Daniel is in the midst of a fateful battle that will determine not only the fate of his own life, but the survival of Hekate as well. The creature he is up against is known only as the Feldrok, and it is a massive creature capable of wielding powerful elemental magic attacks, specifically as breath attacks like a dragon breathes fire.

Though it looks properly like a dragon in most respects, it reminds Daniel quickly of a certain companion of his.

However, he can't think about that right now. Whether she's somehow related to Feldroks or not, Daniel promised he would deal with this one so his small fox-eared companion doesn't have to.

The Feldrok has been blinded by one of his flash bombs, and it stumbled away from Daniel, but it pivots with a powerful spin, swinging its long, bushy black tail violently. Daniel narrowly scrambles out away from the column he was hiding behind, and it rumbles as it explodes from the devastating impact.

For the moment, the Feldrok is blind and enraged, meaning that its movements are violent, but they are far less intentional than they would be if it could see where he is.

He is a tiny figure challenging a titan, but he must get close to be able to effectively make use of his rifle's power, lest he waste precious shots deflecting off of its flesh or even its fur. The Feldrok is gigantic, comparable to a passenger airplane, meaning that Daniel will have to hit a truly vital spot to stand any chance of bringing its reign to an end.

Forced out of his hiding place by the stone pillar being smashed into rubble from the blind and angry monster swinging its tail violently, Daniel sprints as fast as he can towards the feldrok. It's currently as vulnerable as a beast like it can get, short of being unconscious or mortally wounded, so he needs to make the most of his momentary advantage. He runs as hard as he can, watching the werewolf-like beast's body for signs of its impending movements as it stomps and flails in anger and pain, trying to ensure it destroys the enemy that attacked it, even while blind.

Daniel runs as straight forward towards the feldrok as he can. The dragon-like beast moves quickly, but it is blind and knows it. Its anger is highly stoked and Daniel can only pray that he is able to avoid its disoriented rage.

He stumbles and diverts slightly when its massive clawed canine foot comes down in front of him, and he sprints towards its center of mass. Usually, even a rampaging being isn't going to step directly at its center of mass as it stumbles, and it has already pivoted and swung its tail over his head, which he instinctively ducked to avoid.

Fear is gripping the human mechanic, but he has to embrace his denial of reality. Like when he fended off the red dragon at Fort Peony, if he doesn't accept some level of madness to the things he's doing, he'll realize how much danger he is truly in and lose what little nerve he has managed to gather into his endeavor. He breathes heavily, barely able to hear from his own pulse pounding in his head, barely able to see from adrenaline squeezing his vision, and barely able to think about anything other than carrying an iron harbinger of death to where it needs to be in order to carry out its will.

No.

His will.

There is only Daniel. And, he has to be the one to do this.

The mechanic squeezes tighter, bracing as he charges forward, unsure if he can even make it one more step, let alone those that are needed.

He stumbles when the massive clawed foot slams down somewhere to his left. It wasn't on top of him, and that's all that matters.

A deep, resounding growl fills the air above him, and he takes a massive breath, dropping to a kneel as he slams the stock of the rifle to the ground. He doesn't have time to precision aim, so he angles the barrel and pulls the trigger.

The makeshift flashbang was loud. The Feldrok's laser 'breath' attack was deafening.

In this mostly-enclosed cavern-like space, the God of Death is not a silent presence looming in wait.

It is thunder set to strike down the souls it has come to claim.

BOOOOOOOM!

Fire and steel intermingle as 20mm of piercing metal seemingly teleports upwards, as far as the human can tell. Though, maybe he sees it from the terrifying slow motion he's experiencing with his adrenaline rush.

No. There isn't time!

The partially glowing black phantom shrieks as the bullet strikes under its jaw, and it flails backwards, clawing at the air as if to blindly defend against something its own size while retreating. Daniel wearily scrambles up on wobbling legs, his mind struggling to think of the next step.

Is it dying? Will it die? Can it die? Am I dead? Is this all a dream? Is…?

Red glistens in a ray of sunlight, and his eye instantly tracks it.

Is that… blood? This thing's blood? I… I did it. I hurt it! I…!

As he's pondering, the human notices in the nick of time. He dives to the ground, and what feels like the bristles of a titanic pine tree drag across his back.

The Feldrok's massive, tree like tail just swooped by as it rampages away from him. Daniel quickly scrambles to his feet and runs for the nearest column. He needs to get out of sight until he can reload.

Daniel slides on his knees into cover behind the pillar as the Feldrok snarls, swooping around a different pillar to search for its mysterious attack.

Heat rushes by once more, as well as a strange blast of mist that isn't quite to the temperature of steam.

Daniel braces, holding his breath for the brief moment the mist is rushing by, and he pries the bolt of the rifle up and back, fighting to yank it free of his imperfect build. He takes the hot, spent shell out of the breach as it smokes and tosses it as far as he can, swiping a fresh bullet and fumbling it in to replace the first. He has to strike the bolt with the heel of his hand, and the ground quakes with a vicious slam. The Feldrok just slammed its massive foreclaw down on the spent shell casing, which stinks even more of the invader's foul sulfur-laden smell. Daniel clenches his hands as the rifle rests on his forearms, trying to put it out of his mind.

Just a game. Just a game. If only I didn't suck at CEW-like games. A/N 1.

Daniel digs out another flashbang, and he tries to listen. The Feldrok's massive form swoops close, and he can feel the sounds of the room distort from how close it is to him. He dares not look directly at it. Like any situation out in the wild, the biggest mistake to be made is when eyes meet.

Or, something like that.

He'll have seconds, and he'll have to try to guess what the Feldrok is going to do.

It has satellite dishes for ears. It has to respond. It has to respond. Just like those giant worms. I has to respond.

Daniel pulls the pin, and even the metallic clink is enough. He can already hear its sniffing and growling hitch. Just its shadow alone, barely visible in the dark due to its own demonic blue glow and the embers swirling around the room from its heat waves, is enough to tell Daniel it heard the unnatural sound, even over his racing heartbeat and panicked, shallow breathing.

The mechanic wastes no time in releasing the spoon of the small bomb, which feels pathetic as he considers everything.

What else can you do, you idiot? It has to respond. Just throw the damn thing before it explodes in your hand.

Gripping his rifle with his left hand, Daniel springs to his feet, throwing the flash bomb at the giant black mass to his right, glimpsing it when he foolishly looks directly at it. His knees nearly buckle, and he doesn't even truly feel its death aura the way Hekate and the other monsters did. Seeing it at range was one thing.

Seeing it right on top of him is worse than the nightmares he had as a child of a machete-wielding maniac with a hockey mask or a man with dagger-finger gloves.

Still, the flash bomb has already left his hand, and he barely remembers to close his eyes and snap his face away as the monster inhales.

KRA-KABOOM!

"SKREEEAAAAOOOOORRRRR!"

Daniel flinches under the terrifying roar of the Feldrok as it springs away from the bright flash and horribly loud sound, like a clap of thunder from a lightning bolt striking its eardrum directly. He calls them 'flash bombs', but they're closer to extra-bright fragmentation grenades, because a flashbang grenade is intended not to be lethal. Daniel doesn't have the luxury of precision machining nor a breadth of chemicals, so killing half a room full of enemies to stun the other half, or to defend against monsters like those praying mantis wolves, or in a perfect world, a full size drake were all more important to him while making the bombs.

And, thankfully, a giant werewolf-dragon with ears the size of hang-gliders is even more sensitive to them.

Daniel is standing again, and his rifle is loaded, but he can't charge the monster that has slammed its way through another one of the massive stone columns springing away from his bomb. Even now, he doesn't feel like David versus Goliath.

He couldn't even call it a mouse versus a lion.

Seeing the massive creature, smashing and clawing through solid stone pillars and shrugging off falling rubble as heavy as a tank, he realizes the truth.

He is no more significant than a butterfly trying to defeat a hurricane.

I… I have to run… Why… Why can't I run? Why can't I…?

The Feldrok starts to regain its footing, patting at its ears as it tries to nurse them, aggressively enraged and quickly regaining its senses and footing. In its blind fury, it expels a white beam-like jet from its mouth. Instantly, ice springs forth as frost spreads from the attack, which lances up and past the column Daniel is taking cover behind. He couldn't even flinch. An icy chill begins to crawl across his skin.

No… Where can I run to? I only have one bomb left at the ready… I'll never escape.

Daniel angles the rifle forward. He can barely pivot it to hip-aim it, since he has so little time to think or act, and if he tries to fire it from his shoulder without any sort of resistance provided by the front hooks or the butt being on the ground, he'll topple himself or break his shoulder and collar bone.

Without rifling and machined tolerances, he can never hope to be able to take out targets at over a mile away, in spite of his rifle's power easily being capable of sending a bullet that far with deadly force aplenty.

Daniel's courage is in tatters, but he boosts himself with a silent conversation in his head.

'Hey Daniel! What've you been up to this week?'

'Oh, you know… Invaded a castle. Murdered an unkillable mythical god-monster. Ate some dragon meat. The usual.'

He shrugs his shoulders as the Feldrok launches another ice beam across the room, this time away from Daniel, thankfully.

The wayward Earthling pulls the trigger.

BOOOOOOOM!

The blast erupts forth fast and hard. The recoil yanks Daniel into a spin. Smoke and fire fill the air around him.

He sees the silvery streak briefly, but has no idea if he landed the hit. The roaring and snarling of the Feldrok peaking once more suggests that it is far from dead, meaning it wasn't good enough.

Daniel can almost feel the adrenaline draining out of his body, leaving behind a feeling more akin to acid reflux as his exertion catches up to him, but he doesn't have the luxury of giving up.

If he gives up for even a moment, he's dead.

Come on, feet! Move! I gotta get away. I have to reload! It's not dead, so I need to kill it. It's bleeding, so I CAN kill it. I have to.

Daniel manages to summon some sort of cross between a flight response and the sense to actually evacuate where he was. He is wholly aware that he is barely running, and his pace might not actually be much faster than a brisk walk. But, he has to move.

Come on! Run. Keep running. Find a good spot. Reload. Oh! Smoke! Distractions, I need distractions.

Daniel fumbles for his smoke grenades, finding one on his belt pouch, and only one.

I… I thought I had three. Didn't I have three? Damn! Did I lose one? No. Forget that. There's no time. Throw it.

Daniel pulls the pin and throws the smoke grenade a few yards away, which testifies to his rapidly dwindling strength.

Oh god… Must run faster! "Must run faster!"

Daniel pushes himself panting heavily as he struggles to launch himself forward with every step. His feet feel like cinderblocks, and his thighs feel like he's slogging through concrete. His lungs are on fire, and he might as well be underwater with the sweat pouring out of him.

Humor… Uh… If Fuzzball doesn't kill me, my sweat will… Damn it! He can barely think, and he can barely keep himself focused or distracted. He can't be swallowed by fear, or the massive apex predator of the Citadel will prey upon him like a wolf to a mouse.

Why did I have to think of that!?

After all, wolves are extremely good at finding rodents, even in the snow.

A titanic swooshing sound sends a chill up Daniel's spine, and he stumbles into falling to his knees, unable to run a single step further.

A vibrant blue glow swooshes out in front of him, bringing forth the true Harbinger of Woe. The black-furred titan slides on claws that would each make an anime sword look like a toothpick, and its weight shifts on its hind legs as it uses its fore claws to halt its momentum, gained almost instantly with a single powerful sweep of its colossal bat-like wings. Sparks spray through the air like fountains from each of the titanic blades tearing across the stone floor. Its amber-eyed focus glares down at Daniel hatefully, and he feels almost like it could vaporize him with its gaze alone.

Suddenly, a small voice screams with a fury strangled by fear and surged by desperation. Even so, the cry barely reaches across the large colosseum-like room. The surprise doesn't end there, though.

The air fills with a quick and violent crackle, before a long pillar of fire stretches forth from a tiny girl with fox-like ears and a big bushy tail. Her desperate scream continues as the magic fire lances through the air, casting off licks of flames and swirling embers. The Feldrok snarls as the attack hits it, and it shields its face with its right foreclaw, stumbling left a step.

Hekate's attack does virtually no damage, and the canid dragon-beast realizes this very quickly.

But, it accomplishes several important things.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

It briefly snaps Daniel out of the terror that befell him, and it renews his vigor to fight with everything he has.

In spite of her sheer terror, which is evident on her face even from this far away, Hekate managed to launch an attack in order to save Daniel.

Hekate's surprise attack only lasts a couple of seconds in total, but it's enough for Daniel.

The mechanic can't delay even a second longer. His right hand snaps up to the bolt of the rifle, ripping it up and back as fast as he can. He can see the glint of the empty casing fling out of the breach in his peripherals, meaning the extractor did its job this time.

The Feldrok has landed on its left foreclaw to maintain its footing and balance, and the last licks of Hekate's fire attack, summoned from her palms by magic, flickers out of existence, leaving the small girl panting in terror with her hands outstretched.

The human quickly grabs a fresh shell from his shoulder bandolier and slaps the new round into the chamber, slamming the bolt forward and down. He ensured to put all of his remaining strength into it right away. He can't have it stick on him and cost him precious time, and he likely isn't getting another shot after this.

However, the Feldrok has already lost interest in Daniel entirely, and it whirls its head as it viciously growls. It starts to stalk towards Hekate, maintaining a little more caution against her than it did when it pounced at Daniel.

He can't afford to miss a critical spot on its head again. Not with his strength evaporating, his second wind already spent, and his third wind basically amounting to a single puff.

No! I need a shot at its head! But, its skull is too thick! What can I do!? Seeing the helpless girl still frozen, Daniel calls out "Hekate!" in futility. She can't peel her eyes off of the Feldrok, so even if she wants to, she can't focus enough to run.

Daniel twitches, remembering his revolver. He can barely lean from his exhaustion, but he finds it in its holster still, and he draws it as quickly as he can, using his right hand to aim.

He hesitates as he watches his outstretched hand holding the weapon meant to take lives.

He is shaking like a chihuahua. He probably couldn't hit a bullseye right now if the target was three inches away from the barrel of the gun.

But, he can see Hekate's face as the last remnants of light are leaving her eyes. She's giving in to shock.

Fear or not, he has no choice any longer.

The mechanic pulls the revolver's trigger as quickly as he can, doing his best to restore his aim even a little after every shot while he discharges the hand-cannon with one hand.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The report of the revolver is loud, and it kicks his hand up and back like it's trying to escape. Still, his revolver causes the Feldrok's ears to flinch. It knows the sound is related to the pain in its ears, and it also knows it is directly tied to the pain in its jaw, which relatively trickles blood compared to how big the beast is.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Daniel empties the revolver quickly, aimed at the monster's head. At least a couple of the bullets hit, because it flicks its head and pivots its ears in anger. Right as the last shot is exploding forth, the pitch black nightmare beast starts to whirl.

The mechanic flings the revolver to his right, since it's useless now, and Death has turned its gaze back on him.

Hekate's ears perk back up as she turns her gaze to Daniel finally. Her horror is still present, but now it's for the very reason she even showed herself at all in this battle.

"Daniel!" She reaches toward him in a futile effort. Neither of them can teleport to the other.

Neither of them can escape now.

Daniel truly has so little strength left, but he manages to lift the heavy rifle as the Feldrok's massive head lurches close, its jaws spreading open as if to snatch him up. He is still kneeling on the ground, and he feels like his legs are devoid of life.

It feels like he'll never walk again.

The black titan doesn't clamp its jaws down on him in a vicious snap, even if that would have been plenty. Its gaping mouth looming right in front of him is so cavernous, he feels like he is already inside, in spite of the tip of the monster's nose still being almost ten yards away.

The powerful golden-violet glow of mana starts to swirl in front of its tongue, and sparks of fire crackle near its maw. It's going to incinerate Daniel in a flash.

Oh god… I'm going to die… I'm going to die… I don't want to die… Please make it painless…

No! Shut up, Daniel! Pull the trigger! That's all you have to do! Pull it! Kill this thing and go home!

"I cast… Death," growls the human from Earth as he snaps his eyes open and pulls the trigger.

***

Hekate is a small, frail girl who has been a slave to the dragons for all of the life she can remember. She has always been able to use some magic, but was always weak.

And yet, someone with no magic has been engaged in battle with the most terrifying being in the world.

The monster even dragons fear; the Feral Feldrok.

Said to be the last of its kind, can't imagine what the world was like when it had more than one of the giant beings.

But that still doesn't change the strange human fighting it.

Going by the enraged snarls and roars coming from the apex predator, the human isn't losing.

Hekate watches from the entryway, keeping the corner between her and the monster. She still can't bring herself to fight, even as a human who needed her just to see manages to face off against the terrifying glowing beast.

Each of Daniel's attacks, forged with his own hands long before he met Hekate, is startling and causes her to flinch. For her, it doesn't seem like he is making much headway, other than hurting the Feral Feldrok with explosions that hurt its ears.

Yet, he keeps desperately fighting, and after a second one of the ultra-loud bombs goes off, the nightmare fiend launches itself away from Daniel and through a stone pillar, shrieking and firing off desperate ice attacks that cause Hekate's heart to nearly stop beating entirely.

BOOOM!

The terrifying call of Daniel's false spell echoes through the room as fire and smoke erupt from where he's crouched.

And, shortly after, he appears on the far side of his column and the ice that clings to it. He's somewhat slowly jogging away, and he tosses something that creates a cloud.

With all of his strange tools, even having seen them up close hasn't fully convinced Hekate that the human isn't using some kind of magic.

Regardless, she hears the rubble shift as the Feldrok roars, causing the little girl to curl into her hiding spot.

But, it's not after her.

She watches in horror as the monster corners Daniel, easily closing the distance with a powerful leap and glide using its wings, before sliding to a stop on its blade-like talons. Daniel falls to his knees, to weak to keep running.

No! Daniel! Daniel, please don't leave me alone!

Hekate runs into the room before her mind can think. She doesn't care about anything anymore. She has nothing to lose.

Nothing, save for one thing.

Daniel.

If she loses Daniel, the darkness will swallow her whole before the Feral Feldrok finally preys upon her as well.

She doesn't know where it comes from. She channels every bit of her magic to her hands, every ounce of the strength she was born with.

A column of fire, more powerful than what she used on the moss crawler erupts from her focal point between her hands as she screams. She doesn't scream words, but just lets her desperate anger fly, as if to further fuel her magic with her emotions.

The Feral Feldrok stumbles back as it growls, surprised by her attack. She might have taken pride in driving back the Feral Feldrok; her, the tiny little slave with nothing of her own.

But, her strength is drained, and the titan lunges towards her. It doesn't pounce, but it lumbers towards pitiful girl with a ferocious imminence that drains what little strength she has left to even stand. She can't look away.

That is until Daniel saves her once more.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The human uses his powerful wand of death, but even it doesn't have the strength to stop the Feral Feldrok.

It does, however, draw its attention back to him.

With a snarl, the fur-clad colossus wheels around on Daniel again, opening its mouth to channel its mana and fire for a finishing attack.

Daniel is a tiny figure no bigger than one of the monster's teeth, it seems, and yet, he lifts his giant staff to aim it into the mouth, and the last words that Hekate can hear from Daniel are the most terrifying his voice has ever been.

"I cast… Death."

BOOOOOOM!

Hekate flinches from the volume of the staff casting forth fire and death itself.

Daniel falls to his side from the staff trying to escape him, and he covers his head as he becomes helpless to escape whatever is about to happen.

Hekate has the perfect seat to see it all, though.

It is a day she will never forget, and one that solidifies her feelings for all time.

A true miracle takes places before her eyes.

From the last shot, the Feral Feldrok twitches its head, making a gurgling snort-like sound. Its hindlegs go limp, and it leans way over to its side. The mana it had gathered between its jaws fades away like a spirit dancing between its teeth before vanishing before her eyes.

And, the flames only crackle lightly in the back of its mouth as the Citadel's legendary guardian fiend topples to its side with a long, sad exhale, rather than a wail or screech or roar. Its body and head flopping down sends a rumble through the floor, and parts of the ceiling and crumbled columns shake and fall.

Hekate watches in stunned silence for a long time. Virtually all sound fades from the room, leaving behind an eerie quiet that suits the darkness of the haunted super-fortress.

The fox-eared girl drops to her own knees, hearing a metallic double-'clink' from her knee-guards hitting the stone floor that seems to echo through the entire colosseum-like room.

It is so eerily quiet all of a sudden, Hekate can barely believe she's still in reality. Her heartbeat is the only continuous sound she can hear for a long time, watching as the Feral Feldrok, scourge of the dragons, apex predator of the Citadel, and the most vile fiend of legends, lies on its side with blood slowly pooling around its head.

And, Daniel, the human with no magic, slowly sits up, drawing Hekate's eyes to the confirmation of a dream she could never believe this nightmare would become.

He studies the Feral Feldrok's form for a moment. The strange human then glances at Hekate, as if to confirm that she's alright.

Seemingly satisfied, Daniel uses his staff as a crutch to help prop himself up as he wearily climbs to his feet.

In spite of his impossible feat, however, he isn't finished.

***

Daniel is ripped to his side by the recoil of his rifle and his nearly depleted strength, though he can't hear it bouncing across the stone ground due to the echoing boom of the rifle's thunderous report.

Unable to sit back up, he takes the first action he can think of. He drops to the ground, covering his head with his arms, waiting for death to come.

Painfully long seconds pass by before a deep rumble hits the ground nearby.

And, it's not the explosion of a laser breath or a giant claw stomping down.

Nor is Daniel a flash-vaporized charred crater in the floor.

He finally lifts his left arm shielding his face, peeking nervously towards the direction of the sound.

The Feldrok is lying motionlessly on its side.

Dear God… Please tell me he's not just suffering from narcolepsy…

Daniel watches a moment longer, confirming that there is no motion from the titanic beast.

Relief starts to flood into him, and the aches and pains in his body, from throwing himself around on the hard ground, firing his massive rifle with no recoil dampening, and being pelted by rubble and heat waves are all catching up to him like a mob crowding in to punch and kick him.

Still, he has to be sure.

Daniel groans as he pushes himself upwards. It feels like a Herculean effort just to sit up. His body wants to sprawl out on the ground and never move again.

But a needle is still a needle, and his bullets probably don't even compare to a needle in regards to the Feldrok's large skull. Even if he got lucky, he can't afford to chance it only being dazed or unconscious.

He murmurs to himself, "Come on, Daniel. Rule number two. You know the one. Get up." He glances over towards Hekate, and she is watching his direction with a stunned expression. She's far away, still, so he can't make out whether or not she's looking at him or the Feldrok specifically, but she is at least conscious and relatively aware.

He sighs in relief. There are stories he heard, though it's another one of those things he never looked deeper into so they may be anecdotes he once heard, but if true, those stories suggest that a person can actually die from shock alone, such as passing away before hitting the ground from a great height, or, in the case of a military deserter being executed by firing squad, his body died even though the firing squad all missed.

Thankfully, Hekate is not one of those cases, so he can deal with making sure it all amounts to something.

He places his rifle's buttstock on the ground in front of him, all but climbing up his rifle to support his weight where his noodle-feeling legs refuse to hold him up. His heart is still pounding in terror, and it's a bit of a wonder he didn't die from shock like that man with the firing squad.

Daniel just as quickly realizes that he still needs to reload the rifle, so he wearily sighs and drops the barrel toward the ground. He supports the weight as best as he can, his legs feeling numb, but managing to keep him upright now that he's standing.

It takes several failed tries, prompting Daniel to take a deep breath and dig deep just to pull the bolt of the rifle up and back.

"I think I need to rethink my career hunting mythical god monsters already…" groans the mechanic dryly. He has to pull the spent bullet out because the extractor failed to grab it, and he tosses the metal canister to the side. He can worry about cleaning up anything to be reverse engineered later.

Right now, he has a draconic fiend to finish off.

The mechanic feeds a fresh shell into the chamber of the rifle and batters the bolt with his fist, unable to muster the pushing strength it's demanding due to heat expansion, imprecise hand tooling, and a desperate need for good gun oil that he doesn't have.

"Just do me this one last favor, and I swear I'll soak you in mineral oil or fricking petroleum." He's grumbling in English, since there's no one around to hear him, as Hekate is on her knees, sobbing in what is hopefully relief.

Once the rifle is finally reloaded, Daniel flips it carefully and wearily back around, keeping his eye on the Feldrok all the while. He walks with it like a staff, though now it's to support his own weight and that of the heavy weapon, as opposed to giving off the misdirecting perception that he is a typical magic caster.

Blood is pooling around the Feldrok's head, though it is a paltry amount compared to how big the beast is.

Its thick fur reminds Daniel of the subspecies of evergreens called fir trees. The Feldrok's tail, particularly, could easily pass as a literal 'black fir'.

And, now that he is seeing it up close and completely still, he is certain from that and a pair of its most distinctive organs on its head that he should be more surprised by what he only partially suspected and now has a good deal of confidence believing, but that's for after he confirms the end of the fight.

Daniel keeps the rifle trained on the Feldrok's neck where he hopes fire-projecting glands would be until he can clearly see more of its head. Specifically, he needs to be able to aim at its cranium and try to destroy its most important organ.

The creature is truly humongous. He feels sick to his stomach for many reasons, but none more so than the fact that he is killing this truly awe-inspiring creature. It's majestically beautiful, and though it behaved like a monster and was Hekate's true obstacle to claiming the castle, it is likely a treasure of this world in its own right.

Once Daniel is approaching its nose, he aims at the inside of its mouth. He can see where his shots are dribbling blood, but it's clear that his hopes were founded; the real damage was done inside.

"A… human…?"

Daniel flinches, halting. He feels truly nauseous almost instantly. "Y-... You were sentient?"

The eye opens slightly, and Daniel's fist tightens on his rifle's grip, ready to squeeze the trigger.

Fortunately, the titanic fiend seems to have no strength remaining.

"In a sense, yes, but in effect, no."

"I don't understand, but if we can talk, hang on. I have some potations…"

"Do not fret, human. You've done the right thing. I am not this child. The child before you was lost… alone for all his life. He never had a single guiding voice, only the death of those around him."

Suddenly, the Feldrok's eye color changes to blue, and the voice shifts a little.

"Feldroks are unique in this world. The life energy of those we fell in battle is absorbed into our own. The child before you was present in its egg when the last of us died. Without guiding voices to care for it, it was already powerful, but unable to do anything but become feral."

Daniel listens patiently. He's cautious, but the Feldrok hasn't moved a muscle. Again, the eye color changes once more, this time becoming green.

"A feral Feldrok is the epitome of danger in this world. Every creature it destroyed, it gained more power. Eventually… it would become something unstoppable that would threaten this entire world."

Daniel is silent for a long time. He finally replies, "I understand… But…"

"The girl… You've done the right thing, and we will not cease to be. It'll be some time before the girl can hear our voices, but we will aid her when the time presents itself."

"So it's true? Hekate is…?"

"Yes. The little one near you is a Feldrok child."

Sounds about right… thinks Daniel to himself.

Suddenly, the first voice of the Feldrok makes the grim request.

"Finish your mission, human. The Citadel is now yours, and will answer your call behind the nearby pedestal. Our power, as well as that of this child, shall become that of the girl, Hekate."

"A-... Are you sure? If you can control…"

"This child is unconscious. The extent of our control, even if he were merely asleep, is what you see now, and would risk awakening him. Finish your mission, human. You will know our words when we are able to speak to your companion."

"You won't manipulate her, will you?"

"No. We were a peaceful race by nature, but were forced into war. If we can cling to existence through one child…"

"Time is short," cuts in the third voice. "Finish your work human, and thank you… It is tragic, but thank you for freeing this one from madness. And please, don't let his form go to waste."

Daniel hesitates, but he nods gently. "I look forward to the next time we are able to talk. Even indirectly. Take care of him and Hekate, and please rest in peace."

With that, Daniel makes sure to aim carefully. This time, he wants to end all suffering as instantly as possible.

Seeming to sense what he needs, the Feldrok's head shifts, and he stumbles back. But, the eye he could barely see is now placed directly in front of him, still retaining a deep blue color, rather than the natural golden amber it had while conscious as the Feral Feldrok.

Daniel nods and takes a breath. He aims for the eye towards the mass of the skull; the softest point and in towards its brain. He can see the color fade from its eye, and he pulls the trigger.

***

A/N 1: CEW is an important part of a story I'll be posting… someday soon. I can't promise a date yet. I still have to properly finish the ending, and I've been dedicated to keeping up my momentum here. I swear it'll make sense and be a cross-story reference… EVENTUALLY! xD

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.