The room trembled as the lion-man bared his fangs, tightening his grip on the war hamr. His massive fra lood over Carl, radiating raw, primal power.
Carl exhaled slowly, steadying his stance. His enchanted sword glead under the flickering torchlight, its edge sharp enough to cut through steel.
The beast grinned. "Co, human. Let's see if you're worthy of dying by my hands."
Then he charged.
A blur of fur and muscle, the lion-man moved with terrifying speed for his size. His war hamr swung in a horizontal arc, aiming to crush Carl in a single blow.
Carl sidestepped, his honed instincts kicking in. The hamr whooshed past him, shattering a marble pillar like it was made of glass.
Without hesitation, Carl countered. He lunged forward, his blade slicing toward the beast's exposed side.
**CLANG!**
The lion-man blocked with his forearm, his thick fur and powerful muscles absorbing most of the damage. Blood seeped from the wound, but he barely flinched.
"Not bad," the beast rumbled. "But you'll need more than that to kill ."
He retaliated instantly.
His knee shot up, aiming for Carl's ribs.
Carl twisted mid-air, barely avoiding the devastating strike. He landed smoothly, but the lion-man was already on him again—a relentless force of destruction.
The war hamr ca crashing down.
Carl crossed his sword in front of him, bracing for impact.
**BOOM!**
The sheer force drove him to one knee, the stone floor beneath him cracking from the pressure. His arms shook from the impact, but he held firm.
Then, in one fluid motion, he deflected the hamr to the side and surged forward.
His sword flashed—twice.
The first strike slashed across the beast's chest, cutting through fur and flesh. The second strike stabbed deep into his shoulder, sending a spray of crimson across the room.
The lion-man roared in agony, staggering back.
Carl didn't let up.
**Tactical Precision activated.**
He saw it—the weakness.
Carl lunged, feinting low before twisting his wrist and slashing upwards. His blade bit deep into the lion-man's ribs, carving through layers of muscle.
The beast stumbled, but then…
His eyes burned with rage.
"ENOUGH!"
A shockwave exploded from his body.
Carl was blown back, skidding across the ruined floor. His grip tightened on his sword as he barely avoided falling onto his back.
The lion-man panted, blood dripping from multiple wounds, but his strength remained monstrous. His golden mane, now matted with sweat and blood, frad his twisted grin.
"You're good, human. Better than I expected. But let's see how you handle this."
He raised his war hamr—
And it began to glow.
A dark red aura pulsated from the weapon, filling the air with an ominous hum. The ground beneath them cracked as the sheer energy radiating from it warped the stone.
Carl's eyes narrowed.
This wasn't normal.
That hamr—it was enchanted too.
The beast leapt into the air, raising the war hamr high above his head.
"DIE!"
He brought it down with all his might.
Carl didn't hesitate.
**Justice's Strike activated.**
His sword flared with holy light, golden energy crackling along its edge.
At the very last mont—
Carl t the attack head-on.
**BOOM!**
The impact sent out a shockwave so powerful that the walls trembled and loose debris rained down from the ceiling. The ground beneath them shattered completely, forming a deep crater.
For a mont, everything was still.
Then—
The lion-man staggered back, eyes wide. His massive war hamr had a deep crack running through it. The energy surrounding it flickered, unstable.
Carl stood tall, his blade glowing like a star.
His voice was calm, but firm. "It's over."
The beast snarled—but Carl moved first.
A blur of motion. A flash of steel.
And then—
The lion-man froze.
Carl's sword was buried deep in his chest, piercing straight through his heart.
The beast gasped, blood trickling from his mouth. His massive body trembled, his war hamr slipping from his grasp.
Then, with a final, shuddering breath—
He collapsed.
A heavy silence filled the room.
Carl pulled his sword free, flicking the blood off the blade before sheathing it.
Without another word, he turned to leave—
But then—
The beast stood up again.
"Ha! You are strong! Directly hit my heart. But for your disappointnt, I have a total of four hearts. So it's not that easy to kill ."
The lion-man suddenly reached into his belt and pulled out a small glass bottle filled with a swirling black substance. Without hesitation, the beast hurled the bottle onto the marble floor.
**CRASH!**
The glass shattered, and within seconds, a thick, unnatural smoke erupted from the shards, spreading rapidly and swallowing the entire room in darkness.
Carl realizes what the lion-man is planning. So his eyes widen. {No I can't let him do this} Carl quickly runs outside.
___________
anwhile, Alberto and Maria had already reached the back garden of the palace, where a helicopter awaited them.
The helicopter's engines roared, preparing for imdiate takeoff.
They were quite far from the helicopter when they heard the roar of the lion-man.
**ROOOOAAAAAR!**
Alberto's heart skipped a beat.
He turned—just in ti to see the lion-man, injured but still terrifyingly fast, charging towards them like a demon out of hell.
Its golden mane was soaked in blood, its sharp fangs bared. Deep wounds from Carl's enchanted sword marked its body, but it barely seed to slow down.
The ISSD mbers started shooting at it.
"FIRE! FIRE! DON'T LET IT GET CLOSE!"
The lion-man didn't stop.
Bullets struck its furred body, so piercing through due to its weakened magical protection, but the wounds were shallow. It let out a guttural snarl, eyes locked onto Maria and Alberto.
**BOOM!**
An ISSD agent threw a grenade.
The explosion rocked the garden, a fiery shockwave engulfing the beast.
For a second, the smoke and dust obscured everything.
They exhaled, maybe that was enough—
A shadow moved through the fire.
"No way—!" an ISSD soldier gasped.
The lion-man burst through the explosion, barely fazed, its golden fur charred but intact.
In a flash, it lunged at an ISSD mber, grabbing him by the leg.
The soldier scread, flailing—before the lion-man hurled him through the air like a ragdoll.
Right towards the helicopter.
**SPLAT!**
The soldier's body collided with the spinning rotor blades.
The impact was horrifying.
Blood splattered in every direction. The force of the hit sent chunks of flesh raining down onto the ground and the helicopter itself.
Alberto flinched as blood sprayed across his coat and face.
The lion-man kept coming.
"MOVE!"
Two ISSD mbers quickly ran towards the helicopter with Alberto.
They ran, finally reaching the helicopter.
The helicopter pilot quickly started to take the helicopter upwards.
As the helicopter lifted off, the ISSD mbers were still shooting.
The lion-man ignored the bullets, its glowing eyes locked onto its prey.
Then, in an impossible burst of speed— It leapt. The beast's massive claws latched onto the helicopter's landing skid. The aircraft lurched violently, its weight distribution severely compromised. The pilot, already struggling to lift the helicopter off the ground, found his controls strained to their limits. The additional weight of the beast made it nearly impossible for him to stabilize the aircraft as it tried to climb into the air.
"What the hell!? It's too heavy!" the pilot gritted through his teeth, desperately trying to counter the beast's pull. But the lion-man's claws dug deep into the helicopter's tal fra, holding on with terrifying force.
Inside the helicopter, the ISSD mbers—including Alberto opened fire.
Bullets ripped into the lion-man's body.
It growled in pain, but its grip didn't loosen.
It swung an arm up— SLASH!
Its claws hooked onto an ISSD soldier's leg.
The man scread—before the beast yanked him off.
"AAAHHHH—!"
The ISSD mber plumted, his body hitting the hard ground below with a sickening crack.
Blood pooled beneath his broken form.
The helicopter rocked again.
"SHAKE IT OFF!" Alberto shouted.
The pilot tilted the controls, trying to dislodge the beast.
The helicopter spun slightly, forcing the lion-man to dangle precariously.
With a roar of fury, the lion-man swung its massive arm and slamd its claws into the side of the helicopter.
TAL SCREECHED.
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The impact sent a violent shudder through the entire helicopter, causing vibrations that made the pilot's control stick shake uncontrollably.
Alberto's eyes widened.
Oh, shit—
[System Alert: Danger!]
[System Alert: Danger!]
Another massive strike.
**BANG!**
The already fragile integrity of the helicopter was starting to fail. Smoke began to rise from where the claws had punctured the tal, signalling the start of a fuel leak that threatened to turn catastrophic.
The helicopter lost control.
Alarms blared as the aircraft pitched violently to one side.
"WE'RE GOING DOWN!" the pilot yelled.
The ground rushed up to et them.
**CRASH!**
The helicopter slamd into the earth.
The impact ripped through the tal fra, sending parts flying. The rotors snapped off, bouncing across the field like deadly blades.
The ground trembled from the force of the crash.
Dust and flas erupted.
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