Ti seed to slow down in that instant, as Tom noticed a glimr of silver in the periphery of his vision.
His emotions in that mont were hard to describe, a lange of horror, shock and fear so deeply intertwined with each other that it was impossible to tell which was which. He had planned, he had been tricky, resourceful and even though it went against his personal tenets, he had been ruthless.
Sotis though, as Tom was now realizing, even that wasnt enough.
The thought of his consciousness simply ending, a phenonon commonly known as deathit weighed upon him, a crushing weight that made it difficult to breathe, let alone move. Every insecurity, every fear and every sorrow he had experienced in his life washed over him, magnified dozens of tis over. It felt like the world, his world, was ending.
At the beginning of all this, Tom didnt mind dying not if he believed that it was in furtherance of a greater cause, a cause that he believed to be greater. Perhaps it stemd from his own low self-esteem, perhaps it was because he believed that saving that little girl back on Earth was the single greatest thing he could ever accomplish in his life and perhaps that might have been true for the person he used to be.
For better or for worse. that didnt hold true any longer.
What happened next, Tom wasnt entirely sure if it was entirely conscious thought that was directing him.
In one fluid motion, he cut off the SP he was feeding to [The Fla], causing the searing hot flas to flicker out. In the next, he pivoted on the balls of his feed, lowering his stature and angling his shield forward so that it could cover greater surface area.
In that mont, Toms mind was dominated by a single, solitary thought:
Live.
His thoughts were flowing with clarity, keeping into account that [The Shadow] was still obscuring his figure, which ant that the beast couldnt completely pin-point where his vitals were.
It could guess, but there was a difference between estimation and surety.
By the ti hed angled to face the [Elfinclaw], it was already mid-air, its sharp, outstretched right claw aiming to rake away at his chest.
Bone chips flew in the air, a grating sound echoing out as the [Elfinclaw] made contact with the [Eflinclaw Bone Shield], blowing away part of [The Shadows] concealnt in the areas it made contact with.
The impact caused Tom to jerk a few steps backwards, sheer grit allowing him to sohow retain his balance.
Tom let out a furious scream, his SP igniting to life as a torrent of flas erupted from his right hand.
This ti, flesh sizzled, followed by a roar that seed as angry as it was pained. However, Tom refused to let his guard down this ti, not so easily.
His own flas obscured his view, but Tom had been listening for any discrepancies between what his eyes were telling him, his mind thought to be true, and reality.
Sure enough, he heard retreating footsteps.
Tom once again stopped channeling SP into [The Fla], already certain that the [Elfinclaw] had stepped out of his range.
Once again, the [Elfinclaw] surprised him.
Its fur was charred in patches and the tip of its tail still on fire. Its horn though, was unscathed, much like the male [Elfinclaws] had been, and its ruby red eyes seed to have been spared the brunt of the attack.
At this point, Tom wouldnt mind if the beast chose to retreat. In fact, he was secretly hoping for it.
His expectations, however, were dashed in the next mont.
His strategy of enraging the Elfinclaw had apparently worked a little too well.
Uncaring of its wounds, Tom swore that the [Elfinclaw] moved even faster than it had before, this ti adopting a zig-zag movent pattern. It rushed forth like a bolt of lightning, the pain caused by its flaming tail seemingly spurring it on even faster.
Toms pupils twitched as he frenziedly tried to keep track of the approaching beast, its movents like the ebbing and flowing of ocean tides, except at a much faster tempo, making him feel slightly nauseous.
A sharp pang of panic welled up in Toms chest.
The beast was determined and relentless in his approach, but more importantly, Tom was unable to get a lock on its movent pattern.
The [Deck Card] most suited to driving it away was [Water Propulsion], but it was safely tucked away in his pocket and there was no ti left.
The [Eflinclaw] would be on him in seconds.
Out of desperation, Tom ignited [The Fla] card and begun to ignite the grass in front of him, covering all one eighty degrees in his field of vision. He kept going, the flas obscuring his vision, hoping that it would be enough deterrence to make the [Elfinclaw] back away.
A silver silhouette forcibly tore past his makeshift wall of flas, the purity of its aura marred by splotches of red.
The next second, Tom let out an agonized scream that ca from the depths of his heart.
Pain. Pain unlike anything Tom had felt before.
Instinctively, his gaze went downward. Three deep lacerations had carved past his right shin, a stream of blood steadily pouring out of the wound. Tears stread down his eyes, but Tom had gazed long enough to see a white protrusion beneath the river of red
Was that bone?
Tom buckled downwards, his other intact leg the only thing keeping him from lying flat on the ground.
His throat going hoarse from screaming, Toms thoughts finally broke free from their stupor as he activated the [Earths Vitality] card held, or rather, concealed within the safe grasp of his shield harm.
The earthen halo coalescing around him brought comfort to both his heart and wounded leg. The pain was dulled enough to the point that he could think sowhat rationally, but walking was impossible for the current Tom.
The first thought that ca to his mind was,
Why was he still alive?
Craning his neck backwards, still in a kneeling posture, Tom understood why.
The [Elfinclaw] didnt seem to be faring too well either its eyes were closed as it thrashed around in the grass, trying to put out the flas that clinged to its fur. Most importantly, the [Elfinclaws] eyes were closed, and part of its forehead was on fire.
The beast had been taking a potshot in the dark.
Where Tom had expected to have his throat torn out in the next second, he was given a new lease at life.
Live, his mind once again ordered, no, beseeched him.
His hands were trembling as he slipped [The Fla] card into his pocket, withdrawing the [Water Propulsion] card at the sa ti.
Live.
Tom didnt dare to drop [Earths Vitalitys] healing for more than a second, so.. He began to crawl forward, his bloody leg chafing against the grass.
Thankfully, [Earths Vitality] seed to offset the bloodloss atleast Tom felt like it was.
He could use [Water Propulsion] at range but it was too weak. If he shot, the beasts injuries would worsen, but it wouldnt die. And at this point, Tom really had nothing left to resist with. He had to get closer.
Slow your breathing.
Swallow your pain.
Dont make a sound.
Dont make a fucking sound.
The beast was clearly too preoccupied trying to put out the flas to notice what should have been a dying mans approach.
Soon, five ters were reduced to a re two.
Tom could hear the thrashing beasts breathing at this point, while he held his own.
He could fire from this range, and his odds would be far higher.
But Tom refused to settle.
His face scrunched up with intensity, going as red as a tomato as he used a mix of his upper body strength and remaining limbs strength to get back on one foot, while the other hung limply. Thankfully the bloodloss had stilled, but the wound was still open and raw.
Tom cancelled [Earths Vitalitys] healing and dove forward.
Live.
Live.
Live,
Live.
Toms outstretched right hand slamd down upon the lower part of the beasts abdon.
WATER PROPULSION, Tom scread in his mind, the mont his hand slapped against the [Elfinclaws] soft underbelly.
Toms hand yanked back from the [Water Propulsions] recoil as he used the [Deck Card] in a manner it was not intended for and at the sa ti as the beasts abdon exploded with the viscosity of a bloody water balloon.
Stay dead, motherfucker, Tom croaked in a hoarse voice as [Earths Vitality]s glow once again enveloped him. He lay in a pool of blood, not an ounce of strength left in his body.
His eyes were shut as he focused solely on healing.
If there was another beast lurking in the shadows, waiting to ambush him. Well,
Tom was spent.
If it struck at him now, Tom would really die without even knowing how.
He had a feeling though, that it wouldnt.
Because in that mont, Tom probably looked far more scarier than any re beast could.
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