Long's breath caught. It was a demonic beast, unlike any wolf or bear he had seen, yet with features of both. Its body was as large as a bull, covered in patchy fur slicked with blood. Patches of its skin were hairless and blackened, oozing a noxious vapor - as if corrupted by some plague of Qi. Its face was elongated, jaws too wide and filled with jagged fangs that jutted out even when its mouth closed. Shreds of flesh hung from its teeth - the remnants of its last kill. A forked tongue flicked out to taste the air, and it let out that same eerie cry Long had heard earlier, now distorted into a gurgling snarl. Not human, not animal - truly a monster.
The beast's eyes fixed on Long and the cub. They glowed with feral hatred, pupils slitted and burning. Saliva dripped from its maw, sizzling where it struck the ground. Long felt the temperature drop; an icy killing intent radiated from the creature. This was the horror that had torn apart the Jade Hollow cultivator and likely the cub's pack. Here was the true source of the fractured Qi polluting the ravine - this abomination reeked of it. Demonic energy rolled off the beast in sickly waves, making the very air writhe.
Long subtly shifted his stance, putting himself between the beast and the injured cub. His heart was pounding so violently he feared it might burst. Fear rose like bile in his throat; the thing was at least twice his height on all fours, and likely far stronger than a normal beast or low-level demon. Run! part of him screamed. He stood no chance against such a horror with his limited strength. He had no spirit sword drawn, no talismans of exorcism - only himself. And yet, his feet remained planted. Behind his legs, he felt the little wolf press closer, as if trying to disappear into his shadow. If he fled now, the cub would surely die. And perhaps, so would he.
A memory flickered - or was it a memory? Perhaps just a thought: I have been in mortal danger before... many times. Unbidden, an image of darkness and teeth flashed behind his eyes. His fist clenched reflexively. Something ancient stirred inside him, a ripple across the surface of a deep black lake. Long swallowed, forcing his voice out in a steady call that belied his terror. "Stay back," he warned, though whether he spoke to the cub or the monster, he did not know.
The demonic beast roared in response - a horrific, wet sound that made the trees shudder. With a lunge, it charged, claws tearing furrows in the ground. It moved faster than something so large should, a blur of matted fur and death. Long had barely a heartbeat to react.
He pushed the cub aside with his foot, sending it tumbling safely behind a stump. At the same time, he leapt back, drawing from within himself every ounce of speed he could muster. His body responded sluggishly - he was exhausted from travel, and using a fraction of strength to lift the branch earlier had already taxed him. The beast's claws whooshed through the space he'd occupied an instant before, narrowly missing his chest. Even so, Long felt a searing pain as one talon grazed his shoulder, slicing through cloth and into flesh. Warm blood began to trickle down his arm.
He grit his teeth, biting back a cry. The pain was sharp, but it sharpened his focus. The beast skidded to a halt a few paces away, snarling in frustration at missing its mark. It turned on him with predatory grace, muscles bunching under its mangy hide. They began to circle each other amidst the swirling mist and the fallen leaves. Long's mind raced, analyzing. He noted the beast's injured leg - there was a subtle limp on its left hindquarters, perhaps where the Jade Hollow cultivator had struck it before being overcome. A weakness. But how to exploit it? He had no sword - only a small knife at his belt for cutting wood and a few medicinal herbs in his pouch. No spells of great power; his cultivation was minimal in his current state.
As the beast prowled, saliva dripping, Long's fingers twitched, brushing the hilt of the little knife. Useless - it would be like a needle against an ox. Fighting head-on would be suicide. Perhaps a distraction? If he could lead it away from the cub... But the creature seemed intent on destroying both of them, its eyes flicking to the cub's white shape cowering behind that stump. A growl rattled from its throat, and it charged again, slavering maw wide to tear both man and wolf apart in one fell strike.
The world narrowed to that moment. The stench of the beast, the pounding of blood in Long's ears, the surge of adrenaline - all melded into a surreal clarity. Fear and resolve collided within him, igniting something potent. As the beast's shadow fell upon him, Long felt his body move of its own accord.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl. Long's vision sharpened unnaturally until he could see every droplet of spittle flying from the creature's fangs, each particle of dust kicked up by its claws. And in that heightened moment, something within Long… shifted. It was as if a door cracked open inside his soul, and a flood of instinct came pouring out.
His feet slid into a stance he did not consciously recall learning. His left hand snapped up and two fingers extended, a gesture of power. The beast's fetid breath blasted his face as it lunged. But instead of being overwhelmed by terror, Long felt a calm coldness settle over his mind, a focus akin to predatory fury. Without thinking, he sidestepped with preternatural grace, narrowly avoiding the creature's jaws. At the same time, his two fingers thrust forward and a spear of pale blue light erupted from them, plunging directly into the demon's neck.
The effect was instant and horrific. The beam of condensed Qi pierced scales and hide like paper, exiting out the beast's back in a spray of black blood. The creature howled - a sound of agony so piercing that the ravine itself seemed to quake. It crashed sideways, smashing into a tree and snapping the trunk in half with its weight.