After Lu'Gosh had made his way through the reef, he rushed towards Kawao at breathtaking speed. His mouth, filled with razor-sharp teeth, was ready to shred him into bite-sized pieces.

But Kawao remained calm.

He aimed his spear directly at the oncoming mouth and, just before it could snap shut, he threw it with all his might into the shark's throat.

Lu'Gosh roared in pain as he tried to remove the spear from his mouth. He bit it in half but couldn't pull it out.

Kawao seized this moment.

He swam quickly towards the shark's face and punched him in one of his eyes. Once again, Lu'Gosh let out agonizing screams and shortly after, he went blind in both eyes.

"Now or never!" Kawao decided.

He took a sharp stone he had tucked into his pants and struck the shark's gums while holding onto its nose.

Lu'Gosh went into a frenzy, trying to shake him off, but Kawao held on.

He kept hitting the tooth and the gums until he felt it loosen.

"Just a little more!"

But he had underestimated his opponent.

In a final moment of frenzy, Lu'Gosh managed to shake him off and, in the next moment, bit down on him.

The shark thought he had finally won, but suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his mouth.

He opened it wide, and Kawao, in the nick of time, pulled the spear from his mouth and rammed the tip into the already loosened gum.

The tooth was now very loose.

Instinctively, he grabbed it and yanked it out of the creature's mouth in one go.

Lu'Gosh hesitated briefly before spitting him out.

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Without further attempts to catch his prey, the shark swam away, glad to be free from a prolonged battle.

Kawao was relieved that the shark had decided to retreat because when he was bitten, he hadn't come out unscathed. Some of the razor-sharp teeth had pierced his arms and legs.

He could still move them, but the saltwater was starting to burn in his wounds, and he knew he had to get out of the water quickly before he bled to death.

---

A short while later, he heaved his injured body out of the water.

He needed to treat himself quickly and limped towards the jungle.

He gathered some leaves and picked a few purple plants. He crushed the plants and applied them to his wounds, which he then covered with the leaves.

"I have more than enough time to get back. I should take the opportunity to rest and heal my wounds."

He went back to where he had buried his vest and dug it out.

As he dusted it off, he noticed something unusual.

He turned towards the village.

Thick black smoke clouds were rising from the area!

"What’s going on? Did someone accidentally set a house on fire?" he wondered.

"Maybe I should hurry."

Limping, he made his way south, still holding the broken spear in his hands.

But he didn’t head back to the destroyed bridge; instead, he headed towards the large mountain in the east. There was a tunnel that ran through the mountain, providing an alternative to the bridge.

However, this tunnel hadn’t been used in years.

"Who knows what’s living in there now?"

---

He quickened his pace despite his injuries. His wounds didn’t bother him at the moment.

Before long, he reached the mountain and began searching for the tunnel. Shortly thereafter, he found it.

A small natural entrance in the massive rock. Without hesitation, he entered.

Inside, it was pitch dark. Even though he couldn't see anything, he ran forward and immediately banged his head against a wall.

"Damn! I should wait a bit to adjust to the darkness," he decided.

---

A few minutes later, he proceeded cautiously. He could see better now. At least well enough to find his way.

As far as he knew, this tunnel had been dug over a hundred years ago.

But since it had hardly been used in recent times, he could only hope it hadn’t collapsed in the meantime.

---

After what felt like an eternity, he felt a fresh breeze. He was nearing the exit.

But at the same time, he also heard an increasingly loud screeching and squeaking.

"I should hurry!"

He started running. By now, he had adjusted to the darkness.

Suddenly, he saw a light and sprinted towards it.

Shortly after he burst through the exit, a huge swarm of bats rushed out of the tunnel. They flew in circles for a while before racing back into their territory.

"That was close!"

But he had no time to ponder the animals. He had to keep going.

Something terrible could be happening in the village. At least, he had a feeling that grew stronger with every step.

---

By evening, after several hours, he reached the edge of the jungle.

Now he could finally see what was happening in the village.

He was paralyzed with shock.

The entire village was in flames!