Chapter 27- Bastard
For several minutes, Zen ran through the forest without stopping. Even though he felt so exhausted and drained, he knew that stopping or even thinking about it would be the end of him.
"Hah... Hah... Hah..." His breathing was loud and rugged and his heart was racing so much that Zen felt like it was about to explode. ’This is so bad... I’m so tired... I can’t even see straight anymore.’
Everything around him felt like it was blending together. His vision flipped around every few seconds, and he could barely even tell where he was going. He could still hear the howls of the wolves in the distance.
’Dammit, Zen... Get your shit together...’ He mused as he stopped near a tree and leaned against it to take a breather. His body was refusing to listen. It felt completely numb and cold, as if it had finally succumbed to all the injuries he sustained.
His speed started slowing down and so did his heartbeats, as the coldness started overwhelming every inch of his body as he tried to fight back against.
"Co... on... I can’t... faint... here..." He said as his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to his knees, breathing heavily as blood dripped from his body endlessly. Behind him, he could tell the wolves were sniffing his position and would eventually reach him. The situation was bad... extrely bad.
’Think, Zen. What should I do? I can’t stay here, or I’m dead at.’ He thought to himself. However, his mind refused to think fast enough, and before he knew it, he fell to the ground. His eyes barely opened as his face was covered in mud.
The sounds in the distance echoed in his mind slowly. ’You have got to be kidding ... I can’t... die here... That would be... so ironic...’
He had barely co back to this point in his life, and it hadn’t even been a week, and yet he was now faced with a serious threat to his life. It wasn’t any of his enemies, and it wasn’t even a strong monster... It was a bunch of lowly wolves, and yet he was about to die.
It was extrely ironic that it put a smile on Zen’s face as he lay there, completely motionless.
The world around him slowly beca darker and darker, and Zen’s powers finally waned, and he gave up resisting. His eyes started slowly closing down as the darkness swallowed him. Then, at that mont, Zen saw an image of a woman in his mind.
A woman lying in his arms, covered in blood, with a weak smile on her face. A smile filled with endless love and pride... An image he will never forget for the rest of his life.
*Swish*
Zen’s eyes suddenly shot open as if he had been injected with adrenaline.
"I... can’t... give... up!! Not... here!" He clenched his teeth tightly till his gums started bleeding from the sheer pressure as he raised his head and then pushed his arms forward. His fingers dug into the dirt as he tried to pull his body forward.
Even though he was completely wrecked, his eyes flared with endless hunger and determination. He can’t die, not there, not at that mont. It was far too soon. He can’t lose this opportunity, even if he has to crawl his way to Cipha.
Pulling his tired body slowly, he crawled forward. All he had to work with was his arms and his desire to survive. It didn’t matter that he was in imnse pain, and it didn’t matter that he can’t even walk. Zen can’t accept this.
However, he also knew that this wasn’t going to cut it. The wolves were growing closer and closer, and he was only growing slower as his adrenaline was also dissipating again.
"Hah... Hah... Hah..." Slowly, Zen looked over his shoulder into the darkness behind him. That was when he saw them... Two sharp eyes staring back at him. However, these didn’t belong to a wolf. Instead, what erged from the darkness was sohow even more nacing.
It was a large bear... One that had a greyish-red fur covering its body and was at least twice the size of a normal wolf. It growled at Zen, its mouth dripping with saliva as it closed the distance between them.
’You have got to be fucking kidding !’ Zen cried in his head as he quickly summoned his sword and tried to shoo the monster away with it. However, the creature simply slamd its paw into his back.
"AAAAAGH!" The breath was completely knocked out of his body as he struggled to suck the air in. Then, the monster opened its jaw wide, ready to maul him to death.
Zen struggled against the crushing weight of the paw as he flailed his arms around. However, the creature’s claws sank into his flesh slowly as Zen felt like his skin was getting actively peeled off his body.
"Get... off !" He said with great difficulty as he tried to resist the monster to no avail. Its jaw dropped down, ready to break his neck with a single bite.
As he was like that, suddenly, sothing moved out of the shadows.
"Zen!"
*Swish*
Before the boy could even react, a silhouette appeared before him before he heard a loud bang.
The bear swayed back several steps from the strong hit as it tried to regain its balance. Then, he saw two feet land beside him.
"I’m here, we will get out of here!" Cipha said as she quickly lifted him off the ground and put him on her shoulders. "Hold on, Zen! Stay with !"
"Ci... pha?" The familiar sll made Zen realize who it was.
"It’s . Everything will be ok. We will get out of here." She said as she looked behind her. The bear was about to regain its balance so she took that opportunity and stord off into the distance.
"You almost died, dammit... You’re bleeding too much..." She said with a dark look on her face as she felt the warm blood soaking her back. Zen was injured... Heavily injured and in a very bad state.
’I need to get him help as soon as possible or he would bleed to death. Dammit, dammit!’
The bear roared loudly, its voice shaking the entire forest as it chased after the two. Cipha didn’t slow down or look back as she dashed forward as fast as she could. Channeling her Soul Essence to the extre, she boosted her legs and made them move even faster.
Her silhouette appeared like a flash for the naked eye, especially in the dark environnt of the forest.
"Cipha..." Zen muttered.
"Don’t speak, and don’t waste your energy. Just focus on breathing." She said urgently as she looked over her shoulder. Zen’s head lay on her shoulder with his eyes barely open. "Why... did... you... not... escape?"
"How could I leave you behind like that? I’m glad I ca back in ti or you would be dead right now. Now, shut up and don’t speak."
"..."
Zen heard her words, and he could only stare in silence. ’She ca back, even though she could escape... Even though it was very dangerous...’
In that cold body, his heart weirdly felt very warm at that mont. A faint, weak smile appeared on his face.
’I’m... such a bastard...’
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