Chapter 32: Hunted and Hunting
Peter ran as fast as his legs allowed, with Selene doing the same a dozen meters ahead of him. Both were closing in on the cluster of trees he had chosen as their destination moments earlier.
But he had no time to focus on his target.
Sensing movement behind him, Peter dodged to the right, and a split second later, the ungainly leg of the creature slammed down where he had just been, trying to grab them.
Although the structure of its legs didn't allow it to truly grasp its prey, every strike was strong enough to break trees in half.
Without dwelling on how close he had come to death, Peter rolled to maintain his speed and resumed running.
After the failed attack, the creature momentarily lost its balance, giving him a brief advantage, one that disappeared seconds later as the monster's superior speed closed the gap.
And as it prepared for another strike, something happened that it did not expect.
Instead of hitting empty air, its limb struck resistance, a tree.
A moment later, a violent impact followed as the monstrosity collided with the trunk of a larger tree.
The force of the collision was so immense that the tree, at least half a meter thick, bent about forty degrees toward the ground.
Peter used the moment and struck directly at the beast's hind leg, aiming at the knee joint.
This time his sword did some damage.
The blade sank several centimeters and stopped only at the bone, cutting through all the muscles and tendons.
The creature roared in pain, trying to reach for the attacker, but under the injury's weight its right hind leg couldn't support its body, and it partially collapsed onto the grass.
Peter wanted to strike again, but the monster twisted unnaturally, rolling onto its back and then onto its stomach again, this time with its maw facing him.
He was forced to flee.
Despite the missed opportunity, Peter had achieved his goal, he had lured the creature between the trees.
This granted him several small advantages: reduced visibility for the monster, more than for them, and since it was far larger than the two humans, the dense tree trunks restricted its movement much more.
Their only concern was not to step out of that natural cover.
Peter shouted loudly, searching for his companion.
"Selene?!"
"Here!"
She answered almost immediately, and to his surprise, she had already positioned herself directly behind the monstrosity, ready to follow his commands.
Pleasantly surprised, Peter told her to wait, then analyzed the situation again.
On the creature's side stood its strength and endurance, possibly speed as well, though that was now limited by the trees.
On Peter and Selene's side stood numerical advantage and the ability to think logically and plan.
The only unknown was how powerful the beast was in terms of magical capability and whether it could use magic effectively.
Peter decided they would learn that only during the fight and called out again.
"Selene! Attack only when that thing charges at me! And when it turns toward you, run immediately between the trees. That's my cue. And don't use all your strength, you'll lose your balance!"
After a brief pause, he added:
"And if you can, aim for places responsible for movement, like knees or the groin!"
Selene nodded, gripping her sword tightly and preparing for the right moment.
Meanwhile, for the first time since the battle began, the creature stood still, perhaps realizing it would have to work hard for this meal.
Peter spun his wrist, letting his blade turn once before lowering its tip and slowly circling the creature.
Seeing this, Selene mirrored him from the opposite side, ensuring that for the monster to switch targets, it would have to rotate a full one hundred eighty degrees.
'Smart girl.'
Peter thought briefly, still watching the enemy.
A moment later, the creature attacked again, slower than before, meaning the knee wound was affecting it.
Even so, Peter barely escaped its range and slashed near its face to draw its attention.
At the same time, Selene lunged forward and, clumsily, but effectively, struck the area where a human's calf would be.
When the monster turned toward her, Peter slashed toward its face again, but the moment his sword connected, chills shot up his arm, the blade struck the creature's skull, hard as steel.
Feeling another wave of pain, the monster swung at him again, and Peter dodged behind a tree.
Moments later, the area exploded with wooden splinters and shards as the tree snapped in half, nearly hitting Peter.
Peter's heart stopped for a heartbeat; if he had stood only a few centimeters closer to the trunk, his ribs, his left arm, and likely his spine would have snapped like matchsticks.
But he didn't allow himself to be distracted and immediately returned his focus to the fight.
Seeing Peter in a desperate situation, Selene struck again, this time hitting the creature's back.
But despite all her force, her sword sank only a few centimeters, and worse, she did not retreat in time to avoid the counterattack.
Sensing that the strike had come from behind, the beast kicked backward with its right leg, hitting Selene in the stomach.
Even though that leg was injured, the blow was so powerful that she flew more than a meter before hitting the grass.
She doubled over, trying to catch her breath, and let out a short, strangled moan of fear and pain.
Seeing the second attacker lying on the ground, unarmed now that her sword was lodged in its back, the creature immediately lunged toward Selene.
She saw the approaching mountain of flesh and, despite the pain, rolled as far as she could to the right, toward the creature's left side, which forced it to shift its weight onto its right limbs.
Under that strain, its wounded hind leg buckled again, and the beast stumbled, giving her precious seconds.
At the same moment, Peter raised his sword with both hands and, with the tip still pointing downward, thrust it into the creature's left leg, piercing skin, sliding past bone, and striking the earth and stones beneath, effectively pinning the limb to the ground.
He ducked just in time to avoid the beast's wild sweeping attack.
Then he sprinted toward Selene, making what to many would seem like a mistake, leaving his weapon behind, buried in the monster's leg.
But Peter had to get Selene out of immediate danger, and at any moment, with a mental command, he could dissolve his sword into his soul and resummon it after several seconds.
Moments later, he was beside Selene.
Ignoring her pained groans, he grabbed her by the shoulder with one hand, lifted her across his other shoulder, and ran toward a thicker patch of trees.
The creature tried to cut them off, but the sword pinning its leg sent a fresh jolt of agony through its body, making its left leg convulse violently.
With a roar, it ripped the blade free and flung it behind itself, then stumbled after them.
After running roughly twenty meters between the trees, Peter set Selene against a trunk, dismissed his sword with a gesture, and watched the approaching creature.
"You okay?"
He asked in a calm tone, showing no hesitation or fear, the last thing he needed was for his only ally to doubt herself.
Selene, still clutching her stomach and struggling for breath, replied through clenched teeth:
"I think… urghh. How the hell are we supposed to kill that thing?This is not, this can't be possible"
"Calm down. For now, take a deep breath and summon your sword again, I didn't have time to look for it when I ran for you. We'll figure out a way to gut this monstrosity."
Opening his palm, ready to catch his sword the moment it materialized, he moved several meters away from Selene to maintain distance and make attacking harder for the creature.
"If you have an idea how, try using your Aspect! It might help!"
Then he dove behind a thicker tree, picked up a larger branch, and hurled it at the monster, drawing its attention and buying Selene more time.
Meanwhile, he tried to think of anything that could help him fight.
He still didn't know how to use his Aspect properly, and the enchantments on his sword and cloak had no practical combat use right now.
The only thing that came to mind was a technique his master had taught him theoretically during training.
It involved enriching his bloodstream with particles of magic energy, allowing him to use magic.
Every human who entered Ether gained the ability to absorb magic from the environment and magical objects, though the degree varied.
This energy, once absorbed, was stored near the blood vessels in particles smaller than blood cells.
They had many uses, but the relevant one was their ability to enhance the user's muscles and stamina when introduced into the bloodstream.
Peter tried to recall everything he had learned about the technique while playing a deadly game of cat and mouse with the creature, which, despite injuries to both hind legs, still chased him, crushing trees in its path, slowly closing distance.
Gaining a small amount of distance that granted him time to think, Peter paused mentally, still watching the creature while analyzing his plan.
In theory, the principles and method sounded simple.
In practice, forcing foreign particles of unknown energy into the arteries was a formidable task.
Peter knew how to do it, he had even done it the same night he tried to use his Aspect for the first time.
After all, to use it, he needed to awaken those energies.
Peter was forced to dodge as the monster swung at him again.
A sound of cracking wood echoed, but this time the tree didn't split completely in half, though the damage was still terrifying.
At the same moment, a branch struck the monster's face and shattered into ice fragments, leaving a patch of frostbitten skin.
Then another struck.
Selene was using her Aspect on the sticks and throwing them.
The attacks didn't do much damage, but they disoriented the creature.
Peter slashed upward toward its neck and immediately retreated, irritated by the poor result, this time he hadn't even managed to cut through the creature's skin.
Seeing this, Peter knew he had to strengthen his body with magic enough to inflict real harm.
But for now, he needed distance.
He retreated deeper into the trees, careful not to leave their cover, while focusing on the delicate link that allowed him to manipulate magic.
It wasn't easy, but Peter had the tools he needed.
He activated the ability that accelerated his perception, allowing him to time dodges more precisely.
Meanwhile, Selene continued throwing frozen sticks, though the monster ignored her entirely, its only target was Peter.
He felt the magic energy within him and forced it to circulate through his bloodstream.
It was a strange sensation, almost like the blood transfusion he had received after being shot during an operation long time ago, but it brought no immediate result.
So he increased the amount of energy moving through his arteries.
Moments later, dizziness washed over him, like a massive flood of adrenaline pumped into his bloodstream all at once.
It broke his concentration just enough that he lost control of his accelerated perception.
The world suddenly sped up again.
Seeing the monster extend both limbs toward him, Peter tried to retreat, but collided with a tree he hadn't noticed.
With no time to dodge, he instinctively raised his arms to stop the attack, dropping his sword.
Peter was so close to the monster he could smell the putrid stench, like rotten eggs, and noticed thick strands of saliva dripping from its maw.
Strange, the details a person notices when death is inches away.
Knowing that defending himself with his hands was a mistake, Peter thought it was over, but unexpectedly, when the monster's strike met his arms, he found enough strength to slow it.
Not stop it completely, but enough to slip under it.
In a split second, he dove to the ground, caught his falling sword, and rolled left just as the monster's attack obliterated the tree he had been leaning on moments earlier.