"But before that..." Theo said before turning to Clara again.
"What made that big beast move away from you? The last I saw... you were falling straight into its mouth," Theo said. He didnât want her to relive the experience, but his curiosity got the better of him.
"Letâs keep moving first, young master," she said, and began moving before continuing, "I only stopped for a moment when that beast shattered the ground beneath my feet."
Theo nodded, his eyes landing on the boar and the pup beside her. His eyes remained on the boar specifically, as if he had noticed something.
"Where... is its tusk, Clara?" Theo asked slowly as they moved forward. Clara fell silent.
"He is the saviour you were asking about, young master," Clara said, pride evident in her eyes, but he could also see a hint of sadness in them.
Theo said nothing, but his gaze remained fixed on the boarâs face.
One of its tusks was completely gone, and the other had numerous cracks running through it.
"It used all its might and strength to push the giantâs head as far as it could... and as you can see, he succeeded in doing so, but not without a sacrifice," Clara said with a bitter smile, looking at the boar next to her.
Theo nodded, not knowing what to say. He had seen the size of that thing; the mere thought that Claraâs boar had been able to move using just its tusks and brute strength sounded ridiculous.
"I still cannot believe it was able to force such a massive beast aside. It truly is your savior, Clara," Theo said before breaking into a run, unwilling to get caught by the beast like she had been.
Still, he couldnât help but keep on thinking about the boar which had, just like a hero, charged at the giant beast with all its might and slammed its tusks in the beastâs body before pouring all its strength into moving it to the side.
Clara patted the boarâs head warmly, eliciting a soft sound from it as it continued walking beside her.
Theo smiled too.
"Will it ever be able to recover its tusk, or is it gone forever?" Theo asked with a heavy heart, but he knew that the question needed to be asked.
"It will grow back. Itâs just a slow process, young master."
"Alright. Then we will keep the boar out of this fight for a while. Only me, the mantis, you, the pup, Elias and the ape will participate," Theo said, "And one more thing..."
He slowed for a moment. "Donât ever put yourself in that kind of danger again, Clara. In that moment, I didnât know what I would do without you."
The words came from his very heart.
With that, he picked up his pace toward Elias, leaving Clara stunned and happy at the same time for a moment before she hurried to join them.
"ELIAS! We need to regroup!" Theo shouted from behind.
Elias looked over and immediately changed direction, heading toward them.
When he looked at Clara, a natural smile formed on his face.
"Thank the benevolent artifact that youâre okay," Elias said as he briskly made his way toward them.
"Letâs have that conversation later. For now, what do you all suggest we do about this situation? Did any of you manage to see its name?" Theo asked. They hadnât stopped moving for even a single second since then.
"Unfortunately, no. But I realized something, young master," Elias said, drawing their attention. "All the crawlers fled the moment this creature appeared, it means that its aura should be close to the Baronâs, maybe a little less, since we couldnât detect it."
BRMM...
Just then, another vibration rippled through the ground, and this time, Theo and the others knew something was going to happen.
Theo ran forward, keeping his focus on the ground, especially on his danger sense. He couldnât detect anything directly, apart from the tremors he could feel beneath his feet.
They kept running for a few more seconds when an inkling of a realization struck him as he stared at the ground.
âThe vibrations just changed...â Theo thought to himself. The vibrations were very much similar to the ones before, but as he kept on observing them closely, he noticed a subtle change.
Cold sweat began sliding down his face as his instincts screamed at him to run the other way.
"Change directions!" he shouted immediately, startling the others for a moment, but the sudden command made them follow him instantly.
The moment they veered away from the initial direction and had put some distance between them, the vibrations returned to normal.
"I think," Theo said, panting heavily in exhaustion, "I might know when itâs close to us..."
Elias looked at him in surprise. "Thatâs impressive, young master," he said, already thinking it through.
"But we will have to stop somewhere along the way," Theo muttered, still panting. "Our stamina isnât infinite."
"Whatâs the best place for us to fight here?" Theo asked, making everyone pause to think again.
As Theo focused on the vibrations, another image flashed in his mind.
It was through an antâs perspective. In it, Theo saw light for a brief moment before it disappeared into darkness again.
Another vein throbbed in his head as he changed direction again.
"That bastard just ate more of my ants!" Theo said in frustration before he started moving to the ant colonyâs massive hole.
"Run in circles, both of you!" Theo shouted without looking back at them. "I will draw its attention."
After saying that, he came to a halt near the ant colonyâs gaping hole.
Clara and Elias both turned pale when they realized he had stopped moving.
Meanwhile, Theo stomped his foot on the ground several times to catch the beastâs attention. His legs were screaming in pain, and he could feel that the beast was also getting desperate since he could feel the change in vibrations almost instantly.
âDonât give up on me now,â Theo thought as he bent his knees, his target already locked.
The tremors he could feel intensified, and soon he saw a small portion of the ground collapse inward.
That was his cue.
Theo leaped forward, not upward, and he was right.
The ground beneath his feet exploded outward, and a gigantic, stone-covered creature burst out.
Theo glanced back and grinned when he saw that he was completely away from the trajectory of its gaping mouth.
"NOW!" he shouted, and everyone charged toward it with all their might.