The chase continued.
The Tikbalang's pace never faltered.
Its breathing remained calm.
Its footing never wavered.
It simply ran.
The students were the ones beginning to fall apart.
Jack barely noticed the next tree until it flashed past his face.
He instinctively tucked his shoulder inward.
The rough bark scraped across his sleeve.
A heartbeat later—
Another trunk.
This time Thomas twisted just enough for it to miss his head.
He didn't even realize he'd moved until the tree was already behind him.
Above them, Mia flattened herself against the Tikbalang's upper arm as another branch swept overhead.
Scars crossed her face.
The few golden strands hidden within the Tikbalang's dark mane appeared for only an instant...
Then disappeared again.
She never even thought about reaching for them.
Holding on had become difficult enough.
None of it was new.
The Tikbalang had been weaving through the forest from the very beginning.
The difference was, their bodies no longer had the strength to keep up.
Every twist took a little longer to react to.
Every branch came a little closer.
Every adjustment demanded a little more effort.
The forest hadn't changed.
They had.
Several meters behind—
Oliver darted around another tree.
He caught a glimpse of the Tikbalang between the trunks.
Then lost it again.
"...Come on..."
He tightened his grip around the swords.
Jack's in his right hand.
Mia's in his left.
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Thomas's sword secured in Oliver's scabbard at his waist.
His own sword remained behind, still embedded in the tree.
He couldn't follow the Tikbalang's exact route, it constantly changes direction.
He could only predict where it would go.
Finding the optimal path to reach the Tikbalang.
Little by little...
The distance grew.
Oliver gritted his teeth.
He was starting to lose hope.
"No..."
He forced himself forward.
"If I lose sight of them..."
He didn't finish the thought.
He simply ran harder.
Ahead—
Jack felt his forearms trembling.
Not from fear.
From exhaustion.
His fingers obeyed him a fraction of a second slower than before.
Across from him—
Thomas realized he had stopped feeling the pain in his arms.
That frightened him far more.
Pain meant he still had strength left.
Numbness meant he was running out.
Above them…
Mia's legs burned from squeezing the Tikbalang's arm.
She could feel her grip weakening.
Not because she wanted to let go.
Because her muscles were beginning to fail.
For the first time since they had climbed onto the Tikbalang...
All three reached the same realization.
The Tikbalang wasn't getting faster.
They were getting weaker.
Jack's forearms burned.
His fingers had long since gone numb.
He wasn't holding on because he still had strength left.
He was holding on because letting go was not an option.
Across from him—
Thomas was in the same condition.
His breathing had become uneven.
His arms trembled with every movement.
Above them—
Mia kept her eyes on the Tikbalang's dark mane.
The few golden strands continued to appear and disappear between the black hairs.
So close.
Yet impossible to reach.
Without warning—
The Tikbalang crouched.
Its powerful legs compressed beneath its body.
Then—
It leaped.
The forest dropped away beneath them.
The fallen tree ahead looked tiny as the Tikbalang soared over it.
For a brief moment—
Everything became weightless.
Jack tightened every muscle in his body.
Thomas locked his legs harder around the Tikbalang's leg.
Mia pressed herself closer against its upper arm.
Then—
Gravity returned.
BOOM!
The Tikbalang slammed back onto the forest floor.
The impact shook its entire body.
Jack's teeth clacked together.
Thomas' vision blurred.
Mia was thrown against the Tikbalang's shoulder.
Jack's right hand slipped.
Only a few centimeters.
Before he could recover—
The Tikbalang's hind legs drove into the ground.
Its muscles tightened.
Then—
It accelerated.
The sudden burst of speed struck harder than anything before.
Jack's weakened grip failed instantly.
His right hand tore free.
He desperately tried to pull himself back.
Too late.
His remaining hand slipped moments later.
His legs lost their hold.
Jack fell.
At the same time—
Thomas also fell.
The force ripped his grip away before he could adjust.
Both of them fell together.
No words.
No warning.
One moment they were there.
The next—
They were gone.
Mia felt it immediately.
The difference.
The weight was reduced.
The Tikbalang no longer had to carry two extra bodies clinging to its legs.
It became lighter.
Faster.
More controlled.
The movements changed instantly.
The heavy adjustments from before disappeared.
Now every step was cleaner.
Every turn was sharper.
Every movement flowed naturally.
Mia's stomach sank.
This was what they had been trying to prevent.
They didn't need to overpower it.
They needed to tire it out.
They needed to keep slowing it down.
And now...
The Tikbalang was finally moving closer to its true speed.
Mia tightened her grip.
She couldn't reach for the golden strands now.
Not at this speed.
Not with the wind tearing past her.
The dark mane whipped violently behind the Tikbalang's neck.
The few golden hairs flashed in and out of sight.
But they might as well have been miles away.
All she could do was hold on.
Then—
The Tikbalang turned.
Not the wild, forced movements from before.
A smooth, controlled change of direction.
Mia's body swung outward.
Her shoulder stretched under the strain.
She tried to pull herself back into place.
Then—
CRACK.
Her shoulder slammed against a tree trunk.
Pain exploded through her arm.
Her grip weakened.
Her injured shoulder refused to support her weight.
She tried to hold on with her remaining strength.
For a moment—
She managed.
Then her fingers slipped.
Her legs lost their hold.
The forest spun beneath her.
And Mia fell.