The campsite was small and cozy. In the middle was an old campfire, supported with rocks. A log had been placed sideways to act as a seat. A cave-like burrow extended from the stony ground. There were no tents or tools. Whoever had rested here had left, taking their items along with them. Yet, this wasn’t the work of monsters.

There’s life here, Vivi thought, heart starting to beat. Sentient life. We aren’t alone.

“We most likely are alone,” Lucius said, speaking in her thoughts. He flew forth, examining the camp without worries. “This looks like a simple travelers’ camp. Someone slept here, then they moved on. It’s unlikely they’re still here. We can use their camp.”

“Is it humans?” Vivi asked quietly. Talking in her thoughts still felt awkward.

“I wouldn’t know,” Lucius said. “Most likely demons.”

“We should leave, I think,” Vivi said. “We’re not strong enough to risk meeting anyone. Humans or demons.”

“That’s stupid,” Lucius said. “I doubt anyone will come back for this little camp. There’s a lot for us to use here.” He floated lower, examining the ground more deeply. A part of the stone ground was covered by dead moss. Lucius sniffed at it, and his cat-face grinned. “There’s a trap here. Whoever stayed here was an experienced hunter. There’s bait below the cover. I sense it.”

“What do you mean?” Vivi asked, hesitantly stepping deeper into the camp. “Bait? For what?”

“For anything that can sense the world through ether,” Lucius said, “There’s a powerful current of ether down below that moss. It’s bound to cause curiosity.”

“You mean…” Vivi asked. “There’s bait for monsters?”

Before Lucius could answer, a white light within the forest ahead made Vivi’s heart drop. The aura was far away, but clearly larger than the ether stick’s. Wisps rose into the air, reaching above the trees. The monster, whatever the being was, approached the camp with a steady step.

Vivi’s body prepared for battle. Should she run? Fight? Already from afar, Vivi could tell the aura ahead of her was nothing like the ether stick. The approaching monster was a real one. She wouldn’t win.

While Vivi was frozen stiff with the elk’s skull in hand, Lucius flew to the air for a better view. He squinted down below. “It looks like a death rabbit,” he said. “A really big one. Its aura carries around four hundred ether. A good catch.”

Four hundred ether! Vivi gushed in her thoughts. That was more than what Bero and Jude carried combined.

Vivi stepped backward by instinct. The white light was taller than her now. She could hear the sizzle of ether approaching.

“I’ve fought far worse,” Lucius said. “Let’s fight. If we win, we’ll gain a necessary boost to our progress.”

If we lose, we die! Vivi thought.

Lucius didn’t respond. He waved his arms and said, “Over here! Mr. Rabbit!”

Vivi went into stance and took a deep breath, preparing for the worst.

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The worst was far worse than she could have imagined.

A giant white-furred hand, covered in wisps of ether, grabbed onto a tree outside the camp. The monster was too large to fit between the treeline. The hand twisted, and the tree snapped in half, creating an opening.

A six-foot tall rabbit stepped in. It stood on two legs. The footsteps were more like thumps. Its upper body was all muscle with arms that could likely lift a building. Its face would have been cute, if not for the red eyes filled with murderous intent, staring at Lucius.

The rabbit readied its throw, then released the tree-trunk it had just cut at Lucius, who floated in the air above the mossy ground. The tree shot forth with explosive force. Lucius let out a whelp, but managed to fly between branches, dodging the blow.

The tree trunk landed with a crash in the forest behind Vivi. She slowly stepped back, hoping the rabbit wouldn’t see her.

The rabbit screeched. Lucius’s presence really pissed it off. It readied its legs for a jump. The rabbit couldn’t hop around like a regular bunny. Its size was far too large, requiring energy to generate momentum.

The rabbit released its jump. It shot into the air, toward Lucius. It swiped at the cat in the air, claws appearing on its paws.

Lucius dodged again, easily outmaneuvering the heavy rabbit.

The rabbit landed on Vivi’s side of the campsite. Its feet crashed against the ground not twenty feet away from her. The rabbit glanced to its side, frowning down at Vivi.

“Watch out!” Lucius shouted in her head.

Vivi bolted to a run, heading for the protection of the forest. Fighting within the campsite was suicide. In the woods, she could run. The rabbit was too big to chase.

Except, it wasn’t. The rabbit swiped at the tree Vivi had just run past, cutting it in half with one swipe. It dashed for Vivi, destroying each obstacle in its path. It jumped, using its body mass to destroy vines.

Vivi ran for her life, already out of breath. She tossed the elk’s skull aside and focused all of her energy on the run. Trees snapped behind her, gigantic footsteps thumping against the ground. With the trees blocking the rabbit’s chase, she seemed to be gaining distance.

“Vivi, this way!” Lucius called in her head. His translucent red figure floated in the distance to her right.

I thought monsters weren’t interested in me! Vivi screamed in her head.

“Anything that is alive holds a little bit of active ether,” Lucius said. “Otherwise, you’d be dead already. Monsters won’t look for you, but they’ll kill you if they find you. Just follow me, Vivi!”

Without thinking, Vivi followed Lucius. He floated, swerving to the right, circling back to the direction they’d just come from.

“The death rabbit has more stamina than you,” Lucius said. More crashes and explosive thumps came from behind. “We’ll need to kill it. I have a plan.”

Vivi had a thousand different questions about this plan, but there wasn’t time to ask one of them. She followed Lucius back to the campsite.

“Hide behind trees,” Lucius ordered. “I’ll deal with it. This type of monster is weak against agility.”

Vivi did as asked, rushing to hide behind the tallest and widest tree. She collapsed there, out of breath, listening to the rabbit’s monstrous screeches behind her.

“Over here!” Lucius shouted out loud.

Lucius stood on two paws above the dead moss. The spot he claimed bore a bait for monsters. Vivi watched in concern. Her spirit didn’t plan on getting himself killed, did he?

The death rabbit entered the field, still in a state of rage. It glanced around, trying to spot Vivi.

When it failed to find her, its eyes drew to Lucius. It let out a deep growl of pure anger, then pounced at Lucius. It tackled the ground with its right shoulder, intending to crush the spirit between its weight and the ground.

The rabbit landed on the moss. A crash came from the ground, as if wood had snapped in half. The ground gave in, revealing a hidden hole beneath the moss.

The rabbit fell in by the force of its tackle. From the hole, Vivi heard a sharp piercing slash.

The forest became silent, but for the sizzling of wisps of ether arising from the hole.