Blighted Memories

Chapter 16. Legacy of the Knight

Link pursued the bird as fast as he could while Hestu struggled to break free from its talons. Despite how mangled it appeared and that it was carrying someone, the bird was incredibly fast. Link figured that it must've been the gale the bird was generating that was keeping it afloat. Even in its current state, it had complete mastery of the wind.

"Yaaaahhh!" Hestu cried. "Link! Help me!"

Link had an arrow already nocked in his bow, but he worried that it wasn't enough to get the bird to release its grip. Based on the information he knew, the bird was clearly a Blighted, which weren't hurt by regular weapons. But getting hurt and getting stunned were two different things, and Link was banking on doing the latter to the bird. He just hoped he wouldn't accidentally hit Hestu.

Link drew the arrow back as far as he could and focused on the bird. He waited for the perfect time to fire, taking into account the movement of the bird and himself, Hestu, and the gale the bird was generating to keep itself aloft.

He fired at the bird. The arrow struck it, but was drawn into its body, sinking inside like it was a liquid.

Link grit his teeth. How could he get Hestu down from there without hurting him? It seemed the bird was invulnerable, and it didn't appear that it would drop him anytime soon. Grabbing on to Hestu's legs didn't seem to be a possible option either, and even if it were, Link doubted he would have the strength to pull Hestu away.

But he was able to come up with a plan based on the thought about pulling Hestu away from the bird. It was risky, and it might cause Hestu even more pain, but it might've been his only chance. Link already lost Sidon to these things, he wasn't about to lose someone else.

Link cupped his mouth and called out over the screaming of the powerful gale: "Hestu! Take out your maracas!"

Hestu had heard him, thankfully. He quickly fished his hand into his satchel and took out the maracas. Despite their appearance, Link clearly saw that they were made of metal—exactly what he was hoping for.

"Now hold on to them as tightly as you can!" Link called.

He saw Hestu's grip tighten around the instruments. Now was the time to put the plan into action.

Link grabbed his Sheikah Slate and activated the Magnesis rune. It turned the Sheikah Slate into a powerful electromagnet that allowed him to draw any metal object toward him. He'd used it many times to pull out metal treasure chests that had been trapped by the ground. Maybe it was strong enough to pull Hestu out of the bird's talons.

Link pointed the Slate at Hestu's maracas and held down the button. Hestu's arms were suddenly pulled forward as the maracas became drawn toward the magnet. Hestu hung on, keeping a tight grip on his instruments.

The bird came to an abrupt stop as the magnet pulled back on the victim it had sunk its sharp talons into. Despite its broken neck, its head reared with a sickening cracking sound to check what was happening. It dug its claws further into Hestu and pulled at him harder, causing the poor Korok to shriek in pain again as more green blood flowed from his wounds.

"Yaaaaaaahhhh!!" Hestu screeched.

Link wished he could give the magnet more power. The force was strong enough to stop the bird in place, but Hestu was still stuck on its talons. If this kept up, his injuries could worsen and become even more serious, which could cause him to pass out and drop the maracas. If that happened, Link wasn't sure of the chances of getting Hestu back in one piece.

Suddenly, Hestu began squirming. He started throwing his body around violently in an attempt to slip out of the talons' grip on, while still keeping a firm grip on the maracas. However, it looked like the movements themselves were agonizing. More of his blood poured out as his movements caused the bird's talons to rake across other parts of his flesh around the shoulders, a gasp of pain sounding from Hestu whenever it happened.