[Workin Out- JID🎵]
Suddenly the room felt much smaller. No, it was obvious he had gotten bigger. At this moment the Gwin's aspect was working near its full capacity. The only shred of human anatomy left was his brain and mind. What was left was the pure unadulterated bestial strength of the [Solar Drake], the evolved demon form of the [Sun Seeker] he had painstakingly nurtured with the blood of dozens and dozens of abominations that dwelled in the crevice. This new evolution was the reward of his expedition while the price … the price was the lives of the handmaidens who came along. It wasn't his guilt to bear, survival of the fittest and all that. Gwin was by no measure strong enough to protect the weak yet and gods know they need protecting. His soul essence left his soul in a deluge, this form was only sustainable for half a minute at most before eating into his precious reserves.
That was all he needed.
There is a surefire way to win every fight one may find themselves in. The best and least hazardous way to come out on top is to prepare a move that can end the fight in one go, a move the enemy won't see coming and therefore will fail to stop it from landing critically. A kick to the temple as an example from a practiced martial artist will end most random street fights. When it comes to awakened and nightmare creatures though a more lethal approach is needed. Gwin had been growing a repertoire of these finishing moves utilizing his ever growing roster of bestial forms. A long stinger coming from the target's blind spot, venomous fangs, a brain shaking sonic blast and in the case of the [Solar Drake] spewing flames from his maw. The anatomy of the solar drake was different from the sun seeker and almost identical at the same time. Besides the overall increase in size, now standing around four meters tall from shoulder to floor, the changes to its outwards body structure, and its bolstered resistance to flames, it possessed the ability to flex the muscles in its throat and turn the mucus from a flying glob into a linear spray.Â
He flexed his claws cutting deep grooves in the floor. His tail swept across the ground twitching as if it had a mind of its own. Several handmaidens were made to retreat back closer to the windows to avoid being swept off their feet. A deep hiss rumbled in his throat. It was easy to lose himself to his aspect at times. To most the shape of their body is an overall constant. They had two arms, two legs, and one head. This didn't change except for the rare few with transformation aspects. Even then they kept mostly the same anatomy with only a few changes to get used to. Their bodies were like forged swords. They could be sharpened and refined under pressure or they could break. Gwin was different. Slowly he had taken up a new understanding, that his body was a tool and he had the means to change it. Its nature was malleable and sometimes that left him feeling awkward in his natural state. Recently not having a tail acting as counter weight felt inhibiting. He was sickle and at times he was a spear or a whip. Sometimes he was even a sword.
With smoke sneaking through his teeth he opened his mouth and roared. The overseeing handmaidens covered their ears as his roar bounced between the glass walls putting the silencing memories to the test. Seishan meanwhile changed her stance into one he hadn't seen before. At the current moment her eyes were level with his shoulders. It was wider, meant for something bigger than a person. A nightmare creature. In the next second Gwin's tail cracked like a whip where her head had just been. Seishan prowled low and moved in only to be forced back by his claws. At the moment he was as strong as an awakened demon, a feat few, maybe no other sleeper in existence could boast of. With the exception of sleeper Athena perhaps. Despite her saturated soul core and bestial aspect even Seishan could not be careless. Seeing her on the retreat Gwin pushed his initiative spewing a stream of orange flames which while not being entirely mystical were not entirely mundane either. This seemed to catch everyone observing off guard, even Seishan who for a moment let a flicker of surprise and panic show on her face. She deftly dodged as the geyser crashed against the wall but Gwin twisted his head and caught her with the wide arc.Â
Flames licked her skin and the smell of burning flesh filled the room. Her skin didn't burn like it should have though, the flames were fighting an uphill battle against her leathery skin. Gwin wasn't done yet though, his tail cracked through the flames landing squarely on her side becoming the first solid hit on his part. Cocky on his small victory he failed to pull his tail back in time and Seishan wrapped her clawed hands around it jerking him off balance and delivering a brutal clawed swipe to his face. Blood pooled below reflected the dying fire. Hand maidens moved to smother it before it got out of hand. Luckily the castle was built of marble, the only flammable thing in there was the people.
Five seconds had passed since the start of the fight.
Gwin lashed out with his claws simultaneously lashing out with his tail again this time making sure to retreat quickly. Seishan moved inwards, absorbing the blunt force of his forearm and rotating around him to evade his tail. Now positioned in front of his exposed side she prepared to end the fight by way of breaking his ribs. Only she failed to predict his back leg coming up to shred her leg. Of course she evaded easily but the encounter seemed to throw her off. For all of her experience and strength she had never fought a nightmare creature fighting with a genuine battle style. Sure she had more than likely fought a demon or two which possessed intelligence equal to or greater than humans but they were still frenzied monsters lacking discipline. Even Gwin could claim to have more than them. Ignoring the burning pain on his face unleashed another geyser of flames trapping her in a quarter circle. His focus narrowed until only he and Seishan remained in the room.Â
His plan having been achieved he was furiously assaulting her with his tail hiding its movements with his bulky frame and the walls of flames. At the same time he lunged aiming to bite into her shoulder and swipe his claws across her stomach. In the next second it seemed like her back would be torn open, her shoulder would be mangled, and her stomach sliced but then there was a subtle shift in her bearing. She leaped upwards gracefully evading his tail, stomped on his forearm diverting the force and pinning it on momentarily, and wrapped her claws around his throat. He had a clear view of its all with his six eyes.Â
'Shit … shit … this is bad.'