Sebastian advanced from the front, the silver sword already drawn and steady in his hand. The glow of his flame was barely visible now, just enough to give shape to the ground beneath his boots. Across the cavern, Ciri circled wide, her path curving around the cyclops with careful light steps. Between them lay the creature, Old Speartip sprawled in careless slumber.
The smell of rot got heavier the closer they got. Sebastian's focus narrowed to the creature's neck, watching the rise and fall, measuring the timing of breath and muscle. One clean strike. That was all it would take, if it landed true.
Ciri eased in from behind, her blade angled low, she was ready, and then it happened.
A brittle crack shattered the silence.
The sound of bone snapping underfoot echoed far louder than it had any right to.
Ciri froze, her breath catching. "Shit…"
The cyclops' snoring stopped instantly, then it opened that one eye.
It snapped wide, bloodshot and aware, locking onto movement with frightening speed as the creature's body tensed. Sebastian reacted without hesitation. His free hand lashed upward, fingers splayed as power surged through him.
He used Aard and the force detonated against the ceiling. Stone fractured with a violent crack, and a massive stalagmite tore free, plunging downward with crushing force. It struck the cyclops across the upper body, the impact shaking the cavern as the beast roared in pain and fury.
Sebastian was already moving for another attack, his sword cutting through the air in a decisive arc aimed straight for its head.
And it stopped cold.
The cyclops' hand shot up and caught the blade.
Barehanded.
"Damn it!"
The silver burned on contact, smoke rising as it bit into the creature's thick flesh, but Old Speartip didn't release it. His massive fingers tightened around the blade, halting it inches from his eye, his strength forcing the strike to a dead stop.
Sebastian tore the sword free with a sharp pull. Blood followed, spilling from the burned wound as the cyclops pushed itself upright with a furious roar that rolled through the cavern.
It stood, towering and enraged.
Ciri struck from behind.
She darted in low and fast, her blade driving deep into the back of its leg. Silver pierced flesh, embedding itself there as the cyclops bellowed in pain. She didn't linger there, she let go immediately, pushing off and retreating just as its arm swung blindly backward in a massive arc.
The strike carved through the air where she had been a moment earlier, strong enough to shatter bone on impact.
Sebastian stepped in before the creature could recover.
Flames ignited around him in an instant, his entire form engulfed as he drove a burning fist straight into the cyclops' face. The impact snapped its head back, fire clinging to its skin, spreading across its features in bright, consuming bursts.
The reaction was immediate and Old Speartip lost all control.
He staggered, then spun, his movements turning wild and chaotic as he tried to smother the flames with his own hands. Each step landed like a hammer blow, the cavern floor trembling beneath his weight as he roared and thrashed, striking himself in desperate attempts to put the fire out.
"Shit... this again! Just like the wyvern," Sebastian muttered, circling just out of reach, "Fire sends them into a frenzy!"
His gaze flicked briefly toward her. "Careful, Ciri. Don't let him corner you!"
"I'm not the one getting hit," she shot back from a safe distance, already repositioning, her voice steady despite the chaos. "Just finish it!"
Sebastian moved, closing in again, he drove forward through the heat and chaos, his fist slamming down into the cyclops' injured leg, right where her blade remained buried. Flame surged with the impact, searing through muscle and weakening what held the massive body upright.
The cyclops collapsed to one knee with a thunderous crash, the ground cracking beneath it as it roared in pain.
Still, it fought.
Its arm came swinging toward Sebastian in a desperate, furious strike, but the blow passed straight through him. Fire bent and split around the attack, his form momentarily dispersing before snapping back together, untouched.
Confusion flickered in the creature's eye.
It didn't understand what it was striking.
Sebastian didn't give it time to think as his sword drove down hard, piercing through the cyclops' outstretched hand and embedding deep into the stone below, pinning it in place. The beast howled, its body forced forward as its strength began to fail, legs burned, face scorched, one arm nailed to the ground.
Its head slammed against the cavern floor.
Sebastian stood before it, flames flickering faintly around him now.
Behind him, Ciri approached more slowly, her breathing heavier than before.
"He's down.." she said, though her eyes narrowed as she drew in another breath. "Air's getting worse… it feels hard to breathe.."
Sebastian didn't look away from the cyclops. "Yeah," he replied quietly. "That would be my fault."
He paused for a moment.
"Let's not drag this out."
He pulled the sword free.
The cyclops screamed again, its body twitching as it tried to rise, tried to strike, but its blows had lost their strength. Its fists crashed uselessly through Seb's flame, through something it couldn't understand as each attempt it made was weaker than the last.
Ciri watched it struggle, something uneasy settling behind her expression.
"I almost pity him," she admitted under her breath.
Sebastian's gaze shifted for just a moment, sweeping over the scattered remains around them, the bones, some unmistakably human, worn with age.
When he looked back at the creature, there was nothing soft left in his eyes.
"I don't."
Flames surged again as he seized its hands and burned them down to charred ruin. The resistance faded quickly after that, the creature's strength slipping away with every second until it was barely more than a dying weight against the stone.
Sebastian stepped back and turned, offering the sword to her.
"You finish it."
Ciri hesitated, just briefly, her eyes flicking between him and the broken cyclops.
"You're the last one to join the School of the Wolf," he said, his tone steady. "Make it count by avenging all who fell here."
She took the blade and there was no hesitation after that, She too a step forward, her grip firm as the cyclops' single eye rolled weakly toward her, no longer filled with rage.
Her expression hardened.
The sword rose, and fell in one clean move.
Silver drove through bone.
"That's for everyone you've killed!" she said quietly.
The body went still, completely.
She pulled the blade free and kicked its head before stepping back, exhaling slowly.
Sebastian took the sword back, his eyes lingering on the corpse for a moment.
"We did good.."
Ciri wiped at her face, though whether it was sweat or something else, it wasn't clear.
"Yeah," she said, her gaze drifted across the cavern, settling again on the bones scattered across the ground. "Still doesn't feel like... enough."
Sebastian sheathed the sword.
"Because it's not," he said, turning away. "They are dead, there is no undoing that, but this doesn't mean that killing him was pointless."
He took a few steps, then paused just long enough to give the cavern one last look, "Mutations help with this kind of situations, it keeps your mind clear." he added quietly before he kept walking followed by Ciri.
/-\
If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Shadow Monarch: In One Piece / Shadow Monarch in DC
&
If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my pat-reon / FrenzyAren"
You can Get Access to More Chapters Ahead of Release on All of My Stories!