[ He lets his guard down, and that's why the attack catches him by surprise.
The anomalies aren't always very smart, but sometimes, they wait and watch for opportunities. Sometimes they don't go charging in. That's not so much the case for this particular one. No, this one comes in screaming, an echo-y, otherworldly noise that makes all of Royce's hair stand on end. He barely dodges it, throwing himself out of the way, but he's still recovering - he hits the ground with a grunt, trying to scramble up the best he can.
It's enough time for him to see what the anomaly looks like.
It's huge - easily towering over the both of them. Looks human, but not, looks frostbitten, rotting and dripping. It glows red on the inside, at the center of it, right in the chest, the pulse of color thudding like a heartbeat. The monster lunges past them and immediately turns to come right back at them. Screaming in that same way, it raises its arm - a familiar spadone, twisted and melded into its arm as if someone had crunched the forearm of a human and replaced the broken pieces with the sword instead. The monster runs full tilt right at Royce - and as it does, the scream twists into a hoarse, terrible approximation of Royce's name.
Royce freezes, staring, expression pained, because the face is unfamiliar, but god, if he doesn't know that voice. ]
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The anomalies aren't always very smart, but sometimes, they wait and watch for opportunities. Sometimes they don't go charging in. That's not so much the case for this particular one. No, this one comes in screaming, an echo-y, otherworldly noise that makes all of Royce's hair stand on end. He barely dodges it, throwing himself out of the way, but he's still recovering - he hits the ground with a grunt, trying to scramble up the best he can.
It's enough time for him to see what the anomaly looks like.
It's huge - easily towering over the both of them. Looks human, but not, looks frostbitten, rotting and dripping. It glows red on the inside, at the center of it, right in the chest, the pulse of color thudding like a heartbeat. The monster lunges past them and immediately turns to come right back at them. Screaming in that same way, it raises its arm - a familiar spadone, twisted and melded into its arm as if someone had crunched the forearm of a human and replaced the broken pieces with the sword instead. The monster runs full tilt right at Royce - and as it does, the scream twists into a hoarse, terrible approximation of Royce's name.
Royce freezes, staring, expression pained, because the face is unfamiliar, but god, if he doesn't know that voice. ]