A Battle With Shadows
The demon let out a strange, high-pitched scream as it lunged at Karyan, its body twisted in unnatural ways like the other demons.
Karyan dodged, but with only one hand, each movement was a struggle for him.
"Granx!" Karyan shouted again, summoning more snakes to his aid.
They struck at the demon, but their bites seemed to do little more than annoy the shadowy figure.
Karyan grunted as he felt a sharp pain on his side.
The remaining shadows continued their assault.
He felt overwhelmed, his breaths heavy, his body was protesting with every blow he took or dodged.
"Can't give up," he muttered to himself, dodging another attack.
The demon's weird noises filled the air, a cacophony that seemed to mock Karyan's efforts.
He summoned another snake, "Granx!" but it was swatted away like it was nothing.
He felt a new bruise forming on his leg, and his arm ached from where he'd hit the barrier.
He was getting tired, the fight dragged on, and the demon seemed just as strong as when they started.
Karyan stumbled back, catching his breath. "Focus," he told himself. "You've been in worse spots."
He tried to think, to find some strategy that would work, but the demon was relentless.
With each passing moment, Karyan's situation grew more desperate.
The demon advanced again, its cries pierced the air as it swiped at Karyan with shadowy claws.
Karyan managed to block the strikes with Sera, but he knew he couldn't keep this up forever.
"Fast or slow, huh?" Karyan said, trying to regain some of his earlier bravado. "Looks like you're all for slow, my friend."
He laughed, but it was hollow, and he winced as another hit connected, leaving a gash across his arm.
"Sera, we need a new plan," he panted, the serpent coiled around his stub of an arm, her scales felt slick against his skin.
Karyan tried to keep the remaining demons at bay with his spells, calling "Granx!" over and over, but it was like trying to hold back the tide with a bucket.
He was losing ground, the shadow demons pressed in, their attacks looked coordinated and relentless.
Karyan felt like he was fighting a losing battle, but he refused to let the thought take hold.
"I'm not done yet!" Karyan yelled, more to convince himself than his adversary.
The demon screamed again, and as it rushed him, Karyan braced himself.
He was knocked down, the breath knocked out of him. He could feel the cold floor against his back, the heat of his own blood as it trickled from several new wounds.
With a great effort, he pushed himself up, his muscles screamed in protest once again. "I've fought with less," he said, trying to push through the pain, trying to stand firm despite the darkness creeping into the edges of his vision.
"Venom," he whispered, almost delirious, and the giant anaconda appeared once more, striking at the demons, but it was like swatting at smoke.
Karyan's vision blurred, but he shook his head, refusing to let his sight fail him now. "Come on, Karyan, get up!" he grunted to himself, pushing off the ground with his good hand.
As he stood, his legs felt like they were made of lead.
The room spun around him, and he could barely focus on the demon in front of him.
"You think you can beat me?" Karyan spat out, his voice was raspy from exhaustion and pain. "I've been through worse!"
The demon didn't speak, but its screams seemed to laugh at him, echoing off the walls mockingly.
It charged again, and Karyan barely managed to roll out of the way, feeling the air rush by where he had just been.
The remaining demons kept coming too, their attacks never ended, hitting his arms, back, with their claws.
Each time Karyan called his snakes, the demons tore through them, not slowing down.
"Granx! Venom!" Karyan's voice was now a hoarse shout.
More snakes appeared, but they were quickly dispatched, and the giant anaconda was just a fleeting shadow, unable to land a decisive blow.
Karyan felt a sharp sting on his back, then another on his shoulder.
He stumbled, nearly falling. With every strike, he felt weaker, his body continued collecting bruises and cuts.
"This isn't working," Karyan mumbled to himself, gasping for air. "I need something else, something more."
He looked at his serpent, Sera, who was coiled tight around his arm. "Any ideas, old friend?" he asked, half-hoping the serpent could offer some wisdom.
Sera simply hissed, her tongue flicked in and out. It wasn't much, but it was enough to spark an idea in Karyan's mind.
"Right. If brute force isn't working, let's try something else," Karyan said, nodding to himself. "We distract and attack."
Taking a deep breath, Karyan focused. "Granx!" he shouted, and this time, when the snakes appeared, he didn't send them all to attack.
Instead, he directed some to slither around the room, moving in patterns, creating a maze of movement that the demons had to navigate.
The shadow demon paused, its screams quieting down as it followed the confusing dance of snakes.
That hesitation was all Karyan needed.
He lunged forward, "Venom!" he called, not for the giant anaconda this time, but for a concentrated burst of venom aimed at the demon's eyes.
"Hieeeeeeeeek!!!"
The demon screeched, a terrible sound, and recoiled as the venom made contact. For the first time, Karyan saw fear in its movements.
Encouraged, Karyan pressed on. He was hurt, sure, but he wasn't beaten—not yet.
"Come on," Karyan mocke. "Is that all you've got?"
The demon was now blinded and disoriented, swung wildly, its form become erratic. Karyan dodged, using every last bit of his energy to stay one step ahead.
"Can't see me now, can you?" Karyan sneered, though he was panting, his body was on the verge of collapse itself.
The remaining demons were still a problem, but with the main demon blinded, they seemed less coordinated, less dangerous.
Karyan could feel the tide of the battle shifting, even as his own strength dwindled.
"I just need... one good shot," Karyan gasped, talking to himself as much as to the demon.
He ducked another wild attack from the shadow. Each movement was an agony to him, his body covered in bruises and cuts, his breathing became ragged.
The demon's cries had turned desperate, the noises less confident.
It swung blindly.
Karyan steadied himself, focused on the demon's movements. "Now, Sera!" he called, and the serpent uncoiled from his arm with a swift move.
Sera lunged, her fangs sank into what looked like the demon's leg.
The demon howled, a sound that was more pain than anger now.
Karyan didn't waste the moment.
With a yell, he summoned the last of his strength and his magic. "Venom!" he shouted, and a stream of potent venom shot from his hand, striking the demon in the chest.
The demon staggered, its screams faded to whimpers.
The other shadows hesitated, their attacks slowed down.
Karyan could barely stand, his vision started swimming, his breaths short and sharp. But he could see the demon faltering, its strength started leaving it.
"This is it," Karyan panted, forcing himself to stay conscious, to keep fighting. "Sera, one more time!"
The serpent hissed in response and struck again.
The demon let out a final, weak cry before it started to dissolve, its form broke apart like smoke in the wind.
The remaining demons, sensing their master's defeat, retreated back into the shadows from which they came, vanishing as if they were never there.
Karyan stood in the silence that followed, his body swaying.
He was covered in sweat, blood, and venom.
He looked around the now quiet room, the fragments of the shattered barrier glittering on the floor like dark diamonds.
He had won, but it had cost him everything he had.
Karyan collapsed to his knees, his breaths came in gasps.
Sera slithered up to his side, her presence felt like a small comfort to him.
"We did it, Sera," Karyan whispered, "We did it."
He allowed himself a moment of rest, knowing the battle was over, at least for now.
His injuries were severe, and he would need time to heal, but the sense of victory, of having overcome such odds, gave him the smallest smile.
It was a smile of someone who had faced the darkness and won, battered and bruised, but never broken.
"Now, where's that damned sorcerer?"