Corrupted Beast

The gray sky faded to black and darkness engulfed the small island. In the center of it all, Emma remained still. Her back still rested against the wall but she had long ago lost the fierce glint in her eyes.

For now she ran her fingers along the ground. She felt the grass beneath her hands, the delicate points of pressure brought forth by the tip of each blade of grass.

The mixture of dirt and sand painted her hands, it was still unbelievable; for something so familiar to be in a place so foreign. But Emma stopped rummaging through the dirt, with the presence of night she wanted to be more vigilant.

As her back was to the stone wall she had no need to worry about her backside, rather, all her attention could be in front of her. But the night was too dark, Emma couldn't see into the depths of the trees.

A tight ring of vision surrounded her, she could only see the ten or so feet between herself and the tree line. Beyond the trees light didn't exist, only pitch black darkness filled the empty space and hid the creatures dwelling within.

A twig snapped. Emma grabbed her spear and firmly gripped it. The bushes on the edge of the tree line began to shake.

Emma slowly rose from the ground, trying her hardest not to make a sound. She pushed herself against the wall and used it to prop herself up.

She closed one eye and lined the tip of her spear up with the bush before her. And then she waited.

The bushes rattling grew dire until a large rabbit burst out of the darkness and into Emma's vision. Fueled by anxiety and untrusting of the night, Emma launched her spear forward.

It struck the rabbit in its chest and lifted it off its feet. The rabbit soared backwards and disappeared into the darkness. Surely it was dead.

Emma recalled her spear and it flew into her grasp, but the rabbit remained in the dark. The spear must have slid itself out of the rabbit's corpse.

Eerie silence suffocated the island, but only momentarily as another twig cracked in the darkness followed by a low growl.

Emma instinctively tensed. Her eyes darted across the tree line as she waited for the creature to show itself.

The growl deepened. Then a white paw emerged from the darkness and pressed into the ground.

But Emma waited. She wanted to see the beast in its entirety.

The beast's white arm came into view and then the tip of its nose burst into Emma's vision. Two razor sharp, monstrous front teeth hung below its nose.

A dark black slop rolled out of the creature's mouth and puddled beneath it. Empty, black eyes narrowed their attention towards Emma and long, floppy ears dropped beside the beast's head.

"You look… different." Emma spoke to the rabbit.

"Sorry about the whole spear thing."

The rabbit grew four times its size. Now the size of a large wolf, it bared its monstrous teeth at Emma and reared its head, releasing a blood curdling screech into the night.

Emma tried to throw her spear, but her body shook. No—her soul shook. A sharp pain assaulted Emma's head, her muscles wobbled, and her vision darkened.

The monstrous rabbit lunged at Emma, its hind legs sunk deep into the ground and exploded with power. Like a rocket, the rabbit appeared before Emma in only a second.

Essence coarsed through Emma's body. She activated Boost on her entire being, her mind sped up and the world around her slowed down.

The rabbit hovered in the air, only a foot away from Emma's head. Its jaw was stretched wide, waiting to sink the many knife-like teeth it had into Emma's throat.

Emma redirected her essence into her spear and barely pushed the spear forward, but once it was in motion its velocity was able to be manipulated.

Time flashed back to normal and Emma's spear ripped into the rabbit's chest. The lugs beside the spears tip, two smaller blades that poked out from beneath the main blade, caught the rabbit's ribs and exploded it back.

The rabbit monster soared through the air until it smashed into one of the palm trees. The spear lodged itself in the tree, impaling the creature to its trunk.

The rabbit released a slew of howls. It whimpered and cried as it slowly bled out, a river of black sludge ran down the tree and soaked the earth.

[Corrupted Rabbit Slain]

The rabbit burst into essence and disappeared into the night. The only proof of its existence is a puddle of black blood that pooled beneath it.

Emma recalled her spear and leaned back against the wall. That had used an immense amount of essence. Especially Boosting her brain, that drained her soul faster than anything else.

"Corrupted?"

"I've never heard of a corrupted beast before."

"But the soul system recognized it…"

[Soul Rank: Enlightened]

[Soul Saturation: 42/5000]

[Soul Essence: 84/300]

[Gift: Boost]

[Description: Freely multiply targets velocity]

[Enhancement: Boost can be applied to self]

[Ability: Return to Sender]

[Relics: Chosen Soldiers Spontoon]

Emma's eyebrows jumped up as she inspected her soul.

"It was worth four points!"

"But Enlightened creatures only grant two!"

"Was it a Royal?"

"No that can't be! It was far too weak."

"Corrupted…"

"I need to find out more!"