The grey creature stared at Erend, something close to shock flickering across its almost-human face. Its two green eyes widened, not by much but enough to show a rare emotion like recognition or fear?
Erend's grip tightened on the creature's wrist, the one still clutching Mark's neck. With a low grunt, he forced the creature's fingers to loosen.
Mark dropped to the ground with a gasp.
Jan rushed in, throwing a quick glance at the newcomer as he helped Mark up and pulled him back toward the party.
"I've seen him before," Jan thought, his mind racing.
As soon as Mark stumbled back into the group, Annette ran to him with worry in her eyes.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"I'm fine," Mark muttered, but his eyes were already fixed on the man who had saved him.
Across the clearing, the second grey creature — the one locked in combat with Darel, Yara, and Varn — suddenly froze mid-strike. Its face, which had previously worn a twisted smirk of amusement while toying with its prey, changed. That smirk disappeared and replaced by rage.
It turned and without a sound sprinted toward Erend and stopping just meters from him.
Now Erend stood between the two creatures. Both had turned their attention to him, their expressions no longer relaxed or confident but hostile as if they instinctively knew they were facing a different kind of enemy that could not be easily broken.
"Who is he?" Selene asked, eyes narrowed. "His aura… it feels like Eccar's. He just appeared out of nowhere."
Even the others, less attuned to Magic than Selene or Esther could feel it. The weight of his presence and the power thrumming around him like a quiet storm. This man wasn't just strong, he was like Eccar which mean that is in different level.
Both creatures shrieked at once. They let out a piercing guttural sound that split the air and rattled the trees. The forest shuddered with the force of it. It was the first sound they had made and it was one of pure agitation.
Erend simply grinned, unfazed.
"Come on then," he said, voice low. He glanced back at the stunned adventurers. "You're safe now. But you probably want to move."
"Y-Yes!" Jan answered quickly.
Without waiting another second, the eight adventurers hurried to retreat. Ducking behind foliage and rocks to get clear of the coming storm.
Darel, Yara, and Varn who also heard Erend's warning as well began to move, limping and breathing heavily.
The two grey creatures lunged at once and attacking Erend from both sides.
Erend stretched out his arms and fired firebolts from each hand. The flames roared but the creatures twisted in midair. Their bodies bending unnaturally to dodge them. It was like they had no bones.
"Oh?" Erend said, eyebrows raised. "Not bad."
They reached him and throwing two fists, one from each side that aimed at his head.
He caught both punches with his bare hands.
The adventurers gasped from their hiding spot. They had seen firsthand the power behind those attacks that enough to crush stone and throw adventurers like toys.
And this man caught them like it was nothing.
"…Damn," Kaela muttered. Her voice low and stunned.
Jan, Annette, Hund, and Esther exchanged glances. The same thought ran through each of their minds.
"We've seen him before. Back then. During the battle against the Dark Mage…"
Erend shoved both creatures back with a single motion, sending them sliding across the ground. He didn't want to waste time. Eccar needed him.
There were rifts open across the forest, more than he expected. He had to finish this as quickly as possible before another complication happened.
He turned to the creature on his right and charged.
It reacted quickly. Its eyes flaring a bright green. A ray of strange light burst forth and struck Erend mid-step.
He stumbled suddenly feeling a sickening pressure deep inside his chest.
Like something was pushing against his soul.
"Dammit," he muttered, staggering. "What the hell is this?"
Esther gasped. "Is that… soul attack?"
"Yes," Selene replied, her voice tense. "Eccar mentioned this. Only some of them can do it. This kind with two eyes appearantly can do it and the larger black one he captured in the forest."
"That thing can do a soul attack?" Jan breathed. "We're lucky it didn't use it on us."
"Maybe we weren't worth the effort," Mark said grimly.
"What'll happen to him?" Annette asked, worry thick in her voice.
"Don't," Jan replied. "If he's as strong as Eccar, it won't stop him."
Erend grit his teeth, powering through the soul-piercing sensation. For a normal human it would've meant death. For a Dragonborn like him it was a mere annoyance.
He shook his head to clear it, ready to charge again.
But the second grey creature had already moved.
It leapt behind him then wrapping its arms around his neck trying to snap it with one brutal pull.
But Erend's neck didn't budge. His body or neck didn't move.
The creature growled as if feelig frustrated.
Erend's grin returned. "Wrong choice," he said.
Erend's eyes flashed.
A second later, a burst of fire exploded outward from his entire body, a wave of searing heat that turned the air into a shimmering blur.
The grey creature still clinging to him had no time to escape. The fire wasn't ordinary, it was Dragonborn fire that nearly ten times hotter than anything conjured by typical Magic.
The flames swallowed the creature whole.
It let out a piercing and agonized shriek. The sound ripping through the forest as its body blackened, cracked, and turned to ash.
In moments, it was gone and reduced to a charred husk that crumbled away, leaving nothing but smoke and scorched air.
Across from him, the second grey creature came to a sudden halt. It stared at the remains of its comrade, its green eyes narrowing and no longer filled with calculated hostility but with deeper fury.
Its arm began to twist and change. Its muscles warping, stretching and growing thicker and more grotesque. Its aura turned darker, denser, leaking from its body like a green-black mist that clung to the air around it.
The ground beneath its feet seemed to recoil, grass withering under the pressure of its growing power.
It was transforming into something else.