Soon after his statement, a gentle, kind smile formed on Karlo's face. Right then, he disappeared as the Guardian Snake swallowed him whole.
"A-Ah... Uhh... Kar...!"
Riko's jaws fell, his brown eyes tremble restlessly, and his mouth struggles to even utter Karlo's name properly.
It was already too late for him to realize it. But, Karlo was killed by the same thing that ate Riko's Father–The Guardian Snake. And it's all his fault.
Riko wanted to scream so badly, but nothing would come out of his mouth.
"Riko! Riko!!"
As the humongous body of the Guardian Snake slithers right in front of him, Magdalo came and violently pulled Riko away.
"We need to get out of here!" Said Magdalo before stealing a glance on the same spot where Karlo was eaten by the ruler of the forest. "Karlo..."
Much like Riko, there is sorrow in Magdalo's face. Although he knew he doesn't have the luxury to grieve right now.
Magdalo shakes his head and sets his mind on one goal–To get out of the forest along with the others alive.
"Damn it..."
Magdalo drags Riko whose consciousness seemed to have drifted away. Without him knowing, the Guardian Snake is looking at them from behind.
When Magdalo looked back and met the eyes of the ruler of the forest, he felt a jolt ran down his body.
'We're done for...!' The knight thought to himself. 'I shouldn't have acted like a hero and saved myself, damn it!'
Magdalo closes his eyes in fear, waiting for the same tragedy that befell Karlo and Riko's Father to happen to him. However, much like a miracle...
"...Huh?"
"Hey! We're here!"
"Ignore us, and we will cut you in half!"
The Guardian Snake turned away and instead faces the injured Marlo, the one that got blown away by its breath, along with two other black armored knights who are trying to get its attention.
He and Marlo's eyes meet.
"Go!"
"... Sorry, Marlo, everyone!"
Magdalo felt bad for the others for risking their lives to save him and Riko, but at the same time, he is relieved.
Magdalo thought if he can just run and hide somewhere safe with Riko, they'll be able to survive. Well, it's what he thought.
"If we can just hide somewhe–!!"
When his gaze shifted right in front of him, Magdalo realized the Guardian Snake didn't take its attention away from them.
Bwoooh!
"Uwooh! Again!"
"Aaaagh!"
"Waaaah!"
The Guardian Snake has once again used its wind breath, with even greater strength than the last one. Marlo and the others were sent flying before descending back to the ground, incapacitating them.
Whiiip!
"Ackk!"
On the other hand, the snake smacked the unconscious Riko and Magdalo with its long and big tail.
The knight fell unconscious while in mid-air, releasing his firm hold of Riko. They both flew quite a long distance before crash landing right next to Marlo and the other black armored knights. Riko sits up as he regained his consciousness after falling several feet high. However...
"Aaagh... Aaahh!!"
Regaining his consciousness only enabled him to feel the excruciating pain of having his left arm dislocated after a fall. Hence, he is gasping in pain.
Grrrrrrrr...
"...!"
Riko froze soon after hearing a soft growl coming right in front of him. When he looks up, he came face-to-face with the ruler of the forest.
"A-Ah...!"
Riko's thoughts were shrouded with his strong desire to see his father that he didn't recognize how terrifying the Guardian Snake was before.
Now that he's looking at the giant snake, the ruler of the forest with his desire no longer clouding what he sees, he thought:
'We're going to die...!'
With tears gushing out of his brown eyes, he looks at Magdalo, Marlo, and everyone else in despair.
'Karlo, everyone... I'm sorry!"
Riko regretted getting himself drunk with his emotions, leading Karlo and the others to their demise.
Guraaaagh...
The Guardian Snake gradually opens its mouth, revealing its sharp teeth as it starts edging towards the young knight.
Riko closed his eyes, accepting his end as the result of his actions. But, right as he's given up hope on seeing his Father, and on himself, Riko remembers Karlo's last words.
"Don't leave my daughter, too, you fool."
Right then, his Grandmother and siblings came to his mind. In that instant...
Uwgh!
Riko's right fist sends the Guardian Snake's head upwards, although not that much.
'What's going on...?'
Not even Riko knows how, but the instant he recalled his family who're still alive, as well as Karlo's final words, strength seeped through his body.
'Why am I running...?'
Without him knowing, his body moved on its own. He stood up, clenched his right hand into a fist, and hits the Guardian Snake.
Now he's on the run, but for how long? The Guardian Snake, enraged by what Riko did, chases him with rage.
'What's the point of delaying our deaths?'
The answer revealed itself to Riko not long ago.
'That's right. It should have been obvious.'
Riko dodges the Guardian Snake's lunging strike, resulting in its fangs getting stuck on the thick Higantes bark.
'There are people who still need us.'
Grarraghh!!
'There are those waiting for us to come home. That's more than enough reason why...'
Riko pulls his sword and jumps straight towards the Guardian Snake's defenseless eyes.
"We can't die here!"
Following his battle cry, Riko tries to pierce the Guardian Snake's eye. However, that definite strike is parried by a green light that coats the snake's eye and its whole body.
Grraagh!
"Uwah!"
The Guardian Snake shoved Riko away soon after getting its teeth out of the Higantes.
Riko crashes next to another Higantes, his sword breaks into two. Despite that, he held his broken weapon with a firm grip and tries to get back up.
"We can't die here!"
He shouted as the Guardian Snake, who is even more infuriated, charges at him.
"I can't die here!"
At that moment...
"That saves the trouble of putting myself on the right spot, thank you for luring it here."
"Huh?!"
[Heavy Metal Will End In Five Seconds]
"It's time."
[5]
The voice of a girl suddenly resonated from above the tree, making Riko and the Guardian Snake look upwards.
[4]
After that, everything escalated quickly.
[3]
A girl descends right on top of the guardian snake, hammering the creature's head with her feet.
[2]
"Wha?!" Riko's eyes widened in total shock.
The Guardian Snake tries to resist the force of the impact. But in the end, the giant creature crashes down the ground, blowing Riko away with a force that shook everything in the area as if it's an earthquake.
[1]
"Keh...!" Riko groaned painfully while struggling to keep himself standing. "What the... Hm?"
[0]
Riko gazed at the sight of slowly dispersing dust and dirt under the luminous rays of the sun filtering through the leaves of trees. There, it reveals the head of the Guardian Snake lying on the ground. And then, the silhouette of a girl standing on top of the creature's head caught Riko's eyes.
The remains of dust and dirt continue to dissipate, unveiling the back of the girl, her shoulder-length bob hair, as well as the red thing attached around her head.
The girl looks around, until her charcoal eyes meet Riko's, making him frown.
"Who are you?"