Garden Of The Abyss

He rested the dull side of Belus against his unafflicted shoulder as a light breath came out foggy.

"The first one to resort to magic loses: reinforcement only," he smiled.

She returned his smile, raising her hands in front of her chin, "You're on."

As its bulkening, form-changing metamorphosis seemed to reach its climax as it unleashed a howl that sent the surrounding nature into a convulsion, they pressed forward at the same time.

Aiko utilized her nimbleness, subverting a snap of the massive, black-clad alpha's monstrous jaws with a jump over its head.

While it was momentarily distracted by the small girl's move, he dashed across the nightly grass before attacking its frontmost leg with a quick swing of his sword.

"---Huh?"

He was left briefly shocked as only a shallow cut was felt from his blade sliding along the beast's leg, expecting to carve out a chunk of its flesh in the process.

It's hide is tough--no, it's that fur! I felt it in my swing--that fur redirected most of the force, he thought.

Before he could conclude his thoughts, he was forced to flip back as it attempted to snatch his head into its maw filled to the brim with spiky, hellish rows of teeth. That movement alone caused him to nearly fall onto his rear as he caught his tipsy feet before he could trip.

This weakening effect is throwing me off more than I accounted for...we've got to end this fast, he thought.

Aiko landed atop its large back, descending with a crescent kick--though she found a similar result to her companion as the impact didn't seem to encumber the monstrous alpha in the slightest.

"Watch out!" He yelled out.

Just in the nick of time, by virtue of his yell and the sharp, shift of air behind her, she threw herself to the side as the whip-like, studded tail of the hound missed its target.

That was close…! She thought.

Landing back onto the grass, she smoothly rolled back into her feet; now the two found themselves on either side of the gargantuan, emerald-eyed hound.

As he looked at her, he could tell by the heavy breaths she exuded through her opened mouth that she was feeling it just as rough as he was.

No matter what, I can't let her get hurt further…! He thought.

Aiko nearly fell backwards as the ghastly hound turned its head towards him, beginning to charge with its repugnant maw stretching open with a verdant flame bubbling up within its throat.

"Ghh…!"

Attempting to move, she fell to her knees as her body didn't respond to her commands, leaving her unable to evade the incoming alpha.

"...No, you don't…!" He yelled out.

She watched as the silver-cape wearing young man jumped on top of the hound from behind, wrapping his arms around its neck as he diverted its maw.

It was just in time as a howl of verdant flames unleashed with bone-chilling potency, causing the air to hiss and sizzle as the mystical flames charred the foliage in front of its writhing maw.

"Aiko...! Get up...!" He shouted.

His words came out between grunts as he fought against the hound as it thrashed around, swinging its neck side-to-side violently as it attempted to fling the white-haired human, but he maintained his vice grip.

She found herself momentarily caught in a trance witnessing the ridiculous act that bordered the fine line between stupidity and bravery, but she picked herself up as her arms trembled beneath her weight.

Just standing brought a constant, aggressive uneasiness to her legs as her body felt deprived of most of its strength by this point. Even a single step forward nearly caused her to return to the bed of soft, cushiony grass that yearned for her.

...I've got to do something. If I don't, we'll both die! She resolved.

"Bad dog! Bad dog…!" His yells continued.

Though his attempted strangle on the oversized alpha hound found its end as he felt a new sense of weightlessness flow across his body.

"Huh?" He let out quietly.

The grass below seemed oddly distant; it was as if he was growing taller, but that wasn't quite it.

Oh, we're in the air, he realized, why are we in the air--?!

A fluttering sensation bore itself within his gut like a gathering of butterflies; though his first instinct was to latch on tighter to the hound's bushy neck, he realized what fate it would lead to, and what the intention of the beast was.

...It's trying to crush me! He thought.

Just as the hound began to turn its large body around to flip over, he released his grip before launching himself from its body.

As he attempted a smooth return to the forest floor, he earned himself a mouthful of dirt as his legs gave out beneath him.

Forgot about that. Yeah, I earned that one, he thought.

It was only a moment later that a heavy thud that sounded like an explosion unleashing came from the hound as it landed back-first onto the soil.

Slowly picking himself up, he spit out an entree's worth of natural, unsavory dirt from his mouth.

"...It's really not my day, is it?" He muttered to himself.

Wiping his mouth, a disgusting mixture of soil held together by saliva and blood was present on his glove.

"Maybe someone will come," the thought occurred to him, but it was only a comfort of his own mind.

No...I can't rely on a miracle. Miracles don't surmount trials like this, he thought.

Sparse time was awarded to them to regain their breath as the hound slowly picked itself up amidst the cloud of dirt kicked up from its reckless crash.

This thing is intelligent. There's no damn way a mindless beast would think of a move like that in that type of situation. I might have to abandon rationality here, he thought.

Glancing at his hand that held the blue-wrapped handle of his sword, a memory surfaced to his mind in the heat of a battle; it was a thought that came with adrenaline fueling him, with desperation searching for any path to victory.

Just one word, right? That's all I need to say...and you'll come? He thought.

Seeing the pale, frail state of Aiko, he clenched his fist, "Arri--"

Before he could unleash the word from her cut lips, he was stopped by a sight that made him question his decision--turning the clock and reversing what outcome he had signed himself to.

Aiko launched an assault that took his blurry gaze by surprise, witnessing her toss a kick that must've come from mustering every single ounce of strength in her body as her foot shot itself against the hound's chin.

A smile came over his lips as he expelled the breath from his lungs.

What the hell am I doing? This isn't just my fight...it's her fight, just the same! He thought.

With only the rapid beating of his heart filling his ringing ears, he pushed himself forward without any sense of power in his body; crimson fluid continued to spill from his wounds, leaking his tangible strength from his body.

--Even so, it was that state that brought out everything.

Unleashing a dozen-swing combo onto the legs of the hound while it was stunned from the girl's kick, he momentarily brought it down. Before he rendezvoused with the beige-haired girl, he attempted a stab--finding the same result as the strands of thick fur seemed to act on their own accord to divert his attack.

As I thought, physical attacks are superficial, at best, and spells are out of the picture, he thought.

"Aiko...that fur is special. It's able to redirect and divert most of the force from attacks," he informed her with heavy breaths.

"...I see. I was suspicious of something like that…" She replied in a huff, "what do we do?"

"I've got a plan," he answered, wiping blood from his cheek, "I'd say leave the crazy parts to me...but I'm not in a position to be selfish."

He gave her a small smile, though parts of his white teeth had been coated in a crimson layer. They were both in a sorry state; devoid of strength or options, leading to Aiko slowly nodding her head in approval.

"Alright, good," he huffed out his exhaustion, leaning on his sword that he planted into the soil.

Straightening himself out, he drew his blade from the soft soil before pointing it to the growling alpha as it began to rise back to its feet itself.

"If attacks on its fur don't work, then we focus on other parts instead! Aiko, I'm leaving the eyes to you! Once you've got that...I'll handle the gross part," he muttered the last part.

"Got it," Aiko accepted with a nod, though stopping herself, "wait...the eyes aren't the gross part?"

"Yeah, let's not discuss what my end of the plan is," he assured her.