Interstellar: Exploring The Cosmos With My Anomaly System
Chapter 65: Close call

Chapter 65: Close call

Favio instinctively stepped back, mirroring his opponent’s movements as the creature slithered closer. Its form stayed hidden beneath the thick shadows of the towering trees, but the rancid stench clinging to its matted fur hit him full force. He wrinkled his nose on reflex — whatever it was, it reeked worse than anything he’d ever smelled before.

Without a second thought, he fumbled for his flashlight, flicking it on with trembling hands.

The beam caught the beast’s face — a twisted dark mask stretched tight over its sharp, bulging yellow eyes. It prowled on powerful paws, its body low and smooth, moving with an eerie grace that reminded Favio more of a snake than any normal predator.

Then, in a blink, it slipped back into the darkness, vanishing as if the shadows themselves had swallowed it whole.

Panic surged through him. His hand jerked wildly, the flashlight’s beam scattering across the ancient trees.

Snap.

The sound of a twig breaking echoed off in the distance. His ear twitched, instincts kicking in just in time.

Without thinking, Favio threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding a sudden assault — rocks and dirt exploded into the air with just a swipe of the creature’s massive paw.

The thing’s claws tore into the earth, ripping it apart like it was paper. Chunks of debris tore into the bark of the surrounding trees.

Crouched low, Favio struggled to catch his breath, keeping his body tense and ready in case another attack came.

Across from him, his fellow Aelvarian managed to draw his weapon, though the way his hands trembled betrayed his fear. Still, he stood his ground, facing the beast head-on.

The creature let out a roar that shook the forest. Its cry echoed between the trees, a sound so feral that even the bravest among them found themselves flinching.

"What the hell was that...?" Vagnis muttered under his breath.

But he didn’t get time to react — Freya was already charging in.

Her strikes were brutal, far heavier than before. Every blow forced Vagnis backward, no matter how tightly he braced himself.

He barely managed to deflect the next attack, his katana shuddering violently in his grip, the blade nearing its limit.

Freya spun her staff once more, gathering speed, and then unleashed a final strike.

The katana shattered on impact, the broken blade scattering as the metal staff crashed through his defense and smashed into the side of his jaw.

Blood burst from the wound. The force of the blow dropped him to his knees, the world spinning around him in a haze of pain.

"Look at you... pathetic," Freya sneered, driving her foot hard into his gut.

Vagnis’s mouth opened in a silent scream — no sound came out, only agony.

"All you had to do was switch sides," she said, almost mockingly casual. "I was even willing to forgive you, you know—"

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Vagnis tried to force himself up, even as another brutal kick slammed into his abdomen. He coughed, saliva splattering the ground, his entire body trembling as he fought just to breathe.

"Anything to say?" Freya taunted, watching him grovel.

Vagnis’s hand moved, slow and shaky, reaching for one of the flash grenades still clipped to his belt.

He closed his eyes tightly — and dropped it.

"The heck is that—?" Freya muttered, noticing the small object roll toward her feet.

The next instant, a brilliant flash of light erupted, swallowing everything in blinding white.

Freya hissed and stumbled back, throwing an arm over her face as the flash grenade detonated, blinding light swallowing her vision.

"Damn it—!" she cursed, swinging wildly with her staff, but hitting nothing but air.

Vagnis didn’t waste the opening. Getting up despite the pain to make his retreat, however his feet couldn’t move, trapped by something below him. His gaze dropped to a portal that slowly gnawed at his heels, dragging him down deeper and deeper.

"About time..." He muttered, a soft smile of relief on his face.

As Freya finally recovered from the sudden bang, her eyes adjusted to the darkness once more, Vagnis was already gone. Her gaze caught sight of another one of those creatures, it’s building yellow eyes staring directly at her from afar, praying on her every move.

"Great..." She muttered to herself.

Favio’s heart hammered against his ribs, every instinct screaming at him to move, to run, but his legs felt like they were trapped in mud.

"Where the hell did it go??" he hissed to himself,

His breath misted in the cold night air, the silence pressing down hard.

Then —

A low growl rumbled through the trees, right behind him.

He twisted just as the beast lunged out of the darkness, jaws wide and snapping shut where his neck had been a heartbeat earlier.

A blast of hot, rancid breath slammed into his face.

Favio barely managed to throw himself sideways, landing hard on his shoulder. Pain flared, but he forced himself up, scrambling backward.

The creature prowled into view, its body low to the ground, tail whipping behind it like a living whip. The flashlight beam shook in his hand, catching flashes of gleaming fangs and matted fur.

"No, no, no, no! This is way out of my league!" He whined, his eyes snapping to where the other guy was only to see him already gone from sight.

The young warrior gritting his teeth in annoyance and fear. If he ran, it would catch him. If he stayed, he was dead. The boy’s mind reeled for any form of escape, taking it head on was a big no.

His eyes widened as he remembers, his fingers searching his person until he found the flash grenade from earlier, his eyes inspecting the alien mechanism, fingers going to the pin that stuck out of it.

He pulled it as hard as he could, throwing the grenade at the creature, a blinding light engulfing the forest for a mere moment. Before he could even start to run, his body felt like it was sinking into the floor. His gaze snapped to his feet widened in horror at the sight of a black portal engloving his body, until he fully disappeared.