Dodging to the side, he came to a rolling stop, got to his feet and leapt away, only a moment later though the ground he was just stood on trembled, the cracked and burst open with the creatures maw ripping through it.
"Shit!" he exclaimed as he landed, the impact shifting the bones in his broken arm. Quickly refocusing, he dashed to the side once more avoiding the beast once again. This time though it didn't dive below, instead choosing to wrap around its own body and charge catching him off guard.
Gritting his teeth, he pushed against the ground, lifting him above the creatures maw at the last second, but still he was caught being sent flying by direct impact to its body once again. Having the wind knocked out of him, he quickly oriented his body almost mid air landing on his feet and coming to a screeching halt.
Furrowing his brow, he tensed his muscles ready to dodge but the creature just stood here, watching for a moment.
Raising a brow, Theodore thought to himself.
'Why is it...' but before the thought could completely form, he almost felt a presence quickly creeping up behind him. Swivelling as fast as he could, he was just fast enough to see one of the smaller worm like creatures leaping at him its maw wide open, but not fast enough to evade it.
The creature plunged its maw into his shoulder. Barely holding back a muffled scream, he grabbed the creature and pulled as hard as he could. His fingers dug into its flesh, crushing the tender muscle beneath it. A moment later, its maw was pulled from his body, its hick teeth leaving jagged wounds, but he couldn't rest as even more came hurtling a him.
Gritting his teeth, he shuffled to the side narrowly avoiding coming face to face with half a dozen of the varmints, the prospect of which would not end well for him. Looking past the creatures as they flew by, he furrowed his brow.
"Damn it!" he exclaimed as he reached out snatching one by the tip of its tail.
The creature screeched as he tightened his grip and pulled back with all his strength using its body like a club and smashing it into another and sending it flying and colliding with a wall, the impact sending a net of cracks running along its surface.
He paused for a moment to rest but before the thought took root, the sound of more of the screeching varmints practically deafening. Taking a deep breath and swiveling, he brought the writhing creature down on another, then another, then... before he could raise his arm once more, the creature burst into a rain of gray flesh, black blood and innards and when it did, a strange, vast and almost inhuman voice rang out in his mind.
[You have slain a Dormant seed gravemaw's embryo]
At that moment, he felt something unnatural happen. Deep within him, an almost imperceptible trickle of, something flowed into him, into his soul. The sensation was so foreign and strange, he didn't know the words to use when describing it. Theodore couldn't dwell on it for long though, quickly sensing danger he shaped to duck but found himself flying through the air once more, coming to a rolling stop near the street.
Grabbing his pulsing arm, he got to his feet as the massive worm fully emerged from the cloud of dust. The creature coiled round itself and rose above him, standing at more than three meters.
Staring up at the creature, Theodores expression darkened.
The creature which had felt massive before, while still many times larger than him wasn't so colosal anymore. Still, up close it was quite large. His attention was drawn to had a chance to its smooth gray hide, or at least the patches of it that were no longer so. Segments of its hide crisscrossed with deep scars, each one large enough to swallow a man whole.
'I wonder what could have done that.'
Looking higher into its maw, rows upon rows of jagged black teeth lined the circular maw at the front of its body, were constantly grinding together, each collision carrying an ear piercing scraping sound.
For a few long moments they stood there staring, as if waiting for the other to make a move.
'You're a stubborn one aren't you. Come on already, move!'
Then, as if prompted by his thoughts,
A low rumble escaped the creature as its body tensed. A moment later the street exploded as the gravemaw launched forward, the old, brittle asphalt crumbling beneath its charge. Crossing the distance between them in only a matter of seconds the creature spread its maw, Theodore grinned, pulling his arm back.
"Come on you stupid worm!" he yelled.
But with only a meter between them, the creature pulled back and dove below. A second passed, then another, then in a flash, the ground by his side exploded and the creature came flying towards him once more. Bracing himself, the threw his body aside letting the gravemaw tear past him and plowing into the building nearby.
Chunks of concrete and stone erupted falling to the ground in an avalanche of dust. Landing square on a jagged piece of debris, Theodore held back a yelp as pain exploded through his side. The stone itself didn't do much damage, but with how he had been thrown around, his body had been ready to give out at the slightest contact.
Before he could recover, the gravemaw twisted, breaking out of the building and lunged again.
"Shit!"
Leaping into a sprint, the world seemed to blur around him. Lunging, rolling on the ground, even simple things like taking a single step sent agony shooting through his broken arm and ribs. To top it off, at some point, he had begun feeling a rising pressure behind his eyes forcing him to deactivate his aspect once again. Now, all he had to rely on were his naturally enhanced physical abilities as a herald.
Racing around what was now a completely ruined street as blood dripped from his wounds, Theodore looked back, groaning as the creature seemed to gain an inch with every passing moment.
'Is it faster? Or...'
Or was he getting slower? With the amount of running he had done, by now he should have. After all despite having enhanced stamina as a herald, he was only of the dormant rank.
As a result, his breathing became ragged, and his entire body felt heavy.
Risking another glance over his shoulder he was instantly overcome with regret as the sight of the gravemaw being mere moments away from devouring him sent a chill down his spine.
Its circular maw widened and rows of black teeth spun like grinding gears.
For the first time since the fight, if it could even be called one began, he was certain he could see it. He saw nothing but death in his future. Tearing his gaze from his impending doom, his gaze landed on a half-collapsed building ahead. Running a dozen scenarios in his head in the span of a few seconds, an idea formed.
It was a stupid, dangerous, and probably outright suicidal. But...
'It's all i have.'
Steeling his will, Theodore sharply changed direction and sprinted straight toward the ruined structure.
Desperate to devour its prey, the gravemaw followed.
The distance between them shrank even more. Shorter and shorter with every mind numbingly tense moment feeling longer than it was.
The ground beneath his feet trembled under its charge as it finally grew close enough to launch a strike. The creature tensed, leaping into the air to devour him from the top down when at the last possible second, Theodore planted his foot and threw himself through a shattered doorway.
The gravemaw crashed through the outer wall behind him making the entire building shudder.
Cracks raced across the support columns.
Theodore didn't stop.
Ignoring the screaming protests of his body, he ran deeper into the structure, without a thought the gavemaw followed. Moving between the half collapsed rooms, diving through holes in the wall and sliding beneath half collapsed pillars sharp cracking echoes echoed one after another.
Hearing the sounds and seeing the cracks chase after them, a rhy smile crept onto his face.
'Just a bit more now you stupid worm!'
The worms body slammed against the brittle concrete sending tremors through its frame. Again and again it collided with the building chasing after him with an almost demented persistence, and soon, the entire building around them began to collapse.
Diving beneath a large piece of debris, he dashed forward creating a bit of separation. In the split second before the gravemaw bore through it, he spotted a gap in the far wall. Tensing his muscles, he sent his body flying just as the creature burst from the boulder.
Diving through the opening, he hit the ground outside with a thud as a thunderous roar erupted behind him. Turning back he was filled with glee as the entire structure folded in on itself. Tons of concrete, steel, and stone crashed downward.
Raising a hand he protected his eyes from a massive cloud of dust surged into the air, and for several seconds, he simply sat there. When he finally came to his senses he slowly, he forced himself upright and his expression stiffened. While he was safe for now and likely had a bit of time to put a significant distance between him and the creature, the gravemaw wasn't dead.
Not even close.
How did he know? THat was simple, because he didn't hear the words of the codex speak into his mind announcing his achievement.
'Well, it might not be dead, but it is trapped. For now.'
Without wasting another second, Theodore turned and limped away.
'And i don't want to be here when it is freed.'