Chapter 27 — Survival Of The Fittest...?

Yasu's fingers tighten around the hilt of his sword, knuckles whitening. The bear takes another step forward, its glowing stripes flickering like embers in the dim light. A low growl rumbles from its chest, a sound that vibrates through Yasu’s bones.
"It knows I’m here."
He slowly backs away behind the bush, every muscle coiled for a fight or flight—though with this forest feeling more and more alive with unseen eyes... running might be worse than standing still.
"Alright," he breathes under his own exhale between clenched teeth before muttering aloud just enough to hear himself over pounding pulse hammering inside ears: "Definitely not packin' snacks anymore."
The bear lets out another growl, this one louder, sharper, filled with aggression. It steps out of the shadows into the opening, its form massive and imposing. 
Yasu swallows hard, his heart pounding in his throat. The bear is closer now, the glowing stripes across its body almost... pulsing in time with its aura. 
"Great," he mutters under his breath, his fingers instinctively tightening around the sword's grip. "Of course it can smell fear."
Yasu watches, utterly baffled, as the massive bear suddenly pauses mid-step. Its glowing stripes flicker erratically for a moment before dimming entirely. Then, without warning—the creature turns its hulking body and lumbers off into the undergrowth.
"...Did I just get ignored?" he whispers after it’s gone, staring at the space where death had beenseconds ago.  
A beat passes before he lets out a slow breath through his nose and finally releases his white-knuckled grip on his sword hilt with an amused scoff: "Guess even monsters have standards."
The butterfly—small, delicate, and utterly inconvenient—lands right on the bridge of Yasu’s nose. His breath hitches as he freezes mid-hold in place.
Then it happens: a loud, abrupt 
ACHOO!
His sneeze echoes through the forest like an alarm bell. The bear’s head whips around instantly—its glowing stripes flaring back to life as its dark aura surges with renewed aggression.
Yasu blinks rapidly after the betrayal by insect-winged disaster now fluttering away innocently while muttering under his own exhausted disbelief: "Really? A butterfly?! Out of all things!"
The bear's eyes narrow dangerously, its breath coming out as a low, rumbling growl as it begins charging towards him. Yasu can barely breathe as the realization sinks in—this isn't a case of the bear losing interest… he's pissed now.
"Well, that’s just fantastic," he mutters, backing away as fast as he can while still trying not to trip over tree roots while clutching his sword. "Stupid bear, stupid forest, stupid bug…"
The bear charges straight on with unnatural speed, closing the gap faster than Yasu could breathe. He stumbles back, heart leaping into his throat. The bear's massive claw slashes through the air—and by instinct alone, Yasu dives out of the way, rolling into a low crouch.
He quickly scrambles back up, sword shaking in his clenched fist. "What—the—hell," he gasps, adrenaline surging, "just happened?!"
The bear doesn't seem tired, just... angrier; the glow of its stripes seems constant now, its aura pulsing violently. It takes a step towards him, teeth bared, gaze like a hunter.
Yasu backs up again—but the trees behind him offer no more room to retreat. His gaze flicks around, desperate, panic surging alongside the adrenaline.
"Damn it," he growls under his breath, holding his sword out in front of him in a defensive stance. "Okay, beast. You wanna play this the hard way?"
With a sharp exhale, Yasu moves.  
He lunges forward—sword flashing in the dim light, and aims for one of the bear’s glowing stripes. The blade connects with a sickening thud, slicing deep into its side.
The bear roars in pain, staggering back as dark energy flickers erratically around it like disturbed static. But instead of retreating… it just seems angrier now; its red-striped markings flare brighter than ever before while charging straight towards him again at terrifying speed!
"Shit!" Yasu barely has time to yank his sword free before twisting out way entirely last second possible, but not without feeling heat from breath against his neck.
The bear's jaws snap shut on empty air, inches from Yasu's face. 
He staggers back, his body tense, adrenaline pumping through his veins. He can feel the heat radiating off the bear, the rage radiating off it in waves. 
His teeth clenched, he holds his ground despite trembling legs. "C'mon," he gasps between shallow breaths, his voice tight with tension. "C'mon, you big bastard… make your move!"
The bear snarls, its glowing stripes pulsing erratically—its energy unstable now. For a brief moment, Yasu sees an opening: the creature's movements are slightly off-balance from his earlier strike.
He doesn't hesitate this time.  
With every ounce of strength left in him, he dives forward and slams his sword straight into one of those pulsing red lines on its side, just as deep as before if not deeper this time around too! 
A sickening crunch echoes through forest air between them both when blade connects bone directly beneath fur-covered hide; dark blood spurts outwards freely across ground below while monstrous beast lets out pained roar unlike anything natural world should produce normally ever again without consequence afterwards either way at all really…
And then?
It collapses to its knees first before toppling sideways onto the dirt path heavily with finality. The aura surrounding the body flickers wildly… then dies completely soon after leaving behind only stillness where death had occurred moments before.
Yasu stands there panting heavily; sword still embedded within carcass for a second longer until finally pulling free with a wet squelch sound.
He stumbles back, wiping the sweat from his brow with a trembling hand. The forest is eerily silent now—no rustling leaves, no distant animal cries. Just... stillness.
His legs feel like they're about to give out beneath him as he leans against a nearby tree for support, trying to catch his breath while staring at the bear’s lifeless form sprawled on the ground before him.
"Okay," he mutters hoarsely after a long moment passes by without interruption or movement except his own shaky exhale leaving his lips slowly again: "That could've gone worse."  
A pause follows where Yasu glances down at the blood-soaked blade in disbelief briefly before shaking his head and forcing himself upright despite exhaustion threatening to drag him under.
"...Hope whatever else lurks here stays scared off for the rest night," He adds under breath quietly, half-joking but mostly serious while carefully sheathing sword back into place safely once more around his hip securely enough so won’t fall loose unexpectedly during the next close call involving anything else dangerous wandering these woods unnoticed earlier today already.
Then...
A sharp, searing pain lances through Yasu’s side—below his ribs, right where the bear had lashed out earlier. His breath hitches as he looks down in disbelief at the deep gash now bleeding freely beneath him.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me—" He grits out between clenched teeth while pressing one hand against the wound instinctively, which only makes everything hurt worse but damn if it isn't better than nothing. Blood seeps through fingers immediately despite pressure applied there already too late for much else really except hoping like hell this forest doesn’t have anything worse lurking nearby.
"Damnit," he hisses through gritted teeth, adrenaline quickly replaced with agony.
"Of course, the bastard had to sneak in one last hit..." he mumbles under his own breath before slowly sinking to his knees, leaning heavily against the nearest tree while waiting for the searing pain to ease up a little bit.