The grey sky had lost its sombre look, now shining brightly under the moon that hung proudly above, its light falling on the vast jungle
A figure stood before the vast jungle, his torn robes fluttering from the cold wind. His hands gripped a beautiful silver sword tightly with an expressionless face that was covered by strands of silver hair.
Finally taking a stop, the figure entered into the vast jungle, his senses instantly filled with the scent of vines and shrubs.
He hadn't walked for long when he sensed movement. Something was following him from the shadows.
He couldn't really make it out given his extremely low perception. Paying no attention to the creature lurking in the dark, he continued forward before finally stopping at an open space.
He didn't have to wait long as a towering figure suddenly leapt from the dense trees, claws glinting dangerously under the scattered beams of light.
Raziel was a bit late to react, earning a large cut, which almost severed his arm from his body.
Allowing the force to send him flying backwards, he hastily swung his sword down, ignoring the ravishing pain on the other side of his body.
A loud clang echoed across the area as metal struck claws. Raziel was tossed back once again, crashing into a distant tree.
"Ugh," he spat out blood as he struggled to his feet. His body was already knitting back together with the regeneration skill activating automatically.
The creature slowly prowled towards him, its claws leaving deep marks on the damp soil.
Raziel could finally get a look at his opponent. A large creature with patches of rotten dark fur like the night, two pairs of limbs with a large maw filled with razor-sharp teeth. Its red eyes blazed with primal fury as it let out a fearsome roar.
"Of all, Demics. Had to be it." The Noctars, creatures of the night. One of the fearsome spawns to cross path with. And the reason...
Raziel felt the leaves rustle in different directions, his expression turning grim.
... they hunt in groups.
[Activate the Amplifier skill!]
As much as he hated to rely on the strange system, he couldn't let his arrogance get the better of him.
Those damn gods really did screw him.
He couldn't wait... to get his powers back. First things first... he had to survive this battle.
As he felt a surge of energy flow into his body, he gripped his sword tightly, ready for the battle of his life.
...
The silent jungle was thrown in chaos as six figures ran amok.
The five larger figures with gleaming red eyes chased after a small figure who had just a long sword to protect itself from their fury.
Of course, the figure was Raziel, and the five dark creatures behind him were the deadly noctar and its... siblings.
Swinging his sword at his side, a flash of spark lit up the area for a moment with the scraping sound of metal colliding against claws echoing loudly.
"Dammit!" He groaned, straining his muscle. As if overcome by madness, he pulled back his sword, barely evading the claws and then leapt towards the creature at his side latching onto its fur.
At the same time, the spot he once stood exploded with debris of rocks flying across the are. Onee of the noctars now stood where he was before.
Raziel was in quite a delicate situation. One mistake was enough to become a meal for these groups of abominable creatures.
Holding tightly to the fur of the beast as it ran wildly, crashing against trees just to toss him off, he finally climbed atop the beast back.
Of course, he wasn't saved yet. The other creatures still struggled to sink their fangs into his flesh but failed terribly.
Trying to devour the beast while it ran amok was not something his current body would be able to pull off. But that didn't mean he didn't have an ace up his sleeve.
With his palms placed on the wide back of the creature, a notification appeared before him.
[Do you want to activate the Devour mark?]
Affirming to the notification, a soft glow occurred at the points of contact of his palms with the creature fur.
Removing his palms, a dark withered flower mark pulsated softly on its skin.
Now, moving with purpose, Raziel carefully riddled the beast with the mark of devour while continuously avoiding its siblings and, at the same time, struggling not to be thrown aside by the rampaging creature.
Succeeding in the tedious task, he jumped off the beasts body, rolling across the ground before stabilising himself.
His face was extremely pale and covered with sweat. "I'm running out of energy," he muttered dryly, gripping his sword tightly.
Rollling across the ground, he evaded a swipe. Halfway up his feet, he placed his sword across his chest, blocking yet another claw strike.
[2 minutes and 21 seconds left for Amplifier skill to go into cooldown]
"Dammit! I need to end this damn battle."
Straining his muscles, he pushed the claws off, rolling across the ground to evade yet another devastating slash.
He was unlucky the fourth time. The claws tore across his abdomen, shredding his ribs apart.
"Urghhh!"
Gritting his teeth, he thrust forward his sword plunging deep into the mouth of the creature trying to tear him apart.
The creature let out a pained roar thrashing wildly. Raziel was struck by one of its paws, skyrocketing across the expanse once again. His body crashed and skidded across the ground before slamming into a large rock.
Struggling to his feet, Raziel felt his wrecked body groan in protest. His eyelids were heavy, with his consciousness slowly fading away, as if unable to bear the strain on his body.
Yet, he struggled, fighting back the wave of unconsciousness. Just then, he felt a stream of energy flow into his body, granting him a surge of strength.
At the corner of the battlefield, one of the creatures finally collapsed to the ground, letting out a helpless roar.
The attacks paused for a moment as the creatures stared back at their sibling, granting Raziel a brief respite.
Their eyes blazed madly as they watched one of their kin dissolve into wisps of particles.
Raziel felt reinvigorated, his battered body quickly knitting back together. He felt a newfound strength bloom within as he gripped his sword tightly.
The system flashed across his face, bringing him good news.
[+3 strength, +2 vitality, +2 agility, +1 stamina]
He didn't get enough time to revel in his newfound strength as the creatures were already charging towards him in fury.
Eyes glinting coldly, he stared at the approaching monsters. These creatures didn't have an idea of who they were facing. In his prime, these creatures were less than ants in his sight. Insignificant beings not even worthy of his attention.
Yet, here he was battling for his alive all because of those damn beings and his Father. His damn... Father! His bloodlust surged madly as he gripped his sword tightly.
"Fine.. come at me!" With a roar, he exploded forward, charging towards the group of creatures.