The Drider's legs were unsteady, losing an arm and a leg has caused it to lose an amount of blood that would have killed most fully grown men.
Every time the Drider attempted to remove the severed leg from his chest William would rush him, halting his attempt and forcing him to defend.
"How... Dare... You... HOW DARE YOU!" The Drider's sword arm was deflected backwards as Williams heavy swing collided with it, his melted face forming into a vicious snarl as he attempted to recover.
William, however, did not allow the Drider any time to recover. Instead, he spun vertically in the air, behaving like a sideways top.
As he spun, his sword Phalar Aluve managed to carve a small bloody trench into the Drider's chest.
The Drider howled in pain, his eyes fixated on the sky as he roared, before turning back to William just in time to see his armored hand crackling with thunderous magic.
Williams hand reached out swiftly and pressed his clawed fingers into the area around the wound before shouting...
"THUNDERWAVE!"
KRACKOOM...
The Drider's pit-like eyes widened in a mixture of pain and terror as the thunderous magic swept through him, like a tidal wave tearing through his insides.
The force of the spell transformed his organs into a viscous slurry, and as it passed, the sheer force of the blast launched him backwards with such force that he impacted the rock wall with enough impact to leave a large crater.
William stepped forward with heavy footfalls each causing the ground under his feet to crack and smolder.
CRACK...
CRACK...
CRACK...
This is all the Drider could hear as it slowly recovered from the blast, however the damage he had received was immense, causing him to lean over and puke up a large portion of blood mixed with his shredded organs.
The wound on his chest spurted a small fountain of blood, the flesh rendered into a crater that was excasserbated by the previously present slashing wound.
William snapped his fingers and a ghostly hand appeared in the air behind him, its fingers closing into a fist before rushing to the leg sticking out of the Drider's shoulder and chest.
POW...
The fist struck the severed leg with considerable force, and it shattered upon impact.
However, the blow didn't stop there; the leg managed to pierce further into the Drider's body.
The hand, in turn, exploded into a thousand motes of translucent blue fragments before fading into motes of light that themselves quickly disappeared.
"AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!"
The Drider was lost to the seemingly neverending onset of pain, his void-like eyes dilated to the maximum as his nerves flashed white-hot with suffering.
Who is this... Who dares to strike a servant of the dark goddess... I will kill him, I will kill him, I will kill them all!
The Drider's thoughts were scattered all over the place, a jumbled mess of primal urges and instinctive reactions.
Yet, despite this mental disarray, his body began to move with a surprising, almost preternatural instinct.
Several of its legs swung forward with alarming speed, heading directly towards William, who, caught off guard by the Drider's rapid advance, could only manage to block just one of them.
The other two slammed into him hard enough to break a few of his ribs.
William was sent flying sideways, landing on his feet after rolling through the air.
HYAK!
He spat out a mouthful of blood and felt a sharp pain in his abdomen from the bone shards slicing his insides.
The Drider began spitting out orbs of acid in a rapid and continuous succession, forcing William to quickly dodge the projectiles by leaping behind a large, imposing boulder.
SPPTTT!
SPPTTT!
SPPTTT!
As the corrosive acid made contact with the boulder, it quickly melted a hole through its surface.
However, William responded by immediately recasting the shield spell, using his armored hand to mold it into a large square.
This time around, the spell was specifically designed not only to shield him from the direct impact of the acid but also to protect him from any splashes that might have occurred.
William ran forward while holding the shield above ground level, sheathed his sword, and began snapping his fingers, another translucent hand forming just beside him and activating misty steps to suddenly appear just above the Drider.
I will let gravity do the work here, but just in case...
He thought just before flapping his wings upward, causing his falling speed to suddenly triple, his body falling towards the Drider like a meteor.
The Drider was still diligently blasting away at the large boulder when, suddenly, it sensed something emerging from the sky above it, a palpable magical density that was distinctly wrapped in a suffocating aura of hatred and pure killing intent.
The intense feeling he experienced from William proved to be the very thing that pulled him from the depths of his madness, and in a desperate act of survival, he unleashed a devastating thunderbolt, the sound of it echoing like a roaring train as it hurtled directly towards William.
BOOM!
It struck Williams shield which began to crack and shatter at the edges as the lightning licked at its surface but it did not stop his descent and before the Drider could flee William's body crashed into it with deadly force.
BOOOOOM!
As the impact occurred, the ground immediately surrounding them erupted outwards, sending forth a shower of shimmering magical shield fragments, jagged rocks, and flying dirt particles.
This chaotic explosion quickly coalesced into a large, gaping crater, which was then enveloped by a dense, swirling cloud of dust.
Let's run it back clean and sharper.
The dust did not settle.
It churned.
At first, it was subtle, a low, shifting disturbance within the thick cloud, like something inside it refused to be buried.
Then...
THOOM.
A violent impact cracked through the haze.
A wave of displaced air blasted outward, forcing the dust back in a widening ring.
THOOM.
Another strike.
Heavier.
The cloud peeled away further, dragged back by sheer force.
THOOM.
THOOM.
THOOM.
Each blow came faster, harder, like a war drum echoing through the crater.
And then, the dust broke.
At the center stood William.
Kneeling over the Drider.
No…
Mounted on it.
His wings twitched behind him, half-spread, his armor drenched in blood and ash.
Beneath him, the Drider's body was ruined, legs twisted, chitin cracked open, its massive frame barely holding together.
And William was still hitting it.
His fists rose and fell in brutal repetition.
Each impact landed with a sickening CRACK, followed by the splintering snap of armor breaking apart.
Chunks of hardened carapace shattered.
Blood sprayed in thick arcs.
The ground trembled beneath the force.
The Drider tried to defend.
One broken arm lifted weakly.
CRACK.
William's fist smashed it down, snapping the limb apart like brittle wood.
Another arm came up in desperation.
CRACK.
It collapsed instantly, shattered beyond use.
"W-wait…!"
The Drider's voice gurgled through blood.
"P-please… I..."
THOOM.
A fist drove into its face, silencing it as teeth scattered across the ground.
"I can..!"
THOOM.
Its head snapped to the side.
"Merc..!"
THOOM.
The plea died unfinished.
William said nothing, only acting
No hesitation.
No mercy.
Only relentless, focused violence.
The blows continued.
One
Two.
Three.
Each heavier than the last.
Four.
Five.
Six.
The Drider's chest began to collapse inward, cracks spreading across its armored torso.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Dark blood poured freely now, pooling beneath them.
Ten.
Eleven.
Twelve...
KRAAAACK.
The armor gave way.
William's next strike didn't stop.
His armored hand punched straight through the Drider's chest.
Through shattered chitin.
Through flesh.
Through everything.
The Drider's body jerked violently beneath him, its legs curling inward as if trying to escape its own death.
William's arm remained buried inside.
Searching.
Gripping.
Then, he pulled.
A wet tearing sound echoed through the crater as he ripped his arm free.
The Drider convulsed one last time.
Its eyes widened, then went still.
In William's hand, a heart.
Still beating.
Still twitching.
He stared at it for a moment.
Breathing heavy.
Unblinking.
Then slowly, he raised it to his mouth.
His lips parted, revealing sharp, predatory teeth.
And without hesitation, he bit down.
CRUNCH.
Blood flowed from the heart in Williams maw, resembling the juice from a fruit as it dripped onto the Drider, but not all of the blood originated from there.
A significant portion of it actually stemmed from his eyes, which now possessed a distinct blood-red hue replacing what had once been the whites.
The last thing the Drider saw before it died was Williams bloody tears mixing with the blood leaking from his mouth.
As the last vestiges of life finally left the Drider's form, its heart vanished completely into Williams' stomach.
He then looked up towards the cavern ceiling, and a roar erupted from him, a sound filled not just with rage, but also with a profound and agonizing pain.
With his intended target now deceased, his entire focus and thoughts were solely consumed by Lenore.
I'll save you... I'll save you if I have to slay Lolth herself!
As he thought this his claws scraped against the skin on his head, drawing thin lines of blood that trailed down until they combined with his bloody tears.
Karlach's eyes snapped open with a sharp inhale.
Heat.
That was the first thing she felt.
Not pain. Not confusion.
Just heat.
Her infernal heart roared awake in her chest like a furnace being kicked back into life, each beat sending a pulse of fire through her veins.
For a moment, the world was nothing but blurred shapes and ringing noise… until it wasn't.
Dark stone.
Ash in the air.
And arms around her.
She blinked.
"…Minthara?"
The Drow was holding her.
Not loosely.
Not out of necessity.
Tightly.
Karlach's lips curled upward almost immediately, a slow, teasing grin breaking through the haze.
"Well now… didn't think you had it in you..."
Minthara dropped her.
Not gently.
Karlach hit the ground with a grunt, rolling onto her side as the Drow turned away sharply, posture stiff, chin raised just a fraction too high.
"I was ensuring you did not die," Minthara said coldly, brushing nonexistent dust from her armor.
"Do not mistake that for… anything else."
Karlach pushed herself up onto one elbow, grin widening despite the impact.
"Uh-huh. Sure. Very convincing."
Minthara didn't respond, didn't even look at her.
But the faint tightening of her jaw betrayed her more than any words could.
Karlach huffed a quiet laugh and shook her head, starting to rise, then she saw him.
The smile vanished.
William stood in the distance, framed by the ruined crater, wings half-spread like something carved from wrath itself.
The ground around him was broken, blackened… stained.
Even from here, she could feel it.
That pressure.
That wrongness.
Her infernal heart stuttered, then slammed hard against her ribs.
Once.
Twice.
Faster.
Hotter.
"…William?" she murmured, voice softer now, uncertain.
Something in her chest twisted.
Not fear.
Not exactly.
But instinct.
A warning that came from somewhere deep and primal, the same place that told her when a battlefield had gone from dangerous… to doomed.
He didn't look like himself.
He looked like something wearing him.
Karlach took a step forward anyway.
Then another.
"I should..."
A hand clamped around her arm.
Firm and Unyielding.
She stopped.
Minthara.
"What are you thinking, idiot girl?"
Karlach frowned, trying to pull free, but the Drow's grip only tightened.
"He needs time to grieve," Minthara continued, her voice low, sharp as drawn steel. "And more importantly… time to return to himself."
Karlach's eyes flicked back to William.
He hadn't moved.
Not really.
But the air around him shimmered, like heat rising off a battlefield still smoldering hours after the war ended.
"…He might not," Karlach muttered.
Minthara didn't answer immediately.
For once… she hesitated.
"…Then approaching him now would only hasten that outcome."
Karlach's brows knit together.
She didn't like it.
Didn't like standing still.
Didn't like not doing something.
But…
She exhaled slowly.
"…Yeah."
Another glance toward William.
No recognition.
No awareness.
Just that burning, hollow stillness.
"…Yeah, you're right."
Minthara released her.
Karlach didn't move forward again.
Didn't dare.
Instead, the two of them stood there, side by side, watching something fragile and dangerous unfold from a distance.
After a moment, Karlach dragged a hand through her hair and looked around.
And really looked.
The Arcane Tower was a ruin.
Cracks spiderwebbed through its foundation, chunks of stone torn free and scattered like broken teeth.
Craters dotted the battlefield, some still faintly glowing, others filled with blackened residue that hadn't quite decided if it was ash or something worse.
All around them, demonic bodies flickered and dissolved, their forms unraveling into nothing as they were dragged back to whatever hell had spat them out.
A mangled claw here.
A twitching wing there.
Gone in seconds.
Karlach swallowed.
"…Damn."
Her voice came quieter now, edged with something between awe and unease.
She let out a slow breath, then forced a crooked grin back onto her face, glancing sidelong at Minthara.
"Looks like I missed a hell of a fight though…"
Minthara's gaze didn't leave William.
"…You did."
A pause.
"…Be grateful."
Karlach followed her gaze again.
Toward the man in the crater, toward the storm that hadn't finished breaking.
Her grin didn't come back this time.