Except for those few that had managed to flee, the rest of the auction participants had died together with the remnants of Bull’s Blood. Only a few random scraps of clothing, pieces of accessories and some messy stains remained where the black wind had passed. The creature from the portal continued its attempts to tear the hole larger, and the broken space kept flickering, fragmenting the nearby objects and leaching the colours from the surroundings.

The combination of vibrations and the black winds that came from the other side created a surreal image similar to the signal distortions in old black-and-white TVs. The matter around it was continuously being erased, twisted and deformed, and when I looked at it carefully, I began to suspect that it was also transformed into something different and completely foreign. It was difficult to observe, as it was elusive like thin wisp of smoke that was never there when you looked at it. Instead, it was something that could be felt by the obscure corners of the subconscious mind.

In a way, it was the violation of laws of nature that was the reason for the quakes some of us could feel, because it shook our physical and spiritual beings together. It was the reality from the other side that began to corrupt and twist our world.

---

It might have looked epic, as the two-meter tall me went to confront single-handedly an entity whose size was comparable to Boeing 747. I, however, kept analyzing my options and estimating the best course of action.

For now, my goal was to drag out the time until Albert and Philip finished their spatial transference mojo and we could finally get away. However, that did not mean I was not interested in a chance to actually go toe-to-toe with a Lovecraftian Outer God. That is, as long as it was not too risky.

I hefted the partizan in my hand and adjusted its balance. Carefully, I observed the being that had somewhat regained its initial shape of something remotely bovian. Except that its horns and hooves were all in wrong places, not to mention that the quantity was completely off as well. It had now formed limbs, but I had seen their flexibility before - there were neither joints nor bones to limit them. Therefore, I reminded myself that I had to keep in mind that the creature was likely to have unlimited flexibility and that its reach could be well beyond any logical estimations.

Having no idea about the observation and movement capabilities of the being, I could not use the theories behind the martial arts I had studies for years. How can one make use of blind spots, joint locks or grip weaknesses when the enemy is not simply not humanoid, but also has the size of a half soccer field?

Actually, the last reason was why I had decided to use the partizan - I was too ashamed to make a giant oversized sword. But a giant target quite logically required a suitably big weapon to deal with it.

---

I moved sideways at a brisk pace, so that the others would not be in line with the imminent confrontation. Slowly picking up the speed, I kept approaching the portal and the being while maintaining the curving movement. Having to avoid gusts of black winds and the areas that looked too suspicious, my approach slowed down and became more erratic the closer I got to the hole.

Even if we had been more than hundred meters away from the portal, the huge underground space felt to be somewhat cramped because of the enormous bulk of the invading being. In just a few seconds, I had approached close enough, and after confirming my surroundings, pushed off the ground. The stone slates cracked and were crushed into pebbles under my feet as I propelled myself forward.

I stayed low, keeping close to the floor in order to avoid the majority of extradimensional destructive winds. I had chosen well, and in the blink of an eye got close to one of the massive half-limbs or feelers that extended from the creature’s side.

Planning to test my ideas while in a battle of such scale could not be a smart idea. The thing was, I did not have much choice on the matter. So, when I raised my weapon in a vertical strike, it was not a probing attack. Instead, it was a proper blow, delivered with the maximum kinetic and muscular energy I could supply.

With a whistling sound of cut air, the over one and half meters long edge of the partizan struck the surface of the being’s tentacle. The feeling of cutting hard insulation foam was transmitted into my hands through the shaft, while the blade of the partizan sank deep into the tissues. From the cut, muddy grey spirals of gas came out, trying to entangle my weapon.

I could feel how the energies contained in the weapon and in the gas fought against each other in an attempt to dissolve the opposing force. However, as I circulated the energy through my weapon, it felt like a smooth, slippery surface that the gas could not take hold of. Good enough, I had been somewhat correct in my assumption that my energy could withstand the effect of the being. To some extent, at least. It also made sense, as I had reasons to assume that I carried the power of some specific Word, and these so-called Soul Words seemed to be linked to the form and stability of the worlds.

The edge of the partizan passed through the tissues of the tentacle and with a dull chink hit the ground. That left a clear break line across the stone floor tile.

Dodging a gust of nothingness that was swept up by the twitching tentacle, I stepped closer to try to sever it with a returning upwards swing. However, I could only sense, but had no time to move or react, before I was swept off my feet by another tentacle. Unfortunately, I could not go against physics, and our masses were too different, with me on the losing side. The next moment, with a loud crack, I crashed into the brick wall more than hundred meters away from the spot I had been at.

The extradimensional being’s attack was so fast that while I could sense it, the time needed to move myself was not enough to take any action. I was constrained by the simple requirement to contract and relax the muscle tissues in order to move my body. Perhaps, my idea to create a proper physical form had not been a very smart one. A part of my mind rapidly estimated: taking into account the loud noise the attack had created when I was sent flying, I had almost immediately crossed the sound barrier, possibly even exceeding it by several times. Quick calculations using basic formulas for momentum and force showed the enormous strength of the blow, an ordinary body would have literally been evaporated by such strike.

Just as I thought all this while being embedded into a layer of pulverized ancient brick, a mass of black winds was blown towards me, dragged over by the aftermath of the attack. To make the matter worse, the wave caused by the creature’s attack had created a whirlpool of destructive winds, literally shrouding the ground between us.

I had no wish to get submerged into that sinister vortex that was moving like a giant jointer plane across the floor, erasing everything on its path. With only one way to go, I immediately stabbed the partizan into the wall above me and flipped myself upwards. By easily digging my fingers and heels into the old brittle bricks, I fixed myself into place. At least now, with my body specs, I was capable of acrobatic moves that would put Cirque du Soleil to shame.

That move allowed me to avoid several bursts of corrosive winds, and while I waited for the surroundings to calm down, I had a moment to observe the creature. At least, it was apparent that my attack was rather effective.

Being wounded, the being withdrew its cut tentacle. It seemed to shrink up a bit, even withdrawing some of its bulk back into the portal. Then it unleashed a torrent of haphazard whipping strikes at the surroundings with its numerous appendages, creating an impenetrable death zone around it. It had even uncoiled some limbs, increasing the striking area with the improvised cats o’ nine tails. Each strike carried immense power, pounding into fine dust the bedrock itself beneath the floor. Constant blows made the ground tremble, that combined with the quakes caused by the portal and the random gusts of erosive black winds, further increased the chaos going on.

My perception detected some energy disturbance right above my head, and I twisted my neck to allow me to see it better. A mass of dark shadows had agglomerated there, and I pushed my hand deeper into the wall in preparation for the rapid change of position. What stopped me, was that it felt different from the disintegrating winds. However, I remained vigilant, muscles tense, and ready to move any second.

Then, shadows dispersed, scattering across the wall like a burst bubble of black ink.

There, just above me, I saw a pair of, well, boobs. The word ‘breasts’ was insufficient to describe the discrepancy between their size and the delicate knees that were pushing them upwards while their owner sat crouching above my head. Yes, sitting on the wall as if it was a horizontal ground, completely defying the gravity. For a second, I observed the edge of the boots visible from beneath the dark, slightly frilled long dress and the thin, smokelike mantle that covered the rest of the figure. This outfit seemed to blur together, creating an interesting effect of fading into the shadows, and only barely noticeable black gleaming lace helped to define the outline of its details.

“Without the Death, there can be no sacrifice. Oh, unharmed?” - I heard a silent and monotone, but fairly pleasant voice.

That however, irked me quite a bit: “Missy, do not go quoting Warhammer forty-kay on me.”

Really, the situation was incomprehensible enough already. The truth was, I felt that this new collocutor of mine was odd. I sensed the pressure of power coming from her, but could barely detect any energy like I did with the other people. And I still could not let slide the fact that her quote was ominous as hell.

She. however, bent forward and that allowed me to see her face. It was pale, but compared to my unnatural whiteness, its shade was more similar to the skin that has never seen the sun. Long black hair framed her delicate face like a wavy waterfall while thick bangs hid her eyes. Below the bangs, I could see the sharp facial features that harmoniously combined with her full lips. Overall, she seemed to be in her early twenties, except that her build was rather miniature. Knowing the character of Frederik the Kung-Fu idiot, he would be screaming “legal loli with big tits!” by now for sure. I, however, was not impressed that much, so I tried to give her a stare as stern as possible.

“Hmm, you’re feeling familiar.” - she slowly said while propping up her chin with a hand. My stern look did not seem to faze her in the slightest. She continued: “ An amatu? Word, hmm, but then perhaps incomplete? Hmm, rather, unawakened. Hey, what are you, boyo?”. She even stressed the last word there.

“Hell if I know.” - for some reason, I was truthful. However, I had no time for chitchat, as it seemed that the invading creature was recovering.

I moved my hand to the better position on the wall and pointing my partizan towards the creature and its portal, I quoted her another line from Warhammer 40,000: “For without victory there is no survival.”

The moment I pushed off the wall to charge back at the extradimensional invader, I sensed a slight smile behind me. While I dropped towards the floor, her figure dissolved in the shadows, leaving the same way she had appeared.