Shuku rushes at the big grey bear with the sword in hand. As he approaches, he swings the sword at the bear's neck, aiming to finish it with one strike.
CLASH!
But the bear easily stops Shuku's attack, sitting down and chilling, using its three long claws to effortlessly block the sword.
Shuku quickly pulls out his sword and makes another strike.
CLASH!!
Once again, the bear effortlessly blocked his attack, yet he continued to relentlessly attack the bear swing after swing, clash after clash, each time aiming for any of the bear's critical parts. Then, after nearly a minute of struggling, he realized he couldn't end it in one go. The bear seemed to be almost done slurping and started to look frustrated with the constant annoyance.
Shuku knew he had to act fast. He decided to take a risky bet. He approached the bear even closer than before, well within reach for the bear to tear his body apart with its claws. This move slightly startled the grey bear. He then executed another strike at the neck. The bear predicted where the sword would go, raised its triple claws, and intended to block it easily, just like all of his attempts before.
However, this time, he was expecting it. Immediately, Shuku ducked his head down to avoid the claws, pulling the sword with him. As soon as he moved past the claws, he rise up again swinging the sword in another direction, catching the bear by surprise, and SLASH!
He sliced off the bear's left hand.
"GARRLLLL!!!!!"
When the bear saw its left hand and long claws fall to the ground with red blood dripping, it instantly roared in pain. Shuku sensed his first whiff of victory, but he had to stay focused on the bear as it became ferocious and launched a rage attack at him with the remaining claws on the other hand-
CLASH!
Shuku blocked the claws with his sword just as they were about to reach his forehead. He immediately pushed the bear's hand with the sword and jumped back as quickly as he could. The bear got angrier and run towards Shuku with the intention of slicing his entire body in half with its claws. It swings the claws, and Shuku blocks it. It swings again, and Shuku blocks it again, and again.
This time, he had become the one who had to defend himself. He regretted stopping for a few seconds after he sliced the bear's first arm, and now he had to struggle to avoid and block every single one of the bear's heavy and deadly attacks. However, despite not being able to counterattack and land another fatal strike after the first one, Shuku has been doing well in defending himself from the sharp claws and fangs of the grey bear. He and the bear chased each other around the area like cat and mouse, using all they had and doing their best to take each other's lives.
The fight continues for minutes, and it seems like there would be no winner until-
DING!!
...
Shuku is shocked by what has happened. His confidence once again immediately vanished as he saw what was unraveling in front of his eyes.
His sword breaks in half.
The sword, which had already worn out due to the environment and time, receiving heavy damage from the hard claws without any previous maintenance or sharpening, has now reached its limit.
More than half of the sword's blade breaks and falls to the ground, leaving him with only the grip and no more than 20cm of the blade left. His first reaction is to block the attack that is coming at him.
CLING!
The bear is now moving even faster as it senses it's about to win. Without the rest of the blade, the claws are now getting even closer to him, and he could feel all the strength of the bear bearing down on him.
Then, suddenly, the bear switched its tactic, deciding to use the claws to push Shuku instead of trying to slice him. It uses its claws to punch Shuku's sword brutally. As a result, he spins around from the momentum, and the bear immediately sees its opportunity and-
SLASH!!!
Using the three long remaining claws, the bear successfully slashed Shuku in his back.
"HUK!"
And caused him to collapse to the ground... Suddenly, it all became silent, the bear perceived, that its prey was now lying dead on the ground holding the broken sword in his hand, the bear calmed down from the murderous rage and began approaching Shuku to check if he's really dead or not.
Instantly, the gray bear is shocked by what it sees. It was the first time it witnessed a human that could heal any injuries on their body back to normal. The bear recalls the previous encounter with something similar, where it almost faced death in a reptile's stomach if not for its claws. This memory gives the bear chills and brings back flashbacks it wishes to forget.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Uncertain whether the prey is truly dead, the bear gives a kick to Shuku's stomach.
...
Still, no movement, the body shakes slightly, but then nothing more. Even though the bear inflicted a serious wound on Shuku's back, it has completely healed. And the human appears to be either unconscious or, the bear speculates, brain-dead. Seizing the opportunity, thinking the prey might be unconscious or already "dead," the bear proceeds to continue devouring the human, hoping to alleviate the pain of losing its left arm.
Also, the bear feels slightly relaxed as it now has access to a seemingly endless supply of food, thanks to the human's unique ability. Using its remaining right arm, the bear grabs Shuku's leg, lifts him into the air, and takes a look at him.
"GRRR...." The bear growls, trying to determine if the prey is still awake, staring directly at Shuku's closed eyes, and-
SLASH!!!
He was still awake! The human prey, whom the bear believed to be unconscious, was actually playing dead. When the bear brought its face close to Shuku's, he quickly realized it, opened his eyes, and swung the sword he was holding, slashing the bear's eyes and blinding it. The bear immediately drops Shuku, releasing him in response to the surprise attack. It begins to roar ferociously due to the intense pain in its eyes because it no longer has eyes.
"You are just a big animal, just like them." He yells. "And I vowed that that I won't ever stop until all of your kind are dead."
Using the blunt, sharpless, and broken sword, Shuku has successfully inflicted a deadly damage on the bear. As he began standing up on his feet, he grips the half-broken sword tightly and ready to end this once and for all.
The bear is now fully blind, exhausted, and crippled, and with the regeneration ability, everything is entirely in Shuku's favor, and he can not wait, to kill this fucking bitch.
"Huk!"
Shuku moves away from the bear, out of the claw's reaching range, then approaches the bear from behind and slashes at its back.
The bear then screams even louder and moves faster, trying to catch Shuku while blinded, but every time the bear turns around, he just needs to move back in front of it and land another strike. Wherever the bear is facing, he will attack in the opposite position again and again, non-stop.
Right now, the conflict is one-sided, as Shuku has taken on the role of the attacker, while the grey bear is hopelessly struggling to defend itself with its remaining three claws. But Shuku soon realizes, that no matter how much damage he inflicted, he cannot kill the bear, not with this sword. The bear's body is too thick for the sword to reach its heart, and losing the long and sharp tip makes him unable to stab the bear in the first place.
Then he considers the second option, which is to aim for the bear's head, the only area where the sword could be lethal. If he manages to reach the head, he could behead the bear from inside its mouth, but that would mean he will be totally in reach of those claws. Again, unlike last time, he also can't chop off the bear's remaining arm with this shitty sword, however, out of all options available...
"No. This is the only option available." He concludes.
It would be quite painful, but totally doable. But to make it happen, he needs to let go of his fears and brace himself for the immense pain that would come, however, that was what he has done, many times before. So, once again, he prepares himself, for the final strike.
"GAAHH!"
First, he swiftly closes his distance with the bear, reaching for its leg, and slashes at both left and right shin, causing the bear to collapse on its feet.
Next, he dashes behind the bear and quickly grabs onto its neck. He used his legs to secure the neck, even trying to strangle it, but it became evident that this approach wouldn't work due to the thickness of the bear's neck.
So he does what he should have done in the first place, using the broken sword and pushing it inside the bear's mouth. Immediately, the bear resists by using its long fangs to hold and lock the sword from moving any further. Now, the worst part of the plan has arrived. With the bear being aware of Shuku's position, it instantly raises its right hand and thrusts its claws into his stomach.
"HUK!"
However, Shuku had anticipated this. As soon as the claws penetrated his stomach, he immediately grabbed its arm with the remaining free hand and try to pull the bear's arm in deeper so that it couldn't retract the claws, making the claws stuck in his stomach.
With both sides tied to one another, it is now the battle of strength to determine who will prevail - the bear's long claws or his shattered sword.
"Die die DIE!! Compared to that lizard! You are nothing! You are just a BIG ASS BEAR!! And I'm going to kill you! I'm GOING TO KILL ALL OF YOUR KIND!!"
He screams, using all of his strength to try to pull the sword across the bear's mouth, competing with its massive biting power.
The bear started out the day simply by just trying to find food to survive and now finds itself fighting for its life, it tries its best the push Shuku out, but even when he's suffering bone-piercing pain, Shuku was ready to screw it all.
"DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!! WHY DON'T YOU JUST DIE GOD DAMN IT!!!"
They both grunt, yell, and scream at the top of their lungs, putting all their force and all-out strength into taking each other's lives. Shuku is quickly using up his already depleted energy, dedicating every passing second to drag the shattered sword across the bear's mouth.
He pulls and pulls, the sword won't move, but he keeps pulling, and he will continue the pulling and screaming as long as the bear's head is still intact. However, he has no intention of prolonging this battle any longer. As soon as he hears the screeching sound from the sword frictioning with the bear's teeth, he knows that it's time to deliver the final blow.
"GAAHHHH!!! JUST FUCKING DIIEEEEEE!!!!!!"
SLASHH!!
...
The entire place quickly fell silent again after the outcome of the battle was decided. Shuku fell to the ground from exhaustion, and the bear's head was sent flying into the air, splattering blood all over the place.
...Almost the entire bear's head, because the grey bear was beheaded across its mouth. However, it doesn't matter; what has been done is done.
As Shuku landed on the ground, the flying head following suit a moment later, he realized that he could finally rest. Even though the ground isn't particularly comfortable, he doesn't bother to stand up; he just simply wants to lie down and enjoy this brief moment of peace.
"I did it! I did it again!" He shouts with joy, throwing his hands up in celebration.
"You animals keep thinking you can always win with that aggressive mindset." He shouted arrogantly.
At last, after going through hell and back, fighting and struggling with the beast and putting his life on the line, his efforts finally paid off. However, he was terribly wrong to think that this was over, especially when he was still inside this dungeon. And the grey bear with its deadly long claws, is just the gatekeeper, of Hell.
GRRRR.... GRRR.... GRRRT!!!
Because, as one growling ends, dozens of others, emerge.