One trick pony

It lunged, and I let it come close, feinting a step to the left and catching its claws mid-swing. The impact sent vibrations up my arm, but my free hand was already moving. A swipe-a scratch across its side- enough to slow it further. But not enough to stop it. 

The Red Shadow's claws blurred as they lashed out, a storm of death threatening to slice me in half. I jumped, the wind whispering in my ear, and the blades passed just beneath me, cutting the air. I landed and immediately had to twist, the next strike aiming for my neck. This time, I didn't see it coming-I heard it, the soft hiss of movement, and dropped low to avoid it.

Even now, it was getting faster.

Both my eyes were now shifted, the familiar sting burning as my vision fractured into thousands of angles. I was starting to love these Compound eyes. The cavern was a kaleidoscope of motion, each fragment giving me a new perspective of the Red Shadow's next move. It was relentless, but now, I could track it better.

I countered with a sweep of my hand, powder coating my claws. The next time it lunged, my swipe connected with its side. The Red Shadow flinched back, and I saw its flesh swell, my shitty Purple Moth poison finally starting its work.

But the monster didn't stop. If anything, it grew more aggressive now that it realized we were both fighting against time.

I felt one of its strikes graze my ribs, a deep burning sensation that made me grit my teeth. But I had more tricks. As its claw came in again, I scattered a different powder over my wound. The bleeding stopped almost immediately, and I felt the knitting sensation as the edges of the gash began to mend, slow but sure. It wasn't much, but it would buy me time.

I needed it.

I made a show of being caught off balance, letting its claw graze my regrowing keratin armor before I let it fling me across the cavern. The force carried me, and I twisted mid-air, letting my back hit the wall, feeling the stone crack beneath the impact. Pain shot up my spine, but I forced myself to focus. The Red Shadow was on me in an instant, and I pushed off the wall, meeting its charge head-on with a kick aimed for its head.

It took the hit, letting its head snap back as my foot connected, but its claws found my leg, carving deep. The pain was almost blinding, and I felt the muscles in my calf tear, my balance breaking as I hit the ground. I gritted my teeth, biting down on a curse. 

I staggered back, barely catching my footing when it pounced, its weight crashing into me like a tidal wave. It slammed me into the ground, and I felt my spine bend in a way it shouldn't. Another crack echoed through the cavern, and I saw stars. But I held on. I twisted my body, my eyes still locked onto the shadow as it moved in for the kill.

And I released the trap I'd been holding back.

My tongue shot out like a spear, a whip of flesh and bone coated with poison powder. 

It barely managed to sacrifice a hand to block it, the blade piercing straight through and severing tendons. It hissed, pulling back and ripping my tongue out in the process. I didn't care, the damage was done. One of its blades fell the ground, torn away, and more poison was working its way up its arm.

But the victory was short-lived. It raised its foot and stomped on my head, the impact rattling through my skull. My bone helmet absorbed most of the blow, but I felt it crack, the pressure squeezing against my brain. More stars burst in my vision, and I knew another hit like that would shatter my head.

I threw myself at it however I could, grabbing onto its limping arm and pulling, claws digging deep. It roared, and we tumbled, a savage, thrashing storm of limbs and fury. We rolled across the cavern floor, claws slicing, teeth snapping.

It was like fighting a hurricane. The Red Shadow unleashed a torrent of slashes, claws flashing in the dim light. I deflected some, dodged others, but a few found their mark.

I felt my strength waning. The healing powder could only do so much. My wounds were piling up, and my vision blurred. But I kept moving, kept laughing, each grin laced with madness. The thrill of survival, the pure insanity of the fight, fueled me.

I could feel the bones in my arm to turn to bits as I blocked one of its slashes. I felt cuts across my shoulders, another slicing my thigh deep enough to kill a lesser man three times over. Blood slicked the stone beneath us, and I could feel my own breath coming in ragged gasps.

But it wasn't one-sided. I pressed back, driving my claws into its torso, peeling away hide, feeling the give of flesh. I caught its shoulder, its side, its throat. 

The Red Shadow snarled as well as a faceless being could, its bone mask inches from mine, and for a moment, we were locked in a savage struggle, each of us trying to overpower the other.

Neither of us noticed the small shadow moving closer.

We clashed again, and I forced its arm wide, using the leverage to twist and keep it down. It tried to headbutt me, our bone masks clashing against one another like tidal waves against the shore.

Then, a flash of green. I barely registered it through the chaos, but the Red Shadow didn't seem to notice. It was locked on me, its rage like a furnace. 

And the green shadow slithered closer, blade in hand. I caught the glint of the severed claw blade-the monster's severed claw blade-in his grip.

He moved like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, and for the first time, the Red Shadow stilled. 

The blade plunged deep into its head, piercing the skull with a wet crack. 

It collapsed, falling on top of me like a sack of dead weight. I shoved it off, panting, watching as its body convulsed a few more times, spasms of unwilling death, before finally going still. Just to be sure, I reached down, claws clenched, and pulped its head a few dozen times, feeling the bones turn to dust under my fist.

 I also dug up its core, because like hell I would risk it disappearing somehow.

I pushed myself up, pain radiating through my entire body, but I smiled anyway. "Nice ty, dunehon" I muttered, my words slurred as I was still spitting out blood and tongue bits.

I turned, and there was Golbin, clutching the red claw blade, eyes wide and body trembling. He looked around, darting glances at every shadow as if expecting more to come. His chest heaved, and his hands were shaking.

"Well, you certainly fixed your own mess," I whispered, more to myself than him. Any thoughts of killing him to maybe make amends with the Dungeon dissipated as I caught sight of the scar on his chest-glowing hieroglyphic symbols burned into his flesh.

"Huh, interesting," I said, a bit numb as I bit into the blood-red core of Red Shadow.

Had I just given a monster a fucking Falna?