What? How is this possible?
Time seemed to freeze as the ghost of the Kodiak Crystalline bear Damien had slain thundered across the ice. Its gigantic paws lashed out at Jack, who had just sprinted into the resting area.
Before he could be shredded, a gust hurled him airborne. A second later, he floated down behind Damien, whose attention was split between the poachers thirty feet ahead and the bear on his right.
As if the bear's body was foreign, it crashed to the ground mid-swipe, buying everyone precious moments to distance themselves.
Now near the exit, the poachers and the brothers were no longer focused on each other—like two small-game predators forced to flee from the sudden appearance of an apex predator.
Continuing their struggle would only lead to death.
"We have to fight it," Denton said, holding the slumped Tasha over his shoulder.
He turned to Damien and Jack, silent for a moment. Then he clenched his fist and added,
"It pains me to ask you runts, but I need your help. Up ahead, the path narrows. We won't outrun it."
At the entrance, the Crystalline bear continuously slipped on the ice, struggling to stand.
Those eyes...Damn myself for having a heart.
Damien thought back to the cub he'd saved. The glare it held, as if it were raging at the world.
"It can't be!" he shouted.
"What, brother?" Jack tugged on his arm.
Damien said nothing until the wild-eyed henchman shouted.
"If you know something, spit it out!"
Damien laughed.
We have a chance. It must want to kill me...I should hide that part.
"That bear is just a cub in a monster's body. I saw its dead mother earlier; it must have devoured her core."
Magical beast cores were made of mana—the same mana that coursed through Damien's veins.
However, if Damien or any other of the seven blessed races—Elementalists, Druids, Aquarians, True Mages, Giants, Cursed Humans, and Dwarves—absorbed a core, they would only receive minimal benefits, as they themselves did not have a core.
Unlike the blessed races, the Kodiak Crystalline bear had a core, and therefore reaped maximum benefits from devouring its mother's, allowing it to transform.
"Is Tasha going to wake up soon?" the crooked-nose henchman asked Denton, who shook his head and placed her down.
"Unlikely." He then pointed to Damien as if he had more to say, but an earth-shaking roar drowned his voice. The Kodiak bear was finally on its feet, growling and raking its claws against the ice, readying to charge.
"Jack, go to the exit and hide there," Damien said, then turned to Denton. "Don't you dare try anything, or I'll kill all of you before you can blink. Don't forget, you're without your only blessed race."
Biting his tongue, Denton swallowed his pride again.
"Understood."
Without another word, Damien launched toward the beast, propelled by wind.
"Let's take the fight to it! It's not used to its body yet!"
He knew his wind wasn't strong enough to fatally wound the bear, nor were the mundane spears the poachers carried. However, he was close to that peak... he could feel it.
I just need to focus.
The beast's eyes locked onto him, angry and raw like it had just seen the man who'd ripped its world away.
After a few strides, Damien ducked low, sliding under a paw swipe.
Extending his right hand outward, a gust launched him left—the beast's sharp teeth tearing through his pants. In that instant, Denton thrust his spear, its tip only managing to pierce the beast's thick brown fur and a couple of layers of skin.
Shaking violently, the bear's head rammed into him. But Denton's grip tightened around his spear, locking him in place. Blood spewed from his mouth, and he screamed in agony.
Then his three henchmen surrounded the beast, all thrusting their spears at its Achilles tendons.
"Shit!" the too-happy henchman yelled as his spear rebounded.
"Move!"
Swirling chaotically above them was a wind trident, the size of a stone pillar. Thrashing winds churned in the air, condensing and compressing, taking shape.
Leaping back, the poachers dodged bites and claws from the beast. The happy henchman wasn't as lucky—the beast's maw shredded his arm.
"AHHHH!" He collapsed.
A few feet away, Damien held his hand to the sky, funneling more and more wind into the trident.
It's not enough!
His muscles were on fire, and his bones creaked from the magical exertion.
Through ragged breaths, he brought his hand down like lightning, and the trident plummeted with it, whistling.
As the trident's sharp tips connected with the beast's back, it lunged for Denton.
The burly man couldn't dodge, having suffered organ damage moments ago. He could only hope Damien's wind...
A loud crunch filled the frigid air. Everyone's eyes widened.
The trident dissipated, and the Kodiak bear's jaws crushed Denton's head like a toothpick.
"Boss!" the crooked-nose henchman bellowed.
In the next moment, he felt an iron cuff wrap around his ankle. He looked down to see wind vines pinning him to the ground. To his left and right, the too-happy henchman and the wild-eyed henchman were in similar circumstances.
"Damn you," he bellowed, an iron smell flooding his nose. His head whipped toward the exit, where he saw a shirtless Elementalist boy and his brother running for their lives.
On Damien's shoulder, a red-haired girl with a swollen face and dark bruises jolted up and down as he ran.
That final part is always difficult. Creating objects is what makes a Natural Wind Elementalist, but making sharp, movable weapons is what separates the Saints from us lower ranks. I tried at least...
He felt no guilt for his failure. These people were murderers, cannibals, and would have betrayed him at the first opportunity. His first priority was Jack's safety. Still, leaving a girl to die at the jaws of a magical beast felt wrong, no matter how vile she was. Also, if it came too, she could help in the fight.
Behind the brothers, the sounds of their betrayal—wet crunches and horrific screams—hammered against their skulls.
"Hurry, Jack! We need to put as much distance as possible between the bear and us."
From previous studies, Damien knew they were almost at the halfway point through the Great Divide. There would be no more resting spots or cover until they reached the northern village at the mountain base.
They could only hope to stumble upon a hiding spot or push all the way through.
"Are you really my brother?" Jack asked, squinting. His tone wasn't angry, but surprised—surprised that his goofball older brother had just made a wise decision. A terrible, wise decision.
"Yes... and stop running like a fairy! Move your legs."
That bear isn't done with us yet...