Tony pulled out the antidote and walked over towards Don, but was stopped by Hina. Standing up, she reached out and took the bottle from Tony while giving him an order to keep an eye out for the beasts that may be lurking near by.
"I will apply the antidote, you should keep an eye out for those vile creatures. They do like lurking in the dark after all."
Tony nodded his head before grabbing his shield as he sat down near them. Grabbing a cloth out of his backpack, he proceeded to clean the shield of the blood of the Cave Spiders from the previous battle. Taking quick glances around to ensure their safety, Tony failed to see the mass of Cave Spiders that were waiting right in front of him.
Don looked towards the tunnel entrance in front of him as Hina poured the green liquid on his wound. The liquid was absorbed by the wound before releasing a dark residue, which Hina believed to be the poison of the Cave Spiders. Judging by the pitch black color, the poison was probably very strong. Shockingly, Don was not in pain during this whole process, he just sat there as he pondered his next move.
While Hina helped Don with the antidote, Tony heard a noise of screeching coming from the direction they had just came from. Looking up, he gulped a mouthful of saliva before speaking as his voice trembled.
"Boss... I think you should run.. right now."
Don looked back as if to question why Tony would say such a thing, but to his horror he saw the pathway behind them filled with Cave Spiders. "What about you?" Don asked Tony while already knowing the answer.
"I have always been ready to die for you, be it today or in the future. I will do my best to hold them off while you and madame make a run for it. I hope to buy you at least a minute. Please forgive me for not making it through this expedition together with you both," saying this much, Tony got up and positioned himself to defend at all costs.
"Thank you for serving us both with your utmost loyalty," Don knew how stubborn Tony was and decided it would be better to accept his sacrifice so that both himself and Hina could survive. He nodded one last time towards Tony before grabbing Hina by her hand and started running.
"Thank you Tony!" Hina's cry could be heard by Tony as he looked back and saw the two make a run for it. He wasn't upset in the least bit. In all his years, he had never heard the madame cry like now. He knew he had a place in both of their hearts and to die for them was worth it. He would not live to be an immortal, but he had lived a fulfilling life.
Grabbing the small sword tightly, he banged it against the shield while charging forward.
"Come on you bastards!" He gave his shield a big thrust as soon as he made contact with the first batch of spiders. The banging noise from earlier had caused his blood to boil as he prepared to fight with his life on the line. As a member of a gang, he had seen his fair share of blood and violence, even coming to many close calls himself. In contrast, the Cave Spiders found the noise horrendous. It momentarily stunned them, which was enough to cause a great deal of damage when the shield landed.
"BANG!"
The Cave Spiders flew towards the wall like a kite with it's string broken off. The impact caused the surroundings to shake, some of the loose rocks on the ceiling dropped down. Tony dodged the falling rocks as he continued to push with his shield and slash down with the sword. He had lost track of how many Cave Spiders he had killed and how many bites as well as scratches he had gained in return. His mind was focused on one thing and one thing only! Attract as much attention of the Cave Spiders as possible so that his boss and madame may run away to safety.
The falling rocks had crushed multiple Cave Spiders, but even then there was an endless wave of spiders coming. It was obvious that they had came back for vengeance. With the help of the falling rocks, Tony didn't have to worry much about the Cave Spiders rushing past him as the tunnel entrance behind him had been reduced to half the size. The Cave Spiders would need to kill him to progress onward.
A falling rock landed on Tony's head, causing him to fall down to his knees. Almost losing conscious instantly, Tony used his will power to catch himself from being flattened down. Standing back up, he looked at the enemies in front of him. Blood running from his forehead down to his chin, along with the multiple wounds all over his body, he looked like a demon. His eyes became bloodshot as he started to lose his sanity from the poison. Screaming loudly, he rushed forward once more towards his death.
***
*
While Tony bravely fought to his last breath, Don and Hina ran as fast as they possibly could. Even while being a toughened gang leader and someone of just as equal power, they both could not hold back the tears in their eyes. Especially so with Hina, Tony had treated her like a sister. In that aspect, Tony was the only other family member Hina felt that she had and now his life and death were uncertain. This brought up old emotions that she had thrown away in the past.
"Don't worry, I heard that the crystals Senior Brother wanted us to get are not that great. But if they are shit, then why would he invest so much on us to retrieve them? I believe we can use the crystals to help Tony heal. Let's just hope he can survive long enough for us to get the crystals and come back," Don spoke in a low voice as he ran alongside Hina. Unlike Hina, he wasn't crying but the pained look on his face was obvious. Even he missed the giant that was both his bodyguard and a longtime friend.
Looking down at the map, he grabbed Hina's hand a little tightly before rushing forward in accordance to the directions listed on the map.
***
*
Jacq was doing his best to stay above water. The current was fast, it was a downgrade and Jacq was being pushed back underwater. Each time he resurfaced, he would cough up a mouthful of water before inhaling deeply as he knew he would be going underwater again until this ride was over. Nero didn't speak. It wasn't that he couldn't, but instead there was nothing for him to say. Adding to the current situation, Jacq might just flip out if he spoke right now.
After a few minutes of almost dying, Jacq heard the sound that he dreaded the most right now. If not for this sound, he would most likely be sleeping in a warm spot and not freezing to death like he was right now.
"AWOOOO"
The werewolf was swimming behind him and the distance that was originally the length of a football field was being shortened steadily.
"He can swim... This guy can fucking swim," to Jacq's dismay, the werewolf wasn't being affected by the current as much as himself.
"Yeah... Remember, he did start his cultivation already, so he has more intelligence than a normal werewolf. Also, I don't think you know this, but a normal werewolf is almost as smart as you humans," Nero responded.
"... Next you'll tell me that he can sing and dance too," Jacq felt a great headache, he wasn't sure if it was because of the news or from the coldness of the water. As he gained a hold of himself, he started to swim faster, by now the werewolf had covered a quarter of the distance.
"Actually, believe it or not, but during mating season werewolves gather around in their breeding grounds and hold a festival. The females tend to go for the males who can dance and sing as well as they fight."
Listening to Nero's lecture, Jacq almost vomited blood. A werewolf that can sing and dance! That is insane! But then remembering that werewolves could cultivate, it made sense for a cultivating werewolf to be able to sing and dance. This thought made Jacq calm down until Nero spoke up again.
"By the way, I meant that normal werewolves could sing and dance. I read the books on Earth and it seems to me that you humans do lack a lot of knowledge outside of your planetary system."
Jacq almost fainted from hearing this. He quickly slapped his face before disregarding this information as he continued to swim forward. Twice now he had almost drowned after hearing Nero. He decided it was best to ignore all of the information Nero gave him regarding werewolves until after this crisis was averted, if it could be that is.
"The waterfall up ahead will give you a chance to go back on land so pay attention. Right as soon as the waterfall ends, swim to your right," Nero recommended to Jacq.
"But wouldn't that just make it easier for him to catch me?" Jacq responded in confusion. The whole point of running was to escape the werewolf's carnivorous teeth. Running on land would just give the werewolf an upper hand.
"Ah, you are forgetting something. The dragon of this cave is in that direction. Hopefully he can scare off this wet dog," Nero spoke with certainty.
Jacq nodded and braced himself as the waterfall was right in front of him. This was the second waterfall that he had ever entered in his entire lifetime, and hopefully it would be the last waterfall he would ever have to encounter he prayed. Soon, Jacq could hear the growls of the werewolf right behind him! He looked back and saw a giant paw slashing towards him. Jacq failed to realize that the werewolf had covered so much distance already. Closing his eyes, Jacq braced himself for his death, but then the water under him vanished.
Opening his eyes, he saw the werewolf waving it's limbs about as the werewolf had not expected another waterfall at this time. Jacq quickly adjusted himself towards the right and soon he hit the water at the end of the waterfall. Swimming under the water towards the right, he swam like his life depended on it, because it actually did. Soon he felt land under his feet and quickly he got a hold of his footing and ran straight ahead. Behind him, Jacq could here the werewolf howl in rage.
"AWOOO!"
At the same time, a booming voice was heard.
"WHY IS THERE A DOG ON MY LAND!!!"
Hearing this voice, even the werewolf started whimpering. Following the ear shattering voice, the ground shook as if some behemoth was walking towards them. Jacq gulped as he looked around for a hiding spot. Seeing a big rock on the side, Jacq quickly ran behind it. He could feel his heart in his mouth.
"AFTER I DEAL WITH THE DOG, I WILL DEAL WITH YOU. DON'T THINK I DIDN'T SEE YOU THERE LITTLE RUNT!"
Jacq, "...Well fuck. Now what Nero?"