For a minute, Arthur could feel his pupils turned pale white, his resolve crumbling under that one gaze of the beast.
Each step it took revolves around the vast space..
'so this is what a high ranking Cursed looked like'
Since Cursed have their own rank in each class, it was only right for Arthur to assume that the Cursed in questions had evolved.
All Cursed possesses one soul stone, either it is a high ranking one, so having two stones doesn't mean it had evolved so what Arthur didn't understand was the beast's sudden transformation.
Cursed have a way of evolving in ranks, by being provided with energy from the Cursed plant, they evolve from one rank to another.
Their evolution was only from a Cursed plant so either they kill or eat another soul stone of another Cursed doesn't prove their evolution, which means it pointless.
So what Arthur had basically witnessed isn't something from normal philology or the record that has been passed down.
'or did the Cursed have another way of evolving?'
He didn't know either but there was just one certainty that kept letting him back away in fear, that this Cursed whatever had happened to it, it wasn't the Cursed he had faced, either it evolved or not, it was a nightmare not every awakened person can face off against.
His back came to a halt after he felt his back against the big statue holding the big sword.
'I can do it right?' he repeated in his mind, but this time with no clarity in them, he knew better that it was just going to be in a minute before he was killed, but with the newfound hardening power from the Cursed Lord he could survive, right?
'Curse you Cursed Lord for giving, the uncommon class another evolution traits'
As soon as his thought finished, the beast moved, faster than his eyes could catch, Arthur on instinct raised his arm to block its strike, since he could only attack from the front and his back against the statue.
Its speed was abnormal and so was its strength that Arthur could feel his bone cracking despite the hardened skin as the five jagged claws hit him with force.
Crack!!
'What insane power!'
Arthur growled and he further hit his back against the statue.
His body bulged and twinged from the place where the beast had scratched him.
He knew that if the Cursed Lord had blood then….
A drop dripped on the floor.
The pain shot across his hands. He winced but locked his eyes at the Beast that didn't give him time to recollect himself and lunged again.
It was like seeing a horror movie unfold before his eyes, again and again the beast had launched multiple times, cracking against the sheer hardened skin of the young man.
He only ran and dodged multiple times, fatigue wearing him down and adrenaline also was the only thing keeping him up as he lunged from one corner to another..
'Why is it not working?' he groaned mid jump as he evaded another attack. He was talking about the Omni action.
He had put his mind on it to teleport him out of danger but unfortunately it didn't.
He could only rely on his jumping and dodging, not that he was that fast but the statue allowed him to hide in their shadow.
When the Beast pounced on him once more he dunged behind the dragon like statue, as it produced more secrecy and stealth, because of its outstretched wings providing a more hideout than the others..
As soon as he was behind the statue, he could hear the sound waves of the Beast colliding with one of the big statues and splashing it into debris.
But Arthur didn't move, he stayed still, not moving an inch, even when the Beast was growling he stayed down knowing that if he could hide, it might be hard for it to find him, but another realization hit him as he looked around, noticing that it just a room and it wouldn't be long to find him.
The drop of his blood alerted him from his thought as he checked his bleeding arms.
'he did me pretty bad, even with the hardening, I couldn't still shield against him' he cursed regretfully.
'what a curse ability' he couldn't help but curse at it even though it had saved him a couple of times, but he just couldn't accept it if it didn't aid him against this beast.
Finishing his thought he noticed there wasn't any movement or growling anymore, the beast menacing steps were gone, the aura it was emitting, it was all gone.
His brain could only think of that one possibility. So he peered from behind the statue being stealthy as he might be and glanced at the statue the beast rammed into, it had left it's half way down, the head rolled on the ground, the sword laid on the floor split into two, even though it looked tough but that was it.
'it even broke the sword' Arthur thought grimly.
He looked over at the surroundings, looking for the trace of the big beast and where it could hide without giving itself away.
Nothing, he saw nothing, he heard nothing.
And the feeling nagged at the back of his mind. 'This is my chance!' he declared, locking his eyes on the door a few steps from him.
'I have to race out of the room and maybe call Layla judging by her stats, she could kill it right?' He pierced all his thoughts together, though many possibilities nagged that what would Layla think, if her Lord can't defeat an uncommon evolved Cursed, or wouldn't it be embarrassing or why did he summon them in the first place. He thought it all over but at the end he decided to go through with his plan.
'I have to go out there, then I can think about a lie to cook for her' he decided, then with a sheer little strength he had left from the battering of the cursed he raced towards the door, limping away from the debris on the ground, but there was something fishy, the more he run, the more the door gaps stretch which made it crazy because it only a room so how do you run for ten minutes without still not getting to the door.
After stopping to catch his breath, he looked at the door again. 'What the hell is wrong?'
As to answer to the thought the space twist, then the beast out of nowhere emerged fast and brutally at Arthur's torso, slashing it, and before he could comprehend what was going on it had vanished.
'Ah!' the pain from the wound in his torso shoot upward causing him to gasp.
He looked around to see if the beast was lingering, but it was gone again and it was completely silent even though he could hear his ragged breathing being the only loudest sound in the room.
'how come —'
He couldn't find words for the experience, a cursed coming and going awol like it wasn't there.
Something settled. 'it dangerous' he agreed with the feeling, and his only safe place is behind the dragon like statue.
Before he moved he turned towards the door. 'Why is it stretching, even though it should just be a little feet there, he had seen Layla walk out of there.
With one possibility to find out he picked a stone from debris from the ground and tow it toward the door, the stone pounced on the floor and skied towards the door touching it with a soft ping!!!
Arthur's eyes widened at the development, ' why can it reach there and I can't?'
He pondered, looking at the door and the stone, he spent a few seconds there then it clicked as if it was gifted or some invisible force brought it to him.
There can be only one possibility: " an illusion"
If the door can exist there and another thing can reach it and I can't, that means I am the only one restricted from leaving.
Arthur looked around : ' and for the Cursed to come and go as it pleased toying with me that means another things'
It was like a puzzle being solved, with the beast weight and sound. It couldn't hide well if it didn't control the illusion and there was no one with power to control the illusion well, no one he knew of except the big fury bear.
The beast ability! the moment he guessed, the beast came out of nowhere coming at his head, its paw stretched to give it the final slash.
Arthur has less than a second to react, as he could only stare at his death, and a feeling passed down to him; whether he lives or dies now depends on him – him alone, or maybe something could happen out of the blue, but whatever it might be, wouldn't be in time..