THE FURY OF EL'GOTH

"Put her down!" Kiel's hands sliced through the air in urgent, sharp gestures, his fingers moving with fierce determination. His face, etched with a mix of desperation and resolve, conveyed the command with unyielding clarity. The scene was charged with a Wild West intensity, time hanging suspended in the tense standoff. Kiel's heartbeat pounded in his ears, a relentless drumbeat echoing against the silence that enveloped them.

The creature's lips twisted into a grotesque smile as it tightened its grip around the girl's throat, choking her. "Is that why?" It growled, its voice a guttural rasp. "I wasn't expecting a mere child."

The girl's eyes widened in desperate fear as she struggled against the beast's iron grip, her attempts to escape proving futile.

The creature's voice dripped with sinister philosophy. "Most people can endure adversity, but to reveal a man's true nature, give him power. Power harbors both light and darkness. Even a mother's milk nurtures both heroes and villains. This is one rule you don't bend. If you wield the power to destroy, are you not a destroyer yourself? Are you not a Monster?"

Kiel's hands moved with rapid precision, his fingers forming a series of urgent signs that spoke louder than any words. "Put... her... down..." he signed, his frustration evident in each motion.

"You want to be a protector?" The beast rasped, a cruel smile stretching across its face. "Then protect this soul." With a vicious twist, it hurled the girl aside. She crashed into a tree with a sickening thud, her body slumping unconscious.

"Astra!" Her brother's anguished cry sliced through the tension as he rushed to her side. Kiel's focus snapped back to El'goth, his expression hardening with renewed resolve.

"Come at me with all you have!" El'goth's voice was a chilling challenge.

In an instant, the beast lunged forward, moving with the relentless speed of a centaur in full gallop. The ground trembled beneath its powerful strides, each hoofbeat a harbinger of impending doom. Its axe hung menacingly, ready to deliver a fatal blow. Kiel's reflexes kicked in. He executed a series of agile backflips, narrowly evading the deadly arc of the axe. He landed in a crouch, poised and ready.

"Tsk, you're quite the nimble one," the beast sneered, malice glinting in its eyes. "Too bad agility won't save you for long."

With renewed ferocity, El'goth charged again. Clip-clop, clip-clop—the beast's hooves pounded the earth, each beat a grim drum of the approaching storm. Kiel's thoughts raced, his heart syncing with the rhythmic pounding of the ground. "Hey. What on Earth is happening right now?" He wondered, his mind racing to keep up with the chaos.

A resounding thud shattered the silence. Kiel was thrown backward, his body slamming into a rugged tree with such force that his breath exploded from his lungs, like whiskey splashing from a glass. He groaned, pain sharp and relentless. Sweat mingled with blood trickling down his face as he mentally steeled himself against the agony.

Kiel glanced up, his eyes widening in shock. El'goth loomed above him, axe poised for another strike. Kiel's combat instincts flared. He rolled to the side, narrowly escaping the lethal blow. The earth quaked as El'goth's axe cleaved into the ground, dust billowing into the air.

El'goth struggled to free his axe, showing no mercy. The primal urge to survive drove him, and Kiel fought with every ounce of his being.

With lightning speed, the beast swung its massive arm, batting Kiel away like an insignificant insect. The force of the blow propelled him through the air, slamming his back against a tree. Stunned, Kiel tried to regain his composure.

El'goth's intention became clear. Using the momentum from Kiel's impact, the beast hurled his axe with deadly precision. The blade sliced through the air in a swift, vertical arc, embedding itself deeply in the splintered wood behind Kiel, pinning him with excruciating pain.

Blood oozed from the wound, staining Kiel's left side crimson. The pain was intense, nearly overwhelming. Kiel gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut to brace against the torment.

"Is that all?" The beast taunted, advancing on Kiel with a mocking sneer. "The empty scream? The pain of indifference? A monster who sold its soul for ease and found only hell. How pathetic." El'goth tightened his grip on the axe, driving the blade deeper into Kiel's flesh.

"You can adorn yourself in fine skin or the rancid hide of abyssal creatures," the beast continued, its malevolent grin widening. "I see through it all regardless, like a wolf with a broken fang."

Kiel's eyes darted between El'goth and the axe embedded in his shoulder. He used his hands to make a series of urgent and frustrated signs, conveying his confusion and distress. His gestures spoke volumes—his disbelief and determination clear even in his weakened state.

Despite the searing agony, Kiel managed a wicked grin, using his hands to express his resolve. He flicked his middle finger towards El'goth and sneered, "Enough with the nonsense!" In a burst of explosive movement, he headbutted El'goth sharply and followed with a powerful right hook. But the creature absorbed the attack with unyielding resistance.

The satisfaction on Kiel's face quickly shifted to disbelief. The beast stood unmoving, Kiel's fist still embedded in its cheek. With eyes blazing with rage and a shattered, bloody nose, El'goth turned to confront him, its expression twisted in fury. It clamped Kiel's outstretched arm with a vice-like grip. In that harrowing moment, Kiel understood the magnitude of his blunder.

"Oh, toi…"

El'goth's retaliatory punch hurled Kiel through the air, crashing him into several trees with a deafening splintering sound. Wooden shards sliced through the air, some cutting into Kiel's flesh as he was flung violently, skidding and tumbling across the ground. He plunged finally into a lake, a tumult of broken rocks and debris swirling around him. He came to rest on his side, the cold water mixing with his blood.

Every wave of pain was relentless, each throb a searing reminder of his vulnerability. As he lay gasping, the bitter truth bore down on him; He's strong—overwhelmingly so. This is the chasm between us. At least my regeneration is working, but it's devouring my stamina. I can't keep taking blows like that. Damn it! I hate this with every ounce of my being. Is there truly nothing I can do right?

A thin stream of blood trickled down Kiel's forehead as he tilted his head toward the sky. Through blurred vision, he saw a dark figure hurtling toward him with alarming speed. As the shape resolved into the form of a centaur, Kiel's apprehension turned to grim resolve. The beast descended with meteor-like force, its arms swinging down with cataclysmic impact, sending a tidal wave of destruction rippling through the air.