Chapter 63: Chapter 63- Deadly Will (Part 2)
Chapter 63- Deadly Will (Part 2)
The beautiful sun started rising in the distance, announcing the start of a new day. In the depths of the forest, the rays of the morning were the only thing to reach every corner. They were the only source of light in this dark place.
The beautiful light reflected against the grass and illuminated Elio’s path. He stopped for a second, breathing out a huge, steamy breath. His face was pale, tired, with heavy eye bags and redness in his eyes.
"Cough cough! It’s... finally morning..." He muttered as he looked at Fiona. The girl was still breathing in the same weak rhythm. Elio had kept checking on her every 30 seconds or so to make sure she was still alive and breathing as he ran through the forest.
’I don’t know the distance we moved, but I think we are far enough from those monsters... Fiona needs a break.’ He muttered. He wanted to let her rest for a few minutes before continuing their journey into the unknown.
Slowly, he put her down and checked her condition. His shirt has been completely soaked with no spot left untouched by blood. Even though her bleeding stopped a while ago, she had already bled so much that her body cannot sustain itself properly. This kind of injury would’ve killed a normal human instantly, but because it’s Fiona, she was able to survive for way longer, even though it was devastating.
Seeing her miserable state, his heart ached greatly as he put his hand on her forehead. She was cold, incredibly so... Her body temperature was dangerously low, and it was apparent on her face. Her usual healthy and perfect skin looked pale and colorless... Like that of a dead person.
Beads of sweat rolled down her face.
"Please hold on, Fiona. Please..." He muttered. "You can’t die here... You can’t..."
Wiping her sweat with the back of his hand, he stood up to stare around him. Elio himself was suffering from hypothermia, and he was barely able to sustain his body heat and Fiona’s heat. His energy was running low after using it for so many hours. Any other person would not been able to use their Blood Energy in such an excessive manner.
Elio was basically spilling his fuel everywhere without a care in the world. He knew he had enough to use this much, but there was always a limit, even for someone like him; he had to be careful.
’Where should I head now? Head down west or change directions?’ He mused. Elio ideally wanted a high point where he could see larger areas in hopes of finding any possible sign of civilization.
All he needed was a route, or even a hut, or anything to use.
"Sigh... Let’s go, Fiona." Elio said as he crouched down to pick Fiona up. However, at that moment, out of nowhere, he heard a rustle in the bushes.
"Huh?" Elio frowned as he looked up. "Who’s there?" He asked as he clenched his fists. Then, he spread his senses around him immediately. It didn’t take him long to notice a presence not that far away from him.
He couldn’t tell what it was, but what he was certain of was that it was not human.
Then, the bushes rustled again. Elio quickly grabbed the sword and held it clumsily in front of him. Whatever this thing was, he could not let it get closer.
After a long several seconds of waiting, a silhouette emerged from the bushes, and it was...
’A bear?’ Elio frowned as he stared at the creature. ’A cub?’
It was a small grizzly bear, a cub to be exact. It looked relatively harmless as it stopped and stared at him. Their eye contact lasted for a second. Then, the bear fell on its side and started playing around casually.
Elio stared at it, stunned as he put the sword to the side. ’What the hell is even going on? Tsk, I thought it was one of those monsters.’
He said as he was about to turn around to pick Fiona and leave. At that very moment, it suddenly struck him like a lightning bolt...
"Wait... a bear cub?" Elio looked up and stared at it for a second as he muttered. "Where... is its moth-"
*ROAR*
Out of nowhere, a roar shook the entire forest as a large body lunged at Elio out of nowhere. The boy could only see a looming shadow over his head before he was slammed to the ground violently. His body was shaken to the core as if he had been hit by a truck.
*ROAR*
The large grizzly bear crushed him with its paw as it opened its jaw to bite his head off. However, Elio quickly reacted as he put his hands on its jaw, stopping it at the very last second.
"Hnnnnnnnng!" He clenched his teeth as he exerted all the power he could. But the grizzly bear was simply far too strong. His arms shook violently as he kept trying to push it away while kicking with his legs.
’Fuuuuuuuuck!!!’ He cursed. He was losing power rapidly. It didn’t help that he was already so exhausted.
The monster’s razor-sharp claws sliced at his chest, cutting it open with ease. The boy tried to stop himself from screaming even though it was extremely painful.
*ROAR*
The bear shook its head to try to get its hands off of it. The deadly struggle continued for a few cruel seconds as Elio was mauled violently. He suffered several deep scratches to his chest and arms, and even one dangerous close from his throat.
"AAAAAGH! Get off me!" He yelled, desperately trying to scare it, but the bear mother was far too terrified to care. For her, that was a threat to her baby, and she couldn’t let it live.
When Elio’s strength finally waned, and he was about to fail, he tried one last desperate attempt to grab the sword and stab it. However, the monster suddenly yanked him away with its paw, sending him rolling through the ground.
Then, it rushed toward him as he was still trying to recover from the knock.
At that very moment, merely a second before death, a burst of deadly energy exploded out of nowhere. The energy carried so much pressure and threat that it made the world freeze around them for a second.
The bear stopped and stared up at the source of the energy. There, lying against the tree, motionless, was Fiona. Her eyes were barely parted open as she breathed heavily. She looked so weak and fragile.
But her eyes were so dangerous and terrifying that the bear felt its instincts kick in. It cannot mess with that human, no matter what, or it would die.
"Leave... him... be..." Fiona muttered.
Those words were the last nail in the coffin as the bear turned around and ran away, followed by its cub.
"Hah... Hah... Hah..." Fiona breathed heavily as her eyes rolled back a bit and she fell to the side, unable to even muster the strength to think.
"E... lio..." She muttered.
The boy slowly stood up. He swayed left and right before he looked at Fiona, all battered up.
"..." His expression was just filled with tired shock.
Fiona... had made the bear escape with her mere aura.