74 Death Itself

It was fast, however, Draco was faster, if just by a small fraction. Draco jumped backward, trying to circle the beast. However, it followed him like a bloodhound that had caught his scent. The creature was lagging behind him like it couldn't pinpoint Draco, only his tracks. Draco continued this dance, trying to buy time to figure out what he should do. Deciding to try his tried and true method of ambushing the creature, he activated <Cloaking>, only for the beast to suddenly change.

Instead of following some trail of his, it started coming right after him. Draco was dumbfounded, Cloaking had done the opposite of what he wanted it to do. He looked back at it and grabbed the eye that appeared. He shot a glance at Brutis's still prone body on the ground before he continued to run. He looked at the window that appeared from the creature.

Bronchorn

Level-68

Stats

Strength-102 wisdom-26

Agility-82 vitality-122

Description-

The Bronchorn is a creature from the world Kerith. The Bronchorn love to hunt. Although they can use weapons they will only use them as a last resort, due to their overwhelming strength and vitality they are naturally born brawlers and create their hierarchy on the foundation of that same strength. Due to them not having eyes, they have developed noses that can smell Mana, allowing them a clear image of their surroundings.

Draco's lips tightened into a thin line. 'His wisdom is his lowest, however, its vitality is higher than mine and its strength is the same. if I get hit it's going to hurt.' Draco was content with stalling this creature for the rest of the time it took Brutis to wake up, however after a minute of running there was a pulse that emanated from Brutis. As soon as Draco felt it he looked back at the Bronchorn who was showing evident signs of also feeling it. The creature was no longer following Draco but rather it had turned and was now sprinting towards the mutt.

Draco cast <Dragon's Coil>, instantly mana left him and green mist appeared below the creature where a tail came out of the mist, snaking its way up the Bronchorn's body before tightening and stopping the creature in its tracks. Draco took a second to look at the tail. It was covered in blue scales that were so dark they were almost black. At the end of the tail, there was a broadhead-like spike that was currently being used as a meat hook to hold the Bronchorn.

The Bronchorn was roaring and trying to free itself, and although it was making some progress it was slow-moving. Draco, without wasting any more time, sprinted at the beast. He cast <Paralyzing Prick> and <Weapon Aura> when he neared. Instantly all the hair on his body turned into spikes as hard as bone, with sharp tips. He found his body was a little stiff but it didn't impede his running by that much so he wasn't going to cancel it.

He lunged at the still bound creature and sliced the blade across its exposed neck before running the arm holding the blade across where he had just sliced. He landed and looked at where he had sliced, only finding a mark in the place of a hole. He did the same move, aiming for the same place multiple times until finally a small cut could be seen. Draco was astounded at the sheer physical resistance its skin had.

The creature opened its mouth and was now keeping it aimed in his direction. Noticing it was starting to be able to move a lot more than it was in the beginning, he knew it wouldn't be long until it was free. Draco sprinted back in, only this time aiming for the heel with each slice of the blade. Again a small spot opened up and he slammed his spikes into the opening before he again started viciously slicing away at its heel.

The creature roared and with one large push, broke free of the coil, sending the once-solid tail to mist before it fell and disappeared. The beast backhanded Draco, sending him flying back before he hit the ground and slid 30 feet. Without giving Draco room to recover it started sprinting towards him. The creature made it halfway when suddenly its leg stopped responding. The creature fell forward and caught itself with its hands, going from a sprint forward on two legs to a sort of three-limbed bear crawl. Draco quickly stood up, spitting out the small amount of blood from that impact when suddenly the creature was in front of him and a fist was flying towards his face.

Having seconds to react, Draco changed his knife to his sword and held it in front of him as a makeshift shield. The creature's fist came crashing down onto the sword. There was a loud crack and Draco was again thrown backward, sliding a couple dozen feet away from the beast. Draco coughed out blood, again taking damage from the blow but it was somewhat negated by the sword, however, when he looked down he noticed the sword had a visible crack in it.

He instantly activated <Sprint>, figuring if he couldn't beat it with strength then he would beat it with speed. The Bronchorn came after him and once more attacked by throwing a fist out, only this time Draco stepped to the outside of its fist. It missed by a hair's breadth, and he knew he could dodge the attacks, however, he would have to give it 100%.

Draco switched the blade to its tactical form and raked the point of it across the extended arm, and although it didn't cut it did leave a light white line in its wake. Draco deactivated <Paralyzing Prick>, needing all the mobility he could get. He vaulted forward while still scraping the blade across its arm. As he did Draco felt a calm come over him, The calm focused him, making all distractions simply vanish. Draco accepted the calm open-heartedly and it was like he was no longer dancing with death, but rather he had become death itself.