Darksteel

Chapter 25; The shadow Monsters.

WARNING: This chapter contains scenes of violence and possibly some slightly disturbing descriptions. If you are a younger or more sensitive reader then skip past those parts (but, you know, not the WHOLE chapter, cause, hey, this is a good chapter). For those of you who don't care; READ ONWARD!! 

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Dark shapes flitted in the thick foliage around Asta and he spun around, trying to see where trees ended and Monsters began. They were tall, he could see that, tall and horribly thin and wraith-like, with claws longer than his fingers.

Asta had told himself that he would not be scared — but one can only lie to oneself oh so many times. And while he still wasn't petrified, he found that his mouth was dry and his heart beat a little faster than he would have liked it to.

All around him, the Monsters hissed and cackled menacingly, enjoying the scent of his nervousness, but not one of them struck. Instead, they circled Asta slowly, their bodies nearly obscured by shadow.

Asta kept his sword at the ready, wondering where Alphonse was, and then spotting the fox lying a few paces from him, an ugly gash in its forehead. "Alphonse?" Asta whispered, "Alphonse! Wake up!" But the fox was still as stone, its light slowly flickering to black.

And that was when the Monsters struck.

They came in from all sides, barely giving Asta enough time lift his sword once more. Without Alphonse's light, it was pitch black and he had to fight blind; stabbing his sword at random things and hoping he hit flesh.

 The whole ordeal was filled with confusion, shrieks, and gooey blood. At one point, he felt sharp claws rake down the side of his face and he howled with pain, slashing his sword to where the blow had come from. His right cheek was burning, dripping with blood that ran into his mouth, choking him. Coughing at the metallic taste on his tongue, he felt another set of claws dig into his back, while a mouth full of teeth bit deep into his shoulder. 

Asta screamed, his vision beginning to blur, the grip on his sword loosening as more and more of the creatures loomed around him.

There were too many of them.

 "Alphonse!" he yelled once more, his throat filling with blood as the Monsters continued to tear at his clothes and flesh, "Alphonse, please!"

And suddenly, the little fox stirred.

Filled with a new hope, Asta grasped his sword once more and stabbed at the first Monster he could, it wailed as he pierced through its stomach, then disintegrated into a pile of ash. Stretching his hand out at another, Asta summoned the ancient power within him, and for the first time, he gained control over the Monster.

He was not sure how it happened, but suddenly he felt his mind connect to something strange and animal-like. Without taking his eyes off the now frozen creature, he said, "Come to me."

 Immediately, the Monster was by his side, attacking those of it's own kind when they came too close. Quickly, Asta did the same to another Monster, then another, until they all fought one another, never realising what had happened till they had torn their own kind to bits.

 Suddenly, a blinding flash of light illuminated the forest around them and before Asta could blink the blood from his eyes, the Monsters had disappeared in a puff of ash, their wails withering to a dying shriek in the night air.

Then all was silent.

Gasping for air, Asta glanced wildly around the clearing for the source of the light, his eyes finally landing on Alphonse.