//3 Chapters left today.
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The white-haired amnesiac wasn't able to see anything through the veil of descending liquid, but he could definitely feel it, multiple sets of eyes locked onto him from unknown directions. It was hard to say if the gazes were hostile in nature, but Chion wasn't taking any chances as he quickly unzipped his bag and pulled out the only real weapon in his possession, his bow and arrows.
Just like he always did, the youth stowed all of his confusion and completely unnecessary feelings to the side for a later date, to tackle it when he was in a proper environment for it. There was a time and place for everything, and at that moment, it was pure survival mode. The last few minutes or so had left him lost and confused with an abundance of unanswered questions, and as much as he wanted to sit down and ponder it all, it wasn't the proper moment to do so. For now, he needed to assure his own safety and prepare for any given eventualities that might appear. Hesitation and any superfluous emotion could cloud his judgment, potentially getting himself killed as a result.
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"If you go straight from this spot, you'll find a large Pine tree about half a mile into the woods. Pass that, and you'll be safe."
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Bow in hand, Chion steeled himself for the journey, taking a deep breath. Without a word, he began a steady jog forward, dashing towards the treeline before him.
The rain made it extremely difficult to navigate the further in he went, especially with how hard it was coming down, so the individual wasn't able to traverse the forest as fast as he would've liked to. Floor caked in mud, slowing movements. Almost running into trees. Tripping over foliage and various overgrown roots. With no knowledge of the terrain and limited vision, Chion could only stumble along, fighting to stay on his feet, senses on high alert. In such a predicament, the youth knew he was easy prey, but there wasn't anything he could do about it.
As he moved through the forest, Chion felt the palm of his hand itch more and more, the sinister presence he had felt clinging to his heels.
It was only a matter of time before the unknown entity made its move. When that happened, it was game over.
(("Come on. Run through outcomes. What can you do?")) Chion grit his teeth, unwilling to just accept his own inadequacy. (("The environment. Your weapons. How can you turn the tide in your favor? What can you do to at least stall the enemy?"))
The goal wasn't to engage the enemy, a choice that would most definitely get him killed, but rather, it was to cross the checkpoint before being overwhelmed. Chion had no clue about the number of pursuers nor about who or what the mysterious beings even were, completely in the dark on all fronts. Clashing without any scrap of information was akin to laying down on the ground and asking them to put the youth out of his misery. The only reason Chion had survived the battle with the bronze bull was because of the data he accumulated whilst fleeing from it. The harsh reality was that he was still a kid.
He had no hope of overpowering anyone. He needed to rely on facts proper strategy.
All that being said, the only real choice, just like the time with the drowned bovine back in Canarsie, was the Greek Fire. Arrows by themselves weren't going to do much in the current conditions, at least for an untrained archer such as himself. It might as well have been lumps of wood and iron for how well they would serve. If he wanted to slow the enemy down or even to make them hesitate, he would have to show them some form of weapon that would make then falter.
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Basically, it was a bluff. It wasn't the prettiest of choices, but it was all Chion had to work with as he took position behind a few bushes.
(("Wasting up my only remaining shirt, but I don't have another option.")) The youth quickly dropped the bag, taking out the shirt and pants he had worn yesterday. Ripping them into multiple layers of thin strips, he tied the cloth around as many arrows as he could. (("Green Fire acts similar to the effects of nitroglycerin, an equally volatile liquid that I know about for some reason. With enough concussive force applied to any part of the liquid, it reacts violently, causing a chain reaction and obliterating whatever it touches. With Greek Fire, the resulting blast lights any contact on fire."))
The image of a flaming bull sinking into a body of water flashed through the youths mind, causing Chion to smile ever so slightly as he pulled out his last jar of sloshing green liquid.
(("Even if the fire gets drenched, it'll continue to burn until it runs out of a fuel source.")) The white-haired individual flicked off the jars lid and began pouring the green liquid over the clothed arrowheads, letting it soak in. (("From here on out, every shot I take will have to count. I only have enough for six in total. There are no other options available."))
Picking himself up off the floor, Chion quickly collected the arrows and stowed them as carefully as he could in the quiver, sticking the non clothed ones into his bag. As dumb as it sounded, he had no use for them in the current scenario, even as a last resort measure. He couldn't shoot moving targets even without rain, and if the assailants got close enough for the youth to use the arrow as an improvised dagger, it would probably be too late anyway. Additionally, he didn't want any other arrows rubbing against the Greek Fire covered ones just in case it caused a premature explosion. He wasn't trying to meet an untimely end by his own weapon.
With quick and efficient movements, it had only taken Chion around a minute or so to prepare everything. Nothing had changed since then. The rain was still coming down, and the hostile gazes were still present.
They were a LOT closer, though. Chion could feel it, almost intuitively. He needed to move.
Turning around, the youth continued his journey, eyes peeled for the large pine tree that would somehow save him from the encroaching danger. It was probably around then that the assailants finally made their move, no longer sticking to the shadows.
Chion sensed it long before he could hear it. The deep growl. Splashes of feet against the muddy ground. Without hesitation, the youth kicked off of the tree next to him and slid across the slick forest floor, keeping his body low.
Something passed over the back of his neck mid slide. The young teen paid it no attention as he yanked one of the arrows from his quiver and knocked it, aiming it right at the spot he had just vacated.
There, yanking its enormous jaws out of the trunk of a tree was a dark beast with glowing red eyes. It was hard to tell its shape or any sort of details due to the rain, but its immense size was pretty easily distinguished. It was smaller than the bull, about the size of a grizzly bear, but much faster and more ferocious. Only reason Chion had even dodged it was because he had been on high alert for the slightest bit of movement, to the point where he would have done the same exact maneuver, even if it had been a squirrel.
The two of them locked eyes as the beast turned its head, its sharp canines visible even through the screen of water pouring from above.
Chion released the arrow.
Fwick! BOOM!
Green flames burst into existence upon impact, blasting a sizeable crater at the monsters feet, some of the force just barely grazing the beast. There was an unearthly howl of pain, but Chion didn't stick around to see the result of his work, using the explosion as a cover to slip away.
(("That's one."))
No longer caring about the terrain, the drenched teen sprinted through the forest, doing his best to avoid trees and shrubbery, ear peeled for the monsters approach. The first arrow had definitely left an impact on the first beast, but, unfortunately for Chion, there was more than one.
Fwip! BOOM!
(("Two."))
The youth aimed for a fast-moving shape barely visible through the thick blanket of rain. He didn't hear a whimper of pain, but nothing else approached him, which worked just as well, allowing him to continue forward unimpeded. At least until the third shape made its appearance seconds later, skidding directly in front of him.
Fwip! BOOM!
(("Three."))
Chion gave the beast a passing glance as he ran on by, arrow nocked in the bow. Gazes locked, the youth pulled back and took aim.
Fwip! BOOM!
The arrow narrowly missed it target as the dark shape darted out of the way just before impact, the concussive force grazing its body as the projectile destroyed a large tree. The tree toppled over, causing a loud bang but Chion ignored it, focusing on his adversaries. He only had two arrows remaining and had managed to force two of the monstrosities to retreat and rethink their decisions after nearly getting hit. With the last two arrows, he needed to sow a seed of doubt and caution into the beasts mind. It would deter them from attacking recklessly and at the exact same time.
The best way to do that was to cause massive damage to at least one of them. If the chance presented itself, he needed to nail one of them.
Only problem with that was their speed. They were MUCH faster than he himself was, let alone the speed of a novice archer such as himself. He would have to lure them in closer and take a proper shot or let them come closer on their own accord. He was sticking with the latter. Only a fool would take a gamble on his own accord, especially one that could very well cost him his life. If they kept their distance for the rest of the way, then that was fine with him, but if they tried to attack him, he had a strategy in the wait.
Either way it unfolded, he was surviving. Chion would make sure of it no matter what.
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