"Skreeeee"
The Wyvern let out another shriek.
Its' imposing figure stood several meters tall and over a dozen meters long.
This was a real monster compared to the Mimifowl, one that couldn't be easily dealt with.
'So this is your trump card, you bird bastard?'
Paul internally cursed the Mimifowl for this, as he now understood its' final action.
That wasn't a desperate dying gasp but the Mimifowls' signature skill [Vocal mimicry] and it used the skill to imitate the voice of a female Wyvern in pain, thus luring in an angry male.
Typically it would use this skill to lure in unsuspecting prey and then put it to sleep with its' hypnotic feathers.
It had intended to call the Wyvern and then use the resulting panic to make a swift escape. Afterwards it would have chased it away with its' skill by mimicking the cry of a stronger monster.
However this plan was cut short when Paul dealt the finishing blow, which meant no one present had a way to deal with the approaching flying menace that is an angry Wyvern.
Paul himself was considering his options for escaping.
It might have seemed like he took down the bird monster with ease, but that was because his plan worked perfectly and he caught it off guard. Had the Iglemite not pinned down the monster with their spiked shells, he would have been in for a prolonged fight against a stronger monster.
He had a backup plan just in case and thought himself lucky to not have to use it, but now he regretted not having used it to finish the fight before this happened and developed into a real problem he might not be able to deal with.
The Wyvern was approaching and time was running out.
He had to make a decision, run away or fight? But was fighting against a monster a dozen times stronger than him even an option?
The simple answer was a simple no, he was weak after all.
He looked towards the group and saw them huddle together in a protective circle. Even when their spikes stabbed into each others shells, the Iglemites were still getting closer together.
They knew that they weren't fast enough to run and doing nothing would make them into an easy meal.
'It would be a shame to abandon the Iglemite group here, but that might be my only option for survival in this case. If I use them as bait … '
Paul turned around to run away, however his body refused to move even if all logic told him to not stay still.
'Is that really okay? Am I okay with this?'
He saw the Wyvern closing in rapidly, barely a few hundred meters away and yet he remained on the spot, a bewildered look plastered on his face.
'Am I really okay with running away?'
Paul had just remembered his past life thanks to his unpleasant dream and he was now unsure of himself. He had spent his life avoiding conflict and running from his problems when he could, which led him to be pushed around.
'If I run here, I'll just repeat the same again in this world'
The thought of his life going back to what it was before terrified him.
He understood that the people who made his life difficult didn't exist in this world but the feelings of his past life still followed him like a shadow.
However these problems were based on his emotions rather than logic. He knew that he shouldn't allow himself to run if he intended to change and he refused to abandon the new Paul.
History shouldn't repeat itself. Not here, not now.
This was his second chance and he wasn't going to make the same mistakes again.
'I won't run'
With his decision a determined expression appeared on his face, just in time for the Wyverns' arrival.
It landed a dozen or so meters from the group, with a heavy 'thump' sound, spread out it's wing and let out another ear piercing shriek.
"Skreeeee"
Paul felt his body shake in fright at the scene before him. His eyes teared up, as he forced himself to not turn around and give up.
'Looking at it up close, this is like a baby taking on a tiger'
The massive size difference between Paul's small bird body and the large winged lizard was almost comical to witness.
It wasn't just several times bigger than him.
Paul was as small as a pidgeon, while the Wyvern was the size of a monster truck with a large tail and wings.
If it wanted to crush Paul, it would only need to step on him on accident.
It wasn't strange for him to feel scared, when facing a beast that could end him on a whim.
'Don't run! Don't run! Don't run!'
Paul repeated those words in his head in an attempt to banish the fear from his heart.
'I still have my trump card, that's right, I still have something I can do do'
He remained there motionless, whether he had frozen in fear or managed to muster up the courage, not even he knew.
Meanwhile the Wyvern looked around in evident confusion. It had heard the cry of a female Wyvern and yet when it arrived the female was nowhere to be seen. On top of that there were only small nonthreatening monsters around. However a corpse of a different monster laid there on the ground, thus it took a few steps forwards and sniffed it to investigate the matter.
Paul, whose attention was solely focused on the monster, noticed the strange movements that followed it's intimidating entrance.
'It doesn't even see us as a problem'
He watched on as the Wyvern went on to sniff the corpse and used its' head to roll it over on its' back to examine it further.
'Maybe there's no need to fight if we just leave it alone?'
A complicated feeling spread through Pauls' chest, as he simultaneously felt relief and disappointment at the scene in front of him.
He was happy to not have to risk his life, but at the same time he felt like his resolve was being wasted.
Unsure of how to feel he continued observing the big Wyverns' movements, while taking a step back.
'Haaaa' Paul sighed internally in his head 'I got worked up for nothing-'
'No, no, no, I made a decision to not waste this life like I did last time. This lizard not wanting to fight changes nothing'
He shook his head left and right a few times and verbalized his resolve
'I will live with pride'
He held his head high and puffed up his chest, as if to convince the world of his decision.
Then almost in response the Wyvern turned its' head towards Paul, which caused him to flinch.
'What? You got a problem with my new way of life?' He thought indignantly.
The Wyverns' eyes widened in surprise and it started sniffing with fervor in his direction. Its' gaze remained fixated on Paul and it began salivating.
'Huh? What the hell is going on now?'
Confused by the sudden change in behavior, he was nearly to late to react, when the Wyvern lunged at him and tried to eat him.
Paul dodged with a quick jump to the side and complained in a shrill screech.
Skeee! Skeee! Skeee!
(Why? Just Why? What's wrong with you, stupid lizard?)
The Wyvern didn't let up and followed after him, unbothered by anything else.
Paul ran away from its' maw at full speed but with its' bigger body, it easily caught up in a couple steps.
'I didn't do anything to piss it off, so why? This thing is just as persistent as that Salamander. Is it a lizard thing? That one wanted to eat m-, SHIT, my immortality skill'
He ran in a big circle around the Iglemite group and the Wyvern, being careful of their spiked shells, did the same.
Seeing this reaction Paul wasted no time and squeezed himself into the pile of Iglemites, even as several spikes scraped off some of his feathers.
However he was aware this wouldn't stop the chasing menace, thus he immediately transformed into an Emberant and started digging.
'What do I do? What do I do? I was confident I could chase it away with my strongest move but that won't make it stop if it's after my skill, then … I'll have to kill it? This monster?'
Boom!
A fireball exploded and forcefully dispersed the group of Iglemites.
The Wyvern looked on for a few seconds and admired its handiwork, but soon noticed that its' target wasn't there.
The earth behind the Wyvern stirred and a small bird shot out and flew up high.
Paul drew a beautiful arc in the air, before descending and quickly accelerating towards the massive lizard on the ground.
'No choice, it's either do it or die at this point. Just take this head on and freaking die'
A magic circle appeared and glowed for a few seconds, before something manifested out of thin air.
A basketball sized body covered in spikes rapidly fell and gained speed, aimed at the Wyverns head.
Paul had left his summoning mark, when the Mimifowl had first put the entire group. He had expierence the hardness of those shell first hand and thus intended to use them against the bird monster as a last resort.
The monster turned its' head at the fast approaching whizzing sound and …
Crack!
A disgusting sound of bones breaking resounded around the place.
Paul spread his wings to break his fall and glide overhead, as he observed the result of his attack. But his heart sank and he nearly pissed himself, when his eyes met the Wyverns' furious gaze.
The Iglemite he had thrown was now stuck in the wing, which was bend at a strange angle, with the spikes pierced through.
The Wyvern had managed to defend itself with its' wing at the last second.