Dark Earth (Male Reader)

9: Beast

You can feel something. Something tingling in the back of your mind. It doesn't feel good. Sitting in place, you remain silent and unmoving, trying to discern anything from the feeling. On your shoulder, Dim stirs in her sleep. She opens her eyes and realizes what position she's in.

"(Y/N)!" she stutters. "I'm sorry, I didn't-"

Her voice cuts off when your hand shoots up and covers her mouth. She looks up at you with frightened eyes, wondering what you're doing.

"There's something around here...," you whisper, slowly removing your hand from her mouth.

"What is it?"

"I don't know... I can't tell what it is... but it's nearby and getting closer... It's like the feeling from before..."

"Another Dirt Lurker?"

"No... It's fast. Faster than one of those things..."

There is a sudden shaking above you. Flecks of rock and dust fall into your hair as something heavy lands on the mountain. You start to move up when a dark shadow flies through your vision as something large soars overhead. Dim clutches your arm tightly.

"A Cloud Lurker... They fly and live in high mountains... and they're just as bad as the other beasts."

"Okay... Sit tight... I'll take care of it..."

You rise up and move out of the cave, looking around in the grey sky. In the low light of the early morning, you can just make out a figure hovering about in the air. Long wing like appendages span out from its body. You have a clear shot.

You clench your fists as the fire forms in your eyes. They glow a bright red as energy builds up in them. Your chest grows hot as the power flowing through you intensifies. You roar and let the energy loose. It explodes across your vision in a wide spray, blowing a hole through the clouds towards the monster.

Out of the corner of your eye, just as the laser dissipates, you catch something farting down to the earth. You look to see the monster. It's dodged your attack with ease. You can see the beast in full view. It has a long pair of legs; the most normal thing on its body. From its long torso, three pairs of arms sprout out. Between them is a thick skin mesh. The six hands on the monsters makeshift wings grab at the air as it looks at you with two pairs of black eyes. It screeches at you and starts to charge forward like a bull. It's much faster than the other monsters before.

It hits you before you can react, slamming into you like a bus. You fly back and crash into the mountain. The impact shakes the ground. The winged beast screams and charges again, but this time you're ready for it. Looking back up the mountain, you use the fire and instantly moving up the mountain, escaping it. It crashes face first into the rocks, creating a blast that make a small avalanche of rocks they narrowly miss you.

You felt the impact of the monster on your front and the rocks on your back, but the pain wasn't there. A normal person would have been definitely crushed in two, but your body has rebounded from the attack, good as new. You jump to your feet as the Cloud Lurker shakes itself off, spreading its ugly wings. It looks up and sees you, preparing for another charge.

Ready for a fight, you feel the fire burning through your arm. You don't have much time to gather it though, as the quick monster rapidly claws its way up to you. Your move your body back and swing in a wide left hook, crashing your fist into the monsters face and sending it flying. It cries out in pain, not dead but definitely wounded. A large gash in the side of its cheek leaks dark green blood onto the dusty rocks below.

"Tough one... You can take a hit... I need something more..."

You scramble to think of a new method of attack. You can't get enough time to build up a powerful hit, and it's too fast to blast way with your vision attack. You remember the village, and how you felt the space around you harden. You remember the Bone Lurker, how you were able to change it. Reshape it. You can do the same now.

The Cloud Lurker moves off in a death charge, roaring as it closes in. You instantly raise your hand, solidifying the space around it. It comes to an abrupt halt in mid air, completely frozen in place. It struggles against the nothingness, wiggling it's fingers as it tries and fails to grab you. It stares at you with its large black eyes, making you sick.

With your left hand still raised, you start to twist it counterclockwise. The long wings of the beast start to turn, wrapping around its body. The rest of its slender figure follows suit, twisting in unnatural ways. It screeches in pain as it's whole body is wrung out like a wet towel, twisting and spinning in opposite directions.

It shakes and bleeds before shuttering still. Its body has been reduced to a fleshy broken mass, corkscrewed to death. You release your grip on space and it falls onto the rocks with a splat. The fight is over and the air quiets, filled with only the sound of your panting.

"Dim!" you call out. "It's safe now! You can come out!"

There's no response, no movement from the cave. You feel something wrong. You run up the rocks, sprinting over the sharp ground to the mouth of the cave. Looking in side, you see why she hasn't responded. Dim is resting limb against the wall of the cave; a small trickle of blood going down the length of her white hair. A large gash sits in her leg. A part of the cave ceiling had fallen on her during the fight, injuring her.

"Dim!"

You rush up to her side, pushing away the rocks surrounding her. You hold her in your arms, trying to wake her up. She remains still for a moment, but she groans and starts to stir, opening up her eyes slowly.

"(Y/N)?... What happened?... Ah! M-My head!..."

"Hang on... you're hurt... Is there any medicine in the pack?"

"There's some... brown roots... for pain... Get those..."

You reach into the pack, quickly pulling out the plant roots and handing them to her. She puts them in her mouth, chewing them down.

"Those will help... but my leg... It hurts... I don't think I can walk..."

You frown and look at it. It's bleeding pretty badly. Reaching into the bag again, you pull out a blanket and tear off a long strip, tying it around her wound to stop the bleeding as best you could. Slinging the pack around your shoulder, you pick her up and carry her out and start walking through the mountain. She rests in your arms, embarrassed but unable to protest. You slowly make your way through the broken hills, hoping Dim will be alright.