16 Sudden Turn of Events (1/2)
Cher ran through the forest at a very quick speed. Her breathing increased by the second and sweat drenched her whole body. As she ran through the endless forest, she kept praying for her friend's safety.
”AHHHHHHH!” Cher had gotten very far from her friends, but she heard the scream of Jelen.
”What happened? Oh no, I have to go back!” Cher quickly pushed against a tree and did a full one-eighty turn. She began to run back towards the beast and her friends.
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”You demon! I will slaughter you! I'll kill you!” Jelen kept yelling at Arnin as he quickly approached him. Behind Jelen was the tiger beast, which didn't seem to care about anything except its prey.
”Blablabla! Why do you talk so much? If you want to thank me so much, then just say it outright. Jeez, you seem to be extremely excited after your friend's death. Maybe I should just give you his body. Make sure he is properly dead. Hehe!” Arnin continued to mock Jelen with words he knew would hit Jelen's sore spot. He then finished off by kicking Von's body towards Jelen. A glare that could kill was directed towards Arnin when the body finally reached Jelen.
Arnin took many steps backward so that a good distance could be kept between him and the enraged Jelen. He continued to smile at Jelen in mockery. Jelen became even more enraged, but before he could even do anything, the tiger beast finally reached him.
”ROOAAR!” The beast pounced towards Jelen with its fangs bared and its claws out. Jelen moved his head to the side but wasn't able to avoid a deep cut to his face. The beast landed on its front legs and then quickly turned to face Jelen. He brandished his ax and charged towards the beast. His face was full of fury. The silver ax, which at first seemed to be a normal ax, began to shine in bright green. Arnin who was watching from afar was surprised. He, with his heightened vision, closely looked at the ax to try and figure out the crux of the move. Arnin wasn't able to figure anything out from the first look so he calmly waited for the next time such a move would be used.
Jelen crazily smashed his ax onto the tiger beast without any thought. His aura didn't decrease in any way, rather it was rapidly increasing with his rage. Arnin quickly leaped onto a branch and began to observe from the air. He needed to make sure that he witnessed everything that was happening so that he could further understand the orb's power.
The tiger beast released a loud howl and pounced with his thick hind legs towards Jelen. It opened its mouth and bit the ax. It then increased the strength it put into the bite and tried to hold onto the blade. Jelen lifted his left hand and smashed the tiger beasts face, but very little damage was done. The tiger beast shook its head furiously, trying to get Jelen to release the ax. He kept a tight grip, but it was futile. The beast was just too strong. The ax was forced out of his hand by the beast, who then spat it out of its mouth onto the ground further back. With no weapon in hand, Jelen's fighting capability was reduced by half.
Even though he had lost his ax, there was no fear in his eyes. He continued to look at the beast, before running towards it. A cluster of light, similar to the one that appeared on the blade, formed onto Jelen's hand. He punched towards the beast's face, tearing the wind apart. The tiger beast had no way to dodge so it took the hit directly. It was launched backward, falling onto its back. Jelen didn't want to waste any time so he quickly rushed towards the beast to finish it off.
Arnin, who was on top of the tree, didn't want the fight to be finished too quickly, so he broke off a branch and vanished from the tree. He reappeared beside Von's body and began to poke his head.
”Mister ax man, look! Von is breathing!” Arnin said in an exasperated voice. Jelen, who heard what Arnin said, turned around quickly. There was some hope in his eyes, but when he saw the look on Arnin's face, all the hope he gathered in that one second crumbled to pieces. Arnin had a very bright smile on his face, almost too pleasing, however to Jelen, that smile was akin to a curse.
”Oops! Sorry, did I say Von is breathing? I meant to say that I was! Haha, isn't that great? Oh no, mister ax, look behind you! The tiger is ready to attack.” Jelen was only distracted for a couple of seconds, but that small time frame allowed the tiger to get back on its feet and ready its next attack. Jelen turned his head to look at the beast before turning and looking at Arnin ferociously.
”You dirty little brat! Just wait until I finish off this beast. You're going to be next!” Jelen turned his head around one more time and got back into a battle stance. His fists lit up with the green light once more. The tiger didn't pounce towards him this time, rather it slowly walked forward. Drool was dripping from its mouth. What surprised Jelen, even more, was that the tiger wasn't looking at him, he was looking in the air.
When Jelen looked up, the sight devastated him. Von, his comrade and friend, was dead, but he still couldn't rest peacefully. On the tree branches, he saw Arnin holding Von's severed head by the hair.
”You bast**d! Can you not leave his corpse alone?! You godda-” Arnin tossed Von's head towards the tiger, who then shot into the air to catch it. The tiger didn't swallow immediately, it slowly chewed on the head. Jelen who saw the scene couldn't help but burn with anger. His eyes were became red because of the grief that began to build up inside of him. His head turned to the side while he quietly apologized to Von's body. Suddenly an immense aura surged out of Jelen's as he jumped towards Arnin. Tears fell down his face as his eyes only looked towards the demonic Arnin.
”I will kill you even if I have to sacrifice my life!” Jelen swung his fist towards Arnin, who quickly sidestepped. Arnin tapped Jelen's back before jumping to a different branch.
”Oh really now? If you want to kill me, let's see if you have the skills to accomplish that.” Arnin kept jumping from branch to branch, barely avoiding Jelen's hits. Although Jelen was much stronger than Arnin, he was exhausted after fighting the tiger beast. The sudden aura that he released only increased his power, not speed.
Everytime Arnin dodged, he would tap a part of Jelen's body. At first, Jelen thought that Arnin was trying to numb him, but even after many taps, he didn't feel numb anywhere. However, because of his unstable mind, he couldn't care about Arnin's plan. The only thing he wanted to do was tear Arnin apart.
As the fighting continued, the tiger had already completely devoured Von's head. It didn't chase after the two cultivators, rather it slowly walked towards the headless body. There was a greedy look in the eyes of the beast and the drool continued to spill from its mouth.
”Would you look at that. The beast still wants more of your friend. What will you do? You going to continue attacking me and allow your friend to be completely eaten, or will you go and protect his body?” Arnin continued with his mind games. Since he couldn't beat Jelen in direct combat, he could at least slow him down and destroy him from the inside.
Jelen panicked. He ignored Arnin and pushed off a branch and rushed towards Von's body. The tiger felt something approach so it turned its head quickly. A fist landed on its face, then a foot kicked its stomach, throwing it further back. The tiger beast bared its claws and pounced towards Jelen.
Arnin watched on without any expression. He then sensed someone approaching from behind him. He turned his head and looked down towards the approaching entity. When he saw the person who came, a deep smile couldn't help but appear on his devilish face.
”Now, to finally finish the last part of my hunt.”
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Cher finally got back to where her friends were. When she stopped to inspect the surroundings, the sight frightened her. Jelen was facing the tiger beast without his ax and was at a disadvantage. There were countless holes in the trees and many branches on the ground. There was even a headless corpse.
”Jelen! Where is Von? Jelen, how did this happen?!” Cher became frantic when she couldn't find Von. She hurriedly called out to Jelen, not thinking about the consequences if she distracted him.