At least they should have but what met him were two empty sockets that bled a thick black liquid. Those empty holes seemed devoid of any light as though someone had carved out the tiger's skull and forgotten to fill them.
'W-what kind of beast has eyes like this…?' With a horrified look, Damon forced his eyes to remain open under fear creeping into his mind.
He tightened his grip around the severed forearm as chill crept down his spine However when moonlight shifted the shadow, he suddenly noticed something.
His own face had begun to form within the pits!
As his body succumbed to the cruel wintry, his copper skin was covered in achy patches of frost and ice slowly formed along the tips of his hair.
'What am I supposed to do now!!!'
Fighting seemed suicidal and running was game of stamina. Where would be he even go? He knew nothing about this foreign land or how far away the nearest human settlement was. Without a forte the chance of survival looked bleak regardless of what martial arts abilities he possessed.
Although the beast remained motionless, he could already sense the bloodlust seeping through. As a solitary ambush predator, the instinctive drive to hunt was all it knew.
However, Damon wanted no part of it!
'I just need to get out of its sensory range then I'll make a break for it' He thought.
In actuality beast had unique senses that far surpassed ordinary humans making it practically impossible for him to lose it in this snow. Nonetheless, he had to try!
As the anxiety of waiting drowned his mind, the tiger abruptly lowered its body and compressed its powerful hind legs. The tiled rooftop cracked beneath its paws and the beast launched itself through the air.
"that thing jumps that far!?" Damon cursed as he watched the winter tiger move with such agility for something so large.
Instinctively he threw himself to the side as the white blur descended from above. The snow exploded into the air as the tiger crashed into the spot he had occupied a moment ago, scattering chunks of ice and stone across the ruins.
Seeing the beast reorient and shrug of the landing, Damon took a breath to steel his nerves. The tiger had missed. If he was going to fight, now was the best chance he would get!
Like a desperate gladiator, he charged forth and raised the sickle like limb above his shoulders with both hands then hacked down with all the strength he could muster.
But the beast's hide was far more durable than expected!
Crack!
The sickle's edge shattered upon contact, sending tiny shard towards his face. At that moment, Damon felt stinging pain spread across his cheeks and forehead and thin cuts appeared on his skin. His warm blood began trickling downward however he paid little attention to it as his eyes remained fixed on the tiger.
Or rather the complete lack of injuries.
'How is that possible!?'
Damon flinched back and tried to run away, however it was already too late. Before he could even move an inch something lashed against his side, sending his body crashing towards base of tree.
Thud!
As he collapsed in the chilling snow, he opened his mouth to scream. Yet what spilled forth was a clump of blood. He felt a storm brewing inside his flesh as a terrible heat radiated through him, colliding with the cold air around his body.
"Haa—!"
As if to taunting him, the beast swiped its tail through the air like a cracked whip and demonstrated what had sliced open the side of his shirt.
Damon clenched his teeth as he watched in disbelief. He had barely seen the attack and even worse If the creature's tail alone possessed that much strength, he could hardly imagine what would happen if those claws dig into him.
Unfortunately, the tiger did not give him time to dwell on the possibilities instead the beast lowered its body once more and charged forward.
'Already!?' Ignoring the discomfort flaring throughout his body, Damon frantically spun around the tree as the tiger neared.
Bang!
Wood chips exploded through the air a second after as the creature's right foreleg easily destroyed the thick bark.
The heat intensified at his back as crimson liquid and flesh was cleaved out, exposing him to the freezing air. The wisp of frigid currents seeped into the wound without remorse, causing a blood-curdling scream to escaped his throat.
"Haaagh!"
His body lurched forward as a strip of cloth drifted into the snow behind him.
With a distraught expression, Damon stumbled forward, his knees nearly buckling as the tiger prepared another attack. He hastily rolled through the snow before its claws could descend then Immediately scrambling back to his feet, and tried to calm his breathing.
But how could he?
Whilst adrenaline had already kicked in, the cold was rapidly invading his very bones nonetheless he kept running, each inhale colder than the last.
As he kept barrelling through the forest a massive fallen tree appeared in his sight, blocking his path up ahead. Twice as thick as the surrounding trees, it's bark was darker shade of brown and had several cuts along the surface, some revealing a strangely red grain within.
Damon planted his foot against the bark and grabbed a one of the roots without hesitation. Using the agility he earned through four years of combat training, he pulled himself up and over in a single attempt.
Rip!
As he landed on the other side, his shirt sleeve snagged a root and a new wound formed along his bicep. At once, he hunched over, coughing as his teeth began to chatter uncontrollably.
Bang!
Just then the tiger smashed straight through the tree as easy as the last, an unfeeling battering ram. Splinters exploded outward like shrapnel and chunk of bark caught him square in the back and sent him sprawling face-first into the snow.
The impact drove the air from Damon's lungs for what felt like the tenth time in the past minutes.
His vision swam as he tried to push himself up. Concussed and barely able to keep his eyes open, he saw the tiger already charging toward him through the settling cloud of frozen debris.
'Move. Move!'
His legs wouldn't respond.
'Of all the times for it to give out… now?!' Damon's heart seized as he realized his right ankle would not budge.
He desperately tried flexing the muscles as the back of his knee began to swell. At the same time a memory of the training room and a disastrous lesson flashed through his mind.
'The kick! I kicked Diana with this leg.!!''
As that thought echoed, the sound of the beast panting reached his ears. It closed the distance in seconds, pouncing upon him.
Discerning the beast planned to clamp its jaws around his neck or head, Damon decisively raised his forearm and shoved it between the canines smeared in green.
His nostrils flared up as the tiger's hot breath pressed against him and his arm violently jerk back. But what came after was even worse.
The beast thrashed around, carving his flesh and shattering bone. It's teeth a butcher's ruthless blade. As those deathly jaws took what they desired, Damon lost all sensation in his arm, showered in his own blood.
A primal scream broke free from his vocal cords as the blood pumped from the stump of his shoulder in rhythmic spurts. It stained his hair a deep red and clear snow soon followed suite.
Sniff! Sniff!!
The tiger raised its snout high as if enjoying the aroma of iron then stepped back before dropping the severed arm onto the ground.
'Was my arm not enough!?' Damon's expression worsened seeing this.
Suddenly his thoughts halted as the beast lowered its head instead of attacking. It began to consume the cold flesh off the bone, tearing strips away with deliberate, sadistic leisure all the while its empty gaze leered at the rest of his limbs with sinister delight.
Met with his ominous reflection once again, Damon's mind finally caved.
He sunk his remaining fingers into the snow and began dragging his weakened body against the ground. The bloody stump, flowed like a stream, leaving a trail behind him
But Damon did not care. His head was already growing light from blood loss. His vision blurred at the edges, shapes losing definition until he could barely see where he was going.
Behind him, the sound of the beast's chewing had stopped.
Yet Damon was crawled forward, cold and terrified.
His legs had gone numb a few seconds ago whether from cold or blood loss or the shattered nerves in his spine, he could not tell. He suspected he would never get to use them any more even if he were to survive.
"I don't want to die!"
Damon never thought he would have been dealt a bad hand twice in one day.
Like the cries of any other wounded animal his voice cracked and echoed across the quiet forest before descending to a slow whimper. After three minutes, the movement only made his body more sluggish.
'I-i'm feeling…really tired…'
'Maybe I should …l should...'
'This stuff… Isn't so bad for bed? And Mr tiger must be starving...' As he drifted away, Damon was lost reverie. His now swollen fingers grabbed a clump of snow smothered it against his palm.
At that moment a voice drifted into his ears, quiet and calm.
"You'll catch a cold resting there, boya."
"Huh…?" Hearing that playful tone, Damon tried to lift his gaze, responding with a low mutter. But he could only make out a blurry figure in white robes staring down at him with her arms folded across her chest, a warm smile gracing her lips.
She wore flowing white robes that seemed almost to glow against the snow, and her grey hair was tied back in a simple knot.
"There's need to strain your eyes. I'm just a weary old woman that's all." The woman's smile widened.
It might have been his imagination, but Damon could have sworn there was a pause before she claimed to be an old woman.
"Please... Help me…" He opened his mouth to ask for help, but the words came out as barely a whisper. He was worried she wouldn't hear him, she looked over sixty, after all, and Vincent had once warned him that old people often had trouble with their ears.
At the sight of this new party, the tiger, a silent predator throughout the entire chase, let out a mighty roar that shook the snow from the trees.
It then lunged at Damon's back.
In an instant the old woman took a single step forward, placing herself between the boy and the beast. Damon caught a glimpse of something by her waist. It looked like a wooden sword, seemingly without an edge however a second after he heard the sound of steel being drawn.
Shing!!!
What followed was the sound of the air being cut as heavy thuds echoed like large rocks being thrown into a deep lake.
Damon watched as segments of flesh, the tiger's flesh fell into the snow around her feet. Half of the beast's head landed just inches from him, it's empty sockets still reflecting his pathetic visage.
The old woman then turned to look down at him, as though she had merely swatted a fly, her smile unchanged.
"Who ar---" Damon's voice failed. Before he could finish those words, his body finally gave out, darkness swallowing him whole.