With his shield appearing in his left hand and Larang in his other, John prepared himself for the final part of his plan. It was surprisingly simple at this point: just chuck everything he had straight at the giant monkey’s face.

With the full strength of his upper body, he chucked them both forward, lessening his own speed considerably. Then he summoned a sphere before him and halted his speed completely.

‘These things are insanely useful! Try and dodge this!’

Unable to change her direction mid-air, the horror could only protect her vitals with her arms. She saw the attack coming but was unable to dodge.

The shield disappeared from view and appeared again right in front of her eye, but seeing the attack coming, she managed to turn her head, causing the shield to crash into her temple instead.

It crashed into the skull, fracturing the compact bone and leaving a long laceration on the side of her face. The attack didn’t hit anything vital, but it managed to distract and maybe even daze the horror, increasing the chances of the next part of John’s plan working.

Larang was picking up speed on its way to her face, which was still protected by two massive arms. Because they were flying towards each other, Larang’s impact would have nearly twice the force as last time. Despite that, John doubted it could pierce her hands and face simultaneously—not alone.

With her head turned to the side and one eye closed, the monkey looked at John with rage. She had likely never expected such a small creature to be able to push her so far. But there was still confidence there, a certainty of victory.

‘Oh, still not worried, are you? Let’s see if you can predict what you can’t see!’

Seemingly out of nowhere, a massive force hit the giant monkey in the back, causing her to arch backward unwillingly. The ten spheres filled with liquid essence had followed her from the ground, and now caught up at the exact right time.

They had lost a lot of power due to the change in direction, but ten spheres were still hitting simultaneously, with the improved focus John had been practicing after meeting the sage.

Her arms opened a small gap as her shoulders arched back, letting Larang fly through them unobstructed. Her eyes opened wide in fear as she realized what was happening, finally understanding the severity of the situation.

John cheered internally as his plan came to fruition exactly as he had hoped.

‘Hit! Pierce through!’

Larang had been heading for her face earlier, but due to the hit in her back, her face tilted backward, causing it to head for her throat instead. It penetrated completely, severing several vital functions before hitting her spine with a sickening thud.

'Yes! Take that, you overgrown–’

John's elation was cut short as the horror's eyes locked onto him, filled with pain and fury. Despite the grievous wound, she was still moving, still coming for him.

'I knew that wouldn’t kill you right away! But I’m not planning to stick around so you can take me down with you.'

Since he had stopped himself earlier by using the sphere, he managed to escape the collision by using his air blasts. But once he looked at the horror again, he saw something that made his blood run cold. Her arms began to stretch, extending far beyond their natural length.

'Stretchable limbs?! That’s the aspect you’ve been hiding?!'

In a desperate move, John summoned his lucky sword and hurled it with all his might toward her face, hoping it would distract her enough to stop her predictions.

But the horror didn’t care about the tiny sword. Her life was already forfeit, so she prioritized taking him with her, letting the sword penetrate her left eye without a care. It didn’t penetrate deep enough to damage anything but the eye itself.

John tried to dodge, reducing his weight and firing another air blast. But the horror could see his moves before he made them. Her massive hand adjusted its trajectory mid-swing.

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'No, no, no–'

Without enough time to send solid essence through his body, John had to make do with what was already there and reinforce it with all his might. He summoned the necklace as his final act before bracing for impact.

The impact was devastating. John felt bones crack and organs compress as the horror's palm engulfed him. The world spun, pain exploded through every nerve, and darkness crept in at the edges of his vision.

As consciousness slipped away, John's last thought was of the necklace, hoping the black essence would be enough to keep him tethered to life.

Then, everything went black.

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Rain's breath came in short, ragged gasps as she lay in Dennis's hands, clinging to his chest. The dense foliage whipped past them, a blur of green and brown. Her antlers caught on low-hanging branches, but she barely noticed the sharp tugs against her scalp.

Her mind was focused solely on the diminishing sounds of the clash behind them, listening to the shattering trees and thunderous footsteps of the horror as it approached John.

‘I knew he would do that! Curse that necklace of death!’

Rain had felt the chase of a hundred demons from the city, but they all stopped as the fight began. The realization that they weren't being followed anymore should have brought relief, but instead, it only intensified her worry.

‘Why have they stopped? Are they observing the fight instead of chasing us? Or was it that roar earlier that stopped them?’

A chill ran down her spine as a terrifying thought occurred to her. What if they'd stopped because they only cared about taking down one of them?

‘John doesn’t stand a chance against that many demons! Even a single horror will be near impossible unless he comes up with a brilliant strategy, and they had two! He could try using the essence of death again, but… I don’t see how he would be able to win. And he won’t flee as long as we’re still in danger.’

As she desperately tried to find a way to reassure herself, another massive impact shook the ground, coming from the fight behind them. And then she felt it.

The ethereal thread that had connected her to John since the moment they had met suddenly snapped. The absence hit her like a physical blow, leaving her gasping and disoriented.

‘N– no! There’s still a chance! The necklace might…’

"Dennis," she managed to choke out in a trembling voice. "Stop. Please."

Dennis slowed his speed and looked down at her worriedly. "What is it? Are you hurt?"

Rain shook her head, trying to find the words to express the hollowness she felt without revealing too much. Her limited vocabulary made it more difficult than it could have been.

Dennis gently lowered Rain to the ground while his eyes scanned their surroundings for any sign of danger. His breath was already labored, but likely more due to panic than exertion.

Rain could feel her eyes filling with tears as her fears trickled to the surface. "John," she whispered. "Something very wrong."

His face didn’t change much, only nodding lightly as if understanding her worry. "Rain, I'm sure he's fine. John's tough, remember? He's probably just..." He trailed off, noticing the silence behind them.

Rain barely heard him. Her mind was racing, grappling with possibilities and consequences. She thought of Earth, of the struggles John had described, of the people waiting for his return. A question formed in her mind, one she had to know the answer to before she could act.

"Dennis." Her voice was steadier now, more focused. "Can John save many lives? If alive?"

The question seemed to catch Dennis off guard. He blinked, studying Rain's face with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. After a moment's hesitation, he nodded. "Yeah, I think he could. He’s by far the strongest aspecter I’ve seen, and someone that could grow into a vital part of our war."

Rain absorbed this information, weighing it against the turmoil in her heart.

‘Can I be so selfish? Just this once? But we’re so close to the goal! Is it too great of a risk to take?’

The forest seemed to hold its breath as Rain stood frozen in indecision. Should she use her power to potentially save John or hold back and pray that the Lord of Death would stay his hand?

‘... I… I should–’

Just as she felt she might buckle under the pressure of the decision, something shifted. The emptiness where her connection to John had been suddenly flickered, like a candle sputtering back to life. Relief washed over her, so intense it made her knees weak.

Dennis noticed the sudden shift in her mood. "Rain? What's happening?"

A smile spread across her face. "John okay," she said, unable to adequately express the depth of her relief. "John alive!"

Dennis's shoulders sagged with relief. "Thank god," he muttered. "But how do you know?"

Rain didn't answer. Instead, she closed her eyes, focusing on John's faint but unmistakable presence in her mind. When she opened them again, she pointed confidently into the dense jungle. "We go there."

Dennis looked skeptical. "Are you sure? That's awfully close to where we came from."

Rain nodded firmly. "John there. We go."

As they set off in the direction Rain indicated, she wondered what her choice would have been if she hadn’t been interrupted.

‘I would have hated myself either way… But the danger isn’t over yet! John, please don’t be surrounded by demons.’