"But before that..." Theo said before turning to Clara again.
"What made that big beast move away from you? The last I saw... you were falling straight into its mouth," Theo said. He didn’t want her to relive the experience, but his curiosity got the better of him.
"Let’s keep moving first, young master," she said, and began moving before continuing, "I only stopped for a mont when that beast shattered the ground beneath my feet."
Theo nodded, his eyes landing on the boar and the pup beside her. His eyes remained on the boar specifically, as if he had noticed sothing.
"Where... is its tusk, Clara?" Theo asked slowly as they moved forward. Clara fell silent.
"He is the saviour you were asking about, young master," Clara said, pride evident in her eyes, but he could also see a hint of sadness in them.
Theo said nothing, but his gaze remained fixed on the boar’s face.
One of its tusks was completely gone, and the other had nurous cracks running through it.
"It used all its might and strength to push the giant’s head as far as it could... and as you can see, he succeeded in doing so, but not without a sacrifice," Clara said with a bitter smile, looking at the boar next to her.
Theo nodded, not knowing what to say. He had seen the size of that thing; the re thought that Clara’s boar had been able to move using just its tusks and brute strength sounded ridiculous.
"I still cannot believe it was able to force such a massive beast aside. It truly is your savior, Clara," Theo said before breaking into a run, unwilling to get caught by the beast like she had been.
Still, he couldn’t help but keep on thinking about the boar which had, just like a hero, charged at the giant beast with all its might and slamd its tusks in the beast’s body before pouring all its strength into moving it to the side.
Clara patted the boar’s head warmly, eliciting a soft sound from it as it continued walking beside her.
Theo smiled too.
"Will it ever be able to recover its tusk, or is it gone forever?" Theo asked with a heavy heart, but he knew that the question needed to be asked.
"It will grow back. It’s just a slow process, young master."
"Alright. Then we will keep the boar out of this fight for a while. Only , the mantis, you, the pup, Elias and the ape will participate," Theo said, "And one more thing..."
He slowed for a mont. "Don’t ever put yourself in that kind of danger again, Clara. In that mont, I didn’t know what I would do without you."
The words ca from his very heart.
With that, he picked up his pace toward Elias, leaving Clara stunned and happy at the sa ti for a mont before she hurried to join them.
"ELIAS! We need to regroup!" Theo shouted from behind.
Elias looked over and imdiately changed direction, heading toward them.
When he looked at Clara, a natural smile ford on his face.
"Thank the benevolent artifact that you’re okay," Elias said as he briskly made his way toward them.
"Let’s have that conversation later. For now, what do you all suggest we do about this situation? Did any of you manage to see its na?" Theo asked. They hadn’t stopped moving for even a single second since then.
"Unfortunately, no. But I realized sothing, young master," Elias said, drawing their attention. "All the crawlers fled the mont this creature appeared, it ans that its aura should be close to the Baron’s, maybe a little less, since we couldn’t detect it."
BRMM...
Just then, another vibration rippled through the ground, and this ti, Theo and the others knew sothing was going to happen.
Theo ran forward, keeping his focus on the ground, especially on his danger sense. He couldn’t detect anything directly, apart from the tremors he could feel beneath his feet.
They kept running for a few more seconds when an inkling of a realization struck him as he stared at the ground.
’The vibrations just changed...’ Theo thought to himself. The vibrations were very much similar to the ones before, but as he kept on observing them closely, he noticed a subtle change.
Cold sweat began sliding down his face as his instincts scread at him to run the other way.
"Change directions!" he shouted imdiately, startling the others for a mont, but the sudden command made them follow him instantly.
The mont they veered away from the initial direction and had put so distance between them, the vibrations returned to normal.
"I think," Theo said, panting heavily in exhaustion, "I might know when it’s close to us..."
Elias looked at him in surprise. "That’s impressive, young master," he said, already thinking it through.
"But we will have to stop sowhere along the way," Theo muttered, still panting. "Our stamina isn’t infinite."
"What’s the best place for us to fight here?" Theo asked, making everyone pause to think again.
As Theo focused on the vibrations, another image flashed in his mind.
It was through an ant’s perspective. In it, Theo saw light for a brief mont before it disappeared into darkness again.
Another vein throbbed in his head as he changed direction again.
"That bastard just ate more of my ants!" Theo said in frustration before he started moving to the ant colony’s massive hole.
"Run in circles, both of you!" Theo shouted without looking back at them. "I will draw its attention."
After saying that, he ca to a halt near the ant colony’s gaping hole.
Clara and Elias both turned pale when they realized he had stopped moving.
anwhile, Theo stomped his foot on the ground several tis to catch the beast’s attention. His legs were screaming in pain, and he could feel that the beast was also getting desperate since he could feel the change in vibrations almost instantly.
’Don’t give up on now,’ Theo thought as he bent his knees, his target already locked.
The tremors he could feel intensified, and soon he saw a small portion of the ground collapse inward.
That was his cue.
Theo leaped forward, not upward, and he was right.
The ground beneath his feet exploded outward, and a gigantic, stone-covered creature burst out.
Theo glanced back and grinned when he saw that he was completely away from the trajectory of its gaping mouth.
"NOW!" he shouted, and everyone charged toward it with all their might.
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