Matthew managed to parry the claw just in time. Metal rang sharply as his sword intercepted the attack.
The creature's red eyes locked onto him, unblinking and eerie. In their glassy surface, he saw something he wished he had not. Flames. Charred silhouettes. Human bodies twisting in fire.
"The hell are you?" he muttered. It felt pointless to ask.
The monster stared back, but there was no reaction, no shift of its expression. Nothing resembling human intent. Not even killing intent. Just a hollow, watching hunger.
His stomach dropped. This one was not alone.
The second creature lunged from behind. Its arms split apart into writhing, blood-colored strings that whipped through the air at terrifying speed.
"Too fast," he hissed.
Matthew kicked the first monster away, spun, and slashed desperately as the strings snapped toward him like living wires. Each strike cut through several, but more kept coming, multiplying faster than he could sever them.
