A cold chill permeated the entirety of Gwin's body as he faced Vlad head on. Despite his best attempts at pumping himself up he was still terrified. Nothing so far had been as frightening as the silent chase between him and Vlad. The fact that any moment could be his last in these tunnels was horrifying and if it weren't for his superhuman senses he would have surely been devoured already. That nightmare was going to end today, tonight, or whatever time it was.
There was one problem however… Vlad had come from the same tunnel Gwin just had meaning if he wanted to lead Vlad to the trap he'd have to get by him first…which meant facing an awakened demon head on and surviving. Well if there was anything Gwin was confident he was good at it was running. He enhanced himself using the sun seekers muscles and did something that went against every instinct in his body. He ran straight towards Vlad. As he did, Toothpaste flanked from the other side aiming to divide his attention. Vlad moved as well, opening his mouth and unleashing a deafening hum that permeated the tunnel, rattling Gwin's brain in the process. He barely managed to avoid Vlad's talons as they tore through the stone sending rancid water flying in all directions. The opening of the intersection had granted Vlad more room to maneuver than he usually had, making this far more difficult for Gwin. Without the unfathomable weight of the stone pressing down on him Vlad was much fiercer. Vlad moved with brutal precision to kill the both of them with his wild strength. His wingtalons were so quick as to barely be traceable by the naked eye forcing Gwin to stay on the move and dodge preemptively just to stay alive. His talons and jaws served as fatal reminders to stay on guard as they wove into a deadly dance of attacks. His weight was another issue altogether. Nothing stopped him from crushing Gwin against the stone with his weight alone and killing him instantly, such was a disadvantage of close quarters. Gwin had to do something quickly. It was abundantly clear that he stood no chance on his own even with the help of Toothpaste who was desperately fending off Vlad's attacks through a series of precise mental commands that were beginning to take their toll on Gwin's mind.
Counterattacking was practically impossible due to Vlad's speed and size making it hard for Gwin to reach him in the first place and any that did connect were stopped by his thick fur. His mind worked overtime for a solution before finally coming to one. Two things happened at once. The first was a black maraca formed in his hands and the second was that his facial features shifted, becoming vaguely squid-like. He diverted his use of his aspect form the sun seeker to the remnants feeders for one important reason.
'Squids can't hear shit!'
With that he threw the maraca at Vlad's face full force while Toothpaste flanked from the side. A deafening shrill erupted in the intersection. The noise echoed off of the narrow walls making the sound far worse. Despite his ability to hear being practically nonexistent his head ached from the noise. Vlad however was affected far worse since he relied on his keen hearing to navigate these tunnels. His large pointy ears amplified the sound and funneled it into his ear canal causing him to stagger just for a moment from the awful noise. In that small gap Toothpaste lunged towards Vlad's face biting his lower jaw and slinging his face to the side in an attempt to throw him off. Vlad stumbled under the assault but soon recovered and sliced Toothpaste's back legs off with one swipe.
'Shit! Toothpaste no!'
Gwin did not waste the chance his echo bought for him and quickly slipped by Vlad and regained the sun seekers attributes. His hands and feet grew long black claws and formed orange scales as a long tail emerged from his backside. He dismissed the shrill screecher and Toothpaste at the same time just barely managing to dismiss him before he was permanently destroyed. He bolted forward as Vlad turned and gave chase.
He ran along his predetermined path as the loud sound of crunching stone echoed behind as Vlad chased after him in rabid fury. His heart raced as he began running all fours through the tunnels. His arms and legs grasped the cool stone with long claws giving him much more speed and maneuverability. It was a good thing too since Vlad was close behind. Vlad barreled through the tunnels like a PTV at full speed sending cracks through the walls as his muscles strained against the stone like steel cables.
'Almost there! Oh gods please don't catch me! You stupid bat!'
He veered right into a not-suspicious-at-all tunnel and spun around once reaching a certain point deep inside.
'Come on! Follow me in! I'm just a scared human who has given up!'
His wishes were unnecessary as Vlad slammed into the corner of the entrance before rushing in. Adrenaline flooded his veins making his heart beat like a drum in his chest and ears. He itched to move. To dart away or even towards him. He just wanted to move in any way. Staying still had to have been one of the hardest things he'd ever done before but he absolutely had to. He had to wait for Vlad to be in the designated spot. Vlad must have thought he had finally trapped him since he was baring his teeth in what Gwin could have sworn was a wicked grin.
'You think you've got me huh? I hope you like barbecue, you furry bastard!'
Each step Vlad took was another into Gwin's trap. His heart raced and he remained motionless…until Vlad finally reached the spot. Gwin who had been like a deer in headlights before suddenly sprung into action, he braced himself with hands and knees on the ground as his throat began to glow with bright orange light. He opened his toothy maw and a huge glob of burning mucus flew out as an immolating orb of fire. Vlad saw the burning projectile and twisted his body in a way to avoid it despite the narrow tunnel. The orb missed him completely however Gwin didn't despair, in fact he was already running. After all, the wall had been what he was aiming for. He summoned the helmet to the [Scorched Aegis] and braced for the imminent inferno. Sure enough just as the black steel of the lion shaped helmet formed over his head a chain reaction of things happened. The first basin of mucus that Gwin hit erupted behind Vlad. That basin caused the one across from it and next to it to erupt as well, and then the ones next to them, and the ones next to them. An immolating wave of fire rushed forward like the tides of hell washing over Vlad and Gwin as dozens of these basins erupted in quick succession. Gwin hissed while grinning as his skin began to blister and boil from the heat. His memory protected him greatly from the elements, to the point where he could play with a burning fire with his hands and only feel a small bit of warmth. That's why he could only imagine how hot this fire was to actually burn and blister his skin. To stop himself from becoming a scorched corpse and to face Vlad who he could still see moving through the searing heat, Gwin did something he had avoided for a while. He transformed his entire body to the fullest he could.
His skin grew orange and scaly, his skull changed, becoming larger, triangular and inhuman. His teeth grew longer and sharper like small daggers. His vision tripled as two more sets of black eyes formed on either side of his own and a trail of spikes trailed down his back to the tip of his tail . His limbs grew longer and far stronger and his tail became stronger and larger. As of right now he was more beast than man. The first time he had used his aspect like this it was extremely inefficient. The remnant feeder's body was not suited for close combat and as such he had wasted essence on transforming his entire body. This was not the case anymore though. His in depth understanding of the sun seekers body that had come from hours of dissecting them had given him the knowledge and understanding to change his body into the closest thing he could get to becoming an actual sun seeker! The sun seekers body had a strange synergy with his own human body enhancing each other and creating something stronger than the sum of their parts and his new style of fighting would make full use of this not wasting a single ounce of strength not to mention its natural affinity for flames would stop Gwin from becoming a pile of ash. The [Scorched Aegis] shifted in order to cover his new form. The black steel covered him head to toe. Fearsome black vambraces covered his arms followed by clawed gauntlets. The visage of the lion stretched and covered his dagger like teeth with sharp points. His tail was covered in black steel scale mail tipped with a spiked club and his greaves covered his strong legs and fearsome talons. Nothing but flames surrounded him in this fiery world. In his black regalia he resembled a demon from hell. Ahead of him though was the real demon.
There in the tempest of flames was an infernal bat wreathed in fire.