“GROWWWAH!”

One of the roars stood out from the others, more ferocious, more dangerous. Sariel grabbed his spear and the poison they'd prepared. He had to be ready for the silverbacks.

But how on earth was he going to face them all?

Lilan began trembling, her voice breaking as fear overtook her. "I can’t do this anymore… I wa-want my mother… I want to go back h-home!" Tears streamed down her face.

Kai tried to calm her. "I know, me too. But we can’t! Not right now!"

"Why isn’t Dad here? He should have found us by now! Mom and Dad probably think we’re dead! How can you be so calm, Kai? We were supposed to surprise Mom with herbs to make the medicine. Instead, all we did was make her worry!"

Kai was in disbelief. Lilan was always the brave one, the one he looked up to. Now she was breaking down in front of him.

He hardened his expression, bit his lip, and stood tall. "Calm?! Do I look calm to you?" He shook her shoulders, forcing eye contact. "I’m terrified! My heart feels like ice! But I won’t be a coward! I refuse to die! You’re my little sister, and with you and big bro Sariel here, I know we’re getting out alive! Or do you want to be bear food?!"

His hands trembled, but he kept his fear from showing on his face. Maybe seeing Lilan so vulnerable had pushed something deep inside him.

Lilan swallowed hard, standing shakily. "I… don’t want to die."

Sariel interrupted, knowing their conversation was important but also aware of the looming danger. "Those are silverbacks, right? We have to move. They want me, so maybe they’ll fight each other for my flesh."

Lilan’s eyes dropped. "It’s a sleuth of bears. They hunt in packs."

Sariel's mind raced. Sleuth? Like a group? They hunt in groups now?!

"Is this a misunderstanding? We’ve never seen them in packs before!" Sariel demanded, hoping she was wrong.

"Those that aren’t in sleuths are the ones that have been kicked out. They’ll eat us too."

Hell.

They dashed as fast as they could. Sariel grabbed both their hands, pulling them along when he realized they couldn’t keep up with his speed.

Wow… I’m fast. Really fast!

The wind rushed against his face, the kids felt weightless in his grip. He held their hands as best he could, unable to grab both by their wrists.

"My hand hurts…" Lilan squeaked, her face pulled back by the force of the wind.

Kai was struggling too, though he tried to hide the pain.

How much stronger have I become? Could I take them on? A whole group of them… I’d be dead for sure.

Sariel moved Kai to his back, wrapping one arm around Lilan so he could run faster without hurting them as much. They would have to endure the wind resistance.

Thump! Thud! Thump! Thud!

He glanced behind him. Four silverbacks chased, their tongues whipping out and saliva flying everywhere. Each one was level 17, closing the distance at terrifying speeds.

"Lilan! Kai! Use my spear if one of them gets too close!" Sariel ordered.

"How am I supposed to do that when you’re running this fast?!" Lilan shouted, barely heard over the rushing wind.

She was right, and there was no way he could slow down. "Just try your best, Kai!"

"Damn it!" Kai twisted his body around, facing the bears and grabbing the spear from Sariel’s back.

A bear swiped at him, but Kai thrust the spear at its foreleg. The bear dodged easily, but at least it pulled back its attack.

Suddenly, the light filtering through the trees disappeared. Sariel looked up sharply. A bear was airborne, its mouth wide open, aiming straight for him.

He dropped to his knees, skidding painfully.

GNASH!

The bear’s teeth barely missed his head. He rolled sharply, avoiding another swipe, but the claws grazed his neck, drawing blood.

Sariel needed an open hand. He grabbed Lilan’s collar and tossed her above him.

She screamed, her voice filled with shock.

He brandished his dagger just in time to parry the bear’s next strike.

TING!

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It’s strong!

The bear pushed its foreleg against his arm, pinning him down. Its fangs snapped at his face, inches away.

Imperia generation.

With a burst of speed, Sariel drove the dagger through the bear’s mouth, killing it instantly. In the same motion, he devoured its soul, feeling the immense power surge through his body.

He shut off imperia, the pain in his arm reminding him why he couldn’t use it constantly. It was too dangerous, especially now when he needed his full strength.

"Don’t forget Lilan!" Kai shouted, gripping Sariel’s shoulders in panic.

"I know," Sariel replied.

He crouched low, then leaped high into the air, reaching for Lilan. He planned to grab her and use the tree to spring forward. But as he reached her, a four-armed yellow-furred monkey appeared, attempting to grab her.

Move faster! Don’t be too slow this time!

Sariel grabbed Lilan’s leg and pulled her down, unintentionally hurting her.

"I’m sorry," he muttered quickly, but the creature wasn’t done. It leaped toward them again.

Why?! Sariel bit down on Lilan’s collar to hold her in place and swiftly sliced at the monkey with his blade.

"You’ll be just another one of my victims!"

The monkey screeched, wrapping its tail around the tree to stop itself. Sariel kicked off the tree, but his angle was off, and he nearly crashed. He caught himself with his good hand, Lilan still clutched in his teeth.

"Uggh..." Lilan groaned, clearly in pain from the chaotic movement.

"Two of them!" Kai yelled.

Bears leaped at Sariel from both sides. Their hot breath filled the air.

Imperia.

Pain flooded his body, and Sariel dropped to his knees, dodging the bears. He sliced one from its jaw to its groin, then grabbed its leg and swung it into the other bear, sending it flying.

The heat in his legs was unbearable, causing him to stumble. But he pushed himself forward, forcing his body to keep moving.

In the corner of his eye, Sariel saw the same monkey glaring at him. It thrust its arms toward Lilan again.

Not this time!

Sariel forced imperia through his back and arched low to the ground, avoiding the attack. Lilan reacted quickly, slicing off the monkey’s hand with her knife.

The creature screamed in agony as its other arms whipped around wildly, damaging the nearby trees.

"Move! That tree’s home to igniting amsects!" Kai shouted.

Igniting? That sounded like something to avoid!

Sariel kept running, but the bear behind him was still close. He had to move fast—before the explosion came.

BOOM!

Sariel grunted as the explosion rocked the air. His mind raced: I have to protect them...

Without hesitation, he grabbed Kai from his back, holding him tightly in front to shield him from the blast. Lilan was already in front, so he wrapped his arm around both of them as best as he could.

The force of the explosion sent Sariel flying, his body skidding along the ground like a flat stone skipping across water. Each thud against the earth sent fresh waves of pain through him.

He gasped for breath. "Ahh... it hurts..."

His entire body throbbed with agony, small objects stabbing into his flesh, and burns searing his skin.

This is insane.

Despite the pain, Sariel pushed himself up. His legs screamed in protest, the adrenaline he hoped for seemingly abandoning him at the worst time.

“Hurry, get on my back, Kai.”

The words had barely left his mouth when his body betrayed him. He slumped sideways, collapsing from the overwhelming damage.'

Damn it...

He didn’t even want to look at how much blood he was losing.

“GROAWHHH!” The roar echoed in the distance. Two more silverbacks, bearing down on them.

“You... you should leave me,” Kai stammered, fear clear in his trembling voice. “Just take Lilan and escape.”

Lilan’s tear-streaked face looked desperate. “Me? No, you go!”

They began arguing, but Sariel tuned them out.

How am I going to handle those bears?

His thoughts churned. I can’t take them both on. And other predators could be lurking...

His body was already on the brink, and he was terrified of using his imperia again.

Why am I afraid?

I’ve survived until this point. I don’t just survive—I get back up. This is nothing to me.

His resolve hardened.

Sariel stood and smeared poison onto his blade. It was a gamble, but it might give him the edge. “Both of you, just run. The silverbacks will come after me since I killed their pack members. They won’t bother with you.”

“Huh, but you’ll die!” Kai objected.

“Shut up and do what I say,” Sariel snapped, frustration boiling over. “If you want to be brave, run. Take your sister and go.”

Kai gritted his teeth. “I...”

“I said go!” Sariel stomped the ground, his voice hard.

Lilan hesitated, disbelief written across her face. “Wait, no! We can’t leave you!”

But Kai grabbed her wrist, pulling her away. She screamed, trying to break free, but he didn’t let go.

Sariel inhaled deeply, centering himself. Focus.

THUMP! THUMP!

The ground trembled under the approach of the two silverbacks. Their eyes blazed with fury, and their roars filled the air, a brutal chorus meant to terrorize their prey. But Sariel didn’t flinch. Instead, he ran—straight toward the place he had almost died before. He didn’t need to fight them head-on; he needed to be smarter.

In seconds, they were almost upon him, and he forced imperia into his legs, sprinting just out of their reach. Ahead lay a shimmering body of water with beautiful flowers on the surface.

Sariel kicked over a patch of flowers.

The bears lunged again, confident in their kill. But as Sariel dodged, the massive fish beneath the water surged upward, their hungry eyes locking onto the bears instead. With horrifying speed, they latched onto the silverbacks, dragging them into the water and drowning them.

The bears thrashed helplessly, their panicked roars muffled by the water’s surface.

Sariel collapsed to the ground, his legs convulsing from exhaustion and pain.

"It hurts..." he muttered through ragged breaths. But I did it... I survived.

A distant scream broke through his haze. The kids were staring at something—something worse. Sariel forced himself to look up.

No... no way.

A massive silverback, easily three times the size of the others, stepped into view. Its body was covered in silver shells, not just on its back but across its chest, abdomen, and head.

Its level: 29.

The monstrous creature wasn’t focused on the children... yet. But Sariel knew it was tracking him.

Don’t smell me... don’t see me...

But its ears twitched, and its gaze shifted to the kids.

Sariel’s heart pounded.

“Look at me!” he screamed, forcing the beast’s attention back onto himself.

It began to charge, slowly at first, then accelerating. Sariel gripped his dagger tighter, knowing what he had to do. He forced imperia throughout his entire body, unleashing hellish pain. His joints felt like they were splitting apart, his mind threatening to fracture under the strain. But he pushed forward, every muscle screaming in agony.

Move.

He surged ahead, blurring with speed—but suddenly, the bear vanished from his view.

What?

Sariel tried to stop, but nothing happened. He looked down in confusion, but there was nothing to see. His legs... were gone.

Saliva dripped onto his face as the massive bear loomed over him.

No... no...

“Stay back!” he tried to shout, but before he could react, the bear’s paw slammed onto his chest, pinning him to the ground. Its massive jaws closed around his head.

“GROWAHHH!”