Jack's words lingered in the air.
"...It's waiting for us to make one."
Silence.
No one refuted him.
Because no one could.
Every exchange had followed the same pattern.
The Tikbalang attacked.
They blocked.
It disappeared.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Not once had it overextended.
Not once had it been forced onto the defensive.
It dictated the pace of the battle.
They merely endured it.
Another blur.
Thomas reacted.
CLANG!
His boots carved two furrows through the dirt.
Before he regained his footing...
The Tikbalang was gone.
Jack watched the trees.
His breathing had become ragged.
His forearms burned from repeatedly absorbing the monster's strength.
He finally understood why the folklore spoke of enduring the Tikbalang.
Not because of the ride.
Because surviving long enough to even attempt it...
Already seemed impossible.
Oliver stared toward the sword embedded in the tree.
Ten meters.
It might as well have been a hundred.
Every instinct screamed at him to retrieve it.
Every bit of common sense told him the same thing.
The moment he stepped out of formation...
The Tikbalang would reach him first.
He clenched his empty hand.
"...I hate this."
Mia didn't look at him.
"Good."
Oliver blinked.
"If you didn't..."
Her eyes never left the forest.
"...You'd already be dead."
The forest fell silent.
Again.
Thomas raised his sword.
"Ready."
Nobody relaxed.
Not after the last silence.
The leaves stirred.
A twig snapped.
Jack turned instinctively.
Nothing.
Then—
A blur from Mia's side.
CLANG!
The impact staggered her backward.
Before Thomas could support her—
Another blur.
Jack's side.
CLANG!
His wrists screamed.
The Tikbalang vanished again.
It wasn't even giving them time to recover anymore.
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The intervals between attacks had shortened.
Thomas noticed it too.
"...It's speeding up."
Jack nodded grimly.
"No..."
"It just doesn't need to wait anymore."
Oliver swallowed.
The three defending him were breathing harder.
Recovering slower.
Every blocked strike left their swords hanging in the air for just a fraction longer.
Tiny openings.
Barely noticeable.
Against almost anything else...
Meaningless.
Against this monster...
Potentially fatal.
Then...
The Tikbalang stopped hiding.
It emerged from between two ancient trees.
Walking.
Not charging.
Walking.
Its horse-like head remained lowered.
Its burning eyes never blinked.
Each heavy hoofstep echoed through the clearing.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
It wasn't trying to intimidate them.
It didn't have to.
Its very presence accomplished that.
Thomas tightened his grip.
"...Don't chase it."
Nobody moved.
The Tikbalang came within striking distance.
Still...
No one attacked.
Because every one of them knew.
The first swing would be the last mistake.
It stopped.
Only a few meters away.
Its burning gaze shifted across the three defenders.
Thomas.
Mia.
Jack.
Then...
To Oliver.
Weaponless.
The creature tilted its head.
Almost curiously.
Oliver forced himself to meet its eyes.
"...What?"
The Tikbalang took one more step.
Thomas immediately adjusted his stance.
"Back."
The triangle retreated together.
Perfectly synchronized.
No gaps.
No panic.
The Tikbalang stopped again.
It watched.
Then...
Without warning—
It disappeared.
Jack's pupils shrank.
"Above—!"
The warning came too late.
A shadow dropped from the canopy.
Thomas barely managed to lift his sword.
CLANG!
The impact slammed him to one knee.
His arms trembled violently.
For the first time...
Thomas failed to recover immediately.
The Tikbalang landed lightly.
One claw still pressed against Thomas's blade.
Their eyes met.
For a heartbeat...
Neither moved.
Then...
The Tikbalang smiled.
Not with human lips.
But with the unmistakable expression of something that knew exactly how hopeless the situation had become.
It withdrew.
Again.
Retreating into the forest.
Thomas remained kneeling.
Breathing heavily.
Oliver stared.
"...Thomas?"
Slowly...
Thomas stood.
His hands were shaking.
Just slightly.
But enough for everyone to notice.
Jack felt his stomach drop.
Thomas had been their anchor.
The one person who never looked afraid.
Now...
Even his arms had begun to give out.
No one spoke.
Because none of them needed to.
The Tikbalang hadn't broken their formation.
It hadn't killed anyone.
It hadn't even seriously injured them.
Yet somehow...
It was winning.
The forest fell silent.
No pounding hooves.
No rustling leaves.
Only the four students' breathing echoed through the clearing.
Thomas slowly steadied his grip.
"...Status."
Mia answered first.
"My arms are getting numb."
Jack swallowed.
"...Mine too."
Thomas looked toward Oliver.
Oliver glanced at the academy sword still embedded in the distant tree.
"...My sword's in good shape."
A faint grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"...Can't say the same about me."
Nobody laughed.
Not because the joke wasn't funny.
But because they no longer had the strength to.
Thomas gave a slow nod.
"...Good."
Jack frowned.
"...Good?"
"It means everyone can still fight."
No one argued.
Yet Jack couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed.
Not with the Tikbalang.
With Thomas.
Ever since the creature had landed before him...
Ever since it had pinned him beneath that crushing claw...
Ever since those burning eyes had stared into his...
Something lingered.
Thomas still stood at the front.
His commands remained calm.
His stance remained steady.
But...
Each time the Tikbalang appeared...
His reactions came just a fraction slower.
Barely noticeable.
Barely measurable.
To anyone else...
It was nothing.
To the Tikbalang...
It was enough.
The creature emerged from between the trees.
Walking.
Not charging.
Its burning eyes drifted across the students.
Jack.
Mia.
Oliver.
Then...
They settled on Thomas.
Jack felt a chill crawl down his spine.
"...Thomas."
"I know."
Thomas never looked away.
The Tikbalang lowered itself.
Its unnaturally long legs folded beneath its body.
Even crouching...
Its knees still rose higher than its own head.
Its claws dug into the earth.
Then—
It exploded forward.
The ground burst beneath its hooves.
Thomas stepped forward.
"Hold!"
The creature came straight for him.
No feint.
No circling.
No hesitation.
Thomas raised his sword.
For the briefest instant...
The memory returned.
The crushing pressure against his blade.
The burning eyes.
That impossible smile.
His body froze.
Only for a heartbeat.
The Tikbalang noticed.
CLANG!
Thomas barely intercepted the first strike.
The impact rippled through his arms.
Before he could recover—
The Tikbalang flowed past him.
Not around.
Past.
Its massive body slipped through the narrow gap in their formation with terrifying precision.
A violent gust erupted through the clearing.
The displaced air struck them like a hammer.
Thomas staggered sideways.
Mia instinctively threw a foot backward to catch herself.
Jack lost his footing for a split second.
Even Oliver had to brace himself to keep from falling.
Leaves and loose dirt exploded into the air.
For one brief moment...
Their formation lost its balance.
Not enough to break.
But enough.
By the time they regained their footing...
The Tikbalang was already several meters away.
Thomas immediately recovered his stance.
His hands feeling numb.
He instinctively tried to grip his sword.
But...
There was no weight.
His sword was gone.
Several meters away...
The Tikbalang stood holding his sword in one claw.
Silence filled the clearing.
The creature stared the blade for a moment.
Then...
It began walking.
Not toward the forest.
Toward them.
One slow step at a time.
Each hoofbeat echoed through the clearing.
One.
Two.
Three.
It stopped roughly five meters away.
Without breaking eye contact...
It lowered the sword.
The tip touched the earth.
Then...
With one effortless motion...
It plunged the blade deep into the ground.
THUNK.
The sword stood upright.
Its hilt protruded from the soil.
Five meters away.
Close enough to tempt them.
Far enough that retrieving it meant abandoning the formation.
The Tikbalang released the hilt.
It never looked at the weapon again.
Its burning eyes remained fixed on the students.
Oliver slowly turned toward the sword lodged in the distant tree.
Then...
Toward Thomas' sword standing in the ground.
Two swords.
Gone.
Only Jack's and Mia's remained.
Jack felt his throat tighten.
It wasn't taking trophies.
It wasn't mocking them.
It was dismantling them.
One choice at a time.
Thomas slowly closed his empty hand.
"...I hesitated."
No one answered.
Because no one could deny it.
The hesitation had lasted less than a heartbeat.
Yet...
Against this creature...
That heartbeat had cost him his weapon.
The Tikbalang lowered itself once more.
Its claws dug into the earth.
Ready to charge again.
This time...
No one spoke.
The only sound left in the clearing...
Was the quiet breathing of four students who knew they were running out of options.