Feeling the cold tip of the weathered sword on its thick fur, the canine monster flinched before it froze on its spot, thinking that it is caught in quite the dilemma for letting its guard down and assuming that this creature is no different than the prey it previously hunted, and as much as it wants to correct that wrong perfectly, it is well aware that it needs to pay some price in order to escape from this attack with its life intact.
Hence why it let the sword swing and graze through its majestic fur coating, staining the gray fur with a bright crimson red as the tip of the old sword the young man is using tore through its flesh and penetrates a significant depth on its flesh, making the monster struggle with its movements from here onward as it got hit pretty badly on one of its limbs.
Now with one front limb limping in front of it, the canine monster eyes the young man with more seriousness now, as if rather than just toying around with a prey it can catch anytime, it is now pushing itself to its limits facing an opponent of the same strength as it, a tinge of hesitation escaping it every now and then as its ferocious, threatening growl resounded across the entire clearing, almost as if it is trying to scare the young man away.
Being experienced dealing with all sorts of monsters for a decade now though, the young man, Azrael, is well aware of the fact that this proud show of strength through threatening growling is nothing but a mask that attempts to hide the doubt that this 'hunter' is now feeling, facing another being of similar strength.
"Now you're hesitating, huh? You trying to run little pup?" looking confidently at the towering height of the canine monster eyeing him warily, the young man said with a confident smile on his face as he takes a low stance with his sword's end pointing towards the monster once again, said monster seemingly being provoked either by his words or his stance as it growls even louder, clearly trying to take him down in one fell swoop now.
"Not so confident now aren't you, little pup?" feeling the changes in his opponent's pacing as well as the weight behind each and every single one of its attack, Azrael remarks once again as he uses his sword, already threatening to break, to parry another claw from the canine monster, shifting the weight of the attack to his side in order to create a path for him to charge in deeper into the monster's defenses, his attempt failing once again as his opponent got a read of his strategy and immediately jumped away from his position, looking at him with hostile eyes as it does so.
Of course, his endeavor to risk hurting himself to hurt this canine monster doesn't end up in vain, as once again, he manages to leave a deep gash running from the previously injured limbs, all the way down to its claw, completely debilitating this limb and effectively taking it out of combat at worst, and at best, even becoming a hindrance to each move of the canine monster.
Now looking at its destroyed limbs previously just well and healthy, the canine monster looks at the young man with pained eyes filled with unbridled hatred that seems to pierce through the soul, and yet the young man receiving such stare isn't even bothered by the gaze, in fact, it just made him feel amused all the more.
With another growl from the canine monster, anyone who can witness such astonishing fight between an elite monster and a talented ascender will definitely think that the ascender is in danger now, given that the monster, instead of losing a lot of mobility after having one of its limbs debilitated, starts getting even faster than before, its shadow along with the trail of wind being the only thing following its figure as it zooms through the air.
On the other hand, the young man merely stands there without doing anything, spreading his feet apart and bending his knees slightly as he faces a single direction, his eyes gradually closing as he returns the sword in its sheath, yet not a single one of his fingers let go of his favored weapon even with it already being tightly sealed in its sheath.
"Beasts are still beasts no matter what happen huh… its knowledge is really lacking…" as he felt the bloodlust in the air spiking up once again, Azrael manages to directly pinpoint where the canine monster is coming from, the smile on his face something that this creature failed to saw as its entire body rushes towards him with lightning-fast speed, thunderous roaring following behind its path as it reaches the young man in a single moment.
"There you are…" having sensed the beast finally stopping itself from just roaming around and doing something to annoy him, the young man said as he felt the monster approaching his location, its remaining sharp front claw raised as it jumps in the air, casting shadow across the battlefield, before its entire body swiftly head towards its target, Azrael, with its front claw intending to pierce through the young man's chest and end him once and for all.
Unfortunately for this monster, there's just no way for it to reach the young man's chest as its attack is already parried by the young man's sword, the old sword that proves its usefulness time and time again, and proving its usefulness once more right now, as the strength of the sword serves to be more than enough to break every single sharp claw on this canine monster, not only its claw but its sharp, jagged teeth as well.
Now flopping on the ground with nothing on its being but its body, which is not even complete given how much damage the young man has done to it after he finishes fighting it, the canine monster couldn't help but feel like an instant death from this person should've been better than allowing itself to be completely tortured and humiliated like this.
Of course, it is too late to regret now, as since it is completely beaten up and has no way to recover or escape, its fate is completely in the hands of the very young man who defeated it with ease.