TF Chapter 63 Hesitation

***Nathaniel***

I stood up having managed to remove myself from the stem of one of these trees with the blue spots in a dark stem. They were beautiful on the outside, yet gross on the inside.

Before I could even gather myself, I felt a palm grasping my face instantly, raising me up by the head, applying force to my skull.

I shouted, did everything I could, kicked at the creature, tried to claw at its hand, a futile action that only caused more bruises upon my hands.

I started to feel a shortness in my breath since its palm had also enclosed my nose, causing me to feel as if I was about to suffocate.

No, I decided that I couldn't die here, not like this! So I took a risk, galvanising my entire reserves of the spirit, which I crashed onto the creature in waves, causing its spirit to be pushed back, until mine washed against its body. Never underestimate a lifeform that had been backed into a corner, cause that's when it becomes the most dangerous!

Its palm loosened, causing me to free fall and land onto the muddy ground, with my feet wobbling. Weakness was starting to get to me, even with the adrenaline still running within my veins. It looks like I had pushed my body to its very limits. Though, the good news was that the previous attack hadn't managed to destroy any of my limbs or give birth to any dangerous internal injuries, but I still felt like a wrung out cloth.

My eyes managed to refocus at this time, where I managed to see that the creature was simply standing in front of me motionless, probably trying to get out of the waves of spirit I was battering it with.

I spat out a glob of saliva, withdrawing my spiritual powers and then backing away by leaping backwards and then to the side.

Its spirit, which had been weighing on me had, for now been withdrawn, a lighter feeling assaulting me at that.

"Hahahahahahahahaha..."

I chuckled and then devolved into full on laughter at that accomplishment. Finally! I had managed to achieve the goal I had started out with... Though, I knew that it was only temporary. There was no way I could run out of its range before it recovered, which was around 15 meters. If I had been in tip top condition, It would have been effortless.

A heavy sigh escaped my lips along with a cough, abruptly cutting my joy short. My body was shit right now, almost out of energy, with me running on fumes.

"...ahhhhHHHHHHHHHH!"

A scream escaped my mouth causing even the very air particles to vibrate as a pulse of pain appeared within my mind, vibrating at the same rhythm as my spirit. The pain was so much that it surpassed every instance of pain I had ever felt since the moment I had arrived within this world! I rolled around in the mud, having lost my composure as I continuously smashed into the ground, trying to make myself feel some bodily pain in order to alleviate the one in my mind, but I lacked anything that could actually injure me, so I screamed and screamed and screamed!

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I felt the creature's spirit pressing against my own, but that was only a fleeting instant before the pain took over all rational thought, then, I felt my stomach caving in as a powerful impact hit me, causing my mouth to involuntarily open, with a cracking sound entering my ears from within my body. A bone, or many of them must have shattered before, I felt my body leaving the mud, the velocity causing me to feel as if the very air wanted to impede its movement.

Another tree blocked my momentum, but this time, my body had become so scrapped, I even lacked the energy to stand, not to mention that even I had any, I would be able to because of the pain, which pulsed like the beating of a heart.

***Danny***

Maintaining sanity and keeping myself from jumping out was getting increasingly harder with every blow Nathaniel was taking, even as he screamed like a tortured animal. What was happening to him? I had no idea, only placing it on the creature attacking him. Could it be that it was using its spirit as a torture device?

I was still searching for a window, an opportunity where I would be of help, yet was still short of such a thing. And the current intensity of the creature's attacks were even causing me to shiver in fear. This...this thing was just way too powerful!

I bit my lips with enough force to draw blood at Nathaniel's current state.

"In five seconds! If I don't get a window of opportunity within this time range, I am going to save Nathaniel no matter the consequences!"

FIVE!

Blood drops scattered into the air from Nathaniel.

FOUR!

Cracking sounds echoed within the forest at another blow!

This time, I saw red! Every thought, every calculation left my mind, with only a pure rage taking over me.

I jumped from my hiding spot, rummaged through the leaf bag and picked out whatever stone my hand touched upon, before throwing it at the creature. This was my strongest attack in my rage. It caused even the very air to explode before impacting the dark metallic skin on the back of the creature's head, causing a dull ringing sound, with the stone itself shattering into fragments.

Stopping itself would have been a crime in my book upon seeing the state to which Nathaniel had been driven to. His voice had already become hoarse from screaming, or maybe something was blocking his mouth? All these speculations didn't matter as I simply shrunk the distance between us with such speed I didn't even notice, my eyes only on the prone body of Nathaniel which was in the middle of convulsing abnormally.

I knelt down by him, the presence of the creature already out of my mind, like it didn't even exist. I extended my hands towards him, only to see them trembling uncontrollably. Was senior Nathaniel about to die? That thought weighed down my mind such that fear and terror appeared freezing my entire body in place. I had been idiotic. Because of my cowardice, I had delayed myself from helping, causing this entire situation.

Why hadn't I acted? Senior Nat had already shown me how he had been unyielding, yet I had been in the shadows, waiting for a good chance. Could it really have appeared?

I pushed through the cold in my body and laid my hands upon him. His body was hot, like he had a fever. Blood had clotted beneath his skin, causing red swollen patches. The fabric we had been given, the latest in humanity's advancement, had already become no more than rags on his body, a testament to the strain it had been under.

His spiritual powers...that's the next thing I noticed. They were pulsing...!? Like a heart?!

No, that wasn't important, I had to find a way for him so survive, but how?

Lost in my thoughts, I only remembered that we were still in the presence of the creature when its oppressive spirit pressed upon mine, a curse almost escaping my mouth at my stupidity. How could I save Nathaniel when this thing was still here? I paled at the very cruel fact that we might perish here.