That suited me just fine though. This thing’s voice hurt to listen to, made my brain ache in unusual ways. SO if it was losing the coherence of speech - all the better. But then it was moving again, scuttling along the ground rapidly towards me. Fast, damn fast, but without the added speed from launching itself from a height at me, it was manageable. It was time to start turning the tables on this abomination, I couldn’t let it fucking leave here and hunt her down. I crouched down as it rushed at me.
Then sprang forward, intercepting it. The damascus edge of the Saw-Spear bit into its hide, tearing into it, leaving a gash along its flesh. The creature let out a howl and smacked at me, trying to hit me with one of its legs, but my rolling lunge carried me out of the way of the retaliatory strike before the creature even began it. I rose to my feet behind the thing, dirt and dust falling from my clothes as the drider’s purplish ichor dripped to the ground from the tear on its flank. It hissed at me as one of its waving ‘arms’ pressed against the wound, and I felt a vicious grin split my lips.
It could bleed. I could hurt it. That meant I could slay it. I know my punch had already shown that I could hurt it - but there was just something so, so, satisfying about carving into the beast with my blade, and watching its blood fall to the ground. I felt it, then, that creeping, darkening hunger in the back of my mind. This thing bled. And I would make it bleed, for daring to threaten Ri. It wanted to hurt what was mine. And while I was not yet strong enough to free her - oh, I was strong enough to make this thing suffer for its arrogance.
I didn’t know why this thing said I ‘smelt’ of her light, but that didn’t matter. It had chosen poorly, wrongly, and now it had come to its death. The two of us stared at each other for a moment longer - and then the beast rushed me again, darting across the ground. It was foolish - but not stupid. It was probably ready for me to try jumping past it again, might even be counting on it. So I didn’t. I ran forward, and my eyes could see the way its waving arms spread to the side, no doubt readying for me to jump by so it could stab me.
Instead, I hit the ground, sliding beneath it. Stone, rock, and dirt ground against my back through my clothes, and I swung upwards, trying to gouge out some of the beast’s stomach. The drider abomination was having none of that, though, as it leapt upwards, narrowly dodging the edge of the jagged blade. Damn. I jumped back to my feet as the creature landed nearby, staggering a bit as it did so. I could see that bloodloss was starting to get to it, at least somewhat. I triggered the mechanism on the Saw-Spear, the blade swinging out and locking into position, and readied myself. I was done with this thing.
