"Someone! Help!" Willheim shouted from the top of his lungs. He tried to free his rifle from the weight of the Essencima by shaking it back and forth. The movement caused the Primore to lose balance and directing the clawed strike from cutting into the hunter’s face, slashing the dirt instead. "Do something!" Willheim shouted again, his eyes locked with the soulless yellow eyes staring down at him.

Bodahn raised his pistol and blasted the head of the Essencima, sending black chunks scattering across the trees and ground. With the creature no longer resisting, Willheim managed to hurl the remains to the side. Once the other Primore realized that their kin had been slain, they all sprung into action, leaping at Willheim in unison as they let out their primal screech.

Donva took in a deep breath and raised both of his hands simultaneously and formed two small puddles in between Willheim and the attacking Essencima. The mounds of sludge swiftly turned into two long tendrils. He stood with a firm stance with his legs spread apart as he waved his hands in a deliberate and precise manner. The appendage on the right swung around, striking back one of the Primore while the other wrapped around the leg of another frenzied Essencima, keeping it restrained.

"You got this under control?" Bodahn asked as he opened the chamber to his revolver. Empty bullet casings fell to the ground as he reached down towards the bottom of his ammo belt and took out the remainder of his bullets. "I'm runnin' low on shots. Tryin' to save as many as possible. Gotta save one to keep Will from backstabbin' us."

"I was..." Donva grunted while the rest of his muscles tensed up. "I was hoping... one of you eliminate. Don't know if I'll be able to take them out."

"Then I'm gonna get Will." With his weapon now reloaded, Bodahn leapt over the downed tree in between him and the fallen hunter. He lowered himself and placed his hands underneath Willheim's arms and started to pull him up. "We gotta getting goin'. We've decided to take the long way back!"

Willheim staggered to his feet as Bodahn eased up with one arm. Using his free hand, the gunslinger fired his pistol at an Essencima that leapt over the Donva's tendrils. With a crunch, a gaping hole sudden formed in the center of the Essencima's body. It fell to the ground face first, it's arms and legs splayed out across the ground.

"You've been firing like bullets grow on trees!" Willheim barked. His injured arm hung limp at his side while his other hand kept his rifle held low, letting drag across the dirt.

"To save yer sorry—” Bodahn looked at the rapidly approaching herd. The gunslinger faced the other way upon realizing that they had gained ground. “Never mind. Let's just get going. You got enough bullets on ya?"

"I'll manage," Willheim grunted as he limped towards Donva.

"Good." The pair took a few more steps before stopping in front of Donva. Both turned around and watched as the tendrils that summoned get overwhelmed by the raging Primore. The surviving Essencima took hold of the black tendrils and used their claws to start tearing it apart. "How much longer can you keep ‘em distracted for?" Bodahn shouted.

"A few more seconds!" Donva replied with a grunt. His arms drooped down. He hunched over with his hands clutching and his exhaustion perceptible by his gasping for air. Once he bent forward, the tendrils melted back into the ground.

"You're gonna have to move faster than that, Will!" Bodahn kept his hand on Willheim's shoulder, pushing him forward and keeping him upright as they advanced towards the weary scholar. Now free from the clutches of Donva's tendrils, the Essencima continued their attacking, leaping forward with raised claws while letting out their tremorous battle cry.

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Willheim slowly lifted his gun and shot behind him, sending one bullet into the arm of a Primore, severing it off the limb but not putting a stop to the creature's attack. The one-armed Essencima regained its balance once it landed and leapt again with its remaining claw high above its head.

"Get down!" The gunslinger pulled Willheim onto the forest floor, making the creature miss its mark by a yard. Without its arm, the creature lost its balance and staggered on its landing. A swirling black pool formed underneath it, causing it to slowly sink beneath the ground. It raised its remaining arm and began to wave it wildly back in forth, desperate to grab onto anything that could keep it from sinking into the dark portal.

Its hand clutched onto the remains of a downed log, digging its talons into the wood to anchor itself onto the surface. The Primore continued to struggle to bring itself upwards, but it proved impossible with a single hand. Donva relaxed his muscles, cutting off the portal he summoned abruptly closed. The black shrunk in an instant, returning the surface back to normal. Unable to pull itself up in time, the creature was severed from the abdomen down, leaving the upper half lifeless with dark gunk dripping out of the bisection point.

"That's... that's... really it for me," Donva said as he placed the palm of his hand on his forehead. "I don’t know… I can use my powers anymore. I might collapse if I do."

Bodahn and the other hunter caught up to him, with Bodahn staring the mutilated body of the Primore. "You've done plenty. And you goin' limp and lame like my good pal Will here won't do anyone any good. Can you still run?"

Donva nodded his head. "Not a full sprint but I think I can keep up a good pace."

"That's fine with me then. As long as we can make some distance, that'll at least make a difference."

Together, the group advanced in the direction that they came from. Donva took lead while Willheim stayed in the middle of the group. Bodahn kept his gun out but instead of having it focused on the hunter, he repeatedly stole glances behind him to keep tabs on the pursuing pack of Essencima.

"There's even more of 'em!" Bodahn called out. "Way too many for us to shoot!" A swarm of yellow eyes flashed from behind as well as to both flanks. They moved in erratic patterns while their primal grunts came from every angle.

"Look at the mess that you've gotten us into!" Willheim snapped! "Now we're all going to get mauled to death!" He continued to trudge forward but stole a quick glance to his rear to make sure that Bodahn could see the fury on his face. "I should've shot the both of you when I had the chance! Would have been a more peaceful death than what's in store for us now!"

"Shut it, Will! If anything, you're the one to blame for this mess!" Bodahn took his pistol and pointed it at the hunter. "Just keep your eyes ahead unless you want another piece of lead weighing you down!"

"Stop arguing!" Donva shouted while still maintaining formation. "You're only going to help the Essencima by doing that!"

"Oh, I know." Willheim replied. "I'm starting to think I'm better of taking my chances alone."

"Not a bad idea, Will," Bodahn remarked. "Let's split up. That way I won't have the temptation to waste a perfectly good bullet on ya!"

"Best idea you've ever had, kid. You know that?" Willheim turned around again, this time stopping in place. He pointed to Bodahn's rear while keeping his gun angled low with a finger on the trigger. His eyes looked on towards the tops of the trees with shock. "They're right behind you!"

The gunslinger stopped in his tracks. He quickly turned around to see the eyes of the Primore still in the distance. With his back to the rest of the group, he put both hands on his pistol and began aiming upwards. "Which one were you—"

With his still good arm, took a quick aim towards the gunslinger's back. The shot rang out the forest, the burst of fire from Willheim's barrel lighting up their section of the thicket. After the shot, Bodahn let out a blood curdling scream as he toppled forward. The force of the bullet's impact pushed him straight down, his face falling onto the dirt.

Donva turned around after hearing the gunslinger's cries, only to pause and watch in horror as Willheim stood on the man's back and his gun pointing down at the back of his head. The hunter ground the heel of his boot into Bodahn's back, making him wail in pain again before taking a quick look behind him. He then slowly turned his body enough to get a full view of Donva.

"Don't worry. I won't kill him. Or you." He mustered enough strength out of his wounded arm to hold his weapon with both hands. The front of the rifle was shaky, but the hunter made sure that it stayed pointed at Donva's body. "Just wound. These crazy creatures are a bit like us. They don't kill for sustenance or survival. Purely for sport. If I leave you here, that should give me enough time escape while they're distracted peeling the flesh from your bones."