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The sea was hot, the salt like acid against his wounds, burning gloriously as he trudged through the dwindling surf to stand upon the pebbly shore once again Deood one with its fifty-foot tail, launching his body toward the ocean, beyond where theswell And so he’d swu his heavy breastplate, his hel his and silence his heart

Except his greatsword, Slayer No, never that

Gunner Skale had clutched his weapon with one hand and sith the other, his eyes open to watch the fiery beast, noAnd noas back, exhausted and achy, but ready to finish the job If he killed Dereatest gaue and its thousands upon thousands of bloodthirsty monsters

Soaked, hed half a ton, Gunner broke into a run once he reached dry ground, sprinting as best he could to where the beast crouched, eating the re that had once been huht its last blow had finally killed the greatest warrior it had ever faced—and if not, the raging sea would’ve finished the job And so, ever arrogant, it feasted, its back to the gray-green waters of the ocean and its battered shore

Gunner picked up speed, holding Slayer’s hilt with both hands, his ar on a moment’s notice The pebbles turned to rocks, rocks to boulders over which he bounded without so lance down He couldn’t afford to take his eyes off the beast And so he trusted his instincts, his balance, his feet, his peripheral vision Hell’s glory, he was Gunner Skale, for crying out loud With a sest, baddest, deadliest et its head chopped off

Demonhatch finally heard his approach and whipped around to look at Gunner with all four of its slitted, red-tinged eyes Then itswith hundreds of blade-sharp teeth, jagged points with serrated edges, perfect for ripping up its prey Then came the roar, followed by the burst of fire, an avalanche of liquid flame that poured down on Gunner

Gunner rolled and ignited the Shield spell for which he’d had to betray his closest coh he knew he’d feel some residual burn when he Lifted back to his Coffin He landed, spun, leapt back to his feet, hefted the greatsword Slayer up above his head, ignoring the variety of pain that crisscrossed his body He wanted this to be over

Igniting an Air spell, he flew thirty feet into the air, vaulting toward the beast’s head A quick slash of his sword pierced one, then two of De out in strea its roar of agony as it counterattacked Gunner flipped and dodged, landing on the beast and bouncing off, igniting all the spells he’d saved up—Pouncer and Burst and Waterswell and Fists of Iron—throwing all his power at the creature in one final onslaught

A final onslaught that took another hour

An hour of ruthless battle, stroke and counterstroke, three es back to the shore, spell ignition after spell ignition, sword against claw and tooth, quickness and Shield against liquid fire Gunner took out the beast’s res, its tail But still Deht back

Until Gunner ignited the Air spell one last ti into the sky, far above the wounded, weakened beast With a raging yell that he knew could be heard throughout all of Plague, Gunner fell back toward the ground, raising his rip,his descent with the power of his eyes Demonhatch tried to flee, tried to roar, tried to breathe out flame one last time, but it was too late