The Value of Strength!

'Some people find it difficult to learn, so I guess I'll have to teach him that lesson again!'

Those were my thoughts as I witnessed the approach of my previous attacker. Although I managed to defeat him, it appeared that he wanted to try again. It was a pointless attempt, but I decided the humor him. My tail wrapped around Lannister's waist and with it, I pulled him behind my back for protection. 

'Wait... that's-'

My thoughts were cut off as the man slammed into my embrace at an incredible speed. If I were to compare it to anything, I suppose getting trucked by a running back on any professional football team would be a more pleasant experience! If I were in my previous world, there would be no doubt that I would have been flattened.

'What kind of approach is this?! I wouldn't have expected such a straightforward attack from him!'

There were no punches thrown nor were there any kicks lashing out. We were straight-up wrestling for dominance. My strength versus my opponent. His grip tightened around my shoulders as he attempted to pull me closer into his embrace.

I countered his attempt by forcing my right forearm against his face. My left hand found itself pressing against his chest while I rested his movement. Prior that wouldn't have been a difficult task to accomplish, but now there was a noticeable shift.

'That's not right! Something ain't right! Ain't no way, he should be as - stronger than I am!'

Despite my reservations, the reality that I doubted was quickly proven to be true. My opponent's strength had somehow grown in the short period of our being separated. It had grown to the point that he had surpassed mine. Without my consent, I was pulled forward, and with it, there were consequences for my weakness.

"Tch- Son of a- Lannister step back!", I barked.

My arm was rocked by an intense pain as teeth bore into my flesh! Sharp canines ripped into my bicep with frenzies efficiency! I whinced as more ground was gained by my attacker. My eyes narrowed as the man held onto my arm like a rabid dog with each of his hands attempting to bind mine.

In normal circumstances, it would be difficult to inflict a bite on an opponent. You would be reckless to even attempt that. Yet, here he stood munching on my flesh as if I were a tasty meal. He growled like a wild animal, and his eyes reflected that!

"Step back now!", I shouted, shifting my attention to the boy.

 While he was once defiant, Lannister now stood still as a statue. His face grew pale and tears raced down his cheek. He was a deer in headlights! Unsatisfied with being a chew toy, I made a move to prevent myself from trampling Lannister. With my arms tied up in his grip, I utilized my tail to push Lannister aside. I did so for his safety, but it was at a cost of my own.

As soon as I took my eyes off of him, the attacker took the advantage. He jerked backward, snatching a piece of bicep as a trophy. Despite having considerable levels of natural pain resistance, having a piece of you ripped off by someone's teeth is... incredibly painful.

He shifted backward with my blood coating his face like a deranged creature. With a simple gaze even I could sense the incredible amount of murderous intent pulsating my way. It was enough to give even me pause for a moment. It was at that moment that he pressed forward. His hands swiped his hand, aiming to strike me in that same spot with his sharp claws.

'Wait- Sharp claws?! When did his nails get this sharp?!'

Compared to before, his claws were as sharp knives with each finger poised to deal damage. With his speed somehow increased, the man successfully gouged my flesh on several occasions. Twice against the exposed arm, and once against a more decisive place; the face. As I weaved several slashes, I found myself establishing a rhythm from evading his attacks, but it was that conformability that ultimately led to a crucial misstep. 

My vision went flash black as a stinging pain seized the left side of my face. The claws of the man hooked my cheek and with a horizontal slash, he removed my glasses from my face. I could prevent the strained grunts that escaped my lips, but that proved to only be the last of my troubles.

With my glasses removed, I couldn't judge the distance of his attacks, so he had no problems digging into my flesh once more.

He didn't let up with his assault. Each strike he landed splashed more of my blood to the point that the cloak that I claimed from him had become colored with mine as well. There was only one thing that I could do; protect my vitals.

With crimson providing an unneeded filter to my already blurry vision, it made things even more difficult to prepare for a counterattack. Several slashes lashed out, and each pierced the leather braces I was using to shield my face.

'I can't hold out for longer like this... This shit is killing me!'

My mind rotated ideas on how I could move away from his vulgar attack. Deep animalistic growls ripped through his throat with each landing blow filling him with immense confidence!

'Damnit! Mark...Think of something! Glasses! Glasses!'

If I were to be frank, you could say that everyone has a weakness. Some are more exploitable than others, but they possess one nonetheless. I am no exception, and I was once again reminded of the stark reality. Not only were his strikes fast and deadly, I literally could not see where they were coming from. I only moved on instinct with the clear intent of not allowing his claws to strike my recovering eyes or my exposed neck.

The man slammed his shoulder into me and with his new strength, he nearly managed to tackle me to the ground. It was only pure luck that the rain had softened the ground enough that he was able to slip on the unstable ground.

"Bingo! Gotcha bitch!"

Thanks to his slip, I was able to grip him by his waist and push him onto his stomach. He ate the dirt hard, but eating dirt was the least of my troubles. Despite rivaling my strength and doubling my speed, I still had the size advantage against him. It was the only advantage against him present, so I seized this opportunity with both hands. 

He wanted to push up, but he soon found that misstep rewarded with dire consequences. It didn't take twenty-twenty vision to see his neck, so I jumped on his back instantly. Much like a snake constricting around its prey, my long, muscular arms jockeyed for position around his neck. He resisted, but this move was one of my favorites and a reliable one. I call it, 'Ole' Reliable!'

Once I wrapped my legs around his torso, I cinched in the sleeper hold with deadly efficiency!

"Go to sleep, bitch! Sleep! Sleep!! Sleep!!! Damn you, bitch! Take your ass to sleep!!!"

Despite my desires and my intentions, my actions yielded little success. I had witnessed incredible strength in my short time in this world, but even still I found myself surprised when presented with it. My attacker managed to rally himself with me weighing him down on his back. It was just as I feared, he wasn't going to go down as easily as I anticipated.

He pushed himself to his feet and with determination, I was forced to release the hold. Although I held onto his neck for as long as I could, I found myself eating the back of his head. A thundering headbutt blacked my vision!

"Motha-"

My cry of pain was quickly interrupted by a stiff blow to my ribs. I would have imagined that he struck me with his arms, but that was not the case. Once I opened my eyes to see, I realized that the crumpling blow resulted from him hitting me with his tail.

There were only a few options present to me at the time, but I took the most pressing one. I squinted my eyes allowing me to focus on one target; my opponent. While it's not the most guaranteed method, it did allow me to avoid more unneeded damage. Yet, it didn't grant me the ability to properly land any punches that I attempted to return. 

It was akin to placing a bandaid on the wounds that were inflicted on me.

'Perhaps I'm overextending myself? My movements are too sloppy!'

My abilities were untested, so perhaps it was foolish of me to continue a fight that slipped from my grasp. I did well in warding off the initial ambush, but I took too long lecturing Lannister. This allowed the man to catch up to us, but now I found myself at a complete disadvantage!

A claw lashed out from the man, but I had no choice but to endure it. Although Claire had prepared the clothes for us, I came to believe that protection wasn't the initial result. That was proven to me by how easily his claws tore into them. His cloak was similar with it giving into his ferocious attack with little resistance.

I knew that I could heal and do it quickly, but I could not heal multiple injuries of this nature instantaneously. The arm that he tore into with his teeth continued to spill blood despite my attempts to focus on it. Intense pain wore down my stamina like metal on a grindstone. The longer the battle went on and the more damage that I took, it seemed my pain resistance began to falter.

'That look on his face...pure rage...this man has been berserk!'

There was an air of malice that perforated from the man ever since he made his reappearance. His precise slashes with a blade were a distant memory compared to the violent and wild slashes of his claws. He had only one purpose with the change and that was to inflict brutal violence.

Many times during our clash, he shifted his attention to Lannister. The young boy was often forced to jump aside to avoid our grapples. It was a difficult task. Protecting Lannister meant taking more damage, but there was nothing more to be done. I was charged to keep him safe, and if I had to be on the receiving in on a few more attacks then so be it.

Once more one of his hands found itself buried into my side, but this time I saw an opportunity. Instead of avoiding it altogether, I took a risk by allowing the attack to be lodged into my flesh. Before that moment, I had been very meticulous about where I was stabbed. It hurts like hell in the shoulder and the arm, but I can withstand that pain.

A critical area such as the stomach or chest was off limits due to the possibility of lasting injury, or death. It was that uncertainty that brought about a certain fear. This isn't a video game. I am not within the safeguard of Infinity Unleashed's respawn system. If there was one thing that I knew for certain, it was that death would come for me after one misstep.