Agawa and I planted our feet firmly into the moist turf and took a robust stance.
Meanwhile, the bear struggled to wobble back to an attack position. It shook and whimpered on its way up. It was a display one wouldn't at all expect from an apex predator.
Though it had been trying to devour us, I still felt a degree of pity for the pathetic display I'd been seeing. My face had even twisted into a disgusted cringe.
Stifling its cries, the bear regained a rushing pose and bellowed another ground-shaking roar. It glared at us with eyes glossed with fear and anger. Finally, it again scraped its front claws on the soil beneath, further crusting them with grime and mud.
"Ready?" Agawa asked.
I grinned, cocked my head toward her, and nodded.
"I'll take that as a yes," she said, rolling her eyes.
Overcome with anger, the bear launched at us with surprising speed. I had been especially shocked, considering the leg wound crippling it. Its paws had carried it with such speed even the soil hadn't time to fully mold in the shape of prints.
Upon reaching us, the bear halted its momentum, skidding wildly across the mud, and stood high with its hind legs. Its stature was gargantuan, going so far as to completely blot out what little Sun could penetrate the thick forest tops.
It threw heavy swipes, almost akin to a boxer's hook, in a desperate attempt to lacerate our flesh with huge, serrated claws. Though I'd like to say we dodged with ease, we weren't war veterans like Sato.
The angle, the force, the speed; everything about the bear's strike exceeded our every expectation. I guess dodging a direct blow was much different from a reckless charge.
pαпdα-ňᴏνê|·сóМ Agawa and I made a miscalculation that would've killed one or both of us if it hadn't been for the leg wound Agawa had inflicted earlier.
Barely, but just enough, the beast buckled on its wounded side, causing its once precise killer strikes to glance at our skin when we backed away.
The bear grunted in pain and fell from its hind legs back onto all fours.
We knew we wouldn't have a better opportunity, so Agawa and I disengaged hastily. We sprinted to where Kamida and the others had been.
During our run, I readjusted my holster belt to store away my bloodied blade.
"C'mon, you stupid thing," I griped as the blade kept twitching just out of place from the socket. It was always so easy to holster a sword in video games and movies, so why the hell was I struggling so much now?!
After a few moments, I finally felt the blade hit the sweet spot of the sheath.
With a slick, grinding sound, the sword slid right in, all the way to the hilt. It was just in time, too, since Agawa and I had just arrived at the rest of the idiots.
"Hand him over!" I snarled at Kamida, taking the lemming's hand and hoisting him onto my back.
Though I could see Kamida wanting to protest, we hadn't much time before the bear rushed us again. It didn't matter if he argued anyway; I wasn't about to let an out-of-shape old man like him be in charge of something like this.
"Oh shit!" Agawa shouted, noticing the bear's mad dash. "We gotta move!" She took the still-unconscious Sato from the sisters, and the chase began.
We sprinted at full tilt away from our pursuer, ducking and weaving between fallen pine trees and various foliage. I thought for sure we'd outrun the thing since we'd kept a steady but fast pace. Not only that, but I assumed we'd be more mobile than it too. It was a colossal killing machine, after all. That's why I was utterly shocked once I looked back.
'Is it….catching up with us?' My eyes widened unnaturally, almost to express the words of dismay I'd been thinking.
Unlike us, the beast had no need to run around light obstacles like shrubbery and fallen logs; it just bowled through them instead. It'd been like we were being pursued by a miniature tornado as it obliterated the dark forest floor.
Cracks of wood, tremors of paws, and gruff whines ricocheted from the trees around us. If I was blinded, I might've even assumed we were being pursued by multiple of the damn things rather than just one.
It had been steadily gaining on us, so there was only one option: to fight. We couldn't run forever, even if the bear hadn't been outpacing us. I only needed to see Nakamura and Kamida's condition to confirm that fact.
Kamida wheezed heavily. "I-I can't, I can't…." He fell behind the group, bit by bit.
"Keep pu-pushing, "Nakamura encouraged, almost out of breath as well, "I can't resuscitate you if you're eaten!"
"T-That's definitely incentivizing," Kamida replied with a raspy laugh.
I turned my head from the old men and toward Agawa. As expected, she was doing just fine stamina-wise. Though her body was still in peak condition, I could tell her mind was in shambles when she noticed the bear closing in.
"What do we do?!" Agawa panicked while eyeing what could only be described as impending death.
This was my moment. The time for running was over; it was a pointlessly stupid idea anyway.
I swallowed a gust of cold air, expanding my chest as far as it'd go. I wanted as much breath as my body could contain to make my demand loudly known.
Exhaling slightly, I began to shout, "Let's figh-" but was cut off by Ayame.
"Hey, over there!" She pointed to an enormous and gnarled oak tree, its thick roots sticking high out of the earth to provide a natural shelter. "We can hide in the roots!"
Checking it myself, she might've been right. The roots seemed sturdy and compact enough to form a wooden cell capable of keeping that monster at bay, at least for a bit.
I doubted it could hold out forever, but we'd at least have time for a plan, I guess.
'Why does she have to be right?' I thought in disappointment. 'Can't we just fight the damn thing and get it over with?!' I genuinely didn't understand the appeal cowardice had to these people.
As usual, the majority overruled my opinion on the matter. They all curved to the left and bolted for what would be our cage.
I exhaled in exhaustion; I was mentally done with these people at this point. 'Whatever...maybe I can punch the bear in the snout a few times to feel better.'
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