No Rest for The Weary : Part II

A cacophony of crow cawed in disarray, sending a forbidding shiver down Leonard’s spine. He gazed upon the forest’s canopy; light filtered through leaves, yet a dreadful feeling tinged in the air as they strolled along the riverbank. However, a sudden trumpet-like roar tore the puzzled forest, suppressing all other sounds. Once bustling with its whistling, the forest fell awfully silent, as if cowering in fear at the beast's roar.

The bear was near; Leonard had no doubt about it. He clung further into the boy’s cape. Leonard's heart skipped a beat; it was no lie that it frightened him. Never had he heard such a strong roar up close. Let alone a roar, he never saw a bear with his own eyes before, only on the internet, not even when he was on the Earth.

Leonard glanced at the boy. His face was rather steady, expected from a swordsman. His hand delved into his bag, searching for something. Is he going to use the red gem bomb? Instead of the gem, a small vial came out of the bag. The murky green content reminded him of that mushroom tea. Without hesitation, the boy drank almost half of it before giving it out to Leonard.

“Bedrant,” said the boy. Leonard’s intuition told him that he should drink it, though he was unsure what it was.

As he took a sip, he coughed a little, recognizing the similarity to the mushroom tea he had this morning. Perhaps it was the leftover tea that the boy saved. Now that he thought about it, the mushroom tea might be a potion after all; perhaps it's a potion for boosting protection.

The boy gestured to Leonard to climb his back and carefully trudged along through the fallen tree that fell onto the riverbank, giving them access to the higher ground. As they peek through the dense foliage, something crept in through the ravine below.

There it was.

The bear.

Leonard's eyes widened. “T-that thing’s huge,” he murmured, quite shaky.

Its enormous size was nearly as tall as the ravine’s steep slope. From its body, it was clear how many attempts the beast was being hunted—as signs of slashes, wounds, and arrows scattered all over. Savage beast, unyielding to death.

“Leon!” the boy called upon his name. His face was rather serious.

“Alsie aliet subernerd [to me], [I want you to run] alsen ravas [you can!],” said the boy, filled with determination. The boy was a fine swordsman, no doubt about that, but to Leonard, he caught some words that he said.

Leonard froze for a moment. With only a limited vocabulary, words seemed like a curb to him. “[NO!]” shouted Leonard; the only word that he could express himself about his feelings about him. I’m just a hindrance. No, he didn’t want to leave him, ever, and never he had the intention of leaving his friend behind. After all he had done, he couldn’t just leave him like that.

The boy looked over at him. His eyes grew dull and distant, almost as if he was remorseful for what he had said. He placed his hand over Leonard’s head and ruffled his hair. Leonard didn’t mind it this time.

The boy handed over his bag to Leonard, fixing his posture as he prepared himself to join the fray. Instead of his sword, the boy drew his stiletto dagger from his belt. Leonard had no idea why he did that, especially against a bear as ferocious as that, but he was sure the boy had a plan in his head mapped already.

With the dagger in hand, the boy lunged toward the side of the bear and stabbed his dagger into the bear. Just as any living being could feel pain, a roar shook the surrounding forest.

The boy used the dagger as a tool so that he could cling into the bear’s body, while his other hand drew the sword from its sheath. But it seemed the bear ignored him as the beast drew its attention to something else.

It was the girl who screamed before, Leonard thought. She was the only survivor of the hunter group, barely escaping from the bear's massacre.

Rather than run away herself, the girl stood frozen in place, surrounded by the cascades behind her. She gripped an intricate staff with both hands, sheltering herself inside what appeared to be a barrier spell, provoking the bear's attention away from the boy.

With controlled motion, the girl tapped her staff to the shallow river, weaving intricate patterns in the air before striking it against the shallow river once more. A surge of radiant light rippled through the water, causing her ground to tremble and shake lightly. As the water started to bubble, a figure emerged from beneath the surface, composed of clay and dirt.

“Lilieflour heard this once before, it… it is a golem,” the fairy spoke in excitement, as it was the first time for her to see such magic.

“A golem?” chimed in Leonard, intrigued by her statement. He looked closely, but the figurine didn’t resemble any golem features that he had on in his imagination. If anything, the golem she summoned looked more like a clone, a replica of her.

Her golem extended her staff, transforming its tip into a spearhead—granting her greater reach against the bear. “She could do that?” surprised Leonard.

As nothing stood between her and the bear, she dashed forward and so too the bear prepared itself, bearing its claw.

With a swift motion, she danced through the barrage of slashes, her movements almost ethereal, as if she were waltzing with her foe. Despite its ferocity, she reacted to it fairly well, evading each attack with ease, leaving her unscathed not a bit. With a last flourish, she parried the bear's strike with her polearm, briefly halting its momentum, and as she pirouetted to dodge, she extended her arm and thrust the polearm into the bear's forelimb.

A wail, a roar, once again heard. Blood spilled to the shallow river, turning it into crimson red.

In retaliation, the bear reacted swiftly by pushing its massive paw onto her; the force causing the cliff on the other side to collapse onto her in a cascade of crumbling rock and earth.

Her main body, inside the barrier, jolted from the impact. Though even there was no visible wound from her, Leonard could tell that it took her immense energy for her body to drain out.

The boy, still clinging to his dagger, saw this as an opportunity to land a few strikes on the bear. He swung his body upside down, using his newfound leverage to pull himself to the bear's back. The wound from a previous battle by the hunter proved to be a vulnerable spot; he raised his sword, pointing it down, and pierced it to the same wound, causing a roar of pain to be heard again.

The bear gnashed its teeth, roaring and growling in irritation. With a surge of strength, it stood up on its hind legs, causing the boy to lose his balance and tumble beneath the bear. As he lay down, his eyes stared blankly over the looming shadow cast upon him. The bear's front paw was ready to strike the boy with its claws.

“Oi, he’s not moving!” shouted Leonard.

The girl took notice of the boy's sudden silence. With her golem raised from the debris, she lunged forward, grabbed the boy, and narrowly dodged the bear's lacerating strike.

“Is he having a death wish or what?” said the fairy.

Inside the barrier, the girl was nearly tired out; her movements becoming sluggish as she sank to one knee. With her determination to continue the battle, she tried to rise, with the help of her staff as her support, but ultimately succumbed to the ground.

Looking at the bear, it seemed the boy’s slashes began to effect, as its movement started to slow down. Blood dripped from its mouth, yet it showed no sign of relenting. It was as if the bear had already accepted its fate, determined to bring both the boy and the girl along with it.

“Hey, Snotty kid, the bear is not slowing down any minutes,” said the fairy, tapping her hand on Leonard's shoulder.

“I-I know what,” his voice trembled. “I don’t want him to die!”

“Then what is your plan? You will not let him die just like that, right?”

Leonard froze for a moment. Of course, he didn't want to. He didn't even know his name yet.

“The bag! lemme search it.” His hand fumbled into the bag, searching for something.

The bear, with limped movements, lumbered forth towards them. The golem stood unpiloted with the girl's now gone—slowly crumbling into dust. Despite the odds, the boy refused to succumb to his fate. With a glint of hope gleaming in his eyes, he rose to his feet and took the polearm from the golem’s grasp. With a scream catching his throat, he hurled it at the advancing bear just as before the golem began to fade into dust.

Yet his effort seemed to be futile, as the polearm finally dissolved into nothing before it could touch the bear.

“There it is!” exclaimed Leonard.

The boy sank to the ground and hunched down on his shoulder. With no hope left, he surrendered his life to whatever the creature had in store for him. Fate as it may be, he lacked any left to reserve, and no weapon to wield. Preservation seemed to cease within him. Yet, he cast one last gaze upon Leonard.

To his surprise, a glistening light caught his eyes, dancing in Leonard's palm. It reignited a spark within him, a glimmer of one last hope against the formidable bear.

“Hey, you! Don’t you dare die on me yet!” shouted Leonard as his shrill voice echoed through the forest. “I don’t care if you don't understand me, but… but please survive. I still need you! And I still don't know your name yet!”

Leonard put the so-called red gem bomb on the cliff's edge, attempting to activate it by stabbing it with his dagger. After several attempts, the gem finally cracked, just as he had seen before, and then he threw it under the beast.

The gem erupted into an asterism of spark, casting large smoke into its surroundings. Hindered by the smoke, he heard a thunderous sound coming beneath him.

The cliff began to crumble beneath his feet before he managed to flee himself, plunging him into the fallen debris below.