43 Night Haun (1/2)

The creature dives — blasting an agonizing cacophony of screams and agonizing wails that assails the mind.

Drea collapses to the ground — her fragile mind unable to withstand the psychic barrage.

Thomas drops his bow as he clutches his ears to escape the maddening sound.

Bruce falters for a moment and you hear a low growl as he recovers and regains his footing.

The wave of psychic energy washes over you but instead of debilitating fear and agony — it incites a depthless fury.

You get a good look at the creature.

It is massive — with a body that measures close to 10 feet and a wingspan that's over 25.

You fire your crossbow at the creature, aiming to clip one or both of its wings.

Thsik!

The bolt flies true — piercing both wings but dealing minimal damage.

The creature's wings were already torn.

Ghost-like tendrils of necrotic energy act as the membranes of its wings — allowing the monstrous bat to fly in its state.

You start loading the crossbow, but give up halfway. It was futile. Bolts and arrows are practically useless against this creature of bone and magic.

”Thomas!” Bruce rushes to the archer.

Thomas drops to one knee to pick up his bow before signaling that he was okay.

The creature starts veering — arcing its flight to unleash another blast of dark energy.

”Spread out!” you bellow — noting that the attack was concentrated around a small area.

The three of you rush to different directions, hoping to minimize the damage of the creature's dark scream.

It dives.

The creature is not swooping down anywhere near the three of you and it is diving lower than it did when it unleashed its psychic scream.

The girl — it was aiming for the downed girl.

Time seems to slow down as you rush to block the massive bat from its chosen prey. You see its wings flap with necrotic energy as its talons slowly reach out for the Drea.

You cross the gap in a split second — forgoing your shield and holding Skybreaker with two hands. You drive the glowing hammer into the creature's shoulder — where its body meets the wing.

Kaklass!

The necrotic energy surrounding the creature proves no use against Skybreaker's demonfire-enhanced strike.

It blasts the creature away — the ensuing concussive explosion ridding its body of the necrotic wisps surrounding it.

Drea blurts out blood — damaged by the concussive blast.

Thomas rushes to the girl and downs a flask of healing potion into her mouth.

Bruce rushes to the downed creature, sword raised as if to cut it down.

You follow his charge as you prepare another strike of your hammer.

The creature recovers quickly.

It pounds Bruce with one of its taloned wings — sending the warrior crashing a few feet away. It folds its wings and it glows with necrotic power as it takes to the skies once more.

”Damn!” you roar in frustration as the beast narrowly escapes your attack.

Thomas fires several arrows at the creature — but its decaying body shrugs off his attacks.

”Arrows don't work,” Bruce exclaims as he stops him from firing. ”Just protect the girl for now.”

Thomas nods — drawing his baselard. Silver glows with a faint light as if anticipating the coming confrontation with a hated enemy.

For a moment, there is silence.

You can hear the deep gasps of Thomas, the low growl of Bruce, and the shallow breathing of the unconscious Drea.

It starts anew — the eerie flap of wings and the cries of tortured souls.

The creature, recovered from its injuries, swoops towards you — its mouth opens to ready to unleash another unholy scream.

You dig your heels to the ground as you ready Sky breaker for another attack.

The creature suddenly veers.

Whether out of fear or some other instinct, the massive bat chooses to avoid you and veers towards Thomas and Drea.

No.

While Thomas would survive another one of its psychic barrages — it might be too much for the already unconscious Drea.

You chase after the bat — hoping you could stop it before it can scream.

Bruce beat you to the chase.

He started running the moment he saw the bat turn — placing himself between the bat and the other two.

He points Horizon at the bat as if challenging it — before raising it over his head for a strike.

Too high.

The bat is flying 20 feet in the air. Even with Horizon's length — the bat would be out of Bruce's reach.

It dives towards Thomas and Drea. Unholy energy pulses inside the creature giving it an eerie glow.

It opens its mouth and green necrotic wisps coalesce into an orb of dark power.

You see Bruce's eyes turn from yellow to blue as he roars at the monstrous bat.

Mists of fog surround Bruce's body as he slashes with Horizon — sending a javelin-like shard of ice flying at the creature.

Thagsk!

The ice spear collides against the creature. The impact rocks the bat for a moment — but not enough to stop its momentum.

”Nooo!” Thomas roars as he chases after the bat.

Your strides overtake Thomas, just as the bat unleashes its unnatural scream.

This scream was not like the first one — this was a scream that channeled dark forces not of this world.

The blast of energy forces you to halt your charge to keep your footing and Bruce is sent flying by the tide of necrotic power.

Thomas!

You turn your eyes towards the two and see an explosion of blinding light.

The light from Horizon blasts the necrotic energy — keeping Thomas and Drea safe within its halo.

That moment of relief is shattered as the beast continues its dive — slashing Thomas with one of its talons.