Now that the shield was gone, the combat would be several times harder.
Because the bison would no longer focus on Calin, it would try to kill anyone in the group. It would no longer be as easy to hurt him.
Not to mention they would have to dodge his one hundred and twenty kilometers-per-hour charges every time. That would not be an easy task.
The bison charged at Zoe, probably because she had planted her spear several times into him, enraging the beast.
She ran to her left, but the bison instantly turned too, following her and nearly catching her back. He was not even a meter away before she suddenly veered to her right, dodging the bison.
Sirius, who had followed the bison as fast as possible, slashed at his back and got blinded by a spray of blood—he had underestimated the force of the projection.
The bison instantly turned, enraged by the hit, and charged at Sirius, who was now dangerously close. Sirius dodged by jumping, but still got grazed by the tip of the bison's left horn on his left arm. The wound was narrow, but he was bleeding—worsening with each passing second.
It was not the first time Sirius bled, from training, from a real battle wound. It hurt—but less than he imagined. Maybe because he had already bled so much during training.
Sirius was still in the air, observing the battle. Zoe had thrown her spear into the bison's eye and switched to her crossbow. Charlie and Colin were close, ready to strike if the bison made a mistake, and Rosie was swinging her long zweihander, trying to sever a leg.
The fight was going well—for everyone except Sirius. The bison, still focused on him, was tracking him mid-air, ready to impale him the moment he fell.
And no matter what his group did, they wouldn't be able to stop the bison. Sirius would be skewered the second he hit the ground.
Sirius closed his eyes as he slowly fell—directly toward the beast's right horn. If he did nothing, he would truly die.
But how could he die, when he still had so much to accomplish? That wasn't part of the plan.
Cycle-Ending Bloom, ninth movement — Sky Rend.
Sirius swung his long Hendirun saber at the bison's right horn. The blade passed through the brick-solid bone and embedded itself deep into the bison's back.
The top part of the horn—its deadly tip—was broken. Fifty centimeters of it gone. The saber, still lodged in the bison's flesh, was buried deep.
The bison had taken a major blow, yet Sirius couldn't pull the saber out. It was chained by the dense muscle of the beast.
That was… not good news.
His saber was his only weapon. That meant he had to stay on the bison's back for a while, trying to retrieve it while the others continued the fight.
He placed his second hand on the hilt, using all his strength to pull it out. The wind whipped through his hair as the beast ran, his veins bulging with effort.
He had to be fast—his group would have to fight without him otherwise.
And he wasn't even sure he could stay on the bison's back for long. Holding on at one hundred and twenty kilometers per hour was not easy.
The bison charged at Rosie, while Charlie jumped, gripping both axes and planting them in the beast's ribs.
Colin slashed at the bison's abdomen, and Zoe fired as many bolts as she could with her crossbow.
Rosie tried to dodge to the right—where the horn had been partially destroyed—but the bison caught her. His head slammed into her abdomen. She was sent flying, unconscious. The bison was too strong, even for Rosie.
Charlie and Zoe were too far to reach her, and Sirius was still stuck on the bison's back. Only Colin was close enough.
But the moment Colin turned toward her, the bison charged at him—like it had all been a trap.
Sirius, realizing the situation was dire, twisted his saber. With all his strength—and all his will—he carved nearly fifty centimeters of flesh from the bison's back, finally pulling the blade free.
The bison roared in pain, halting his charge—but not before his left horn grazed Colin's back, piercing a small hole.
Colin, ignoring the pain, jumped and grabbed Rosie's unconscious body.
The hole wasn't wide—nothing fatal—but serious enough to stop him from fighting.
Colin was close to calling a retreat. But three of them remained, and no one was in a life-threatening state. They would continue—for now.
Sirius, who had just leapt from the bison's back, slashed again—this time at the beast's left foreleg, nearly severing it. The bison turned toward him, but at this moment, Zoe, perfectly aligned, grab her crossbow and shot into the bison's second eye.
The eye instantly exploded. The bison now had two gaping holes where its eyes once were, blood pouring from them as if hell itself was bleeding.
The bison was now blind. Victory was near.
But it still wasn't over. When a beast is cornered—that's when it's most dangerous.
The bison, furious, charged at Charlie, it seem even without eyes he can see his enemis with others sense.
Yet Sirius swung again and finally severed the bison's left foreleg. The beast collapsed instantly—its three remaining legs unable to support its weight.
The bison tried to rise—but failed. It no longer had the strength.
The group sighed at the sight. The fight had been brutal. Rosie was still unconscious, Colin had a hole in his back, and Sirius's arm was bleeding. Zoe and Charlie were unscathed, though.
The battle had been short, but intense. They had planned to play it slow—but nothing had gone as expected.
Charlie slowly walked toward the beast. Blood soaked the earth—the bison had lost a lot. Blind, missing a leg, and bleeding heavily, it was out of the fight.
Charlie raised his double axe and brought it down, splitting the bison's head in two. There was resistance—but not enough to stop the axe.
The bison was dead. And the group was alive.
Sirius's first quest was a success.