The Komodo dragon lunged straight toward Dasha.
Tom reacted instantly.
He stepped forward and launched his Lotus Slasher directly at the creature's head.
BOOM!
The kick connected.
Tom landed and immediately thought the fight was over.
"Got you."
But...
The dragon barely moved.
Tom's expression changed.
"What the hell...?"
This wasn't an ordinary animal.
Its strength was far beyond anything Tom had ever fought before.
The Komodo dragon shook its head and immediately recovered.
Tom realized he had underestimated it.
At that exact moment, a small amount of dirt flew into the creature's eyes.
It blinked.
For just a second...
Its vision disappeared.
Tom used that moment.
He grabbed Dasha and pulled her behind him.
"Run!"
Dasha looked at him.
"What?"
"RUN!"
She immediately sprinted away.
The Komodo dragon opened its eyes and saw Dasha running.
It instantly chased after her.
Tom followed directly behind the dragon.
He gripped his axe tightly.
Then...
SLASH!
His axe struck the dragon's tail.
It didn't completely sever it...
But the cut was deep.
Blood began pouring from the wound.
The dragon roared in pain.
It turned around furiously.
Its eyes locked onto Tom.
It raised its claws and prepared to attack.
But then...
Something suddenly pulled its head backward.
WHOOSH!
The dragon was dragged away at incredible speed.
It landed exactly where Dasha had been standing moments earlier.
Tom smiled.
"Got you."
Dasha looked confused.
"What just happened?"
Tom pointed toward the ground.
A small device had been planted there.
It was a rope mechanism capable of extending and retracting a rope rapidly. Tom had bought it before coming to Chinatown because it could be useful for climbing mountains.
And now...
It had saved their lives.
The truth of what had happened became clear.
When Tom appeared to kick the dragon earlier...
He wasn't working alone.
Dasha had thrown the dirt into the dragon's eyes.
Tom had used the distraction to wrap the rope around its head.
The kick had simply hidden what he was actually doing.
The dragon struggled violently.
But the rope tightened.
It couldn't escape.
Tom slowly approached.
The dragon roared.
Tom raised his axe.
"You picked the wrong people."
SLASH!
The axe came down.
The dragon fell.
Dead.
The rope mechanism was now completely covered in blood.
Dasha stared at Tom.
She had never seen this side of him before.
For a moment, she was shocked.
Then...
She smiled slightly.
"You really don't panic, do you?"
Tom looked at her.
"I panic."
He pointed toward the dead dragon.
"I just do it later."
Dasha laughed.
"Idiot."
They were about to continue when suddenly...
Hundreds of birds flew through the trees.
Leaves shook.
Animals began making noises from every direction.
Then...
A massive roar echoed through the forest.
ROOOOOAR!
Tom and Dasha froze.
Dasha slowly looked at him.
"Was that..."
"A lion."
Tom looked around.
His expression became serious.
"So this must be the Wild Jungle."
Dasha looked behind them.
"But what happened to the Silent Jungle?"
Tom frowned.
"Maybe they're connected."
Another roar echoed through the forest.
This time...
Much closer.
Tom looked at Dasha.
"We can't stay here."
They immediately began running back toward the entrance.
Their only goal was to reach the tunnel.
But they soon heard something behind them.
Fast footsteps.
Tom glanced backward.
A panther.
It was chasing them.
"Keep running!"
They pushed themselves harder.
The entrance was getting closer.
Two kilometres.
One kilometre.
Five hundred metres.
The panther was still gaining.
Tom looked ahead.
The tunnel was right there.
But the panther was almost on top of them.
Tom suddenly stopped.
"Dasha!"
She turned around.
"Get inside!"
"What about you?!"
"JUST GO!"
Dasha jumped into the tunnel.
Tom stayed behind.
The panther launched itself at him.
Dasha screamed.
"TOOOOM!"
The creature disappeared from her view.
For one terrifying second...
Everything went silent.
Then...
SPLAT.
Blood covered Dasha's face.
Her eyes widened.
"Tom...?"
She couldn't move.
"Tom!"
But then she realized something.
If that was Tom's blood...
How had it reached her?
Dasha slowly opened her eyes.
And looked upward.
Her mouth fell open.
Tom was swinging through the trees.
The rope device was attached above him.
He was completely unharmed.
Below him...
The panther had jumped directly into the path of the laser barrier.
The laser activated.
The panther was instantly destroyed.
Tom swung safely through the trees and landed beside Dasha.
He looked at her.
"You really thought I was going to let myself get eaten?"
Dasha stared at him.
Then...
She punched him lightly in the shoulder.
"YOU IDIOT!"
Tom laughed.
"You're welcome."