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Quietly, he lifted his paw and swiped it through the air sideways.Impetus.A gust of force formed to the side to head straight for Strolguil. He wouldn’t know it was there.

He threw his hands out in two different directions. One to shield himself from the force, the other was to try to hit him with red lightning coming from above.

Rurik took the impact of lightning to his body because he hadn’t been ready for it and gave out a roar. He heard something break, a rib possibly.

Pain shot through him, and his eyes clenched shut against the blast.

How did he see me?!

He released fire to combat it, and Strolguil had to stop the lightning to protect himself.

The attack had been silent!

He rolled out of the way when another strike of lightning came towards him as the loud booming of thunder echoed against the walls. They were constant and deafening to his sensitive ears.

Once he settled, he didn’t move, didn’t attack, and once more the Witch was listening.He can hear my movements.But how had he known the force was coming from the side and where it came from?He is blinded, so how is this possible?

Then his eyes widened.He is sensing the magic!

If Rurik didn’t cast magic or breathe fire, Strolguil wouldn’t be able to see where the dragoncraft was coming from. He was using a spell similar to the one Rurik used to change sight to be able to see the tendrils of magic in the air.

I must make my attack silent, and it must be done without magic.

With a fanged grin forming, he knew exactly how to do this.

Rurik began to scuttle across the room with quick steps, making sure that they were heavy and loud. Lightning struck to follow his path, Strolguil’s hand following him wherever he went to trail behind him, but he was moving around the room too erratically.

Flapping his wings, he then sprinted towards the wall and started climbing it. His claws dug around the stone blocks as he used his wings to make himself lighter. He climbed up the side of it with speed, then he jumped to the wall next to the one he was on when he reached the ceiling.

Strolguil’s hand only followed him when he landed, his claws making a crunching sound when they dug into the stone-brick wall.

Just before lightning struck, he leapt for the chandelier in the centre of the ceiling. The crystals hanging from it chimed from the impact, and it groaned from his weight. It swung, but he didn’t stay on it long.

He used it to get himself to the other side of the room just before lightning struck it from all sides as though Strolguil was trying to use more force against him.

This time, he didn’t cling to the wall, instead he bounced on it. Rurik tucked his wings against his body as his eyes narrowed on his target, with claws at the ready. His path was silent as he sailed through the air with his arms reaching out in front of him.

He didn’t growl. He didn’t make a noise as he descended... right into Strolguil who couldn’t hear or see him coming.

Claws clutched around the Vast’s arms and a sharp gasp of surprise left him when he was grabbed.

“No!”

Rolling with him, Rurik shot his head forward with his fangs bared before digging them into his shoulder and ripping it apart. Ghostly claws tried to strike back, slashing down his sides, but Rurik snapped his head forward again to bite into his chest.

He ripped bits of skin and muscle away, using his mouth full of sharp and long teeth to eat into the man, twisting his head side-to-side in jarring movements to make it more damaging. He firmly held onto Strolguil while he yelled.

Ghostly fangs bit into Rurik’s shoulder, but it was too late for the Witch. Rurik finally got the squirming opening he had needed with his throat forward and exposed. He bit into his neck to pull his jugular from him.

It was enough to weaken him and prevent him from using his magic. Rurik bit into his throat again, this time pulling his windpipe from him and causing blood to splatter. He spat it out when he jumped back so he could free himself from Strolguil’s hands.

Rurik refused to hesitate, to draw this out. He once had some grand fantastic speech prepared for when he finally managed to get to him like this, but he knew that would be foolish to do now that it was happening.

He jumped forward to place his paw against his face. Digging one set of claws under his jaw, he dug his other paw around his shoulder.

With a bellowing roar, Rurik pulled his arms apart to tear Strolguil the Vast’s head from his body.

Just when he was done, a giant blast of force came from his headless corpse. It was a violent release of energy the Witch had been collecting and holding inside his body for eons.