The rhythmic thuds were getting louder, and the circular light was getting bigger. Then a black silhouette appeared on the side of the sand dune, running towards the two mini-star-like lights on the camel's bag.
A shiver of dread ran down Raven's spine, and his hair stood on end. He had an awful premonition.
"I have to run!"
Immediately, the guards noticed the sound and hoisted their weapons. The criminals looked in the direction of the sound. Realizing the silhouette was heading towards the camel, Raven ran in the opposite direction, toward a small sand dune.
A thundering noise rang from behind him. Suddenly, a big sand cloud formed, covering half of the bonfire. Raven couldn't care less about what was happening behind him. The only thing on his mind was finding a safe place. He saw the young guard running toward him. As the guard passed, Raven's shackled hands moved instinctively and swiped. He had stolen the key to his shackles.
"Heh," he said as the young guard passed him.
As he was running, he saw heads and half-cut bodies shooting through the air. Some landed in front of him, and some were far ahead.
"What kind of monstrosity is doing that?" he thought as something hit him from behind, and he flew through the air toward the small sand dune.
"Ahhh!"
Suddenly, he was in a world of pain. He almost lost consciousness, and with a thud, he landed headfirst in the sand. Pushing the sand aside, he got up and looked back at the camp. He saw a sand cloud and a monster towering above it.
The creature was a grotesque fusion of a human and a wolf, a nightmare of twisted biology. Its body was hunched and spider-like, with a pale, fleshy hide stretched over a wiry frame. Six limbs, long and disproportionately thin, ended in wicked-looking talons. Its most terrifying feature was its face—or lack thereof. A faceless head sat atop its thick neck, dominated by a gaping maw filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth. The mouth was stretched into a permanent, horrifying grin, and a long, forked tongue hung out. The skin was a sickly shade of purple-gray, and dark veins seemed to pulse just beneath the surface, while tendrils of black smoke curled from its spine.
On that side of the bonfire, things were turning from bad to worse. Most of the criminals were already dead. A few guards were still desperately trying to fight the monster, but it was clear they weren't going to last long.
Raven looked around, trying to find the key that had flown with him. To his left, he saw the noble criminal's torso, and a broken short sword. The key was buried in the sand beside the torso, with only the top part showing.
"How am I going to survive this boss monster right from the start?"
He walked toward the key, bent down to pick it up, and studied it.
It was a short, narrow iron rod with a straight bend on its end.
With one last glance at the noble criminal's torso, Raven dropped to one knee and began to maneuver the shackles, trying to get his hand into a suitable position to insert the key. It took him a few tries to understand how the unfamiliar lock worked, but then, finally, there was a satisfying click, and his hands were free.
The chilly wind caressed his bloodied wrists. Raven rubbed them and smiled with a dark gleam in his eyes.
"The monster seems to be going after the two small lights. I have to use that somehow."
Looking in the camp's direction, Raven noticed the witch was somehow alive, and she was running towards him.
"Kid! Over here!"
Raven briefly considered just leaving her to die, but then decided against it. There was strength in numbers.
Plus, despite the witch unusual comments about him and her overall unpleasantness, Raven would have felt bad leaving a fellow criminal in shackles—especially since freeing her would not cost anything.
"What?"
"Give me the key; I saw you steal it from that guard."
Raven didn't care about the key after freeing himself. But he noticed a crucial detail: while everyone was looking towards where the sound was coming from, she was instead looking at him running away.
"She is smart." he thought.
"Catch."
He threw the key towards the witch. She caught it and crouched down, trying to unlock the shackles on herself. Raven noticed something from the corner of his eye: the noble criminal's torso was becoming paler by the second, and there was a dim light in the torso.
It was growing razor-sharp teeth from its mouth. Raven picked up the broken short sword and ran towards the torso. The head of the torso had sharp pointy ears with a mouth that was stretching to its ears. It was only a torso with a head that was transforming into a monster.
With all the strength he could muster, Raven drove the broken short sword into the noble criminal's rapidly transforming face. The blade plunged into the eye socket and lodged deep within the skull with a sickening thud.
Then, he distanced himself from the torso. Seeing the face stop growing razor-sharp teeth, he calmed down.
Raven had never learned any combat techniques, with his only experience being from the streets. But Raven wasn't really Raven; he was Zen Lee with Raven's memories. He had learned aikido techniques; he was a black belt who had taken down opponents twice his size. That experience allowed him to keep a cool head on his shoulders in the midst of any conflict.
Then he heard a familiar voice.
[You have slain a stargazer beast, Desert Reaper′s puppet.]
"Desert Reaper!!! That's the name of that monster."
He looked towards the camp. He saw there were only three guards fighting the Desert Reaper; the young guard was amongst them as well, rolling to the side to dodge the monster's claw, sometimes slashing its legs.
He heard a scream and immediately turned around. It was the witch.
"What is that!"
Raven replied while pointing towards the camp.
"The monster's puppet!"