Without waiting for the crow to respond, Damon knelt down as he finished his sentence and gathered a handful of the larger rocks. The game was straightforward. He had to avoid getting hit while aiming to strike the noticeably stronger opponent.
'I'll need to reinforce the rocks using spiritual energy but that could take a minute and they'll definitely hone in on my position..'
Damon didn't believe for a second that the beasts would band together after what just happened. However it was entirely possible for the spiritual energy to trigger some innate instinct to steer their focus to only human present, that being him.
Suddenly another loud bang reached his ears as different scenarios arose in his mind. With quivering eyes, he looked towards the battle and witnessed the tiger standing up with a slight limp.
It seemed the confrontation was about to end. But the beast shook its head precariously to the side as if crudely snapping a bone back into place, expelling a gust of blood and air from its snout.
Quite frankly this left Damon speechless. 'How resilient is this thing..?'
As he began to ponder on how much spiritual energy made the beast that durable, he looked at the crow once more, content with the brownish pile roughly clutched in his right hand. "On my signal I need you to draw their attention by flying into their field of view."
"So this one is to be the bait?" Kuroushi questioned bluntly. "I doubt they'll fall for it but—"
"If their eyes follow you for even just a few seconds that's enough!" Damon narrowed his eyes and sharply interrupted before the bird could prattle on. Taking a single stone from the clutter, he brought it towards the bird's beak and added, "The moment I start pouring my spiritual energy into the rocks and you feel it reach this one that's your signal."
Kuroushi nodded wordlessly before taking it. At the same time the bird strangely started feeling a little worried for the boy's safety.
Naturally Damon hadn't perceived this shift. Using his knowledge of thought matter as a reference base, he began focusing his mind again and entered a half cognitive state, creating more spiritual energy.
He then stared at the simple stones in his hand and the warm stream quickly rushed down his shoulders and arms, flowing into the center of his palms.
The stones lit up with a crimson hue, a cluster of candles in the dark sea of perception.
At once, Kuroushi took flight and propelled its midnight body through the shrubs. The air parted following its path as both beasts' movements halted and their heads snapped upwards.
The hare remained distracted by the crow, a hint of curiosity appearing in its cold eyes. However the white tiger shifted focus almost immediately. The beast resumed the attack, seeking to bite one of the hare's thighs.
But before it could taste that white meat, the hare reacted and swung its bloody fist down.
'That's it!' Damon seized that momentary lapse. His expression became vicious as he quickly grabbed one of the larger rocks and pulled his arm back. Then he hurled it towards the hare.
Bang!
His target had been the beast's eyes but the reinforced stone merely staggered the brawny beast, forcing it to take a step back in the shallow river.
Thud!
In that fleeting instance, the tiger received the thick fist at the base of its skull, wet jaws slamming shut like a poorly made bear trap. Soon after a few of its smaller canines fell to the riverbed.
The strength behind the hare's fist had weakened significantly, allowing the tiger to stave off death once again. Yet the wild feline didn't stop. It lunged forth, taking the opportunity to slash into the hare's leg using its front paws.
However this was a terrible mistake.
Bang!
Suddenly, the hare extended a large foot and delivered a brutal kick to the tiger's flank. One after the other, several snaps echoed as the tiger's ribcage completely collapsed and its body was knocked back a few feet near the uneven river bank.
Damon felt his heart shake and held his breath in utter shock.
The hare's furry head lowered. But it didn't bother looking at the gruesome handiwork of battered flesh and dislodged bones. Its eyes of soul-crushing darkness instead seemed to peer through the distant bushes, marking every inch of his body.
'Dammit I thought it could have lasted longer!' Damon shifted uncomfortably, cursing inwardly. In his heart the resentment for tigers rose tenfold. He was about to flee when the beast unexpectedly averted its large eyes, as if it hadn't noticed him.
'D-did it not see me...?' His pupils contracted, and he quelled the impulse to run. Yet suddenly he felt a strange phenomenon happen behind him.
Amidst the sound of tree leaves rustling, a chill travelled down his spine.
Damon turned his head and saw a gale of wind rushing towards him, ripping away leaves and lightly scratching bark.
'Where the hell did all this wind come from!' Damon creased his eyebrows and echoed another curse.
Fearing that the strong winds could potentially expose him, he drew his dagger again and imbedded the blade into the tree to anchor his body in place. Then he closed his eyes as the torrential winds neared.
The winds rushed by, diverging around the tree and making several shallow cross-hatch cuts on his face but the boy's eyelids remained shut until things settled.
'Is it over..?' Damon opened his eyes and looked towards the direction where the capricious gale had come from.
Around him several bushes had shrunken, losing a quarter of their vibrant leaves and budding flowers. Though the trees fared slightly better, only losing a handful of weaker branches that thinly grew from the lower regions.
As Damon looked upon the damages, Kuroushi slowed down its flight. The bird quickly released the stone nestled in its mouth and its voice rang out.
"It's behind you!"
Immediately after Damon felt another chill behind his back. He reacted on instinct, weaving to the right as he pulled out the dagger.
Bang!
The dark wood fractured as the hare's fist collided with the tree, knocking up dust and displacing roots.
Damon leapt up to the height of the beast's head, seeing an opening at the same time. Tightening his grip on the weapon, he twisted his body and swung at the beast's face.
Shing!
The blade sliced a clean line through the hare's left eye.
At that moment the beast moved two paces back and clutched its face, blood gushing forth like a loose faucet. A subtle whirlwind began to form around its visage as it was screaming in pain. It was hard to discern what was about to follow.
But Damon hadn't missed it either. 'Wind..? The wind from earlier was an attack??'
Determining the hare was still too dangerous, he landed on the ground before leaping back himself.
"Finish it! Now's your chance!" Kuroushi's voice cut through the chaos.
But Damon hesitated. The whirlwind still churned around the hare's face, raw and unpredictable. 'If I rush in... those winds could shred me apart.'
His moment of doubt cost him. The hare's screams subsided into ragged, wet gasps. Its remaining eye, round and quivering, locked onto him. And in that gaze, Damon saw something that made his blood run cold.
Hatred. Pure and absolute.
Then the pressure hit.
It crashed into him like a physical weight, pressing against his chest, his skull, his very soul. Damon's knees buckled as he recognized the sensation.
'This... this is..the same as Tomoe!'
He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stay upright. The pressure was suffocating, a relentless force trying to crush him from within. But as he fought against it, he noticed something strange. The sensation was much weaker than the one had had received from the old woman!
But that wasn't the only thing .
A flicker had suddenly appeared in the hare's gaze. A subtle trace of fear stirred within the darkness.
'Is it... afraid?' Damon's lips curled into a grim smile. He pushed forward, one step at a time, ignoring the pain that lanced through his body.
The hare watched him advance. Its pressure wavered. Then, with a sudden, desperate motion, it stopped entirely and leaped backwards across the river, landing on the opposite bank before vanishing into the treeline.
Damon stood there, blinking, his body still trembling from the residual pressure. It took him a couple seconds to process what had just happened.
"You coward!" he shouted, his voice cracking with disbelief. "Get back here and fight!"
But the forest offered no reply.
Damon exhaled sharply and turned to Kuroushi. "We're going after it."
Without waiting for a response, he sprinted forward and leaped across the river.