While the creature continued its deranged shaking, Ark managed to crawl out of the cave.
At first, all he could do was crawl but slowly he was regaining himself and then at some point, he managed to finally rise to his feet.
The snowstorm was still very much present, the normally gentle snowflakes were now cold and bitter just like everything else around him.
He pulled his coat closer to his body but there was no helping it, if he stayed out there for too long, things would not end well for him.
Ark was stumbling through the snow, trying to get as far away from the beast as possible when he noticed something on the floor.
It was the platypus-like footstep of the monster, not too far away from him, was a very familiar hill with a dead tree at its top.
Ark had once been concerned about a potential avalanche, but now that he was seeing it, a dark thought was creeping into his mind.
'No, it's too dangerous.'
Even from here, Ark could see that the snow was teetering at the edge of collapse, any subtle force and the entire thing would come crashing down.
'If I can just get as far away from here as possible—'
The large roar of the snow beast reached his ears, reverberating all around him. It was a morbid reminder of the death that awaited him if they were to ever cross paths.
The beast must have been done with whatever it was doing. Ark was very positive that he could not outrun the beast even if his life depended on it, such as it did now…
He had to either run, hide, or think of something else.
And so despite his mind shouting that it was a bad idea he began to slowly ascend the hill from the side.
The more he climbed, the harder the next step became, his body was weak from the blow and he was probably still bleeding.
The sound of his heartbeat was booming in his ears and his breath was steadily getting colder, the white cloud appearing every second.
But he had no choice but to push, Ark had not waited so long for the trials only to give up.
This was his one shot at changing his life, he would get no other opportunity than this!
Finally, Ark made it to the top of the hill and rested his back on the tree, watching the ground below.
Very soon the beast came, following a trail of blood Ark did not realize he had left.
Just watching the way the creature moved made Ark feel lucky that he had not chosen to avoid the beast. It was moving so fast, as though it was practically hovering over the snow.
Its single hand cut through the snow with ease as it raced along the trail.
Then the beast suddenly stopped, it froze in place as if it was lost in a trance and then suddenly, its head shot towards Ark.
It seemed to be very much attracted to the smell of blood.
Ark of course had immediately shielded himself behind the tree.
He held his breath while he went through what he had seen.
'The snow beast's arm… it is healed?'
It was not exactly like an arm had just grown back, the main thing Ark noticed was that the stump was no longer bleeding, and part of the injury was now covered with fur.
It was like the arm was never there…
'What kind of thing are you?'
The beast seemed very unconvinced that there was no one behind the tree and as such it began to push closer and closer until it was at the foot of the mountain, sniffing the air for his scent.
Ark waited for when it was just perfectly close and then he ran back and charged forward, just to suddenly ram his shoulder into the tree.
The force was so much, so unexpected that as he hit the tree the entire mountain seemed to shake. There was a strange sound like multiple rushing water.
It was only seconds later that Ark realized that it was the sound of falling snow.
The entire snow on the mountain was descending with turbulent fury. The beast tried to get out in time just to get hit with the first wave of snow.
Ark finally let out a sigh of relief while watching as the creature was systematically buried but then, something happened—
Ark heard a creak, he turned around fearing another monster had come behind him only to see nothing but empty space.
And then the tree he was holding onto fell as well, pulling him down the mountain.
Ark managed to lie on the tree as it slid down the snow like a boat, waves of snow washed over him, chilling him to the bone.
He was at the level where he could give anything from the warmth.
He slowly opened his eyes and stared down at the carnage he had caused. Right underneath the pile of snow was the beast, it was trying to wiggle itself out but to no avail.
And so Ark slid down, right next to the snow beast.
He had been beaten and battered by the beast, his first actual fight with a beast like this had almost cost him his life.
And yet… he was victorious.
Ark lifted his sword high up with both hands and brought it down upon the neck of the beast, completely severing it from the spine.
Red blood dotted the white plain as steamy red liquid flowed onto the snow.
Ark looked up, a blood stain was on his face and yet his golden eyes were filled with life.
"I won."
He then proceeded to cut up some wood from the fallen tree and spurred a fire in the cave to wait out the storm.
***
Darkness had called over the camp, about the time they normally served dinner.
A few guards were up and about, doing the regular guard duties, while those who were free for the day sat in large groups around the campfires.
The last part of the buck was being roasted over the fire, after being rubbed with various spices to enhance the taste.
But while the guards got a modest portion of the meat, the Lord's personal guards received the lion's share.
Currently, a number of them were gathered around a fire, sharing a drink while they enjoyed their feast.
That was when they noticed something…
Everyone in the camp saw it…
Under the cloak of the night, the slender figure appeared to be a ghostly silhouette, a nightmare brought into existence.
But the closer they got, the more humanoid they appeared, up until they entered the camp.
The guards held their breaths as they saw him walk past, some bore intense expressions while others had looks of pure shock on their faces.
But the person did not seem to mind.
He kept walking until he walked past the regular guards and was now in front of the Lord's personal men.
The man who had sent Ark on this task was very much present, the food he was eating was still in his mouth, yet he did not swallow.
He simply stared.
In the boy's hands was a head, the head of a monster no man prayed to meet.
The young man tossed the head of the monster to the snow right in front of him.
And then he smiled.
But the smile was dark, so dark that it made the commander shrink back in fear.
For just a moment, his heart was troubled.
"Here's your monster…"