The moment Alpheus’ eyes met the beast's, its pupil narrowed. Marianne continued to run without looking back, but Alpheus saw everything as though he was flipping between pages, seeing each fleeting moment of its movement while time froze.

The redness of its eyes grew more profound.

The growling and rumbling that emerged sent shivers down his spine with each breath it let out.

The teeth became visible. They were massive and looked as though they could tear through steel—the teeth of a predator.

It placed its massive arms on the ground, assuming a position that indicated one thing and one thing only.

It was about to lunge at them.

“Jump to your right!” Alpheus shouted from the top of his lungs.

Without a moment of hesitation, Marianne obliged and did just that. They fell to the ground. Alpheus winced from the impact and felt a gust of wind fly past him. A moment later, the beast would have killed them right there. It flew a considerable distance away, and Marianne immediately stood up to hide behind a tree before it turned around to face them again.

“W-We need to get away!” Alpheus was rattled to the point that he made such an obvious assessment. For the first time, Marianne gets a clear view of the beast for which they have become prey. Immediately, she grabbed Alpheus by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes with an intensity that made him hold his breath.

“Yes, you need to get away. The moment I give the command, you run with all your might, and don’t you dare slow down no matter how out of breath you get. No matter how much your body aches.”

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“But...”

“Don’t you dare hesitate. This is not the time for that. This is a command. You owe me one. Remember?”

She brought up the silly game they played at a time like this.

“You will run. And you will do so immediately.” The expression on her face was bloodcurdling.

The beast is already beginning to approach them. Marianne can hear the footsteps getting closer.

Alpheus nodded meekly.

Marianne took out the knife from one of her pockets and placed it in the shivering hands of the shell-shocked boy. In place of the knife, she began to fill her pocket with a large amount of decently sized rocks.

She looked back at the youngling holding onto the knife for dear life, and tears began to form in the eyes that looked with innocent fear. At that moment, her expression softened before the hardened look returned.

“I’ll catch up with you.”

She uttered those empty words, hoping the boy was nervous to believe them.

She waited a moment, waiting for it to take another step so that she could hide the noise of their movement underneath the destructive sound of its own body.

Gauging the next instance, which would become the opportunity they needed, she mouthed at him.

“Run.”

He began to move in the opposite direction, and soon enough, the sound of its own footstep masked the boy's escape.

At that exact moment, Marianne emerged from the tree, and the creature instantly noticed her.

She threw a rock that thankfully entered its nose, startling the beast.

It saw red.

----------------------------------------

His head was spinning in spirals.

His legs ached with every step.

His breath labored to the point of agony.

His arms dangled uselessly to the side as he continued to run. He couldn’t feel them, but he clutched the knife in his hand with all his might.

Every cell in his body screamed at him to stop, but he continued running.

He ran, his mind completely blank.

He continues to run.

His pace began to slow down, and his movement became sluggish to the point that he started limping.

He continued to run with the mere thought that what awaited him was something.

Be it a light with a beauty and brightness that blinded him from all his thoughts.

Be it the end, that would release him from his bodily ache.

Be it sanctuary and salvation from it all.

But beyond all that, he wanted just one thing.

Something that would save the person who pushed him to run toward something.

When he could run no longer, he did arrive at something.

That something is a group of people.

People armed with weapons.

People, among which was a man holding a sword.