Heroes to Hunted

Chapter 54 Square One

?Her approach was like lightning as she zipped toward the beast. I could only stare in awe as this small high school girl challenged what could only be dubbed a complete monster.

Striding to its backside, Agawa recklessly jabbed at the bear's lower leg, the one that had already been jammed with the last dagger.

With each brief moment of the blade's insertion, the wet squelching of the grizzly's flesh could be heard between its repeated irritated whimpers before she removed it.

Though I was no expert at bear anatomy, Agawa must've severed an important tendon or two during her reckless barrage of skewering strikes. It was something I had to assume, given how the beast struggled to stay upright.

The bear fumbled backward, falling onto its wounded leg and embedding the dagger deeper into its flesh. Thankfully, the shift in position forced its swing to miss Takagi by the length of a hair with its razor claws.

Seeing the bear lose its balance, Agawa shouted at me. "Don't just stand there; get Takagi!"

"O-Of course," I stammered over myself. I was surprised she succeeded in stunning the beast. "Right away!"

I sprinted toward the danger, with every bone in my body cursing me as a fool for placing myself so close to a vicious predator.

'Run, you fool! No, not that way! Where are you going?!' These were the types of reflections that plagued me as I rushed to Takagi's side.

Despite the cowardice, I had my principles and my honor. I held a debt to Takagi and, come hell or high water, it was a debt I'd repay! Thus, I ignored every warning light flashing within my mind and landed myself right next to Takagi…and right within the bear's striking range.

I glanced at the beast, and it glared at me. I could feel the quake in my legs become more pronounced under its vigil.

'Ignore it,' I withheld my panicked breaths. 'Just ignore it.' Repeating that same phrase to hold back my desire to run, I grabbed Takagi by the arm and pulled him onto my shoulder.

Takagi struggled against me, dropping his sword in the process. "What are you doing?! Get ou-"

"Shut the hell up, boy!" I shouted, surprising even myself with my crude word choice. Luckily, it was effective, and Takagi became complacent with my demand. I guess he was shocked by my display, too.

The grizzly loosed a seething, thunderous roar while the two of us hastily retreated. It tried to inch closer and take a swipe, but Agawa's relentless assault kept the beast from advancing.

While we dashed back to the roots, Takagi deliriously uttered, "W-Why did you interfere? I had the thi-"

"You had nothing!" I snapped back. "Now isn't the time for bravado, not when your life is on the line! If you're going to be recklessly brave, at least be smart about it!"

Takagi quieted down, and I turned to see that Agawa hadn't let up her endless stabbing of the beast's flesh.

Though the leg she wounded was no longer accessible, she swiveled around and began thrusting the knife into wherever it would stick. She created so many holes in the beast's body that its side became redder than brown.

With each jab, the bear howled with an increasingly angered cry and began thrashing about to force Agawa away. Loud thuds from its fattened body played as it flailed against the mud.

"That's enough, Agawa!" Ayame cupped her hands around her mouth. "Get back here!"

Upon hearing Ayame and knowing she couldn't confidently keep up with a beast gone mad, Agawa ended her attack and backed away. She then hurriedly rendezvoused with the rest of us.

The beast lay collapsed in exhaustion, its once ferocious demeanor now subdued. Despite the crippling wounds, the scent of bloodlust lingered in the air, indicating the threat had not entirely passed.

"Is everyone okay?!" Agawa rasped, trying to regain her breath. "How's Nakamura?!" she panted uncontrollably and kneeled, placing her bloodied palms on her knees.

"He's… I don't know. Not good, obviously!" Ayame snarked with a tone of desperation and quickened breaths.

In Agawa's absence, Hikari and Ayame had taken it upon themselves to care for the injured. Hikari gently cradled Takahashi's head, examining the wound with a furrowed brow.

Ayame worked quickly, her fingers shakily applying bandages to Nakamura's back wounds while she applied pressure to staunch the bleeding.

Despite Ayame's determined efforts, Nakamura's blood continued to flow freely from his wounds, coating her hands in a slick, crimson sheen. It pooled on his back, spreading out in dark red tendrils resembling dark, twisted roots from a gnarled tree.

"He needs a doctor!" she screamed, futilely pressuring his wounds further. "For God's sake, we need to get him somewhere! Anywhere!"

"You think?!" Takagi taunted Ayame and glared at Nakamura. He looked ready to burst and release a torrent of anger. Yet he gritted his teeth and tore his eyes away.

Meanwhile, I heard a soft voice calling me from the sidelines. "H-Hey, "Hikari beckoned to us and pointed to an empty patch of dirt beside her. "Over here."

Shuffling forward, I brought Takagi to where Hikari instructed. I carefully laid him down with his back to the tree's base, and he groaned in pain. His discomfort clearly shone on his face as his torn back touched with the rough bark.

Once fully settled onto the ground, Hikari inched over to look at Takagi's wounds. They were grotesque, purpled, and ran crusted, wet with a mixture of old and fresh blood.

"W-We'll- I'll bandage you up right now." Hikari stammered. We didn't have much to bind with at this point, but she sacrificed a few straps from her clothes to wrap Takagi's leg gash in.

"Tsk," Takagi winced and grunted through clenched teeth. Although Hikari wasn't an expert like Nakamura, she carefully but tightly wrapped Takagi's raw flesh in cloth with precise circular motions.

"Where'd you two learn to do this?" I asked while she worked.

"O-Our…" Hikari tried to respond but struggled to utter even a syllable.

'Heh, heh, I guess she's a bit awkward around others,' I chuckled, momentarily forgetting my own panic.

"Our mother," Ayame affirmed for her sister. "Our mom was a nurse." Her voice was steadied, showing her in a state of total concentration. She was absolutely absorbed in her task of minimizing Nakamura's blood loss.

Meanwhile, since the injured were being cared for, Agawa remained vigilant, carefully eyeing the beast she'd left behind. It was just before Hikari finished tending to Takagi that Agawa gasped.

"What…the hell?" she said, pointing toward the previously stationary bear.

We all focused our eyes on the whimpering beast, with even Takagi trying to angle his neck for a view.

"What's going on? What're you all gawking at?!" he was shaking and shuffling, to Hikari's annoyance.

"S-Sit down!" she yelled, shoving him back to the ground.

While Hikari struggled with a beast of her own, we watched the bear make a somber howl and start glowing an ethereal green aura for a second time.

This time, instead of accelerating toward us at high speeds, the once parted flesh weaved itself back together. It was exactly as we'd seen from the kid, Roman, back in the clinic.

It was an awe-inspiring sight, one that captivated all of us with fascination and fear.

"What am I watching right now?" Agawa mumbled.

"I don't know... I... I don't know..." Ayame replied.

Though terrified, festering within us all was an equal amount of curiosity that ensnared our focus, so we couldn't look away. Could you blame us, though? Our minds worked at max capacity, trying to make sense of what we were witnessing.

As if the glowing aura around the beast wasn't mind-boggling enough, even the crimson puddle on the ground turned a hazy and bright green. Once the blood was illuminated, it lifted into the air as an iridescent mist, wafting around the bear and curing its wounds. Most of them, anyway.

As miraculous as the sight was, the magic still couldn't mend all the damage Agawa and Takagi had done, including the knife that Agawa had stuffed into its leg.

Its fur billowed wildly, despite the lack of wind, as it stood up from the ground.

I didn't want to believe it, but the beast nearly fully recovered from Takagi and Agawa's assault with ease. It turned toward us, more furious than ever and raring for round two.

Looking back at my companions, their tired and fearful expressions, I couldn't say the same for us.

"Shit…" I said, losing any sense of elegance.