The firefly light was still glowing brightly in the clearing. Rain still fell heavily on the broken trees and the unconscious bodies of the combatants.
Aria was not happy to see this scene as she walked in. Muku and Mika had been recovered but it didn't matter since their target was nowhere to be seen.
'Bark! Bark!' Mika started howling at one of the bodies.
Aria stood in front of the body and immediately understood. He was just playing dead.
'Stand up or you will become wolf food.' Aria said.
'Alright! Alright! I am up.' Dylan said as he scrambled to his feet.
It was actually an unexpected boon that he was awake.
'Tell me everything that happened here.' Aria demanded.
Meanwhile in the pitch black jungle.
'What do you mean those two aren't here?'Sofia asked.
'Well, Brian told me that he was going to go back to fight the Kayeri.'Clara said.
'And you let him?'
'Yeah, that's not fair? I was told that we couldn't go. I am going as well.' Millie said.
'No! Don't do that. We are split up enough as it is.' Sofia said.
They were hiding inside a hollow tree bark. They had no source of light and barely any space. The only positive was that they were out of the rain.
'You should have stopped him from going. And now it's too late for us to turn around and look for him. On top of that, the other guy is missing as well. What if we can't find them later.' Sofia said to Clara.
Clara couldn't say anything. When Brian had told her what he intended to do, she was opposed to it. She told him that she won't let him go and in return he just told her, 'I am not asking for your approval, I simply want you to relay this information to the group so that they don't worry.'
Clara wondered what she should have done there. She knew that technically the best move was to tell everyone what Brian was planning or at least keep an eye on him to stop him from slipping away. But for some reason she couldn't make up her mind to do either of those things. She just kept walking quietly until at some point she realized that he was gone.
'I know. I know that I should have stopped him. I just don't know why I didn't.' Clara said in a heavy voice.
Sofia sighed and handed her a roll of thick bandage. She said 'Wrap this over any bit of exposed skin you might have. We have been out in the rain for some time so our repellent might have washed off. Those bandages are thick enough to prevent most insect bites.'
While Clara got busy with wrapping herself in bandages, Sofia focused on examining Millie. She hadn't realized it until Aria had pointed out that Millie was actually very injured. The fact that Millie could still walk and looked completely fine made it seem like she was okay. But on a closer look she realized that Millie actually had a broken rib and bruises all over her body.
'How are you still able to move? You should be in crippling pain.' Sofia said.
'I am in pain, yes. But if I ignore it there is no pain right .' Millie said.
'No! That is not how this works.' Sofia said.
Sofia was annoyed by Millie's attitude but that didn't stop her from trying to help her patient. In the dark she had to mostly work by feel which was difficult but she still somehow managed in that cramped environment. She finished up by giving Millie some pain killer, bandaging up her limbs and throat for big bites and warning her not to move.
'Wow, you are really good at this.' Millie remarked.
'No. I missed how severely you were hurt at first. I still need training.' Sofia said.
'Well, I am quite special so don't worry too much.' Millie said.
Sofia sighed and pulled Viti out of her bag. Aria had entrusted him to her because his feathers had gotten too wet to fly. If she rubbed him with a towel then he might be able to fly a little more.
While she did that Clara looked uneasy.
'Miss Millie, I wanted to ask you something.' She said to Millie.
'What do y-'
Before Millie could finish they heard the deafening sounds of trees falling. The group cautiously looked into the direction of the sound. It was so dark that they couldn't see much but they could hear the familiar sound of indiscriminate destruction.
A lightning strike lit up the sky and in that brief moment they could see the outline of what they feared. The Kayeri had found them.
'How did it find us.' Clara whispered.
'I don't know but stay extremely quiet.' Sofia whispered back.
'But at the rate that it's going, we will be found pretty soon.'
'Just stay still. You too Mi-Where is Millie?' Sofia said.
Millie had already left and was sneaking up on Kayeri. It hurts to move quickly like this but if she could just take it out in one go then they might get out of this unharmed.
It was still incredibly dark so she couldn't quite see him but the Kayeri was loud enough that finding it wasn't actually difficult. She jumped onto its back. It was surprised by the sudden arrival and before it could swat her away Millie grabbed its head and pulled it as hard as she could until it was completely ripped off its body.
Millie fell to the ground while still holding its head. She slowly got up on her feet. Blood was dripping from her nose. The adrenaline was wearing off and the pain was coming back. She needed to go back to the group. Just one step at a time.
Another flash of lightning fell on some trees in the vicinity. The tree caught fire and despite the heavy rain the flame wasn't getting put out. It would probably be put out soon but at least for the time being it helped with visibility.
The Kayeri in its rampant destruction had created a clearing of broken tree stumps. It was the right call to kill it now. If it had been left alone for longer then it would have found their hiding spot. In fact, Millie could see Clara and Sofia from where she was standing. Though, she wondered why they looked so pani-
Something hit her from the side with incredible force. She was thrown into a broken tree. There she saw it. The Kayeri was standing straight despite its missing head. A cloud of white steam was emerging from its neck. It picked up its severed head and placed it back on its neck. In a few seconds the head had been reattached perfectly. It let out a roar as if to check if its throat. Its dark outline was highlighted by the burning inferno behind it. Then it walked towards Millie.
She was still leaning against the broken tree. She tried to get up but her body wouldn't listen to her. It hurt too much. She was too injured to move. She couldn't do anything but just sit as it approached her. She remembered Aria's warning. Would this thing abduct her now.
Suddenly, out of the darkness a small body shot out and rammed into the Kayeri. Clara and Sofia, who were still hiding at a distance, saw that it was Kinon. He was standing on all fours and seemed to be trying to intimidate the Kayeri by arching his back and hissing wildly.
But considering that the Kayeri was 8 feet tall and Kinon was barely 5 feet, it wasn't particularly scary. Kayeri tried to swat Kinon away like a fly. But maybe it should have been more scared as it broke its arms on contact with Kinon.
The damage from the recoil caused its fist to be covered in a white steam. Kinon couldn't quite appreciate the damage he had done as he had shut his eyes on impact.
Kinon wasn't one to pick fights. Whenever something stronger appeared he would just run. He had spent years avoiding tough fights but this was the first time he was standing his ground for something he cared about.
Kinon lunged into the Kayeri and started scratching wildly. The damage was in no way significant but it wasn't something it could ignore. It thrust its arm into his face at high speed but with Kinon's animal instinct he dodged the attack and started running in the direction opposite of Milie.
The Kayeri was right at his tail but he had managed to create some distance between Millie and the fight. Seeing this, Kinon jumped on it and grappled its arm. His attacks were by no means sophisticated. He was just randomly biting and slashing at anything in the vicinity while desperately clinging to its arm.
Though his way of fighting looked more desperate than anything his strength was undeniable. Wherever Kinon struck he left deep dents. And the Kayeri had by now realized that too. It was done taking this small boy lightly.
It swung the arm that Kinon was hanging on into a large rock at full power. The ensuing collision completely destroyed the rock, its arm and moderately hurt Kinon.
The impact launched him a few feet away. He was still trying to stand his ground and intimidate it.
Clara and Sofia were impressed by his resilience and strength but Millie on the other hand had noticed something else. Kinon was slightly shaking. He was scared. This was the first time since coming to this world that something had actually hurt him. He wanted to run but he was still fighting for her. That made her happy. All that time she spent after Kinon must have really mattered to him.
Millie was standing on her feet by now. She hadn't helped Kinon so that he would protect her. And the thought that he would get injured over her was unacceptable.
Millie grabbed the bark of the broken tree. With all her remaining strength she lifted the whole tree in her arms.
'AAAHHHHH!!' Millie let out a warcry as she swung the tree like giant bat right into the Kayeri while being careful to avoid Kinon.
The impact was strong enough to throw the Kayeri into the burning part of the forest. The upper half of its body had been completely crushed in the attack but for good measure Millie hoisted the giant tree above her head and threw it like javelin in Kayeri's direction.
The flames seemed to be burning a little dimmer now. The rain would soon put out the fire.
Millie looked at Kinon who was standing there stunned. She wanted to reassure him that everything was fine. But just as she opened her mouth blood poured out of her mouth and nose. Before she knew it she fell to the ground unconscious.
Kinon ran towards Millie. He purred and meowed at her but she didn't respond. He gently put his hand on her and shook her. Still no response. He looked around in a panicked daze.
'Move over.' Sofia said.
She and Clara had just come out of their hiding spots.
'Its alright. She is our friend.' Clara said cautiously to Kinon. Kinon looked at the two of them suspiciously. Sofia ignored him and went straight to treating Millie. Kinon hissed at her for a few seconds before he realized that she was there to help.
Sofia was really scared by Millie's condition. She was completely unresponsive and blood was seeping out of her nose and mouth. She probably also had multiple broken bones but that would have to be addressed later.
For the time being, she needed to make sure that she didn't suffocate on her own blood. She gently turned her to her side and rubbed her back to let the excess blood in her lungs drain out.
'Is she going to be alright?' Clara asked.
Sofia said in a worried tone 'She was already injured before the fight had even started. On top of that, she recklessly pushed herself past her limits in that state. I can't administer any medicine in this rain without risking an infection. We need to take her to Mr.Wimbell as soon as possible. I can only monitor her condition until then.'
In the distance, the fire was still burning under the forest canopy. The rain drops looked like falling pearls as they tried and failed to put out the flame and smoke. Inside this hellish scene, they saw the outline of a creature emerge.
Its body was mangled and broken. It was standing in an inferno that would have cooked any ordinary animal. The group could only stare in horror as the thing started hopping towards them. With each step the shadow of the creature became sharper, its broken arm a little better and and its twisted torso a little straighter.
Soon, the Kayeri had emerged from the flames. Though the raging steam around it made it look like the inferno itself had started walking towards them.
Clara looked around at the group. Everyone was afraid. Even Kinon, who had put up a brave front uptil now, had covered his head under his arms. Viti was crying as much loudly as he could but he was still unable to help. It was her turn to protect the group.
She opened up her bag and started rummaging through it.
'Think. Think! You must have something that will be effective here.' She thought.
But with each step of the Kayeri, her breathing became heavier. She could see it closing the distance. It was almost healed by now. She needed to do something fast. But her hands kept shaking violently and her mind kept running into dead ends.
'Are you okay?' Sofia was suddenly more worried about her than their situation.
Clara dropped her bag to the ground. She dropped down to pick it up but her hands were too unsteady. She couldn't take it anymore. Through tears she said.
'I don't want to be taken by that thing. I don't want today to be my last day with everyone.'
The rain's sound was by now drowned out by Viti's crying. The Kayeri was completely healed by now. In one jump it closed the distance between them with its hand aimed towards Clara.
Clara flinched and closed her eyes. A few seconds passed with nothing happening. She cautiously opened her eyes and in front of her she saw a very confused Kayeri that was missing its arm.
'You said that you wish to stay here for longer. That sounds like a reasonable wish. How about I grant that by getting rid of that thing while you sit still there.'
Clara looked and indeed there stood Aria. She had a medium sized dagger in one hand and Kayeri's dismembered arm in the other.
'Careful, chief. That thing is dangerous.' Sofia said.
Muku and Mika walked out of the forest and stood next to Aria. She looked at Sofia and in a scandalized tone said.
'Sofi! I didn't realize that you thought so little of me!'
Then she pointed her dagger at Kayeri and in a serious tone said.
'After all, I wouldn't be a very good beast handler if I lost to one wild animal.'