The surge of adrenaline that Vyus had undergone simply vanished, as he almost lost consciousness again. His declaration of being hell itself still spirals around his mind.
The abrupt absence of that fierce, burning energy made him feel cold.
The pain wasn't gone, however — his ribs were screaming, his throat felt raw, his newly pierced hand throbbing with intensity.
He stumbled, catching himself against the rough bark of a nearby tree, attempting to recover the flow of his breathing.
'I've...got to go,' with a pained grunt, as his ribs protested, Vyus forced himself to rise.
Pushing himself up onto his good hand and knees felt like lifting stone.
Dizziness washed over him, making the surrounding environment swim in his vision.
He halted for a moment, his head in a bowing formation.
Vyus waited for the world to stop spinning so that he could properly focus on his task.
'I've...got to patch up my hand...'
He pushed himself further, and eventually, he found himself leaning against the beast.
With a calm sigh, he began to rip the fur out, using his dagger, and once he was done with that, he patched up his throbbing pierced palm.
Now — he needed water. He needed energy — the rhino meat, disgusting as the thought might be. Both of these essentials were likely back towards the waterfall, where he committed the massacre.
He pushed himself away from the beast, taking his incredibly shaky, and painful steps.
'I...need energy'
He kept the crude claw-dagger held tight in his good hand, in case of any threats.
Despite Vyus wanting to simply pass out, he forced himself to stay alert, as he looked around, paranoid.
After what felt like an eternity of pained shuffling, the trees began to thin slightly.
The sound of falling water became a steady roar, as well as the sudden light pierced Vyus's eyes, making him squint.
He emerged at the edge of the clearing where the rhino massacre had taken place.
The glittering, fairy-like beings were nowhere to be seen near the carnage; perhaps, they had fled from his earlier rampage, or maybe simply avoided places tainted by such violence.
Vyus didn't mind that now, as his gaze fixed on the pool at the base of the waterfall.
'Water...'
Ignoring the pain of his body, Vyus stumbled towards it, collapsing onto his knees at the water's edge.
He dipped his trembling, blood-stained hands into it, washing away some of it.
For a moment, he just knelt there, letting the coolness shiver around him. Then, slowly, he turned his gaze towards the rhinos nearby, knowing the next unpleasant task awaited.
'I have to...to survive,' using the claw-dagger felt unusually right for this specific task at hand. He found a less damaged area on the rhino's flank and proceeded to cut it.
From the sharpened claw, he carves off a ragged chunk of dark, purplish meat, with minimal effort.
He devours it, forgetting about the horrible taste of it. Vyus tried thinking about the meals he had with his guardians, to overtake the taste of the meat – simple stews, that somehow tasted good and roasted fungi – warmth and familiarity between eachother.
Before Vyus knew it, he had devoured the piece completely. It didn't taste as bad as he'd expected though.
His energy and determination reached a new high, as he was ready to kill the apex predator that the entity sent after him.
"Since...I said that I'm hell itself, I guess it's time to prove it."
Then, a realisation striked his brain, as his silver eyes glared at a certain direction, with his senses flourishing to their peak.
It wasn't just the waterfall's roar or the rustling leaves.
With his heritage's ability, he tasted the air and felt the vibrations in the earth.
'There...'
Not too far off, near the edge of the waterfall — multiple presences were in Vyus's line of sight.
They felt small, and unaware. Their scent felt something familiar to Vyus, then, he came to a conclusion. Goblins.
A whole tribe of them too. Maybe, they were drawn by the scent of the rhino blood or simply existing in their corner of this inner world.
There was no room for hesitation, no energy to waste. With the claw-dagger held low, he began.
His body exploded into motion, a blur of acceleration that was undetectable.
He arrived amongst the Goblins as if he teleported. Before the closest goblin to Vyus could even register what had happened, Vyus passed by him.
His claw-dagger flashed past the Goblin's neck, which beheaded him entirely.
To the other goblins, it looked as if their companion's head simply vanished, without any trace.
A split second of stunned silence occurred before yelps of confusion and alarm erupted from the tribe.
But Vyus was already moving, with a whirlwind of precision. He dashed between them, his speed rendering their clumsy attempts to draw weapons or react uselessly.
Before they knew it, another head flew, with a bloody trail. Then, Vyus's claw-dagger pierced the leathery chest of a Goblin.
The creature sent out a desperate swing with his tiny blade, but he was met with only empty air, as Vyus's speed dashed up almost instantly.
Vyus spun past, slicing the Goblin's throat in return.
He saw the Goblin's terrified, and desperate eyes, as sprays of their blood emerged into the sky. Vyus was beheading them with intense speed.
The entire tribe finally realized what was happening, when their gaze recognized the blood-soaked figure known as Vyus, dashing between them.
Panic seized the tribe. They attempted to scatter, scrambling away from the killer, who was eliminating their hierarchy.
A cruel smirk appeared on Vyus's face, which showed sheer and predatory confidence.
"Running?" he whispered, as he caught up to their evacuation within mere moments.
One Goblin tripped, and Vyus took this opportunity to slice his head off, before moving onto the crowd.
Another was beheaded, leaving the others to scream.
Before they knew it, there were only a few of them. Vyus moved through the remaining few like a scythe through dry grass.
He had committed another massacre, but this one, he wasn't horrified by the result. As he did it, he was excited, and the result of it, he was still excited.
"Now...I need to kill more powerful beasts, as I'll become the predator of this world!" He yelled out, as a creepy smirk appeared on his face. He was truly...a Deep Demon.