Hunt Race

The beast staggered.

Blood poured from the wound in its chest, soaking the forest floor.

For a moment...

Neither it nor Kael moved.

Both stood at their limits.

Kael's sword felt heavier than ever.

His arms trembled violently.

Every breath sent pain through his ribs.

He could barely keep his footing.

Then the beast let out a roar unlike any before.

It wasn't anger.

It was desperation.

The sound echoed through the valley as its muscles swelled, veins bulging beneath its dark fur. Its amber eyes burned with savage fury.

It had abandoned caution.

It was going to kill him...

Even if it died doing so.

Kael's heart sank.

"No..."

The beast charged.

Faster than before.

Kael tried to move.

His exhausted body refused.

At the last second, he raised his sword.

CLANG!

The impact sent the weapon flying from his hands.

It disappeared somewhere behind him.

Before he could recover—

The beast's shoulder slammed into his chest.

BOOM!

Kael crashed through a small tree before hitting the ground hard.

He coughed violently.

Blood stained the corner of his mouth.

His vision blurred.

The beast slowly turned.

It limped now.

Its breathing was ragged.

But it was still standing.

Kael tried to push himself up.

His arms gave out beneath him.

His body had reached its limit.

The beast advanced one final time.

Each heavy step echoed through the silent forest.

Five steps.

Four.

Three.

Kael searched desperately for his sword.

It was too far away.

Two.

The beast raised its massive claws.

One.

"...So this is it."

As the claws descended—

A sharp burning sensation erupted across the back of Kael's right hand.

His eyes widened.

The strange mark.

It glowed with a faint crimson light beneath his skin.

The burning intensified.

Then...

Everything became quiet.

The beast was still moving.

But to Kael...

Its movements had become impossibly clear.

He saw every shift of its muscles.

Every drop of blood falling from its wounds.

The slight weakness in its injured foreleg.

The opening beneath its chest as it committed its full weight to the attack.

It lasted only an instant.

Instinct took over.

Kael rolled beneath the descending claws.

His hand closed around the hilt of his fallen sword.

Without thinking—

He drove the blade upward with every ounce of strength left in his body.

The sword pierced deep into the beast's chest.

Straight into its heart.

The beast froze.

Its amber eyes widened.

For a brief moment...

Hunter and beast remained locked together.

Then the light faded from its eyes.

Its enormous body collapsed beside Kael with a thunderous crash that shook the forest.

Silence.

The crimson glow vanished from the mark as suddenly as it had appeared.

The burning disappeared.

Kael stared at the back of his hand.

The mark looked exactly as it always had.

"...What..."

Before he could think any further, the strength left his body.

His sword slipped from his fingers.

The world around him spun.

The last thing he saw was the motionless beast lying beside him.

Then everything went dark.

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