The creature was enormous.
A heavy black exoskeleton lined its body, making it seem too heavy to swim, yet it did so with impossible speed. Damon faced many monsters before, some slower, some much faster than him, but he never fought one underwater, where most of his instincts would render him useless.
As the monster moved away from where it crashed, Damon saw a large crack along the tree bark, and through it, a small ray of light escaped from the inside.
The orb.
But before he could even hope to reach it, the monster's six black pupils locked onto him as it charged once more.
It was terrifyingly fast for its size, its maw snapped open with a promise to swallow him whole.
'Fuck no.' Damon cursed, unwilling to get swallowed whole for the third time in his life.
His hand snapped up a heartbeat before the creature could reach him. In the same instant, he unleashed his Black Ice ability at full strength.
