The world came back into focus. The dust settled. The grass rustled. The hare was already upon him, its serpentine fangs bared, its trajectory clear, brutal, unhesitating.
Kai had no time to think. He leaped. Or rather... he tried to.
His Quick Hop took off like a cannon shot. Without momentum, without support, but still too strong. His body was torn from the ground, thrown backwards, and he landed badly. His left foot slipped, causing his knee to hit the ground, as well as his left hand to stabilize him.
The hare had time to leap again.
Kai didn't have time to regain his footing. But his right hand was already preparing something else. Behind him, it closed on emptiness, and the emptiness obeyed him.
An axe appeared. A real battle axe, like the one that had been strapped to Towa's back a little earlier. An axe too big for one hand, yet he already seemed to be wielding it that way.
His fingers held on. The One-Handed Titan. As if his body accepted the rule, even though he had never known this movement before.
Kai swung the weapon across, not with finesse, but with urgency. As the monster came again with its fangs bared.
The blade struck the mouth.
There was a dull thud, a sharp crack, and the monster's leap was broken cleanly. Its fangs shattered. The blade continued on its path, further than Kai had intended, deeper than instinct would have dared.
It fell heavily into the dust, with two distinct sounds.
Kai stood frozen for a split second, axe raised, breath held. A thin trickle of red splattered his forehead and cheek.
He blinked, incredulous, then took a step back without taking his eyes off the carcass.
"Okay..." he whispered, his voice dry. "It works."
Behind him, Peko had already changed.
The summon that had protected him and the client during the fall was dissipating, like skin being peeled away. And in the same second, a new form materialized beneath Peko.
A golem. Compact, but taller than Kai. Two thickened arms, ending in hard spikes. And Peko at the top, perched like a little general, ears folded down, double tail balanced.
Peko took a step with his golem and planted the second hare that had attempted to jump on him. The spikes went in, stopping the creature's momentum and its life. The animal remained stuck, but its scorpion tail had lodged itself in the arm of the summon.
Unfortunately for it, the summon was not susceptible to this kind of damage. However, the stinger had penetrated the summoned body very easily.
The last creature that had charged at them stopped at a distance. It watched. As if waiting for the rest to arrive.
The client was moaning softly, sitting in the dust, still dazed from the fall. Blond, short hair matted with sweat, and hands covered with cuts and other scars older than the fall.
Kai looked briefly behind and asked, "What's your name?"
"Jarek," he spat, catching his breath.
Kai nodded without taking his eyes off the last monster this time. "Okay, Jarek, can you defend yourself?"
"I'm a hunter, but I don't have my bow. I can only get arrows."
He held out his hand, and an arrow appeared in it.
Kai smiled. "Perfect. Stay close to me. If you stray too far, it'll be hard for me to maintain it."
Kai held out his free hand behind him. The air rippled, and a bow appeared. Simple. Not elegant. Not noble. But sturdy. Jarek stepped and took it immediately, without question.
"Understood."
The voice of the summon, deeper, more stable, came out at the same time.
"Let's back up," Peko said. "Away from the edge."
Kai glanced toward the forest. The bushes were still rustling, but now there was a pattern to it. Movement. Pauses. Like breathing.
Jarek swallowed. "The wolpertingers..." he said. "They're acting strangely."
Kai turned around for a few seconds. "Wolpertingers?"
Jarek raised his new bow, aiming without shooting.
"Yes, they're chimeric hares. They take on the traits of other beasts. But also venom, poison... sometimes even an element. But normally they don't attack like this. They just charge stupidly."
As if to confirm his words, the bushes began to shake further away, more numerous, over several meters.
The convoy was no longer visible. Just a road leading to Selis, and grass that seemed to be waiting for them.
Peko lowered himself a few inches, his posture changing slightly.
"If we stay here, they'll surround us."
"Let's move forward," said Kai. "Toward the village."
Jarek nodded. "Selis isn't far. But if we run stupidly down the road, they'll jump on us from the trees."
Kai took a breath. "Then we'll walk alongside the road, in formation."
Peko stepped first, in the front line on the grass along the road. Jarek followed him, his bow drawn and aimed at the creature that was following them in the grass. Kai covered their rear too, his large axe in one hand and a shield in the other. They all kept a few meters between them so they could move freely.
The wolpertingers did not remain watching for long. Three emerged from the forest in front of Peko. But the one behind continued to occupy Jarek's attention, while remaining sufficiently hidden in the grass that he did not try to shoot.
Peko immediately warned them. "Three ahead."
Jarek turned around to help. He immediately saw the three.
Two were coming first, one with thick fur, the other with ram's horns. The last one seemed the most dangerous, running behind them, its front legs like mantis forelimbs. Jarek aimed first at the closest one, which was also the easiest to hit. He shot a first arrow at the furry hare.
It spat a disgusting jet, probably a mixture of vomit and undigested pieces, in front of it. The arrow pierced the jet and slowed down. The hare dodged by positioning itself behind the charging ram hare. During the action, the third disappeared into the tall grass.
Peko prepared himself. He couldn't let a single one get through.
He took a running start toward the ram hare. His summoned creature seemed more agile than one might have imagined. He jumped, planting his spikes into the ram from above. Then he kicked the second one with his foot. His kick wasn't enough to do serious damage, but it was enough to knock it to the ground and immobilize it for a few seconds.
Jarek immediately fired a second arrow at it to finish it off.
But before Peko could fully regain his footing, the third one emerged from the right, much closer than expected, and lunged at the summoned creature's right arm. Its forearms grabbed the arm as it prepared to bite. But the summoned creature's body was not tough enough, and the forearms severed it almost entirely.
The wolpertinger then fell to the ground, having no hold on the summoned creature. Peko pulled his spikes out of the ram and plunged them into the last one before it could leap again.
Meanwhile, at the rear, the deer-horned hare began to charge as soon as Jarek turned his back.
Kai, now without support, switched his axe for a knife, which he threw before it had even finished materializing.
The knife cut cleanly into the front leg of the hare, which was trying to dodge.
A second knife began to appear in Kai's hand, while two more monsters immediately emerged from the forest on his left.
The first had the mouth of a fox. Its legs had hooves. It quickly crossed the road separating it from Kai. The second, slower, dug into the ground with its badger claws with each leap.
Kai hastily threw his knife at the faster one, hitting its body. Then he materialized his axe again. However, the first deer-horned hare had continued its charge and was about to strike him.
Kai made a more controlled Quick Hop this time, a small leap backward, just enough to keep his distance, and he felt the difference. The first time, he had been a projectile. This time, he had controlled the power a little better. Without the landing being perfect, though.
He used his newly formed axe to help him land, leaving only his shield to parry the monster's charge. Which he did immediately.
He still felt the shock in his arm, accompanied by the sound of antlers hitting the shield.
Kai then raised his axe and swung it hard, planting it in the ground after cutting the wolpertinger in half.
On his flank, he saw the other two leap simultaneously.
His face tensed as he realized that the fox-headed one was still charging, its belly torn open.
But more importantly, his axe was stuck in the ground. And quick hop wasn't ready yet, leaving only his shield to defend against the two attacks.
His eyes darted back and forth between the two monsters, then he struck the fox's mouth with his shield.
His fist clenched as the axe disappeared.
The badger's claws had just slashed his left leg. It landed on the ground, ready to pounce again.
Kai let out a groan of pain before feeling his mana condense in his legs again.
He made another Quick Hop before the wolpertinger could attack again. Then a new battle axe began to appear in his hand.
The power of his jump, added to the fresh pain, caused him to land on his knee again.
Jarek turned around after seeing Peko finish off the last wolpertinger at the front, alerted by Kai's retreat.
He immediately fired an arrow to finish off the one that was least able to dodge, with its open belly.
Meanwhile, Kai had time to get up and raise his axe for the last one.
But the bushes in the forest continued to rustle.
Peko spoke first, looking at Kai's wound. "We should get away from the forest and the road."
Jarek looked at the road in the distance and the carcasses left behind by the convoy. "We're really only a few minutes from the village..."
Peko continued. "We won't last a few minutes if we can't move forward without taking damage."
Kai also interrupted. "Nao said they would come back once they reached the village. So we're moving away from the forest to avoid further surprise attacks. And we trust them."
A Wolpertinger perched at the top of a tree. Clearly visible. It had a turtle shell and seemed to trust it against the potential arrows or knives that could come its way.
The trio quickly exchanged glances, and they all retreated into the plain without taking their eyes off the forest.
They stopped where the grass was the shortest. Kai exchanged his axe for a knife. But his materializations were beginning to shake slightly, especially in Jarek's bow.
Jarek noticed this and asked, "Are you okay?"
"Yes, and I have a backup plan, no matter what happens."
Peko also had something up his sleeve. He took a mana crystal out of his small belt pouch, threw it in front of them... and the summon came to life around the crystal in mid-air. A form smaller than Kai this time. Four arms with a shield at each end.
It landed in front of them like a moving wall, and the crystal disappeared into its chest like a heart.
Jarek gave a nervous little laugh. "Okay. That's useful."
Peko explained immediately. "Only trust the shields. They're the only parts that are really tough."
Kai nodded.
Peko then jumped forward, out of his summon with one arm unusable. It dissipated almost immediately, as another, identical one appeared beneath him. This new version had two usable arms again, with the same hard spikes at the ends.
They were all ready again, as the shelled wolpertinger watched them, joined by many of its kind. This time, there weren't just three or four of them, there were more than a dozen.
They all charged forward, leaping one after another. One even jumped from the branches and glided with pigeon wings, its eagle talons outstretched.
Meanwhile, others seemed to be still arriving from inside the forest.
Peko had moved about ten meters ahead, his summons able to take more damage. However, their sheer numbers forced him to take a few steps back.
"Does this never end?"
Kai also changed his shield into a knife, preparing to throw it repeatedly.
Jarek immediately shot an arrow at the nearest enemy. Then he immediately prepared a second one.
The arrow flew.
But a small mound of earth rose from the ground in front of it.
Not a wall. Just enough to stop it. The arrow slammed into the new ground and fell.
Kai blinked. "What..."
He immediately threw his two knives. His two targets continued to advance toward the knives.
The ground moved again. A mound stopped the first knife in the same way.
Another mound, smaller, appeared like a step. The targeted wolpertinger took advantage of the support and jumped higher, passing over the knife, which ended up in the grass.
"Earth element..." Peko said, his voice tight.
Kai was on his guard, picking up his shield again with his left hand. He looked around for the source. Then he saw it. One was still in the tree, watching. It was the one with the shell. And mana was beginning to gather in a multitude of balls above him.
Spikes of earth finally shot out of the tree, all heading toward Kai and Jarek.
Kai stood in front of Jarek, shield first. The summoned creature stood in front of Kai, protecting as much area as possible with its four shields.
At that moment, the pack was about to reach Peko. He could only watch helplessly as the rain of spikes swept over his head.
The shields endured dozens of blows for a few seconds. The summoned creature was the first to give way. Its shields withstood the blows, but its legs were torn apart. Its chest was pierced. A spike found its way between the shields, completely piercing its chest and lodging itself in Kai's ribs.
Kai gritted his teeth. His arm was also suffering from the violence of the blows. Putting weight on his leg was also causing him pain. And now he had been hit in the ribs. But it wasn't very deep, as the summon had cushioned the spike quite a bit.
Peko was preparing to welcome the pack, his summon in position to strike with its spikes.
However, none of the wolpertingers charged at him or pounced on him. The fastest of the pack ran around him.
Peko was the first to be shocked. Kai and Jarek, who looked up after the assault, were also confused.
Kai's eyes widened as he saw the hares running past Peko on all sides. "Are they… ignoring him?"