Two wolves. But they didn't look like ordinary wolves.
The posture is larger, and the fur is darker. Their saliva was dripping, their eyes red as blood.
I swallowed my saliva, and my body started shaking. If the wolves were drooling, it would be cold sweat on my body.
"J-jerk, what's a lucky charm ..." I cursed to myself.
======
My legs were shaking and I couldn't even stand up. Two causes: I just woke up from a coma, and I could die at any moment as a result of two carnivores currently looking at me with starving eyes.
Neither I nor the two wolves moved. I chose not to make a sudden move, and the wolf chose to watch over me.
Could there be any hope that they would abandon me after thinking that I was dead from not moving?
What are they all about, anyway? Wolves shouldn't live in cities like this.
The hospital must be looking for me. But it will take a long time considering my distance is quite far.
I have to do something about them first.
"Grrrrhhhhh"
They are still staring at me and watching my every move.
If I run now, even at my best, they will be able to easily catch up and keep up with a human's speed.
Even so, there was no guarantee that I would live if I chose to remain silent.
I hold my breath as best I can.
Even though they have bodies twice as big as ordinary wolves, it seems like their senses are not as sharp as I thought.
"Grr ...." they started to lose interest in me. Good, if I keep waiting patiently, maybe they'll let me live tonight.
I waited for the two monsters to leave. Until suddenly, that blue flame-like substance started to ignite from the talisman that had cracked and spread throughout my body.
"Grrr ..!?" they realized it. Shit! Now I firmly believe that this thing is nothing more than a curse!
I have to find a way to escape. But the only way is to enter the forest, which is much more dangerous.
"At least I can postpone my death!" I shouted, then moved my feet as hard as they could to run away from them.
Entering the forest, the light from the moon began to be blocked by the leaves. Since their senses were quite weak, naturally hiding was the safest option right now.
I hid behind the bushes, although still able to monitor them from the gaps.
"Hhuft.. hhufft.." my breath was running out and my heart was forced to race in fear.
It seemed that the only thing that could trigger the two wolves' sensors was the energy emitted from this talisman.
Do I need to throw it?
"Ugh ..." even if it was a gift from my older sister, However, like it or not I have to put my life first.
I threw the talisman in the opposite direction. The talisman soared high and landed quite a distance.
"Aaaauuuu!!" As expected, the wolves immediately pursued the location where the talisman landed.
This is my chance, but I feel something strange from my body. The blue flame-like substance just now started burning in my body randomly.
It doesn't hurt like before, the sensation this time is very warm. Actually, what energy is this? It would be very lucky if this could be used against them.
If so, why not just give it a try?
But, the way out is wide open. I should have used that to save myself now.
"Myself huh.." I thought. Then what about the others? Worst case if they were left hanging around here, they could break into the hospital.
That does not include the possibility that they will infiltrate urban areas and attack the residents.
Should I stick to the principle of being a hero now? Save human lives without strings attached?
Not. I don't need to worry about people i don't know, why bother sacrificing myself for them?
But..
At least I want to repay the hospital that saved my life. That's all, an excuse I can use.
I don't want to pretend to be a hero.
I don't know what I was like before I had amnesia, could I have been like this a long time ago?
While I can do it, I will.
If this energy had been burning up without me noticing it, I should be able to bring it under conscious control as well.
Then, after I succeed, how do I use it to attack?
This energy burns like fire, but is not hot. It flows like water, but not liquid. The nature of this energy is incomprehensible to me.
After a few tries, I was able to gather and concentrate that energy on the palm of my right hand.
"U-unghhh.." It was difficult, but in the end I succeeded. If I lose my focus for just a moment, the concentration of this energy will disperse.
If I shoot it, it will take a long time to collect again the second time.
Can I use it to strengthen my punch?
"Gulp.." I swallowed hard. It's a 50 to 50 bet, since I'm going to use it for the first time.
Wait, isn't it weird? I'm using this power right now, but they haven't come or even know where I am.
Are they more interested in the Talisman?
"Rrrrghhh ..." I felt a cold breath behind my neck.
I have bad feeling. I'm pretty sure the two wolves were running in opposite directions, so... what other creature is now behind me?
"RGgRaaWRHG!" without thinking, I immediately rolled my body forward to avoid his claws.
"G-guhh.." Luckily, I can still keep the energy clumps in my fist.
A giant pale brown bear. And this, much bigger than the two wolves earlier. It's so big, I'm going to use a car and a bicycle for comparison.
"?!" I saw the blood around his mouth. Dammit, could he possibly eat those two wolves?!
My knees are weak. I'm pretty sure that my opponents are the two wolves earlier, but this time my opponent is a giant bear that can easily devour THOSE.
"GRROARR!!" The bear lunged at me as if he didn't know the word patience, very much different from the wolves who tended to observe.
I avoided as much as I could to the side. Even though I succeeded, the claws left three thin scratches on my face. If I were even a second late, my face would have been crushed shapeless.
Ah, right. What if I aim for his face? It will temporarily paralyze his sight and smell.
After all, I saw no other point that could serve as a target.
Like I said, this is a life and death bet. It's best for now is to believe in yourself.
"Alright.." I was still able to control my fear and the energy clumps still gathered in my right hand.
Second lunge, I won't escape. I will strike back.
"GRAAAAURHH!" just as I thought, it attacked me again with the same pattern. I just need to take advantage of timing to dodge and hit its face at the same time.
I ran forward.
"Ready or not, here I come!" The bear's claw this time injured my shoulder. It's not that deep, but it's enough to make it hard for me to swing my hand.
BRUUAKK
I waved my hand with my last strength. The blow hit him in the face, and made it roar in pain.
"GWWROAHRR !!!" blood poured from its nose and eyes. Looks like its hearing also damaged.
I did not expected it to be successful. However, my shoulder is currently injured. I'm not sure if I can repeat the same attack without breaking my arm.
I can still use my left hand, but that will unbalance my position and leave my right hand wide open.
I don't want to take the risk. While it's paralyzed, I have to think of something.
For now, I can't control it in any other way than to overflow something. Right, it doesn't have to be my hand, but it can be a weapon or something else.
I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief after finding a solution, but the problem was that there wasn't anything that could be used as a weapon.
Wait. There are objects that are often found in the forest that can be used as sharp weapons: tree branches.
Of course, I took a branch that was quite large, sturdy and had a sharp tip.
Ordinary branches will break easily when faced with giant monsters.
However, there is a chance for success if I flow with that energy.
This time, I was able to activate my power more easily and flow down the tree branch so that it glowed blue.
Now, the Bear is almost recovered. There's no time to think, I have to finish before it's too late.
I couldn't stab him directly because it would break my arm. So I chose to throw it from a distance. At least, the pain could be minimized.
"Take this, damn bear!" with all my remaining strength, I threw this branch. I aimed for the side of his chest, hoping that his heart could be pierced.
WWWUUNNGG!
With one last swing, the branch shot forward. Split the wind around it and stabbed directly into its body.
"RAAAAAAUURRRRGHHHH!!!!!" Its groans were much louder this time. So it would not be surprising if the hospital would immediately find me.
The bear stopped groaning, then fell sideways. It seemed that he had exhausted his strength and was truly dead.
"Hufftt ... hufftt ..." on the other hand, I was also very tired. My breath is exhausted, and I have sores on my shoulders and face.
There was something that surprised me when the bear died. It disappeared. It had completely vanished and disappeared as if it didn't come from this world.
I'm scared. I have a bad feeling if I stay here too long. Hence, I immediately ran out of this forest.
The pain and adrenaline in my body made my body very weak. It feels like I can lose my consciousness at any time.
Almost there. I can feel that soon I will come out of this forest.
"Huuffttt.." worked.
I held on to a tree, to prevent myself from falling.
"Hey, I found that kid!" I can hear a male voice from far away, although my hearing is very faint.
Are they..? The hospital is looking for me..?
"Hurry, prepare the palanquin!" someone else shouted. With my blurry vision, I could see four .. no, five people running towards me.
Two are male and the rest are female. They all wear doctor uniforms. They were carrying a stretcher along with a bag that seemed to contain medical equipment.
"H-hahaha ..." I laughed with relief because I could come out alive from the forest.
"Hoshizora-kun!" when I could no longer hold my body, a doctor's hand caught me.
"His shoulder is badly injured, take antiseptic, red medicine and bandages!" The doctor started first aid to treat my wound.
My consciousness began to disappear.
Ah, looks like I'll be staying at the hospital for a few more days.…