Converging Destinies: Part 1

Chapter 66

       The creature roared with rage. Eris felt the pincer clamp down once again. And Ella saw the pincer fly towards her. Eris began to hyperventilate as they felt that crushing pain once again. The pincer that lunged towards Ella clamped down onto her side, right above her hips. Then, dark mist radiated from the creature. To the others' horror, dark mist surrounded the creature, as well as the two victims that were trapped with it. The group could hear Eris shriek in fear.

       "What do we do?!" Ara' Sei asked frantically. Zerai muttered under his breath, and his body glowed.

       "I'm going in to try and help." He said, before charging into the dark mist.

       "Are you crazy?!" Ara' Sei screamed just as he entered.

       Ella steeled her focus through the darkness. The creature's claw was clamped around her, and she could feel it slowly pulling her towards it.

       "I don't need to see you." Ella whispered. She grabbed her blade, and stabbed it forward. The creature roared as the blade sunk several inches into it.

       "Gotcha!" Ella shouted with glee into the ebony. She attempted to twist the blade, but the monster had already pulled away from it. She pulled her blade back, and thrust it back towards where she thought the beast was. Once again, she felt no purchase in the darkness that had swallowed her.

       Outside the mist, Cedric let a flame appear above his hand. He scanned the mist, unable to discern anything. He took a deep breath, remaining at the ready.

       Back in the mist, Eris was beginning to panic. They were trapped in a monster's pincer, and they couldn't see a thing. However, they did have a general idea of where the creature was. They thrust towards the creature, but to their horror, the blade hit nothing.

       Outside, Ara' Sei ran different ideas through her head, then, one shone above the rest. She clasped her hand together. Then, she flung them apart, and the dark mist was ripped apart by a swelling light that vibrantly illuminated the battlefield.

       The creature roared with rage as its plan was foiled. Eris' eyes rolled back and blood spilled from their sides as they fell unconscious. Cedric's flame flew towards the monster. However, he had reacted rashly and the flame missed. Ella tensed her body, and the pincers couldn't sink into her. The demon's eyes glowed, and the light faded. However, the damage had been done, and now it was exposed.

       Zerai charged at the creature with his blade clutched in his hands. The blade flashed with light as it first hit the creature, sending the creature reeling back. Then, he attempted to stab the blade into the creature. The blade sunk several inches in, and the creature once again screamed. Zerai yanked his blade out with a satisfied smirk on his face.

       Following Zerai's example, Ella attempted to stab the creature with her blade as well. However, her blade didn't reach quite far enough. Taking a deep breath, she tried again. But, again it wasn't enough.

       "Damn it!" Ella shouted in frustration.

        Cedric's eyes had darted to an unconscious Eris that lay in the creature's pincer. With a muttered word, a small rush of vitality filled Eris. Eris opened their eyes while being flung around in the creature's pincer. To their horror, they had dropped one of their daggers on the ground, but they were able to grab the other that they carried. Then, they timed it so that they were as close as possible to the creature when they plunged the blade into its back. With that, the creature gave one final roar before collapsing. Ella narrowly escaped from the creature's limp pincer before it fell on her.

       The party had a moment to recover, they all breathed a sigh of relief and regathered themselves.

       "Cedric, set up the orb. Now." Zerai said, his eyes wide. As the party retreated into a frozen orb, the corpse of the creature turned to black sludge.