The creature crawled out of the dark alley slowly, its body twisting like living smoke. Two glowing red eyes stared directly at Aren.
It looked like a wolf, but something was wrong. Its body flickered between shadow and solid form, and its claws scraped against the ground with a sharp metallic sound.
A Shadow Beast.
Aren's heart pounded violently in his chest.
"I can't fight that," he whispered.
The blue system screen floated in front of him.
Mission begins now.
The beast growled and suddenly lunged forward.
Aren barely jumped aside. The creature's claws scraped across the wall behind him, leaving deep marks in the stone.
His breathing became fast and uneven.
If he ran, the monster would chase him.
If he stayed, he might die.
His eyes quickly searched the ground until he saw a broken metal pipe near a pile of trash.
Aren grabbed it tightly.
The beast attacked again.
This time Aren swung the pipe with all his strength.
CLANG!
The metal struck the creature's head.
The beast staggered but did not fall.
It roared loudly and rushed at him again.
Fear flooded Aren's body, but something inside him refused to give up.
He gripped the pipe harder.
"If I'm going to die," he said quietly,
"I'm not dying like a coward."
The beast leaped once more.
Aren swung again.