The distance between us and the assaulting pantherian was reduced almost instantaneously. As what you would expect from a pantherian with full energy, it was as if the beast teleported in front of us.
Its hand outreached, it tried to take the clothes from Hiten. It must have understood almost everything for it to go after the cloth first rather than Hiten. That was rather clever for a pantherian, as I may have to change my mindset on how beasts or monsters inside the Forest Macabre behaves.
Since it was never explained in the books how intellectual beasts are in the Forest, I would set my standards for this unknown pantherian first, for it clearly shows signs of good battle sense and decision-making.
Consequently, this might also lead to the possibility that the beasts inside the Forest are more organized than what was previously thought. Yet if so, then wouldn’t that raise the difficulty of the Forest even more?
But why are there no records of collectives within the forest, no tribes, no groups clinging together to survive?
Is it because no one has lived to tell the tale yet? Is it because they’re experts at hiding?
Oww, my head. Huuuu.
The unknown pantherian closed its distance even more and it almost grabbed the clothes, but Hiten managed to take away the clothing from being caught. Surprisingly, Hiten then dropped the clothing and at the same time grabbed the hand of the unknown pantherian before channeling his berserker state again. With its glowing red stripes and streaked eyes, Hiten managed to turn around and throw the unknown pantherian away.
“GRRROOAAAAAAAARRRR”
The throw was strong and relentless, and it left the unknown pantherian shouting as it was sent away, just imagining anyone being tossed like that gives an assurance of instant death, especially here in the Forest where opportunity presented is always taken in every way. Although, I have this feeling of irrational confidence that the hurled pantherian will not be facing its demise.
True to my thoughts, and if my eyes are not deceiving me, that very same pantherian began exuding the same aura that Hiten had earlier, its stripes also changed color with the same black-to-red transition, and its eyes glowed a reddish light as well. It was quite amazing to see a beast doing berserk mid-air. Though I think berserk was not really necessary, knowing that the physical prowess of pantherians would allow it to dexterously land safely on the ground after being tossed like that. If I had to guess the reason for it berserking, it must have sensed Hiten’s desperation and decided to make no concessions.
Then it happened; when the berserking unknown pantherian was in mid-air, when Hiten whose goal now was to remove all bloodstains on his body, and when I was in awe of the both of them and thought of how great it would be if I can do berserk as well. That’s when it happened.
A vine sprang out of the waters, then another, and another. Those same vines that almost killed Hiten and I.
That was too fast. I had to refocus myself on the current situation, while Hiten seems to have completely retired all of his attention to the removal of blood. I need to be wary of any changes that might happen from the characteristics that the vine monster has shown earlier. Beasts and monsters generally are combat oriented creatures—
Well, I would have been glad if I were combat oriented.
And because of this, beasts and monsters are experts at adapting well to the circumstances of the battlefield, and this creature, who only shows its vines to fight, is no exception.
One of the vines speeded towards the nameless pantherian and tried to attack it while its in mid-air. Not shocking though, it’s the only prey in the area right now that it could actually “touch.” Hiten is still covered by bloodstains in some of its limbs and those vines knows that I am the source of the blood.
Yet, proving to be among the strongest beasts, the unknown pantherian somehow “kicked” the air and effectively dodged the vine. The vine, on the other hand, did not stop its pursuit and continued to assault the pantherian. It could be an easy fight for the pantherian in its berserk state to fight against a single enemy, however, it is a different story if there are multiple enemies simultaneously attacking from different directions.
“GROOOAAAAAARRRRR!!!?”
The shouts of the unknown pantherian could be heard from my position. And what is more amazing is that even the hits and parries between the two can be heard as well, that is just how much impact each strike has.
I might get involved with this, since I have to protect Hiten at all costs. I held onto the blood-soaked cloth that I had prepared earlier just to be sure. But even with this, I am still not confident in my safety, what if its potency decreases once its dry? Once I single out all the unknown factors, I cannot afford to spare any resource that I have just to secure my survival. This is the Forest Macabre, a jungle that kills.
Hiten’s almost finished with removing all the bloodstains on its body, so probably the berserked state would go back to normal afterwards. And then I need to proceed cautiously with what to say next, so that we would not elevate the already dangerous situation that we are in right now.
“GROOOOOAAAAARRRR”
With roar after roar, the pantherian fighting the vines seems to be able to hold its own, contrary to what was predicted. During the battle, a vine lashed out at its head, yet the pantherian crossed out its arms in front to block the attack. It then held onto the vine and used its force to dodge another vine aiming at its legs.
Flinging itself to the movement, the pantherian let go of the vine it was holding and did the “air kick” again, propelling itself downwards to evade a multi-pronged attack of the vines from different directions. However, another set of vines were waiting for its trajectory and aimed at its limbs. Nevertheless, the pantherian prepared itself and attempted to claw the vines that were trying to attack it; it was not effective at all, the vines were cut into pieces, but they were instantly replaced by more and more vines, surrounding and cornering the distressed pantherian.
Even with the hopeless situation, the pantherian still struggled throughout and ravaged all the vines it can cut with its claws and bite with its fangs. It desperately fought with all its might despite the overwhelming disadvantage. But however strong a beast may be, the factor of being outnumbered will still be a major strategic consideration in any battle. This is the general tactic of weak against the strong, by increasing the combatants, the whole has a higher chance of survival.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
But that kind of situation is not the same for the pantherian and the vines. Those vines are not “weak” in this case, just by remembering the destructive force of a single vine made me make a mental note of not underestimating its power. These vines are strong even without the numbers, even without the advantage of numbers.
Therefore, the question in this case is, what happens when the “strong” outnumbers you?
Well, the answer will lie on what the pantherian would do. If I remember correctly, that pantherian initiated berserk when it was in mid-air after being thrown by Hiten. It is safe to assume then that its goal would not be defeating the vines, but something related to Hiten,
Hmmmm. Maybe it’s defeating Hiten? But what accounts for “defeat? Is it to kill, to incapacitate, to make your opponent surrender? Seriously, I have no idea how general or specific these goals are for berserkers.
But if that is the case, that pantherian would be fighting until it dies. Woah, that would actually be great, yet I doubt it happening; judging from the willpower that Hiten displayed earlier while on berserk, pantherians have the capability to increase their tenacity as well.
With increasing bruises and wounds from trying to deflect the never-ending onslaught of vines, any ordinary beast’s will should have faltered by now, and they would usually create an expression of either anger, fear, or worse, despair.
The pantherian, however, expressed none of these emotions.
“GROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRR!!!”
Dauntless determination. It was etched on the face of the pantherian as it clawed, ripped, and slashed its way out of the encirclement. With its sharp eyes centered only on Hiten, the pantherian created its own path and rushed through the ravaging vines that continue to strike at all points. It’s scary to think that an ability like this could remove the basic instinct of fear inherent in all beasts and monsters and drive them into a frenzied state.
Probably out of impatience, the pantherian jumped and kicked the air in order for it to shoot itself towards Hiten; with its claws outstretched in front of it, the pantherian intends to finish Hiten as fast as it could.
Hiten is almost finished wiping all of the bloodstains on its body, yet it still continues to wipe literally every spot of blood present on its body. This is bad. I fear that Hiten’s berserker state ignores other factors outside its designated goal, because if it is the case, this is a miscalculation on Hiten’s part, the “goal” set when going berserk seems to follow through on every detail set by its caster.
There are just a few blotches on its left leg that remains, but the unknown pantherian is closing in real fast.
*SLASH*
“GROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRR!!!”
A vine was able to penetrate the physical defense of the unknown pantherian, it was able to hack off its left arm. Blood instantly splurted out as the pained roar was heard throughout the surroundings.
Thinking that the unknown pantherian would somehow slow down due to its fresh injury, I thought wrong. I have underestimated a beast’s capabilities again. The pantherian even went faster as it braced and fought all the way to Hiten. It was just a few moments away from its target, a few moments of desperation and it would achieve its goal.
This is the part where I must make my move. I started running, gripping my only weapon at hand. I will make sure that everything falls into place and no considerations will be given. With all my might, I broke to a sprint, the fastest sprint that my weak legs can get.
I won’t make it.
The outstretched hand aimed at Hitens head. It will hit, and Hiten’s head will be destroyed, the hand will come into contact and will be the end of Hiten. This time, Hiten will die—
“Guogh!”
Hiten was done. All of the bloodstains on his body were removed and the stripes started to fade from their reddish glow. Eyes that lost their intense shine meant that the berserk state was gone. And Hiten finished the set goal.
And as for the other pantherian,
Death.
Two vines were impaled on its body, one on its neck and one on its chest. The hand did not reach Hiten, although almost, the vines proved to be faster and stronger than the berserkered determination of a pantherian. Afterwards, the vines immediately reeled in its prey and plunged back into the waters.
That’s one.
At least I made it.
Some of the vines also aimed at Hiten since all of the blood was removed already from its body. Fortunately, I made it in time to intercept the would-be attackers by intensely swinging my failsafe blood-soaked cloth in front of them. Since Hiten used berserk again, it probably would fall unconscious anytime soon.
And it did fall unconscious. After making sure that all the vines are gone, I took Hiten and laid its body on the ground, this time with its face facing up. Now, I have to play the waiting game again. I have realized firsthand the hardship of waking up a berserker after they used berserk. Earlier, when Hiten fell unconscious for the first time from berserking, I tried different methods of waking it up; from punching its face to biting its fingers off. And even with that, Hiten remained fast asleep.
So for now, I will take this opportunity to rest and collect my thoughts. I gained a lot of insights from all of this.
First, berserk removes all physical limitations on the body and improves overall combat ability.
Second, berserk will command the body to fulfill its casters last goal in mind to the last detail.
Third, berserk will consume all energy inside a beast’s body, rendering them unconscious after being released.
A double-edged weapon where you must use only as a last resort. The consumption of energy afterwards leading to fainting is indeed a setback, it’s understandable as well since the power given is something to be reckoned with.
“Haaa, I’m so sleepy right now” But I can’t sleep here, who knows what might happen in just even a short time that I slept.
But maybe closing my eyes would be fine…
…
“Grruughh”
“Wha—what’s that?!”
That was bad, I felt asleep!
I checked my surroundings to make sure nothing’s amiss. Sleeping is the last thing that one would do inside the Forest Macabre, who knows how many beasts or monsters are lurking around, waiting for a moment of weakness from unknowing prey. Thankfully, we’re near the Hallowed River and it somehow lives to its reputation as one of the most dangerous locations inside the Forest, where beasts and monsters alike have learned to avoid over time. I sense no creatures nearby, that’s understandable, any ordinary beast would have probably ran away after the extreme scene earlier.
“Gruughh.”
And this is what have woken me up, I’m not sure how long I have slept, but I have to act now.
“Oy, oy Hiten, you need to wake up now.” I tried nudging its body a little, and even that act alone was so hard for me.
I mean, just what is inside this body? Are there minerals inside? Why is it so heavy?
“Grrr. You, you again huh. Wait! Where is Gedin?! You, run away! You’ll just be a nuisance.”
“I see that you’ve recovered already considering the fact that that’s your initial conversation. Don’t get excited, if you’re referring to the other pantherian, he’s dead. He got caught by the vines from the river.”
“Wha—how? Oh. That’s possible, but you—”
“GUOGKH!” Hiten’s hand then choked me, clutching it.
“Speak. Who are you?”
“Gukh. I told you I’m from the sou—Gaakh!”
“I asked who you are, not where you are from.”
Hiten’s eyes were full of suspicion. It was like what I felt from that Giden earlier, I was being subjected to that skill again, but this time, I can’t look away since my whole head is locked by hands big enough to cover my whole face. Well, I don’t care about all that, because what I see right now is something I already saw before, something that was etched to my mind the moment I promised myself to survive. Hiten’s eyes were the same.
It was the look of disdain.
It was the look that Edran gave me as a parting gift.
It was the look that told me that I am unworthy, that I am useless, that I am weak.
I hated that.
Now Hiten, let’s kill you