Gracefall Chapter 14: Horned

Read chapter 14 of Gracefall by arsy on NovelPedia.

As the giant shook the rubble off, its appearance was laid bare before them. The monstrosity was an enormous Pale, bear-like in shape, with black fur and two large, curving horns atop its head. It stood as tall as the city wall itself. ‘What the hell is that?!’ The colossal creature roared before charging forward, horns in front, it destroyed any structure in its way. Tremors followed its stomps. It had reached the street that led to the castle. “It’s heading for the castle! Everyone on that giant!” Mercy yelled as she frantically glanced around at the soldiers. An individual stepped in front of the creature’s path. He was clad in the same steel armor as the guards, yet no helmet to protect him. His short auburn hair flowed in the wind. He raised his left arm and pulled his right arm back. A scarlet bow appeared in his grasp, an arrow with a similar appearance to the bow appearing as he pulled the string back. Aiming at the the giant’s charging horns, he loosened his right hand. The arrow flew, crashing into its right horn in a flash. It caused an explosion on impact, altering the Pale’s course. The creature stumbled and rammed into numerous buildings to the side as it halted. The large Pale shook its head furiously, clearing the way to get back onto the street. As it rammed through the last building in the way, it was now on the street once more. However, everyone now stood in front of the armored archer, who stood ready with another arrow. Letting out yet another thunderous roar, it charged forward. Lucia gazed at the horn hit by the arrow. It had cracks along its length. She realized this and pointed at it. “Its horn is cracked!” Ishkiel turned his gaze to the damaged horn as he pulled his sword back. ‘Is he going to… throw his sword?!’ A strange black substance enveloped his already dark weapon like a flame. All of the its details disappeared, it was simply black. No gleam, no luster, it was as if he held a flame of nothingness. He took a step forward and launched the sword, brief trail of black flames in its wake. The archer loosened his arrow in the same breath. both weapons flashed past them in a single deadly instant. Their attacks hit the horn simultaneously, causing yet another detonation. Its horn broke off and fell as it crashed into the ground, vanishing behind a cloud of dust thrown up by the impact. Ishkiel summoned his weapon back to its scabbard and unsheathed it without delay. It was now back to its normal darkness. The large Pale halted, growling as it frantically shook its head. “Charge!” Mercy yelled, her arm raised. The group of humans charged forward. shouting as they marched toward the enormous creature. The archer drew his bow once more as Ishkiel brandished his dark sword. Once the Pale had regained its composure, Lucia had left a cut on one of its paws, boiling blood pouring out of the wound. The others sliced through its skin as well, leaving the creature bleeding from numerous spots. ‘That smells disgusting!’ Lucia thought, raising her arm to cover her nose in a grimace. Letting out a deafening roar, the giant spun while stomping its paws, crushing a few soldiers in the process. Lucia ran back to escape from the possibility of getting flattened by its deadly paws. After a few spins, the Pale threw one of its paws forward, its claws out. Lucia jumped back and managed to barely avoid its clutches. A few others, however, got hit by its harrowing claws. Blood dripped off them as screams filled the streets. She turned to look beside her. One of the soldiers was bleeding out of several cuts across their body, another was missing a leg while blood spewed out of the stump, and another fell to the ground, their decapitated head resting on the ground. She stood frozen, her eyes wide. ‘He’s… dead.’ Turning to the giant, her mind spiraled. ‘Can we really kill this colossal abomination?! I was scared from the start, I could die at any moment! Am I strong enough to survive? Should I just run? Wait it out? Find a