Depthless anger

Once again, Niran vanishes as you reach him, leaving you standing over Ferra’s body as he reappears on the other side of the room again. You take a moment to kneel and touch the fallen golem. Ferra is cold and limp, her eyes lifeless. You feel something build up inside of you as you slowly rise to your feet. Memories flash through your mind, and you take a breath as you try to control yourself.

You tear your eyes away from the sight, instead glaring at Niran. “You. Are. Dead.”

The mad mage laughs. “Not likely. Just give up, and I’ll make your end easy. In fact, I’ll make it easier on everyone if you do.”

Your eyes narrow. “No.”

You grit your teeth, walking across the room. Niran shrugs, and does the same, walking towards you. As he does, one of his hands changes, becoming larger, with grotesque, sharp claws. His mutated face twists into a sneer, revealing misshapen teeth. You can feel yet more power flowing into your limbs as Lilith silently enhances you.

Niran stops at the center of the room, and simply waits. You grip Caliburn in both hands as you approach, and take a mighty swing. The blade stops, an inch from Niran’s hideous, grinning face.

“You wield a strong blade, but there are spells of proof against such. As I said, I cannot harm you with magic, but magic has so many other uses. Young fool.”

Niran springs into motion, his clawed hand swinging at you. You move aside, narrowly avoiding the blow. He doesn’t even try to evade your counterstroke, which seems to rebound off an invisible barrier once again. Niran continues grinning, swiping at you with his claws again. You dodge, again evading his strike. He’s clearly not particularly skilled, but with his speed enhanced and his seeming immunity to your weapon, it’s only a matter of time before he lands a blow.

Your rational mind would be worried, but you’re far from rational at this point. You attack in a flurry, nothing actually damaging Niran, but his smile drops a notch as he attempts to counter. He connects a few times, his long claws carving deep furrows in your armor, despite its enchantment. Once, he manages to penetrate a joint, and you feel a flash of pain as his claws tear into your hip. Your anger quickly dampens the pain, but blood is running from the wound as you continue to fight.

Lilith pours more power into you, and you can feel her weakening as she does. There’s a look of triumph on Niran’s twisted face as you continue to rain down ineffective strikes against him. Eschewing any semblance of defense, he presses his own attack. More get through your own defenses, and soon you’re bleeding from several wounds. His claws seem able to tear through your armor with ease now, as if his strength is growing with each strike.

Your attacks grow ****, and your fighting leaves wider and wider openings. In desperation, you start backing away as you defend. Niran presses forward, and now it’s all you can do to stave him off. Your anger wavers, being replaced with doubt and fear.

Lilith speaks in your mind, weakly. I…I don’t have much left to give, Nicholas. I’m…I’m sorry…

Before you can respond, Niran charges at you. Coming in beneath your guard, he plunges his claws into your side, ripping through your armor like paper. You cry out in pain, dropping your sword and grasping his wrist. Niran’s eyes go wide as your fingers clamp tight, and he tries to yank free. Your strength is still greater, however, and you hold him fast, his claws buried in your rib cage. You throw a punch with your free hand, and your armored fist crashes into his face, sending him sprawling.

You look at Niran in surprise, and there’s a look of shock on his face. You sway on your feet, your breath rattling in your chest as blood runs from the terrible wound. Your vision is blurred, but you focus on Niran, who scrabbles backwards, trying to regain his feet. With a snarl, you lunge forward, diving on top of him. You feel his claws rip into your stomach, but at the same time you wrap both hands around his throat. You feel no pain, simply numbness. Barely coherent, you slam your head into his face, feeling warm, stinking ichor splash against you. Your body keeps him pinned beneath you, as you squeeze and twist his neck with all the strength you have left.

You feel a snap, though you can’t tell from where. Slowly, your vision dims to black, but you keep squeezing and twisting, even as everything around you fades to nothing.