The shadow moved only a few centimeters… but enough to reveal its shape more clearly.
Dio did not inhale. He kept his chest still, as if the air around him would collapse if he moved too quickly.
The bush ahead shifted slowly, not as if brushed by wind, but pushed by something that calculated its distance precisely. Two small points of light—eyes—reflected low between the leaves. Not round like a deer's. Not large like a predator's.
Narrower.
More focused.
More aware.
Dio lowered his body slightly, shield half-raised, sword resting against his thigh. He didn't want to show an attacking stance. But he knew that whatever it was, he couldn't turn and run.
The forest behind him was too dense.
The unconscious person he protected could not move.
And the protection of "cannot die" did not mean "cannot be slowly crushed."
The creature pushed its head forward.
Dio remained still.
For the first time, he saw its form clearly.
Not an ordinary forest animal.
Its body was low with a sloping back. Its fur was short, dark, with faint markings like old scrapes. Its body was longer than a wild dog's, its legs thin but strong, its movements smooth and extremely slow.
But the most striking feature was its jaw—
not wide, but long… like something that relied more on quick bites than on crushing strength.
The creature sniffed.
Once.
Twice.
Then stopped.
It had found the scent of a human.
Dio shifted his weight backward, tightening the muscles in his legs.
The creature moved closer into the entrance path, close enough to part the leaves.
Dio knew what would happen.
Not a brutal frontal charge.
Animals like this didn't ram large prey.
It would test the distance first—jump quickly, bite, then retreat.
Repeating that cycle until the prey weakened.
Or panicked.
Dio could not panic.
---
The creature moved.
Fast.
Instant.
A dark blur shot out from the bush, its jaws open, a short breath escaping its throat as its body skimmed low over the ground.
Dio raised his shield at the exact moment.
A hard impact slammed into the shield, metal and bone crashing together. The creature bounced backward, landing with claws gripping the soil. It did not shriek. It did not retreat in fear.
It merely reassessed.
Dio stepped back.
The bone in his left arm throbbed from the hit.
The creature lowered itself slightly—its hips dropped, its tail stiffened straight.
That was the stance of the second strike.
The next attack would be faster.
Dio pressed himself toward the narrow entrance. The tight space would restrict the creature's angle of attack. And the cramped passage would restrict its movement.
But it would restrict his too.
The creature shifted its front leg, adjusting its angle. A sliver of sunlight revealed part of its face. Not entirely feral—more like an animal starved too long and too often forced to fight to survive.
It leapt.
Dio raised his shield.
But the creature learned from the first collision.
It didn't crash into the shield.
It cut sharply to the right at the last second—an impossible quick arc for such a small frame—and its jaws aimed for the unshielded side of Dio's body.
In a fraction of a second…
Dio forced his body to twist.
His sword rose—not in a graceful swing, but a raw reaction driven by survival.
Steel and bone met.
Not cleanly.
Not deeply.
The blade only scraped the creature's shoulder.
Thin blood splattered, but the creature did not cry out. It retreated quickly—faster than Dio's strike—and stood outside the narrow entrance.
Its eyes changed.
Not afraid.
Not angry.
More… calculating.
Dio clenched his jaw.
He understood this creature was no minor threat.
Not a large predator.
But a combination of both: small enough to be fast, strong enough to be lethal.
And something worse:
This was not an animal avoiding a human.
This was a creature that believed it was hunting.
---
The creature moved slightly left. Circling. Not disappearing. It tried to find another angle around the shield.
Dio stepped back, ensuring the unconscious figure stayed behind him.
His heartbeat grew stronger.
But his mind stayed clear.
He tried forming a pattern.
The creature: fast, not too strong.
Him: twenty-four days of protection, unable to die… but still able to have bones broken, skin torn, or body crushed.
If his leg broke, he couldn't run.
If his arm shattered, he couldn't lift the sword.
The protection wasn't an advantage—
it was a new kind of danger.
The creature tensed again.
This time it didn't wait.
It charged.
Dio lifted his shield fully, then angled it slightly. The impact came. The creature slid to the side as Dio redirected the collision with the angled shield.
Dio thrust his sword as fast as he could.
The blade hit empty air.
The creature had already darted back two steps.
Dio felt his breath growing heavier.
Sweat formed on his back despite the forest's cold air.
The creature circled wider this time, almost reaching the left side of the large rock.
If it succeeded in circling…
it could enter from an unguarded angle.
Dio knew he had to get out of the narrow space. He couldn't stay defensive forever.
The creature's shorter body made it agile… but its speed meant it was more vulnerable in a slightly wider area.
"I guess I have to begin."
He stepped forward—one step—out of the sheltered spot, forcing the creature to react.
The creature was startled for a split second—
enough.
Dio swung his sword low, attempting to cut off its movement path.
The creature leapt left, but not fast enough.
The steel scraped its front leg.
Not deep.
But enough to alter its gait.
Its steps wobbled slightly.
Dio seized the moment.
He moved forward, lowering his center of gravity, forcing the creature into a narrow space between the bush and the rock. The tight area limited its speed.
The creature let out a low sound—
a mix of snarl and hiss.
Then it attacked.
This time Dio was ready.
He blocked with the shield, absorbed the push, and used his left arm as a pivot. His sword dropped low—not aiming for the creature's body, but the ground—
then he swept upward as fast as he could.
The blade struck the creature's jaw from below.
A hard crack of bone echoed.
The creature was thrown backward.
It didn't die.
Didn't faint.
But its head wobbled.
Its teeth bled.
Its body trembled.
Dio didn't wait.
He advanced—
one step,
two steps—
and slashed sideways with all the strength he had left.
The blade struck the creature's side.
A wet sound burst.
Blood splashed onto the soil.
The creature fell, its body shivering once…
then stopped.
No other sound came from the forest.
No second creature appeared.
Only Dio's heavy breathing.
He stood for a few seconds, scanning the surroundings, making sure no new threat approached. Once certain, he rested against a large stone, pressing his forehead with the back of his hand.
His left hand trembled.
Not from fear.
Not from shock.
Simply from fighting for the first time in his life… and winning without anyone's help.
He looked at the creature's body.
Not large.
Not majestic.
But incredibly dangerous.
"If this is one of the small ones," he thought…
"then what is larger than this?"
A coldness slid into his bones—not from the air.
From new knowledge:
He had not seen anything yet in this world.
And he was only beginning the fourth day.
Under the slowly rising disk of the sun, Dio held his blood-stained sword—
not only stained with the creature's blood.
His own skin had been cut by the earlier attack.
He drew a long breath.
The day did not end here.
He still had to move the corpse, keep the unconscious person alive, and find a new place before other creatures came to smell the blood.
The first battle had only opened a door.
Behind that door…
something larger was waiting.