I slip off a few meters from where I originally was. I hit the ground hard and slowly tried to get my self together. As I got my bearings, I see the large boulder that had been hoisted to pummel me. My arms had many bruises from the flying debris, they sting badly and ever so irritating is the taste of dirt that filled my mouth.
I remember this taste, this sensation, I felt it before. I remember that I had already been through something like this, or maybe something close to this. The grueling battle, the odds stacked up against me. I knew it all too well for me to falter and give up now, because if I had given up back then, I might have never been who I am right now.
I feel the ground rumble once again. One behemoth starts charging towards me, creating a massive dust cloud which looks similar to the one we saw earlier before we were hit within the forest. The other one behind it which I struck on the eye haphazardly throws soil and stones towards me but thankfully, the tall Indicus trees shield me from above. My original plan was to draw them near the edge of the Grand Treeline, make them follow me inside and lose them in the forest.
I can try to lose the one in pursuit of me and try to ask the Demon for help to subdue the last one that’s throwing debris. But this wouldn’t assure our safety as if it finds its way back to us while we’re moving Shinji and Jade, we’d all be defenseless. I start to look around for a weapon to use. The clouds clear up from the sky, allowing the moon cast its strong light. As the moonlight cleared the darkness of the night, I see something interesting beside the large boulder.
I run towards it and see that the decapitated head of the behemoth that was killed earlier had been smashed down by the boulder. The horns it wore were broken in half, bloodied but useful. One horn was about three and a half feet long while the other was four feet in length. Some left over skull fragments on the bottom parts of the horns formed like a thin grip. I grab on to the bottom of the horns. It was a bit slippery, so I clenched it harder; I can feel the pieces of flesh all over my hands. I can continue with my plan earlier, to stab them using these horns but now, I must be on the offensive.
The behemoth racing towards me jumps up in the air. I quickly reacted and dodged as soon as I can, jumping on the towering Indicus trees’ branches. As it descended, it smashed the ground leaving a meteor-like crater, making trees fall as dust once again covers the field.
It roars wildly as it kept stomping on the broken ground beneath it. If I won’t be able to dodge it quickly enough, I could get caught as it destroys my body entirely. I felt a deep sense of fear, but I had no plans of running away. I need to save Shinji and Jade as payment for all the lives I lost inside the forest.
It’s my responsibility to keep them alive and bring them back safe with minimal damage. As a commander, I have failed to uphold to my duties, but I can’t let those young individuals perish when they still have their futures to look forward to.
I look at the behemoth beneath me, focusing my attention to its head. I jump off the branch where I was standing and kick off of the tree’s trunk, bulleting down to the behemoth with high speeds. As I come closer to it, I realize that it looked more like a buffalo. Under the bright moonlight, I can see it clearly, it was a large Black Buffalo, kind of like the ones we saw this morning before we got to the Grand Treeline Forest.
I try to slash it down, hitting its face but the blunt exterior of the horns didn’t cut through. I saw blood coming out of its nose signaling to me that I only broke its facial bones. It started to roar as it stomps the ground like a child. I hold the horns in my hand in reverse, planning to use them as daggers. I realize that the only way to use these horns effectively are to use them to puncture the behemoth’s body just like when the Demon lured the other behemoth earlier.
A roar sounded from a distance as soil and rocks fall from the sky once again. It seems that these behemoths communicate with their roars. As heavy debris fall from the sky, I take a deep breath. I pulled the hood of the Demons vest that I have on over my head and charge straight to the behemoth with the broken nose. It swings its right fist and tries to knock me out. I leaped high and jumped on its right arm and start running. As I reach its shoulder, I jumped to its back and stabbed it with both of the horns in my hands as it lets out a wild and deafening roar.
It’s too massive to be able to catch me up front and it has a limited range of movement as its limbs are shorter than its torso. I didn’t notice it before but the answers to our problems were obvious. We beat these things with speed and intellect. Their weights, their size, they’re all too slow to keep track of us as long as we position ourselves well. We had the upper hand the whole time, we just needed to properly coordinate our attacks.
The answer was so simple, but I couldn’t see it earlier because I was panicking. I couldn’t get myself to calm down properly even if I wanted to because I feared of dying and knowing that my Onyx Blade was not by my side.
As the smoke and noise on the battlefield died down, I can finally hear myself think once again without having to doubt my abilities. I only regret that I had to waste all this time and for the Demon to knock a bit of sense into me just for me to regain my lost confidence.
I kick off from its back and pulled out the horns from its body. The puncture holes will make it bleed profusely as the loss of blood will definitely slow it down, hopefully killing it in the process as well.
It turns around to me once again, but I didn’t give it enough time to make a move. I immediately dashed towards its legs and stabbed them. Two stabs to both left and right legs should do the trick. It won’t be able to stomp or even leap high enough to be able to create that meteor-sized crater like before.
The behemoth loses its footing and collapses to the ground on its back, creating a loud sound and spreading dust and dirt around it. I approach it and see it still gasping for air. I stab it on the back, making sure to hit its heart for good measure, putting an end to one of our problems.
Finally, there’s one left. I run out to the edge of the forest at top speed, aiming towards the final behemoth. There are giant holes in the ground surrounding it, likely due to it throwing debris towards me from earlier.
I stop and analyze the surroundings, trying to make plans on how I can easily take it down. If I suddenly fall into one of the pits, it can have dire consequences. But then, I heard someone screaming at me from a distance.
“Onyx Blade, I shall distract the beast, go forth and do what you must,” the Demon said to me.
“No, I can do this myself, you’re going to die if you move closer,” I irritatingly replied to it.
I see the Demon running to the behemoth. It was maneuvering across the pits as if they were nonexistent. The Demon reaches the behemoth, it jumps on its back clinging on to the behemoth’s neck. The Demon punches it on the head with unfathomable speeds, like a machine gun unloading all the bullets from its drum. I can see the behemoth’s head lightly shaking up and down due to the Demon’s hard punches.
I was surprised and amazed as the Demon’s inhuman strength is once again showcased right before my very eyes. But I am not to be outdone. I race towards the behemoth tracking its movements. It’s trying to reach the Demon on its back which acts as a good distraction. I leap high and stab it on the abdomen with one horn then I stood on the horn piercing him on the stomach, I jump and stab it on its head with the other horn as it collapses to its knees.
The Demon and I jump off of the behemoth as it falls to the ground. As it breathed its last, it signaled the ending one of the most exhausting battles I have ever had. I pull out the horns I used as the Demon approaches me on the side and looks towards the fallen beast.
“That was a fierce battle. The show you provided along with it was most impressive,” the Demon said while catching its breath.
“Good. Glad you enjoyed it. After all, you’re going to be next,” I proudly replied to it as I shake off the blood on the horns I’m holding.
“Yes, but on to the matters at hand. What are these creatures?” The Demon asked me in a serious tone.
“You tell me. From what I see here, this is a black water buffalo but on a more massive scale than what it originally was,” I said to the Demon while inspecting the behemoth further.
The Demon takes out a glass vial from one of the pouches on its belt. The Demon inspects the behemoth’s head and takes a piece of skin and tissue from the puncture holes I created earlier.
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