kain was consumed by the repeated impact of negative news one after another. It wasn't in a rush to end the chase.

It was playing with him.

Behind him, the wyrm turned slowly to face him again. There was no wind-up. No hesitation. Its serpentine form simply moved, sliding through space like a god's finger tracing a line of death.

Kain could feel it breathing down his neck. Not metaphorically—literally. The air turned sour. Dense. Pressurized.

"Don't stop, don't stop, don't—"

CRASH

A section of the empty platform ahead erupted upward, shattering as the wyrm coiled through it. Stone shards rained down like shrapnel. Vauleth barrel-rolled mid-air to avoid them, and Kain nearly lost his grip. His arms burned. His back screamed.

"KEEP MOVING!" Kain bellowed, channelling even more spiritual power into Vauleth, desperately hoping that even a 1% difference could be the difference between him living and dying.

Vauleth roared, his wings beating furiously, but even with Kain's boost, the distance between them and the wyrm was collapsing again.

Too fast. Too relentless. Too strong.

Every flap of Vauleth's wings came with the groan of strained muscles, every gust of wind a reminder that they were running out of time, energy, and options. Behind them, the wyrm slithered through the sky like a god's scythe, unhurried—but approaching quickly despite its leisurely attitude.

Kain glanced back, regretting it instantly.

The golden eye had grown closer. So much closer.

The wyrm's massive jaw began to widen again. Not in hunger—but in purpose.

No sound. No warning.

Just the forming of pressure—so dense Kain could see the distortion in the air. It wasn't roaring this time. It was concentrating.

Kain's instincts screamed.

"ROLL!"

Vauleth obeyed, twisting midair—

But not fast enough.

Kain finally got a good look at this thing's attack method. The space around Kain distorted visually, almost like he was in one of those play houses filled with mirrors that he'd entered at a carnival in his past life.

The people and things around Kain all began to distort as the space around him contorted and compressed. And then released.

Everything ruptured.

Kain didn't register what hit him first—the crushing force, the pain sent through his bond with Vauleth, or the impact of being hurled through the air like a doll.

His body slammed into the edge of a fragmented empty platform. Stone cracked. His ribs shattered.

He couldn't breathe.

He couldn't think.

He barely held on to consciousness as he tumbled, blood trailing behind him in lazy arcs.

Vauleth was falling too, wings limp, body crumpled. Their link trembled—weakened, but barely intact.

'No… no, not yet…' Kain thought, barely coherent.

He couldn't move his left arm, and considering one of his eyes was filled with blood, he couldn't even get a proper look at his condition. But he could feel that he likely didn't look too good.

His blurred vision from his single good eye had tunnelled to a single point of gold—a giant eye staring at him with an indiscernible expression.

The wyrm was approaching.

Slow now. Leisurely now that its prey was down. A shadow blotting out the sky.

Kain lay sprawled, half-sunken into the broken stone, blood pouring from his mouth. Every nerve screamed in protest. His spiritual energy was gone—compeltely drained.

'This is it,' he realized, blinking up at the approaching death.

The wyrm rose above him, its serpentine mass curling, coiling. Taking its time to crush him not only physically, but mentally as well. Kain's mind flashed back—Bridge, the orphanage, Serena, the taste of battle, the long hallway of his past.

He couldn't lift his weapon to fight back.

He couldn't even raise his head.

He only had enough strength left to watch.

And then—

A chime.

Not loud.

Not dramatic.

Just a familiar, crystalline note echoing gently across the field like a bell heard underwater.

[Obelisks Claimed: 6. Trial Passed.]

The wyrm paused.

The golden glow of its eye dimmed.

And then—

Everything began to fade.

The beast. The crumbling platforms. His distant allies. They all faded away. Light swirled around Kain, gentle and warm.

But he felt none of it.

Only cold.

Only the searing ache where his body had given out.

His vision flickered as Vauleth's bond went dim in the back of his mind. Not dead. But close.

Too close.

Kain tried to breathe. Choked. Tried to speak. Failed.

And then, with the sound of one last breath—

everything turned black.