Beatrice and Ace both looked in the direction Lyra was pointing. They saw a giant beast stalking towards them. They first noticed it's dark black fur, ruffled in a way that each strand seemed as if it was a sharp needle.
They noticed the beast's four thick, furry legs, and they slowly examined its appearance upwards.
When their eyes approached its face, they saw giant, sharp teeth that looked like they could easily pierce through a human skull, and bright, demonic, red eyes that could make any sane person tremble in terror.
"D- demon!" Beatrice said as she ran and hid behind Ace.
"Really?" Said Ace, "Why are you trying to hide behind me? Now I have nowhere to hide!"
"You're supposed to fight it." Lyra said, turning to face them. "That's what Leo said you should do, right?"
"How are you still so calm?" Beatrice asked, seeing Lyra looking fine.
"I'm not." Lyra responded. She had nothing else to say. How was she supposed to know how much she should protect them if she does not know how strong they are?
"It's coming towards us!" Ace said, staring at the demon.
"I guess we need to fight it!" Ace continued, "we have no other choice!"
Beatrice and Ace got into fighting stances to prepare to attack, and Lyra stood back and smiled.
"Their stances are pretty good," She thought, "But they already missed a few openings."
The demon ran directly towards Beatrice because she looked weaker than Ace, and tried to ram its head into her. Just as it reached her, she sidestepped and hit it right underneath the jaw with an open hand.
However, she underestimated the strength of its protective skin, and only managed to irritate the demon further.
It opened its mouth and turned its head to try and bite her. Its bright white teeth reflected a dangerous glint in the sunlight.
Beatrice was not expecting its attack, and she became frightened by the sight of its teeth. She paused for a moment due to her fear. And the beast tried to close its mouth on her...
But it was stopped by a stick that seemed to come out of nowhere. Beatrice opened her eyes to see Ace standing a foot away, holding the end of the stick that was now in the demon's mouth.
"I'm here for you!" Ace said. But the demon was angry that its attack was blocked, so it changed its target to Ace.
It bit down hard and crushed the stick between its teeth. Now Ace's weapon was broken, and completely ineffective, and the demon was near him.
This time the demon tried to bite. There was nothing to block to the bite anymore, and Ace has to now rely on his skills in close combat, and if completely necessary, magic too.
Ace dodged to the left and hit the demon in the middle of its neck. The demon swerved its head to the left and Ace stepped back towards the left again.
The demon turned and charged at him, but Ace merely laughed.
The demon was confused by his laughing but still continued its charge...
When suddenly it was struck on its back by Beatrice's fist at its weakest point. It fell to the ground, but quickly got up. The beast howled in pain. It turned its head warily between Beatrice and Ace, and fear was apparent in its red, demonic eyes.
It growled at them, and stepped back slowly. The for all over its body was standing up, making it hard for Beatrice or Ace to see its weak points anymore. It wanted to flee, so it glanced at the forest to one side quickly before turning its head back to watch Beatrice and Ace.
It watched them, then looked at the forest. It watched them, then looked at the forest again. It knew, it can only survive if it gets into the forest.
It backed up more, and then in the corner of its eye it saw Lyra, who looked like a tasty treat, standing near the forest.
It was a hungry demon, so as soon as it felt that Beatrice and Ace let down their guard a little, it bolted towards Lyra with its mouth open wide.
Beatrice and Ace were not expecting it to run towards Lyra, but they caught up to it quickly, and just as it reached her Beatrice hit again in the same place she hit it before, making it feel far more pain.
"Leave Lyra alone!" Ace yelled as he also hit it on that same spot, and the beast started bleeding and whimpering.
It no longer had any desire to attack Lyra. It was dying from the pain and the blood. The beast collapsed right in front of Lyra, never to wake again.
"Are you okay?" Ace asked Lyra, no longer caring about the beast.
"I'm fine... It didn't... reach me." Lyra said, panting. She acted as if she was completely frightened by the beast trying to attack her.