The sloth demon moved its head ever so slightly, merely glancing at the embedded axe head, before moving its arm.
Within its long fingers, a bone javelin appeared, as if out of thin air, then it moved the shaft of the bone and placed it into position to pry out the blade. The demon quickly moved the weapon, and the copper blade fell to the ground.
As soon as it did, the sloth broke the end of the javelin and crushed it almost into powder, then, moving its hand with the powder, it cupped the wound. After a second, it was removed it revealing a small white shell covering the wound.
Damn.
Solaris watched this happen with a slight look of dismay on his face.
The pride's skin is too tough, and this one can cover its wounds, how the hell can I...
Solaris's thoughts were cut short by the remains of a bone flying at him.
As Solaris dodged the speeding weapon, his eyes widened in realization.
"poison... copper is poison!"
Solaris mind flashed back to the conversation with Ember, and this was his own deduction.
Since he'd been basically slaughtering demons, he never had a chance to test out the poison, but he was certain it was there. With his sudden realization, he looked at the sloth demon closely. The demon looked almost the same as before, yet now its once crimson skin had a faint black corrosion around the bone shell.
Got you! All I have to do is outlast them now.
With a small smile, Solaris looked down at the demons, one with a burning hot drill cutting into it, and another slowly being poisoned.
Yet Solaris was in no better shape. His left shoulder had been dislocated and was currently being held together by his Extramicy, while his other had been pierced and was bleeding. His chest had a myriad of bruises and was hurting, and to top it all off, he no longer had Rusty to help fight.
That was, of course, not counting his mental fatigue; he'd barely been able to sleep, and the weight of countless murders still weighed on his mind.
I'm not sure if I can...
Solaris dodged another bone, yet this time it was imperceptibly slower than before.
Taking a deep breath, Solaris concentrated on his Heat.
The powers of heat are not just about being hot, but they also seemingly boost my overall stamina, speed, and thinking capabilities, so if I can focus, I should be able to increase them even more.
Solaris's ragged breath steadily sped up as the orange radiance under his skin began to glow brighter.
Solaris looked at his skin and watched as a slight distortion wrapped itself around his body.
As soon as it did, the world and air felt lighter and as if it no longer existed.
He felt much faster and even stronger, yet he also felt something draining from his soul.
Ever since his encounter with that soul-eating demon Solaris, he could fully feel his soul as if it were a part of his organs, and once he awakened his Exramicy, he could feel it even more.
He could also feel the nova circulate around to activate his marks.
Now, however, he could feel it draining. It was going to be a while for it to fully drain, yet he knew that eventually it would.
I have less time now, but I should be able to win.
Solaris watched as another spear shot at him, this time it was even slower, and this time he fully noticed the change. Before, he'd assumed it was a trick of the eye, yet now he knew the demon was in fact slowing down.
As the spear approached him, he decided to try something again. He moved out of the way of the incoming weapon and once again attempted to catch it.
As his hand closed in on the flying bone, the speed seemed to slow, and then once his hand grabbed it, it seemed to stop.
His hand now held onto the bone shaft of the weapon.
Taking a look at it, his eyebrow raised.
What the?
The weapon began to vibrate, then, before Solaris could think, the bone exploded.
Upon instinct, his entire body was coated in Harden, barely protecting him, yet he had still been hit by the shards of bone, a few cut into his bicep, and one slid past his cheek, cutting it deep.
As soon as Solaris opened his eyes, the shards of bone ripped out of his arm and flew back to the sloth, re-collecting into another Javelin.
"Shame on me."
With this final phrase, Solaris dashed towards the ground, this time fully focused on the pride demon.
When the Bone had begun to shake, I felt the shards finally pierce the Pride's skin, meaning it had to be at least in some pain, which could slow, if not distract it.
Solaris dashed at the pride demon, which had stood its ground, and now was readied for an attack, and to attack.
Yet that was just what Solaris wanted, with the coating once again only covering his arms and feet. Solaris dashed towards the ground, his heat seeming to warp the air itself.
Solaris grew closer and closer to the demon, then, as he encroached on the Pride, a Javelin closed in on him. His right arm shot up and struck the javelin, sending it to the ground. In the same moment, a massive war hammer swung up at him.
perfect.
Solaris moved his arm and grabbed the head of the hammer, then in the same instant, he willed the shards on his feet to stop moving, resulting in him being pulled by the hammer's momentum.
For a moment, Solaris was pulled over the head of the pride demon. As soon as the demon realized Solaris had grabbed the hammer, it let go, and so did Solaris.
With his momentum slowed, he fell onto the head of the demon, his hands grabbing onto the sides of the helmet. The heat of his hand let his finger dig into its metal.
As soon as he had a good grip, he made the shards float him back into the sky as fast as they could.
With the sudden jerk of movement, Solaris felt a tear, yet it wasn't him.
Looking down, he watched as the head of the demon began to get ripped off its neck.
He kept pulling, then, taking a fleeting glance, he saw the sloth attempt to raise its next throw, yet it was having trouble raising its arm.
The poison has taken full effect.
As this thought passed his mind, the remaining shards on the ground and the few still left under his skin shot out, both groups charging at the swaying demon, both emanating an orange glow.
The jaw of the demon had slightly opened and seemed to have locked, so the shards piled through the small gap.
The shards slid down the demon's throat, slicing through it as they did, and slowly made it to the stomach. There, they moved and cut through the lining of the stomach, spilling the boiling acid all around the innards of the demon.
This skinny body moved, showing the shards from even the outside. Its slack jaw spat out blood before vomiting gallons of it, and the acid boiled its flesh from the inside out.
Slowly, the shards cut more and more of the internals of the demon, its liver, its kidneys, its lungs, and then its heart, yet it didn't die; any other creature would've, yet not demons.
The crystals cut through the intestions and bone, exploring the body, and finally, the few shards found two large crystals, their color deep red, and collided around them, crushing them.
The bloodied eyes of the demon slowed as its light was snuffed out.
As the death of the Sloth was confirmed, Solaris felt the final pieces of the spine snap on the pride's neck, before the skin tore and stings of blood connected the head and neck, muscles snapped, and veins showed in the everlasting sunrise.
Yet this also didn't kill the demon.
Solaris gave it one final pull, and the armored head ripped off, his face displaying a terrifying smile as he tossed the head. Calling all the shards to him, he sent them deep into the fountain of blood that had once been the neck of a demon, and all of them slid through the muscle of the demon before making it to the crystals, and slowly they crushed them.
Solaris felt the flailing body go limp and die; it fell back to the ground. Solaris stood atop the dead demon.
Looking at the carnage before him, he couldn't help but think of the first demon he saw, and how the tables had truly turned.
"SEE THAT!! I DID IT WITHOUT YOU!!!"