Deus Didymus: Rend

Pt2Ch71: Starship XII

Bae opened a hole through the shadowfell revealing an island completely untouched by humanity. A lush jungle covered the entire land mass, and dense energy signatures walked the land.

"There's so many of them," Riwon breathed.

"Where's the closest one?" Bae asked.

Riwon expanded her senses deeper into the jungle. Among the many monsters that roamed the dense foliage, a large bear stood out the most. She led the group toward the beast revealing a massive beast nearly five meters tall. Its steps shook the ground and dozens of tree trunks laid uprooted around its presumed home. Riwon and Bae took to the trees with the former seemingly floating through the branches despite climbing. Bae scaled the wooden tower easily due to his strength and acrobatics, but Riwon's cat-like nature and rune stone skills eclipsed anything Bae could offer.

On the ground, Daeun and Gaeul treaded through the dense foliage. While the bushes and shrubs heavily obscured Gaeul's vision, a part of her couldn't help but appreciate it as it masked her from the forest as well. Standing in the same vicinity as the bear sent chills down Daeun and Riwon's spines; though Gaeul and Bae couldn't sense the bear's power, its sheer size was enough to leave them on edge. Bae pulled his bow from the shadowfell, slowly drawing n arrow back as if any sudden movements would attract the bear's attention. Riwon mirrored Bae's movements with a bow of her own. While black smoke permeated from Bae's bow and arrow, Riwon's arrow glowed with the same energy that illuminated her eyes and fueled her conduit.

The pair waited for the bear to lay down and eventually close its eyes. Two synchronized twangs echoed through the forest, yet to the shock of all, both arrows bounced off the bear's hide. The bear stood up and roared thunderously, stunning Riwon, Gaeul and Daeun. It charged toward the two grounded girls forcing Bae to leap onto the bear.

"Run!!" he shouted.

Bae summoned three bears around the larger beast, but none could withstand a single swipe. Even the largest bears Bae summed were half the size of the behemoth he rode causing Bae to take to the skies. Just as he took a breath to gather himself, a flock of hawks the size of his own bird swarmed Bae. Their talons dug deep into his skin and tore through his flesh as if it were a thin sheet of paper.

Two simple slices freed Bae from the hawks' talons, allowing Hyungseo to catch him as she fell back to the ground. Blood curdled in Bae's chest, spurting from his punctured lungs as he drowned in his own fluids. His arms hung limply by his side with large chunks torn from his flesh. Daeun rushed to Bae's side mumbling an incantation underneath her breath prompting Hyungseo to rejoin Riwon in fighting the bear.

Daeun's hands shook as she felt and watched Bae's life slip from her fingertips. Tears welled in her eyes as lightning crashed down nearby and incoherent shouting echoed through the trees. She pumped as much energy as she could output into healing Bae's wounds but even her skill in energy control failed to stop the bleeding.

"Unnie-!" Daeun turned toward the battle but she already sensed the carnage. Gaeul laid against a tree with three large slashing in her torso. Her shattered ribs dug into her body as she desperately breathed, and even through her energy reinforcement the entirety of her body ignited in anguish.

Hyungseo had long dissipated from a single strike, and Riwon laid limp between the jaws of the bear. As it clamped down, severing her into two halves, one final crack splintered Daeun's mind. In the blink of an eye, Daeun teleported next to the bear's head-her eyes burning behind her blindfold. She kicked the bear's head sending it staggering back before landing on the ground.

Daeun crouched next to Riwon, reconnecting her two halves. With a simple pulse of energy she sparked the engine of Riwon's regeneration. As if her eyes took control of her body, Daeun rolled Riwon's regenerating body away with her foot, leaping over the bear's attack from behind. She landed atop its paw, bracing herself as it flung her away.