We didn’t stop until late into the night. Even then, nobody slept except for some light power naps. Haze didn’t try to sleep. She stayed up all night and watched for any monsters that might attack. That morning when we awoke and got moving again, Haze was unusually alert, as though she was expecting to have to fight something at any moment.

I kept an eye on her reactions and the other on our surroundings, searching for what she felt in her gut. Then after a few dozen kilometers, I felt a sudden pit form in my stomach and froze. I wasn’t the only one who felt that way, as Cami, Xiao, and Haze froze simultaneously.

“W-what is this feeling?” I managed to ask.

Haze shook her head, “Something very dangerous.”

“Well, no shit! Let’s turn around and leave,” Cami hissed and began walking backward slowly.

Xiao and I followed her lead, and Haze turned around to follow when she froze, her eyes widening, “Stop! Don’t move!” she exclaimed. We did as we were told and stopped in our tracks. Waving us toward her, Haze whispered, “Come here. Slowly. Do not turn around.”

I winced. Why did she have to say that? Why did she have to tell us not to do something when there was very clearly something right behind us? Why?! WHY!? I fought the urge to look behind me and lost. As I slowly approached Haze, I glanced over my shoulder, and my heart began to race a kilometer a second as I saw what was behind us.

A massive onyx-black snake with blood-red eyes stared at us. Its head was five meters wide and three meters tall, and it pressed its body against the ground enough that I couldn’t see how big it was compared to my tiny form. But it was huge.

I began to stammer, “M-m-master, w-what is th-that?”

“I told you not to turn around!” Haze hissed as she pulled me behind her.

“I couldn’t help it. What is that?”

“It’s an ancient Greater Basilisk. A calamity class monster, and we are not going to fight it.”

“There’s a calamity class monster behind me?” Cami gasped, her breathing becoming uneven and quick.

“Just get behind me,” Haze hissed as she grabbed Xiao and Cami by the arm and pulled them behind her.

“What good would that do?! Kill you a millisecond before us?! Great plan, master!” Cami hissed sarcastically.

Xiao shrugged, “Maybe she has a plan? Right, master?” Haze didn’t answer, and Xiao gulped, “Right? Master?”

Haze nodded, “Yeah, you three run and get an army while I distract it.”

“That’s a terrible plan,” I hissed.

“Tough shit,” Haze chuckled and said, “Better run.” Haze’s black armor formed around her, and she blasted forward, punching the Basilisk in the snout and forcing it back. The calamity class monster hissed and recoiled in surprise, revealing its massive body. It was clearly several kilometers long and looked big enough to devour an entire city.

“Run,” Cami hissed, then yelled, “RUN!!”

Xiao transformed into his wyvern form, and Cami hopped on his back as he flew off. I sent Storm chakra into my wings and blasted off after them, a sinking, awful feeling forming in my gut. I’m running away from a fight. I know I can’t win the fight, but it feels wrong. I can hear Haze fighting the monster with all her strength behind us as we fly at full speed away from the monster.

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The rhythmic booms of her punches and the occasional return strike from the Basilisk hitting with enough force to create shockwaves in the air hundreds of meters away. Yuki yapped at the Basilisk and for Haze to run away with us, but the fight continued. With every strike, every boom, every smack, the pit in my stomach grew like I was doing something wrong. Like I was failing. Like I was weak.

“AAHHHH!!” with another colossal boom, Haze screamed in pain, and I looked back. Haze’s armor was gone, and she lay in a pile of shattered stone from the mountain. Her body was broken, and blood covered her, soaking her orange gi and staining it red. The Basilisk loomed over her, its bulk climbing higher and higher as it prepared to deliver its final strike.

The world froze for me at that moment, and a deep, rich voice rang in my head, “Are you going to fight like a lion? Or flee like a mouse?”

‘Fangbao? Is that you?’ I asked but got no response.

“Are you going to flee like the rodent you are, or will you fight!?”

I gritted my teeth, ‘I can’t—’

“Flee!? Or! Fight!?”

Steeling my resolve, time resumed, and I grabbed Yuki and tossed her to Cami, who caught her out of reflex and exclaimed, “What are you doing!?!”

I turned around, and Fengbao put all his power into my wings, and I rocketed toward the ancient Greater Basilisk. Several mach cones formed around me as I shot toward the monster. I channeled my three other cores into my right fist as I quickly closed the distance. The Basilisk caught sight of me out of the corner of its eye and tried to move to dodge me, but I was too fast for it.

“STAY AWAY FROM MY MASTER!!” I yelled as I punched it with all my might.

I felt my bones shatter as my punch made contact with the monster, and it roared in anger as it was thrown backward and struck the ground several meters from it last stood. I could feel the energy leaving my body as I fell back to the ground a moment later, I used up all my chakra, and Fengbao couldn’t give me any more energy without killing me. Hitting the ground with a loud crack, I felt my left shoulder dislocate, and I screamed in pain as I felt everything at once.

The chakra channels in my body felt burned and damaged. My right arm was nothing but powdered bones and smashed meat, and my left shoulder was completely dislocated. I heard a coughing, gurgling sound from close by, and I raised my head to see, Haze trying to stand.

She fell back a moment later and wheezed, “I told you … to run.”

“I never listen. You should know that by now … master Haze,” I sobbed through sharp pain wracking my body.

Haze laughed and coughed up more blood, “Stop that. Don’t make me laugh.”

“Then get up,” I commanded, pressing my forehead against the ground. “You’re … the greatest … teacher,” I forced the words out as I got my legs under me and slowly sat up straight. “You’re the greatest fighter … you are my … master,” I sobbed as I got to my feet, “And I will not leave you to die.”

Crack! The Basilisk began to stir, and its tail slapped against the ground furiously, shaking the earth below my feet and making me fall to my knees. “No,” Haze cursed and tried to stand again but couldn’t move. Her body was too weak. The Basilisk rose, its red eyes glaring daggers at Haze and I.

I got back to my feet and stumbled over to Haze before collapsing from fatigue. Rolling over, I looked up at my impending death. Well, of all the times I thought I was going to die, at least this time, I can confirm that I would die one last time. I took a sharp breath and said, “Thank you for everything, master Haze.”

“You dumb kid. You could’ve lived,” Haze berated me weakly.

I shook my head, “Meh, living’s overrated.”

The Basilisk rose high above us, opened its mouth, and struck. Just before its mouth reached us, a massive explosion struck the Basilisk’s head, sending it reeling back in pain. I looked around for the source of the attack, and standing on the cliff above us stood a great flaming lion.

It looked down upon Haze and I, its flaming mane shining brightly. “You chose the right path,” the deep rich voice spoke in my head again, and the lion roared at the Basilisk.

The Basilisk shook its head and roared at the lion before striking at the creature. The lion shot a beam of fire at the Basilisk, sending it reeling back again. Then the lion leaped from the cliff and ran on the air toward the Basilisk, each step sending a wave of orange light out in the air.

Then I heard something big land nearby and saw Xiao and Cami running toward us at full speed. Cami picked me up, throwing me over her shoulder before dumping my limp body onto Xiao’s back and doing the same with Haze, who grumbled, “I have the most insubordinate students ever.”

“Grumble later! Run now!” Cami said as she got on Xiao’s back. Xiao roared in affirmative and took off into the air, his wings flapping furiously to escape the battle between the flaming lion and the ancient Greater Basilisk behind us. Fatigue took me as I lay there watching the battle unfold, and I drifted off into the darkness.

***