Die From The Monsters

"Huh..."

Suddenly, Asaki's legs stopped carrying him, his body violently crushing against the concrete ground in the middle of his race with Celia. The man's form then rolled a few more meters and the sharps and warm debris, almost coming out of the black smoke's cloud now.

Behind him, Celia tried her best to stop from running, but had propelled at such a speed that she finally stopped large meters away from her friend's body.

"Ghh... Wait ! I'll help y-"

Within the next seconds, suddenly echoed a deafening sound, which shockwave almost made the two bodies flying away. A powerful and cold wind quickly reached the survivors's skin, biting their flesh with pain and hunger.

"Pof... Pof... Pof..."

Three others forms landed within the smoke just after the largest one, loud and vulgar noises of sniffing then elevating from it.

It sounded like some giant dogs, searching for any enemies or food while revealing its tooth, and probably drooling everywhere.

"Cough... Cough cough..."

Weakened by the lack of oxygen and blindness because of the smoke, Asaki desperately tried to crawl away of the noises, the blurry and motionless form of Celia visible through the black screen.

Blood was spilling from one of his legs, and multiple others wounds slightly covered the rest of his body, like some bruises or scratches bleeding a little. Asaki's face was also covered in dust, and the largest part of his clothes muddied and stained by the morning's rain remnants.

"Crap... Crap, crap, crap.... Asaki..."

Celia violently scratched her neck as her shaky voice elevated from her lips, trying to be as low as possible. The girl had slowly stepped to the man's direction, miserably trying to catch his hand without making any sound.

Only a few meters now separated the two of them, not trapped anymore in the middle of the black smoke, and protected by its orange and burning sparks...

Finally, totally seeing the Aurora, Asaki stretched his hand to reach her, horrific growling awkwardly emanating behind them. The sniffing had ceased, now replaced by small and high-pitched noises of excitement, as loud steps slowly walked to the human's direction.

"Hmmmphhh !!!"

With one of her hand, Celia firmly grabbed Asaki's hand before pulling him to her through the smoke, trying to help the man get up as quick as possible.

"Come on... Hurry..."

Fear couldn't be hid within Celia's shaky voice, actually dying from coldness, fear, pain and tiredness... The crimson hair which she had tied minutes ago, were now fully untied, covering the largest part of her back as dust and dirtiness were shattered within it.

Also, thanks to her strength, the man slowly but, finally, got up, hardly trying to still standing as much as he could. Behind them, the strange noises only grew stronger and nearer, an immeasurable wrath filling it.

"Can you walk...?"

Asked as low as possible Celia, supporting a part of the man's weight with her shoulders, slowly walking away of the smoke as she kept looking at it with fear.

"I don't know..."

"Well... Let's find a house and..."

Celia suddenly stopped, the silence which had installed through the entire "street" suddenly feeling awkward. Why wasn't the creature sniffing or growling anymore ? Not to mention, not walking anymore ?

Widened by fear, her eyes tried to notice the creature through the smoke, but nothing could be seen...

Nothing...

Nothing but the shadow of what had silently propelled itself in the air, noticed at the last second by Asaki.

"Abo-"

The man didn't even finished his sentence, a sudden other shockwave resounding across the city, as the form crushed at their position.

°°°

Celia violently laid on the ground, instantly trying to get up as she looked at what just landed in front of her.

If it wasn't for Asaki, whom had pushed her at the last moment away from the creature's trajectory, she would've surely died there, her bones crushed by the gigantic weight of the monster.

Yet, not a single hint of relief crossed her mind as her gaze kept looking at the new figure standing before her, for the moment motionless.

And this was because...

"Asaki..."

The man couldn't be seen anywhere, blood keeping recovering the ground beneath the creature as Celia's eyes widened in horror.

"N-No..."

Just after she had succeeded standing up, the girl fell on her knees, a violent pain instantly filling the poor Aurora's heart while a strange sensation invaded her stomach.

Celia couldn't move nor breathe, frozen in horror, her lips profusely shaking and eyes hardly trying to contain tears from flowing from them.

It just... Wasn't possible, not that easily, right ?? She, they survived from worse, she saved him, laughed with him, debated with him, and even if it was only for a few days...

Asaki was the only person she felt close to since everything began...

"Stop it... Please... No..."

Only breathing with a trembling mouth, unable to close, Celia's gaze slowly looked down her two legs, shaking so much that standing up couldn't be possible, even moving it seemingly not possible now...

"No.... No.... No...."

The gigantic form, that of a tall humanoid cow, which horns were as sharp as a blade, and skin as gray as stone, already started to move a few seconds after its landing, turning to Celia while profusely sniffing.

"Guh!!"

A powerful blow made the girl's body fly a dozen of meter away, scarlet drool escaping her lips as she hardly landed on the ground, almost knocked out after this only hit.

Her left arm, which endured the whole shock at the last second, was now hanging like a softened spaghetti, a white and hard form slightly coming out from above her elbow.

"Ugh... Uuh... Aaaah... Aaaaaahhh...."

Celia coughed a few more times, breathing so quickly that the world around her became even more blurry. Pain filled her whole body, sending without taking any break continuous waves trying to explode her brain.

Tears, rolling down her cheek, dirtily mixed with the saliva and vomit flowing from her convulsing mouth, the creature already walking to her again.

"Aaaah... AAAAAHHH !!"

Celia totally fell once again on the ground, crawling so clumsily that her body wasn't even moving away of the monster.

And as the form continued to approach, the Aurora's eyes, filled with pain and terror, hardly noticed something...

A bloody white form, laying on the ground just a few centimeters away of the Minotaur's wide crater...

"As... Asa... Asaki..."