"RUN!"
Elara’s scream cut through the night, sharp and desperate.
We didn't hesitate. The moment the word left her lips, we turned and bolted. The ground beneath us trembled, not from the storm, but from the heavy, earth-shaking strides of the cyclone beast behind us.
It was fast, terrifyingly fast for something so large. Each step it took covered a distance that would take us ten seconds to run. The gap was closing rapidly.
I pumped my legs as hard as I could, my lungs burning, but I knew the truth: I was the slowest. My stamina was nowhere near the level of the others. I was going to be left behind.
"Bell!"
Kaelen’s voice was right beside me. Before I could react, he swooped in, his arm hooking under my knees and my back. He lifted me effortlessly, shifting my weight so I was cradled against his chest.
Nibbles, who had been running alongside my feet, leaped up at the same time, landing on my shoulder, digging his claws in for balance.
"Got you," Kaelen said, his voice steady despite the chaos.
I looked back over his shoulder. The cyclone was gaining, its single red eye burning with rage. It was a terrifying silhouette against the moonlit sky, a mountain of muscle and bone.
To my left, I saw Zarethis. She was moving with the same fluid grace, but she had scooped Elara up in a similar princess carry. Elara was stiff in her arms, her eyes wide, clutching Zarethis’s shoulder.
We were moving in a desperate line, Kaelen and Zarethis carrying the two of us who were less suited for prolonged sprints.
I looked ahead, scanning the terrain. The eastern trail stretched out before us, but the moonlight revealed something that made my blood run cold.
A massive cliff face loomed in the distance, a sheer drop into darkness. The trail aligned perfectly with the edge.
We’re moving toward a cliff!
My mind raced. A beast of that size might not be able to climb the sheer rock face. We could hold the edge, force it to slow down.
Suddenly, the rhythmic thudding behind us stopped.
I looked back. The cyclone had halted. It stood amidst the splintered ruins of the forest, its massive chest heaving. It raised its arm, the one still clutching the mangled corpse of the second elf.
It hurled the body.
The corpse flew through the air like a cannonball, spinning violently, trailing blood and gore. It was aimed directly at us, at Kaelen and me.
"Kaelen!" I screamed, my voice cracking.
"I see it!" he shouted back.
He didn't slow down. Instead, he shoved me hard to the right, throwing me clear of the projectile's path, while simultaneously jumping to the left.
We tumbled in different directions. I hit the ground hard, rolling across the damp earth, shielding Nibbles with my body. The corpse slammed into the ground exactly where we had been a second before, exploding in a shower of dirt, bone, and blood.
The splatter hit the ground around us, flecks of red landing on my cheek and clothes.
I froze, my breath hitching. The metallic scent filled my nose, triggering the memory of Valerius which seemed to have become a nightmare at this point. My stomach churned, bile rising in my throat.
"Bell!"
Kaelen was already back on his feet, sprinting toward me. He grabbed my arm, pulling me up, his eyes scanning me for injuries.
"I'm okay," I gasped, forcing the nausea down. "I'm okay."
But the relief was short-lived. The cyclone wasn't done.
It roared, a sound that shook the leaves from the remaining trees, and began to once again charge. It was sprinting, its massive legs eating up the distance between us in seconds.
It was coming right for me.
"Move!" Elara screamed from Zarethis’s arms.
The beast closed the gap with terrifying speed. It raised a fist the size of a boulder and swung it down toward me.
I couldn't move. My legs were frozen, my mind blank with terror.
CRACK!
A blue shield materialized in front of me, likely from Elara, glowing with intense light. The cyclone’s fist slammed into it.
The shield shattered instantly, exploding into shards of mana, but it bought me a fraction of a second. The impact sent a shockwave through the air, knocking me backward.
Kaelen caught me before I hit the ground. He didn't hesitate. He scooped me up again, Nibbles clinging to my shoulder, and turned toward the cliff.
"Go, go, go!" Zarethis yelled, already sprinting ahead with Elara.
We ran, the ground shaking beneath us. The cyclone was recovering from the recoil of its own punch, shaking its massive head.
As we ran, I saw a flicker of red light in my peripheral vision.
I looked up, confused. It wasn't Elara’s magic.
I looked back at the cyclone.
"!"
The beast had stopped again. Its single horn was glowing, condensing a terrifying amount of red mana at the tip. The energy was so dense it was visible even from a distance, distorting the air around it.
"Spread out!" I screamed, the realization hitting me. "Into the forest! Now!"
Elara yelled the same command a split second later.
Kaelen and Zarethis didn't think. They reacted on instinct. Kaelen veered hard to the left, diving toward the thicker trees, while Zarethis darted to the right.
The cyclone unleashed the beam.
It wasn't a laser; it was a wave of destruction. A thick beam of red energy erupted from its horn, sweeping across the landscape.
It covered the entire width of the cliff edge, erasing everything in its path. Trees were vaporized, the ground was scorched, and the rock of the cliff itself was melted into glass.
The night turned into day as the beam ignited the forest, creating a wall of fire that roared into the sky.
The sheer heat washed over us, even from our hiding spots. The force of the blast shook the earth, and the sound was deafening.
If we had stayed in a tight group, we would have been incinerated instantly.
The beam lasted for five terrifying seconds before cutting off, leaving a trail of smoldering ruin.
Silence fell, heavy and thick with smoke.
Kaelen and I huddled behind a large, scorched tree stump. Zarethis and Elara were hidden behind a rock formation fifty meters away.
The cyclone stood panting, its red eye scanning the destruction. It didn't see us immediately; the smoke was too thick.
But the clearing was gone. The forest around the cliff edge had been flattened into a burning wasteland. We were exposed.
The beast roared again, its eyes locking onto our position. It began to run, its stride long and purposeful. It knew where we were.
Panic surged through me. My mind raced, trying to formulate a plan, a strategy, a way out. But every path led to a dead end. We were outmatched, outgunned, and trapped against a cliff.
"Bell."
Kaelen’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. He spoke in a casual tone, despite the monster charging at us.
I looked at him, my eyes wide with fear.
"Did you manage to think of something?" he asked.
I looked into his eyes. They were calm, steady, reflecting the firelight. He wasn't looking at the beast; he was looking at me.
I didn't want to disappoint him. But I also didn't want to lie to him.
Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring the vision of the approaching monster.
"I... I'm sorry," I stammered, my voice trembling. "I-I don't know... I don't have a plan."
I braced myself for disappointment, for a sigh, for frustration.
Instead, Kaelen smiled. It was a small, reassuring smile.
He patted my back firmly. "Then we fight with what we have."
He turned his head, cupping his hands around his mouth, and yelled across the burning clearing.
"ZARETHIS! STOP!"
The command was sharp, authoritative.
Zarethis, who had been preparing to sprint further into the remaining woods, skidded to a halt. Her dark elven ears twitched, catching the sound. She looked back, a grin spreading across her face that didn't match the dire situation.
She set Elara down abruptly.
"What are you doing?!" Elara shouted, stumbling to keep her balance. "Why are you letting it catch up?"
Zarethis stretched her arms, cracking her knuckles. "Calm down, Princess. Look around."
She gestured to the burning stumps and the flat, exposed ground. "The cyclone was faster than us. If we kept running through the forest, it would have caught us eventually. But now..."
She kicked a charred log. "The forest around us is gone. There’s no cover left. It’s clear that running won't work anymore."
Elara’s eyes darted to the sheer cliff edge behind them. "Then we hold the cliff! Maybe we can—"
Zarethis cut her off with a laugh. "You’re assuming it can’t climb? That’s a guess. And even if it can't, it has already shown us it has long-range attacks. It can just blast us off the edge."
Elara’s face went pale. In a rare moment of genuine fear, her voice shook. "So... you’re saying we just let it kill us?"
Zarethis’s grin widened, her predatory instincts kicking in, she leaned in close.
"For someone within the top five, you're a scaredy-cat, aren't you?"
Elara’s face flushed red, not from embarrassment, but from anger. "I am not!"
"Then prove it!" Zarethis yelled, her voice ringing out over the crackle of the fire. "Stop thinking like a student and start fighting like a warrior! Let's fight this thing!"
Elara stared at her, chest heaving. She looked exhausted, her mana reserves likely low from the barrier spell. She glanced across the clearing, her eyes landing on me and Kaelen.
I was trembling, yes, but I was standing my ground. Kaelen had his hand on my shoulder, steadying me, his stance ready for battle.
I met Elara’s gaze and nodded firmly.
Elara sighed, a long, resigned sound, but her expression hardened. She stood up straight, dusting off her uniform.
"If we die here," she muttered, glaring at Zarethis, "I’m going to haunt you from the grave."
Zarethis laughed, a bright, sharp sound. "I’d like to see you try."
She turned her back to the cliff, facing the approaching cyclone.
The cyclone approached with terrifying speed, its massive feet crushing the burning stumps. The heat of the fire danced around us, casting long, flickering shadows.
The beast roared, raising its massive fists.
We stood our ground. There was nowhere left to run.
The battle had just begun.