Drops of sweat ran down shimoro's face, while his breath misted in the cold air. The blood staining his hand was frozen by his ice aura, which grew colder with every passing second.
Before him was the second monster of the trio, larger than the first, its red eyes glowing with rage, its chest rising and falling in an aggressive rhythm.
shimoro said in a low voice, raising his right hand forward:
"I won't repeat my mistakes this time..."
Small ice crystals gathered around him, spinning rapidly until they formed a sharp circle. In one moment, he shouted fiercely:
"Ice Pillars!"
Massive ice pillars, like spikes, shot up from the ground, piercing the air with a disturbing sound, lunging toward the monster and violently embedding themselves in its body. The monster let out a deafening scream as it retreated, but shimoro gave it no chance.
"Freeze"
In that instant, ice condensed in his right palm, forming a glowing blue dagger, pulsating with EIU energy.
shimoro said with stone-cold eyes:
"Should I be considered as a killer?... I am only defending myself..."
He ran toward the monster, slid under its claws, then plunged the dagger into its chest, and the ice ascended inside the monster's body until its heart was completely frozen.
The monster collapsed to the ground, and the echo of its shattered body silenced the entire forest.
shimoro stood panting, staring at the creature's corpse which was gradually turning into icy ash. But he had no time to catch his breath—a powerful, brutal roar echoed from between the trees.
The ground shook beneath his feet, and the third monster appeared—the largest and most enraged of them all.
Its red eyes were ablaze with the fire of hatred, and its face, trembling with fury, said it all.
It had seen its family die before it.
shimoro swallowed, whispering, remembering:
"Family...? Did I kill one who had a family? Do they have feelings like us?... Is what I am doing truly right?... Is—"
But a second roar completely cut off his thoughts, and the monster charged toward him with unexpected speed.
shimoro raised his arms to form an ice barrier, but the force of the impact shattered it in half and threw him backward.
shimoro rolled on the ground and stood up with difficulty, blood trickling from superficial scratches on his arm and face.
"I cannot retreat now... I am also fighting to stay alive."
His breath froze, and his energy began to gather again. He was ready to fight until the end.
The sound of the wind, the echo of his footsteps on the frozen ground, and the sound of the monster's breathing all merged into a somber melody... a melody of battle where only one could survive.
On the other side...
Ryo was moving cautiously between the trees, his steps light as if the wind itself guided him.
His face was weary, the deep wound on his shoulder still bleeding slightly, but he did not stop.
He heard distant sounds of monsters moving, so he lowered his body and clung to the ground.
"Damn it... I can't fight now, I must find the cave quickly."
He continued his path until he saw a dark opening between the rocks—a cave that seemed small compared to the gigantic caves.
He approached slowly, tried to look inside but saw nothing; the darkness was thick, as if swallowing the light.
"I can't risk entering now... I'll come back later with shimoro."
He placed a simple mark on a nearby rock and on the torn map to remember the way, then began to retreat with steady steps, cautious of any movement that might attract monsters.
Every sound in the forest seemed a threat, and every breeze carried a new danger.
While he was disappearing between the trees, returning to the camp, shimoro was fighting...
Ryo raised his head slightly and whispered:
"Night is approaching... I think the idiot should have brought at least one corpse."
On the other side.
The ground exploded beneath shimoro's feet as the third monster charged at him with overwhelming force, its eyes blazing with tears and anger, reflecting the loss of its family. Its voice was like thunder, shaking the trees from their roots.
shimoro quickly raised his hand, summoning the remnants of his ice energy, and small crystals multiplied around him, but they were unstable—his energy was at its lowest.
"Damn it... I haven't recovered yet... I am depleting my energy faster than I can gather it!"
The monster charged, like a mass of black steel, and struck the ground with its claws, causing dust and ice to explode into the air. shimoro jumped backward, using an ice dash to slowly retreat, but he barely escaped the first strike that split the soil in half.
shimoro shouted, clenching his teeth:
"Ice ball!"
A ball of ice shot toward the monster, but it did not stop it; instead, it made it more frantic.
It pierced through it with its feet, ice scattering around it, then charged directly toward shimoro again.
His body hit the ground hard, the forest momentarily trembled, leaves and snow scattered, and a faint vapor rose from the heat of the impact.
shimoro crawled backward, his breathing ragged, his body shaking from the cold and exhaustion.
He raised his head with difficulty and saw the monster bleeding, but its gaze had not changed... it still wanted to fight to the death.
shimoro whispered to himself, pressing on the minor wound on his arm:
"This is not just a monster... it's angry... wounded... its energy burst just like what happened to me when I was young against Vargas...."
He stood up slowly, trying to raise his hand to form a new ice spear, but his fingertips were trembling—his energy no longer responded.
In that moment, he realized the simple and painful truth:
If he continued, he would die here.
The monster roared again and charged at him one last time, and shimoro released what was left of his energy to freeze the ground between them, causing the monster to slip and fall on its side for a few brief seconds—that was his only chance.
"I'm sorry... for killing your family."
He froze the monster's limbs to stop it temporarily, then turned and began running through the forest with all the strength he had left.
Tree branches slightly tore his coat, and his body swayed from exhaustion, but his eyes did not lose focus—his destination was one: the camp... where Ryo was.
While running, he gathered whatever mushrooms and herbs his eyes fell upon in his hand.
He knew nothing about them, but he brought them for Ryo.
He knew Ryo might need them too, especially if his injuries were worse than they looked.
Night began to draw its curtain, and the moonlight reflected on the scattered ice in the forest.
He could hear the distant sound of the third monster roaring furiously, the echo of its voice pursuing him with every step...
But shimoro did not stop.
"Ryo... I must return before he loses hope in me."
After ten minutes of continuous running, the distant light of the fire appeared—the camp.
shimoro fell to his knees, panting heavily, his hands full of herbs and mushrooms, his face covered in superficial scratches.
He raised his head toward the burning fire, and said in a hoarse but reassuring voice:
"I'm back... without the corpses, but... I have what we'll need to survive the night."
The cold wind passed between the trees, as if silently applauding him.
To be continued...