It bore down on them, the figure unviewable as the halo of light from the rising sun blotted out their vision. It slammed the earth, shattering the ground and sending the cart flying forward. Kirby hit the ground face first, skidding a meter before coming to a halt. He didn't look behind him before he scrambled to his feet and headed to the tree line. Seconds later he was hoisted into the air.
Tien had picked up Kirby and was booking it towards the treeline. Now being in a fireman hold he could see the thing. It was massive, five times the size the horse-creature dragging the cart. It had eight legs on either side of its body, all thicker and taller than Kirby's entire person. The body was completely round and shone with a metallic lustre, save the neck and tail which were on opposing sides of the body. It had no facial features except a singular ominous black orifice which cut off where the head was supposed to be.
It was absurd and terrifying to any sane person. Nobody with a functioning brain or any other option would even go near it.
"Stay here, I need to get our supplies back." He promptly put Kirby down and turned on the spot.
From his spot, hidden behind the trees he watched on, incredibly interested in what would happen next. Kirby cleared out the dirt in his eyes, now able to properly see what was going on.
Tien ran up to the creature, which was melting down one of the horses with acid produced from its orifice. Nothing except the screaming and braying of the horse could be heard as it was eaten alive. This lets Tien sneak up on the monster.
Holding his hands up he scrunched his brow, flexing every muscle in his body. The space around his hands simmered, fading until it became a black spot large enough to cover his forearms.
After the horse's cries died down the beast turned to face Tien who promptly released the space in his hands. The force of the escaping energy liquefied the upper body of the monster. Taking three of the front legs with it.
The moment it collapsed Tien ran through over to the cart, unlatching the remaining horse. Once he put a variety of shiny objects into a bag he rode over to Kirby, picking him up once more.
The ground resumed shaking the moment after they'd started out again. They sped through a path made by some wild animal and got back on the trail after a few minutes. After a brief reprieve, they heard it again. The beast that should have been erased from its neck up was once more chasing them. The skeletal structure extended from the destroyed front half was shredding through the underbrush as it stumbled in their general direction.
"That is a wild dog. The second weakest monster on Artifact." Tien said, seeming calmer now that the beast had lagged behind them a bit.
"The… second weakest? Then what's the weakest? No, that's not as important as the strongest one. What's the strongest one?" Kirby asked, not looking away from the forest behind them.
"The weakest monster would be the insects. There's a lot of them but they're far too weak to bother anyone." Replied Tien, dodging the second question with the grace of an airborne cantaloupe.
*This doesn't bode well. I should try to stay under the radar then. If that thing is so weak then I doubt I could stave off a pigeon from this world.*
"We'll be arriving at the outpost soon. They have weapons capable of actually killing the dog."
As Tien had just finished his sentence the forest began to thin. Now outside the thicker part of the forest, the path flattened out, appearing more worn than before. Both parties were moving faster with the lessening of obstructions.
"How do you kill it if blasting it to pieces won't work?" Kirby asked while gauging the speed at which the monster was catching up.
"Ah, since it's primarily a construct you either destroy every muscle and joint or kill it traditionally in view of a small group."
"Right, perception is what drives this place. Does this only work with people or-" Kirby wasn't able to finish his sentence before the sun was once more blotted out.
The monster slammed into the ground behind them, sending them into the air briefly before the steed hit the ground running. They exited the forest seconds later, arriving in another field. They saw an overbearing wall, covered in pikes and many, many times larger than the monster chasing them.
Kirby only had a second to take it in as the monster took another lunge at the duo. This time instead of landing on them it paused, suspended in the air.
Three robed figures could be seen on top of the enormous stone wall. All extending their hands in a manner similar to Tien's when he blasted a hole in the monster. A sphere of space around the monster became increasingly opaque until it resembled the world's worst snowglobe. The monster scrambled around, trying to find any surface on which to get leverage until-
"CRUNCH!"
A sick, wet sound reverberated through the surroundings. The massive ten-meter beast had been compressed into a ball the size of an orange.
Kirby looked on as the ball shot up towards one of the three robed figures. One of which grabbed it and held it above his head like a trophy. All three of the figures rushed down the wall on the opposing side, out of sight.
The horse slowed down, trotting at pace and panting from the extreme exertion.
"See, that's how you kill it," Tien said, grinning madly.
Kirby was more cautious than anything else at this moment, too busy thinking to be relieved that the monster was slain.
"Could they just do that to anyone?" Kirby asked, with a serious tone in his voice.
"Yeah, if they wanted they could easily kill twenty people off the street with their power."
"What's stopping them?"
"Nobody knows who's who. Anybody you mess with could be capable of the same thing. As such, people don't tend to escalate conflicts. The ratio of wizards to normal people is about one to one. But it varies on where you are. The outpost here? Almost all of us are capable of magic. The more dangerous an area the more there is to gain, so more wizards are present." Tien finished his explanation as they arrived at a small gate in the massive wall.
"Hey, Tien, bad luck again huh?" One of the two guards remarked as they saw their miserable state.
"Oh no, today has been a much better day than most." He said while smiling widely enough to cut his head in two. He pointed at Kirby and continued, "I found something far more valuable than some basic supplies!"