Loup slunk through the forest, searching after a scent trail. Ike followed after her. By now, picking his steps through the forest came as an instinct. He couldn’t move as quietly as Loup, but he got close. They crept toward a hen from downwind. It pecked at the weeds, unaware of their presence.

Loup glanced at Ike. She jogged ahead, putting some distance between the two of them. Ike paused where he stood, slightly behind the hen. He waited, counting slowly to ten. The hen shifted slightly in the clearing. He crept along with it, adding a few seconds to his count to allow Loup to adjust.

Abruptly, the hen’s head snapped up. It ran off, fleeing the scene entirely.

Ike frowned. He straightened. Hens had run off before, but usually he or Loup had made a mistake. Walked upwind, stepped on a stick, missed the timing. This time, though, he hadn’t noticed any obvious missteps. He ran the events back in his head just to be sure. No, I can’t come up with anything. Maybe I—

A shadow fell over Ike. A fierce cock-a-doodle-doo rang out on the quiet forest air. Black claws pierced toward his face, almost as large as Ike himself. Broad red wings spread overhead, stretching wide over the forest. A lustrous dark-green tail trailed on the wind.

Ike’s eyes widened. He activated Lightning Dash and sped into the forest.

The rooster slammed into the ground with an earth-rattling shake. Dust flew up from the point of the strike, and a nearby tree crashed to the ground. The rooster towered over Ike. The average trees only reached its underbelly, while the highest trees barely brushed its chest. It looked down on Ike and tilted its head. Its huge red wattle trembled. Its beak glistened in the sun. It opened its mouth, revealing a fat pink tongue, and jabbed its beak at Ike.

Ike drew his sword. He stood his ground. Lightning crackled around his forearms.

Beak met sword. Ike stumbled back, but held the guard. They clashed for a long moment, and then Ike twisted his sword. The beak slid off the flat and struck the ground rather than Ike.

Ike’s eyes shone. He whipped around and sliced at the rooster’s head.

Faster than Ike thought possible, the giant rooster withdrew its head. Ike’s strike missed, a half-beat too slow. Standing tall over him once more, the rooster drew back its leg.

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Oh, shit. Ike turned and fled out of the grassy clearing and into the forest.

The rooster chased after him, unleashing a flurry of kicks as it ran. Each kick felled trees. Dirt flew up. Wood creaked, groaned, and shattered. Tree trunks slammed down all around Ike. He turned around and ran backward, watching them fall with his enhanced senses. With their help, he managed to dart out of the way before any trunks hit him.

Snap. A young pine dropped down at him. Thick, wide-reaching branches cut off his escape. Ike gritted his teeth, then lowered his sword. He braced his legs. Lightning burst from his forearms and calves.

The shadow eclipsed Ike. The tree closed in on him. The very first branches brushed Ike’s head.

He unleashed the upward strike of the River-Splitting sword. His blade sliced through the branches, cutting a slash just wide enough for him. The tree struck the ground and bounced, but Ike stood in the ruins, unharmed.

Before he could feel relief, the rooster leaped at him. Black claws stretched wide, blocking out the sun. The rooster flapped, hovering over him to claw at him again and again.

Ike dropped down below the remaining branches. The pine tree bore the brunt of the rooster’s onslaught. Needles rained down on Ike. Pine sap filled the air, sharp and sweet. The branches shattered. A black claw gouged the pine trunk.

I have to get out of here. Ike glanced left, down the tree, and right, up toward its peak.

The rooster slammed its beak down inches from Ike’s right. Two beady eyes glared at him, each one as big as Ike’s hand.

Left it is. He rolled to the left, toward the thicker branches lower on the tree.

Screeching at the top of its lungs, the rooster chased after him. Its beak clacked shut over and over. It snapped away branches, stripping the pine tree bare.

Ike kicked off the trunk and cut hard toward the rooster. It kept chewing through the tree, unaware of Ike’s turnabout. The rooster’s neck stretched before him, broad as his entire body. Calling forth all his strength, Ike cut into the rooster’s neck.

The sword struck. Feathers flew. It jarred into the rooster’s neck, slicing skin and muscle. The blade hit something hard and stopped dead. Reverb jarred up Ike’s arms. He grimaced, hands and wrists aching. How hard are these bones? He grabbed the sword with both hands and yanked. Stuck fast, the sword refused to budge.

Oh, shit.

The rooster turned around, doubling back on itself. Its huge beak opened.

Ike yanked harder. He lifted his leg and kicked with all his might, pulling at the same time. He jerked the sword free. Blood spurted out. Ike stumbled back.

The rooster snapped at Ike. Off-balance, Ike back-handedly slapped the sword at it. The blade deflected off its beak. Rather than throwing the rooster back, Ike managed to throw himself back barely out of the beak’s reach.

Doggedly, the rooster chased him down, biting again. This time, Ike had nothing. He was off-balance, his sword out of position, completely unprepared. He tensed, expecting pain.

Lightning boomed. The rooster stumbled, its head striking the ground. Ike looked up, startled. What the…