The Crazy Beast continued its relentless pursuit, its monstrous form a terrifying shadow against the backdrop of the Elysian Forest. Aziel, fueled by adrenaline and fear, ran desperately.
He risked a glance over his shoulder; the creature was gaining on him. Its roars echoed through the trees, a symphony of impending doom.
Originally, Blackie intended to guide Aziel in fighting the Crazy Beast using the arm he had summoned. However, since he had instinctively thrown the arm backward, Blackie had no choice but to change his plan.
Blackie then urged Aziel to attempt using his magic power again.
"Try again, Aziel," Blackie commanded, its voice insistent. "Try summoning another arm like earlier. But this time, imagine an arm that is large. Much larger than the Crazy Beast."
Aziel furrowed his brow, a knot of confusion tightening between his eyes.
A large arm? Larger than the Crazy Beast?
The mental image was frustratingly vague; how was he supposed to imagine something like that? The sheer scale of it felt impossible to grasp.
But he didn't have the luxury of prolonged contemplation. The Crazy Beast, a grotesque parody of nature, was rapidly gaining ground, its guttural roars echoing through the trees. Each lumbering step shook the earth, a terrifying prelude to its imminent arrival.
He extended his right hand, palm facing forward, attempting to replicate the summoning technique he'd used before.
He focused his mind, willing the image of an arm, gigantic and enormous enough, to materialize in front of him.
"Not like that," Blackie's voice cut through his concentration, sharp and urgent. "This time, point your hand upwards. Summon the giant arm in the air. Above us. Give it space to manifest."
Aziel was startled by the unexpected instruction, the sudden shift in strategy catching him off guard.
Upwards?
Quickly, he adjusted the position of his hand, angling it towards the dimly lit sky above the canopy of trees.
Still running, he focused, pushing away the fear that threatened to overwhelm him.
He envisioned an arm — not just any arm, but one that was colossal, truly enormous — one that dwarfed the monstrous Crazy Beast. An arm the size of a building, larger than anything he'd ever seen before — though it's not like he had any memory to back that up.
Suddenly, the sky above darkened, the air growing heavy and crackling with unseen energy.
Aziel looked up, his eyes widening with awe and a hint of fear as a colossal arm — far larger than he had envisioned — materialized out of thin air above the forest canopy.
Its surface gleamed like freshly forged metal, every plate of iron connected with large rivets. Its fingers were as thick as tree trunks, its claws sharp like swords. Iron veins bulged along the arm, radiating an aura of tremendous strength.
The dark gray arm, almost black, resembled iron that had long been exposed to harsh weather.
Its size? At a glance, Aziel estimated the arm to be at least 50 meters long, maybe more.
The weight of the giant arm caused the branches of the trees above to tremble, and small twigs fell all around. Shadows loomed over the area, the sunlight seemingly blocked by the presence of that iron arm.
Then, the giant arm began to fall, its descent a terrifying ballet of impending doom. It dropped with terrifying speed, aimed directly at Aziel and the Crazy Beast still hot on his heels. A gale-force wind ripped through the clearing, whipping dust and dry leaves into a frenzied vortex.
"Get out of the way, Aziel!" Blackie's warning cut through the roar of the wind.
Aziel, his eyes glued to the plummeting monstrosity, reacted instantly.
He bolted, muscles screaming in protest as he sprinted across the ravaged earth, creating a desperate gap between himself and the impending catastrophe.
The Crazy Beast, consumed by its relentless pursuit of Aziel, registered the colossal arm's presence only in the final, heart-stopping seconds.
Its eyes, usually filled with manic glee, widened in stark terror. Its mouth opened in a silent, desperate gasp, a strangled attempt at a scream or perhaps a final, incoherent word, lost to the overwhelming imminence of its demise.
THUD!
The earth-shattering impact resonated through the forest. The giant iron arm smashed into the ground with a sound that was both deafening and bone-jarring, a brutal punctuation mark to the beast's desperate struggle.
The very ground trembled, the shockwaves vibrating through Aziel's bones despite his considerable distance from the impact point.
A colossal cloud of dust and earth erupted, a swirling grey maelstrom that momentarily blotted out the sun.
Aziel stopped running, glancing back with a racing heart. He looked at the spot where the giant arm had landed.
Almost a minute later, the dust cloud gradually began to clear, revealing a massive crater in the ground. In the center of the crater lay the giant iron arm that had accomplished its task.
Only the remnants of the Crazy Beast's flesh and shattered bones were buried under the immense weight of the colossal arm—its terrifying form completely obliterated.
The stench of blood mixed with iron pierced Aziel's nose, making him shudder.
There was no movement. No sound.
The horrifying scene lay in eerie silence, the only testament to the battle being the dust swirling around the massive arm that now resided in the ground.
The Crazy Beast was dead, accidentally crushed by Aziel's own magic power.